People Are Searching

Recently I stumbled across something interesting (old news for those who keep up to date better than me): a list of the top questions posed on Google in 2014.

It seems many people are searching for things that technology alone can't tackle, as the top questions prove.

According to Google, "It seems love does make the world go round. This year, 'What is love' topped the question charts with 5x more searches than 'What is science.' But when it comes to puckering up, we like a bit of guidance and searched 'how to kiss' more times than any other activity, including 'how to survive.'"

Other Google findings:

• "Of all the world's seasons and celebrations, we have the most trouble remembering 'When is Easter,' closely followed by 'When is Halloween,' with searches steadily increasing the closer each holiday gets."
• "If you have a poor sense of direction, you’re among friends. 'Where am I' topped the world’s most asked 'where' questions, closely followed by 'Where is Sochi.'" (site of the 2014 Olympics).
• "We want to feel wanted, especially when it comes to social media. In 2014, we were 2x more likely to search 'Who unfollowed me' as 'Who called me.'"
• "In moments of existential crisis, we looked to the Internet for answers, with 'What is life' and 'Who am I' featuring high on our list of questions."

It seems that many people are searching for much more than encyclopedia knowledge or contemporary songs. They are looking for answers to profound questions: What is love?  What is life? Who am I?

They want to be loved and to belong. While looking for their geographical location, they may have been searching metaphysically, too: Where am I?

To me, the most Googled questions show an opportunity for evangelization. Long before Google, Jesus and His Church has had the answers. People are searching, and we can be the engine directing them to the right place.

We need to take seriously our mandate from Christ, and our parish's mission: "Go and Make Disciples!"

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.

World Mission Sunday

Today is World Mission Sunday. For an understanding of some of the work the Church is doing, watch the video below:

The Last Lesson & Living It

At the end of Vacation Bible School (VBS), the last lesson the campers received was one in trust.

Our VBS Directors were under a bag of water and trusted that they would stay dry even whilepencils were stick through the bag.

They did not trust in vain!

Then on Sunday the campers were called to live their faith by singing some of their songs after the noon Mass:

Ascension Thursday in just 2 days

Thursday is a Holy Day that, as Fr Damian says, sneeks up on us because the date changes with Easter each year. The stained glass windows in our chapel (pictured above) remind of us of when Jesus, before he ascended, spoke the words which are the basis of our parish mission statement, "Go and Make Disciples."

There is an anticipatory Mass tomorrow night at 5:30 to celebrate the Ascension of Jesus to heaven. The Masses Thursday for this Holy Day are:

6:20 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

12:10 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

GAMD

Each week we record our homilies and post them on the parish website. All of the homilies from April can be found here. 

If you are a user of Twitter, we'll encourage you to comment on homilies (or the parish) using the hashtag #GAMD which are the first letters of our four word Parish Mission Statement: "Go and Make Disciples."

[Fr. Damian says people will think we're a dyslexic Jesuit as their motto is Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or AMDG.]

Sacred Blood Test

Just looking at someone, they can appear very healthy. But from time to time a doctor may do a blood test. From just a little bit of blood things can be determined like cholesterol levels (LDL & HDL) glucose levels, calcium,  triglycerides, sodium, potassium,... This way things can sometimes be found that could never be found in an office visit.

From a general look at St. Columbkille Parish, we appear very healthy. Our Source & Summit Campaign has been successful, Masses are full, and we have been a hotbed of activity. But it's time for the parish to have a Sacred Blood Test of sorts and look a little closer. The last time we did one of these was in 2010 and this will give us a chance to see how we've changed in three years.

With the help of Gallup, next weekend we will take a 25 question survey at the start of Mass. It will take about 7 minutes and we ask that everyone 18 and over fill one out. For example, if your family has a husband, wife and 19 year old son, all three of you should take it.

Fr. Damian and the Pastoral Council will get the results and then they will be shared with everyone in the parish. This will give us a better sense of how we are doing in our parish mission to "Go and Make Disciples."

Mary's Last Words

Mary is present in scripture from the Annunciation to Pentecost. Some of the times she is mentioned include the Visitation, the Nativity, Finding Jesus in the Temple, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Foot of the Cross, and burying Jesus.We get the Magnificat as her response to what God has done for her. But the very last time she speaks in scripture is in today's Gospel when she said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Remember that, "Do whatever He tells you."
 

Telling Others About God

How do we tell others about God?

When you think of evangelization, you might think of someone at your door with a Bible in hand, a preacher on television, or a stranger on a soap box. And you might conclude that you are not meant to evangelize.

Well, here's some good news: God probably is not asking you to go that far out of your comfort zone. Evangelization is more basic than that. For the most part, it's simply living your faith.

You will be challenged, of course. We are called to radiate Christ with our lives. Are you up for the task? Pope Benedict XVI offers us help in one of his Wednesday audience messages, part of his instruction during the Year of Faith.

First of all, the pope says that when we speak about God we are "communicating the Christian faith as a response to the deepest longings of the human heart."

Everyone needs the message we bear: God's love, hope, healing, forgiveness, truth, joy and beauty.

"It means bearing quiet and humble witness each day to the core of the Gospel message," Pope Benedict said.

Our Teacher shows us the way, the Holy Father said. "Jesus gave us an example: by His loving concern for people's questions, struggles and needs, He led them to the Father."

Putting our faith in action begins in our families and naturally branches out to others.

"In the task of bringing God to our contemporaries, families play a privileged role, for in them the life of faith is lived daily in joy, dialogue, forgiveness and love. The God of Jesus Christ has revealed our grandeur as persons redeemed by love and called, in the Church, to renew the city of man, so that it can become the city of God."

Your mission for this Advent, for this Year of Faith, for you entire life: Go and make disciples!

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

A College FOCUS

Shannon with some students and Sr. Virginia Joy of the Sisters

 of Life celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

During this day when many of us are busy watch College Bowl games, we'll look at the faith life of some of the students. St. Columbkille parishioner Shannon Zurcher is in her third year working as a missionarry for the Fellowship Of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). Supported by donations from people such as many of our parishioners she invites college students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. This year she is reaching out to students at UConn.

Of her work, Shannon writes:

As FOCUS missionaries, discipleship is our main goal with all the students we meet and work with here at UConn. In discipleship we share our lives with a few students by meeting with them throughout the week, teaching them how to live a full Catholic Christian life, and equipping them to be able to share their faith with their peers in college and wherever they go for the rest of their lives. This is the same plan Jesus had while He was on Earth. He invested His life in 12 men (His Apostles), taught them how to live, and to share His life with others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

At UConn we have 19 students in discipleship. Most of these students are starting up their own bible studies so that they can find new people to disciple themselves. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work through us to raise up more Catholic leaders and laborers through discipleship. Pray for students who will be committed to proclaiming the Truth of Jesus’ love here at UConn and in the world. This school year I am discipling 5 girls. Tina, Kaitlin, and Rachel are Seniors, Liz and Jessica are Sophomores. They are all either discipling other women or working to find women to invest in and disciple.

To support Shannon, click here.

Making Disciples & Google

Our parish mission is, "Go and Make Disciples" which is right from Matthew 28:19.

On Google, a search was made using the words: go and make disciples parish.

To our surprise, the first thing that popped up was the parish website.