In the News: Our Groundbreaking

Mayor David Black and the City of Papillion included a segment on our groundbreaking ceremony in their "City Happenings."

The story is here, starting at about 1:32.

Stepping Out - Fighting Hunger

Another of our Step Out and Serve Projects this Discipleship Weekend was to pack meals at Kids Against Hunger.

This group packaged 15,076 meals which are destined for Haiti. Thank you for your work!

Stepping Out and Serving

One of the "Step Out & Serve" project this weekend was serving brunch at Monarch Villa this morning. They enjoyed it and expressed their appreciation.

We hope we get more pictures from all the work this weekend.

Theology Lessons Abound

Earlier this week a certain sixth-grader asked me: "Mom, what's your definition of theology?"

"The study of God?" was my hesitant answer.

Paul, the sixth-grader, hadn't been happy with some of the dictionary definitions he found for his homework which mentioned neither God nor study. I'm not sure what he wrote down for his homework answer, but his question got me thinking, especially because St. Columbkille Parish began offering an eight-week course on St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

If God reveals so much to us through His creation of the human body, what about the rest of creation? Aren't there lessons from God everywhere for us?

And even beyond the physical world -- the Earth, the sun and moon and stars, the flowers and plants and creatures -- what does God reveal to us in our experiences, the passing of time, in our relations with others?

At each moment, God is everywhere, waiting to communicate with us and teach us.

We need to be like the saints, who were perceptive enough to listen.

"Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart," St. Luke tells us.

Our Lord provided St. John Paul with enough insights on the human body to span five years of teaching during his Wednesday audiences. And that was just one aspect of the pope's teaching legacy. He taught on a wide range of topics, including what God reveals to us in Mary, the family and the lives of saints.

St. John Paul canonized more than 450 saints, each one a lesson in theology, reflecting something unique and beautiful about God.

Indeed, every person we encounter is theology lesson for us.

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.

Construction Continues

For our Pave the Way project, 

work continues on our second phase. 

Brick on the south side of this 

building will match the church.

One of the first steps is calculating

where the future light poles will go.

Weather permitting, we'll start to see some

 concrete on the ground starting next week.

Smells & Bells

What is incense for? Why don’t I still hear bells at Mass? Is Purgatory still in vogue? Should I genuflect when I enter a Catholic Church? Is confession really important? Should Nebraska be ranked #1? Is Limbo a dance or a place? Can Baptists use Holy Water or will it burn their skin? When incense is used at Mass, may I request a nonsmoking section? Is Catholic Heaven different from Protestant Heaven? Will Jews, Muslims or Texas Longhorn fans go to heaven? What are the seven Sacraments all about? Should Catholics read the Bible? Are Catholics Christian? Where & when did the Catholic Church begin?

You’re invited to learn the answers to these and other questions regarding the Catholic faith. This brief session is ideal for anyone who is Catholic and wants an quick update, anyone that is married to a Catholic and wants to understand what their partner believes, or anyone that just wants to know what the Catholic Church is all about.

This basic overview of the Catholic Faith called Smells and Bells, will be presented on Thursday, August 27, at 7:00 p.m. as part of our Faith Enhancement Program. This 50-minute presentation will take place in the church, and will be followed by potluck social with snacks and hors d’oeuvres in the Steinhausen Center. Participants are asked to bring a little something to share.

If not totally satisfied with this Catholic Update you will receive double your money back. Admission price – FREE! This may answer every question you ever had, or you may then be interested in participating in a Catholic Inquiry known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) which explores the Catholic faith in more depth. RCIA classes will begin after Labor Day.

Catholics and non-Catholics are welcome.

3 on 3 Soccer Tournament

On Saturday, our Athletic Council put on a great 3 on 3 Soccer Tournament on our athletic fields.

It was only possible because of all the people working behind the scene.

 

There were a lot of great, close games.

Why the Cot?

This is the 100th year of at what is now called St. Columbkille Catholic School. When the Benedictine sisters arrived for the first year of school, the building wasn’t ready yet. So Sr. Celestine, Sr. Victoria and Sr. Amelourga stayed in the rectory while Fr Holheisel moved into the sacristy. The sisters taught in the church with the kids sitting on the kneelers and using the pew as a desk from August until October 12th when the school was done (the furnace would be added in November.)

Imagine sleeping on a cot like this from August to October! (It might not have been this nice,) We have it in the entryway of the parish to help the students imagine it.

Here is a picture of Fr. Henry Holheisel who was out pastor from 1897 until 1940. While he was pastor the school was begun. About seven years later the new (second) church was built on the same block as well as a rectory.

