Our Lady s Messenger. Our Roamin Catholics brought the faith to life at the Family Faith Night Amazing Race. March 2017

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1 March 2017 Our Lady s Messenger Our Roamin Catholics brought the faith to life at the Family Faith Night Amazing Race Please consider Our Lady of Grace Food Pantry as you are planning your Lenten almsgiving. Recently Tom Rafferty of Verendrye Electric Cooperative presented Joyce Sand with a check for $1,550 for the pantry. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Lent is here!... 2 Come to the retreat for couples... 2 Learning from our Roamin Catholics..4-5 A look at the Three Kings Project 6-9 The RCIA journey Gifts of catechesis During the Feb. 1 Family Faith Night Amazing Race, 12 saints were roaming throughout the church answering questions of children and teaching about how they trusted God. Check out the fun pictures on pages 4 and 5. Throughout the worship area of the church, children approached the saints -- some shyly at the urging of their parents, some boldly -- and asked them questions. St. Therese the Little Flower sat on the carpeted floor near the altar sharing her story with the children. By the ambo, where the Word of God is proclaimed, Mary, adorned in shimmering blue, looked upon her questioners with gentle care. (Continued on page 4) Have you considered joining our Pastoral Care Committee? Members plan the annual Remembrance Mass, assemble Thanksgiving food baskets for those in need, and more. Please call the parish office for more information.

2 Lent, couples and moving in the right direction Father Bruce Krebs, Pastor 2 OUR LADY OF GRACE CATHOLIC CHURCH Phone: (701) or (701) church@olgminot.org Web site: olgminot.weconnect. com Facebook: OurLadyofGraceMinot Our Mission: Our Lady of Grace Parish is a community of faith that encourages stewardship through word, sacrament and service. Please send address changes to the parish at th Ave. SW, Minot, ND 58701, or call By Fr. Bruce Krebs Lent is late this year with Ash Wednesday on March 1. Again this year we will be having soup and sandwiches after the evening Masses. On two Fridays, March 10 and 24, soup and sandwiches will be hosted by our Parish Altar Society. After the meal I will lead a video presentation. Couples retreat A couples retreat will be held on Saturday, April 1, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Fr. Robert Shea will lead the retreat. Fr. Robert is serving as chaplain at University of Mary in Bismarck. He is an engaging speaker with a good sense of humor. So what is Lent? Lent is a tradition in our Catholic Church that goes back to the earliest centuries when the church underwent much persecution and many people defected to save their lives. When they wanted to return to the faith they went through a process of recommitment. Others who wanted to enter the church through baptism also went through a period of instruction and conversion. Both groups would prepare to enter full communion in the church at Easter. Eventually Lent became a time of reconversion for all church members which is what it is for us today. It is important to scrutinize our lives according to gospel values to see where the discrepancies lie and then seek the grace of God to move toward greater holiness and perfection. A good Lenten program is more than a surface program of giving up chocolate or coffee, but conversion of the heart in becoming more patient, loving and peaceful. Then we choose what will move us in that direction. Three hours of inspiration for couples Are you married? What have you done lately for yourselves as a married couple? Have you laughed together? Shared time with other married couples? We often get so busy with our work, children s activities and volunteer efforts that we neglect scheduling time for ourselves as couples. If you re married, marriage is a vocation chosen by God for you. In fact, marriage is so important to God that the Catholic Church includes it as one of our seven sacraments. Our parish Marriage Building Committee invites you to take three hours for yourselves as a couple on Saturday, April 1, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. They invited Fr. Robert Shea, chaplain at University of Mary, Bismarck, to speak at this Couples Retreat. Babysitting will be available. There s no need to register, unless you plan on using the babysitting service. If you do, just call the parish office, , and tell us how many children to plan for. We hope you can come to celebrate your marriage!

