june 2011 news from the pews

8/6/2019 June 2011 News from the Pews

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Quarterly News from SS. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Parish

News from the Pews608 Sobieski Street Lemont, IL 60439 (630) 257-2776

By Fr. Larry Lisowski

By Fr. Larry Lisowski

June 2011

A few weeksago, St. Cyril’scelebrated thegraduation of theClass of 2011 from

our Parish School.It was a proudmoment for them,

their families and our parish.

These fine young men and women have been a part of a wonderful journey thatallowed them to receive not just aneducation, but a “Catholic Education.”The wisdom and knowledge they acquiredover the years was always provided inthe context of our faith in the God wholoves us, and our ongoing relationship

with Jesus Christ.

At the graduation Mass during my homily,I challenged the Class of 2011 to makesure they did just one thing with their lives — that is to make sure they always,“Give Back.” Give back to others. Give

back to their families. Give back tosociety. Give back to the church. Give

back to those who have nothing.

There are lots of reasons why we shouldgive back. One obvious reason is that

our world is filled with “takers.” Thosewho are only out for themselves and notconscious of the needs of others. These arerelationships that are always one-sided.

Also, we need to be people who give back because often we have more than whatwe need and more than what we can use.God’s blessings are abundant and whenwe share our blessings the world becomesa better place.

This was a common lesson Jesus taughthis disciples. He made this point clear when he multiplied the loaves and fishes,and at the end of the day fed 5,000. Hetaught them this lesson at the wedding

feast in Cana when he turned the water into wine, and the celebration continued.He shocked his disciples when they pulledup their nets to find a boatload of fish,after hours of coming up empty-handed

by themselves. By word and example,Jesus helped them to see life differentlyand experience life differently becauseof one’s willingness to give.

The point is that when we share, it seemsthat we never seem to run out, but in factwe may end up having even more thanwe can imagine. When we are generousand kind to one another, life is at its best.Generosity is one of the best hallmarks of a Christian life.

May we experience that special kind of joy often in our hearts.

This edition of News from the Pews isfilled with beautiful stories about peoplegiving of themselves in order to supportthe life of our parish.

For example, Althea Wesolowski, GeriO’Connell and Bev Marzek have given asignificant part of their lives to help our Parish School. We congratulate the

recent ordination of our new Deacon MikeCiciura, who boldly commits his life andservice to the Church through his ministry.Our teens give up part of their summer vacation so that they can help the poor

in Memphis, Tennessee, by participatingin our annual Summer Mission Trip.Parishioners have graciously givenfinancially to the beginning of our capitalcampaign entitled, “Our Faith, Our Gift,Our Home,” that will help us maintainthe beauty of our historic church. Manyvolunteers have given much of their time and talent organizing our upcomingBlock Party in July which is always agreat evening of fun.

Recently we celebrated the great feastof Pentecost, where Jesus gave the giftof the Holy Spirit to his disciples andcommissioned them to go forth intothe world to carry on his mission andministry. It would have been a disaster if they had never shared this gift and justheld onto it. Instead, they took many risksto build up the church and spread the faithto hundreds. They courageously shared thegift of faith.

I believe Jesus constantly asks all of us,“What do you have to offer in My name?”

This is a great question to think about. Itcould easily be a question to prayerfullyhold on to for the rest of our lives.

Come to think of it ... it might just well bethe question Jesus asks us when we get tothe gates of heaven.

Give well. Live well.

"Giving Back" By Fr. Larry Lisowski

•

In Scripture it is written

“God lovesa joyful giver”



News from the Pews - June 2011 2

A very specialmoment for Mike Ciciura,his wife

Denise, and the parishioners of SS. Cyril & Methodius finally came.On May 15, 2011, at Holy NameCathedral, Mike Ciciura entered thisholy church as a faith-filled man andcame out as an ordained deacon.

A deacon is a man, who may bemarried, who is ordained and hascomplementary duties to that of a priest. Deacons may officiate atmarriages and funerals, they can

baptize people, preach at mass andoffer blessings to people duringcelebrations.

For the past four years, Mike has been studying and praying throughthe formation process to becomea deacon. He is very excited to

begin his journey of faith withthe parishioners of SS. Cyril &Methodius. He chose our parish to

begin his journey for many reasons.For starters, it was important for him to return to his cultural roots byministering in a Polish parish. Heknows the Polish spirituality, onethat is very devotionally centered inits liturgical practices. What better fit than to establish himself in a

Catholic, American Polish churchin Lemont where he feels welcome

both spiritually and culturally in thecommunity in which he lives.

