Sunday Liturgy: 11:00 a.m., Tuesday: 10:00 a.m.
Note: no Tuesday Masses until July 8

Friday Communion Service: 9:00 a.m.

Rosary: Sunday, 10:15 a.m., Deacon Larry's Office
Confessions: Sunday, 10:40 a.m., Reconciliation Room
Online map and driving directions to Parish 

Church is open Tuesday–Friday, 9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

For a list of Catholic-related links, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Parish Bulletin for July 2008

Please Pray for Pope Benedict XVI’s general intention:That Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ so they are able to communicate the strength of His love to those they encounter..

New Parish Email Address: please change your email addressbook entry for the Parish to <ola.westcliffe@gmail.com>

Important Dates: 

No Tuesday Masses until July 8 after Fr. Vicente returns from vacation.

Parish Council Meeting: Tuesday, July 22, 5:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room.

Finance Council Meeting: Tuesday, July 22, 2:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room.

New Church First Anniversary: Thursday, August 14, eve of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (see story below).

Altar and Rosary Society Meeting: Thursday, August 28, 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room.

Worship Committee Meeting: Monday, October 6, 2:00 p.m. in the Parish Center meeting room. 

Discernment Retreat for Women, Aug. 2 -3: The Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, KS, will host a “Come Risk the Sacred Journey” retreat weekend at 3805 W. Walsh Pl, Denver, CO, Aug. 2-3. Single, Catholic women, 18-45 are invited to attend. There is no cost for the weekend. The weekend will provide time for prayer, sharing, and relaxation with other women who also may wonder where God is leading them. But most importantly they will have time to reflect on their own call. The weekend begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2 and will end at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3. For more information, please contact Sister Teri Wall, OP, at 303-922-2997 or <teriop@msn.com>.

Diocesan Annual Golf Tournament for Vocations: This is a fund raiser to help the emergency and unexpected needs of those seeking vocations. Date: Friday, August 8, 2008; Location: Colorado City, CO – Holly Dot Course; Cost: $70/person — $280/team. If you wish to join the OLA Parish foursome, contact Deacon Larry Yatch, or register on line at:  Dioceseofpueblo.com or call 800-354-2729 ext. 116

New Church First Anniversary: On Thursday August 14, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish will celebrate the first anniversary of the dedication of our new church. Father Vicente will celebrate Mass in the new church on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Then on the Sunday following, August 17, parishioners are invited to the first anniversary meal in the Parish Community Building following 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. The parish Altar and Rosary Society is coordinating this event.

Annual Yard Sale and Bake Sale: The 2nd Annual Altar and Rosary Yard Sale and Bake Sale will take place on Saturday, August 30, inside and outside the Parish Community Building. Please plan to donate your used items. Proceeds from this event are used to purchase liturgical supplies.

The offices of Helping Hands and Victim’s Advocate are now located in the Parish Community Building. The yellow house has been rented to a private individual and is no longer used for parish operations.

Second Icon Added to Church Nave—

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 – April 17, 1680), the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Catholic Algonquin woman, was born in the Mohawk fortress of Ossernenon near present-day Auriesville, New York. When she was 4, smallpox swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars and poor eyesight. The outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents. She was then adopted by her uncle, who was a chief of the Turtle-clan. As the adopted daughter of the chief, she was courted by many of the warriors looking for her hand in marriage. However, during this time she began taking interest in Christianity, which was taught to her by her mother.

In 1666, the Marquis Alexandre De Prouville de Tracy burned down Ossernenon. Kateri’s clan then settled on the north side of the Mohawk River, near what is now Fonda, New York. While living here, at the age of 20 years old, Tekakwitha was converted and baptized on Easter Sunday, April 18, 1676 by Father Jacques de Lamberville, a Jesuit. At her baptism, she took the name “Kateri”, a Mohawk pronunciation of “Catherine”. Unable to understand her zeal, members of the tribe often chastised her, which she took as a testament to her faith.

Because she was persecuted by her Indian kin, which even resulted in threats on her life, she fled to an established community of Native American Christians located in Kahnawake, Canada where she lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential practices, and care for the sick and aged. In 1679, she took a vow of chastity as in the Catholic expression of Consecrated virginity. A year later, Kateri died at age 24.

She is called “The Lily of the Mohawks,” the “Mohawk Maiden,” the “Pure and Tender Lily,” and the “Fairest Flower among True Men.” According to eyewitness accounts, Kateri’s scars vanished at the time of her death revealing a woman of immense beauty. It has been claimed that at her funeral many of the ill who attended were healed on that day.

Her full canonization is currently awaiting a verified miracle. Her feast day in the United States is celebrated on July 14. Click icon image for a larger view.

First Icon Added to Church Nave— click on the icon image to read the complete artist description

The following is a description of the event proclaimed in the icon in our church which was written by a contemporary of St. Francis and an eyewitness.

The day before the Feast of the Cross in September, while St Francis was praying secretly in his cell an angel appeared to him and said on God's behalf: “I encourage you and urge you to prepare and dispose yourself humbly to receive with all patience what God wills to do in you.” St Francis answered, “I am prepared to endure patiently whatever my Lord wants to do to me.” And after he said this, the angel departed. The next day came, that is, the Feast of the Cross. St Francis, sometime before dawn began to pray outside the entrance of his cell turning his face toward the east. And he prayed in this way: “My Lord Jesus Christ, I pray you to grant me two graces before I die: the first is that during my life I may feel in my soul and my body, as much as possible, that pain which You, dear Jesus sustained in the hour of Your most bitter Passion. The second is that I may feel in my heart as much as possible, that excessive love with which You, O Son of God, were inflamed in willingly enduring such suffering for us sinners.” And remaining for a long time in that prayer, he understood that God would grant it to him, and that it should soon be conceded to him to feel those things as much as possible for its mere creature.

Having received this promise, St Francis began to contemplate with intense devotion the Passion of Christ and His infinite charity. And the fervor of his devotion increased so much within him that he utterly transformed himself into Jesus through love and compassion. And while he was thus inflaming himself in this contemplation, on that same morning he saw coming down from Heaven a Seraph with six resplendent and flaming wings. As the Seraph, flying swiftly, came closer to St. Francis so that he could perceive Him clearly he noticed that He had the likeness of a Crucified Man, and His wings were so disposed that two wings extended above His head, two were spread out to fly, and the other two covered His entire body. On seeing this, St Francis was very much afraid, and at the same time he was filled with joy and grief and amazement. He felt intense joy from the friendly look of Christ, who appeared to him in a very familiar way and gazed at him very kindly. But on the other hand, seeing Him nailed to the cross, he felt boundless grief and compassion. Next, he was greatly amazed at such an astounding and extraordinary vision, for he knew well that the affliction of suffering is not in accord with the immortality of the angelic Seraph. And while he was marveling thus, He who was appearing to him revealed to him that this vision was shown to him by Divine Providence in this particular form in order that he should understand that he was to be utterly transformed into the direct likeness of Christ Crucified not by physical martyrdom, but by enkindling of the mind. —From the “Little Flowers of St. Francis”

First Communion: Congratulations to Halie Lemons, Scott Freeburg, Jess Franta, and Tanner Wary who received their first communion on Sunday, April 27. Fr. Vicente and Deacon Mike celebrated the Mass. To order photos or to view them, click here. Photos by Ed Stewart

Sacrament of Confirmation: Bishop Tafoya was here to celebrate Confirmation with five young people from our parish and ten from St Benedict’s on Sunday, April 13 at the 11:00 a.m. Mass. Please pray for Amy Schultz, Tori Mortenson, Hannah Dunlap, Sam Wray and Nathaniel Ley who were confirmed from our parish on that Sunday. (Tori Mortenson was unable to attend on that date and was confirmed by Fr. Vicente on May 11.)
      To order or view photos of the Confirmation Mass, click here.

Recent Past Events 

Holy Week Celebration Photos: Maundy Thursday Mass, Saturday Vigil Mass, and Sunday Easter Mass (separate links)

Palm Sunday Mass: Click here to see photos of the Palm Sunday celebration.

Deacon Mike celebrated his first Benediction on February 15, 2008 here at the Parish following Stations of the Cross.
Click here to see photos.

Christmas Masses:  Click here to see photos of the church decoration for Christmas and New Year's Eve, plus some of the scenes from the Masses. 

Rite of Dedication Mass: photos of the Dedication Mass are available for viewing in the Updates on New Church Facilities section of this website. Prints of the photos can be ordered by clicking here. A photo album of these pictures was ordered and is on display in the Narthex after Sunday Mass for viewing. Check with the office on ordering details.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE CHURCH BULLETIN need to be written and turned in by noon on Tuesday of each week. You may place your written announcement in the bulletin box in the back of church or give it to the office staff in the yellow building. 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.