St. Leo's Catholic Parish Community Newsletter — May 2022

St.

Leos’

Parish Community MEET PARISHIONERS

DENNIS AND MARY HARB

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Sharing the Gifts of Time, Talent and Treasure with God and Our Parish

n the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus implores us to pay no mind to earthly treasures. In heaven, our treasures can’t be destroyed like they can be on earth. We should choose to store our treasures in heaven — “for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21).

We are blessed to have a wonderful church building and community here at St. Leo’s. As the Gospel of Matthew says, we should consider heaven as a place to store treasure. In the same way, we should give St. Leo’s our time, talent, and treasure.

Dennis and Mary Harb have been St. Leo’s members for about 47 years. Name a ministry, and they have probably been involved, from marriage preparation and ushering, to deliverDennis and Mary Harb ing the Eucharist to the homebound and teaching religious education. Dennis also served as Parish Council president for 12 years.

“St. Leo’s is such an important place to us,” Mary says.

One of the most monumental aspects of the couple’s faith journey was their involvement with Cursillo. From about 1990 to 2000, they were heavily involved with the weekend retreats.

“Cursillo was a big part of our faith journey,” Mary says. “It brought us together as a family. It really changed our lives.”

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Inside MAY 2022

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The Bible The Textbook of Stewardship

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The Month of Mary: A Time for Celebration and Joy

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Marriage Encounter: A Valuable Opportunity to Enrich Our Sacramental Covenant

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The Faith Journey of St. Philip Neri Patron Saint of Holy Fun

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The Evangelization Team: Helping Share the Good News of the Gospel with Our Parish

THE BIBLE

The Textbook of Stewardship

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ave you ever wished that life came with an instruction manual? What a valuable resource that would be! Whenever you find yourself running in circles, this instruction manual would give you step-by-step instructions on how to fix the problem and reroute your course.

Well, here’s some good news. For those living a Christian life, there is such a manual — the Bible.

Sometimes referred to as the “textbook of stewardship,” the Bible is a bountiful resource for the present-day Christian. Written by anointed prophets and sages, this collection of divinely inspired parables, poems and letters is full of testimonials that express the blessings that come from true discipleship, conveyed through lives of stewardship.

Stewardship is not a new concept. The Bible gives proof to this claim through passages such as the 26th chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy.

We read Moses’ words, as he tells the Israelites to offer the choicest portions of their harvest to God: “When you have come into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, and have taken possession and settled in it, you shall take some first fruits of the various products of the soil which you harvest from the land the LORD, your God, is giving you; put them in a basket and go to the place which the LORD, your God, will choose as the dwelling place for his name… ‘Now, therefore, I have brought the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, LORD, have given me.’ You shall set them before the LORD, your God, and you shall bow down before the LORD, your God” (Dt 26:1-2, 10).

St. Paul briefly touches on the essence of stewardship when he said, “In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).

Again, in St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, we read about living a life of Christian stewardship: “Whoever sows sparingly will also 2

reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:6-7).

While this is well and good, what does it mean for the present-day Christian? Why should it matter that the Bible alludes to stewardship in various passages? It shows us that Christians and Jews have struggled with and benefitted from the concept of stewardship for thousands of years. It ties the message of stewardship to the role of a Christian disciple. It gives proof that stewardship and discipleship go hand-in-hand. It offers encouragement to us, that stewardship is in fact a foundational component of the Christian life, a way of life that one of the founding fathers of the Church — St. Paul — preached about and advocated.

The Bible is indeed the textbook of stewardship.

It lays out the steps we must take to become true disciples of Christ. Reading and meditating upon God’s Word is always a fruitful exercise. Those who regularly delve into Scripture often develop a deeper understanding of Who God is, how and why He loves us, and how we can show Him our love in return.

As you strive to become a grateful steward and live the life of Christian discipleship, develop a love for Sacred Scripture. Allow God’s Word to nourish your soul regularly, and watch as stewardship changes from a foreign concept to an integral component of your daily life.

