Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
NEW ULM DIOCESAN COUNCIL OFCATHOLIC 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 timeafter 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 num-bered. The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which weget 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 severepenance (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--thetransformation of water into wine at the wedding of Cana. Thus, for Catholics, Ordinary Time is the part of the year inwhich 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 willusually be wearing Green vestments unless it is a special feast. Green vestments and altar cloths have traditionally beenassociated with the time after Pentecost, the period in which the Church founded by the risen Christ and enlivened bythe 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 holdan evening of reflection encouraging members to spend some time in prayer.These are just a few ideas for activities during these Winter months.
The March for Life in Washington, D.C. began as a small demonstration on January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of thenow-infamous Supreme Court decisions in Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life eventin the world. The peaceful demonstration that has followed on this somber anniversary every year since is a witness to thetruth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, legalized abortion on demand.
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 beheld on Friday, January 20th. As in previous Inauguration years, the National ParkService assigned the next day possible for the March for Life. While advocating forthe most precious cause of life is the goal of the March for Life, the safety of allparticipants is of the utmost concern and so are very grateful for the cooperation andassistance of the National Park Service, the Capitol Police, the Metro Police, Su-preme Court Police, etc.because thousands of people participate in this March.
The National Council of Catholic Women has always supported life and most years the NCCW Board ofDirectors have been involved in this March for Life Rally. I have had the privilege of participating in several ofthese marches during the years I served on the National Board. It is an experience that is not easily forgotten! I knowvery few from our area are able to attend this March in Washington D.C. but consider watching it on TV. I am sure itwill 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 andknow 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 OFYOU 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. Additionalstops can be arranged in Redwood Falls and other points along the way. We will be attending the noon Mass at theCathedral of St. Paul and then march or ride the bus to the 2:00 rally. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunchand to dress warmly. For more information or to reserve a spot, contact John Rabaey at 507-532-7532 [email protected] Living Water Area Faith Community - A bus will be leaving from the following locations in this area:- Church of Our Lady of Lakes, 15525 69th 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.
EVERY LIFE IS WORTH LIVING
2016-17DIOCESAN CCW SERVICE PROJECT HEARTLAND GIRLS RANCH
Heartland Girls Ranch located near Benson, MN is a well-established safehaven for girls who have experienced various types of trauma. It was estab-lished in 1992. Last year alone, they served 77 girls mostly between the agesof 14-17. Many come beaten by family members, or battered and abused bypimps and various other types of trauma including trauma from being sextrafficked. 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 thegirls lives. Many times the girls that they help arrive without much of anything so any monetary assistance they receivecan 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 alsotry to educate and help people to become better informed about human trafficking. The dangers exist even in our smallrural 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 parishbecome better informed about human trafficking and have you had some kind of fundraiser so your CCW group cangive a donation towards this project?
40 DAYS FOR LIFE
The Opening Rally will be held on Saturday, March 4 from 10am-noon & the Closing Rally will be Saturday, April 810am-noon. Please put these dates on your 2017 calendar & plan to join us as you have in the past. Or if you havenot joined us, please consider doing so. You can e-mail me at [email protected] or call at 320-453-7592 with anyquestions 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.
MARCH 1 TO APRIL 9TH, 2017 7AM-7PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
Announcement: 40 Days for Life is looking for a new co-chair. Assistance is needed in coordinating volunteers tomaintain the Peaceful Vigil at the Planned Parenthood in St. Cloud. Please contact Judy Haag if God is calling YOU!!!
Information submitted by Judy [email protected] or call 320-453-7592
DCCW DUES NOTICESNotices have been sent out to all parish CCW groups to pay your DCCW dues for2016-17. Unfortunately these notices are very late as most of you can see theywere to be paid by January 1, 2017 as indicated in our Diocesan CCW By-Lawsbut most of us didn’t get them until close to that date if not after the date. It will bevery much appreciated if your parish will pay these dues as soon as possible if youhave not done so already. We would like to see every parish have membership inour Diocesan CCW because much good is done by the Diocesan Council.ofCatholic Women.
CAN YOU BE COUNTEDas a NCCW individual member?
Membership is only $50 a year - less than $5 a month. Join and becounted as an individual member. The membership form is on theNCCW website - www.nccw.org. You are needed and it is an addi-tional way to support our national organization which represents usas Catholic Women in so many different ways.
Your attendance is wanted along with many women from your parish. Region 1 toRegion 5 gatherings will start with 5:30 pm registration. Region 6 gathering startswith 9 am Mass. Note when your Region CCW Spring Gathering is scheduled andstart organizing a carpool. What a great way to spend a spiritually uplifting eveningor morning during Lent!
