Our friends at the Prairie Climate Stewardship Network have shared the following with us: During the season of Lent, we are called to metanoia – the changing of our minds and hearts to new ways of thinking and acting. Change involves taking an honest look at ourselves – the lives we live and the...
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Lectionary Year A focuses on the Gospel of Matthew. What are the Gospel’s key concerns and messages? The community that produced Matthew’s Gospel faced a myriad of issues. The Gospel, probably written around 85 AD, addresses a community consisting primarily of Christian Jews who accepted Jesus as their Messiah. This places them in conflict...
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2 Kings 5:14-17; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 Leprosy is an extremely painful and highly communicable disease.  The sores and open wounds of this illness can grow to the extreme that the one infected could even lose fingers and toes.  In addition to the physical pain is the emotional pain of loneliness that one...
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1 Kings 19: 16,19-21;  Galatians 5: 1,13-18;  Luke 9: 51-62 “Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, (9:51)” It is important to note how Luke began this sentence.  “When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled.” He knew that the time for him to return to heaven was near.  This meant that...
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Inclusion Ministry Resource Group What is “Inclusion”? What does the word “inclusion” mean to you? How do you practice it in your home, family, neighborhood, with your church family? What did “Inclusion” mean to Jesus? Find out how your family members or friends define “Inclusion.” Discuss how you think Jesus saw it. (written by...
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  This past Palm Sunday parishioners of Nativity helped interested members continue to learn about the art of palm weaving. By their sharing, they added to the tapistry of catholic tradition, continuing to pass on the knowledge to the next generation. Palm weaving is an art that has been passed on through generations as...
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(Video discussion) What is holy water and how do I explain the reason that it is placed at the entrances of churches to my non-Catholic friends? Holy water is a sacramental; a reminder of the life of the church expressed and celebrated through the sacraments. By blessing ourselves with holy water as we enter...
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Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 They were struggling with the same thing that nearly every human struggles with at some time in his or her life . . . the desire for power.  On the one hand they were right in affirming that Jesus would enter into glory and be seated on his...
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How many of you have ever had the pleasure of listening to a child practicing the piano? As the child struggles with some of the complicated fingering patterns you hear the same notes over and over and over again. When they finally have mastered the particular fingering exercise, and you have heard...
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A friend told me there are special Mass prayers for our president. Why? As we celebrate Independence Day, questions about the relationship between church and state always abound. What is the proper relationship of the church to the state? With a new administration in Washington, this question is as significant as ever. Gaudium et...
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