St.
Leos’
Parish Community
NEW LIFE LADIES:
MINISTRY GIVES WIDOWS OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT
W
hen Beata Nabity lost her husband, Alfred, she recognized how lonely the grieving process can often be. In turn, she realized that being with others who are also processing their own grief may help ease some of the pain and isolation. During Mass one morning a few years after Alfred’s passing, Beata had the idea to create a way for widows to connect and share. “I just thought, ‘All of these widows have a story to tell,’” she says. “I knew how I was feeling and doing, and I wanted a The New Life Ladies group viewed the way to share this and allow other women video series The Chosen last fall. to do the same. Maybe we could even have some fun along the way.” Around this same time, Fr. Don Buhrman approached her after Mass and asked if she would consider starting a widows group. For Beata, that sealed the deal. She and parishioner Elizabeth Harrison got a list of widows from the parish office and started making calls to gather ideas and contact information for the New Life Ladies group. The first gathering was a potluck, and the group has evolved from there. Mostly, the New Life Ladies group is a way to show widows they are not alone. Beata sends an email about once a month to keep the women upto-date on happenings with the group. In the past, the group has had continued on back cover
Inside FEB 2021
2 3
Living Lent in 2021
The Word of God: How Do We Hear It? And How Do We Respond to It?
4 Highlights of Our 2020 Stewardship Renewal 6
Celebrating the Miracle of St. Blaise Feast Day, Feb. 3
7
How Can We Model the Faith for Our Children?
Living
Lent in 2021
D
uring the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert, Satan was constantly tempting Him. He preyed on Jesus’ humanity, trying desperately to get Him to test God. Of course, we all know that it didn’t work. As Jesus is 100 percent God at the same time that He is 100 percent man, the devil was unable to take hold of Him. Yet, the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert communicates an all-important truth to us. Jesus, the God-man, experienced everything we have and everything we ever will as human beings. Satan even tried to tempt Him, just as he tempts us every day. But because Jesus is God at the same time that He is human, He had no tendency to give in to Satan’s attempts. Even so, Christ fought Satan tooth and nail, putting him in his place — “Get away, Satan! It is written, ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship, and Him alone shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10). At that, the devil left Him. We all find ourselves in similar situations. We live in a world wrought with sin, and, in his everso-cunning way, Satan makes the sinful look appealing. We must stand firm in our faith and tell Satan to “get away,” just as Jesus did. Only then 2
will we truly experience the glory of the salvation that Christ came to give. Lent offers us a particular time to fight Satan, taking courage in the resurrection that we are preparing to celebrate. It is a time that we spend focused on strengthening our relationships with the Lord. Armed with His power, which we receive in many different ways, we can resist the temptations of the devil and accept the salvation Christ offers each one of us. How can we do this? Get to know the Lord through prayer. Read the Scriptures often. St. Jerome tells us that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. So, we must be steeped in Scripture. Read it daily — chapter by chapter, or verse by verse. It is, after all, the Word of God! Draw close to the Blessed Mother — she is eager to bring us to her Son. Join her at the cross, where she witnessed her most precious Son die for each one of us. Pray the Rosary — individually and as a family. It is a powerful prayer through which, with Mary, we walk through Christ’s life, His death, and His resurrection. Unite with Christ Himself in His suffering. Let us focus on the spirit of the season. We are to be preparing ourselves, just as Christ did, for the great event that won for us salvation!
