That's Ugly

Students in one class designed

 an "Ugly Christmas Sweater."

It was an exercise Mr. Marks, our 

counselor at St. Columbkille Catholic

School, went through with them.

We're not taking orders yet.

She Wears Many Hats

Members of the Happy Club wore their hats today.

Kathleen Smithberg showed

 many of her hats

 This was her first hat, bought at

 Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.

 She is not a member of the Red Hat Society

 saying, "I was wearing hats before they began."

 This one is from Austria.

We thanks Kathleen for bringing

 and showing her hats today.

2013 Epiphany Proclamation

There is an ancient tradition that, as part of the celebration of Epiphany, all of the moveable feasts for the year be proclaimed after the Gospel reading on Epiphany. Fr. Vogel did that for us today.

Arrows of Light

The December Cub Scout meeting was 

very special for some of our scouts.

 They received the Arrow of Light.

The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light Award. Earning this rank prepares a Webelos Scout to become a Boy Scout. Webelos who have earned the Arrow of Light Award have also completed all requirements for the Boy Scout badge.

This award is the only Cub Scout badge that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform when a boy graduates into a troop.

 Congratulations!

The Cub Scouts also went caroling. First they surprised Fr. Damian and his Bible Study.

Then they surprised Fr Vogel at his house.

The evening ended as the scouts

 were surprised by a special visitor.

40 Years

The Archbishop Bergan Council 6429 of the Knights of COlumbus celebrated their 40th anniversary in December.

It was a milestone that deserved celebration.

 Thank you for 40 years of service to 

St. Columbkille Parish and the community!

He Takes Flesh Among Us and In Us

"And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."

- John 1:14

Christmas is the season to celebrate the mystery of God's Incarnation. And He continues to take flesh among us -- and in us.

We can imitate our Blessed Mother and become an Ark or a tabernacle for the Word of God when we consent to the will of God and let the Holy Spirit overshadow us. St. Patrick recognized how God's Word can come to life in us, now matter how lowly we may be, as a "letter written by God."

"We are a letter written by Christ for the salvation even of the remotest parts of the earth. Although this letter may not be refined it is very strong and true, written in your hearts not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. And again the Spirit bears witness that even the plainest things have been created by the Most High."

After Mass, in particular, you are sent forth into the world carrying the powerful Word of God. He is alive inside you to transform the world.

Praise be to God for allowing us to become part of His work of salvation!

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

Bringing in the Light

Work on the chapel continues. This morning

 there was progress on the window.

 

 

 

 

It is much brighter now.

In the next week or so, stained glass panels from our previous church will be inside the clear panes. But even with this step done, it allows the construction to move forward in the chapel.

Mastered by the Master

This year Deacon John Zurek and his wife Connie celebrated ten years since he was ordained a deacon and began serving us at St. Columbkille. He passed away last night. His wake service will be Friday at 7 pm and the funeral will be Saturday, January 5th at 10:00 am.

Here is an excerpt from his homily on Sunday, November 14, 2010 which was the 33rd week in Ordinary Time:

Nothing great is ever accomplished without prayer [and] persistence because in order to be successful our dreams must translate into work. The people who succeed in life are the people who are willing to do what they don't feel like doing. They are not mastered by their moods, they are mastered by the Master. And they establish their goals and plans according to God's will.

We know all things will come to an end. It is part of our very nature of the universe and our place in it. Seasons come and seasons go. Children are born and the elderly pass away. Mornings happens and evening falls. Its all part of the normal process of life and death. If we were called (and we have no guarantee that we won't be called today) could we dare to face our judgement?

Today we have heard Him speak to us. He has reminded us that our end is coming. That we should prepare our spiritual life and get it in order. We all need Him. Our eternal future depends on whether we listen to His call today, tomorrow may be too late.

We are all responsible for some part of life on this planet, for good or for evil. And we all know there is only so much time to accomplish all of this. Each of us is part of that experience of Life and Death around us... Today's Gospel is a great reminder that God's timing is perfect and ours is not...

So my friends, join me today as we all lift up our hearts to the Lord and entrust everything, all times and all seasons, into His loving care.

Amen and may God bless.

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.