2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Dear Family, Over the Christmas break, the new flooring was put in our social hall, in the main room, the kitchen and the bathrooms. It looks great. We also replaced toilets in the bathrooms and repainted those rooms and the stalls, so they are looking real good, too. I hope you all get a chance to see the new flooring and the new work done. The improvements certainly make our social hall a more beautiful and functional place to gather with family and friends and also with our parish family. They will help our hall to be an instrument of building community, unity and the bonds of friendship in Jesus Christ between all of us. THANK YOU to those who helped move appliances, tables, chairs and other items, who removed and installed toilets and stalls, who painted and did all the other things that were needed to prepare for and finish up after the flooring people. A special thanks to our Y-Disciple youth who volunteered their time and effort to painting the bathrooms! God bless you. Now we’ll be looking forward to the next phase of the project, which is to put in a new dropped ceiling to help with the sound in the hall. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support of this project, spiritual and material, without this would not be possible. There was a study done that asked people that they wanted to avoid the most, that they feared the most. Not surprisingly, death and public speaking were near the top of the list, but also on that list was silence. We often fear silence because we feel like somebody should be talking. We are not used to silence in a culture that promotes constant noise, activity and stimulation. But Pope Francis recently talked about silence, namely in the Mass. He said moments of silence in the Mass should be intentional times of prayer, recollection and communion with God, rather than just being times to be quiet or not speak. “Silence is not reduced to the absence of words, but is the availability to listen to other voices: that of our heart and, above all, that of the Holy Spirit.” In silence, then, we discover “the importance of listening to our soul and then opening it to the Lord.” He noted special moments of silence in the Mass. At the collect (opening prayer), after the priest says “Let us pray,” the congregation is exhorted to bring out “each one in his own heart, the personal intentions with which he participates in Mass… Perhaps we come from days of toil, of joy, of sorrow, and we want to tell the Lord, to invoke his help, to ask that he be enar us; we have family members and friends who are ill or who are going through difficult trials; we wish to entrust to God the fate of the Church and the world.” The silences are written right into the Missal. At the Penitential Act, again there is silence for recollection, and in the silences following a reading or homily, everyone is called to meditate briefly on what they have heard. After Communion they should praise and pray to God in their hearts. Through silence and by meditating on the prayers of the Mass, the liturgy can become for us a “true school of prayer.” May we not be afraid of silence, but embrace it as a special moment to draw close to our God. Have a blessed week. Father Jeremy Hans

Office: 402-358-3501 Fax: 402-358-3559 Parish Hall: 402-358-3443 Sacramental Emergency: St. Ludger Catholic Church 410 Bryant Ave, Creighton, NE 68729

402-358-3596

www.ludgercatholic.org

St. Ignatius Catholic Church 407 Franklin St. Brunswick, NE 68720

Announcements • Sunday School will be on Sunday, January 21st during 10am Mass. Sunday School will be in the school. There will not be Sunday School on Sunday, February 18th. • Kick off to Catholic Schools Week Soup Luncheon will be on Sunday, January 28th from 11am to 1pm in the social hall. There will also be a silent auction. This is a free will donation event. • St. Ignatius Catholic Order of Foresters will be serving rolls after mass on January 28th. • “One Night” – please join the Knox County Right to Life for our Pro-Life Prayer Vigil on Sunday January 21 at 6:30pm at St. Ludger Church. On this eve of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme court ruling that made abortion legal in all 50 states through all nine months of pregnancy and is responsible for the killing of over 60 million unborn babies, let us pray together for an end to this culture of death. Refreshments to follow in the hall. • Totus Tuus will be back in Creighton June 2 - June 8 this summer. • Valentine Cross-stitch | Sacred Heart Monastery | Yankton, SD Saturday, February 3, 2018 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. For: Ages 10+, Here’s a great way to share your love this Valentine’s day, a hand-made cross-stitched valentine Card! Cost: $10 Contact: Call our switchboard at 605-668-6000 to register by January 27th. • Thank you to everyone who gave donations for the baby shower for Jesus. The donations are greatly appreciated and will be used by the Little Miracles program to help babies and small children. Knox County Right to LifeNaoma Macke • Server Training will be on Wednesday, January 31st at 6:30pm for new servers and 7:30pm for current servers. Please make sure you sign in at training. • 9 Days for Life is a "digital pilgrimage" of prayer and action focused on cherishing the gift of every person's life. A multi-faceted novena highlighting a different intention each day provides reflections, bonus information, and suggested actions. Join to receive the novena through the 9 Days for Life app, daily emails, or daily texts. See below for information on how else you can get involved! January 18-26, 2018 • End of Year contributions-If you would like an end of the year contribution statement for taxes, please let the office know. Thank you! • Silent Auction~ if anyone would like to donate something to the Silent auction for the Soup Luncheon on Sunday, January 28th, please drop them off at the school or social hall by Sunday, January 28th. • 2018 Calendars are in the back of church. • Senior Scholarship: The St. Ludger Parish Council of Catholic Women are offering a $500 scholarship to a Catholic senior boy or girl of St. Ludger’s Church. Application forms have been sent to the guidance counselor of the high school. Please encourage you senior son or daughter to apply for this scholarship. Applications are due March 15th and need to be mailed to Bev Mathine, 52829 Hwy 59, Creighton, NE 68729. • Trash bags ~ The school has trash bags on hand if your in need of any. • Our YDisciple groups are looking for some community service work. If anyone needs help with yard work, hauling heavy boxes, or anything teenagers could help with, please contact Christa Eggers: 402-358-0092

Fish Fries are fast approaching! Fish fries this year will be Friday, February 16th & 23rd, March 2nd is baseballs, March 9th, 16th, & 23rd. Sign up sheets are in the back of church if you have a preferred Friday. Last year, we ran short on salads and desserts. If you ware willing to bring an extra salad/dessert call the office or sign up in the back of church. If you are unable sign up at church, but want to help, please call the office at 402-358-3501. We will be putting together a final work schedule to be sent out at the end of January. Thank you for your help in making the fish fries a success.

Fish Fry Friday 5pm-7pm February 16th March 9th

February 23rd March 16th

March 23rd

MASSES OFFERED Monday

January 15th

Weekday

No Mass

No Mass

Tuesday

January 16th

Weekday

8:30am St. Ludger

El Pitt and Family

Wednesday January 17th

Weekday

8:00am St. Ignatius

Joan Masat

Wednesday January 17th

Weekday

10:30am Care Center

Trisha Frisch

Thursday

January 18th

Weekday

8:30am St. Ludger

Paul Wagner Family

Friday

January 19th

Weekday

7:00am St. Ludger

Andrew & Mary Vogt & Betty and Rita Pospisil

Saturday

January 20th

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

5:30pm St. Ludger

Gib Ulrich

Sunday

January 21st

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

8:00am St. Ignatius

For the people

Sunday

January 21st

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

10:00am St. Ludger

Ed, Everett and Augusta Beckman

EMHC COMMUNION TO THE SICK Shut-ins: Dorothy Hladik, William Rayer, Joe & Irene Fuchtman & Elaine McInerney CCC: Clara Tharnish, Mary Lou Fuchtman, Margaret Paesl, Jackie Block, Shirley Homan, Marge Huigens, Dorothy Frisch, Bob & Marlene Wilmes, Charley Brandt & Mary Lou West.

ST. LUDGER ELEMENTARY SOUP LUNCHEON

SUNDAY, JAN. 28TH 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Serving Chili, Chicken Noodle Soup, Ham Sandwiches, Dessert and Drink

There will also be a SILENT Auction This is a freewill offering event