He has Plans for Me -- and You

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you . . . plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will listen to you. When you look for Me, you will find Me." -- Jeremiah 29:11-13

A recent Facebook challenge asked people to post seven Scripture passages in seven days. I have seen and appreciated the responses of parishioners Anthony Flott and Pat Dempsey to that challenge.

Kudos to them, because opening up your heart and mind in a public venue takes courage. And Facebook can be one way to take up Christ's challenge -- to proclaim His greatness, mercy and love to the entire world.

I thought about what I might post in response to the online challenge, and the above passage from Jeremiah was the first thing that popped into my head. And no wonder. An online search confirmed that that particular verse is among the most popular in the Bible.

Several commentators warned that the passage is taken out of context all the time, that people think God is promising to give us anything we want. The commentators encourage us to read the passage in its context, a letter from Jeremiah in Jerusalem to Jewish exiles in Babylon.

I think most people realize God isn't a magic genie who grants our every request. Though sometimes we need to be reminded of that. But as our Lord tells us through Jeremiah, He has plans for us. Our happiness is in that plan, and He will give us whatever we need or desire, according to His will for us.

For me, what is most comforting and reassuring about those lines is that God seems to be bending low to gently console me personally. And I suppose a lot of people sense a similar closeness when they read or pray over the text.

God has so many titles, but one of my favorites is "My Jesus." God is so great, so holy, so mysterious and so beyond us, yet He humbled himself to become one of us, under the name Jesus, to suffer and die for us. God did this for all of us, but for us individually and personally, too.

Thus He truly is my Jesus, Who stoops to my level and raises me up to His.

He has plans for me, He listens to me, He is always there for me.

I love You, my Jesus!

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.

More than Locks, Leaks, Lights and Loans

The following is from a Facebook post by the Omaha Archdiocese in July:

New pastors are not given keys to the parish and turned loosed on the freeway. They participate in a "New Pastor Orientation" day at the chancery. During this day they learn about human resources, business management, finance, insurance, law, etc. In the picture, new pastors Fathers Marc Lim, Dave Reeson, and Christopher Onuaha meet with Tim Hogan of Catholic Mutual Group to talk about insurance issues.

The Perfect Pastor

The perfect pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight, and is also the church janitor.

The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the parish. He is 29 years old and has 40 years experience. Above all, he is handsome.

The perfect pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his parish. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed.

The perfect pastor always has time for the parish council and all of its committees. He never misses the meeting of any parish organization, and is always busy evangelizing the un-churched.

The perfect pastor is always in the next parish over.

If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this notice to six other parishes that are tired of their pastor, too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the parish at the top of your list. If everyone cooperates, in one week you will receive 1,643 pastors. One of them should be perfect.

Have faith in this letter. One parish broke the chain and got its old pastor back in less than three months.

Lastly, being a pastor is more than locks, leaks, lights and loans. It’s about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

We'll add that Fr. Dave will officially be installed as our pastor by Archbishop Lucas during the noon Mass on Sunday. The Women's Guild will have a reception afterwards in the Social Hall.

Happy Are They...

 We had the Children's Mission in the Social Level...

 ... while our main mission was upstairs.

If you missed the first session, you can see this 6 minute video clip from Mr. Berlucchi's interview with KVSS (or look on our Facebook page.)

The mission continues Tuesday.

6:15 Mass

7:00 Mission

A Social follows the mission.

Calling all Alumni

In 1916 Sacred Heart Academy was formally founded. In 1978

the name was changed to St. Columbkille Catholic Schools.

On Sunday, October 23rd we will celebrate the 95th anniversary

of the school with an open house from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Alumni can check out the Facebook page or

check in with us at this website as well.

Thanks for the votes

You may have read that Pius X High School in Lincoln was one of the top vote getters in a promotion by Kohl's done through Facebook. As a result, they should receive $500,000 for building a new kitchen.

While our school didn't promote the contest, we did receive over 100 votes. So thank you to everyone who voted for us on Facebook without anyone even asking.

Along those lines, be sure to "friend" Saint Columbkille Parish and "like" Saint Columbkille Catholic School on Facebook.