A Letter From Our Pastor

THE MONTH OF MARY:

A Time for Celebration and Joy Dear Parishioners,

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n the Catholic Church, we designate a particular devotion for each month — and May is when we honor our Blessed Mother Mary. Thus, this is a good time for us to think about and concentrate on our devotion to the Mother of God. Perhaps we can add a few more Marian prayers to our daily routine.

Praying the Rosary might be even more important. Of course, that assumes that daily prayer is part of our daily routine — which it should be.

Our Blessed Mother is important to our faith and our Church. Her willingness to serve in a way that allowed the Lord to take human form made our salvation a possibility. Because of her complete trust in God, she lived her life free from sin, and after her life, she was assumed into heaven by the power of God and crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

She is, of course, not divine. We worship only our Lord Jesus Christ, but we honor Mary as a saint, and also in many other ways. We honor God when we remember the role of Mary in our salvation. Devotion to Mary always leads to Jesus Christ Himself.

Mary was joyous when she said “yes” to God. That is the kind of joy we need to seek — and we, too, must say “yes” to the Lord. Let us be grateful to Mary for bringing us her Son. This is why we crown her on our Catholic version of Mother’s Day. Through Mary, we are given an invitation into the Catholic fold. Her feminine presence and the safety of her motherhood may help us grow.

For most of us, this time of year is a month of growth in relation to nature. It is difficult not to have May as one of our favorite months for so many reasons. May is a beautiful time. We are called to make it even more beautiful, and we can do that as we serve and love one another.

I am deeply blessed to be your pastor. I may say that often, but it is true. My priesthood has been a blessing and serving you all has made that blessing even more significant.

I pray for you daily. Please pray for me. God bless you and keep you always.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. Donald A. Buhrman Pastor 3

Marriage

A VALUABLE OPPORTUNIT Y TO ENRI

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s St. John Chrysostom once said, “The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together.” In a society that doesn’t value marriage and family life as it once did, it has become all the more important to be very intentional about caring for your marriage.

For parishioners Steve and Jodi Stauffer, making their marriage a priority was something that they did from the very beginning. Jodi’s parents had attended the Worldwide Marriage Encounter that took place in Nebraska in 1976.

So when Steve and Jodi got engaged, they went on an Engaged Encounter and a few years into marriage and parenthood, they attended a Marriage Encounter. Eventually, they became a presenting couple for these Marriage Encounters.

“The busyness of life, kids, and careers can make it easy to put your marriage on autopilot,” Steve says. “We typically put a lot of effort into developing our careers, but we often don’t think about how it is just as important to develop our marriages as well. If you are going to continue to grow in your marriage, you need to keep putting time and effort into it.”

“It can be compared to maintaining your vehicle,” Jodi adds. “If you don’t do the proper maintenance on it, it isn’t surprising when suddenly things start going wrong and major repairs are needed. Proper maintenance is required for our marriages as well.”

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter was the first marriage enrichment program ever offered. It is the largest faith-based program in the world. The program’s mission is to proclaim the value of Marriage and Holy Orders in the Church and in the world. Typically, the program sessions take place over a weekend, though since the onset of COVID-19, virtual Marriage Encounters have been offered. The weekend is put on by three presenting couples and a priest. There are presentations on vari4

ous topics and those in attendance are given time to discuss the presentations.

“Every marriage goes through phases,” Jodi says. “You aren’t the same people you were when you got married. These encounters offer you the chance to really rediscover that spark and even remember why you married this person in the first place. This isn’t marriage counseling, but you learn new tools for communication to enhance the marriage that you have.”

“This really benefits more than just your marriage,” Steve says. “It trickles down into other areas as well. A healthy marriage is so important for the children. Even your friends will notice. Love is a choice and we choose it every day, no matter what other issues are going on.”

Encounter:

ICH OUR SACRAMENTAL COVENANT As Jodi notes, when a couple gets married in the church, they are inviting God to be a part of their marriage.

“We take a look at how God is a part of our marriage and how we can increase that,” she says.

“Our marriage is 100-percent stronger than

it would have been without being a part of this ministry,” Steve says. “We use these tools for communication in our marriage, but we have also used them while raising our children. It has given us a tremendous support system through life’s trials and blessings.”

