St. Colette Parish Directory
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The sunlight filled the sanctuary, the Music reached to the heavens, the Church was beyond full and the Liturgies joyfully proclaimed that Hours of preparation and work accompanies the Liturgies of Holy Week and our Staff excelled with their time, dedication and energy. I am so very grateful to Renate, our head sacristan, to Bill Gorey and our maintenance crew, to the Office Staff, to Deacon Tom, to our pastoral minister Lisa Radey, to Father Lajack, and to our Deacon in training, Matt. THANKS to our Music Ministry and Orchestra for a Terrific Job! Thanks to Cindy, Ralph, Christopher, Claudia & Sara, Sam, Rosie, Todd and Leslie. Thank you to the servers, the Eucharistic Ministers, the Lectors, Ushers and the counters and to all who helped to make this Festival of Easter a triumphant celebration of Resurrection! Lisa Bill Deacon Sara Renate Lily & Grace YOU! Joe Steve Noah Josh St. Colette Jeanette On Easter Sunday, Mother Angelica was called Home and went to her eternal reward! Mother was a remarkable, innovative, strong-willed, woman of the Church and always completely reliant upon the Lord. For years she shared her unique, spiritual insights with TV audienc- es around the world—always strongly in support of Church Teachings. I had the opportunity to meet Mother Angelica some years be- fore the stroke that left her unable to communicate. Along with Sr. Denise Vlna and 2 other friends we ventured down to Ala- bama to meet Mother and to be a part of the audience during one of her Mother Live Shows. At the time our friend, Lisa Gould, was a VP of EWTN and a very close associate and per- sonal friend of Mother Angelica and the Nuns in Hanceville. We were taken by Mother’s charm and elegant simplicity. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. You knew at once that you were in the presence of someone close to God. On one occasion when Lisa was visiting her own family in Ohio she stopped by Holy Name HS to visit. While there her cell phone rang and she answered, ‘Hello Mother!’ Af- ter a short conversation she turned to me, handed me the phone and said, “say hello to Mother!’ My voice cracked as I said Hello and listened to her tell me to carry on the good work of the Lord! With a shaking hand I returned the phone to Lisa and together they shared in a laugh at leaving me awestruck. Mother called Lisa her ‘buddy’ and truly they were. She has some in- credible stories of their relationship—perhaps some time the Daughters of St. Colette can ar- range to have Lisa share some of her memories. The statue of our Blessed Mother that I have put near the tabernacle is actually from Mother Angelica’s Cloister. She had given it to Lisa who in turn gave it to me as a memento of our visit. Lisa assured me that it was Mother’s spirit of generosity to give things away on a very regular basis. For me the statue is a treasure! This remarkable Woman of God began something which even the Bishops could not do. With a couple hundred dollars and FAITH she built EWTN as the largest world-wide Christian Proclamation of the Gospel. May she live in the joy and wonder of eternity with the Lord whom she so loved and served faithfully throughout her life. Our condolences to Lisa and to the Nuns, Priests and Brothers of EWTN. “Where most men work for degrees after their names, we work for one before our names: 'St.' It's a much more difficult degree to attain. It takes a lifetime, and you don't get your diploma until you're dead.” ~Mother Angelica CYCLE C APRIL 3, 2016 2nd Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday "Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'" The disciples were paralyzed by fear. After the Crucifixion, they had locked themselves in a room and were keeping a low profile. They didn't want to end up how Jesus had ended up. But the Lord stepped right into this paranoia and dispelled it in an instant: "The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord." Although these first Christians were very concerned about preserving their lives, the fact is that living holed up in an attic wasn't a life of much freedom or joy. Jesus wanted his followers to have the fullness of life, but this required trust in him and his promises. As today's Gospel puts it, through the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, "you may have life in his name." When we come to really accept who Jesus is, there is no more need for a life of slavery to fear--whatever that fear may be, whether it's fear for our health; fear for our reputation; fear for our comfort; or even fear that our sins are too big for forgiveness. Today as we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy, we remember that God's love is strong enough to conquer the greatest of all human fears: death itself. This confidence leads us to a renewed joy. As Pope Francis wrote in his declaration of this, the Year of Mercy, "Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope." Once we are firmly established in this hope, we are called to be witnesses of mercy to others. The Holy Father continues with a challenge for all of us, "Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God." REGINA COELI “ Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. Has risen, as he said, alleluia. / Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. / For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia. The period from Easter Sunday through Di- vine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the Sunday), also known as the Octave (or eighth world through the resurrection of Thy Son, day) of Easter, is an especially joyful time. But our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech the Easter season doesn't end there: Because Thee, that through the intercession of the Easter is the most important feast in the Chris- tian calendar—even more important than Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the Christmas—the Easter season continues on for joys of everlasting life. Through the same 50 days, through the Ascension of Our Lord to Christ our Lord. Amen. Pentecost Sunday. (Indeed, for the purpose of fulfilling our Easter Duty, the Easter season extends until Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost!) So keep on celebrating and wishing your friends a happy Easter!” from About religion. com 1,420 + EASTER EGGS were used at our Easter Egg Hunt! That’s 1,420 eggs (plus) that Mary Dowling and her co-helpers filled with candy! We had tons of little kids in search of those eggs and though it took many days to fill the eggs it was only minutes before they were opened! Thanks to the Team that filled the eggs and thanks to the EASTER BUNNY for stopping by and visiting on Holy Saturday Morning! hat a wonder- W ful crowd we had for the Easter Basket Blessing on Holy Saturday Morn- ing, This tradition is certainly growing in our parish. The baskets wrapped around the entire sanctuary and the scent of kielbasa, ham and paska bread lin- gered well into the late afternoon! How terrific is that! Waiting for the Easter Bunny to arrive! Dear Parish Family, I got to say that we certainly do celebrate EASTER here at St. Co- lette. We received all kinds of comments from visitors (many from out of state) that at- tended our Easter Mass(es) and said, ‘this reminds me of when I was a kid at my own parish church.’ That’s so encouraging! There’s tons of work that go into the Easter preparations but all the smiles and greetings following the Mass is so reassur- ing that we proclaim Jesus the Christ, Risen from the dead! Alleluia! I want to thank you all for your participation all throughout Holy Week. The Church was always full! Thank you for taking time to pray and celebrate with us! Thank you too for your greetings and gifts. We had enough food and Easter bakery to last the entire week through. You are always so generous and kind! As we move forward on the calendar we draw nearer to Confirmation. (April 14th) Again we will celebrate in the Easter Spirit as we greet Bishop Roger and confirm nearly 50 young people & adults. In your prayers please remember the confirmation candidates. Pray that they are open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and will make Him their constant companion throughout life. The challenges of the world are ever increasing and our young people desperately need the guidance, wisdom, courage and love of the Holy Spirit. Our request for planters around our Stations of the Cross is nearly full. At this time there are only a few stations left. If you are interested please let the parish office know. As we continue the 50 days of Easter we celebrate the Divine Mercy remember that God extends that mercy to us constantly. All we need do is ask. It’s the love that God has for us that brings us to this season of Resurrection.