3 New lighting planned for main church The members of our Buildings & Grounds Committee put together a list of projects several years ago that needed attention in our parish. Updating the lighting upstairs in our main church was one of those items. It was recommended by our Buildings & Grounds Committee this fall to hire an electrical engineer for the project. Fr Bruce agreed, and Jason Hunze from Prairie Engineering was asked to come over to look at the lighting and give us his ideas for updating it. Once our committee heard his ideas, they recommended we hire Jason and move ahead with his plans. Fr Bruce agreed, and we received approval from Bishop Kagan to proceed with the project. All the lighting in the main church will be replaced with LED lighting. Lighting will be increased from approximately 3 foot candles to 10 foot candles. The LED lighting will gradually pay for itself over time because it takes less electrical energy to power it. You will not notice much difference in the light fixtures, but the lighting will be brighter. Bids were opened on Thursday, Jan. 26, from nine electrical contractors. Jason recommended we accept one of the bids, and Fr. Bruce approved his recommendation. We are waiting for the contract to be signed and then to discuss with the contractor when the work will be done. Lenten Communal Penance Service Monday, Apr. 3 7:00 p.m. Our Lady of Grace At the time this newsletter went to the printer, we did not yet have a schedule for the other Catholic churches in Minot. Other Opportunities for Reconciliation Tuesday, Apr. 11 The Good Shepherd materials are the focal point of the Atrium. Our 6th and 7th grade Faith Formation students saw the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd presentations on the articles and gestures of the Mass Feb. 8. This picture was taken when all of the lights in the main church were on. Improved lighting will help eliminate the yellow hue that appears in most pictures taken in the main church. Holy Week Schedule Thursday, April 13, 7:00 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord s Supper Friday, April 14, 3:00 p.m. Good Friday Celebration of the Lord s Passion Saturday, April 15, 9:00 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass Sunday, April 16, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Easter Sunday Masses Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb... They saw that the stone had been rolled back. - Mark 16:2-4 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, Apr :00-12:30 p.m. and 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Saturdays from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Before all weekday Masses And by appointment by calling the parish office,

4 IMPORTANT DATES It was as Jesus most surely wants it Stations of the Cross will be prayed at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (not Wednesday or Saturday) throughout Lent. MARCH 2-9:00 a.m. Catholic Mothers Coffee Group; 6:30 p.m. First Eucharist Make-up Retreat 4-8:30 a.m. Life in the Spirit Seminar 5 - Knights of Columbus breakfast 7-7:30 p.m. Altar Society meeting 9 & 23-6:30 p.m. Theology of the Body presentation 10 & 24-5:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross followed by 6:00 p.m. Lenten soup and sandwich meal with a presentation by Fr. Bruce 11-7:15 a.m. Men s Group; 9:00 a.m. Hispanic Retreat for Teens 13-7:00 p.m. Knights of Columbus meeting 14-7:30 p.m. Catholic Daughters meeting 15-7:15 p.m. Living Stations of the Cross (The public is invited! Middle school Faith Formation students will also attend.) 16-9:00 a.m. Catholic Mothers Coffee Group 18-5:00 p.m. Hispanic Group Prayer and Talk 19-3:00 p.m. Spanish Mass followed by fellowship Please see the calendar on our website for more activities: olgminot.weconnect.com. 4 (Continued from page 1) Near the pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Juan Diego lifted his tilma filled with roses, a gift from God that helped a bishop believe the message Mary the Mother of God had shared with this humble servant. In the center aisle, tall St. Leo, made even taller by the crown upon his head, bent closer to the children to hear their inquiries. The communion of saints was present in the church and the youngest of children reveled in the reality. Some crawled up the steps toward the altar or raced under the cross of Jesus suspended above the sanctuary. It was as Jesus most surely wants it. Faith alive, active, growing. (Clockwise from top) St. Agnes, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Faustina, St. Mother Theresa, St. Leo Isabelle Aberle and & Jett Lundeen (with Julia Koble) won statues of the Divine Mercy of Jesus.

