BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER 518 W. State Street Grand Island, NE 68801 308-384-0532 Website: blsachurch.net Volume 2014, Issue 170 February 2014 A MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR... Hello Church! Has it been cold enough for you? Spring is coming. Much is always going on at Blessed Sacrament Parish. I have had the chance recently to visit the Catholic Community of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in New Orleans. I felt such a sense of gratitude. Our Parish has been sending St. Gabriel s $300.00 per month for the past five years. They have slowly, but surely, been getting back on their feet. They were devastated by Katrina. They say thank you! A warm welcome to Fr. Louis who is with us learning about American life and life at Blessed Sacrament Parish and life in the Diocese of Grand Island. Thank you Church for what you do and for who you are. Peace, Fr. Todd Children writing Valentine letters to the ones we love, learning about Noah s Ark, Dental Health and outer space will be what you will see in the preschool classrooms during February. Our thoughts turn to how we can show love and kindness to our family and friends. Preschool registration for the 2014-2015 school year is underway. Blessed Sacrament Catholic Preschool is the only NAEYC accredited, Catholic Preschool in Grand Island. Classes are available for 3, 4 and 5 year olds. Please contact the preschool office for information. As you see on the preschool bulletin board our preschool days are filled with activities that include Family, Faith and Community. Our families help with projects, Father Todd, Father Louis and Sister Clarice assist in our learning about our faith and the Grand Island community brings programs to the preschool classes. Our hearts are full of gratitude this Valentine month. Barb Seier, Director
This is My Story Most of you know me by now, but my name is Fr. Louis Sellam. I was born in a tiny village in India called Palnellore, Sri Perambudur Taluk, Kancheepuram County, located in Tamil Nadu State. I know, it s a mouthful! I went to a Catholic grade school in my village and graduated from St. John s High School in Nellore. I attended seminary in a large city called Hyderabad, which is the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. I took lots of Philosophy and Theology classes during seminary. I was ordained to the priesthood in 1988 for the Diocese of Nellore. I just celebrated my 25 th anniversary as a priest last January 15, 2013, with a Mass at the village where I grew up. I thanked the Lord for giving me this vocation. I have enjoyed serving and ministering to so many people. At my Jubilee Mass, there were 77 priests, 42 nuns and more than 3,000 lay people (including family and friends) in attendance. My Bishop, M.D. Prakasam, was also there to celebrate with me. We had a cultural program and a dinner that all of my guests were invited to. In my 25 years as a priest, I have worked in many locations throughout the Diocese of Nellore, in both big and small parishes. I trained the catechists at St. Paul s Regional Catechist Training Center. In another parish, Donakonda, I upgraded the Middle School to a High School. I ve served as a correspondent to primary schools, as well as high schools, during my priesthood. I worked in eight different parishes where I was involved in activities, such as: the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, small Christian communities, women s self-help groups, youth groups, etc. During my Jubilee year in 2013, I took a one year sabbatical and toured some important places in India. I visited St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica in Chennai, Tamil Nadu State. St. Thomas was one of the twelve apostles and after his death, this church was built over his grave. I also visited St. Francis Xavier Church in Goa State. This Basilica holds the mortal remains of the saint it s named after, St. Francis Xavier. I visited a church named after Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (West Bengal State), dedicated to Mother Teresa who founded the Missionaries of Charity. My fourth stop was to visit a church dedicated to the first woman Saint of India, St. Alphonsa, who was born in Kottayam located in Kerala State. Her mortal remains can also be found there. From 2001 to 2004, I worked abroad for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma in the communities of Yukon, Frederick, Walters and Grand Field. They were really good people, just like you, and they were very helpful to me since we come from such different countries and cultures. Our languages, customs, food and road conditions are very different. During my vacations, I had the opportunity to visit Canada for an international youth meeting, and I also travelled to France, Spain, Portugal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Madigorue and Poland. I have a lot of stickers in my passport. I grew up in a farming community. My dad used to cultivate paddy rice and pea nuts. We also grow ragi, red peppers, edible seeds like Bengal gram, red gram and horse gram, fruits such as bananas and mangoes, flowers like jasmine and roses, vegetables like brinjal (eggplant), tomatoes, onions, ladies fingers and drumsticks. We had sheep, goats and chickens at home that my older brother cared for. In our Indian cuisine, we use lots of spices and flavorings: chili powder, black mustard, cardamom, cumin, lentils, cinnamon, coconut, turmeric, ginger, coriander, garlic and rose water. My mother is now 90 years old, and my dad died 22 years ago. I have three brothers and one sister. I am the second oldest of the siblings. My older brother takes care of the farm; then there s me; my next brother works for the press; my youngest brother is a carpenter; and my sister (the baby of the family) stays at home to care for her two daughters who are going to school. I have four nieces and five nephews. Pastoral Ministry in India is a very challenging task, as we minister to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Communists and Jainism. But in spite of all the challenges and difficulties, I always know that Jesus is with me to guide me and protect me. When I m having problems, I think of Jesus and His cross. Mother Mary is always with me, too. When Fr. Arul and I arrived at Eppley Airport in Nebraska, Bishop William Dendinger was there to greet us. We were both very happy to see the Bishop. We were also welcomed by your Nebraska weather, as it was extremely cold, windy and snowy on the day we arrived. We are still adjusting to your weather! Thanks to all of you! Peace and blessings! Fr. Louis Sellam
Stewardship Lessons from Trusted Old Sources By Ed Laughlin If you are as old as I am, you are aware of something called the Baltimore Catechism. It was used in the U.S. Church from 1885 to the 1960s. It was sometimes criticized for being merely a rote memory of questions and answers. However, some of those questions and answers are worth recalling today, especially in light of the concept of stewardship. Question No. 223 states, Which are the chief corporal works of mercy? The correct answer was The chief corporal works of mercy are seven: To feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to ransom the captive, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead. Isn t that what stewardship is all about? Isn t that how we are supposed to live out our lives? If we do that, have we not made great strides toward holiness? Of course, there is more to being holy than that, but I cannot think of harbor the harborless without coming to the realization that my personal world is filled with harborless souls. I have a great love and devotion for Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu you know, Mother Teresa. She had a way of putting the stewardship way of life in proper perspective. She said, Do we know our poor people? Do we know the poor in our house, in our family? Perhaps they are not hungry for a piece of bread. Perhaps our children, our husband, our wife are not hungry, or naked, or dispossessed, but are you sure there is no one there who feels unwanted, deprived of affection? In fact, they may indeed be harborless, living very close to us, and need us to be good stewards of our time by giving them our love and mercy. See more at: http://www.thecatholicsteward.com/2014/01/16/stewardship-lessons-from-a-trusted-oldsource/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed%3a+thecatholicsteward+%28the+catho lic+steward%29#sthash.tv56xifa.dpuf
OUR CHURCH DURING CHRISTMAS
Children s Christmas Choir 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Adult Christmas Choir with Instrumentalists At Midnight Mass