Those alleluias were a long time in coming. I thought Lent was long when I was a kid; this year it was 1959 again. Maybe, as a way of compensating for the seemingly long Lent, we can extend Easter 50 days beyond Pentecost — at least in our hearts.
Speaking of the Easter season, Jesuit Fr. Larry Jonas, associate pastor at Gesu in Milwaukee, during his homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, described it as the “Wow!” season. If you’re wondering what he means, email him at larry.jonas@marquette.edu and ask.
Will and Kate: The work of St. William, the English bishop who evangelized Denmark, and St. Katharine Drexel, whose service to black and Native American communities exemplifies how the Gospel is to be lived, excites me more than the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Heavenly royalty: He won’t replace the royal couple on magazine covers, but certainly the beatification of Pope John Paul II is worthy of international attention. We’d all benefit if people would emulate his proclamation of the Gospel and his love of the church.
Courting prayer: Since the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled April 14 that the Freedom From Religion Foundation had no standing to challenge the Obama administration’s right to proclaim the National Day of Prayer, it will go on as it has since 1988 when Congress made the first Thursday of May the day on which it is to be observed. The observance itself has been around since 1952.
Since I mentioned observances, please note that May is “Get Caught Reading Month.” You are cordially invited to order or renew your two-year subscription to the Catholic Herald here www.chnonline.org/component/content/article/58/10284-tailgate-with-archbishop-jerome-e-listecki-fr-don-hying-and-see-the-brewers.html. When you do, you’ll become our guest at a tailgate party and Brewer game with Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki and Fr. Don Hying on Aug. 18.
Oh, one more May observance: Archbishop Listecki celebrates 36 years as a priest on Saturday, May 14.