5 Learning about our faith with the saints Where did you grow up? Why do you have a bird on your shoulder? How did you trust God? During the Feb. 1 Family Faith Night Amazing Race, children asked questions of 12 saints to help them determine who each saint was and to learn more about their lives. These Roamin Catholic saints processed through the dining room, where participants enjoyed a free meal and received instructions for the evening. Then the saints spread out around the church and children with their parents went from one to the other, writing answers on their Amazing Race sheets as they learned about the saints. The saints awarded them with Trust God squares the children used for a prize drawing. Those dressed as saints included: St. Mother Theresa - Josie Mathern, St. John the Apostle Tyler Thompson, St. Kateri Tekakwitha McKenna Thompson, St. Therese the Little Flower - Marley Foltz, St. Francis of Assisi Harrison Foltz, St. Juan Diego - Jose Vazquez, St. Faustina - McKenna Beeter, St. Leo the Great - Tim O Brien, St. Agnes - Grace Kersten, St. Padre Pio - Jaeger Lundeen, Blessed Virgin Mary - Abbie Schmidt, and St. John Paul II - Deacon Steve Streitz. Kathy Borgen played piano while Linda Glueckert led participants in singing Saints in Training and Roamin Catholic, two songs Linda composed for the event. The Stewardship Committee planned the event and some of the saint costumes and props were created by Linda Glueckert, Cindy Volk and Julia Koble, while others were purchased or taken from Living Stations of the Cross costumes. Many other volunteers helped make Family Faith Night Amazing Race so successful. Thanks to all who assisted and attended! (Clockwise from top) St. Therese the Little Flower, St. John, St. Juan Diego, St. John Paul II, Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Padre Pio, St. Kateri Tekakwitha May we all strive to be saints in training, working for the Lord!

6 The visit of the Three Kings Epiphany: (noun) a moment of sudden revelation or insight When you are working for the Lord, you can count on setbacks and challenges. The devil will do whatever he can to stifle efforts that could draw people to God. But the love of our Lord has more power than the despair of the devil and, when we persist in doing God s will, the benefits we see will overshadow any hardships we endure. Cindy Volk has been working for the Lord for years, through teaching, music, handiwork and more, so she knew she would have a challenge on her hands when Fr. Bruce asked if she would sew garments for the Three Kings who would participate in the Jan. 7 and 8 Masses for the Feast of the Epiphany. Years ago Fr. John Kalenberg, a priest whom she admired for his wisdom, courage and strength, told her God had given her an abundance of gifts and talents. They would be both a blessing and a curse, he said, so whatever she did when using those gifts and talents should be done for the right reason and God would glorify the works. From that time on I would pray before starting each task and ask God to lead me and guide me for His greater honor and glory, Cindy said. I also know that the more God gives you, the more He will ask in return. bringing the Three Kings into the Epiphany liturgy in this way was what the Holy Spirit wanted. Cindy believes that teaching visually and kinesthetically makes a bigger impact on people and fosters deeper understanding, especially since technology has made us such a visual society. The first vision Cindy had been praying and studying about the Three Kings for a couple of weeks and, one day as she and her husband, Dale, were watching football, she got a vision of the first two kings, Balthazar and Melchior, and immediately drew what she had seen. The whole time I m drawing and coloring, I m thanking the Holy Spirit and praising Him, she said. The Holy Spirit even showed her the two kings headpieces not the details, but the shapes. For years Cindy has been praying a Prayer of Protection every morning. While she worked on this project, she prayed it twice a day. She realized this task could drain her body, which was already weakened from years of illness, but I knew the Spirit was going to do something so good with this project, she said, so she took it on with joy and offered the pain and suffering for different needs and people. Cindy had breast cancer two times between 2009 and In 2014 she was diagnosed with aggressive acute myeloid leukemia and given six weeks to live. She prepared for her funeral but survived. In 2015 she was diagnosed with breast cancer a third time. Three for the Trinity, Cindy shrugs off the illnesses with a joke and a smile. In January 2016 she learned that sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease brought on by the stem cell transplant for the AML, had set in to her body, attacking her liver, lungs and thyroid. High levels of prednisone and other treatments have helped quiet the disease, but there is no cure. Despite these physical hindrances, Cindy said yes to Fr. Bruce s request. Right away my spirit leapt! Cindy said, and she knew Bryan Schmidt, who played Melchior at the Sunday Epiphany Masses, gives the large chest he carried to Garrett Aberle, the servant, before placing the smaller gift near Jesus in the Nativity scene. The only thing He showed her on Caspar was an animal hide on the cape. No colors, no style and no headpiece. The next day Cindy headed to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store in Minot, coupons in hand. I walked over to the drapery material and here in the clearance section for $9 a yard was the exact piece that she had seen as the striped cape in the vision of Melchior. She took a few steps further (Continued on page 7) 6