There were two great moments Mikeexperienced during the formation

process. As you might suspect, one of those special moments was the actualordination performed by Francis

Cardinal George. Equally as specialwas when Father Larry welcomedhim and agreed to be his sponsor throughout the formation process.If it wasn’t for Father Larry’ssponsorship or sharing his verydown-to-earth personality andspiritual teachings, we wouldn’t havehad Mike as our new deacon.

During the interview with DeaconMike, when I asked which ministrieswere best suited to deacons, hisimmediate response was “Any andall; depending upon the greatest needsof the community.” He proceededto explain that it is important for adeacon “to be the voice for those thatdon’t have a voice or are forgotten,such as those who are hospitalized,homebound, widows/widowers, or who find themselves on the fringesof the mainstream.” Deacons also helpto bridge the gap between the clergyand the laity by connecting with the

people and understanding their needs.

Next time you see Deacon Mike,

remember to introduce yourself tohim. It is easy for us to know who heis, because he’s the 'new guy', but it isnot so easy for him to remember eachof us by name. You might even sharesome of the same hobbies to chat withhim about, such as golfing, running,seeing movies or reading classicalliterature.

It was during the final part of theinterview when Deacon Mike and

his wife Denise left the biggestimpression on me. When I asked themto share something about themselvesthat they wanted the parishionersof SS. Cyril & Methodius toknow, here’s how they responded:“Even when things are very busy,we are never too busy to make newfriendships or give someone the

time to listen, even if it’s just for five minutes. We will always makethe time.” As parishioners, that’s aninvitation none of us shouldturn down!

Our New Deacon Has Arrived!By LindaHarbison

•

Quarterly publication for theSS. Cyril & Methodius Parishcommunity.

Send correspondence to:

News from the Pewsc/o SS. Cyril & Methodius Rectory

608 Sobieski StreetLemont, IL 60439(630) 257-2776

Publisher: Fr. Larry Lisowski

Editor: Debbie Keppler

Editing/Proofing: Kay Manning

Layout/Design: Colman BrohanDavis Marketing

E-mail Address (Editor) :[email protected]

Parish Website: www.stcyril.org

The next issue of News from thePews comes out in Summer 2011.All Parish Ministries are encouragedto submit articles to share in thehappenings of parish life.

News from the Pews

Our new Deacon, Mike Ciciuraand his wife Denise




The three Catholic parishes in Lemont joined together to work on a LentenService Project. Inspired by an article inthe Catholic New World newspaper, wesent out the call for plastic bags, plarnmakers and crocheters.

We were overwhelmed by the amountof plastic bags! We had Girl Scouts, and

junior high school students, at-homemoms, the knit group (turned crocheters)and seniors join together to make32-35 mats.

Making plarn (plastic yarn) from plastic bags is a labor-intensive process: 35hours to make the balls of plarn of 25

bags each, and then one hour to crocheteach ball, for a total of 70 hours per mat.

Althea Wesolowskihas been aninstrumental partof SS. Cyril &Methodius Schooland is now retiringafter 13 years of

serving as the School Of ce Assistant.

As witnessed by the smiles on thechildren’s faces when they are in the

presence of Mrs. “W,” Althea’s fondestmemories are the day-to-day high ves,and all the smiles and greetings shereceives from the students.

Her daily responsibilities includedstudent attendance, making surehomework slips got to teachers,answering phones, taking messagesand helping with scraped knees.Whatever students needed, familiesneeded, or staff needed...Althea was

there to handle it. If you ask Altheawhat her job description was, she wouldsay, “Whatever I could do to makesomeone’s day easier.”

Having two sons graduate from SSCM,Althea has been involved with theschool as a parent, volunteer andMother’s Club member. She has fondmemories of those years, which is her reason for being with us today.

Althea has a deep admiration andrespect for the parents and familiesof SS. Cyril & Methodius andtheir commitment to a Catholiceducation. She especially appreciatesall the volunteer hours, hard work,thoughtfulness and generosity of our school families. She believes that theschool families all contribute to makingSS. Cyril & Methodius a better place.

Now it is time for us to wish Althea wellas she begins the next chapter in her lifeof travel, spending time with her newgranddaughter, reading, taking classesand experiencing the mere enjoymentof exibility.