A Letter From Our Pastor
The Word of God:
How Do We Hear It? And How Do We Respond to It? Dear Parishioners,
A
few short weeks ago, we completed our Christmas season. As we begin this month, we are in what we call Ordinary Time — and before February is over, we will begin Lent. The Gospel of John begins with the statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We speak often of the Word in the Church. As most of you are aware, the first part of our Mass is called the Liturgy of the Word. What does that mean to us? There are four parts of our celebration of Mass — Introductory Rites; Liturgy of the Word; Liturgy of the Eucharist; and Concluding Rites. My focus in this reflection is the second part, the Liturgy of the Word. The main parts of that are a First Reading, a Responsorial Psalm, a Second Reading, the Gospel and a Homily. We draw on Holy Scripture from the Bible for the readings. As Catholics, we do not consider that these readings are about God, or about the Church, or about our faith, or a history lesson, or a nice story from long ago. We consider them to be God speaking directly to us. Thus, our attentiveness to what is being proclaimed is important. Are we listening? Do we hear? And then, do we respond in our lives? All of
those should be facets of how we approach the Word of God. For us, the Word of God is the living Word. God is speaking to us as a community, and He asks us to be faithful to His Word. If we pay attention and truly listen, God can nourish our spirit, and Christ can be more real and present to us. The Homily, the Responsorial Psalm, the Profession of Faith, and the Intercessions develop the Word further and complete it. The Profession of Faith is our acceptance of God’s Word. However, the question for us is, how do we respond to the Word? Does it change our lives? Does it bring us to the conversion necessary to live lives of stewardship and service? It is not easy, I know. Being able to listen, to hear, and then to act requires time, practice, commitment, and a desire to fulfill all of this. That is one of my prayers for us — that we can hear the Word, and that we can bring it to life in our own lives and in the lives of others. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Donald A. Buhrman Pastor
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2020Steward
HIGHLIGH
St. Leo's Parish Community
2020 Stewardship Renewal
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Pray T I M E S AT A L L First & Last Name Phone Email Spouse: First & Last
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his past autumn, our parish leadership at St. Leo’s conducted our 2020 Stewardship Renewal. The Stewardship Renewal gave our parish community the opportunity to discern how we are using our gifts of time, talent and treasure in service to the parish and in return to God. This month, we are happy to share with you some of the highlights of the Stewardship Renewal. • There were 222 commitment cards received from 51 percent of active households. • There were 1,733 prayer commitments — the stewardship of time — from 92 percent of participating households. • Some of the prayer commitments included: • Attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day, 176 commitments • Pray for our priests, 153 commitments • Pray for an increase in vocations, 136 commitments • Spend 15 minutes a day in personal prayer, 129 commitments • Pray for my country daily, 125 commitments
dship Renewal
HTS OF OUR
There were 794 ministry commitments — the stewardship of talent — from 84 percent of participating households. Of these, 114 were new ministry commitments, while 680 were re-commitments to parish ministries. • Some of the ministry commitments included: • Ladies of Leo’s: (LOL) Leadership Board, 73 commitments • Knights of Columbus, 70 commitments • Hospitality (Greeters), 68 commitments • Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist, 50 commitments • Prayer Chain, 48 commitments • Brothers in Christ, 33 commitments • Commentator, 31 commitments • Lector, 31 commitments • Golden Gems, 29 commitments • Abide Adoration, 27 commitments • Office Support, 24 commitments • Eucharistic Adoration, 21 commitments • There were 191 offertory commitments — the stewardship of treasure — from 86 percent of participating households. The average pledge was $2,413. • Relatively inactive families are becoming involved at St. Leo’s. Fourteen families who were not previously active in any ministry signed up to get involved in the life of the parish.
This past year was certainly a trying time for all of us, as the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we gather and worship. We thank all those who participated in our 2020 Stewardship Renewal here at St. Leo’s. If you did not have the opportunity to fill out and return a commitment card during the
Stewardship Renewal for this past year, we invite you to consider the ways you may share your gifts of time, talent and treasure with God and the parish community! 5
Celebrating the
Miracle of St. Blaise
FEAST DAY, FEB. 3
T
his month, we reflect on the life of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, who is one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers” — a group of Catholic saints whose intercession is believed to be effective against diseases. Every year on Feb. 3, we celebrate the feast day of St. Blaise, during which parishes around the world bless the throats of the faithful. So, as we continue to navigate the ongoing challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic, we may look toward St. Blaise’s example and pray for his intercession during these difficult times. Though we do not know much about the life of St. Blaise, tradition tells us that he was born to wealthy, saintly Catholic parents. Born in Armenia, he devoted his life to medicine and helping the sick. He was a physician, until he was begged by the people to become their bishop. He was appointed by the Church as bishop of the Diocese of Sebaste. Around the year 313, when the Roman Emperor Licinius was persecuting the Church, Blaise lived as a hermit in the woods among animals that he befriended. One day, a group of hunters found Blaise and seized him. Upon their trip to the governor, they encountered a woman whose pig was being attacked by a wolf. Blaise commanded the wolf to 6
