Sunday Liturgy: 11:00 a.m.; Tuesday Mass: 10:00 a.m.

Parish Bulletin for May 20, 2012
Seventh Sunday of Easter — The Ascension of the Lord

Pope Benedict XVI’s General Intention:
Contribution of Women: That the whole world may recognize the contribution of women to the development of society.
   —To see all of Pope Benedict’s General Intentions for 2012, go to the Catholic Links page. 

Important Dates: 
     • Finance Council Meeting: May 22, 1:00 p.m. in Parish Center meeting room.
     • Parish Council Meeting: May 22, 5:00 p.m. in Parish Center meeting room.
     • Altar and Rosary Society Meeting: May 24, 1:00 p.m. in Parish Center meeting room.
     • Calendar Planning Meeting: May 30 at St. Benedict’s; Mass at 9:00 a.m.; meeting at 10:00 a.m.
     • Sacrament of Confirmation: June 3, at a special 4:00 p.m. Mass to be celebrated by Bishop Isern.
                            Note: time change to 4:00 p.m.
     • Worship Committee: June 12, 2:00 p.m. in Parish Center meeting room.

Ascension Thursday, May 17: The Feast of the Ascension commemorates Jesus' ascension into heaven 40 days after his resurrection. Thus Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter, on the 6th Thursday of Easter or May 17. In our diocese the solemnity is celebrated on the Sunday after the traditional date or May 20, 2012. 

Solar Eclipse This Sunday Evening — All Invited: Resident photographer and webmaster, Ed Stewart is also an amateur astronomer. He is inviting the parish to join him this evening to safely view a solar eclipse.
   A solar eclipse (when the moon passes in front of the sun casting its shadow onto the earth) is a rare event that shouldn’t be missed. On Sunday, May 20, an unusual “annular” eclipse will occur when the moon is near its furthest point from the earth due to its elliptical or egg-shaped orbit, and thus is too small to completely cover the sun’s disk. The result is a “ring of fire” of the sun showing around the moon. But the Valley will be off center to the north so that we will see a broken ring or an extreme crescent shape of sunligh
   Ed, as a part of the Dark Skies group, will have a safe solar viewing device set-up for public viewing, weather permitting, of the eclipse at the west end of Main Street. The first noticeable contact of the moon with the sun is at 6:30 p.m., and the mid-point will be at 7:31 p.m. But the moon/sun will only be at an elevation of 7 degrees, hopefully above the Sangre de Cristo Mountains!
   Next up: the last-in-our-lifetime experience of the transit of Venus across the sun’s disk on June 5. 

 
Memorial Day Mass and Blessing of the Graves: Fr. Nicodemus will celebrate Mass here at Our Lady of the Assumption on Monday, May 28, Memorial Day at 1:30 p.m. After Mass, everyone is encouraged to go to the Assumption Cemetery where Fr. Nic will bless the graves. 

New Parish Secretary: Sandy Dunlap is well known to most people in our parish and has been a parishioner at Our Lady of the Assumption for more than eight years. She has been volunteering her time for months in order to receive the necessary training to run the office. Sandy will be available in the parish office Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Parishioner Terry Salter in the Hospital: For those who would like to send a Mass Card to Terry Salter who is in the hospital, here is the address: Terry Salter, c/o VA Medical Center, MICO, 1055 Clermont Street, Denver, CO 80220.

Father Vicente's Burial Site: As you may or may not remember Father Vicente spoke to us regarding death planning - he lead by example. He planned every aspect of his funeral and burial. He did not want his grave revered and felt very strongly about the fact he wanted to be buried amongst the poor and be like them in death, too. With love and good intentions individuals have decorated his grave. Father's sister - Leonie - has been consulted and requested all the decorations be removed and asked that the grave remain as simple as possible in keeping with Father’s wishes. A simple white cross will be placed to mark his grave. Leonie sends her eternal thanks for all the cards, love, and wonderful support given to her over the last few months. 