REGION CCW SPRING GATHERINGS
Region One Thursday, March 16, 2017 Cathedral, New UlmRegion Two Thursday, March 9, 2017 St. Joseph, LambertonRegion Three Tuesday, March 7, 2017 Ss. Peter & Paul, IvanhoeRegion Four Tuesday, April 4, 2017 St. Mary’s, BeardsleyRegion Five Monday, March 20, 2017 Sacred Heart, FranklinRegion Six Saturday, March 11, 2017 Holy Family, Silver Lake
Begins with 9:00 am Mass
DCCW SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINEParish CCW Donations to Scholarship Fund are due March 1, 2017Completed Applications are also due March 1, 2017REMEMBER: Your parish CCW has to donate some monies to thescholarship fund for any individual, school or your CCW group toqualify for a scholarship.
PRAY for Christian Unity Week : January 18-25Catholic Schools Week: January 29 - February 4
St. Angela MericiFeast Day: January 27th
St. TarasiusFeast Day: February 25th
When Angela Merici was 56 she said “No” to the Pope. She was aware thathe was offering her a great honor and a great opportunity to serve when heasked 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 hopebecause in the 15th & 16th century that Angela lived in, education for womenwas for the rich or for the nuns. Times were much different then - women
NUNS were the best educated women but they weren’t allowed to leave their cloisters. There were no teaching ordersof sisters like we have today. So, these girls grew up without education in religion or anything at all. Angela invented anew way - she brought together a group of unmarried women who went out into the streets to gather up the girls they sawand teach them. They were so successful that Angela was asked to bring her innovative approach to education to othercities and impresssed many people including the pope. She had the inspiration and push to make her little group moreformal which later became known as Angela’s Company of Saint Ursula or the Ursulines. They were the first group ofwomen 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, openyour 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
weren’t allowed to be teachers and unmarried women were not supposed to go out by themselves.
St. ScholasticaFeast Day: February 10th
St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict and consecrated her life to God from herearliest 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 brotherat a place near his abbey and they would spend the day worshiping together and discussingsacred texts and issues. On one occasion they passed the time in prayer and discussion. It gotlate and she begged her brother to remain until the next day. St. Benedict refused to spend thenight outside his monastery. At that point, Scholastic closed her hands in prayer, and after amoment, 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. 3days later, St.Scholastica died, and her holy brother beheld her soul in a vision as it ascended
St. Tarasius was subject of the Byzantine Empire. He was raised to thehighest honors in the Empire as Consul, and later became first secretary to theEmperor Constantine and his mother, Irene. When being elected patriarch ofConstantinople, he consented to accept the dignity offered to him only oncondition that a GeneralCouncil should be summoned to resolve the disputesconcerning the veneration of sacred images, for Constantinople had beenseparated 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 in786; it met again the folloing year at Nice and its decrees were approved bythe Pope. The holy Patriach incurred the enmity of the Emperor by hispersistent refusal to sanction his divorce from his lawful wife. He witnessed the death of Constantine, which was occa-sioned 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 andpeople. He occupied the See of Constantinople twenty-one years and two months. His charity toward the poor was oneof the chracteristic virtues of his life. He visited in person, all the houses and hospitals in Constantinople, so that noindigent person might be overlooked in the distribution of alms. He died in the year 806.
into heaven in the form of a shining white dove. Benedict had her body brought to his monastery, where he had it laid inthe tomb he had prepared for himself. She is known as the patron saint of Convulsions in Children and Rain.
JANUARY - FEBRUARYPRAYER INTENTIONS
Pope’s Prayer Intention for JanuaryChristian Unity - That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charityto restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.Pope’s Prayer Intention for FebruaryComfort for the Afflicted - That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may findwelcome and comfort in our communities.
Bishop’s Prayer Intention for JanuaryGeneral Intention - That the world come to realize that Christ, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and ofHis love, makes us fully manifest to ourselves and brings to light our exalted vocation, that is, to love.Bishop’s Prayer Intention for FebruaryGeneral Intention - That the people of the Diocese of New Ulm would rediscover the beauty of the Gospel which givesjoy 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 hopethat your CCW groups continue to keep God as the center of all that you do. Bydoing the many service projects and keeping God at the center, you truly arecarrying out His work here on earth. God is Love!Please share the information in this newsletter to all those around you. You willalso soon be receiving the Winter Newsletter in the mail and I will also be for-warding it to you by email. It has lots of good and valuable information: message
My husband and I will be taking a short vacation to Mexico to enjoy the warmsunshine so will be gone for a few weeks. That’s one of the reasons for combin-ing the two months in this e-newsletter. and also trying to finish the work on theWinter, 2017 Newsletter.Our continued thanks for carrying out the work of Council.
Blessings,Donna SandersNUDCCW Newsletter Editor
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. TheWinter newsletter along with this e-newsletter will also be posted on our New Ulm DCCW website:www.nudccw.org
