January - February, 2017

Transcription

1 NEW ULM DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN January - February, 2017 The Christmas Season has just ended and we have now moved into what is called Ordinary Time in the Liturgical Year. Ordinary Time during the Liturgical Year is the time between the Christmas Season and the start of Lent and the time after Pentecost until the start of Advent. WHY IS ORDINARY TIME CALLED ORDINARY? Ordinary time is called ordinary not because it is common but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time in fact represent the ordered life of the Church --the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in watchfulness and expectation of the Second Coming of Christ. The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (which is actually the first Sunday celebrated in Ordinary Time) always features either John The Baptist s acknowledgment of Christ as the Lamb of God or Christ s first miracle--the transformation of water into wine at the wedding of Cana. Thus, for Catholics, Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ, the Lamb of God, walks among us and transforms our lives. There s nothing ordinary about that! GREEN is the color of Ordinary Time! The normal liturgical color for Ordinary Time (for those days when there is no special feast) is green. The celebrant will usually be wearing Green vestments unless it is a special feast. Green vestments and altar cloths have traditionally been associated with the time after Pentecost, the period in which the Church founded by the risen Christ and enlivened by the Holy Spirit began to grow and to spread the gospel to all nations. WHAT CAN OUR CCW S DO: Have a bible study discussing some of the Sunday Gospel Readings during this Ordinary Time. Gather and have discussions about some of your favorite saints or the patron saint of your parish. Consider some activities that help strengthen each other s faith and prayer life such as a mini-retreat or hold an evening of reflection encouraging members to spend some time in prayer. These are just a few ideas for activities during these Winter months.

2 EVERY LIFE IS WORTH LIVING This year the 2017 March for Life in Washington, D.C. will be held on Friday, January 27th. This is later than usual because the Presidential Inauguration will be held on Friday, January 20th. As in previous Inauguration years, the National Park Service assigned the next day possible for the March for Life. While advocating for the most precious cause of life is the goal of the March for Life, the safety of all participants is of the utmost concern and so are very grateful for the cooperation and assistance of the National Park Service, the Capitol Police, the Metro Police, Supreme Court Police, etc.because thousands of people participate in this March. The March for Life in Washington, D.C. began as a small demonstration on January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of the now-infamous Supreme Court decisions in Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world. The peaceful demonstration that has followed on this somber anniversary every year since is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, legalized abortion on demand. The National Council of Catholic Women has always supported life and most years the NCCW Board of Directors have been involved in this March for Life Rally. I have had the privilege of participating in several of these marches during the years I served on the National Board. It is an experience that is not easily forgotten! I know very few from our area are able to attend this March in Washington D.C. but consider watching it on TV. I am sure it will be televised live on EWTN and pray forthe safety of all participating. Below is a picture taken of the members of the NCCW Board of Directors that participated in the March last year and know that your NCCW Board of Directors represents all of us well at all of the activities that are held during this rally. OUR OWN STATE OF MINNESOTA S MARCH FOR LIFE RALLY WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 22ND WHICH IS THE ANNIVERSARY DATE OF ROE vs WADE. HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ATTEND THIS EVENT. Details can be found on MN March for Life, 2017website. Bus Transportation Opportunities: Marshall Area: A bus will be leaving at 8:30 a.m. from the northeast corner of the Market St. Mall parking lot. Additional stops can be arranged in Redwood Falls and other points along the way. We will be attending the noon Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul and then march or ride the bus to the 2:00 rally. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch and to dress warmly. For more information or to reserve a spot, contact John Rabaey at or johnrabaey@starpoint.net. Our Living Water Area Faith Community - A bus will be leaving from the following locations in this area: - Church of Our Lady of Lakes, th Street NE, Spicer at 10:30 a.m. - Kandi Mall (South Side) in Willmar at 10:50 a.m. - Church of St. Philip, 821 E. 5th Street in Litchfield at 11:40 a.m. - Church of St. John, 824 W. Curran Street in Darwin at noon.

