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The 20th Benediction of the Fortnight For Freedom

During the fourteen days of the Fortnight For Freedom, we are ending a Holy Hour with Benediction 24 times. This morning was the 20th.

During the days of the Fortnight For Freedom, parishioners have been praying with the Eucharist exposed in the chapel. Fr Vogel figured out this is well over 100 hours of prayer with our Lord.

Thank you to everyone who is or had been joining us in prayer:

Adoration Training

During Catholic Schools Week, Fr. Vogel explained Benediction to the 5th and 6th grade classes. Although students had experienced Benediction before, this was a chance for Fr. Vogel to explain exactly what happens during Benediction and why we do it the way we do. After the explanation, they prayed together.

What did you do?

"Grandma, when you were little, did you own slaves?"
"No! why are you asking such a silly question?"
"In school they said that some people used to make other people be their slave."
"Yes that happened, but it was a long time ago. It stopped over 100 years before I was born."
"Why did they do that?"
"Because people didn't love one another enough."
"When you were little did you send Jews to die in the hollow cast?"
"It's the holocaust, and no, I wasn't born then either. But it was when some people in Germany didn't show enough love towards people because they were Jewish."
"When you were little, would people kill babies before they were born?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. That was called abortion and it used to be legal. I was older than you are when it stopped."
"Why did people do that?"
"Because they didn't love enough. It was hard to imagine when I was little, but it's wonderful that today abortion is looked upon as negatively as slavery or the holocaust."
"Did you help stop abortion? What did you do?"

We look forward and long for a day when abortion is universally decried as wrong. Tomorrow night you have a chance to work towards that future.

Adoration for Life Service

St. Columbkille Parish

Wednesday, December 11th

6 to 7:30 p.m.

(following the 5:30 Mass)

Fighting For Me

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, My thoughts higher than your thoughts." -- Isaiah 55:8-9

The Kingdom of God seems to be a place of irony. It's a land where poverty is wealth, the last are first, our loss is our gain, we lose ourselves to find God and we must die to gain eternal life.

So when God gives us solutions to our problems and cures for our ailments, sometimes we resist, because they don't seem to make sense, at least in our earthly minds.

My continuous problem, but even more so lately, is that I'm so busy that it's hard to find time for God. Especially alone time. I don't choose to be busy, rushed and frazzled. But I have obligations to keep, important ones that involve caring for my family. Yet God is supposed to have first priority in my life. What's a busy person like me supposed to do?

A certain line from Scripture, Exodus 14:14, keeps jumping out at me: 

"The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still."

I've been finding that quote everywhere. One morning last week I heard it on Catholic radio. A couple weeks before it was on a free bookmark I grabbed at the doctor's office.

And of course, God's answer to my problem is ironic. What am I to do when I have so much I have to accomplish? Nothing, He says. Be still.

Well, not exactly nothing. When our Lord asks me to "keep still," I interpret that to mean cease all external activity and pray. And you know, when I do stop and make time to pray, especially at Mass or Eucharistic adoration, somehow the rest of my day goes better.  When I set apart time for Him, He fights my battles for me and takes care of all my concerns. I just need to trust.

I've heard that Blessed Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity would set aside extra time for Eucharistic adoration when they knew a busy or difficult day was ahead. In the saint's own words:

 “When the Sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work; when all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit: they experience peace and strength.”

Why should I waste time spinning my wheels yet going nowhere? When I'm wise enough to give God His proper place in my busy day, I'm still tired at the end of the day, but I go to sleep relaxed and at peace, knowing that He is in charge.



Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

The Fortnight Has Begun

Like last year, the U.S. bishops have called for a Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action, to address many current challenges to religious liberty. These include the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.

At St. Columbkille we are holding 25 Holy Hours or Eucharistic Exposiiton in the church finishing with Benediction. We are also exposing the Eucharist in the chapel during the day as people come to the chapel and pray.

Praying during the Fortnight

Anyone who has been in our chapel knows that the tabernacle looks like this:

But during the Fortnight for Freedom, we would like it to look like this:

To do that, to expose the Eucharist in the Monstrance, we need to make certain there is someone in the chapel every hour between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. starting June 21st. If you can commit an hour to help, please sign up here. If someone is signed up during the hour that woul work for them, know that you can come and pray too.

Fr. Vitalis' Lenten Reflection

Fr. Vitalis visited our parish today to give the reflection of "Mother Knows Best" as part of the weekly Eucharistic Exposition and Reflection series at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Fr. Vitalis, one of our former Pastoral Associates, also expressed his joy at the changes that have taken place in the sanctuary since he was last here.

Praying the Living Rosary

Our Respect Life group hosted the Archdiocese's Living Rosary for Life on Sunday.

Representatives from parishes throughout the diocese who attended. Within the rosary, a Hail Mary was said by people from every parish represented. It was a very good reminder of how we are always united within our prayers.

The rosary was followed by Eucharistic Adoration.

During Adoration, Monsignor Whelan spoke about how Jesus said He came in order that we may have life, and have it more fully. You can hear his talk here.

 

The time of prayer ended with Benediction, followed by a reception. We appreciate all of the generous hearted people that were willing to gather in Papillion to pray as a community for our Pro-Life concerns. We thank our Respect Life group for hosting this event.