leave the pig alone and, upon his command, the pig was freed unharmed. Blaise was then taken to prison, where he miraculously healed a boy who was choking to death on a fishbone. While Blaise remained in prison, the woman whose pig he had freed brought him two candles to serve as his light so that he could read the Scripture. It was from the miracle of saving the choking boy that the custom of praying to St. Blaise to cure all ailments of the throat was born. And, so, after still refusing to recant his Christian beliefs, he was suspended from a tree and his flesh was torn with iron combs or rakes. Blaise was then thrown into a lake to drown. To the surprise of his persecutors, he surfaced and walked upon the water, and
he invited his persecutors to join him. They should do this, he said, to show the power of their gods. The pagans took him up on his invitation, and ultimately they were drowned. Blaise was then told by an angel to return to dry land to receive martyrdom. He was beheaded on the shore and immediately went to heaven. Because of his prison experience and his great reputation as a healer, St. Blaise’s intercession is invoked for the healing of diseases affecting the throat. The candles that the clergy place upon our throats while blessing them symbolize the candles that enlightened St. Blaise’s cell as he studied Sacred Scripture — connecting his spiritual life to the physical healing. Let us remember to invoke the intercession of this great healer upon any ailments that might be affecting us, either physical or spiritual — especially those pertaining to the throat. The blessing of the throats is done by the priest holding two blessed candles near the throat in the form of a cross. The priest says, “Through the merits and intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver thee from all diseases of the throat, and preserve thee from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
HOW CAN WE MODEL THE FAITH
for Our Children? T
he Church has made it clear that parents are primarily responsible for the spiritual and cognitive development of their children in matters of the faith. As the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, states, “Husbands and wives find their proper vocation in being witnesses of the faith and love of Christ to one another and to their children” (Chapter 4, Section 35). The Catechism of the Catholic Church further emphasizes this vocation, by pointing out that the moral education and spiritual formation of children is not only the right, but the responsibility, of their parents: “The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable... Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children” (CCC 2221, 2223). But how can we as parents create an environment in the home conducive to spiritual and moral development? As busy adults, how are we to disseminate the knowledge and understanding of the tenets of the faith to our children in the way that a trained and experienced catechist can? Furthermore, how do we strike a balance between teaching our children in the home and not interfering with the faith formation and sacramental preparation they are currently receiving through their parish school or religious education program? The answer to all of these questions is stewardship. Indeed, it is important that we reinforce the lessons that our children learn in school and at religious education classes by talking to them about the faith, reading Sacred Scripture with them, and
spending time in family prayer. And there are several authoritative resources online that can help parents in this task, including Catholic Parents OnLine — www.catholicparents.org — which links parents to numerous websites and documents that can help them in talking to their children about the faith. But the best way that we can teach our children is by serving as a living example to them of how to live as disciples of Christ. If we want our children to grow up as strong Catholics and to display a lifelong commitment to their faith, then it is important that we ourselves live a committed faith life. This includes an ongoing commitment to our own faith formation as adults and active participation in the sacraments. It also includes the giving back of our time, talent, and treasure in service of our community in thanksgiving for the gifts that God has given us. Parenting can be a tough vocation, and children deal with many influences in their lives that exist in stark contrast to the values that their parents often hope to instill within them. Fortunately for parents, the stewardship way of life provides a simple and effective model for teaching our children in matters of the faith. By living as stewards of God’s gifts and reaping the spiritual rewards that accompany this lifestyle, we are tangibly showing our children that sharing of our gifts and talents leads to a life of happiness and spiritual fulfillment. In doing this, we give them a good opportunity to follow in our footsteps and make their faith a top priority for the rest of their lives. 7
2410 S. Blaine Street Grand Island, NE 68801 (308) 382-4753 | www.saintleos.org
NEW LIFE LADIES
continued from front cover
a winery tour and has enjoyed playing, cards, Bunco, viewing movies, and a wine and cheese party. However, because of COVID-19, most of 2020 was put on hold. Most recently, a small group had been gathering on Mondays to watch The Chosen video series, which depicts Jesus as He chose the apostles. A lively discussion followed. “One of the quotes in the movie is ‘Get used to different,’” Beata says. “I am using that as my go-to motto because I think that quote is pertinent now, too.”
Beata is thankful for Elizabeth, who does all the calling to those recently widowed. “Every widow is a member of this group, whether they attend events or not,” Beata says. She hopes this group can be a jumping-off point for widows to meet one another and maybe form their own circles of friends. The members are all there for one another. “We are all one family in Christ,” Beata says. “When we can get together and share our stories, that helps all of us grow in faith.”
If you would like to get involved in the New Life Ladies group, please contact Beata Nabity at 308-227-1141 or abnabity@hotmail.com.
LITURGY SCHEDULE Daily Mass: 9 a.m., Saturday: 5 p.m., Sunday: 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Confession: Saturday 4 - 4:30 p.m. Adoration: First Friday of the Month, 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Abide Adoration: Fourth Sunday of the Month, 7 - 8 p.m.