St. Lawrence, A Retreat and Reflection

Today is the Feast day of St. Lawrence. As a deacon in Rome he was asked to present the treasures of the Church to the Roman Empire. He responded by gathering the sick, the ill, the lame, and the widowed and declaring, "These are the treasures of the Church." He was promptly martyred. Because he was a Spanish speaking immigrant and not a Roman Citizen, instead of being executed by the sword, he was tied to a grate over hot coals. He is said to have yelled out, "You can flip me over, I'm done on this side."

From Friday through yesterday most of the deacons of our parish along with Fr. Damian and Fr. Wee gathered for a retreat at the Benedictine Center in Schuyler.

Fr. Damian led the retreat which was based on the Ignatian model. Everyone would scatter to pray over a portion of scripture and return an hour or more later to discuss their prayers and understanding as they worked to be in tune with God's desires for them. It was also a chance to them to be together, share their lives and their ministries. It even included their annual walk around the section.

Each of us needs to periodically take time with God to assess where we are in our relationship and if we are willing to serve as faithfully as St. Lawrence.

Server Picnic

Wednesday there was a fun day for those who have helped as servers over the last year. It was a time to play and have fun.

We thank you for everything you do. You have a ministry that helps very much. Hope you had fun Wednesday!

Young Neighbors in Action

15 of our youth participated in the Young Neighbors in Action Mission Trip to Winnebago a few weeks ago. Their task was to clean and spruce up the Veteran's Memorial Park (aka: Pow Wow Grounds.)

It wasn't all work as they also played and prayed together throughout the trip.

Thank you for being disciples and representing our parish to the world.

Meeting Archbishop Lucas

As part of hosting Seminarian Day last Staurday, Archbishop Lucas presided at our 5:00 p.m. Mass. For some of our parishioners it was an unexpected chance to meet the Archbishop after Mass.

And you can listen to his homily from that Mass at http://www.saintcolumbkille.org/generalinfo/mp3/200908/default.asp

Archbishop Lucas, thank you for visiting us.

The Race II

The Picnic for Servers yesterday featured a Go-Kart race between Fr. Damian in the #10 car and the well prepared Fr. Wee in the #5 car.

Some of the servers chanted the countdown to get the race started ...

... then Fr. Wee jumped to the inside for the early lead.

Fr. Wee strategically cut off each of Fr. Damian's attempts to pass ...

... and held on for the win.

Since Fr. Damian was the victor last year, it means their next race will determine the overall champion. If you go by the Go-Karts, don't be surprised to see a priest practicing.

Congratulations to Fr. Wee and we'll be posting some more pictures of the Server Picnic Sunday.

John Norman's Candidacy

On Saturday our parish hosted Seminarian Day. During the 5:00 p.m. Mass, John Norman had his candidacy. Candidacy is a solemn acceptance of a man by the Archbishop for priestly formation. With this admittance, the man is now privileged to wear the garb of a cleric.

The North American College (where John will be studying) requires a man to declare candidacy before his arrival to the college. Upon graduating from college seminary or completing philosophy, most seminaries will have the man declare candidacy before his first year of Theology or “Major Seminary.” The Declaration allows the man entering theology to rightfully wear the clerics. The candidate has a new canonical status through his admission through Candidacy. Wearing the clerics are not only permissible, but entirely appropriate for a candidate.

After Archbishop Lucas's homily, John was called from the assembly.

Archbishop Lucas accepted him, prayed over him, ...

blessed him, ...

and welcomes him as he continues in his formation.

Congratulations John & thank you!

Feast of St. John Vianney

When Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed this the Year For Priests, he also proclaimed St. John Vianney as patron saint of all priests. Today all of the priests in our diocese are gatheirng with Archbishop Lucas today on the Feast of St. John Vianney.

St. John Vianney said he owed a debt of gratitude to his pious mother, who encouraged his vocation to the priesthood. A mother’s example is powerful, he said, “Virtues go easily from mothers into the hearts of their children, who willingly do what they see being done.” His heavenly mother Mary also could be given credit for the future French saint’s vocation. The saint developed a love for her during his earliest years.

Several priests gave him their heroic example by secretly administering his first sacraments during the French Revolution, when the government persecuted Catholics. One parish priest in particular encouraged St. John Vianney, who struggled with his seminary studies. The priest saw the young man’s holiness, tutored him and refused to give up on him. Is God reaching out to young people through you?

Parishioners in Husker Catholic

When we got the Summer issue of Husker Catholic from the Newman Center at UNL, we were delighted to see pictures of two of our parishioners on page 3.

In the midst of an article about the tremdous influence FOCUS has had at UNL (over 500 students in 70 Bible studies), there was a picture of Chaz Zurcher who will be a seminarian this fall ...

... and Shannon Zurcher was in the middle of a picture of new FOCUS missionaries.

We're excited for both of you as you "Go and Make Disciples."
The website for the Newman Center is http://newmancenter.unl.edu/

Year For Priests

During this Year For Priests, each week on our website we are adding a glimpse of how some priests were called.

http://www.saintcolumbkille.org/ministry/yfp/default.asp#lucas

This weekend we added a note on Archbishop Lucas' call.

Class of 2018

Thursday night, some of the families who will have Kindergarteners in the St. Columbkille School gathered for a picnic.

Everyone (including Fr. Damian) brought food to share. It was a chance to get to know one another and play.

On a beautiful evening it was a fun start to the school year.