3rd Grade Basketball

The Championship Game in the 3rd grade division of St. Bernadette's March Madness tournament was between two teams from St. Columbkille. We love it when that happens!

Understanding the Mass

At our Parish Mission Monday evening, Dr. Edward Sri presented A Biblical Walk through the Mass: Understanding what we Say and Do in the Liturgy. It was based on his book. The clip above is just a portion of what he discussed.

If you want to gain a better understanding of the Mass, the last session of Altaration is Monday, March 21 at 9 a.m. or 7 p.m. in the Steinhausen Center.On April 4th there will be a tour of all the space in the church. On April 11th we will meet in the Steinhausen Center to study the scritpural roots of the Mass.

After Dr. Sri's session Monday night, Fr. Vogel told some parishioners, "Now you know just a smidgen of why I'm a priest and why it's so awesome."

Wild Things and Dragon Snatcher

Last night was an evening of concerts. The first was done by the 5th grade classes at St. Columbkille as they told the story of the Wild Things.

The second performance was by the 6th grade class on The Dragon Snatcher.

Irish Blessings

Blessings are an Irish specialty.

Here's a few for St. Patrick's Day and every day, borrowed from the Internet:

Old favorites

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

May God be with you and bless you,
May you see your children's children,
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

Short and sweet

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

May the saddest day of your future be no worse
Than the happiest day of your past.

Comforting

May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

For those who bless you

May the dreams you hold dearest
Be those which come true
And the kindness you spread
Keep returning to you.

Funny

May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent!

May the Lord keep you in His hand
And never close His fist too tight.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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.

Leprechaun Traps

The kindergarten students at St. Columbkille Catholic School created some Leprechaun traps.

At least one of them worked:

Tied with Ten Seconds Left

Many teams from St. Columbkille Parish have been part of a great March Madness basketball tournament held at Gross Catholic High School by St. Bernadette Parish. This was a 7th grade game between Mary Our Queen and St. Columbkille which came down to the final seconds.

Then it was tied 22-22 with less than 10 second left and Mary Our Queen had the ball.

Time to Turn to St. Joseph

We are 31 days into Lent, 16 days away from Easter, two days away from our parish mission, six days away from St. Patrick's Day.

Did I miss anything?

Oh yeah, we are nine days away from the Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's the perfect time to begin a novena to the saint entrusted by God to care for and protect Jesus and Mary. Among the saints, Joseph ranks second only to Mary.

We turn to St. Joseph as patron of families, workers, unborn children, expectant parents, migrants and refugees, a peaceful death and the universal Church, according to the book, "St. Joseph -- Help for Life's Emergencies."

"His intercession is invoked for accountants, carpenters, engineers and craftsmen. He is invoked by persons beset by doubts or hesitations, those who have a profound interior life, and travelers."

 In other words, we could all benefit from his powerful intercession.

You could pray for the Church and its leaders, for your job or a lack of one, to sell a house or find a home, for your spouse (even an unfaithful one) for your father, for your children, for the dying, for your death, in financial stress or in dark times, for devotion to Mary, for closeness to Jesus.

It seems that in life and in eternity, St. Joseph is hardworking, faithful and diligent.

So let us turn to him in our needs, trusting that God will be attentive to his prayers. Any prayer to St. Joseph would suffice for a novena, which is simply prayers prayed for nine consecutive days. You could use this litany, borrowed from the St. Joseph book, that honors the saint and covers our needs under his various titles:

Litany of Saint Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Renowned offspring of David, pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most strong, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of artisans, pray for us.
Glory of home life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Solace of the wretched, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
    spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
    graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
    have mercy on us.

V. He made him the lord of his household,
R. And ruler of all his possessions.

    Let us pray:
    O God, in Your unspeakable providence, You were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Your most holy Mother, grant, we beseech You, that we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in Heaven, whom we venerate as our protector on earth; You Who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

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.

Our Parish Mission is Next Weekend

The leader of our 2016 Parish Mission is Dr. Edward Sri of the Augustine Institute. The two walks on Sunday, March 13th will be:

Walking with Mary:  A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross
This presentation is for anyone who wants to know Mary better – the real, human Mary of the Bible and the profound interior journey of faith she made throughout her life. We will walk with Mary step-by-step from Nazareth to the Cross and consider how she faced moments of joy and thanksgiving, moments of uncertainty and discernment as well as moments of trial and darkness. And yet at every critical point she responded with greater trust and surrender in ways that offer many practical insights for our own paths of Christian discipleship today.

Love Unveiled: Re-Discovering the Heart of Our Catholic Faith 

This presentation engages the challenges faced from the secular culture:

Why do I need a Church? Can’t I be spiritual on my own?

Isn’t one religion just as good as another?

Isn’t each person free to make up his own morality?

Why does the Church talk so much about human life, sex and marriage?  Shouldn’t we just be tolerant and get along with everyone?

Divine love is the very heart of the Catholic faith—the one thing that makes sense of everything we believe and do.  In an age of relativism and apathy, discover how all the pieces of our Catholic faith, even some of the most baffling ones, fit together to make one beautiful mosaic of God’s love for us. And learn how to practically live more deeply in His love, radiating it in our families, our parishes, and the world.  

The two walks on Monday, March 14th will be:

A Biblical Walk through the Mass:  Understanding what we Say and Do in the Liturgy
Do you ever wish you could get more out of Mass? Discover how all the prayers, symbols, and rituals in the liturgy can come alive for us today once we understand their Biblical roots. From the sign of the cross and the Gloria to the Eucharistic prayers and Holy Communion, join us for a Biblical tour of the Mass and learn the profound meaning of what we are really saying and doing each week as we participate in these sacred mysteries.

Marriage: The Good, the Messy and the Beautiful

It’s easy to fall in love.  Growing in love isn’t always so easy.  A great marriage isn’t one that simply stays together, it's one that flourishes with time. Discover five keys to love more than you did yesterday. Reflecting on the real challenges we will face in our marriages, we will learn new paths to building the kind of unity, trust and happiness we long for in our married lives.​This talk is really excellent for single or married people and anyone who cares for the future of marriage in the culture. 

Tuesday, March 15th will be our parish Penance Service

We'll start in the sanctuary at 7:00 with a whole bunch of priests, then move to the Social Hall to celebrate the return of all the prodigal children with Wine, Cheese, Cookies and Lemonade. 

Wednesday, March 16th will have Living Stations

TEEN Faith will lead us in Living stations of the Cross. It will start at 6:00 p.m. at the east end of our new parking lot (just north of Cornhusker/6th street.)

#Ceili2016

A few pictures tweeted at Columb's Ceili

Prepared For Ceili

To be prepared for Ceili

1. Check out the Program Book.
2. Make sure your phone is fully charged: We're bidding using our phones or a courtesy iPad. Don't worry, you don't need to download an app and it works even if your phone just texts.
3. Be at Embassy Suites at 5:00 tomorrow (Saturday) ready for a great time!

Enjoy!