3 DIOCESAN CCW SERVICE PROJECT HEARTLAND GIRLS RANCH Heartland Girls Ranch located near Benson, MN is a well-established safe haven for girls who have experienced various types of trauma. It was established in Last year alone, they served 77 girls mostly between the ages of Many come beaten by family members, or battered and abused by pimps and various other types of trauma including trauma from being sex trafficked. All come from somewhere in the state of Minnesota. The goals of this service project is twofold. First: To provide monetary assistance to Heartland Girls Ranch to help provide services to help heal and rebuild the girls lives. Many times the girls that they help arrive without much of anything so any monetary assistance they receive can be used to help purchase items for these girls such as personal hygiene items and clothes. Second : As we get donations from parish members to help with this monetary assistance, it is important that we also try to educate and help people to become better informed about human trafficking. The dangers exist even in our small rural communities.this is over a $9 billion industry - the second largest criminal industry in the world. QUESTION: Has your parish CCW group held some kind of event or activity to help the members of your parish become better informed about human trafficking and have you had some kind of fundraiser so your CCW group can give a donation towards this project? 40 DAYS FOR LIFE MARCH 1 TO APRIL 9TH, AM-7PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY The Opening Rally will be held on Saturday, March 4 from 10am-noon & the Closing Rally will be Saturday, April 8 10am-noon. Please put these dates on your 2017 calendar & plan to join us as you have in the past. Or if you have not joined us, please consider doing so. You can me at judy4life@meltel.net or call at with any questions or concerns or to sign up for some time at our vigil this next campaign. WE DO NEED NEW VIGILERS----our numbers have been decreasing & it is crucial to bring in new people. Announcement: 40 Days for Life is looking for a new co-chair. Assistance is needed in coordinating volunteers to maintain the Peaceful Vigil at the Planned Parenthood in St. Cloud. Please contact Judy Haag if God is calling YOU!!! Information submitted by Judy Haag. judy4life@meltel.net or call DCCW DUES NOTICES Notices have been sent out to all parish CCW groups to pay your DCCW dues for Unfortunately these notices are very late as most of you can see they were to be paid by January 1, 2017 as indicated in our Diocesan CCW By-Laws but most of us didn t get them until close to that date if not after the date. It will be very much appreciated if your parish will pay these dues as soon as possible if you have not done so already. We would like to see every parish have membership in our Diocesan CCW because much good is done by the Diocesan Council.of Catholic Women.

4 CAN YOU BE COUNTED as a NCCW individual member? Membership is only $50 a year - less than $5 a month. Join and be counted as an individual member. The membership form is on the NCCW website - You are needed and it is an additional way to support our national organization which represents us as Catholic Women in so many different ways. REGION CCW SPRING GATHERINGS Your attendance is wanted along with many women from your parish. Region 1 to Region 5 gatherings will start with 5:30 pm registration. Region 6 gathering starts with 9 am Mass. Note when your Region CCW Spring Gathering is scheduled and start organizing a carpool. What a great way to spend a spiritually uplifting evening or morning during Lent! Region One Thursday, March 16, 2017 Cathedral, New Ulm Region Two Thursday, March 9, 2017 St. Joseph, Lamberton Region Three Tuesday, March 7, 2017 Ss. Peter & Paul, Ivanhoe Region Four Tuesday, April 4, 2017 St. Mary s, Beardsley Region Five Monday, March 20, 2017 Sacred Heart, Franklin Region Six Saturday, March 11, 2017 Holy Family, Silver Lake Begins with 9:00 am Mass DCCW SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE Parish CCW Donations to Scholarship Fund are due March 1, 2017 Completed Applications are also due March 1, 2017 REMEMBER: Your parish CCW has to donate some monies to the scholarship fund for any individual, school or your CCW group to qualify for a scholarship. PRAY for Christian Unity Week : January Catholic Schools Week: January 29 - February 4

