St. Leo's Catholic Parish Community Newsletter — April 2021

St.

Leos’

Parish Community

Vocations Ministry Team

Builds Valuable Awareness and Celebrates Vocations in Our Church

A

s we prepare for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 24 and 25, our Vocations Ministry Team has been working diligently to promote and maintain all vocations, whether they are religious vocations or the vocation of marriage.

The team currently meets at 6 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the The Vocations Ministry Team leads vocations activities at month in the Gather St. Leo’s. The members are (from left) Marv Rief, Carolyn Room. Under COVID-19 Brooks; (right side, back to front) Norbert Wenzl, Fr. Don and Sr. Carlene. (Not pictured, Joyce Yosten). protocol, the group wears masks and practices social distancing.

“We’re a relatively new ministry, having formed about three years ago here at St. Leo’s,” says Marv Rief, coordinator of the team. “Our mission is to keep vocations in front of the parish.”

In carrying out their mission, the team members follow the Parable of the Sower, as outlined in Mark 4:8 — “Some seed fell in rich soil and yielded fruit.”

During meetings, the group opens with a prayer, conducts the meeting, plans activities, and concludes with a blessing and prayer from Fr. Don. continued on page 2

Inside APRIL 2021

3 The Future of Stewardship at

St. Leo’s 4 St. Leo’s Welcomes

New Catholics at

Our Easter Vigil Mass 6 Steadfast in Faith

and Devotion:

St. Catherine of Siena 7 Vacation Bible

School: A World of Fun and Learning

for Students and Volunteers

VOCATIONS MINISTRY TEAM “We pray for discernment,” Marv says. “This is really a nice reminder why we’re there. We also do a prayer for vocations after each Mass.

These are reminders all the time about how important vocations are to the church.”

In recent weeks, the team has been running brief biographies in the bulletin on the eight seminarians in the Diocese of Grand Island. The “bulletin blurbs” also feature announcements about special days marking vocation observances, such as World Marriage Day in February, when Fr. Don offered a blessing for married couples. On Priesthood Sunday, the team prepared a large sign that was posted at the church and also had the youth group prepare chalk art that celebrated our pastor’s leadership. Another “bulletin blurb” marked the consecrated life.

“We wanted to remind the people how important these vocations are to parish life,” Marv says.

A deep interest in vocations is what draws the team members to the ministry. They want those called to vocations to be able to answer that call and work to that end. For Marv, the interest is personal, in that he had attended seminary many years ago. He also has a grandson in seminary.

“I left, but I’m still interested in vocations,” Marv says.

The members of the ministry freely offer their time in stewardship.

“It is a stewardship of time,” Marv says.

“Membership requires you go to the monthly meeting. Our group volunteers to take on tasks — such as, one of the ladies takes care of cards sent to priests and seminarians. It’s not a tremendous burden on time, but it does require some planning.”

continued from front cover

The kiosk is in the main hallway and has a variety of vocation materials, pictures and information regarding current seminarians, and other matters. It also serves as the sign-up table for the Traveling Crucifix.

This yard sign was part of the promotion for Priesthood Sunday. Members of the Youth Ministry team also made chalk art on the sidewalk at the entrances to the church.

Anyone is welcome to join the Vocations Ministry Team. If you would like to be involved or for more information about the ministry, please call Fr. Don or the parish office at 308-382-4753.

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A Letter From Our Pastor

THE

FUTURE OF STEWARDSHIP

AT ST. LEO’S

Dear Parishioners,

W

e are not experts in the area of stewardship, but we are blessed with experiences that include conversions of mind, heart and soul. Who can deny that our parish has changed dramatically since we decided to adopt stewardship as a way of life? It has defined our spirituality, helping us to put the pillars of parish stewardship into practice by recognizing that hospitality, prayer, formation and service are at work in the life of our parish activities. It works and continues to work for us, whether people notice it or not. Perhaps we have become so used to it that we don’t think about it as much anymore — that would be a mistake. Thinking about stewardship, talking about stewardship, and evangelizing stewardship should continue to be the mission of St. Leo’s long into the future.

