Thanks to Ceili's 2015 Helping Hand!

You may not even notice it, but every classroom in the education center has one of these units. It allows for a wireless connection into our network. One of beautiful things about the network is that as Principal Makey carries an iPad from room to room, it will automatically connect without him doing a thing.

These units are just a part of the funds raised by the 2015 project done at Columb's Ceili this year. Every year the Ceili raises funds for a project to help the campus. This year it was working with the technology backbone to allow greater bandwidth and possibilies in the classrooms of the school and Religious Formation.

Dan Sullivan has been busy getting

 them all installed this summer.

In the classrooms, the lower grades have been doing more with iPads while the upper grades have been doing more with Chromebooks. With this work, we expect it to not only handle these needs, but also whatever gets invented next.

Thanks Ceili!

Always Journey with God

This is the time of year many of us will be embarking on new adventures: new schools, classrooms, homes or jobs. Many people are traveling, that one last trip before school starts, or beginning a new project or a new phase in life, such as retirement, parenthood or grandparenthood.

These adventures can be scary, heading into the unknown. But they also can be sources of great blessings.

In the eternal sense, they are all part of our lifelong journey on earth. And perhaps some prayers for safe travel would be appropriate as we venture forth. The following were gathered from the Internet:

“In the name of God I go on this journey. May God the Father be with me, God the Son protect me, and God the Holy Ghost be by my side. Amen.”

Jewish Wayfarer’s Prayer
(Tefilat HaDerech)
“May it be Your will, O Lord, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead us toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and make us reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. May You rescue us from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth. May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. May You hear the sound of our humble request because You are God Who hears prayer requests.
Blessed are You, our Lord, Who hears prayer. Amen.”

“In my journeying with you, 
may I never lose my sense of direction, 
never lose sight of the landmark 
towards which I travel.
And should cloud or rain obscure my vision, 
may I draw closer to you, 
so that my feet may tread 
in your footsteps,
your words be my encouragement, 
and your love my protection 
against the storms that assail me.”

“Your Light is the only light I need 
as I travel through life's mystery. 
Your Word the only voice I hear, 
that still small voice that leads me 
to the place where I should be.
Your presence is the only company I need, 
as I walk this narrow road.
Your fellowship the warmth I crave 
to help me on my way.”

In all our traveling,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
In our journeying to work and returning,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
Within our homes and families,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
In our leisure time together,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
In difficult situations and conflict,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
As we stumble on the way,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
In the traveling of our faith,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
As we place our trust in you,
ALL: May your footsteps guide us.
In all our traveling. Lord, 
may it be your footsteps 
in which we place our feet.
Amen!

No matter where you go in life, may you always journey with God.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

A Fun Ride - A Parking Challenge

The City of Papillion is hosting Slide the City on Saturday as people will get to slide down the hill on Washington Street (84th) starting between 5th & 6th street. The tickets to slide are sold out and have been for awhile.

Those parking are being encouraged to park at Home Depot or Tara Plaza and walk over. But the closest parking is on the west side of our church. If that fills with "sliders" it would be a challenge to those attending a wedding Saturday afternoon or our Saturday Masses to park.

Fortunately our Knights of Columbus are coming to the rescue. They will be monitoring our church parking lot to limit the lot to wedding guests and, later, Mass attendees. At the same time, they are going to charge people to park in the lots the parish owns south of Cornhusker. (As will First Lutheran Church and a number of other places.)

Because the folks for Slide the City are setting up very, very early on Saturday morning, the Knights will be blocking off all of our lots on Friday night and start to monitor those lots on Saturday morning.

We do want to warn everyone that despite the best work of our Knights to be proactive on this as well as cooperation from the city of Papillion and the Papillion Police, parking will still be a mess on Saturday.

Fr Dave suggested that perhaps we should expand our parking.

Raingutter Regata

Our Cub Scouts gathered for some splashpad fun and play...

 ... before getting some food.

Then it was time for the Raingutter Regata as contestants raced their sailboats.

 It was an event so fun even 

Fr Dave had to get in on it.

We Have New Front Doors

Today the weather worked well for replacing the front doors of the church. Over the last thirty years a lot of water has seeped in and warped the wood. As a result, the only time the doors have been closed the last few months were when they were locked. But that changed today.

The portion of the doors which needed to be exchanged were the wood. That meant the doors needed to be taken apart.

The brass portions were moved 

from the old door, to the new.

The doors don't look different from the outside -- besides the fact that they close.

A Lifeline for Marriages

Retrouvaille_™
... a lifeline for Marriages

A program to Help Couples Heal and Renew their Marriages.

• Do you feel lost, alone or bored in your marriage?
• Are you frustrated, hurt or angry with your spouse?
• Are you constantly fighting? Or, do you simply shut down?
• Have you thought about separation or divorce?
• Does talking about it only make it worse?

                                                                       ... Retrouvaille provides marriage help!

What is a Retrouvaille Program?

The word Retrouvaille_™ (pronounced re-tro-vi with a long i.) is a French word meaning rediscovery. The program offers tools needed to rediscover a loving marriage relationship. Thousands of couples headed for cold, unloving relationships or divorce have successfully overcome their marriage problems by attending the program.