5 St. Tarasius Feast Day: February 25th St. Angela Merici Feast Day: January 27th When Angela Merici was 56 she said No to the Pope. She was aware that he was offering her a great honor and a great opportunity to serve when he asked her to take charge of a religious order of nursing sisters but she knew that nursing was not what GOD had called her to do with her life. All around her hometown she saw poor girls with no education and no hope because in the 15th & 16th century that Angela lived in, education for women was for the rich or for the nuns. Times were much different then - women weren t allowed to be teachers and unmarried women were not supposed to go out by themselves. NUNS were the best educated women but they weren t allowed to leave their cloisters. There were no teaching orders of sisters like we have today. So, these girls grew up without education in religion or anything at all. Angela invented a new way - she brought together a group of unmarried women who went out into the streets to gather up the girls they saw and teach them. They were so successful that Angela was asked to bring her innovative approach to education to other cities and impresssed many people including the pope. She had the inspiration and push to make her little group more formal which later became known as Angela s Company of Saint Ursula or the Ursulines. They were the first group of women religious to work outside the cloister and the first teaching order of women. Angela s life was very interesting. IN HER FOOTSTEPS: Take a look around you. Instead of just driving or walking without paying attention today, open your eyes to the needs you see along the way. What people do you notice who need help but who are not being helped? Make a commitment to help them in some way. She is the PATRON SAINT of Catholic Saint Prayers St. Scholastica Feast Day: February 10th St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict and consecrated her life to God from her earliest youth. She founded and governed a monastery of nuns about 5 miles from that of St. Benedict. The most commonly told story about her is that she would, once a year, go and visit her brother at a place near his abbey and they would spend the day worshiping together and discussing sacred texts and issues. On one occasion they passed the time in prayer and discussion. It got late and she begged her brother to remain until the next day. St. Benedict refused to spend the night outside his monastery. At that point, Scholastic closed her hands in prayer, and after a moment, a wild storm started so St. Benedict nor any of his companions could return home. They spent the night in discussion. The next morning they parted to meet no more on earth. 3 days later, St.Scholastica died, and her holy brother beheld her soul in a vision as it ascended into heaven in the form of a shining white dove. Benedict had her body brought to his monastery, where he had it laid in the tomb he had prepared for himself. She is known as the patron saint of Convulsions in Children and Rain. St. Tarasius was subject of the Byzantine Empire. He was raised to the highest honors in the Empire as Consul, and later became first secretary to the Emperor Constantine and his mother, Irene. When being elected patriarch of Constantinople, he consented to accept the dignity offered to him only on condition that a GeneralCouncil should be summoned to resolve the disputes concerning the veneration of sacred images, for Constantinople had been separated from the Holy See on account of the war between the Emperors. The Council was held in the Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople in 786; it met again the folloing year at Nice and its decrees were approved by the Pope. The holy Patriach incurred the enmity of the Emperor by his persistent refusal to sanction his divorce from his lawful wife. He witnessed the death of Constantine, which was occasioned by his own mother; he beheld the reign and the downfall of Irene and usurpation of Nicephorus. St. Tarasius whole life in the Episcopacy was one of penance and prayer, and of hard labor to reform his clergy and people. He occupied the See of Constantinople twenty-one years and two months. His charity toward the poor was one of the chracteristic virtues of his life. He visited in person, all the houses and hospitals in Constantinople, so that no indigent person might be overlooked in the distribution of alms. He died in the year 806.

6 JANUARY - FEBRUARY PRAYER INTENTIONS Pope s Prayer Intention for January Christian Unity - That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity. Pope s Prayer Intention for February Comfort for the Afflicted - That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities. Bishop s Prayer Intention for January General Intention - That the world come to realize that Christ, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of His love, makes us fully manifest to ourselves and brings to light our exalted vocation, that is, to love. Bishop s Prayer Intention for February General Intention - That the people of the Diocese of New Ulm would rediscover the beauty of the Gospel which gives joy and hope to life. FROM YOUR EDITOR Dear Sisters in Christ -- Our challenge is always to help each other in our spiritual life s journey. I hope that your CCW groups continue to keep God as the center of all that you do. By doing the many service projects and keeping God at the center, you truly are carrying out His work here on earth. God is Love! Please share the information in this newsletter to all those around you. You will also soon be receiving the Winter Newsletter in the mail and I will also be forwarding it to you by . It has lots of good and valuable information: message from our Bishop, Diocesan Spiritual Advisor, Diocesan President and the Diocesan Commission Coordinators,etc. Parish CCW Presidents: please encourage your members to read and make use of some of the ideas given. The Winter newsletter along with this e-newsletter will also be posted on our New Ulm DCCW website: My husband and I will be taking a short vacation to Mexico to enjoy the warm sunshine so will be gone for a few weeks. That s one of the reasons for combining the two months in this e-newsletter. and also trying to finish the work on the Winter, 2017 Newsletter. Our continued thanks for carrying out the work of Council. Blessings, Donna Sanders NUDCCW Newsletter Editor