Nearly 30 years ago, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops envisioned within their groundbreaking document, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, a guide to inform, encourage and invite the reader to a conversion of heart and become the “disciple” Christ called us to be.

They knew stewardship would facilitate everyone’s call to discipleship boldly proclaiming, “Once one chooses to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, stewardship is not an option.” It still is a relevant and timely publication that can inspire even the most hardened skeptic. One just has to give it a chance.

Some are ready for the change of heart that stewardship fosters, while others are resistant, but that belongs to their story. What about ours?

I am encouraged to see the growing number of people in our St. Leo’s community who recognize

the importance of their spiritual life and who take the steps needed to get involved in parish life. I am excited to see stewardship in action with parishioners who are willing to live out their call to discipleship within the parish family to which they belong.

The stories of stewardship you read in this newsletter vary a bit — some being very dramatic and others being simple. However, all of them are important and should be shared as often as the occasion calls for a good story. Most of the time, that good story will be a stewardship story. The future of stewardship at St. Leo’s will depend on telling those stories of our past, and the new ones waiting to be written and shared.

Discovering the stewardship way of life has helped me to do not only what I was assigned to do as a pastor, but it has also helped me understand more fully what I was called to do in my vocation as a priest and a Catholic Christian. It is my sincere hope and prayer that each of you can make the same claim as members of this parish family, in their vocations of marriage or the single life, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and being a Catholic Christian.

My hopes and prayers are well-founded because I believe with all my heart, the future stewardship story of our parish depends upon it.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. Donald A. Buhrman Pastor

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ST. LEO’S

WELCOMES N

AT OUR EASTE

O

ne of the most beautiful traditions in the Catholic Church is the Easter Vigil liturgy.

Following the simplicity and solemnity of Lent, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, this Mass represents the reawakening of hope and light as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It is also the Mass that allows us, as parishioners, to welcome adults into our parish who are receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation.

Each year, St. Leo’s is blessed with the arrival of new and returning Catholics who enter fully into the Church through our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process, or RCIA. This year, three people have been meeting weekly to learn and grow in the Catholic faith in preparation for receiving the Sacraments of Initiation.

RCIA sessions are held on Thursday evenings in the Gather Room, where there is ample space for social distancing.

Fr. Don Buhrman enjoys facilitating our parish’s RCIA process with the help of a wonderful team of volunteers.

“It’s very nurturing that I get to journey with people in their spiritual awakening and awareness,” he says. “And of course, I learn things every year just talking with them and watching the videos. It’s very uplifting for me. It’s almost paternal — these young people 4

Mitch Liberty with his wife, Janae, and their daughter, Lana

are coming into the Church, and I’m honored to walk with them on their journey to Catholicism.”

As always, this year’s candidates (those who are baptized and preparing to become Catholic) and catechumen (those who are unbaptized and preparing for full initiation into the Church) come from all walks of life, but as catechumen Jesse Smith affirms, “We are all on the same journey.”

Jesse attended Catholic Mass with his father when he was a child, though he was never baptized. As a young adult, he began questioning the origins of life. He began looking into answers to this question in history, philosophy, quantum physics, and more. Again and again, he found a Truth that corresponded with the teachings of the Catholic Church. His search ultimately led to

St. Leo’s and our RCIA process.

Jesse has enjoyed his participation in RCIA and the welcoming sense of community at St. Leo’s. Looking ahead to a continued future in the Church after the Easter Vigil, he hopes to get involved with parish life. He is excited to see what God has in store for him.

“I’ve become a much kinder person,” Jesse says of his transformation in RCIA. “Now, I’m more gracious and willing to give to others. It’s God who makes the difference, just to put it simply. You learn what He wants us to be, what His intention for us is, and why He came here on earth.”

Candidate Mitch Liberty grew up Methodist and attended non-denominational churches throughout his college years.

He began to learn a bit about the Catholic faith and attend some Masses when he married a Catholic. After he and his wife, Janae, moved back to the Grand Island area about a year ago, they started coming to St. Leo’s, where Janae’s parents are parishioners.

