My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend. In the Gospel reading we hear an account of Jesus appearing to his disciples after His Resurrection. At that time, they were in hiding as they feared what happened to Jesus might happen to them. In His encounter with His disciples, the first words of Jesus are “Peace be with you.” By those words that he said, what Jesus did was to alleviate their fear and to tell them they are not doing this alone. The Gospel reading also speaks about doubting Thomas who refused to believe the disciples’ encounter with Jesus until he personally sees Him and the wounds that He bore. That changed a week later when Jesus reappeared to His disciples. In showing the wounds that He bore, Jesus is showing His humility that wants to transform our lives. As we continue to unfold the gift of Christ in our lives this Divine Mercy Sunday, we are invited to allow Jesus’ love and humility to grow in our lives.
This Sunday, we will be celebrating First Communion with our Second Graders at Mary Our Queen. Next Sunday, we will be celebrating with our Second Graders at St John Vianney. We invite you to keep them and their families in your prayers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Catechists and our Religious Education Directors Kelly Peklo and Leia Vranes and all who were involved in journeying with our students as they make their First Communion.
This is the first year that all our Second Graders in our Family of Parishes were formed through our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Program. Since 2020, we have been developing our CGS program, beginning with our Early Childhood Education students. We are proud to be able to offer this program in our Family of Parishes. CGS is a religious formation methodology for children where they learn in a specially prepared environment called the Atrium. It is a sacred, “hands on” space where catechists and children hear, ponder and celebrate the most essential mysteries of our faith as revealed in Sacred Scripture and Liturgy. Materials are carefully prepared to foster in children the inherent longing for a relationship with God and curiosity about the elements of our faith. We are currently looking for more Catechists for this program. Kindly contact our Parish Office for more details.
We are currently working on projects for both our campuses this summer. At Mary Our Queen, this includes new boilers for our School and Kenny Center HVAC system, new controls for our HVAC system in the Kenny Center, the updating of the intercom system in our School, the continuing updates of more classrooms, the removing the old vent fan in the gym and sealing it off and a few other items.
The new boilers, control system for the Kenny Center and the new intercom system are made possible because of a matching grant of up to $200,000 through the Lavigne Foundation and the Archdiocese of Omaha late last year. This opportunity will also support important improvements and security upgrades, including security software, door and access-control enhancements, and improved communication systems between the Parish Office and School. If you would like to contribute to our matching grant, kindly contact our Parish Office.
In researching how to fix the cracks in the bell tower at St John Vianney, it has come to our attention that it might have been caused by a lightning strike on the roof of the bell tower. We are working with our insurance company to see how we are able to proceed with the repairs and the cost that is entailed. More details to follow.
Blessings this Easter Season, Fr Marc
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