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Stop by and visit in the chapel.

4 tickets to Wisconsin Nebraska game plus...

4 tickets to the Nebraska-Wisconsin game, two nights of hotels and RV transportation to and from the Madison including food and beverage on the road. This was just one of the Live Auction items offered at Columb's Ceili last spring. Plan to be at the 2012 Ceili on Saturday March 10th to see what we have planned next.

Progress in the Bathrooms

 The work continues...



Fontenelle Forest Field Trip

 Last week our preschoolers took a field trip to Fontenelle Forest.

 We learned about some forest animals.

We also had a chance to explore the outdoor nature areas.

 Our parents were great helpers.

 We are thankful for the beautiful day God made for us to enjoy!



St. Vincent de Paul

Today is the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul. He was so devoted to taking care of the poor that his very name is synonymous with helping those in need.

When someone calls St. Columbkille parish needing help, they are turned over to our St. Vincent de Paul Conference. Their needs are turned over to two members of the group. Beyond working within a criteria, they go to where the people live.

They make human contact to those in need and listen to their story. Unless there is an objection, they also pray together. Then working with the budget and established criteria, they look for the best way to help. In some cases that is helping them directly, in others it means connecting them with another agency or group that can do more for them.

In any case, it is our way of reaching out to those in need.

Help is needed to respond to the requests for assitance. If you are interested in more information contact Deacon Eldon Laube at 402-339-3285 ext 105 or elauber@saintcolumbkille.org

St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us!

Runza Night

Last Wednesday Runza donated a percentage of their sales to St. Columbkille Catholic School's Home School Association.

In return they were able to put our principal, Dr. Blue, to work.

It was a crowded night, but

everyone seemed to enjoy it.

There was even a visit from Rex as wellas free glittery tatoos.

Thanks Runza!

Welcoming the New Roman Missal

David Batter, Director of Music & Liturgy, introduces the Gloria we will be singing as we Welcome the New Roman Missal.

You are invited to learn the music at 7 p.m. either Thursday or Tuesday the 4th in the church. You don't need to register, everyone is welcome.

Why are the church bathrooms closed?

A picture is worth a thousand words:

 

We'll keep you up to date as the bathrooms are remodeled.

He was accused of wrong doing

He was a very popular priest. People packed his Masses. People came to him and wrote to him asking for spiritual direction. He was seen by some as a living saint. But not by all.

He had been accussed of wrong doing. His superior read that the declaration that he "is to be stripped of all faculties of his priestly ministry except the faculty to celebrate the Holy Mass, which he may continue to do provided it is done in private, within the walls of the friary, in the inner chapel, and not publicy in church”.

Knowing that he hadn't done anything wrong, how does he react?

He said, “God’s will be done,”…then he covered his eyes with his hands, lowered his head, and murmured, “The will of the authorities is the will of God.”

While it caused him immense suffering, which he admited privately, he did not complain or object.

Almost two years later the pope sent some representatives to interview him. To their suprise, "They found no wild-eyed fanatic, no crazed neurotic, no embittered rebel, but a pleasant, humorous man." They were impressed with "his humility, his docility, and the whole of his conduct" and recognized him "as a man of prayer and entirely godly.”

This priest was Padre Pio. Soon afterwards Pope Pius XI ordered the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass, saying, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed."

He died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002. He is an example that the life of a saint is not perfect. There can be times where we can choose to be heretics or saints. Today is the feast day of St. Padre Pio. A short biography of his life is available here.

Miss America Visits

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan was in Papillion yesterday. She visited area junior high schools to talk with them about eating disorders and healthy eating habits. She educated students about the signs and risks of eating disorders, as well as how and where to get help for themselves or a loved one.

“We are pleased to be able to bring Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan to our area to talk about this important issue affecting many young people today. If we can educate kids now, we may be able to prevent them from struggling with an eating disorder in their future,” said Tonee Gay, Executive Director of the Midlands Community Foundation.