Around the same time, the couple’s first child, Lana, was born. Mitch decided he didn’t want his daughter to one day question why her mother took Communion and her father didn’t, so he enrolled in our RCIA process to learn more about the Church. continued on page 5

NEW CATHOLICS

ER VIGIL MASS

Jesse Smith

“It’s been awesome,” Mitch says of RCIA. “It’s very interesting to hear the history and the finer details about why Mass is the way it is and why beliefs are the way they are. It’s a good, diverse group of people and we have some great discussions. We have five individuals who help lead the classes, and they all have a unique perspective and spend their time doing this. I’m very appreciative of all of them.”

Mitch is excited about being received fully into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass, knowing that the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will bring him even further connection to God and spiritual growth. From there, he looks forward to an active life in the parish.

“Something Janae and I have talked about is getting more involved in the church,” Mitch

says. “I think this will help us take that next step forward, for me to feel a part of it.”

With a grandfather who was a Mennonite minister, candidate Lauren Ediger was raised in the Mennonite church, where she was baptized at the age of 16.

Her faith remained important to her throughout her adult years, carrying her through the first 51 years of life. At the same time, Lauren became very interested in the Catholic Church during her first corporate job and became friends with three Catholic co-workers. Knowing that each woman attended Mass in a different parish, Lauren was amazed to hear all three women discussing the same Bible passage each week. This unity contrasted with her experience of the Mennonite service, where each pastor covered a verse and sermon topic of his own choosing.

Lauren’s interest in the Church was further peaked by her neighbor, J.J. Chmelka.

“J.J. goes to the 4 o’clock Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Saturdays,” Lauren says. “I would be out working in my yard when he left and he would say, ‘Come on, come on, Jesus wants you!’ I always said, ‘Someday.’

And then ‘someday’ came.”

Lauren lost her husband to a rare form of cancer in November 2019, making her lean on faith in a new way. Last fall, she decided

Lauren Ediger with her granddaughter

to enter our RCIA process. Of all the blessings she has found in the Catholic Church, the one that stands out the most is the universality of the teachings and the liturgy.

“There’s one Mass that is the same going on all over the world, and it’s one simple Truth that has not been diluted by all the different religions and what they added in or kicked out,” Lauren says. “It’s so simple — it’s about unity.

“This is the story I’ve lived, and it’s all coming to fruition now,” she adds. “It’s just amazing.”

We invite everyone at St. Leo’s to join us in extending a warm welcome to our RCIA participants being received fully into the Church at this year’s Easter Vigil. What a wonderful reminder they give us of the beauty and grace to be found in our faith!

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Steadfast in Faith and Devotion:

St. Catherine of Siena O

n April 29, we celebrate the feast day of a doctor of the Church — one who remained absolutely devoted to living her life for Christ, even in the face of familial misunderstanding in her youth, and through societal opposition and turmoil during her later years. As stewards in our fast-paced, highly technical — and often fractured — world, we can always look to the life and example of St. Catherine of Siena, and strive to remain steadfast in our faith while facing our own modern-day challenges.

Born in mid-14th-century Italy to a large family, and in the midst of a plague outbreak, St. Catherine of Siena was her parents’ 25th child, although half of her siblings did not survive through childhood. Young Catherine resisted her family’s desire for her to marry — she even went so far as to begin fasting and cutting her hair short in protest. Her parents eventually relented, as Catherine strived to humbly serve her own family, treating her own father as Jesus, her mother as Mary, and her brothers as the apostles.

Such was Catherine’s desire to remain in service to her own family that instead of entering a convent, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic at age 18.

This enabled her to continue serving her family at home, even as she was part of a religious society. In time, she learned to read and began giving her 6

family’s own possessions to those in need — even though her parents didn’t necessarily approve of her entirely altruistic approach to service.

Continuing with her faithful devotion as part of the Third Order of St. Dominic, Catherine developed a following of her own, as she wrote letters offering spiritual encouragement and instruction. Controversy would ensue, as her writings began to comment on public matters through her firm lens of faith.

