Music: The Food of Love

David Batter is not only our Adult Choir Director and Liturgist, he is also the Director of the Omaha Chamber Singers. They will have a concert this afternoon at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Omaha.

Preparing the Tabernacle

By gracing Mary as the Immaculate Conception, we understood that God prepared her to be the tabernacle for Christ. As such, today seems like a good time to look at the work for our new tabernacle.

This week Fr. Damian, Fr. Vogel, David Batter, Michelle Grzywa and Deacon David visited John Lajba at his studio where he is working on the doors for the tabernacle. He was working on the clay version. When finished, they will be used to create a mold and then cast into bronze.

The two doors facing the sanctuary will depict a scene from Luke 24:30-31 on Easter Sunday when Cleopas and another disciple recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. The inside of the doors will have angels on them so that when the doors are open we will see the angels in adoration. John is basing the angels upon the work of Blessed Fra Angelico. Above Fr. Vogel commented on how well John is capturing the sense of perspective Fra Angelico used and how it matches the perspective of the table on the front.

John worked to capture the sense of surprise, wonder and awe on the faces of the disciples. He has one disciple holding a basket of bread. He was tempted to depict her dropping the basket in surprise, but felt that would distract.

 Above John adjusts Jesus's hair to better suit how Fr. Damian thinks it should look.

The chapel side doors will depict an icon from the book of Kells that may have been written by St. Columbkille. Above our guests see an actual size depiction of that door.

The figure above is what John has suggested as an angel for the inside of the chapel side door. This angel was painted by Blessed Fra Angelico.

There was also a side visit to Lambrecht Glass Studio.

Four of the stained glass windows from the previous church will be in the new chapel. They were just finishing work on the last of those. The windows are in very good shape but they were arched at the top. A few pieces have been added to the tops to make them into rectangles.

The wall of glass that will separate the chapel from the sanctuary is completed and on a pallet ready to be delivered and installed. They took one pane out for a preview of how they look.

Everything is coming along well.

Seven More Saints

 This morning Pope Benedict canonized seven saint.

On of those was Mother Marianne Cope who opened and operated some of the first general hospitals in the United States, such as St. Elizabeth Hospital in Utica, New York, in 1866 and St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York, in 1869. Both are still open today.

Before Mother Marianne, hospitals were typically filthy and staffed with unknowledgeable people and were filthy. Many people simply went there to die. Mother Marianne began to change all that by instituting simple actions like hand washing that stopped diseases from spreading.She also welcomed patients regardless of race, creed or economic standing, decades before desegregated hospitals. She was harshly criticized for treating alcoholics. She treated their problem, which was seen by many experts as a moral failing unworthy of help, as a disease.

In 1883 she went to Hawaii in 1883 and established the first general hospital on Maui. At the leper colony of Molokai, St. Damien DeVeuster was dying from Hansen's disease when Mother Marianne's arrived. After his death she took over his facility that cared for men and boys and established a separate enterprise to treat girls and women.

Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918, at the age of 80. Most amazingly, to this day none of the Franciscan sisters have ever contracted Hansen's disease.

One of the steps to being named a saint is for a certifiable miracle to take place through the intercession of the named saint. One miracle is needed for beatification and a second for canonization.

Jake Finkbonner was a boy in Washington who was near death for months with a flesh eating bacteria, but made a miraculous recovery that the Vatican credited to Tekakwitha.

Finkbonner cut his lip during a basketball game. Two days later he was in the hospital with a strep bacteria infection that had spread across his face, head and chest as it had gotten in through the skin and caused a severe infection. The odds of survival for people with the bacteria is about 50-50.

The family started praying to Tekakwitha, who converted to Christianity when she was 18 and became a fervent follower. Her face was scarred by smallpox as a child, but it is claimed that the scars disappeared after she died in 1680 at the age of 24. She is the first American Indian named a saint.

