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

Rosary: Sunday, 10:00 a.m., Narthex, &
Thursday, 6:00 p.m., Church Nave
Confessions: Sunday, 10:40 a.m., Reconciliation Room

The Church & Parish Office are open
Monday & Tuesday: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Online map and driving directions to Parish 

Parish Bulletin for March 7, 2010
The Third Sunday of Lent 

Please Pray for Pope Benedict XVI’s General Intention: That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity, taking account of the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest.    —To see all of Pope Benedict’s General Intentions for 2010, go to the Catholic Links page. 

Important Dates: 
     • Daylight Savings Time: Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 a.m. – we set the clocks ahead one hour.
     • Living Stations: Thursday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m., soup & stations on Friday, March 19 are cancelled.
     • Altar and Rosary Society Meetings: Thursday, March 25, at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room.
     • Finance Council Meeting: Tuesday, March 30, at 2:00 p.m.in the Parish Center meeting room.
     • Parish Council Meeting: Tuesday, March 30, at 5:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room.
     • Worship Committee: Tuesday, May 18, at 2:00 p.m.in the Parish Center meeting room.

First Communion—
Please pray for Emma Senderhauf, Grace Flynn and Dominic Garcia who will make
their First Communion of Sunday, April 25, 2010 at the 11 am Mass.

Parish Youth Conduct "Operation Rice Bowl" for Catholic Relief Services at the February 21 Mass— 

       We ask that you fill the Rice Bowls the best you can and return them as the Lenten season comes to an end. 

Our Parish Invites All to Soup and Stations during Lent— on Fridays, at 6 p.m. begins our parish tradition of Lenten Soup and Stations on Friday evenings. At 6 p.m. all are encouraged to meet in the parish community building for a simple meal of soup and bread. At 7 p.m., all will gather in the church for the Stations of the Cross.
   Note: Living Stations on Thursday, March 18, soup & stations on Friday, March 19 are cancelled.
Volunteers to make soup and bread are needed. Please sign up on the “Soup & Stations” sheet in the narthex.

The Stations of the Cross— the statues from Our Lady of the Assumption Church nave are featured on separate pages on the website. As you move from one station to the next , you can use either the prayers composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori (the version in the booklets used during Friday observance of the Stations) or St. Francis of Assisi's Way of the Cross. For both "A plenary indulgence is attached for the faithful who make a devout exercise of a set of Stations of the Cross..." To access the Stations of the Cross click here or go to the parish website’s homepage and click on the appropriate icon at the top of the right column of choices.

USCCB: Catholics Asked to Preserve the Penitential Purpose, Character of Lent— The following information is from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy regarding Lenten regulations:
Catholics are asked to preserve the penitential purpose and character of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17. Catholics who have celebrated their 14th birthday are bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and each Friday of Lent.
   Catholics who have celebrated their 18th birthday, in addition to abstaining from meat, should fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting includes taking only one full meal and smaller quantities of food at the other two meals. The obligation of fasting ceases with the celebration of one’s 59th birthday.
   These practices are designed for spiritual growth. Catholics should not excuse themselves lightly from these prescribed minimal penitential practices.

What is the DMF?— The Diocesan Ministry Fund is the main source of revenue that financially supports, strengthens and nourishes the many ministries and programs provided to all parishes and missions throughout the Diocese of Pueblo.  The DMF provides the much needed funding that serves over 100,000 Catholics covering 29 counties – over 50,000 square miles.
How much should I give?— This is a good time to reflect gratefully on how generous God has been to you and your family.  Your giving should be an honest proportion of your resources, which adequately reflects your gratitude for God’s own generosity to you.
    Please make checks payable to OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION and return your envelope to the Parish. If you choose to pledge, all subsequent checks should be made out to the Diocese of Pueblo and mailed to the Diocese in the envelope provided in your packet.
Update on the Diocesan Ministry Fund— as of this week we have a total of $10,800 pledged. Our goal is $22,385. We still need $11,585. If you have not yet pledged, please do so today.

Altar and Rosary Accepting Scholarship Applications— The Altar and Rosary Society is now accepting applications for its annual scholarship program.  Graduating seniors in the class of 2010 from Custer County High School who belong to the parish are eligible. After reviewing applications, the scholarship committee of the Altar and Rosary Society will award up to $500 in scholarship assistance. Deadline for application is March 1, 2010.  Applications with further information are available on the table in the narthex.

Please pray for Natalie Wray, Braden Wilson and Patrick Mortenson— who will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation this year.   Heavenly Father, You sent your Spirit to transform the Apostles into heroes of evangelical strength on the day of Pentecost. Thank You for granting that same Spirit to our children in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Pour down upon them the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit that they may more closely resemble Jesus and be an intrepid witness in the world to You and your Divine Son. Amen.

First Stained-Glass Window Installed—
on the evening of January 20, Doug Bayer and a friend, installed the main altar window that Doug designed and created in his Bayer Glass Works studio.

To see photos of the installation, drawings of the two windows to the side of the main altar window, and a description of the design click here.
    

Website History Page Features Additions of Jubilee Photo Albums and List of Pastors—
Fr. James Golden Jubilee Mass photo album: from 1980 has been discovered in a box of old photos and each page has been scanned into a digital image. These 17 pages of images have been added to the history section of the parish website. Click here to go to the Parish History page, then read down the History page to the paragraph about Fr. James where you will see a link to his Golden Jubilee Mass. We also need help in identifying the people present so that captions can be created to accurately capture this part of our parish history. Instructions are provided on the Golden Jubilee webpage.
Fr. Louis Kirby’s Jubilee Mass Photo Album: the album was also discovered in a box of old photos. It has been scanned and placed in the History section of the parish website. Click here to go to the Parish History page, then read down the History page to the paragraph about Fr. Louis where you will see a link to his Golden Jubilee Mass.
List of Assumption Pastors: from 1880 to the present. Because there is some confusion of dates and references of assignments, especially during the 1940s to early 1960s that Fr. Louis was unable to clarify, we could use assistance from  parishioners of that period to provide additional information. Click here for a direct link to the list.

If you have photos of these events or other events that would help illustrate the parish history, please contact the parish office.

Helping Hands reports a growing need for funds to support critical financial circumstances among many families and individuals here in Custer County. During this period of a serious economic slowdown, folks are frequently turning to Helping Hands for help to pay bills, including rent and medical expenses. You can help by giving a cash donation, which can be placed, in the Sunday collection, made out to “Helping Hands,” or in the jar on the table in the narthex.
Please place your non-perishable donations to Helping Hands behind the white picket fence in the church narthex.

Please Bring Firewood for our Woodpile for the Needy— Helping Hands needs firewood to build a woodpile for the needy at the rear of the church parking lot. Drop off your donation anytime.

Prayer for Priests:

Gracious and loving God,
 we thank you for the gift of our priests.
Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.
Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people.
Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.
Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.
Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.
Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our eternal Priest.
—Amen

Saint John Vianney, pray for us.     (see link button “Year for Priests” above or at bottom of this page)

Icon Paintings: three icon paintings by Father William Hart McNichols have been added to the church nave so far. For their stories click here.
    The Montanos have generously donated for two of the icons, 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 two icons, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Miguel Pro, 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. 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 photographs of noteworthy occasions from 2009, click here. To see photographs from the Dedication Mass on August 15, 2007, to the Christmas Season, 2008, 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.