The following is an email that was sent from Fr. Vicente’s sister, Leonie, regarding his grave:
Dear Richard:
   Thank you for your kind message and the Mothers day greeting although it is not Mother’s day here in Britain. That was in March   Oh Richard it’s so sad about the grave.   I have spoken to Al Cordova on the telephone and we have agreed to remove all the decoration from it but I know that people might be hurt as they loved him so much and want to grieve for him in their own way. BUT he also told Al that he did not want his grave revered and felt very strongly about the fact that he wanted to be buried amongst the poor and be like them in death, too.
   I would be so grateful if you could compose a piece for the bulletins asking people to understand his wishes and also thanking them again for all the wonderful support and love they have given me over the last few months. I really want the grave to remain as simple as possible and we are already not carrying out his wishes by having it even marked!
   I have sent a donation for the cemetery to Al and also a card to Emeterio thanking him for his work in making the cross.
 If there is anything else I can do please let me know. I shall be spending Memorial Day with a parishioner from Westcliffe who is visiting us on holiday.  It’s Dianne Whalen who did the reading at Vincent’s funeral. It will be good to have a small link to Vincent in that way  With love and many thanks again, Leonie

 
Mother’s Day Blessing & Breakfast:
Fr. Nick asked all the mothers to come forward for a special blessing and then passed out prayer cards. The breakfast was held after Mass in the Parish Hall. All of the cooking is traditionally done by the men of our parish to honor the ladies of the parish.

To view more photos in the 2012 Parish Events, click here.

Parish Council Minutes Published on Website:
Minutes through Tuesday, March 20, 2012, have been added to the parish website recently.
To access them, visit the homepage and click on the Parish Council button on the left or click here.
    This photo of Parish Council taken back in 2002 shows D.D. Cazedessus, Gene Bidon,
Gerry Dearborn, Jim Christoff, Debbie Bayer, Tony DiDomenico, and Richard Hrpcha.

Congratulations to Natalie Wray and Patrick Mortenson: The Altar and Rosary Society will award Natalie and Patrick, graduating seniors from Custer County High School, $500 scholarships for help with their future education. Anne Luman, A&R president, will present the awards at Mass on May 27. Both Natalie and Patrick have been active for many years in Our Lady of the Assumption.

VALI Assisted Living: There is also a need for help in transporting residents of VALI Assisted Living to Mass on Sundays. Terry Napolitan has been providing this service but he will be traveling for business. We need several parishioners who are willing to help when Terry is out of town. For more information, please call Terry at 783-0190. 

Everybody loves a coffee break: Thank you so much to Mrs. Anne Luman who has graciously volunteered to be the coordinator to expedite the coffee time after Sunday Mass. We need volunteers to help in the set up before Mass and the clean up afterwards. We also need people to bring cookies, cakes, donuts or any other type of goodies to share. Please fill out the form attached to the printed bulletin.

Easter Devotions Online: The Stations of Light or The Via Lucis reflects upon the final chapters of each of the four gospels, which narrate the appearances of the Risen Lord from Easter to Pentecost. Fourteen "Stations of Light" have been identified for this purpose. To access, go the homepage on the upper right.
   And on American Catholic.org, you will find Easter to Pentecost devotions, and ways to celebrate the Easter season from Easter Sunday through Pentecost with written, audio and video resources.

Food Drive for the Share Center: The Share Center located at Hope Lutheran Church is in great need of your help! They would like to stock up their pantry. The summer months are coming and many children in Custer County will go hungry because they will not have the benefit of school lunches. Please do some shopping and drop of the non-perishable goods behind the picket fence in the narthex. We will be happy to deliver all the food to the Share Center. Let us show our generosity to those who are less fortunate than we are.

Sacrament of Holy Communion
& May Crowning: on May 6, at the 11:00 a.m. Mass, we had five children receiving their first communion: Brooke Flynn, Alexandria and Max Ley, Grace Schultz and Boden Wilson. They also participated in the May Crowning ceremony.

For additional photos and instructions on how to order prints, click here.

 
The New Parish Directory is Here: If you are a registered parishioner, please pick up your complimentary copy on the table in the narthex. Just look for the envelope with your name on it.
    Thank you so much to Ileen Lemons, Sandy Dunlap, Mary Jo Revitte, Carmel Mortenson, and Ed Stewart on the excellent results of their many hours of work. It’s a beautiful achievement! Thanks also to Elizabeth Watson for the last minute re-takes and to Shantell, Halie and Sam for helping with anything we asked during the photography time.