One of the biggest crowds today seemed to be for St. Pedro Calungsod from the Philippines. St. Vitores and St. Calungsod were martyred as the spread the faith. A year after their martyrdom , a process for beatification was initiated but only for San Vitores. Political and religious turmoil, however, delayed and halted the process. When Hagåtña was preparing for its 20th anniversary as a diocese in 1981, the 1673 beatification cause of Padre Diego Luís de San Vitores was rediscovered in old manuscripts and revived until San Vitores was finally canonized in 2000. The process brought attention to Calungsod who is now a named saint as well.

The other new saints are: Jacques Berthieu, a 19th century French Jesuit who was killed by rebels in Madagascar, where he had worked as a missionary; Giovanni Battista Piamarta, an Italian who founded a religious order in 1900 and established a Catholic printing and publishing house in his native Brescia; Carmen Salles Y Barangueras, a Spanish nun who founded a religious order to educate children in 1892; and Anna Schaeffer, a 19th century German lay woman who became a model for the sick and suffering after she fell into a boiler and badly burned her legs. The wounds never healed, causing her constant pain.

If you look closely at the crowd present here for the canonization, you might be able to spot our liturgist, David Batter, who is in Rome and attended the ceremony.

Can you hear me now?

All the audio compnents were installed

 yesterday and adjusted on computers.

David Batter walked around the

 sanctuary as the sound was tested.

We're anxious to hear what you think?

Closing in on a Goal

One of our goals in liturgy has been to be able to offer the Eucharist in both species every Sunday. What has held us back is not having enough EMHCs (Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion) to cover every Mass. We are close to accomplishing that and hope enough new people step forward to make that happen.

All Lectors and EMHCs in the archdiocese are given formal training and are mandated by the archbishop. All candidates must be a high school junior or older this fall, be a practicing Catholic, have received the sacrament of Confirmation and, if married, be in a valid marriage.

If you are interested in serving as an EMHC or Lector, you must contact David Batter, Director of Music and Liturgy, by Monday, July 30th. You may email him or call him in the parish office at 402-339-3285 ext 107. All the people submitted to the archdiocese must be approved first by Fr. Damian

Those interested must attend training one of three training sessions: the evening of Monday, August 13, the afternoon of Sunday August 19 or the evening of Tuesday, August 21st. Then all candidates must attend mandation with Archbishop Lucas on Thursday August 30th at 7:30 p.m. in the Cathedral. Finally, training for new EMHCs and Lectors for our parish will be Tuesday, September 16th.

Thank you for considering this ministry!

Under Construction

The floor construction phase of our

Source and Summit project is underway!

 That meant that Fr. Vogel said Mass

 in the Social Level this morning.

Things are getting cleared out in the church.

 There has been progress from the morning to the evening.

 

Right now the pews are being moved so

 the tile and carpet work can begin.

What's up with the tower?

Masses were a little unusual Monday night and Tuesday morning with a tower in the sanctuary. On Tuesday morning the Gospel included Jesus saying that no man would build a tower without knowing the cost. While Fr. Vogel used the tower as a visual aid, it wasn't built just to enhance his homily.

It was built to get up to the speakers 

and work on our sound system.

There have been three speakers providing most of the sound in the church. Each of those speakers weighs about 100 lbs and they were attached together with steel.

 

David Batter explained that the speakers will be re-hung in order to help with the sound an eliminate some "dead spaces" where it was difficult to hear. A fourth speaker will be added and each of the speakers will be aimed at one of the four sections of pews. This should help the sound tremendously.

Although the new speakers are not in yet (today there is no speaker at all), this was done now to set things up before all of the construction begins next week as part of our Source and Summit remodeling.

He's Back

Today David Batter rejoins the parish

 staff as the Director of Music and Liturgy.

But don't call to congratulate him

today. Fridays are his day off.

New Staff

Glenda McKenna is joining our staff in the Parish Office. She is learning about the parish now as she will work with Judy in the office about 20 hours a week. She is also working part time for IXIM.