7 Pictured from left are Caspar (Randall Mathura), Melchior (Rico Ortiz), Balthazar (Ricardo Vazquez), the servant (Garrett Aberle) and Fr. Bruce after the Jan. 7 Mass. (Continued from page 6) and discovered the beautiful material that would become Balthazar s overtunic. By the time she left Jo-Ann s, she had all the fabric necessary to show samples of the garments for Melchior and Balthazar except the deep gold for Bathazar s tunic, so she decided to try Hobby Lobby. They had the exact gold! she said with thanksgiving. After making sure that she could return the material to the stores if the Worship Committee didn t approve the project, Cindy took the drawings and the material swatches to the committee. They approved Fr. Bruce s request for the project and soon the garments for Melchior and Balthazar began to take shape at her sewing machine. She still had no idea what to do for Caspar, but she knew the Holy Spirit works on His own timeline and would show her when she needed to know. Tradition, story, region As she continued working and praying about the project, she heard the words tradition, story, region over and over. That must be what He wants for the Three Kings! she told herself. Gradually things came to her. Tradition the image the Holy Spirit had shown her for creating Melchior s turban it was a design used long ago, in history, that is still used today! When she prayed about Caspar, the word region kept coming to mind. She saw an image of an animal hide, so she researched which animals would have lived in the region. The camel and tiger stood out. She could imagine buying something with tiger print, but how am I supposed to use camel? she wondered. She also had a color in mind for Caspar. I wanted the color purple, Cindy said. But she soon found out that wasn t what the Holy Spirit wanted. She picked up a beautiful purple fabric that fit what she thought Caspar should have. Purple is a royal color she reasoned. It s fitting for a king. But the Holy Spirit kept saying no. I wasn t listening, she said. Cindy bought the purple material, and, once she was home again in her basement sewing room, she sewed the purple garment. When I got done with it, I got the most terrible spiritual feeling I ve ever had, Cindy said. I realized what I had done. I went against the prompting of the Holy Spirit. She put the garment down, went upstairs and cried and prayed. For hours I did nothing but put myself back in His presence, she said. She knew she needed to be patient and the Holy Spirit would show her what He wanted to replace the purple garment. She also hadn t gotten a vision of what the headpiece for Caspar should look like, so she drew two headpieces for him as a starting point. What about the third word: story? She didn t know what that meant for the project yet, just that somehow it had to tie in with Balthazar. Something was missing Something was missing. A servant! She mentioned it to the Worship Committee and they agreed since there was a servant in the church s Nativity scene at the front of the church. Would she need to start sewing again? Cindy had sewn an outfit for Simon of Cyrene for the Living Stations (Continued on page 8) 7

8 BEHIND THE SCENES Loretta Schmaltz, Cindy s mother, did much of the hand stitching of the kings garments. She even hemmed Melchior s tunic after the Saturday Mass so that Bryan Schmidt, who was taller than Rico Ortiz who wore it on Saturday, could be Melchior for the Sunday Masses. Donna Baker hemmed two of the tunics and Paulette Streitz added hook and eye closures to some of the pieces. Fr. Bruce and Cindy met to prepare the details of the Mass. The oboe player, Tim Baumann, pianists and choirs set the mood with music. Allen, Grace, AG and Agatha Caldito, Marley and Harrison Foltz, Hannah Candrian, and Jeff and Nancy Schmidt served as the Mass helpers, assisting the kings with their costumes and guiding them to their different positions. Everyone else who played a part, together with all who attended Mass and experienced the presence of the Three Kings and servant, brought their own faith, joy and anticipation to the liturgies. The experience reminded us what Epiphany is, nudged us to remember to give our gifts to Jesus our Lord and Savior, and inspired us to thank the Holy Spirit for Jesus! When we allow the Holy Spirit to use our hands, hearts and minds, He can accomplish great and beautiful things through us! Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 (Continued from page 7) of the Cross years before and knew that would work for the servant. All she had to do was let down the hem of the servant s tunic. Traveling, shopping and praying In the midst of it all, Cindy s husband, Dale, had to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for an appointment. The couple is very familiar with Mayo Clinic after all that Cindy has endured and she accompanied him for what later culminated in surgery on his elbow. On the way there, she stopped at Jo-Ann s in Bismarck for one yard of green fabric for Melchior s turban, since Minot didn t have any more. As always, she prayed to the Holy Spirit as she walked into the store. While she was looking for the green material, she said, I turned down the aisle and sticking way out, almost falling off the shelf, was that color I had been seeing for Caspar s garment! She pulled it off the shelf and the name on it was Camel. Her eyes teared up. It was the perfect match to the fake tiger hide she had found earlier and the vision from God. Now she prayed they would have enough for the cloak. The sales clerk said that wouldn t be a problem. Praise God and all of His works! she thought. On another trip to Rochester for more appointments, Cindy prayed for insight into how she should replace the purple tunic and convey the story. She stopped at Jo- Ann Fabric in Rochester, but nothing came to her. When she was back home again, she made another trip to Jo-Ann Fabric in Minot, praying for inspiration to replace Caspar s original purple tunic. I just turned toward the fabric and here was a piece sticking out that matched the camel suede beautifully. I had touched it several times before and thought it was beautiful, but I had my sights on purple, Cindy said. This would be the overlay piece of the tunic, she thought, and turquoise would go beautifully with it. She turned the corner and there was the exact turquoise! The Holy Spirit didn t want purple. He wanted turquoise! Then the Holy Spirit showed her what Caspar s turban should be like. She was finally at peace with Caspar s garments and was ready to create them. For Balthazar s turban, the Holy Spirit had shown her the basic shape but she pondered how to make it. I finally realized, Oh my gosh! I m supposed to (Above left) On the front of Balthazar s turban, three jewels on the manger represent the Trinity. The Star of Bethlehem is over the Baby Jesus and there are seven jewels on the tabernacle (curved area) for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven joys of Mary (one of which is the birth of Jesus). (Above right) One side of Balthazar s turban shows the shepherds, the first visitors to Jesus, the newborn King.

9 The kings and servant The Three Kings were: Melchior Rico Ortiz (Saturday) and Bryan Schmidt (Sunday); Balthazar Ricardo Vazquez; and Caspar Randall Mathura. Garrett Aberle was the servant. The Kings had such phenomenal personalities, Cindy said. They carried themselves with dignity and grace. And Garrett was so pious and humble for the role of Servant. During the Mass, they processed in to the music of We Three Kings : the servant during the first verse which introduces the kings; Melchior on the second which tells of the gift of gold he carried, a symbol of Kingship on earth; Balthazar on the third verse which tells of frankincense, a symbol of Diety; and Caspar last as the choir and parishioners sang about his gift of myrrh, symbolizing what was to come for Jesus Death. On the fifth verse, Fr. Bruce processed in. Then, one by one, the kings walked from the choir area to the servant standing by the Nativity scene. The kings carried large chests which could easily be seen. Inside were smaller chests holding the gold, frankincense and myrrh, suitable for the size of the infant Jesus in the manger. As each king approached the servant, he handed him the large chest, then lifted the small gift from it, knelt in adoration, and placed the gift near the image of Jesus. Several parishioners later spoke of the reverence and impact of this addition to the Epiphany liturgy. Some even attended Mass twice to see it again. (Continued from page 8) put the story on the turban! She went online and found an image of the Holy Family with the word believe on it. But I still didn t have peace with it, Cindy said. That s only part of Jesus story, she thought. After praying, she worked images of shepherds (the first visitors to Jesus), the Three Kings bringing the noble gifts fit for a King, and Jesus death and resurrection into the turban, too. That was the last piece that she needed to outfit the Three Kings, Cindy thought, but she still wasn t at peace. The Holy Spirit wanted more detail on the other turbans. She finished them the Tuesday before Epiphany, and all was ready! Spiritual peace During the Three Kings project, Cindy knew the devil did not want it to be accomplished, but the Holy Spirit did. I would lay on ice packs 20 to 30 minutes, then sew then go back to the ice packs again, Cindy said. She experienced intense back, shoulder and hip pain. Her legs and feet hurt making it difficult to walk. She put her ironing board upstairs and her sewing room is downstairs, so she would get exercise and work her lungs as she went back and forth. If her feet hurt too much or she couldn t breathe well enough to make the climb upstairs, she would take a nap on a bed downstairs and then resume working on the project. She didn t want to take pain medication, because it made her mind cloudy and she knew she needed to think clearly to be able to finish the project and hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit. At a doctor appointment scheduled after creating the garments, she was told that she now has fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, and neuropathy in her lower legs, feet and hands, which is a dysfunction of one or more peripheral nerves that causes pain, numbness and weakness, on top of her sarcoidosis. (Above left) The other side shows the Three Kings. (Above right) On the back, the star represents Jesus cross. The four points symbolize the four gospels. The 12 stars surrounding the cross represent the 12 apostles. The other stars and jewels symbolize people entering heaven, which are more numerous than the stars in the sky. The chains indicate the sin that bound us until Jesus resurrection. But Cindy won t let her physical ailments bring her down. She revels in her spiritual wellness instead. It was so powerful working on this project. I knew God was going to bring good from it, Cindy said. The Holy Spirit using your hands for the good of His people provides such a complete spiritual peace that it brings you to tears. I prayed the final project would bring people closer to Jesus and give glory, honor and praise to God which in my mind is priceless! 9

10 RCIA: The road toward Catholicism Why are you a Catholic? Maybe you were baptized Catholic as an infant, but why do you remain Catholic? What draws you to the Mass and sacraments? What keeps you coming back? Those are some of the questions participants in RCIA classes might want answered. Our heartfelt responses could help them along their journey to becoming Catholic, as well. Deacon Steve and Paulette Streitz lead the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes at Our Lady of Grace. Classes typically begin in the fall and end at Easter when participants receive sacraments during the Easter Vigil Mass (which is on April 15 this year). Most people attend the weekly Thursday evening classes. Others may need private classes due to work or family obligations. Some, like Courtney Scott and Haley Oian, will be baptized, confirmed and receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. Others, like Levi Hieb, were baptized in a faith tradition whose sacrament of baptism is recognized by the Catholic Church and will receive only his First Eucharist. Emily Blocher, a teenager who started formation for the sacrament of Confirmation midyear last winter and had not completed it yet when others her age were confirmed in October by Bishop David Kagan, is joining the members of RCIA in receiving the sacraments and will be confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass with permission from Bishop Kagan. Our RCIA group, like the Catholic Church as a whole, is made up of people from many different backgrounds, yet all are yearning for the same thing to be in full communion with the Catholic Church so that they may receive the sacraments, participate fully in the 10 Mass, and be better prepared to share their Catholic faith with others. My wife and I go to church every Sunday, Levi Hieb said. He was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist faith but after attending Mass with Emily and their three children something inside of me wanted to be a part of the {parish} family, he said. What questions have been answered for Levi, who has experienced Mass frequently? Why Catholics kneel, what Catholics believe about the Eucharist, bringing to light how much that means to receive the Eucharist, he listed a few. Levi s mother was Catholic, but he and his siblings attended Methodist church with their father. So becoming Catholic himself is not a difficult change for him. Emily, Levi s wife, is his sponsor. Being active in the church as a lector and a Faith Formation teacher, she has shared some of what she knows about the Catholic Church with him. He has also learned from the speakers Deacon Steve invites to the RCIA classes. The people who come in and share their faith stories are very good, Levi said. Courtney Scott has also been attending Mass at Our Lady of Grace for about five years with Matt Schmidt, their daughter, Ella, and his family. Why did she join RCIA? I wanted to fully participate in the Mass with my family and be a good example for my daughter, she said. I was so nervous to do it, but I m glad I finally did it. Courtney has a Lutheran background but said her family did not go to church services very often. When I first started attending Mass, what surprised me was how structured it was. There was an order to it, she said. She also noticed the welcoming environment and people at Our Lady of Grace. Deacon Steve and Father Bruce, they ve always made me feel very welcome. They made a point to say It s good to see you here. Matt s family has really helped me along in this journey because they are Courtney Scott and Ella Levi Hieb such good examples, Courtney said. I hope I can be as good of an example to my daughter, too. Randie Music grew up as a nondenominational Christian. After meeting Jereomy Ova, she and her children began attending Mass at Our Lady of Grace with his family. I ve been attending for about a year and a half, she said. I decided I wanted to take a step forward and become Catholic and make it my church.

