Marge is a CatholicLane columnist.
In an effort to grab a bigger piece of Holiday Shopper Pie, major retailers have altered their “after Thanksgiving” hours such that they’ve begun to cut deeper into the Thanksgiving Holiday itself. In recent years, chains such as Target, Kohls, Macy’s, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy had opened their doors to customers in the wee hours […]
Twenty-six years ago today, I gave birth to our first born. Amazing how those years slipped by so quickly. Now he’s a grown man with hopes and dreams of his own, and I feel privileged at being able to witness how they unfold. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with him. […]
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary – celebrated by the Church on October 7 – is my favorite Marian feast day in the liturgical year. The reason for this has less to do with my love of the Rosary than my intrigue over the Battle of Lepanto. Perhaps you remember that the Battle […]
If you think “I Spy” is just a game for children, think again. Our federal government and the public school system have begun to play – but for real and they’re playing with our lives and the lives of our children. Team Obama has launched “Attack Watch,” (www.AttackWatch.com) an interactive website and subcategory of www.mybarackobama.com […]
It’s the first day of school here at the Fenelon Clan Abode, and I made our high school sophomore a super-duper, extra-special, sunshine theme breakfast: Eggs in a basket with little mini-sun cutouts, sunshine drink (milk with vanilla, sweetener, and yellow food coloring), and yogurt parfait with bursting sun rays (peach slices arranged along the […]
Recently, I noticed some social networking posts by a Catholic woman friend about her enjoyment of FOX’s show, “Glee.” This is a woman I respect so I assumed that “Glee” was a wholesome show that any Catholic woman could watch without worry to her conscience. I was enthusiastic in hope that, finally, prime time television […]
The other day, I wiped the slate clean. Literally. In our prayer corner, we have a gray slate shingle that once belonged to the roof of the original Schoenstatt Marian shrine, the founding place of the International Schoenstatt Movement in Schoenstatt, Germany, by Father Joseph Kentenich in 1914. Some years back, local movement members salvaged […]
What if our children could be given the gift that Solomon received? During his audience with those gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gondolfo recently, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in reference first Mass reading of Sunday July 24, which described Solomon’s request to God for a “docile heart” so that he would know […]
Valley Park Middle School is in the news again. Some weeks ago, this Toronto, Canada, school was highlighted for allowing Muslim students to hold a 30-minute prayer service in the school cafeteria during class time each Friday afternoon. That brought an initial wave of uproar from both sides of the debate regarding the permitting of […]
A citation and 93 days in jail. That’s what planting veggies in your front yard could get you, at least in Oak Park, Michigan. Ridiculous, you say? Hardly; it’s a reality, and it’s happening to Julie Bass. Julie and her family live in an average neighborhood in an average home in Oak Park, and a […]
Peoria, Mobile, Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlantic City, and now Milwaukee, my home town, has been plagued by violent flash mobs. And that’s just in the past week. Flash mobbing initially began as an experiment in social networking. On June 17, 2003, a crowd of about 100 people, drawn by text messages, emails, and blogs, gathered in […]
Any man who will spend a Saturday afternoon on his hands and knees, digging around the shelves of a musty, chock-full thrift shop is a hero. At least he’s my hero. In fact, I think it might make him a canonizable saint. A few weeks ago, I begged my husband to accompany me to “The […]
When I was a little girl, my mom would sometimes pack a supper for my dad, who worked second shift as a foreman at a steel manufacturing plant. Then she’d pack me up, load the supper and me into the car and drive over to the plant. I’m not sure whether those were days on […]
Just when I thought I was home free, it hit. I caught one of those nasty Spring viruses that come racing around the corner while you’re looking in the other direction. Because the buds are beginning to swell on the trees and the first warm breezes are beginning to blow, you forget about watching out […]
Our youngest son has a job walking a Weimaraner dog on weekdays. Sometimes, I go along with him, with our Lhasa-poo in tow because the dog’s home is near Lake Michigan and there are lots of beautiful places to wander and sights to see. Yesterday was one of those days, and I almost wish it […]
My husband and I went to a Milwaukee Brewers game this past Saturday. Our two oldest sons had tickets they couldn’t use, so they offered them to us. We gratefully accepted. It was a great opportunity for a little getaway, and I hadn’t yet been to the new Milwaukee County Stadium (I know, it’s been […]
The guy sitting next to me in the optometrist’s office bugged me. I mean, he really bugged me. He bugged me like I wanted to actually step outside and stand on the sidewalk by the front door until it was time for my appointment; that’s how much he bugged me. Rather than commit an act […]
It already started, you know. The hoopla over Mother’s Day is well underway. In the next several days, the greeting card companies, florists, and chocolate manufacturers will do their best to make us feel like villains if we don’t get our mother something sweet and sentimental for “her” day. At least, of course, we’d better […]
I felt the warm, soft wax between my fingers and looked down to see that I’d formed the Easter taper into a “J” — candy cane style. I’d been holding it so tightly entwined between my fingers that I’d completely distorted its shape. Slowly, gently, I coerced it back into a nice, straight candle. The […]
For years, I guarded the kids’ Easter baskets like the soldiers outside of Christ’s tomb. I’d monitor them vigilantly – if I could have rolled a stone in front of them, I would have. I wanted the children to make the contents last and to really appreciate the treats inside rather than just wolfing them […]
By the time you’re done reading this column, you’ll want to either join my bandwagon or run me out of town. If it’s the former, hop on; there’s plenty of room. If it’s the latter, please be gentle with the clubs and hatchets; I bruise easily. Okay, here goes. I don’t participate in Friday fish […]
Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them. (Hos 14:10) This passage from Hosea reminds me of a lesson my dad taught me when I was in my early teens. I […]
When we think about God’s voice, do the Old Testament images come to mind? Do we think only about the prophets of old who seemed able to perceive God’s voice directly? That was then; this is now. God doesn’t speak out loud to people anymore. Or does he? Perhaps he doesn’t come swooping down on […]
We buried a dear friend today. We’ve known Betty and her husband, Norm for more than 20 years and in the last few months the breast cancer Betty valiantly battled for nearly that same amount of time finally took her life. In the interim, we ended up working together on various projects and committees and […]
