NHS Induction

When Gross Catholic High School recently had their induction into the National Honor Society, seven students were from St. Columbkille.

Congratulations!

All you holy men and women, pra-ay for us

I drove across town alone in the car Wednesday morning and switched on Catholic radio.

I tuned into the middle of a brief biography of St. Charles Borromeo, the saint of the day. And when his story was finished I instinctively said: "St. Charles Borromeo, pray for us."

Then also instinctively, I sang the line: "St. Charles Borromeo, pra-ay for us."

In the spirit of the new month of November -- a month of saints and holy souls -- I switched off the radio and began singing my own personal litany of saints.

I started with some of the heavy-weights, renowned for their intercession before God, such as our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and the apostles. I also asked for prayers from the the saints I'm named after -- and those my relatives are named after -- the saints we adopted at birth, Baptism and Confirmation.

Then I turned to a few personal favorites, some of my go-to saints in prayer, such as St. Alphonsus Ligouri and St. Philip Neri. That list also would include any Carmelite saint (my older brothers and sisters in Christ because I'm a lay Carmelite). Among the Carmelite greats would be St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross ( Edith Stein), St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Titus Brandsma.

Of course, St. Columbkille would be in my personal litany of saints, as well as patron saints of former parishes and schools. And I couldn't forget St. Cecilia, patron saint of the archdiocese.

Also, I owe some partiality to St. Anthony, who helps me almost daily as I'm looking for lost items, and St. Jude, patron saint of seemingly hopeless cases, like me.

I went on and on thinking of saints to pray to, until I sang and prayed my way home that morning. Once home, it was hard to stop. I enjoyed the challenge of thinking of as many saints as possible, and the little tune was stuck in my head. So I just kept praying until my thoughts drifted toward the busy work of the day.

The beautiful thing about many of our Catholic prayers and traditions is that they can be adapted to suit us personally. I enjoy remembering and turning toward our friends in Heaven. And in prayerful hope I await the day I can meet them there and join them in praise of our Lord.

"All you holy men and women, pra-ay for us!"

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.

Following the Footsteps of St. Columbkille

In 563, St. Columbkille and twelve companions sailed from  Ireland to the island of Iona just off the Scottish coast. From there he and his followers brought the faith across Scotland and later to the Frank and Germanic tribes in Europe.

This week Fr. Damian Zuerlein and his group of pilgrims sailed from Ireland to Iona.

On the hill in the background there once was a small hut where Columbkille wrote his poems, music and homilies.

This is the front of the chapel. The monastery is still active.

 Above is the oldest carving on Iona.

We appreciate all of the prayers the pilgrims have been offering as they follow the footsteps of St. Columbkille through Ireland and Scotland.

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Preparing for the Big Game

Yesterday Fr. Vogel and some of his teammates got together for practice as the Priests of the Omaha Archdiocese face the Priests of the Lincoln Diocese in the I-80 Collar Series. Since Werner Field is within our parish boundaries, we expect him to represent St. Columbkille well!

But before they practiced, they prayed.

Here Fr.Roza warms up with Fr. Oscar Perez.

Fr. Harry Buse won't be playing, but he did host the practice and made sure everyone was prepared.

Fr. Damien Wee is used to hitting a ping pong ball, so a softball makes a big target.

Fr. Oscar Perez made a fancy play scooping up a grounder, spinning and throwing to first.

Fr. Frank Jinda showed he's in shape with some nice plays.

Team Captain Fr. Michael Voithofer said he updated his funeral plans before the game and Fr. John Pietramale was once of three priests had oils on hand for the anointing of the sick.

Here Fr. Damien Cook gets his bat on the ball.

Fr. Joe Taphorn showed his range in the outfield.

Fr. Oscar Perez impressed his teammates at the batting cage on Monday. Here he gets in a workout with Fr. Mike Eckley catching. Fr. Eckley played in a softball league for 20 years before hanging up his cleats just a few years ago.

Fr. John Brancich was honing his skills at second base.

Fr. Kevin Vogel played well at first base, but played even better in the outfield before coming in for some batting practice.