Thank you, Althea, for the wonderfulmemories and the unwavering TLC you

provided to the students for 13 years!You will be missed! •

High fives and smiles highlight13 years of service By Chris Alfirevich

Lent's Labor of Love a Tri-Parish SuccessBy Susan Wallace

(Continued on next page)

Retiring School Office Assistant, Althea Wesolowski

Together, all three Catholic Parishes in Lemont donated over 2,000 service hours to this year's Lenten project




What began as a volunteer endeavor almost 24 years ago, when my daughter enrolled in kindergarten at SS. Cyril &Methodius, ultimately became the dream

job that I loved. Serving the needs of avibrant grammar school and its studentshas been a satisfying and ful lling

journey. During this time I have worked for three wonderfulwomen...Mrs. Lillian Buckley, Mrs. Barbara Waller andMrs. Shirley Tkachuk.

My fondest memories are the almost 2,000 students whohave passed through the doors of SSCM over the years. Thehundreds of bumps, bruises, Band-Aids and follow-up calls to

parents; sharing in students’ joy, laughter, fears and sorrow;the numerous crayon-laden pieces of construction paper representing a greeting card or picture; and the occasionalinnocent, yet hilarious comments uttered by the young are

but a few examples. One young student recently sharedthat lunchtime reminded him of me when he said that allthe pretzels that he’d eaten were shaped like “O’s.” I alsoremember the letter of apology from eighth-graders for a food

ght in the old cafeteria when I was a lunchroom Mom.

Most gratifying, however, has been watching these youngstersgrow into young teenagers over the years — some returningto visit from high school and college. Couple that withattending some students’ weddings and then welcomingtheir children as new kindergarteners makes me realize

that I have come full circle.

During the past 15 years, recruiting new students to the schoolthat I believe in and love has been an exhilarating challenge.While I have probably conducted nearly 400 tours, it has beena delight to share with prospective parents what SSCM and itsstaff can offer their children — all from the perspective of a

parent, School Board member, and lunchroom Mom.

I have known many of the faculty and staff for most of mytime with SSCM. A number of these people taught or workedwith our children, Brian and Maureen. The of ce team — Carolyn, Joan and Althea — have worked closely with mein a cooperative effort to provide support to the entire SSCMstudent body, faculty and staff. My co-workers and I haveshared many memories over the years.

I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude toFr. Larry, Mrs. Tkachuk, my co-workers in the of ce, faculty,staff, parents, and all the students I have known. I also wantto thank the School Board, Mothers’ Club and all other schoolvolunteers who have supported our efforts over the years.

Now it is time for me to leave and begin another chapter in mylife. I want to spend time with my husband, Jim our childrenand our two grandsons, Caleb and Kayden. SS. Cyril &Methodius will always hold a special place in my heart. I willalways remember the good times and hope to make more goodtimes to remember.

Mrs. Geri O’Connell

•

Fond Memories after 24 Years

All told, we can estimate that over 2,000 service hours were contributedfrom all three parishes. Now that’sa service project!

We will be bringing the mats toCornerstone Community Outreach at4628 North Clifton Avenue in Chicagosometime in June, following a blessing

by Fr. Larry.

What should our service project befor next Lent? Send your ideas tome at [email protected].

(Continued from page 3)




Though therehave been manychanges in

both our schooland parishover the past19 years, one

thing has stayed the same, and thatis Bev Marzec as our SS. Cyril &Methodius Athletic Director. Bev isretiring from this position at the end

of June 2011. She will be greatlymissed, but she has earned a rest!

Bev originally became involvedwith the Athletic Commission whenher son, Nick and daughter Meredithwere playing basketball at St. Cyril’s.Her husband Dennis was alsocoaching, so it was a real familyactivity. Bev went from being aCommission member to the AthleticDirector in just a few short years,

following past Athletic DirectorsRay Perez, Terry Kavanagh,Fred Schmitz, and her brother Vic Markiewicz.

In 1995, tragedy struck her family,as Dennis passed away from a longillness. Bev, however, continued onas Athletic Director, not only for the love of sports and working withour children, but also as a way tohonor her late husband. Even as

her children graduated fromSt. Cyril’s and moved on tohigh school, college and into theworkforce, Bev had continued onin her role as Athletic Director.

Bev has overseen many changesin our sports program. When she

began, there was only one team at

each grade level for both boy's andgirl's basketball, and there was onlygirls volleyball in the fall season.As our school grew and an additionwas built, double classes of eachgrade were added. Bev coordinatedthis with our sports program also, ascurrently most classes have two teamsfor both boy's and girl's basketball.