 

Help Habitat for Humanity: a local faith based non-profit organization, is requesting donations of home improvement items, used appliances and some furniture to help them reach their goal to start a new home in fall of 2012. Call them for free pick up at 275-1787 or bring items to the Restore at 727 S. 8th St. in Canon City. If you have volunteer time to share, would like to apply for a home or low income (household annual income $13,612) or if you are a senior citizen wanting part-time work, call Jan at 275-7781. Your prayers will be sincerely appreciated.

Stained Glass Window Update: Our own Doug Bayer is making progress on the circular stained glass window that will be installed above the doors separating the narthex and church nave when completed. Shown here in his studio is Doug and Jerry Lacy fitting some of the approximately 900 separate pieces of glass it will take to form the finely detailed image.

Help Needed in Hospitality Ministry: We are in great need for members of the parish to volunteer for clean-up after refreshments on Sunday.  Also, if you can set up or bring goods to share that would be wonderful.  Please write your name on the sign-up sheet on the board in the narthex, or call Anne Luman-783-0184.

Homebound Ministry: We at OLA are a wonderful caring community. Homebound Ministry reaches out to all members of our parish when a member is temporarily or permanently unable to attend Mass. At the moment, on Sundays, we bring the Eucharist to those who are homebound and provide transportation to Mass for the residents who live at VALI Assisted Living. We will be expanding on this ministry in the future to help parishioners experiencing other needs. We currently have several parishioners involved in this rewarding ministry but we need more help. If you feel called to serve in this capacity or would like more information, please call Barbara Napolitan at 783-0190.
   There is also a need for help in transporting residents of VALI Assisted Living to Mass on Sundays. Terry Napolitan has been providing this service but he will be traveling for business. We need several parishioners who are willing to help when Terry is out of town. For more information, please call Terry at 783-0190.

 

Homily Synopsis:
Fr. Nicodemus is aware that his accent will take some getting used to, and that some people are having a hard time understanding his Homily. Therefore, we will provide a synopsis of his homily here in the bulletin every week. We hope that this helps.

Please click here to view the synopsis.

April Debt Reduction Update: Paying extra on the principal of our mortgage makes a difference. The total collection for the last week of January and the month of March 2012 for the Building Fund was $4,610. The normal monthly loan payment is $$1,200. By making this extra lump sum payment we shorten the loan by 0.42 years and save $1,7612 in interest payments. The loan was just refinanced in January at a lower interest rate of 4%.

Newly elected officers of the OLA Altar and Rosary: Anne Luman, President; Marni Tschumper, Vice President; Sandy Dunlap, Secretary; and Jean Brook, Treasurer

 

Appeal for Parish Funding of Final Icon, Pierre Toussaint: Fr. Vicente asked that the parish contribute the $6,500 needed to commission the icon for Pierre Toussanit (click name for more information), the sixth icon by Father Bill McNichols. Thank you so much to those who have already contributed. $3,510 has been collected so far. We now have the down payment required to order the icon from Fr. Bill McNichols and have the artwork started.
   Pierre Toussaint, the former slave and hairdresser from Haiti, who is expected to be proclaimed a saint by the Church. Toussaint’s life was a miracle of charity and kindness.  Born a slave in 1766, he did not allow that fact to prevent him from helping his fellow man, whatever their race.  He overcame every adversity in his life through his complete embrace of the commandment of Christ, “Love one another”.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesdays: Please sign up if you are interested in continuing the perpetual adoration that began while our teens were in Madrid. We are looking for people to sign-up for Tuesdays beginning at 11:00 a.m. and ending at 6:00 p.m. with Benediction following immediately afterwards. Come and “Be Still” with the Lord for an hour a week.

Call Patti Schultz at 783-9146 to put your name on the list.

Lighthouse Pregnancy Center Needs Seeks Volunteers: The Lighthouse Pregnancy Center here in Custer County is in need of volunteers who have a heart and a calling to the ministry of helping pregnant women and single mothers with supplies and counseling. There are volunteer brochures on the table in the narthex. If you are called to help, fill one out today.

Religious Articles for Missions Needed: Do you have missals, prayer books, medals, scapulars, crucifixes, statues and/or rosaries that are not being utilized? The "Rosary Beggar," (Peter Gaidos of Garland, Texas) fills mission boxes with your donations and sends the boxes to missions in 32 countries, including South America, Africa and parts of Russia, and to poor parishes throughout the USA.
   We have a basket on the table in the narthex labeled "Religious Articles for the Missions" to collect your donations. Altar and Rosary will send all donations to the Rosary Beggar.

