You know how sometimes when you’re driving someplace and you kind of zone out in thought and lose a bit of awareness of your surroundings? Or maybe you’re intently listening to something on the car radio and you go past the corner where you were intending to turn. A few weeks ago I was driving to my sister’s home…

Advent is the season when we prepare our house for the coming of Christ. It is He who wants to visit and offer to us the most incredible gift, God Himself. He is Beauty, Peace, Freedom, Happiness and Joy; in short Love. He doesn’t make any distinction to whom He gives this gift and He waits patiently for us…

This is one of my favorite holidays. For me, it has always been a time to gather with family, maybe do a little hunting and enjoy a wonderful meal with loved ones. Over the years, the meal has been cooked by others, but I now find myself tending a turkey on a large charcoal grill for several hours on…

As the leaves fall and the vegetation turns brown, our thoughts are turning towards preparing for winter. We are also preparing for winter at Catholic Charities and the Sojourner House, our homeless shelter in Eau Claire, WI. With what we thought were large numbers last year, this year will be bigger yet. The economic conditions…

Last week the federal agency, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) came to the diocese detaining several Hispanics in the Monroe, Vernon and Trempealeau county areas. Several Catholic Charities staff members were in Sparta to stand in solidarity with the families affected by the raid. There was little we or anyone else could do to prevent…