Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross were celebrated each Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of Lent.  We had a good number of people who shared in this devotion, both from the community and the Campus.  We especially appreciated Abbey stepping in to lead the Stations of the Cross one afternoon!

Palm Sunday Mass

Our Palm Sunday liturgical team involved six of our students!  Thank you to Nicholas (whose picture was missed!), Buay, Abbey, Olivia, Stephen and Levi for all of the extras needed for that Mass.  Our special thanks to Father Denny, our presider for the Mass

  

                                       

March Saturday Retreat

 We have had a lot going on again, and not a lot of desk time!  There will be a number of posts to get caught up on the updates over the next several days!

On Saturday, March 16, we held our monthly retreat morning.  This month, we focused on the Eucharist.  It was a beautiful morning filled with Sacraments, good food, better conversation, and time in prayer individually, together and in front of the Blessed Sacrament!

Pancakes and Eggs for FREE!

 One of our annual Lenten outreach opportunities is our FREE pancakes and eggs one Friday.  This year, we changed from a supper to a mid-day meal.  We served 20 faculty and staff cheesy eggs and pancakes with syrup, peanut butter, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and whipped cream as their topping choices.  We also had juice and applesauce.

This has been an annual event, spearheaded by the Men of Newman!  Thank you for Levi for handling the pancakes, Olivia for cooking the eggs, Sioux Council and Dave for the donations, Doreen for the extra hands, and Abbey, Elaina and Stephen who helped bring it all together.  Special thanks to Gerry, the Newman Club Advisor from Campus, who joined us for today's event.

                                        

Catholicism 101: Plenary Indulgences and Father Tony's Journey

This past Sunday, we had our March Catholicism 101.  The question that had been asked was what is a plenary indulgence, and what does that mean for us?  To understand a plenary indulgence, we need to have an awareness of life after death.  There are two options, heaven and hell.  There are two paths to heaven, though.  We may go directly to heaven or we may need a period of purification.  Purgatory is a place that exists outside of time where we are prepared for our entry into heaven.  Once a soul has reached purgatory, they will not go to hell, they will go to heaven once the purification has been completed.

A plenary indulgence is when God indulges us with mercy through reconciliation for acts of prayer we offer for ourselves or for the souls in purgatory.  The requirements to "earn" a plenary indulgence are usually tied to prayer, repenentance, worthy reception of Communion and inviting Jesus into your life.

Plenary indulgences, unlike other forms of prayer, may only be offered for one person at a time.

Father Tony did, briefly, discuss the problems in the middle ages with the sale of indulgences.  This is something that fell out of practice.  When it came back into practice, it was with a better understanding that God's mercy could not be for sale.

Sunday was the first time since Father Tony received the news he only had three months to live that he was able to have direct time with our students.  He shared his witness of faith and living in hope for the eternal life that God has promised those who believe.  It was a beautifully emotional evening spent in community with the ones he has walked in faith with throughout their college careers.

                                        

New Rosary Leader!

 Thank you to Buay for joining our Rosary team!  It was a beatiful sharing of the rosary with Buay and Abbey alternating the mysteries.  This is different from how we have prayed the Rosary in the past.  It is fantastic to see our student leaders doing what they feel led to do instead of just what has always been done!

Cabrini Night

For our Corporal Works of Mercy Night for March, some of the Catholic Stangs chose to attend the movie "Cabrini."  Based on the true story of Mother Francesa Cabrini, the movie shows, as one student said, "She was a boss!" in the work she did to care for the immigrants in New York City.  Because of the length of the movie, and the study schedule for a number of our students, only four were able to attend.  We hope to be able to access this through a streaming service later to offer this movie to all of our students at a time that works better in the school year.

Thank you to our generous donor who paid for all of the tickets!

Holy Redeemer Lenten Family Retreats

The past two weekends, Holy Redeemer Church has hosted Family Lenten Retreats.  We had opportunities for our pre-K through 5th grade students, and their parents, to come in and participate in a variety of activities from making pretzels, to craft activities, to a movie in the school gym.  We were blessed to have volunteers from our Campus community to help make everything flow smoothly.

Our grateful appreciation to Abbey, Luci and Olivia for all of their help!

                                         

  

Free Minnesota Hotdish Reunion

 This past Thursday, Father Brendan Rolling, the Diocese of New Ulm's Director of Vocations, spent the evening with us.  A huge "Thank YOU!" to the people of St. John Cantius, of Wilno, for the exceptional hot dish.  Great conversations were had, relationships were built, and food was shared.  Just remember, it is "Hot Dish, not Casserole!"

Stations of the Cross

Each Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during Lent at 3pm, the Stations of the Cross are prayed in the Chapel at the Campus Religious Center.  All are welcome!

Living the Corporal Works of Mercy: Visit the Prisoners, with Father Paul

Our February Corporal Works of Mercy speaker was Father Paul, who shared his story of prison ministry.  His prison ministry started in Marshall, with a Campus connection.  From here, he went to Meeker County.  The prison ministry he started in 1985 is still going strong today.

Next, he was assigned in Appleton, where he spent time in service to the 1700 prisoners incarcerated there.  Father Paul shared stories of Monday evening Masses, Tuesday group discussions and Wednesday one on ones with prisoners.  He found it to be an incredibly interesting and rewarding time in his life.

His prison ministry experiences concluded in 2011, when he returned to Marshall and was invited to lead a Bible study for the prisoners at the Lyon County jail.  All told, Father Paul had experiences that spanned six decades and prison ministry from local county jails to Federal prisons.  Next time you see him, you should ask him to share with you his stories, too!

Making Meatloaf

The number one requested meal at the Campus Religious Center is meatloaf.  Tonight was the night for meatloaf making lessons.  If you want the recipe, check with Abbey, Olivia and Luci...they might share!

"Almost" Valentine's Celebration!

Tonight, we celebrated "Almost" Valentine's Day with our annual pasta dinner.  It is an opportunity for good food and fellowship!  We had 12 students join us for dinner, with two dinners that were to go.  The students stayed and visited for almost two hours this evening.  What a beautiful opportunity for a respite just before the start of Lent!

Our appreciation to Emma, Levi, Luci and Olivia who did the decorating, and led the clean-up committee, as well as Doreen and Yvonne, who handled the dishes! A special thank YOU to Dave, who spent the day making his famous red sauce!