This past season for example, wehad twenty basketball teams for

both boys and girls, which createda daunting task when trying toschedule practice time and games for each team. Bev has been more thanup to the challenge and has madethe situation work year in and year out. About eight years ago, boy'svolleyball was also added as a sportin our school. With this addition, thesports programs at St. Cyril's runfrom August, when girl's volleyballstarts practicing, until May, when

boy's volleyball finishes their season.

Bev has also been very instrumentalin our conference. At one time, we

were involved in both the SouthwestCatholic Conference and the JolietArea Catholic Conference. Bevhas held numerous positions witheach, including being President of the SWCC. When there was talk about merging the two conferencestogether, Bev helped out in thiseffort. This has resulted in theconference we are currently in,the Southwest Suburban Catholic

Conference, for which Bev isthe Secretary.

Bev is also involved in other activities. She is currently Presidentof the School Board at Lemont HighSchool. She has served over 20 yearson the Board at Lemont High, andwas their first female president. Bevis also very involved around our

parish here at St. Cyril’s, including being a wedding sacristan. She

helped out with the 125th anniversarycelebration a few years back, andassisted in numerous functions whenher children were at school. Youcan also find her at 7 a.m. Massmost mornings before she headsoff to work.

The SS. Cyril & Methodius AthleticCommission honored Bev at theLady Comet and Emil Domagalskitournaments this year with flowers and

a plaque for her years of service anddedication to our sports program. If you see her, join us in wishing her a

big “Thank You” for all of her help.We will miss her, but I have a feelingwe will still see her at the gym cheeringon her favorite athletes, the children of SS. Cyril & Methodius School! •

Athletic Director Retiresafter 19-year Winning Streak

By Steve Paulovic

Bev Marzec retires after 19 yearsas Athletic Director




Why is artimportant? Why

should we study it?Art surrounds us

— in our church,the illustrationsin children’s

books, buildings where we work, etc.Man has always been an image-maker.Since earliest times, we’ve seen cave

paintings depicting life and culture of prehistoric life. Art is expression. Itgenerates creativity and encouragesvision. Research studies point to

strong relationships between art andfundamental cognitive skills and theability to master other core subjects

— reading, writing and mathematics.

At SS. Cyril & Methodius School, weare very fortunate to have Mrs. Marzelak

and her “art cart” twice a week. Allclasses experience Mrs. Marzelak’s

effective technique in giving studentsthe power of expression. She comesinto each individual classroom withher project and supply-laden cart.Mrs. Marzelak’s instruction will go

beyond just art; she always includes ahistoric reference, and tries to find aspiritual tie-in to most projects. Eachgrade coordinates with a specific historicera — for example, Medieval — thenshe will talk about the way art wasviewed at that time or popular artists of

that era; and then, possibly, the childrenmay design a coat of arms depicting their own identity. Or perhaps the period may

be Roman, and the project would be amosaic of a religious icon.

When I had the opportunity to visit

a class with Mrs. Marzelak, she washaving the eighth grade do caricatures

of themselves. This is a traditioneach graduating class does, and thefinished project is incredible. After the caricatures are completed, Mrs.Marzelak arranges them all on a small

poster, and makes a copy for eachstudent. Every individual student isrecognizable, as they are instructed toinclude in their drawing small detailsthat make each of them unique. It’s awonderful, creative keepsake.

Ideally, the students of SS. Cyril &Methodius School will learn some great

basic skills from Mrs. Marzelak inexpressing themselves through art andto enjoy and respond to the forms, colorsand images that are art. •

Art on WheelsIn-Spired Art Corner By Judith Mokelke




This year’s Block

Party scheduledfor Friday, July15 promises totake us "Up, Upand Away" tonew heights of

parish fun and fellowship.

Traditional highlights that consistentlydelight the children are back again thisyear including the train ride, jumpie andface painting done by our own artists-in-residence, incoming eighth graders.Also not to be missed are everyone’sfavorite FREE sno-cones. You’re sure to

see just as many purple and blue adult

tongues as you do on the kids.Everyone’s taste buds are in for aneven bigger treat, as this year the partywill feature many new delicacies.Joining the food lineup this year will

be Celina’s, who will be offering suchPolish favorites as Polish sausage andsauerkraut sandwiches and pierogies. Inaddition, keeping their Fish Fry successrolling, the School Board will be behindthe grill this year serving hamburgers,cheeseburgers and pulled pork sandwiches. As always, any funds theyraise will be used to support our Parish

School. So, please come hungry.

