PASSION (PALM) SUNDAY, 2014

Today we begin that great and holy week when we celebrate the mysteries of our salvation.   We had a beautiful celebration this morning with the Sisters at 7:00 AM and had quite a number of lay people join us.  We had the blessing of palms in the hall front entrance and then processed to the chapel.  Two Sisters, Sister Pia Portman and Sister Berardine joined me for the reading of the Passion according to St. Matthew.  Then I went to the St. Joseph nursing home and again celebrated the liturgy.  There we had the blessing of palms in the chapel because of the many wheel chair patients.  I also used the shorter form for the reading of the passion. For many of these older people it is difficult enough to stay awake for Mass.  However, we did have a large crowd again today with pretty well every seat taken and a few standing.

Well, we started out this day with a little rain.  I came back to my house around noon and after doing a few things, sat down in the recliner and fell asleep.  When I awoke we were having snow.  It is a beautiful snow -- very wet and clinging to the trees etc.  The last few days it has been quite warm with temperature reaching up into the lower 80's.  Now today the wind has turned to the north and the temperature has dropped to about 30 degrees. Such is the weather in Nebraska.

This past Thursday myself and five of the Sisters took a little outing to Elgin and Raeville, Nebraska.  We left about 10:30 AM and went first to Elgin where we ate lunch at the senior citizen center.  Then we went on to Raeville.  Raeville has a large and beautiful church but practically no town is there anymore.  This is the place where the Missionary Benedictine Sisters first settled when they came to the U.S.A. from Germany.  Later then they moved to Norfolk. Here are some pictures I took there.

 Population of Raeville at entrance to the town

 Exterior and front of the church

 The rectory.   Now used by parishioners for family gatherings etc.

 One of the beautiful stained glass windows in the church

 The sanctuary

The Sisters and I who visited at Raeville. Picture taken in the sanctuary.

The church reminds me somewhat of the large church at Imogene, Iowa.  It too is located in a small town and is a very beautiful church.  The Sister next to me in the picture above is Sister Catherine.  She is the Subprioress here but was born and raised in the Raeville area and so is well acquainted.  Elgin, Nebraska is the home town of our former Father Wilford and Father Frederic, as well as Sister Ruth at Clyde. Father Martin Beckman was also from there but he left our foundation at St.Pius X and joined a diocese in Minnesota.  However, there are still many Beckmans around this area.

Have a blessed Holy Week and a glorious Easter.

Still snowing here as I complete this blog.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS 4TH DEGREE

On Sunday, April 6, some of the 4th degree Knights here in Norfolk took me to West Point, Nebraska to become a fourth degree Knight.  I had been a 3rd degree Knight since about 1990 and so was happy to be able to be accepted as a fourth degree member on this date.  I will also now serve as chaplain for the local 4th degree Knights which includes a number of the surrounding towns -- Madison, Scranton, Battle Creek, Pierce etc.  The ceremony concluded with Mass celebrated by the pastor at West Point and I concelebrated.  Then we enjoyed a banquet together.  There were 33 new 4th degree members from throughout this area of Nebraska. I am posting a couple pictures here taken after the Mass.

 The class of new 4th degree members.

Four of us from the Norfolk area.

I feel privileged to be a 4th degree member and am happy for all that the Knights here in Norfolk have done to make me feel welcome.

Last Thursday, April 3, we had another round of winter.  In the morning we had rain, then it turned to sleet and finally then to snow.  While not a big snow, it was possibly the biggest snow we have had this winter.  Today is just kind of a cool day but tomorrow they are predicting it will get up close to 80 degrees.  We'll see.

As I said the snow was nothing to be excited about but it was a very wet snow and was kind of pretty early in the morning on Friday.

This Thursday a couple Sisters and I plan to go to Raeville.  There is, I am told, a very beautiful church there.  Raeville is actually also the first place where the Sisters lived and had their first monastery when they came to this country from Germany.

I am preparing for Holy Week and the Triduum these days.  Sunday will be Palm Sunday.  I will have a Mass at the nursing home on Holy Thursday and a brief communion service down there on Friday afternoon, but nothing at the nursing home on Holy Saturday.   On Easter Sunday I will have a Mass down there at the regular time -- 9:30 AM.  The Sisters have their Holy Thursday Mass at 7:00 PM, Good Friday services at 3:00 PM and then the Easter Vigil at 8:30 PM on Saturday evening with another Mass on Easter Sunday at 11:15 AM.  

I hope you all have a Blessed and Holy Week and a glorious celebration of Easter. 

God bless you all.