 Fr.
Tom's Tomes January 31, 2010
We turn the first page of the 2010 calendar this week to February. This year Ash Wednesday is February 17, 2010. Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent which is a time of prayer and penance. Lent prepares us for the great Feast of Easter. This week we celebrate National Catholic Schools Week. Annually we celebrate this week to recognize the contributions Catholic Schools make to our Catholic Church and to the communities in which they serve. Bishop Hogan follows the tradition of Catholic Schools in Chillicothe since Fr. Hogan established the first school here. Even though Bishop Hogan was only established 52 years ago Chillicothe has prospered because of the Catholic Schools in town prior to the establishment of Bishop Hogan. St. Joseph’s Academy provided a Catholic High School for our community for many decades. This week as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week we will have several special events happening. At lunch on Tuesday we will be hosting the Realtors from Chillicothe. Wednesday will be the judging of the Science Fair entries with an open house on Thursday night from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm for members of the parish. On Friday we will have a Geography Bee in the cafeteria for students from 3rd through 8th grade. The Geography Bee will begin at 12:30 pm and again all are invited to attend. The students will be doing other activities in their classrooms to celebrate this week. I want to thank all the members of St. Columban’s parish for their support of Bishop Hogan School. There is always discussion about the value of Catholic Education. I believe Catholic Education is extremely important as it provides an opportunity for all children to receive an education in which the importance of God is incorporated into all areas of education. This provides the setting in which children will be able to take this experience with them for the rest of their lives. God is the center and direction we should all be following daily. Graduates from Bishop Hogan and the other Catholic Schools in Chillicothe have had a great impact not only here in Chillicothe but also throughout other communities in which they have become a part. It is important to remember the impact students from our school have had on towns, cities and communities. This coming Wednesday night is the monthly pot luck supper and rosary. The rosary which is prayed after the pot luck supper is for vocations. It is important not only to gather to pray for vocations but to ask children and grandchildren to become priests, brothers and sisters. Our Church continues to need boys and girls, men and women to respond to the call of God to come and minister to the needs of the people of the Catholic Church and larger community. When parents and grandparents begin to encourage their children and grandchildren to respond to God through the vocation of a religious calling children will more seriously consider this calling in their lives. A calling to follow God in a religious vocation is a blessing to families. God blesses families in a special way when a child responds to his call. Invite your children and grandchildren to think about becoming a priest, sister or brother. Do you have an unused sewing machine? Sr. Andrea from the Sisters of St. Francis in Independence is asking for used sewing machines to send to Africa to help young women learn how to sew so they can get a job. If you have one and would like to donate it please call Fr. Tom and I will make arrangements to get your unused sewing machine to Sr. Andrea. God bless you this week. |