Rounding out the evening for everyone’s listening and dancing

pleasure will be performances by theParish Choir and Polish Dancers. Then,get ready to rock. Back by popular demand is our very own Alina Czub,and her band Sound Decision. They’llclose the night as they gear up and rock out on classic hits from the 70s, 80sand beyond.

So, come on "Up" and let us take you

"Away" for another summer night to beremembered.

2011 Block Party to Feature CommandPerformances and a Few Surprises

•

By Liz Brohan

St. Cyril's8th AnnualBlock Party Friday

July 157-11

Wristbands go on saleafter Masses starting June 25th and 26th

FREEPopcorn

FREESno-Cones

Advancedticketsonly $5-

$10 at thedoor

Great Food& Drink

HamburgersPolish SausagesBrats • Pizza

Hot Dogs

LiveEntertainment

KIDS KORNERTrain

JumpieFace Painting

and More




I would like to thank all the volunteers who gave of their time and talent to the young people of our parish this past year. They gave up countless hours to teach or help with the program. Withoutall of them the program could not run so smoothly, and I am grateful for their service to our parishand the children of our parish.

We celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation this year with 127of our second-graders from our Parish School and the religiouseducation program and their families on Saturday, December 4

and the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Saturday, May 7. One hundred andforty of our eighth graders from the Parish School and the religious education programwere Confirmed by Bishop George Rassas on Saturday, March 19.

Several of our eighth graders wrote reflections on what it meant to them to be confirmedhere at St. Cyril’s. There are also several second-grade parents who wrote reflections

on what it meant to them to have a child receive Jesus for the first time. These aretruly moving reflections, and I urge you to take the time to read what they have tosay. I think you will be truly inspired.

Religious Education NewsBy Trish Nickleski

First Holy Communion Reflection by Shaune and Tom JonesOur youngest son Caden celebrated hisFirst Holy Communion on May 7 hereat SSCM. The day was full of joy… thecombination of music, choir, prayerful

reverence and beautiful smiles fromour First Communicants breathed thelife of our parish and the spirit of faiththat is so abundant in our parish. Thisis one of the many special sacramentsthat our four sons have experiencedhere at SSCM, and with each onetheir enthusiasm and perspective arereminders to us as adults how we oftentake the Eucharist and other Sacramentsfor granted. Caden’s own wordsdescribe it all. “Thank you for the bread

of life and for all the blessings youhave given me.” It is wonderful to hear the excitement in Caden’s voice as hecontinues to “count” how many timeshe’s been able to take Communionsince that day…if only we as adultscould keep count and be joyful for howspecial this daily and weekly

gift should be to us. I know it willremind us to be more mindful of our relationship to God always, especiallyas we celebrate the Eucharist withour families.

Sacrament Reflection

by Mary BasiorkaThis last school year has been a bitoverwhelming for our family, buteven more than that, it has been anextraordinarily beautiful blessed time.Two of our five children deepened their love for God and strengthened their Catholic faith as they received

God’s precious gifts through His SacredSacraments. Alexander received theHoly Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation, and Lillian celebratedthe Sacraments of Penance and FirstHoly Communion. What made their

journey that much more special isthat it strengthened and deepenedtheir faith and love for Jesus, andnot only for them, but for our entirefamily. Preparation for receiving thesesacraments in the same year was of course a bit challenging. My biggestconcern is always whether we areadequately preparing our children for the sacraments. I am not sure that wecan ever completely and perfectly

prepare for Jesus and these sacraments,

but we must remember that it is our responsibility to build this foundationof a deep love for God and a strongCatholic faith in our children. After all,this is our purpose on this earth.

I have personally been given the bestexample to follow, having been blessed

Parent Reflections on the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation 2011

The Jones family




with loving and amazing parents of suchstrong faith. That is truly the greatestgift we can give our children — theexamples they are shown will in partdetermine the kind of Catholics theywill continue to be. We definitely hadour work cut out for us this past year

with the service hours, many religious books to read in preparation for thesesacraments and many heart-to-hearttalks together with our children aboutthis sacred time and our faith. If Icould offer any advice to others, it

would be to take this opportunity toteach and also learn together with your children — enjoy and treasure it — itis truly a special, blessed and sacredtime that you will always hold mostdear. Perhaps our second-grade daughter Lillian summed it up most beautifullySunday morning, the day after shereceived her First Holy Communion.She opened her beautiful, innocent eyesand with a smile filled with joy andlove, she proclaimed, “I have Jesus inmy heart forever.”