In the midst of these spiritual developments, at age 21, Catherine underwent a profound change, as she experienced what she called her “mystical

marriage to Christ.” Through this experience, she was directed to help the poor and the sick.

Catherine began serving those in need in hospitals and homes, which inspired followers to assist in these important missions of service, love and mercy. Furthermore, she continued to comment on public matters, petitioning for peace in the midst of political fracture and strife. This continued through the Great Schism, beginning in 1378, as Catherine spent two years — the last years of her life — in Rome, praying and pleading for unity in the Church, and for the cause of Pope Urban VI.

By January 1380, Catherine was gravely ill, unable to eat or drink — shortly thereafter, she lost the use of her legs. At only 33 years old, she would pass away on April 29, 1380. She was canonized nearly a century later, in 1461.

Despite her short life, St. Catherine of Siena made a profound impact on the Church through her spiritually direct writings, her work serving those in need, and in preserving the unity of the Church in the face of great societal upheavals — all while being singularly devoted to living a life for Christ. Her status led her to be declared a co-patron of Italy (alongside St. Francis of Assisi) in 1939. And in 1970, Pope Paul VI declared St. Catherine of Siena a doctor of the Church.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL:

A World of Fun and Learning for Students and Volunteers

F

or children, summer offers the ultimate break time from school. And even though the season means kids have a chance to “recharge” for the upcoming school year, it doesn’t mean they have to stop learning! During the summer at St. Leo’s, our youth have a chance to learn about their faith while having plenty of fun at Vacation Bible School (VBS)!

This year’s VBS will take place from June 7 to 11, and all ages are invited to get involved in VBS to either attend or help volunteer. The VBS program takes place throughout the St. Leo’s campus and runs from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

“VBS is a weeklong adventure designed for the elementary-age disciples to learn about their faith, our religion, our church, our God, His Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as learn about ourselves and our friends,” says Jodi Stauffer, who has been directing or helping with VBS since 2003. “VBS is appropriate for all ages — the elementary students are who it is geared for, but we incorporate all ages of students to engage, lead, learn and discover the joy of being community through VBS.” Jodi is certainly looking forward to this year’s program, since VBS 2019 was cancelled due to not having enough volunteers, and VBS 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She appreciates being with the kids at VBS and seeing them learn.

“One of my biggest joys is being able to provide VBS to our parish family,” Jodi says.

Jodi says attending VBS is like practicing for a sport or instrument. Skill comes from practice.

When students attend VBS they can prepare to be better disciples and grow their faith. Plus, VBS takes away some of the formality of the classroom and makes religion and the Bible more fun.

Throughout VBS, students travel between five learning stations — music, crafts, games, Bible stories and saints. A junior high or high school student usually leads a group, and an adult is in charge of each station. There is also a snack that fits the theme.

“It allows them to explore, in a safe environment, what is special about our Catholic continued on back cover

Students participate in an outdoor activity during VBS.

Students learn about a Bible story at VBS.

Students enjoy working on an art project at VBS. 7

2410 S. Blaine Street Grand Island, NE 68801 (308) 382-4753 | www.saintleos.org

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

continued from page 7

faith and themselves,” Jodi says. “It gives them the ability to try new things, and potentially develop interests and skills in areas they may have not tried or known of before attending VBS.” As one would imagine, every kid has a favorite station. But the kids always enjoy outdoor play and the snacks!

Vacation Bible School at St. Leo’s is made possible due to the volunteers who support and share their time and talents in the program. Jodi says she can find something for each volunteer that fits their interests. She notes that many of the youth volunteer because they remember the fun they had as a kid in the program!

For Jodi, preparing for the program gives her an opportunity to grow in faith.

“I love walking around campus and watching the fun between the children, the youth and the adults,” she says. “I love hearing the singing and giggling, and watching the seeds of faith being planted and nurtured in the participants, the volunteers and even me.”

Stay tuned for registration and volunteer registration on our parish website at www.saintleos.org — more info can also be found in our bulletin, parish website, and via REMIND and the myParish app.

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.