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When St. Francis of Assisi was praying before the crucifix in the little church of San Damiano, he heard Christ say to him, “Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you see, is falling into ruin.” Francis initially understood those words in a very practical way. San Damiano was in poor condition, so he began repairing the physical church with his own hands. But eventually Francis came to understand that Christ was asking something much greater of him: to help rebuild the C

Dear parishioners, This week our Confraternity of Christian Mothers will be having their annual induction for new members this Sunday. The Confraternity of Christian Mothers is a pious association intended for mothers, which has for its special object the promotion of the good Christian and Catholic education of their children. The members join their hearts in love with the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Sorrows, and unite under her patronage in m

Dear Parishioners, I recently wrote to you about St. Mary’s goal of raising $9,000 for our new HVAC system. I am humbled and overjoyed to announce that we have reached our goal! Thank you to everyone who generously helped make this possible. We are currently discussing the interior work that still needs to be completed, so please stay tuned for additional updates. We are also looking for photographs of the interior of St. Mary’s Church before the 1960s renovation. If you or a

Dear Parishioners, Over this summer, the St. Mary building committee has been working with Davis Design, an architectural firm based out of Lincoln, to master plan our vision for remodeling St. Mary's Church. This is a very exciting time, as we finish out our 2nd phase of refurbishing our Stained Glass and progress on the 3rd phase of consulting. Speaking of our windows, here is a brief update. Windows are continued to be worked on by Architectural GlassArts in Roca, NE

“Lord, give me chastity and continence, but not yet!” This infamous prayer of the young Augustine of Hippo (354-430) reflects the inner conflict of any soul who recognizes the virtuous thing to do yet fears the demanding struggle against human urges and passions. In his Confessions, St Augustine was not afraid to admit his utter powerlessness in the face of sexual temptation. As a young man, he had given in to the attraction of sexual pleasure and took a lover whom he would n

Dear Parishioners, With the start of the school year, I wanted to share the Church's approach toward education. The Catholic Church teaches that the duty of educating children rests primarily with the parents. “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer and all the virtues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2252) In h

Dear Parishioners, Latha math! Good day to you all! I just returned from Scotland and was surrounded by Gaelic and thought to add a proper Gaelic greeting to you all. I hope the Lord has blessed you these last two weeks. Over the last 10 days, Fathers Allder, Lyons, and I hiked as much as we could. A few highlights were visiting the Isle of Skye, Glencoe, Largs, and Fr. Augusta on the southern tip of Loch Ness. Of these, Bidean nam Bian or the Peak of the Mountains, located

Dear Parishioners, "To foster Sacrament-nurtured disciples of Christ who live a bold and extraordinary faith, first in the family, then flowing out into our community." Over the last six months our parish has been discerning what the Lord is asking of us as a parish family. This began as an earnest desire to surrender the good of Christ's parish of St. Joseph and St. Mary back to him. What ultimately came out of these sessions before the Blessed Sacrament was a strong d

Dear Parishioners, This weekend, we have our missionary appeal and welcome to our parishes Fr. Augustine Kipkemei, a missionary priest from the Diocese of Nakuru in Kenya -East Africa. The missionary efforts of the Church are a response to Jesus' great commission to, "Go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This spirit of mission has propelled Her members to bring the Faith to the far reaches of Africa and Asia as well as at home he

Dear Parishioners, I am so grateful to be back with you all after my 8-day Ignatian Retreat at Broom Tree in South Dakota. Truly, the Lord wants to meet us in the silence where His voice can be heard. I was deeply moved by experience and would like to invite anyone to consider doing a retreat there or at our local retreat center! One touching moment in prayer was an invitation from Mary to renew my devotion to her through the Brown Scapular. There are many devotions tha

Dear Parishioners, We are celebrating our nation's 250th anniversary as a country. This is a tremendous accomplishment for a nation to survive the test of time. Through this great struggle emerged a new nation that no longer made distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders. As Patrick Henry noted, "I am not a Virginian, but an American!." We continue to live in that unity of purpose and identity. As a nation founded under God and di

Dear Parishioners, Summer is moving quickly! I wanted to share some good news with you all. Our parishes have continued to grow since coming to the parishes two years ago with over 25 baptisms! With the increased growth in our parish numbers, our parish came to the point of needing a part-time secretary to help manage the weekly affairs for the parishes. This had been on the mind of the previous two pastors as they balanced school and parish work. Noticing the growing ne

The Irish Catholic Martyrs were the 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for both a life of heroic virtue and for dying for their Catholic faith between the reign of King Henry VIII and the Catholic Emancipation in 1829. But the full number of those who died for the faith is far greater. In 1992, a representative group of 17 Irish martyrs, chosen from a list of almost 300 who died for their faith in the 16th and 17th centuries, were beatified by Pope

Dear Parishioners, I will be gone the week of the 24th from Monday to Friday, to be with our Bishop Neumann students in our yearly mission work in Gallup, New Mexico. Last year, we worked on two houses: the retreat center, the Missionaries of Charity, and the little sisters of the Poor. Honestly, the work with the sisters of Gallup for the poor was deeply humbling. Not to mention the holy sites and adoration with the Blessed Sacrament in the evening helped to bring everyth

Dear Parishioners, Update on St. Mary Parish Renovation: Our Building committee recently met with Kevin Riley, a senior architect for Davis Design, to discuss future possibilities for remodeling the Church. We received much-needed input on flooring, painting, plaster work, lighting, aesthetic design, etc. Two major takeaways were the need for us to tighten our objectives and expand our committee. I would love to have more parishioners involved since the project will af

What are the best flowers to get mom on Mother's Day? I’ll let you think about it 😊 I was watching a few highlights from this year's 2026 Oscars when an incredible acceptance speech by Jessie Buckley floored me. In her speech, she celebrated the “beautiful chaos” and the “complex heart” of a mother, dedicating her win to the experience of motherhood. She thanked her husband, calling him an “incredible dad, her best friend,” and her desire to have 20,000 more babies with

Dear Parishioners, This weekend, we celebrate Mary's May crowning. May Crowning is a ritual in which an image or statue of Mary is crowned with a wreath of flowers and honored as the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. Honestly, this is not just something from our childhood or a parish tradition — it is a theological act, a prayer in itself. To crown Mary is to acknowledge what the Church has always believed: that she who said yes to God deserves our highest honor — not

Saint of the Month, Saint George! From a Legend of St. George: In the year 280, in a town in Cappadocia, a great soldier and champion of the oppressed was born — the man we now call St. George. His parents were Christians, and they, especially his mother, carefully instructed and trained him in the faith. When he reached the age of seventeen, he took up the profession of arms. Because he was gifted with good looks, intelligence, and fine manners, he rose quickly to a high

Dear Parishioners, First off, congratulations to our First Holy Communicants! It was a joy to have five young ladies and gentlemen receive Jesus on Divine Mercy Sunday! Second, we are quickly approaching the end of another school year, and I wanted to let you know about some upcoming events at the parishes. See below for details. May Crowning: May 3rd Ascension Thursday (Holy Day of Obligation): May 14th St. Mary Dedication Day celebration: June 7th – 8:00 am Mass with part

Dear Parishioners, A Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! Today our second graders will receive their First Holy Communion during Sunday Masses. We are reminded through this celebration of that moment of when we have the greatest union with Christ in the Eucharist. It is a true expression of God's Mercy (Jn 3:16) that we receive the very body and blood of the Son of God. In that Mercy, God was not content to sit back but to remain actively engaged to communicate His love and pr