The Retrouvaille Program consists of a weekend experience combined with a series of 6-12 post-weekend sessions over 3 months. It provides the tools to help put your marriage in order again. The main emphasis of the program is on communication in marriage between husband and wife. It will give you the opportunity to rediscover each other and examine your lives together in a new and positive way.

For perspective from a parishioner couple, see page three of this bulletin.

You can sign up here>

Fr Damian in the Papillion Times

Here's an excerpt from Michael Batchelder's article in this week's issue of the Papillion Times.

Moving from St. Columbkille to St. Frances Cabrini, located at 10th and William streets, will be an adjustment for Zuerlein, especially considering the difference in size between the two parishes. St. Columbkille has more than 9,000 parishioners while St. Frances Cabrini has only a few hundred. 

“It’s a change,” Zuerlein said. “The archbishop’s goal is to turn that around and to get the parish alive and growing.” 

Zuerlein said he will miss being at St. Columbkille, especially the everyday interactions with the parish community.

For the full story, click here.

10 Rules to Resist Satan

Sometimes we go about life almost oblivious of the devil.

Other times we become astutely aware of his presence when the light of truth reveals his abhorrent work of lies and murder, especially of the most innocent, or when we are hounded by his temptations. The devil is certainly dangerous, but we know that in God we’ve already won the battle.

Several years ago Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan gave us ten practical rules to resist Satan. And they are certainly worth remembering.

Rule one: "Do not forget that the devil exists."
Rule two: "Do not forget that the devil is a tempter."
Rule three: "Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute."
Rule four: "Be vigilant in the eyes and the heart."
Rule five: "Be strong in spirit and virtue."
Rule six: "Tireless prayer."
Rule seven: "Adoring God."
Rule eight: "Listening to God's Words."
Rule nine: "Remembering Christ's victory over temptation. Remembering man's sharing in that victory."
Rule ten: "Be humble and love mortification."

Several of those rules nicely sum up the life of Mary, our ever-ready help in times of temptation. And of course, no one can forget the intercession of St. Michael and our guardian angels.
Let us always be vigilant, strong, prayerful and attentive to God. And we can be confident in his – and our – victory over evil.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

My Personal Experience With NFP

 by Lisa Brandon 
This week, the Church is celebrating National Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week. NFP is the method of family planning approved by the Catholic Church to achieve and postpone pregnancy.  It involves looking for natural signs in order to determine a woman’s fertile period. When implemented correctly, it is over 99% effective for avoiding pregnancy. Couples who use NFP grow in virtue, communication, intimacy and have significantly lower rates of divorce than couples who use contraception.

It wasn’t until the summer before my senior year of college, that I began to learn more about NFP and contraception. A dear friend mailed me a cassette entitled “Contraception: Why Not?”  It was by Janet E. Smith, an international speaker on the Catholic teachings on sexuality. Her talk discussed the negative side effects of using contraception.  I didn’t know that the pill could cause high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke, cancer, heart attack, depression, irritability, weight gain, migraine, loss of libido, infertility and an early abortion if a woman does conceive. She then explained the beauty and benefits of NFP. This began my personal journey of learning more about contraception and NFP.

During our 11 years of marriage, Mike and I have used the Creighton Model.  This NFP method was developed by Dr. Thomas Hilgers, the founder of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha. The first four years of marriage, Mike worked out-of-town each week. NFP challenged us to grow in selflessness, communication, discipline, and chastity. The Creighton Model helped us prayerfully discern God’s call to begin our family. Within a week of Mike getting a job in Omaha, we found out we were expecting our first. Irick (7) was followed by his sister, Emry, 15 months later.

After over a year of trying to conceive again, my NFP charts showed signs of secondary infertility. The Pope Paul VI Institute diagnosed and surgically treated my endometriosis. Our son Kyler was born within less than a year of having surgery. Several months after his birth, I became very anxious, irritable, had irrational thoughts and could not sleep. The Pope Paul VI Institute identified my postpartum depression and treated it with progesterone. I was amazed by its effectiveness.

NFP has helped Mike and I develop a deeper prayer life as a couple and trust in God. With Kyler turning two, we each felt that God was calling us to be open to another little one. After 4 months of praying together, we said yes to God. Baby is due the end of January.

“O Lord of hosts, happy the man who trusts in you” Psalm 84:13. NFP does involve trusting in God’s will for you. Trust in Him. He will bless you in so many ways, for God has beautiful plans for you, your marriage, and your family.

Lisa and Mike Brandon

Phase Two of Pave the Way

Phase Two of our Pave the Way parking project has begun in earnest. As part of this the north parking lot is being redone. When finished, there will no longer be steps between the church and this parking lot because it will be the same level.

The first plan would have kept these trees. That was before realizing that three of them were dead and the rest are not in good shape. We'll be planting plenty of more trees before this project is finished.

It will be very nice when it's done.

It was a Fiesta

This afternoon was the Ceili Buy-in event of the Fiesta with Fr Dave.

Almost right away Fr Dave was a target for the ring toss game.

Fr Dave also gave rides in his thing.

Fr Roza is now the director of vocations for the archdiocese, but his first assignment was at St. Columbkille. Yesterday he was reunited with the first child he baptized.

Some of our FOCUS missionaries were able to visit after the 5:00 Mass. Fr. Norman also stopped by after saying the 5:00 Mass at his parish.

 How could you not have a pinata at a Fiesta?

There was fun all around.