Refreshed, Renewed and Full of Zeal

My heart and home are a little emptier this week.

Our three youngest children have been gone since last weekend.

Two went to the archdiocese's Camp Virtus et Veritas, a summer camp for boys entering sixth through ninth grade, about two hours west near McCool Junction, Nebraska.
And their younger brother, David, has been living it up at a lakeside home of a family friend, near Fremont. The friend graciously extended an invitation to David after he expressed his sadness about being left behind while his brothers Paul and Pete went off for to a week of camp fun.

So here I am typing in complete silence at home (while teenage girls sleep in late and their older brother is at class at Creighton), enjoying the peace but thinking it's eerily quiet without the noise of a 13-, 11- and 8-(almost-9-)year-old. I'm thinking about them, but I'm pretty sure they're not thinking about me or missing home. I'm getting reports and seeing pictures from Camp V² of mud slides, archery, swimming and other outdoor fun. And from David's lake resort, tales of travels and water fun and a texted photo of him bobbing around in an inner tube.

I'm reminded that we all need getaways, especially the Camp V² type, which also incorporates Mass, Confession, Adoration, praying the Rosary, Bible study, spiritual talks and lessons on saints. I'm eagerly awaiting camp stories from Pete and Paul. Last year -- before Peter was old enough for the camp and Paul went alone -- Paul excitedly shared stories about the camp during the long ride home. He talked about friends, the mud slides, swimming, his sunburn, toads and a cool dog that wandered over from a neighboring farm. But he also talked about his faith, vocation stories from priests and seminarians, what he learned about the life of St. John Bosco and how cool it was that he got to go to Mass everyday!

Try as I might, I could never convey to my children that excitement about encountering God. How awesome is our God that He lowers Himself to us and awaits a deep, personal relationship with us, if only we give Him a chance!

We all need to be that passionate. We all need to be surrounded by like-minded Catholics, to learn to pray, to share the Bible and the examples of the saints, to hear about the miraculous ways our Lord works in each others' lives. For at least one week out of the year. Without cell phones and other distractions (which Camp Virtus et Veritas wisely has the boys leave at home).

We all need to let loose and have some all-out fun once in a while. And we all need time away from our regular routines to focus on the One Thing That Truly Matters. Then we can return to our lives refreshed, renewed and full of zeal.


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.

8th Grade Mass - Catholic Schools Week 2016

Eighth grade students from Catholic Schools in the metro area gathered this morning for Mass. They packed the cathedral.

Each school had a banner which was part of the Mass procession. Almost every principal was there.

A number of priests were there as well.

 8th Grade students were active

 participants in the Mass.

 Here is a clip of Archbishop Lucas' homily:

It was a great Mass!

Legion Of Mary Gathering

Members of the Legion of Mary from across the archdiocese gathered yesterday for a meeting and social.

Archbishop Curtiss was on hand for the 

festivities which included a violinist.

It was great to have our parish chapter of the Legion of Mary host this event with help from our American Heritage Girls and others.

Vocations Day 2015

The 6th Grade Students from St. Columbkille Catholic School were just some of the students from cross Omaha who gathered to learn about religious vocations.

Jesus was at the center for a great celebration.

A great band was leading the enthusiastic crowd before, after and during Mass.

 It was a great chance to meet and interact with the religious and clergy.

Students were in small group sessions as they heard about religious life and vocation stories.

 Everyone was well fed, and you never know who you might run into when a crowd gathers.

Our Sixth Grade Class represented us well!

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.

The Omaha Padres played Sunday

A collection of priests from the Omaha Archdiocese gathered Sunday for the I-80 Collar Series at Werner Park as they  hosted the priests from the Lincoln diocese.

Fr. Pietramale brought plenty of holy water.

 All the priests signed posters...

 ... and took in the atmosphere of

 playing before 8,000 fans.

 But before they even took the

 field, they met and prayed.

 Then it was time for the national anthem ...

 and player introductions ...

 ... before the game got underway.

Fr. Brancich was the first priest from

 the Omaha team to get a hit (and score).

Fr. Vogel would soon be on base as well.

Above Fr Mario Rapose tagged third for 

one out and looks to first for a double play.

There were some hi-jinks on the field.

The Omaha team kept the trainers busy. Fr. Korth felt his hamstring pop during warm-ups. He was, we think, the only Omaha priest to play baseball in college. He was unable to take the field (though he did manage to bat with a pinch-runner.) On the right, Fr. Vogel got some cuts bandaged.

Captain-Father Voithofer called his shot.

 Fr. Ben Boyd stays on second base.

 Fr. Mark Beran got his workout on the field.

We don't recall exactly what the final score was or who won. We do know the last batter for the home team ended up being Fr. Hoesing (stepping up the the plate above) and the last play was him sliding for an inside the park home run.

It was a great and fun event!