Praying and Painting

During their Confirmation Retreat, our 8th grade students learned that sitting quietly isn't the only way to pray. They had a "hands on" experience of learning to pray as they painted.

 Each of the background colors in their painting represents a different gift of the Holy Spirit and each student uses the colors as they desired those gifts.

In the foreground they added an image 

of a dove representing the Holy Spirit.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. The Elizabeth Ministry will host a prayer service (led by Father Damian) on Monday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m.

We will remember babies lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death and offer support to those who have suffered the loss of a child.

This service is open to everyone, not just parishioners, not just Catholics, not just residents of Sarpy County. For more information, call Bridget Huggins at 402-541-3090 or email (bridget.em@cox.net).

The Elizabeth Ministry is an international movement designed to support women in the joys, trials, and sorrows of childbearing. Our mission is to cherish children, encourage families, and build communities. We are women from the faith community who are willing to share their experience, presence, and story in the hope of encouraging other women.

Weeds and Wildflowers

Sometimes God drops little treasures at our feet.

Sometimes literally.

On Monday morning I took our family's dog, Ciara, for a walk in Elmwood Park, where the ground was still wet from the rainy weekend. I glanced ahead to an open green field and saw something beautiful. The morning sun transformed thousands of raindrops into tiny rainbows through the prisms of the drops. It was as if God had tossed handfuls of glistening jewels before us. It was stunning.

Then I noticed something interesting. The field was mostly patches of low-lying weeds with slender blades of grass poking through. The weeds' wide flat leaves cradled the raindrop gems, but the thin verticle grass blades could not contain the drops. 

Then I recalled something St. Therese of Lisieux wrote in her autobiography "Story of a Soul."

"Jesus deigned to teach me this mystery. He set before me the book of nature; I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the Lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and  the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers.

"And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus' garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to Lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets destined to give joy to God's glances when He looks down at His feet. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be."

The weeds I saw contained a lesson similar to that of St. Therese's wild flowers. We of this world would prefer manicured grass over weeds. But on Monday morning God chose the lowly weeds to reflect His glorious sunshine. The grass has its place, but so do the weeds, at least in God's Kingdom. It is exactly in their lowliness that the undesirable, the misfits and sinners can sparkle with God's radiant love and glory.

St. Therese says of these souls:

"It is to their hearts that God deigns to lower Himself. These are the wild flowers whose simplicity attracts Him. When coming down in this way, God manifests His infinite grandeur. Just as the sun shines simultaneously on the tall cedars and on each little flower as though it were alone on the earth, so Our Lord is occupied particularly with each soul as though there were no others like it. And just as in nature all the seasons are arranged in such a way as to make the humblest daisy bloom on a set day, in the same way, everything works out for the good of each soul."

St. Therese, the Little Flower, shed even more light on Monday morning's glistening treasure. Thank You, Lord, for Your greatness in everything little.

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.

Our FOCUS Missionaries Share Their Knowledge

Three of our parishioners are FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionaries. Rob Cargill (left) is in his second year at at the University of Illinois, Shannon Zurcher (center) is in her fourth year with FOCUS and leading the team at UConn and Andy Dejka (right) is in his second year at Northwestern University.

Our FOCUS missionaries were kind enough to share their thoughts on Evangelization in our bulletin letter this weekend.

All of the FOCUS missionaries are supported entirely by donations. To learn more about them or for a link to send a gift, see our parish website. 

Getting Education Outdoors

Yesterday was the Outdoor Education Field Trip for the 6th grade students at St. Columbkille Catholic School.
 

As they moved through stations, many of them were designed to help students think outside the box and solve problems.

It also included activities like archery, 

canoeing and the ever popular zipline.

 It was a lot of fun -- and not just because

 they were out of the classrooms.

Christians Must Strip Themselves of Worldliness

Christians and the Church must strip themselves of worldliness, said Pope Francis while addressing some of the poor in the Italian hill town of Assisi early Friday. The Pope offered this message in the same hall in which St. Francis, about 800 years ago, undressed himself and laid his fine clothes at his wealthy father’s feet, renouncing his riches and inheritance in favour of a life of poverty consecrated to God.

The Pope once again put aside his prepared speech and began his impromptu remarks by debunking a notion that had circulated in the press in recent days: that he would imitate St. Francis by divesting the bishops, the cardinals and himself, as well. However, he said, today serves as a good occasion to invite the Church to strip itself of worldliness.

All of the baptized comprise the Church and all have to follow Jesus, who stripped himself and chose to be a servant and to be humiliated on his way to the Cross. “And if we want to be Christians, there is no other way,” he said.

Without the Cross, without Jesus and without stripping ourselves of worldliness, he said, “we become pastry shop Christians… like nice sweet things but not real Christians.”

“We need to strip the Church,” he said. “We are in very grave danger. We are in danger of worldliness.”

This report is by Laura Ieraci of Vatican Radio. Read more here

Math Olympics

Sources say Principal Makey won a Gold Medal in the Cotton Ball Long Jump during Math Olympics today.

Congratulations!

Queen of the Rosary

When I was little I had two recurring dreams which I believe were about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In one dream I was about to be devoured by a dragon, but a beautiful queen saved me. She had no weapons or armor, but the dragon was compelled to obey her and let me free. Even as a small child, I connected the queen with Mary.

In the second dream, I had to choose between two paths. The first path was actually a giant slide, wide enough to hold many people as they glided down. Slides are fun, and many people chose that path.

The other path was a beautiful rose-covered trellis, which some souls already were climbing. The trellis seemed high, and I wondered if I could make it to the top. The roses had thorns, while I had bare hands and feet. I was drawn toward choosing the trellis, but I wasn't sure if I could overcome the thorns and the long climb without help.

A beautiful lady encouraged me to choose the trellis over the slide and offered her guidance along the way. She couldn't take away the painful thorns, but she could show me the best way to go along the climb. I accepted her help and chose the climb.

The dream metaphors are obvious, and to an adult, even cliche. But I believe Mary's help is real and powerful.

October, a month dedicated to the rosary, has begun.  When we pray the rosary, we enlist our powerful Queen to vanquish demons and obtain her motherly help along life's uphill climb, filled with both beauty and pain. We can do it, she assures us. The climb is the more difficult choice, but she will accompany us, protect us and guide us. She urges us on toward an eternal reward, so great that our imaginations can't grasp it.

O Mary, our beautiful Mother and Queen, help us to choose the right path. Accompany us through life to protect us and guide us. Our Lady, Queen of the Rosary, pray 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.

Catholic Unity

Archbishop Lucas was the recent guest on the KETV's News Show The Chronicle:

A Night Out

Last night Papio Fun Park was free for St. Columbkille Catholic School Students.

 Thank you Papio Fun Park!