If you would like more information about this program, or to locate a Marriage Encounter nearby, please visit the Worldwide Marriage Encounter website at wwme.org.

MEET PARISHIONERS DENNIS AND MARY HARB Mary is a 12-year member of the Women’s Bible Study at St. Leo’s. Dennis is a part of Brothers in Christ and the Evangelization Team.

“I enjoy looking at ways to bring more people back to the church through the Evangelization Team,” Dennis says. “About 50 percent of Catholics are gone from the Catholic Church. It’s getting quite disturbing.”

Mary, who helped start and expand Eucharistic Adoration at St. Leo’s, values adoration as an essential part of her faith.

“It has really helped me personally,” she says. “It increases my joy, my peace, and my prayer life.”

Mary also values the Rosary group of which she is a part — it’s been the same group of women for about 10 years. She has helped, where she can, with several other ministries —washing linens, delivering food to the food pantry, and helping with funeral dinners.

Dennis and Mary love the St. Leo’s community.

They’ve each found a ministry where they can really apply their passions. For Mary, that’s keeping the outside of the entrance looking beautiful through the Liturgy and Environment Committee.

She looks for an opportunity to garden any time she can.

“It’s a form of hospitality,” she says. “When it’s

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nice outside the church, you want to go look at what’s inside.”

Dennis has found his niche by evangelizing. He had open-heart surgery more than two years ago.

When he woke up from the surgery, he took that as a sign that God had more planned for him. He started a group called Men of the Cross, and assembles crucifix necklaces and gives them to men to wear to show their love for Christ.

“A lot of people ask me about my crucifix,” Dennis says. “It has become an evangelization magnet and a way to talk to people about Christ.”

Dennis is also involved with the St. Paul Street Evangelization Team, a nonprofit with a goal of sharing Jesus with people out in public.

“I love doing evangelization work,” he says. “We are the hands and feet of Christ.”

The couple also supports St. Leo’s financially, and are supporters of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

Dennis and Mary start each day by either watching or attending daily Mass at St. Leo’s. In their free time, they enjoy walking and watching their grandkids’ sports and activities. They have two sons and seven grandchildren.

“Our grandchildren are all great Christian kids,” Mary says. “We are so proud of them.”

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THE FAITH JOURNEY OF ST. PHILIP NERI Patron Saint of Holy Fun

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an a saint have fun on the way to attaining holiness?

Many would say that St. Philip Neri definitely fits that bill.

Born in 1515 in Florence, Italy, St. Philip Neri showed his fun side from the time he was a boy. One such incident almost cost him his life. Seeing a donkey loaded with fruit for market, the impulsive and spontaneous little boy jumped on the donkey’s back. Surprised, the donkey lost his footing, and along with the fruit and young Philip, tumbled into a cellar. Miraculously, Philip was unhurt.

Philip’s father struggled financially, so 18-year-old Philip was sent to work with an older cousin who was a successful businessman. During this time, Philip found a favorite place to pray in a spot upon a mountain that had been turned into a chapel.

During these hours of prayer, Philip is said to have decided to leave worldly success behind and dedicate his life to God. Eventually, Philip went to Rome. In 1548, Philip formed a confraternity with other laymen to minister to pilgrims who came to Rome without food or shelter. The spiritual director of the confraternity convinced Philip he could do even more work as a priest. After receiving instruction from this priest, Philip was ordained in 1551.

As a young priest, Philip learned to love to hear confessions. Young men especially found in him the wisdom and direction they needed to grow spiritually. But Philip began to realize these young men needed something more than absolution — they needed guidance. So, Philip began to ask the young men to come by in the early afternoon when they would discuss spiritual readings, and then stay for prayer in the evening.

Philip understood it wasn’t enough to tell young people not to do something — you had to give them something to do in its place. So, at Carnival time, when the worst excesses were encouraged, Philip 6

organized a pilgrimage to the Seven Churches with a picnic, accompanied by instrumental music for the midday break. After walking 12 miles in one day, everyone was too tired to be tempted!