Icon of St. Damien of Moloka'i Installed: The fifth of six icons has recently been installed to the
far left of the altar. For more information on St. Damien, click here.

Living and working in Taos, NM, Father Bill is described by Time Magazine as “among the most famous creators of Christian iconic images in the world.” In an interview in America Magazine, he said: “I've thought a lot about this connection between our lives and the lives of the heavenly images icons place before us, and it's something I really must mention: What you gaze at you become. Not only what you hear and listen to, but what you see. Ignatius was really brilliant in this way. We always say, you are what you eat.
   But you are what you see too, what you gaze at. We Americans will spend hours in front of the television, kind of the new icon that we gaze at, and it glares back at us. And yet, we don't make any connection with what it would be like to gaze at something that truly loves us, and wants to bring us close to God. We need to gaze at truly conversational, truly loving images... images that will return our love.”
   Father Bill collaborated with Taos author Mirabai Starron Mother of God, Similar to Fire (Orbis Books) last year. The book features Father Bill's icons of Mary (embracing such diverse expressions as the Black Madonna, Latina, Bosnian, Greek, Italian, and native depictions of Mother Mary) accompanied by Starr's lyrical prose-poems.

 

To view photos of Fr. Vicente's Mass of Christian Burial and directions to his grave, click here. A memorial video of photos and video clips has been produced to capture Fr. Vicente's interaction with his parishioners and his voice while reading a biblical passage, singing the Mass of Creation, and speaking a homily. To view the video, visit this copy on YouTube.com at: http://bit.ly/FrVicente

New Email Addresses: The office at St. Benedict’s has new email address: <stbenedicts_81226 @ yahoo.com>

Rosary on Tuesday Mornings: The Rosary will be prayed every Tuesday morning in the nave of the church at 9:25 a.m. before the Tuesday Mass at 10 a.m. All are welcome to join in prayer.

Homebound Ministry: If you know anyone who is ill or handicapped or for whatever reason cannot come to Mass on Sundays, please call the parish office and let us know. We have a team of wonderful people here in our parish that travel every Sunday to bring Communion to the homebound. This is a very important ministry and we cannot help people unless we know about them.

Icon Paintings: five icon paintings by Father William Hart McNichols have been added to the church nave so far. For their stories click here. At the first of March, 2010, he began his artwork on the icon of San Isidro or Saint Isidore, and it was hung in the church nave in the second week of April.
    The Montanos have generously donated for St. Isidore, the patron of ranchers and farmers, and St. Frances Cabrini. They wish to consider their donation a challenge to the parish so that the final icon, Pierre Toussaint, might be purchased.
    Stained Glass Windows: Our artist in residence, Doug Bayer, has designed a series of stained glass windows which he based on the Book of Revelation, chapters 21 and 22. The three windows behind the altar will represent the new Jerusalem where God and the Lamb of God are worshipped in eternity. The main altar window was installed on January 20, 2010. On Friday, August 4, 2011, the windows depicting the Archangel Raphael and the Archangel Michael were installed. The twelve windows on each side of the church nave will represent the twelve healing trees fed by the river of Life in Revelation 22. We who gather in the church will represent, of course, the servants of the Lamb.
   Our wonderful friends from Texas have donated $32,000 for the three sanctuary windows. Each window in the nave of the church will cost $9,000. The round window, which will have a Eucharistic theme, will cost $11,000. They consider their gift of the three windows to be in the nature of a challenge to other parish members to complete the whole design of the windows.

Past Parish Events: to view photos of noteworthy occasions from the current year to the Dedication Mass in 2007, click here. 

Explanation of the Liturgical Calendar: click here

For a list of Catholic-related links: click here.

To see all the homepage banner graphics used through out the church year: click here.

Announcements for the Church Bulletin need to be written and turned in by noon on Tuesday of each week to the parish office. Thank you for your cooperation!

Traveling? If you need to know where to go to get the Mass times of the local church, checkout www.masstimes.org or call 1-305-598-2867. Hint: much more accurate if you select the ZIP code of the parish or the city in the Lookups by Option box rather than entering the city name in the Enter Here search box. If you don't know the ZIP code, try going to google.com and entering the city & state. Usually in the list of the first 10 results will be a hotel, Chamber of Commerce, or other business site with an address with the ZIP code.