Colorful Gospel for Nov. 25, 2010
Illustration by Phil YounkClick on the photo for a printable PDF!Based on the Gospel of Matthew 24:37-44Looking backward and forward. [...]
Marriage: Day 44
Many people have been asking Matt and I the same question since we got married, mainly how marriage life is [...]
Books recommended for Christmas giving or holiday meditations
WASHINGTON –– Here are some new books suitable for Christmas giving or with Christmas themes: – "Revelation of the Magi: [...]
Jewish conductor, Polish pope forge unbreakable bond of support, joy
"The Pope's Maestro" by Sir Gilbert Levine. Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, 2010). 466 pp., $27.95.
"The Pope's Maestro" is the memoir of the distinguished conductor, Sir Gilbert Levine, that focuses on his friendship and artistic partnership with Pope John Paul II. For his services to the Vatican, the pope named Levine a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, an immense honor to anyone but especially to a Jewish American. From the start, the relationship between these two men would go in unexpected and spiritually rich directions.
A series of guest-conducting assignments brought Levine to Krakow, Poland, in 1987 to lead a concert with the Krakow Philharmonic. To his astonishment, after the first, successful concert with the Philharmonic, Levine was asked if he would become the musical director of the orchestra.
He would become the only Westerner conducting in the Eastern bloc, in a country where Jews had been murdered by the millions 40 years earlier, but, after some time to reflect upon this opportunity, Levine accepted the job. He quickly learned that phone tapping and surveillance was a part of life in the final years of communist rule. But, despite the difficulties, Levine found a new depth and purpose in his life as a Jew in a place where the vestiges of Jewish life had been almost completely destroyed.
Family demonstrates there is hope after loss
Early this year, St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan let us know about HALO, Hope After Loss Organization, a program offered through the hospital to assist parents who have suffered a pregnancy loss. It was one of those stories we were eager to share with our readers as it highlighted an effort that helped young families through a very difficult time in their lives.
Yet, it was also one of those stories that is a bit evergreen in the sense that it wasn’t tied to a specific date or event. Therefore, we could run it when we had the space and the time to complete it.
With a small staff, other stories took priority, and months went by before we scheduled it for the paper. I share all this background because this issue of Catholic Herald Parenting features that story, and in a sense, it’s a better story than had we run it when we first learned about the program. I say that because the story now has an even happier ending!
Can Christmas gatherings be more than glitz, food, drink?
I love Christmas but one aspect that troubles me is the way our holiday gatherings seem to be more about [...]
HALO offers hope after loss
Laura and Chris Rector, members of St. Mary Parish in Marytown, stand in the nursery originally decorated to welcome home [...]
Baby’s broken arm builds community
Mayra, our youngest, just had her cast removed. A month ago, she tumbled head over heels out of her crib [...]
More than a case of infatuation
At a recent meeting with all of the players in our foster daughter’s case — social workers, attorneys, birth parents, [...]
Think you know everything about the Nativity? Maybe not
The Christmas Story – often referred to as “The greatest story ever told” – is as familiar to us all [...]