A New Strength Group

Strengths Group
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
April 14, 21, 28 & May 5

Steinhausen Center

In the Strengths Groups each participant will receive a copy of the book Living Your Strengths which included a Strength Finders assessment. This will give a sense of the gifts God has given you. From that, we will work on turning those gifts into Strengths. Each session lasts about 90 minutes.

To register contact Deacon David at 339-3285 ext 104 in the Parish Office or email him at dkrueger@saintcolumbkille.org

What's in a name?

Archbishop Lucas comments on sharing a name with a movie director/producer.

Living Stations of the Cross

On Friday the 8th graders presented Living Stations of the Cross to the school.

Thank you!

Basketball Tournaments

Congratulations to the 6th grade girls Basketball team who won the tournament at St. Bernadette. And congratulations as well to the two 5th grade teams from St. Columbkille who played each other for the championship.

Thank you to St. Bernadette for hosting the tournament.

March Madness

Pictured is the 4th Grade girls basketball team who won the St Bernadette March Madness Tournament last weekend.

Congratulations!!

(This is a different 4th grade team from the one we congratulated two weeks ago. It's great to have so many outstanding teams in the parish!)

Palms & Stations

This week Preschool students made palms and processed to the Church.

In church they prayed the Stations of the Cross.

We are all getting ready for Holy Week.

Annunciation

“The Annunciation,” by Denise Levertov

We know the scene: the room, variously furnished,
almost always a lectern, a book; always the tall lily.
Arrived on solemn grandeur of great wings,
the angelic ambassador, standing or hovering,
whom she acknowledges, a guest.

But we are told of meek obedience. No one mentionscourage.
The engendering Spirit
did not enter her without consent.
God waited.

She was free
to accept or to refuse, choice
integral to humanness.
———————————-

Aren’t there annunciations
of one sort or anotherin most lives?
Some unwillingly
undertake great destinies,
enact them in sullen pride,
uncomprehending.

More often
those moments
when roads of light and storm
open from darkness in a man or woman,
are turned away from
in dread, in a wave of weakness, in despair
and with relief.
Ordinary lives continue.
God does not smite them.
But the gates close, the pathway vanishes.
———————————–

She had been a child who played, ate, slept
like any other child – but unlike others,
wept only for pity, laughed
in joy not triumph.
Compassion and intelligence
fused in her, indivisible.

Called to a destiny more momentous
than any in all of Time,
she did not quail,
only asked
a simple, ‘How can this be?’
and gravely, courteously,
took to heart the angel’s reply,
perceiving instantly
the astounding ministry she was offered:

to bear in her womb
Infinite weight and lightness;
to carryin hidden, finite inwardness,
nine months of Eternity; to contain
in slender vase of being,
the sum of power -
in narrow flesh,
the sum of light.
Then bring to birth,
push out into air, a Man-child
needing, like any other,
milk and love -

but who was God.

Lincoln Field Trip

Monday the 4th Grade had a Field Trip to Lincoln.

They saw the capital building ...

... inside and out.

They also visited Morrill Hall at the

University of Nebraska State Museum.

It was a mamoth event.

Fish Fries

The Social Level of the church has been

a busy and packed space each Lenten Friday.

Join us for the final Fish Fry of the season
Friday from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Soles 4 Souls

Over 1.5 Billion pairs of shoes

lay idle in american closets

300 Million children around

the world do not have shoes.

Through Soles 4 Souls, gently used shoes are being collected for Haiti. Souls 4 Souls has pledged 100,000 pairs of shoes as part of the earthquake relief effort.

Through Thursday, we are collecting shoes at the Religious Education Center as part of that effort. Feel free to drop off your gently used shoes there through Thursday...

... and help delight someone in need.

Champs

Congratulations to the 3rd grade basketball team who finished their season winning their tournament. This included coming back from a 5-0 halftime deficit in the championship game to win 8-5.

Congratulations!

St. Joseph & meat

Father,
you entrusted our Saviour to the care of St. Joseph.
By the help of his prayers
may your Church continue to serve its Lord, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

You may recall that a few years ago St. Patrick's Day fell on a Friday. That year numerous Bishops, including Archbishop Curtis, gave dispensations so people could eat meat on that Friday.

As a solemnity, Canon Law itself makes it clear that meat can be eaten when the Feast of St. Joseph falls on a Lenten Friday. Thus no dispensation is needed to eat meat today.

However, the Fish Fry is still a great place to celebrate St. Joseph's Feast day.

Server Awards

Last week Archbishop Lucas presented medals to six of our servers and thanked them for their service to our parish and the Archdiocese.

Thank you for your service to God and our community.

Stations of the Cross

On Fridays during Lent we have stations of the Cross at 1:00 and 6:00 p.m.

Fr. Wee has been leading Stations at 1:00 and has been joined by some of the school classes who move around the sanctuary durng the service.

Of course you are welcome to stop by and pray the Stations yourself.

Daddy & Me

Thursday was Daddy & Me Night. Preschoolers invited

a special guest to help them journey through “The Land of ‘S.’”

There was time to read….make a snack…

…be a little silly….

….and best of all, time to enjoy each other’s company!

Jokes

“I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I'd also say it's necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn't think we were so important.”

--Pope Benedict XVI

Quilting for First Communicants

Many of those receiving their First Communion

in April have been decorating squares for a quilt.

A group of parents and helpful parishioners have been

working to arrange these for our First Communicants.

These will be a great keepsake

of a wonderful day.

Thank you!

4th Grade Basketball Champs

Congratulations to the St. Columbkille White 4th grade girls team who finished the PAL league season in first place and won the tournament championship, finishing with a perfect 9 - 0 record. Then they capped off the CYO season with a tie for first in the league and then won the tournament championship, finishing that league at 12-2....giving them an impressive overall record this year of 21-2. Great ending to their season.

Double the Reconciliation

Tomorrow (Saturday) there will be two priests available for Reconciliation from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. There will two priests again next Saturday (March 20th) and three will be available on March 27th.

Save Darfur

A few months ago over 1,000 parishioners signed postcards urging President Obama to fulfill his campain promise to bring peace to Darfur. Now Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years are scheduled for April 2010. Given the current conditions in Sudan, the international community needs to ensure that the elections don’t legitimize this genocidal regime.

After Mass this weekend, in the commons, there will be information on what these elections mean and postcards for a new campaign. Information is also available at www.SaveDarfur.org.

High Seas Expedition

The theme of this summer's Vacation Bible School is

It is June 21-25th

Signup is now

Call the Religious Formation Office at 339-0990