Local News
Keep the doors open, lights on
“Serving God by Serving His People” is the phrase that greets visitors to catholiclakescluster.org, website for the churches of St. Joseph in Amery, Our Lady of the Lakes in Balsam Lake and St. John the Baptist in Clear Lake.
A visit from the bishop
Bishop James P. Powers was welcomed by parochial administrator Fr. Francis Adoboli at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Danbury; Sacred Heart, Crescent Lake; and St. John the Baptist, Webster, on March 21-22.
A life of challenges and joys
Fr. Joji Reddy Boyapati, serving at St. Michael’s in Iron River, will clearly be missed when he returns to India in April due to his expiring visa.
Sisters, priests honored at St. Francis Appreciation Celebration
On Sunday, March 1, the Lac Courte Oreilles Community turned out in huge numbers to honor and salute the staff of St. Francis Catholic Church and School at the church Community Building.
Re-established KC council marks 10 years of Lenten events
The Apple River Knights of Columbus Council 16298, Amery, was reestablished and ratified on Sept. 15, 2015, after the original council disbanded in the 1980s.
Retreat: Living Lent for Easter and beyond
Over a two-evening Lenten retreat for the clustered parishes in Spooner, Shell Lake and Sarona, Fr. Isaiah Schick presented the season and practices of Lent going back to basics
World News
‘It’s a special thing to be human’: Artemis II crew returns with awe, gratitude, and faith
After traveling approximately 695,000 miles over its 10-day trip around the moon, the Artemis II crew — made up of astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, and Victor Glover — made their splash landing into the Pacific Ocean, arriving safely back on Earth, on April 10.
Pope at Easter: Jesus showed nonviolence is true power over evil
Appealing to those in power to end all conflicts through dialogue and not domination, Pope Leo XIV urged humanity to stop growing accustomed to wars and violence and announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11.
Columns
Atheists, dark nights, Good Friday and revelation
The classical atheistic thinkers of the Enlightenment, philosophers such as Frederick Nietzsche and Ludwig Feuerbach, taught that all religious experience is simply human projection.
He is risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!
2026 Easter message from Bishop James P. Powers
Mini-ministry: St. Patrick parishioners inspired food swap
A friendly gesture by a couple of neighbors of bringing over a few bags of slightly fading vegetables, and then my swapping some back, has become a full-fledged food mini-ministry.
Thanks, Dad, for Ordinary Times
Not long ago, I was sorting through some of my dad’s old papers and I came across a candy wrapper and a Father’s Day card tucked into an envelope that bore a March 2001 postmark from Rome.
On hiding the ugly
Following a severe case of COVID last summer, I developed a bald spot. As with any flaw, I spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to hide it; AI tells me it could take a year for my hair to grow back. So I fuss and rearrange things and impatiently wait.
Do you really believe God loves you?
If you’re like me, you were impressed by the athletes of the Milan-Cortina Olympics. In them we witnessed both the rewards of hard work and the traumatizing effects of extreme expectation.