Festival Help

The Family Fun Festival is September 20th and we need your help. This year you can sign up to help at a booth at this link. By using this, you can sign up and you will get an email reminding you of it closer to the Festival.

It's always fun because so many 

great people get involved!

Ella's Crusade.

Ella is one of our parishioners and she is battling leukemia. There is a spaghetti benefit for her this Sunday at VFW Post 2503 from noon to 6 p.m.

Help Ella in her crusade!

Many Graces from this One Small Effort

About 21 years ago, my life took a turn.

Not because of anything sudden or drastic -- but because I started going to weekday Masses at St. Columbkille.

Looking back now, I can see many graces from this one small effort.

Twenty-one years ago, my oldest two children were in preschool and kindergarten at St. Columbkille, and I had gone from full-time to part-time work to take care of them and two younger kids at home. One day when I was dropping off the older two at school, the thought occurred to me: I could drop into church for the 8:15 Mass. I was already up and about with a 3-year-old and baby in tow. Why not?

I fell in love with Jesus -- not just through one Mass, but by a steady stream of Masses, day after day.  I realized how much I needed to be nourished by Him every day. My Mass attendance wasn't perfect, but I found a way to get to church on most days. And I learned that my day just wasn't the same without the Mass, without Jesus.

The people at St. Columbkille were welcoming, mostly a mix of retired people and parents with young children, like me. During the school year, we joined in the school Masses and were touched by the joyful praise of children. During the summer and other nonschool days, we formed a smaller, more intimate faith community.

Over the months and years, I have been blessed by those regular Mass-goers. Sometimes we prayed or visited briefly after Mass, and occasionally we got together for coffee. They introduced me to new prayers, devotions and ways of thinking. I haven't known most of them well, but every day we shared a half hour or 45 minutes together before the Lord. And that's a strong bond.

Some of them have since passed away or moved away, but their influence lingers. They taught me each time they reverently bowed their heads during the Consecration, prayed the rosary after Mass, shared stories of everyday miracles, or asked for prayers for loved ones. What a blessing to have been surrounded by holy people -- years ago and still today as I meet even more people at the weekday Masses.

My life has changed over 21 years, but I've tried to keep daily Mass in my schedule. For a while, 5:30 p.m. Masses were much e

asier to get to. And Mass over the lunch hour at other parishes also has been an option.

I urge everyone to try to make Mass a part of each day. Schedules can be complicated, but try adding even one extra Mass each week. The 6:20 a.m. Mass on Fridays is helpful for people who have to rush off to work early.

Life can be crazy, and that's all the more reason to go to Mass. Let Jesus calm and strengthen you for the day.

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.

Learning about the Theology of the Body

Have you ever wondered...What is the meaning and purpose of your life? What does it mean to be human? How do I find real fulfillment and genuine happiness? 

From September 1979 over the course of five years, Saint Pope John Paul II gave a series of speeches that have come to be known collectively as the Theology of the Body. In a profound and coherent way he demonstrated to the world that the above questions can be answered by a proper understanding of the human person and that understanding can be obtained through evaluating the human body in light of Sacred Scripture.

Whether you are married or single, 

your body will make visible to you the answer to the above questions. 

Mondays August 24th to October 19th    

7 p.m. Steinhausen Center

(The Initial Session will be held in the School Library.)

We will begin videos on an Introduction to Theology of the Body with Christopher West for adults running for 8 weeks.  The TOTB program will begin with a prayer and brief introduction to the evening's video (about 10 min) followed by a 30-35 minute video.  The video will be followed by a short break with refreshments and then we will pose a series of questions for each table to briefly discuss. This discussion will be followed by a fostered Q and A surrounding those discussed questions.  We'll close with a prayer and give a real quick intro (1 min or less) on the following week's topic. Weekly topics are as follows:

What is Theology of the Body?
Session 1:  An Education in Being Human
Session 2: The Great Analogy of Spousal Love

The Gift of Our Creation and Redemption
Session 3: Man and Women He Created Them (Our Origin)
Session 4: Man and Woman He Redeemed Them (Our History)

The Marriage Made in Heaven 
Session 5: The Resurrection of the Body (Our Destiny)
Session 6: Celibacy for the Kingdom

The Marriage Made For Earth 
Session 7: Marriage as a Sacrament
Session 8: The Language of Sexual Love

Registration is not required. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. Basic handouts will be available and student workbooks can be ordered at a cost of $10. Please contact ncook@saintcolumbkille.org if you desire a workbook.

What is the Theology of the Body?