Fr. Mario Rapose scooped up this grounder before the quick throw to first.

They're working to make sure they're ready Sunday!

The game is at Werner Field. Tailgating starts at 3:30 with the game at 5:00. All of the proceeds will fund vocations in the two dioceses.

The Feast of St. Columbkille

Today is the Feast Day of St. Columbkille. While his feast isn't on the US liturgical calendar, it is in Ireland and Scotland.

He was born in December of 521 and died on June 9, 597. He was born into a royal family and was sometimes known as St. Columba or Columb Cille which means "Dove of the Church." He entered religious life as a youth and started a number of monasteries in Ireland before bringing the faith to Scotland. He is considered second only to St. Patrick among Irish Saints and is the Patron Saint of Scotland. He is the patron saint of bookbinders, poets and navigators as well.

The following was taken from the Derry Diocesan Organizing Committee for the Columban Centenary Celebration 1997:

Columbkille was a man of outstanding gentleness and empathy. He was a kindly individual with a practical concern for people. He helped the unfortunate: interesting himself in the plight of a hostage; rehabilitating a reformed robber; curing a nun with a broken hip; assisting a woman in the pangs of child-birth with his prayers; providing destitute men with means of feeding themselves; and even at his death approached comforting others rather than seeking to be comforted. He had a profound sense of the worth of human beings and of the contribution they were making to society.

Above all, Columbkille was a man of prayer. Coming from a princely background with a commanding and practical personality he was bound to make an impact on his generation. His real greatness was that he was able to combine the advantages given him by temperament and birth with the ambition of sainthood.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart

Fr. Henry Hoheisel was our first, full-time pastor and served from 1897 to 1939. During that time he oversaw the expansion of the first church, the building of the second and starting our school in-between. Fr. Hoheisel was not a fan of the name "St. Columbkille" as it made no sense to him that a parish made up of mostly Germans would be named after an Irish Saint. But he did have a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is why he named the school "Sacred Heart Academy."

The school was renamed after St. Columbkille in 1979 to make clear the connection between the parish and the school. But one of the few statues in the church is of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

As early as the 11th century there was devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but it was a private devotion. It was in 1670 that Fr. Jean Eudes encouraged the spread of the devotion but it really took off after St. Margaret Mary Alacoque had a "great apparition" where Jesus asked that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated on the Friday after the octave (eighth day) of the Feast of Corpus Christi in reparation for the ingratitude of humanity for the sacrifice that Christ made them.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus does not simply represent His physical heart, but His love for all of mankind. It is a day where we can ask if we are truly grateful for Christ's sacrifice.

The Mural of St Columbkille

Today, on the Feast of St. Columbkille, it seems appropriate to finally tell the story of the mural in the Education Center.

Last July the hall looked very different.

A layer of paint prepared the wall for the mural.

Then artist David Reiser got to work.

Mr. Reiser got some help from

 his three children on the project.

He also got some help form Fr. Vogel on 

the wording and the style of the letters.

During the school year, Fr Vogel brought all of the classes to the mural and explained the significance.

To the left is Ireland, St. Columbkille's homeland. To the right is the Island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. Here St. Columbkille and his twelve companions built the first of many monasteries as they brought the faith to Scotland. On the right you can see a dove as "Columbkille" literally means "Dove of the Church" in Gaelic. On the left, you can see the small boat carrying Columbkille and his companions to Scotland.

In the center is the Latin spelling of St. Columbkille as our saint composes one of his song.

If you haven't seen the mural yet, stop by the Education Center sometime for a look.

While it was a blessing to have this mural in the building for almost a year, it isn't quite complete. Mr. Reiser should be back this summer to finish it. So look for the minor addition in the fall.

The end of Summer Formation Classes

This morning was the last of the Summer Religious Formation. Students gathered each morning in the courtyard. One morning we prayed thinking of the statue of St. Columbkille.

Another day Fr. John Norman spoke with us.

We collected items for the Tri-City Pantry.

Music was part of our curriculum.

Deacon Capadano spoke with some of our classes

 about how God has called him to serve.

And we learned a lot in classes.

Today we finish and bring what we learned into the world.