Now We Get To Use It

At the 5 p.m. Mass Saturday, the Prayers of the Faithful finished with a blessing of the new tabernacle.

After the distribution of communion, a Eucharistic Procession was made around the sanctuary.

After the Eucharist was placed in the tabernacle, it was incensed. Then Fr. Damian temporarily moved the old tabernacle candle to the new one.

After Mass, the hanging tabernacle candle was lit.

Also after Mass, Fr. Damian placed a monstrance in the chapel side of the tabernacle for Eucharistic Exposition. Adoration is now being done in the chapel. From time to time Exposition will also be done in the chapel. Fr Damian is asking some groups when they think the best time for Exposition would be.

Preparing

The baptismal font may not look any different from last weekend, but underneath the work is progressing. It should be ready for use on Wednesday.

Here's a little peek to give an indication of what the base will look like.

Today the doors of the tabernacle are open, anxious to receive the Eucharist for the first time.

After communion, there will be a Eucharistic Procession ending with the arrival of the Eucharist in this tabernacle.

That also means that the Adoration Chapel will soon be open for silent prayer.

Inspected

Above Jess Long from Boyd Jones Construction presented Fr. Damian with the Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Papillion and let him know that the Fire Marshall has approved the new chapel and sacristy for use.

Archbishop Lucas has advised us that when we move the Eucharist to the new tabernacle it ought to be done within a Eucharistic Procession when many of the faithful can be in attendance. The plan is to close the 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday with that Eucharistic Procession. This means that the chapel will be used for private, silent Eucharistic Adoration starting around 6 p.m. on Saturday.

A Peek Into the Chapel

Friday the new carpet was installed into the chapel. One January 28th, the Fire Inspector will check it out. If all goes well, we should be ready to have Eucharistic Adoration in this space in February.

Prayer: the ultimate gift for your family

Hopefully prayer is part of your daily family life. Below are some random thoughts and suggestions on family prayer that you might consider.

1. Pray the rosary. It's a Catholic classic. If you have young or easily distracted family members, try praying just one decade. It's a good start. Pray for whatever intentions you want. A wise soul suggests always praying the first decade in thanksgiving to God.

2. Say one "Hail Mary" daily for your vocation. Entrust your vocation to Mary! This is especially recommended for young people.

3. Pray daily for your spouse and with your spouse. Pray for your marriage. Pray that you both will grow daily in love for God and each other. Pray for the full graces and blessings of the sacrament of marriage.

4. Pray for your future spouse. If God is calling you to a marriage vocation, He has already picked out your soul mate.

Ask God for a holy spouse. But remember not to lower God to your expectations. A woman prayed fervently that God would find a holy husband for her daughter, and the mother was pleasantly shocked when the daughter entered a convent and became a bride of Christ, the ultimate holy Spouse.

5. Pray for the future of all the beloved children in your life. Pray that God will put the right people on your child's road to salvation: for their friends, teachers, schools, confessors, work places, co-workers, etc.

6. Pray for your ancestors and your descendants. Pray for those family members you do not know now but hope to meet in Heaven. These might include those who died long ago and those who are yet to be born.

7. Hand over your regrets to God. Parents particularly may look back at situations and wish they would have handled things differently. Sometimes amends still can be made, wrongs can be made right. But other times, we need to ask God to help mop up our messes: our omissions, outbursts, lack of love . . .

8. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. This is a short set of prayers said on rosary beads, invoking God's infinite mercy. The simple prayers can be found through Catholic resources on the Internet, bookstores or elsewhere.

9. Pray in the car. Bring some peace to your daily commuting or road trips. Plus your kids are a captive audience in your vehicle. Turn off the radio or other electronic devices for at least a brief prayer.

Praying a "Hail Mary" when you hear police, ambulance or fire truck sirens is an old Catholic standby. You might also pray for the souls in purgatory when you pass a cemetery or a makeshift roadside memorial, or pray for the sick and dying when you go by a hospital.

If you see a beautiful sunset, thank God for it, out loud and in front of your children. Pray with your kids before big tests or big games. Pray at every opportunity.

11. Go frequently to Mass, Reconcilation and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Bring a family member with you.

12. Add some heavenly help to your prayers. Sometimes our family problems are complicated, and we can't even see the problem clearly, let alone the solution. A prayerful seminarian said he often just entrusts a person or problem to our Blessed Mother and does not pray for specific answers. He trusts in her intercession.

(This same mother interceded at a wedding once: "They have no wine." Jesus altered His divine plan of salvation at His mother's bidding, and the wedding couple's problem was solved.)

Ask God, who sees our deepest needs, to help as He sees fit. Then trust Him in the outcome.

Keep your family connected to God and each other through prayer. "The family that prays together, stays together." -- Father Patrick Peyton

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.

Eucharistic Exposition Friday

Fr. Vogel will finish the 8:15 Mass on Friday by exposing the Eucharist for prayer. The Eucharist will remain out for prayer until about 10:00 a.m. when we will have Benediction.

So you can come for Mass and stay,

or come just for Benediction at 10:00,

or visit to pray anytime in between.

Fr Vogel will do this whenever he is here the First Friday of each month.

Eucharistic Exposition on Fridays

During Lent, Fr. Vogel is ending the 8:15 a.m.

Friday Mass with Eucharistic Exposition.

At 10:00 a.m. he is leading Benediction.

Pray with us this Lent.