11 (Continued from page 10) Jereomy is her sponsor and they often discuss what they learn at the RCIA classes. Randie has enrolled her children, Cason and Cameron, in Faith Formation classes so that they will have an understanding of the faith before they Randie Music are baptized. At least one parent must be Catholic before a child can be baptized Catholic, Deacon Steve explained to her, so the children will be able to be baptized sometime after Randie receives the sacraments. Randie was baptized Christian, but official records were not kept, so she will be conditionally baptized, confirmed and receive her First Eucharist at the Easter Vigil Mass. She said some of the Church teachings she has learned about that stand out for her are the Catholic Church s high respect for Mary and the saints, and the teaching on repentance through the sacrament of reconciliation. Haley Oian said she began RCIA classes to be closer to God and for our marriage and future family. Haley is engaged to be married to Chad Watterud in July. Because she is a teacher in Rugby and can t easily attend Thursday evening classes, Haley and Chad participate in private instruction with Deacon Steve. I get to ask him a lot of questions and feel confident asking him questions, Haley said. Afterwards I always ask Chad questions. Sometimes he has the answer and sometimes not. Chad said he likes attending the classes with Haley and is learning along with her. I think it s totally awesome, Chad said of Haley s RCIA process. I think it s important when you have a family to be on the same page. Haley, who hadn t experienced the Catholic faith until she met Chad, said, The thing that s hard is that, since I ve never grown up with any of it, it s trying to get it all at once. For me, it s connecting the dots. But Deacon Steve does a tremendous job of teaching, she said. She recalled his explanations of the four gospels in the Bible and the Haley Oian and Chad Watterud different things Matthew, Mark, Luke and John include that can sometimes seem to contradict each other. When questions pop into her mind after the meetings with Deacon Steve, Haley can often find the answers in the binder that serves as the textbook for RCIA. I m definitely keeping that binder forever, she said. Others participating in RCIA instruction this year include Theresa Mogard, Andrew Krasemann, Zhanna Krasemann, Jamie Keys and Brittney Keys. Please pray for all of our RCIA participants and sponsors as they continue their journey of faith. Do you want to begin RCIA? Please call Deacon Steve at Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (continued from page 12) (Continued from page 12) At the end of each atrium session, the children look forward to praying to the Good Shepherd. Being in an Atrium gives children hands on experience to help them understand and relate to the parts of the Mass. Parents have told me their children pay better attention during Mass after being in the CGS atrium. This school year we are offering CGS to children ages 4 through Kindergarten. Enrollment in CGS is limited. If you would like your child to be in this program or if you are interested in getting involved as a Catechist or Aide, please call me at or call or text me at Christine Aberle Faith Formation Assistant

12 Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church th Avenue SW Minot, ND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 342 Minot ND ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Observations from the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium This is our first year offering Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) at Our Lady of Grace to children ages 4 through Kindergarten. CGS children work in an atrium, not a traditional classroom. An atrium is a holy place where the children allow the Holy Spirit to guide their minds, hands, and hearts. The atrium environment is calm and serene. I have observed children walking slowly into the atrium and getting to work. The CGS children work independently and wait patiently since only one child can work with an item and there is only one of each item in the atrium. The children love doing the altar work. As soon as one child is finished, there is another child ready to start working with the altar. We have begun learning about gestures of the Mass. One gesture is called Epiclesis, when the priest asks the Holy Spirit to send down the gift of Jesus, transforming the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. The children were excited to practice this gesture. We frequently talk about liturgical colors. The prayer table has a tablecloth that always coincides with the liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church. Some CGS children talk with their parents about liturgical colors. (Continued on page 11)