Teresa is the first Miss Nebraska to be crowned Miss America and the youngest Miss America ever. When she spoke at Papillion - La Vista Jr High School, the 7th and 8th grade students from St. Columbkille Catholic School were there as well.

She wears these wristbands as reminders. One is of the importance of serving others. The other was a gift from a severly injured boy from Afghanistan who made it for her. It's a reminder that that is always someone whom we can help and serve.

TEEN Faith

Last week was the Kick-Off for TEEN Faith. A crowd came for food, fun and a preview of the year.

Tonight is the first Small Group Faith Sharing meeting. We begin in the Social Level at 7 p.m. to share a meal then split into small groups by grade at 7:30 and wrapup at 8:30. Although registration is required, you can register tonight.

3 on 3 basketball Tournament

Due to the rain, our 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament was moved to the gym Sunday. There were a lot of hard competition and some good games.

 

 

 

What you don't always see are players

getting their picture taken with a ref.

What was unusual were the refs. Doug McDermott, Ethan Wragge and Ross Ferrarini from the Creighton Men's Basketball Team were kind enough to referee some of our games.

 

They even had some advice:



Thank you to our refs as well as Coach Steve Merfeld, Patti Galas and Creighton Athletics for letting them help us out.

We'll close with a picture of the 8th Grade team which won their division.
Thank you to all of our players for competing.

Bathroom Renovation

 The bathrooms on the main floor of the church are being renovated.

It means these restrooms will be out of commission for a few weeks. In the meantime people will have to use the restrooms in the Social Level. But when it's done they will be better than ever. The thing that will be the hardest to get used to is that the women's restroom will become the men's and vice-versa.

We're looking forward to watching the progress.

Raffle Winners

Fr. Vogel drew the names for the Raffle winners. They are:

$ 5,000 Linda Mullen

$1,000 John Gelecki

$500 Pat Thomas
$250 Steve Dostal
$250 Duane Larchick

Congratulations to our winners!

Family Fun Festival

An optimist might be someone who sets

up a cotton candy stand in a rainstorm.

At first the weather seemed very good for ducks ...

 

 ... but everyone was still enjoying themselves.

 

Then the sun came out and the rides were able to open.

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who helped

and worked and joined in the fun!



That Man Is You! starts Thursday

Last year, over seventy men would gather 26 Thursday morning before sunrise for That Man Is You! Although there is a weekly video presentation, the heart of the event is the table discussions as men discuss their faith in their life.

Out of curiosity, we decided to measure how the Spiritual Commitment changed among the men who attended. Using the questions identified by Gallup Faith, we had all the men answer some quick questions at the first session, the 13th session and at the end of the 26th session. We didn't explain what we were measuring or give out any preliminary results because we didn't want to influence the results.

The initial surprise was how low the men were in Spiritual Commitment in the first session. In 2010, St. Columbkille Parish measured a little higher than the national average, but the men (on average) were well below that. Typically this measurement tool is used for a parish. If we stack that against other parishes, they would have been in the bottom 25%. Part of our interpretation is that TMIY! appealed to men who hadn't been exercising their spiritual life.

Then we were really surprised by the improvement. Again if the results are compared to parishes, the final numbers would put these same men in the top 25% of the country. Steve Bollman from Paradisus Dei said that they frequently get letters or cards from men (or their wives) who have had their lives changed by the program. But he was very excited to see these results. He will be using this data as he talks to Bishops around the country.

Deacon David said, "When we started this, it was just for us to look at internally to see if this was a good use of our energy and resources. I was startled by the results. I told Steve that I probably wouldn't have shared the results with him if it hadn't been so good."

The second year of TMIY! starts next Thursday (the 22nd). Although all men are invited, the main focus is on family life. The program is designed so that someone who did not go through the first year can still jump into the second year. If you have questions you can look for the TMIY! table at the Festival Sunday. They will be between the stage and the beer garden .