Looking Forward with Hope at Graduation

It's graduation time.

As we celebrate with our graduates and look forward with hope, let us pray:

A Blessing for Graduates
Eternal God,
in You we live,
and move,
and have our being.
In Your will
we find our purpose,
and in Your wisdom
we find our joy.

Bless these graduates
who have completed
a course of study
and now begin
a new part of their lives.

Let them not be troubled
about the past nor
anxious about the future,
but let them be concerned about the moment they must now live.

Strengthen their faith and ease their fears
that they may courageously follow your Spirit
and live fully the life You give them.

When doubt and confusion about their purpose surround them,
light their way and give them peace in Your plan for them.
Let them use the gifts they have received in their studies
that they may become a source of inspiration
and blessing for the world.

And when each day is ended, give them delight in knowing
that the good work You have begun in them
shall come to completion in You.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
-- from the Diocese of San Jose

A Graduation Prayer
Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us.
So be swift to love and make haste to act with kindness and compassion and the blessing of God Almighty.
Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, be with us this day and forever more. Amen.
-- Prayers for Special Help

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.

Faith of our Fathers

In front of the 2nd St. Columbkille church in Papillion.

"Faith of our fathers, living still,

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;

O how our hearts beat high with joy

Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Refrain:

“Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

We will be true to thee till death."

Our faith has been handed down to us from ancient times, through numerous generations. It is amazing to think about how this precious gift was preserved, protected and lovingly given to us. In my case, a long line of Polish and Irish ancestors persevered and sacrificed for this gift of faith.

In their honor, I present a couple of traditional blessings that may have passed through their lips.

A Polish Blessing

May your hand be outstretched to all you meet.

And may all men say 'Brother' when they speak of you.

May the land be fertile beneath your feet.

May your days be gentle as the sun-kissed dew.

St. Patrick's Blessing:

May the strength of God pilot us;

May the wisdom of God instruct us,

May the hand of God protect us,

May the word of God direct us.

Be always ours this day and for evermore.

The faith was lived and remains alive in us. Now it's our turn to fan the flames in our hearts and keep the one, true faith burning for another generation. May this be part of our Lord's blessing for us.

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.

Happy Father's Day!

Today in Mass the following blessing of Fathers will be done:

God our Father,
in your wisdom and love you made all things.
Bless these men,
that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

AMEN

Off the "To Do" List

He'll be ordained a priest on Saturday and today Dcn John Norman joined us for Mass.

Durning Mass, Fr. Vogel blessed his chalice and paten praying:

With Joy, Lord God, we place on your altar this chalice and paten for the celebration of the sacrifice of the new covenant: may the Body and Blood of your Son, offered and received by means of these vessels, make them holy.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, celebrating the unblemished sacrifice, we may be renewed by your Sacraments on earth and endowed with your Spirit, until with the Saints we come to delight in your banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Glory and Honor to you for ever.

Then Fr. Vogel used the chalice and paten to celebrate Mass.

This had been the chalice of Monsignor Robert Gass who was the long time pastor at Christ the King and passed away on June 11, 2010. As a child, John recalls going to Monsignor Gass for confession during a Reconciliation service.

Inscribed on the outside of the chalice are the words, "Hic Est Enim Calix Sanguinis Mei." This is the Latin phrase in Mass when the priest quotes Jesus saying, "This is the chalice of My Blood." John had the bottom of the chalice inscribed thanking God for the gift of Joseph and Joan Norman and his family "the Domestic Church."

Icons of Mary

The first grade students at St. Columbkille Catholic

School learned first hand how to be iconographers.

 They learned that icons are not "drawn"

 or "painted," they are "written."

 A very important part of writing an icon is prayer.

 You can not write an icon without praying.

 

After we wrote our icons, Deacon Krueger

came to our classrooms and blessed them.

These icons help us to remember Mary,

 the Mother of God on this holy day.

Bringing in the New Year

Following the 11 p.m. Vigil Mass, there was just enough time for everyone to get downstairs to celebrate the New Year. First, Fr. Damian gave a blessing to those gathered.

Then, at midnight there was a toast...

 ...followed by food.

Happy New Year!

Additional Masses for this Holy Day (Mary, Mother of God) are at 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 and noon.

Happy Birthday Church!

As we celebrate Pentecost today, there is an option in Mass of a blessing. It goes like this:

May God, the Father of lights, who was pleased to enlighten the disciples' minds by the outpouring of the Spirit, the Paraclete, grant you gladness by his blessing and make you always abound with the gifts of the same Spirit

Amen

May the wondrous flame that appeared above the disciples, powerfully cleanse your hearts from every evil and pervade them with its purifying light.

Amen.

And may God, who has been pleased to unite many tongues in the profession of one faith, give you perseverance in that same faith and, by believing, may you journey from hope to clear vision.

Amen.

St. Blaise

St. Blaise was a bishop of Sebastea in Armenia who was martyred under the reign of Licinius in the early fourth century. His prayer is attributed to have saved the life of a boy with a fish bone stuck in his throat.

For centuries it has been a tradition to

offer a blessing of throats on his feast day.

 

 

Between Fr. Vogel and three deacons over

six hundred throats were blessed this morning.

Blessing a home

Today, Epiphany, is a traditional time to bless a home. A family can do this themselves:

All make the Sign of the Cross.
Head of Household: "Peace be to this house and: to all who dwell here, in the name of tfie Lord.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Reader: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things cme to be through him, and without him nothing came to be..... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Fahter's only Son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3.14)
Using chalk, write on the outside of your house, above or next to an entrance:
(write the first half of the current year)

+20

Christus

Mansionem

Benedicat

12+

(write the other half of the year) Or you can simply use the first letters C + M + B. These words mean. "May Christ bless this house". (Each word could be written by a different member of the household.)
All: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father's Day

Today in Mass the following blessing of Fathers was done:

God our Father,
in your wisdom and love you made all things.
Bless these men,
that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

Mother's Day

The Blessing said for Mothers at the end of Mass today is:

Loving God,
as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children.
so you watch over your Church.
Bless these women,
that they may be strengthened as Christian mothers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Mother's Day