Helping at Christmas

One of the classrooms at St. Columbkille Catholic School considered what it would be like to be elves. They are thinking about what it means to help others!

Presents for Jesus

A Kindergarten Class at St. Columbkille Catholic School emphasized that the greatest gift we can give to Jesus is ourselves.

Come Quickly Lord Jesus

In the collect prayer for Mass this morning we pray:

Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus,

and do not delay,

that those who trust in your compassion

may find solace and relief in your coming.

Who live and reign with God the Father

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

2015 Christmas Program - Sacred Heart Preschool

Last week students from Sacred Heart Preschool gathered to get ready and prepare for their Christmas Concert.

Christmas Parties

The last day of school before Christmas break was the perfect time for some great Christmas Parties.

ERO CRAS - Tomorrow I Will Come

"O come, O come, Emmanuel!"

You know Christmas is close when the Church begins to pray the "O Antiphons."

From Dec. 17-23, the octave before Christmas, the antiphons are part of evening prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, and during Mass on these days, in the alleluia verses before the Gospel reading. We can also use the O Antiphons in our private prayer.

Using Old Testament titles for the awaited Messiah, we pray longingly for the Lord to come:

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lists the antiphons this way:

December 17
O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!

December 18
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!

December 19
O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!

December 20
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!

December 21
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

December 22
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

December 23
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

Catholicculture.org, using the Latin titles for Christ, provides some background on the antiphons:

"In the first, O Sapientia, we take a backward flight into the recesses of eternity to address Wisdom, the Word of God. In the second, O Adonai, we have leaped from eternity to the time of Moses and the Law of Moses (about 1400 B.C.). In the third, O Radix Jesse, we have come to the time when God was preparing the line of David (about 1100 B.C.). In the fourth, O Clavis David, we have come to the year 1000. In the fifth, O Oriens we see that the line of David is elevated so that the peoples may look on a rising star in the east, and hence in the sixth, O Rex Gentium, we know that He is king of all the world of man. This brings us to the evening before the vigil, and before coming to the town limits of Bethlehem, we salute Him with the last Great O, O Emmanuel, God-with-us (from He Cometh by Fr. McGarry).

"As Elsa Chaney in Twelve Days of Christmas states, 'They seem to sum up all our Advent longing as they paint in vivid terms the wretched condition of mankind and his need of a Savior.'

"The 'O' Antiphons are the verses for the ancient hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel. The first letter of the Messianic titles: Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia—spell out Latin words ERO CRAS, meaning, 'Tomorrow, I will come.'"

Make the antiphons part of your Advent prayer. Some suggest writing the antiphons on slips of paper to carry with you to pray throughout the day. Family activities using the antiphons also are available.

Implore Jesus to come to your hearts and homes, beginning with today's antiphon:

"O come, O Wisdom of our God Most High!"



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.

Saying Yes

In Advent, while anticipating Christmas, part of the 8th grade program on the Advent Wreath was singing. Sunday will be the last day of the Christmas Season, but we still say yes.

Front Page

Some of the sixth grade students from St. Columbkille Catholic School are on the front page of the Papillion Times today. It mentions the service our sixth and third grade students did just before the Christmas break.

Unexpected Gifts

Sometimes Christmas joy can be found in the least expected places – in the smallest and most seemingly insignificant things.

One of my favorite Christmas memories was one such gift.

Several years ago, my extended family decided to try something new on Christmas Eve by letting all the children unwrap a few gifts early. That was a huge hit with the kids, but the next day something unexpected happened.

After the rest of the presents were handed out on Christmas Day, the youngest child in the room, my son David, then 3, said: “Mom, do I have any gifts?”

Apparently he unwrapped whatever presents he had the night before, but no one noticed he had nothing left for Christmas Day. I thought I could make up an excuse and postpone him while I drove off to a Walgreen’s (the only store that might be open) to find a gift. My sister asked what I was doing and told me to wait, that she might be able to find something.

She ran upstairs and came down with two presents: a dog toy she had bought for her pet that could pass for a stuffed animal and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

And David was delighted.

We have pictures of him standing next to the small, scraggly tree. And even after a year or so had gone by, he said the chew toy was one of his favorite possessions. We’ve never had the heart to tell him that it was meant for a dog. But later, when we had a puppy who became interested in it, he generously gave it to her.

Christmas, I learned, doesn’t have to be complicated. We set high expectations and try to make everything perfect. But for my family anyway, Christmas never turns out perfectly.

And that’s okay.

The best Christmas presents come to us in small packages and in unexpected ways.

And that includes the ultimate Gift we received more than 2,000 years ago.

Merry Christmas!

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.

Looking like Christmas

It's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas.