Congratulations to the young people of the Parish who received their First Communion last Sunday. We thank the parents for their cooperation. Special thanks to Lisa Schechter, Director of Religious Education and the Second Grade Catechists: Kati Russell, Lori Giuliani, Susan Chieffo and Kim Miller. We thank Carol Ann Bradley, Debbie Frantz and Liz Shannon for providing such lovely music. Let us all encourage these young people to deepen their love for Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist through our example.

Debbie Frantz, our music intern, completes her year with us this weekend. She has done outstanding work assisting with directing the Adult Choir, working with the children in the Sunday morning Religious Education Program, and helping Carol Ann with administrative tasks. Debbie will graduate this week from Trinity Lutheran Seminary with a master’s degree in church music.

We are in the first week of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal Campaign. This year’s theme is “Proclaiming Christ, Serving Our Neighbor”. Our goal is $55,918; the total pledged so far is $17,850. We have received 14 pledges which represents $1,275 per average gift. Your gift supports works of Charity, Evangelization, Education, Spirituality & Social Outreach in the Diocese of Columbus. OLV Parish benefits from these ministries. Please note that any amount pledged over our goal will be returned to the Parish. Please remember that no gift is too small.

The Parish Priests, Deacons and staff wish to extend to you and your loved ones Best Wishes for a Happy and Blessed Easter!

In raising Jesus from the dead, God promises what Jesus Himself foretold: “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise them up on the last day”. At Easter, God gives us a preview of this last day. In raising Jesus from the dead, God proves that good is more powerful than evil; that death cannot snuff out life for ever, that love is stronger than hatred.

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Lenten Fish Fry Dinners a big success! We give special thanks to Jesse Oddi, John Frary, Pat Feamster, Dick Miller and Hank Scaperoth.

The income is certainly appreciated, however, the spirit of camaraderie and fellowship displayed throughout the Lenten event are also greatly valued.

A communal Penance Service will be held Sunday, March 25 at 6:30p. Several priests will be available for confessions.

Next Sunday, April 1 is Palm Sunday. Palms will be blessed and distributed at every Mass. However, prior to the 11:00a Mass, we ask you to assemble in front of the Parish Life Center where palms will be distributed and blessed and the Gospel proclaimed. We will then process into the Church

Once again, we thank all those who made the celebration of the Birth of the Savior and the Feast of the Motherhood of the Virgin Mary on New Year’s Day such a joyful one. We thank the choir, those who decorated the church so nicely, the Servers, Lectors, Ushers, Eucharistic Ministers, and parishioners involved in outreach ministries to our shut-ins and needy.

Carol Ann Bradley, the Parish Music Director-Organist will be away from the weekend of January 7/8 through the weekend of January 22/23; Carol Ann will undergo foot surgery as an outpatient. We assure Carol Ann of our prayers. Debbie Franz, our music intern from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, will direct the choir as well as Thursday evening and Sunday morning rehearsals. We welcome Debbie as the Parish music intern and thank her for the wonderful work she is doing with the Parish choir and the music program for children.

Msgrs. Romano, Borrelli and Missimi, Deacons Baumann and Joseph and the parish staff extend to all of you best wishes for a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Our sincere thanks for your many cards and expressions of good wishes at Christmas. We thank the choir, those who decorated the church so nicely, the servers, lectors, ushers, and Eucharistic ministers.

We thank the children and those who prepared them so well for the 4:00p Children’s Liturgy. We thank all those who contributed in any way towards the beautiful celebration of the Birth of the Lord.

We thank you for making Our Lady of Victory Parish your spiritual home and for participating in its support. May the New Year bring you God’s continued blessings and His peace.

We thank Mary Waterford, chairperson, and the Parish Women’s Organization for the successful Women’s Bazaar which was held last month. The event cleared $4,203.04 for the parish. However, the spirit of fellowship and community which the event creates year after year far exceeds any dollar amount. We thank you!

On Tuesday, December 27, Bishop Campbell will celebrate Mass at Our Lady of Victory for all the Columbus Diocese Seminarians; dinner will follow in the Parish Life Center. We welcome Bishop Campbell and the seminarians and pray that their presence at the parish may inspire our young people to consider the Priesthood or Religious Life.

Donations received in the “My Christmas Offering” envelope is your Christmas offering to support the works of the parish; donations received in the envelope marked “Diocesan Catholic Charities” will be sent to the Diocese of Columbus to support its works of charity. May God reward you for your generosity.

During the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday, December 17 and during the 8:30am Mass on Sunday, December 18, there will be a communal anointing of the sick. Anyone with a physical or emotional ailment, may receive the anointing.

Donations received in the “My Christmas Offering” envelope is your Christmas offering to support the works of the parish; donations received in the envelope marked “Diocesan Catholic Charities” will be sent to the Diocese of Columbus to support its works of charity. May God reward you for your generosity.

The Scripture readings during Advent remind us to be ready for the coming of Jesus, the Son of God. Christmas is the celebration of the historical event of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Christmas is more importantly a celebration of a central truth that God sent his only Son to save us from our sins. It is a celebration of the incredible love of a God who “did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all” (Rom. 8:32). It is a celebration of God’s deep desire to draw everyone to Himself. Advent and Christmas present for us an opportunity to remember that we were made for Heaven. At this time of the year, we are reminded of our call to encounter a Person – Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

We thank everyone who supported the Pancake Breakfast held on November 20 to benefit the Holy Childhood Association. Special thanks to the Knights of Columbus for cooking and to the young people of the Parish for serving. Net proceeds to benefit the poor children of the world through the Holy Childhood Association was $1,000. May God reward you for your generosity.

A penance service will be held Sunday, December 4 at 6:30pm in the Church. Several priests will be available for confessions.

On the far right of the Church as you look to the altar is a new stained glass window depicting St. Michael the Archangel. The window has been donated by Frederick & Dorothy Ziegler in honor of their three sons. Michael Whapham, the artist-designer at Franklin Art Glass writes: “Franklin Art Glass Studios was recently commissioned to design and create a new stained glass window and framework to replace an existing steel divided sash. The subject of the panel is the Archangel St. Michael. As artist-designer, most of my projects are traditional ecclesiastical works. I was pleased to accept this challenge. I enjoyed researching and learning more about St. Michael, his importance and his attributes. His name means “Like unto God”. Christian tradition describes him as “Captain – General” of the Armies of Heaven. St. Michael is the warrior of God. In the window, he is shown as the militant angel, of princely rank, representing the power of God. It is he who fought the demon and overcame him, and cast out Satan and his evil hordes from the heavenly city. (Satan in Hebrew means “adversary”.) St. Michael is the protector of the Jewish nation, and in Christian times was accepted as guardian angel of the Church. I have depicted St. Michael as a strong warrior, in full armor, carrying a flaming sword and shield. On the shield, a pair of scales that represent he who is supposed to weigh the souls of men at the “Last Day of Judgment”, separating the righteous from the condemned. Michael stands boldly triumphant in the Heavenly Rays of Light. His bright shining wings rise from his shoulders. The decorative blue background shades from light to dark in the lower section of the window. The devil appears as a sinister winged manlike figure with horns. The evil one cowers and falls backward in defeat, into the fiery abyss. As Father Romano said, “Satan has been diminished.”

In the next few weeks, we will be talking about the upcoming changes in the Mass. These changes will be effective the first Sunday of Advent. There is an adage which says “Ecclesia Semper Reformanda”: The Church is always in need of renewal. In the last fifty years, we have experienced changes in the Liturgy which have been rather dramatic such as the use of the vernacular, facing the people of God at Mass and their more active participation in the Liturgy. In the past decade or so a new edition of the Roman Missal has been issued. The new edition includes new prayers to be used at Mass for the celebration of the Saints who had been recently canonized. In 2010, Rome approved the English translation that was submitted by the English speaking countries of the world. With the coming of the English translation, some of the words we use at Mass will be changing, although it is important to note that the Mass itself is not changing.

Liturgist, Joe Paparocki writes: “A draft of the Declaration of Independence reveals a mysterious smudge of ink that has long baffled historians. Apparently Thomas Jefferson changed his mind about a word and erased it while the ink was still wet. Scientists recently discovered that the word he erased was “subjects” which he replaced with “citizens”. The one word re-defined the people of the American colonies. Words have the power to change lives and even alter the course of history.

On a less dramatic note, just think of the last time you tried to select a greeting card for a special occasion. No doubt, you pored over the words of numerous cards, looking for just the right words to express your sentiments. Words can have a profound impact – for better or for worse – on our significant relationships. In the same way, words can play a very important part in our relationship with God. Catholics worship using both words and sacrament (sign, symbol, ritual). The words we use in worship are chosen carefully so as to best express our understanding of and relationship with God.

Some of these words we Catholics use in worship date all the way back to the time of the Apostles. For example, the words of Jesus, at the Last Supper, have been part of our Eucharistic celebrations for 2000 years. Most of the other words that make up the prayers and texts of the Mass have been culled together over a period of as many years, including texts that are relatively new – formulated in the 20th century. In all of this, one thing remains clear – these words have power!

They have the power to form us and shape us as Catholics. These prayers tell us what we believe about ourselves, about what God wants for us and from us, and about how we are to live in the world. The words with which we pray have the power to change us and to transform us.”

In the coming weeks, we will continue to explore how these changes will impact our life of worship, inviting us to delve deeper into the mystery of the Eucharist that is at the center of our lives.

During the weekend of September 24-25, Fr. Greg Serwa will make a mission appeal at all the masses on behalf of the Pallottines Missionaries. Pallottines (The Society of the Catholic Apostolate) is a religious community spread over several countries in the five continents. It was founded in Rome in 1835 by St. Vincent Pallotti. He is considered the pioneer of the Lay Apostolate. He is recognized as having profoundly influenced the teaching of Vatican Council II on the laity.

In India, besides carrying out the founder’s vision by inspiring the laity to take an active role in the Church, the Pallottines run mission stations in the remotest villages. They do the same in Zambia, Africa. The Pallottines work among the poorest, least educated and most oppressed. In traditional Catholic areas, they concentrate on re-evangelization and the training of the laity to become more active apostles.

A second collection will be taken to help the work of the Pallottines at all the Masses the weekend of September 24-25. Please be generous.

We thank everyone who contributed in making our Festival such a successful event. We thank John Drake and Jesse Oddi for co-chairing the Festival. We thank all those who chaired/co-chaired the various Festival activities. We thank all the parishioners for the spirit of fellowship that prevailed throughout the two-day event. Every one of the visitors remarked about the family feeling. In spite of the economic hard times, parishioners have been very generous in supporting our Festival. As soon as the net figures become available, we will publish them.

The Parish has hired a new Youth Ministry Coordinator. Her name is Holly Jo Monnier and comes from Lima, OH. Holly Jo recently got married to her husband, Rick, and relocated to the Columbus area. Holly Jo graduated from the University of Dayton in 2008 with a major in Religious Studies. Besides coordinating Youth Ministry, Holly Jo plans to help with the Junior High Program and with her husband teach 5th Grade Religious Education. We welcome Holly Jo and her husband to the parish family and to the Parish Religious Education Program. Holly Jo will introduce herself at all the masses this weekend. We give her our warm welcome.

Just a Reminder that The Parish Festival will be held the weekend of August 19 & 20. Co-chairpersons of the event are John Drake and Jesse Oddi. Chairpersons for food, games and other departments are in place, but volunteers are still needed! Pat Feamster (657-2375) and Renee Williams (296-8024) are again in charge of the Silent Auction. If you have any items you wish to donate to the auction, please call either Pat or Renee.

The Parish has hired a new Youth Ministry Coordinator. Her name is Holly Jo Monnier and comes from Lima, OH. Holly Jo recently got married to her husband, Rick, and relocated to the Columbus area. Holly Jo graduated from the University of Dayton in 2008 with a major in Religious Studies. Besides coordinating Youth Ministry, Holly Jo plans to help with the Junior High Program and with her husband teach 5th Grade Religious Education. We welcome Holly Jo and her husband to the parish family and to the Parish Religious Education Program. Holly Jo writes:

I majored in Religious Studies and worked for three years as the full-time Coordinator of Youth Ministry in Wapakoneta, OH at St. Joseph. I just recently finished up my job there. My Catholic faith and doing youth ministry with teens is my passion. I love working with teens and drawing them into their faith. It’s something I wanted to do since high school and God has certainly led me to where I am supposed to be. Some of my other passions include, spending time with family & friends, traveling, singing, laughing, playing sports and enjoying life to the fullest! I look forward to getting to know all of you and learning how I can serve the Parish. Please stop by the Parish Religious Education Office and say hello during the week. Or feel free to call, text, (614-465-3658) or email me [email protected] and introduce yourself!
AND TEENS, be on the lookout for a 2011/2012 OLV Youth Community schedule – lots of exciting, awesome, amazing things in store! I would especially love to hear your suggestions for the Senior High Youth Ministry and how your Parish can serve you. The bulletin, website and eventually Facebook will update you on what’s going on so be on the lookout! Your prayers are greatly appreciated as we kick off this vital ministry.