Since David Batter left for another position and because we have not hired anyone on a full-time basis yet,. In the meantime we have decided to hire someone to work part time with our Liturgy and Music. It is very unlikely that a full time person will be hired before Easter. Our interim liturgist is:

... David Batter.

So make Glenda and David feel welcome when you see them.

Congratulations Mr. Batter

David Batter has accepted the teaching position of Director of Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He wasn't looking for another job, but felt this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. We are delighted for him.

David will continue to direct the Adult Choir for now. When a new person is chosen he will assist them in the transition as well. Fr. Damian will put together a group of people as we do a national search for his replacement.

Singing the New Roman Missal

With the new translation of texts in the Roman Missal, some of the music must adapt. On Thursday some parishioners gathered to practise singing the new music. If you missed it, you can come Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the church.

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.

Welcoming the Roman Missal

A few weeks ago about 120 of our parishioners gathered to learn about the upcoming changes in the Roman Missal. David Batter and Fr. Damian led the explanation of what is changing and why.

If you missed it, we have the handouts and a number of

the videos used here on our parish website.

Mass changes

Significant changes are coming to the English translation of the Mass. Although these changes will not be made for a year, the planning has already begun. The Omaha World Herald did an article on it in yesterday's paper.

The Mass as said in other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and German are not changing. Those translating the Latin into English used a different philosophy in ther translation. Using that same perspective for the English translation should help us be better united as a people of God. One catch phrase for the change is "Same Mass, New Words, Deeper Meaning."

Tomorrow (Saturday) the priests and liturgists from the Omaha Archdiocese are meeting with Archbishop Lucas to discuss the changes and how to implement them. Our liturgist, David Batter, is part of the group planning this change in the Archdiocese.

You will hear much more about this in the year ahead, but it's not too early to start discussing it.

EMHCs Needed

The archdiocese trains and mandates  new Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) and Lectors. These ministries are performed by non-ordained members of the community who assit in the disrtibution of Communion (EMHC) and proclaim the scripture (Lector) at Mass. Some of our EMHCs take communion to the homebound. If you feel called to minister to our parish community this way, please consider one of these ministries.

Candidates must:

• be a High School junior or older;
• be a practicing Catholic;
• have received the sacrament of Confirmation; and
• if married, be in a valid marriage.

Candidates are REQUIRED to attend:

1. ONE of the following diocesan training sessions:

• Tuesday, August 17; St. Leo Omaha 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday , August 22; St. Columbkille Papillion 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
• Monday, August 23; St. Vincent de Paul Omaha 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

2. The Mandation Mass Thursday, September 2, 7:30 p.m. St. Cecilia Cathedral

3. Parish Training Sessions: Tuesday, September 14; St. Columbkille Parish

• Lectors:  7 to 8 p.m.
• EMHCs:  8 to 9 p.m.

Registration deadline is Monday, August 2nd. Candidates must be approved by Fr. Damian and names will be submitted to the Chancery office of the archdiocese. To register for candidacy, please contact David Batter, Director of Music & Liturgy, in the parish office at 339-3285 or by email.

Preparing for tonight

Lent officially ends tonight with the Holy Thursday Mass.

As one of the biggest celebrations of the liturgical year, we are fortunate to have three of our seminarians working to help coordinate the service.


This morning David Batter (our liturgist) gathered seminarians, servers, priests, and sacristans for a practice.

The idea of working through the details this morning ...

... is to make certain we have a prayerful Mass tonight.

Join us at 7:00 tonight.

A Community That Sings

Today the American Choral Directors Association has begun the second day of their North Central Division Conference. Tomorrow David Batter, our Director of Music and Liturgy, will be directing the Omaha Chamber Singers. The choir was selected as one of 15 choirs in six states to give a special performance Friday, March 5, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.

Every two years, the North-Central Division of the ACDA hosts a conference in which it features 15 top choirs. The division covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska.

This year the theme of the conference is "A Community That Sings." We look forward to hearing what Mr. Batter brings back from the conference.