Their 600-mile weeklong bicycle trek across Illinois in late March pitted University of Illinois students Jimmy Becker and Mike Schafer against traffic and potholes, headwinds, bitter cold and steep hills. For Becker and Schafer, however, those were just obstacles along the way. The real fight was to advance a culture of life and oppose the […]
Continue readingBLOOMINGTON — What kind of field trip could be more exciting than a space flight to Mars? But if a school can’t afford a real trip to Mars, the next best thing might be an afternoon at the Challenger Learning Center, located at the Prairie Aviation Museum on the grounds of the old Bloomington airport. […]
Continue readingThe nation was inspired last week by the efforts of thousands of volunteers to hold back the record flood waters of the Red River in North Dakota. Anyone who has labored to fill and carry one sandbag knows that it took a heroic, united effort to fill what news reports estimated as a million of […]
Continue readingBy: By Barbara Roedel Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, April 5 (At the procession with palms) Mark 11:1-10 or John 12:12-16. (At the Mass) Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9,17-18,19-20,23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1–15:47 The four Gospels paint different pictures of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. The Gospel of […]
Continue readingST. BERNARD, Ohio — A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, March 28, at St. Clement’s Church for Father Marian Douglas, OFM, who served in Streator and Peoria during a priesthood that spanned 51 years. Another Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette, Mich., on Monday, March […]
Continue readingRating: A-II (PG) NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Affable animated comedy-adventure in which a trio of kindly monsters (voices of Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie and Will Arnett) led by a once-ordinary woman (voice […]
Continue readingVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI has decided the collection taken up at his Holy Thursday evening Mass will be used to help support the Catholic community in the Gaza Strip. Each year the pope chooses where to send the collection taken up during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Basilica of […]
Continue readingBy: By Barbara Roedel Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 29 Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:3-4,12-13,14-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33. (When the Third Scrutiny is celebrated with the elect, these readings may be used: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45) A clear shift takes place in God’s relationship with the people of Israel in our […]
Continue readingIn many Catholic minds, Africa is a place where the church in the United States sends missionaries to evangelize and spread the Gospel. While that remains true in some cases, the direction of the missionary tide between our continents has shifted in this generation. In fact, 10 priests serving in the Diocese of Peoria had […]
Continue readingTo be voted a member of three halls of fame and have another named for him, John Pocivasek certainly knew sports. But the man known as “Coach,” who was involved in Marquette High School athletics for nearly four decades, was remembered after his death for how he coached thousands in the game of life. “His […]
Continue reading