Philip was known to be spontaneous and unpredictable, charming and humorous. He seemed to sense the different ways to bring people to God. One man came to the Oratory just to make fun of it. Philip wouldn’t let the others throw him out or speak against him. He told them to be patient, and eventually the man became a Dominican. On the other hand, when he met a condemned man who refused to listen to any pleas for repentance, Philip didn’t try gentle words. Instead, Philip grabbed the man by the collar and threw him to the ground. The move shocked the criminal into repentance and he made a full confession.

Humility was the most important virtue he tried to teach others, as he continually worked to learn it himself. Some of his lessons in humility seem cruel, but they were tinged with humor — like practical jokes — and were related with gratitude by the people they helped. His lessons always seemed to be tailored directly to what the person needed.

Philip did not escape this spiritual mortification himself. As with others, his own humbling held humor. There are stories of him wearing ridiculous clothes or walking around with half his beard shaved off. The greater his reputation for holiness, the sillier he wanted to seem.

But Philip was very serious about prayer. He was so easily carried away that he refused to preach in public and could not celebrate Mass with others around. But when asked how to pray, his answer was, “Be humble and obedient and the Holy Spirit will teach you.”

Philip died in 1595 after a long illness. His feast day is on May 26, just in time to kick off the season of summertime fun.

THE EVANGELIZATION TEAM:

Helping Share the Good News of the Gospel with Our Parish

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n the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). By calling us to make disciples of all nations, He is calling us to lives of evangelization, sharing the Good News of the Gospel with all those around us.

This is precisely what the Evangelization Team — or E-Team — here at St. Leo’s strives to do. The Evangelization Team consists of a volunteer group that works with the parish staff to plan opportunities for the evangelization of the parish community.

“The E-Team has had a great impact on St. Leo’s in that there are always opportunities available to the parish to help them learn more about Catholicism and their faith,” says Kathy Boroff. “In addition, the E-Team provides help to the parish staff in implementing these faithgrowing opportunities.”

Fr. Don felt that there was a greater need for evangelization at the parish, so the E-Team was started in 2015.

(Front row, from left) Kathy Boroff, Ann Goetz, and Jodi Stauffer; (back row, from left) Fr. Donald Buhrman, Veronica Barney, Pete Haase, Rita Hemmer and Dennis Harb (Not pictured: Beats Nabity).

The group presents opportunities that help parishioners in the faith community enrich their faith lives and spiritual practices. They also offer opportunities to learn more about Catholicism.

“The E-Team is important to the parish as it keeps track of all of the groups that meet, plans classes offered to the parish that center around video series and book studies, and helps plan and implement faith opportunities during Lent and Advent,” Kathy says.

Some of the activities and

events that are held throughout the year include various Bible study opportunities; a small group that goes out on the streets to evangelize; retreats; a Lenten Parish Night; an Advent Parish Night; the presentation of various video series from Ascension Press, FORMED, and other outlets; and, currently, a group that gathers to watch the series The Chosen.

These planned events are open to anyone who would like to participate. They are advertised in the bulletin, from the pulpit, on posters in the continued on back cover

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

THE EVANGELIZATION TEAM church, on the myParish App, and on the parish website. Parishioners should watch for information and updates about the events at these locations.

The E-Team meets at St. Leo’s on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:15 p.m. The team has a chair, vice-chair, and secretary. Members are asked to serve a three-year term when they join. The E-Team is open to anyone interested

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in developing and helping offer opportunities for the parish community.

“Continuing to grow my faith and knowledge of Catholicism is important to me, and I love sharing this passion with the E-Team members,” Kathy says. “I enjoy being part of the ETeam and looking for educational opportunities to offer to our parishioners.”

“Continuing to grow my faith and knowledge of Catholicism is important to me, and I love sharing this passion with the E-Team members. I enjoy being part of the E-Team and looking for educational opportunities to offer to our parishioners.” — KATHY BOROFF If you have any questions or would like to join the Evangelization Team here at St. Leo’s, please contact Kathy Boroff at 308-227-6295 or kiboroff@gmail.com.

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.