Browsing the 2025 archive of Father Stephen's Columns
Jubilee Saint: Frances Xavier Cabrini (5/4/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 4/29/25
Jubilee Saint: Frances Xavier Cabrini Continuing a series on saints who embodied the spirit of jubilee during this Jubilee Year of Hope, we look today at the first U.S. citizen canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, an Italian woman named Frances Xavier Cabrini. Mother Cabrini’s life shines ... Read More »
Easter: The Joy of Generosity (4/27/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 4/22/25
Easter: The Joy of Generosity Happy Easter to you all! I hope and pray that your Easter was a beautiful chance to pray and spend time with family and friends. Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead truly changes everything and has the power to enliven our hearts and set ... Read More »
Easter Sunday: Let All Rejoice! (4/20/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 4/16/25
Easter Sunday: Let All Rejoice! Happy Easter to you all! I hope and pray that your Lenten season was as spiritually fruitful as mine has been, especially with the crosses that choose us rather than the ones we choose ourselves. It is the custom in many Orthodox ... Read More »
Palm Sunday: the Donkey (4/13/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 4/08/25
Palm Sunday: the Donkey There are too many beautiful theological aspects of Palm Sunday to mention during a homily or a bulletin column, so that’s why I never try! This time of year, the goal of the preacher is to spur on the faith of parishioners with short tidbits, ... Read More »
Prayer: Consolation and Desolation (4/6/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 4/08/25
Prayer: Consolation and Desolation Returning to our series on prayer, we notice that in the spiritual life, like life in general, there are ups and downs, highs and lows. There are times when we experience God’s closeness and his presence seems almost palpable. Prayer comes easily and ... Read More »
Notes on Parish Membership (3/30/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 3/26/25
Notes on Parish Membership I’ve been getting some comments and questions about parish membership and its implications recently. Some folks are thinking about joining the parish, but are uncertain if they are able to do so. Others are asking if parish membership is necessary in order to ... Read More »
Some Housekeeping (3/23/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 3/19/25
Some Housekeeping
Breaking from my normal way of writing bulletin columns (formational vs. informational), this week we’ll do some housekeeping for the coming months.
Firstly, I hope you appreciate what an excellent charity the St. Bakhita House is in our local Milwaukee area! The wonderful work they ... Read More »
Jubilee Saint: Josephine Bakhita (3/16/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 3/12/25
Jubilee Saint: Josephine Bakhita
Continuing our look at saints who exemplified aspects about the biblical jubilee, we turn to St. Josephine Bakhita (~1869-1947). Born in the Darfur region of Sudan, the girl who would become St. Josephine Bakhita grew up happy and relatively prosperous until she was ... Read More »
Prayer: What It Is (3/9/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 3/04/25
Prayer: What It Is
A couple weeks ago we looked at what prayer is not, the misconceptions and myths we have about prayer. This week, we’ll examine prayer more directly through a few definitions that the Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us (paragraphs 2558-2565). The compilers ... Read More »
How to Live Lent Well (3/2/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 2/26/25
How to Live Lent Well Lent begins this Wednesday with the reception of ashes on our foreheads as a sign of our sorrow for our sins and our desire to begin again by God’s grace. During Lent, all disciples are challenged to engage the spiritual life more ... Read More »