Confirmation Reflectionby Linda McEneanyOur son Kevin received the Sacramentof Confirmation this spring at SS. Cyril& Methodius Church. He has attended

SSCM Parish School for nine yearsand is graduating this weekend. Duringthose years we have seen him grow notonly physically, but spiritually as well.This has never been more apparent

than on the day he confirmed his faith.As we listened to Bishop Rassas talk to these young adults about using their gifts to make a difference, we realizedthat God has a special plan for Kevin.He has given him talents and gifts thathe is now beginning to understand.He has learned to walk in faith and hastaken a place in the church family. We

put trust in the Lord that He will guideour son to help him follow and fulfillthe plan that God has for his life.

Student Reflections on Confirmation 2011

What Confirmation Means to Me by Samantha Walus

What does Confirmation mean to me?It means that I am receiving the lastsacrament of Christian Initiation tocomplete what I have started. I was

baptized on a Sunday in June at St.Cyril’s, my home parish. I attended andstill do attend St. Cyril in which I madethe Sacrament of Holy Communionin second grade. Now I am in eighth,still at St. Cyril’s, and am making theSacrament of Confirmation. I am gladthat I was able to stay here all of mylife and complete initiation in the

same church.Let’s start with the word "Confirmation."What happens at the Mass?Confirmation is a sacrament in whichyou are confirmed into the church.A bishop, in our case Bishop Rassas,is there to guide your Mass, and thisis what happens. You have to choosea sponsor who will guide you in a

Christian way for the rest of your life,who has made their Confirmation, andwho is still a practicing Catholic today.At mass, your sponsor walks up behind

you with his/her right hand on your right shoulder. The bishop says his linesand you respond, “and also with you.”He then anoints your head with oil andyou shake hands and walk away.

Confirmation means so much to me because now I feel like a whole new person. Mrs. Szostak is a great religionteacher who taught us so many life

-changing lessons and told us so muchstuff on how to be a good Catholicthat I can’t even remember it all. WhatI know is that after Confirmation youdon’t just stop being a good person andhelping others, you are just starting the

journey. We learned everything rightfrom wrong, and now Confirmation isgoing to complete that. I learned thatif you make Confirmation and really

believe in it, you can do so much for theworld. There are so many things that weas kids can do just to make a difference.We can do the most simple things,like do stuff for your mom without her asking, or not gossiping, or standing upfor your friends.

I think that after Confirmation I will bechanged. Maybe become a new person.

•

(Continued on next page)

The Basiorka family

The McEneany family




I will have the Holy Spirit within me.I really hope to keep on doing stuff for other people, helping other people. Ireally do want to help out somewherein Lemont, benefiting the community.Maybe my parish will still need helpwith things that come up. This summer,I will be joining the Youth MinistryGroup that has teenagers from St. Cyril'sand St. Al's/St. Pat's. My brother isalready a part of it, and they do manyfun things that have to do with Christand helping others. Like this summer,they are going to Kentucky to help

build homes for the poor. I will begoing on that trip next summer. WhenConfirmation is over, I will try to keep

up my faith and make it stronger, whichshouldn’t be a problem since my familyattends Mass every Sunday and we goto Mass on all special occasions.

What Confirmation Means to Me by Max Brzostowski

Confirmation is a very big step inmy life to becoming a fully initiateddisciple of Christ. I am very excited to

be receiving this sacrament because Iwant to strengthen my relationship with

God. I also want the guidance of theHoly Spirit so that I may make the bestand most appropriate choices in my life.So I am willing to take this challenge of living as a disciple of Christ to the nextlevel, and to fully initiate myself intothe Body of Christ.

Confirmation means a lot to me because God has given me the chanceto renew my life as a follower of Christ.Confirmation also gives me a chance to

become more mature, especially in thechoices I will make in my future life.It was my decision to be confirmed,and I have no regrets about that choice

because I am willing to participatemore and more within the Church.After seeing my siblings filled withthe Holy Spirit, I was persuaded to be

just like them because I know that the

Holy Spirit enlightened them to becomegreat evangelizers. I cannot wait for thisspecial day to come, but I know thatthe journey towards this sacrament isgoing to be very useful because it hastaught me about challenges that I haveto overcome during my life as an adult.This sacrament is very important in mylife, but I know that is only useful if Itake an active part in the Church.

I think that Confirmation is a big step inlife because we all need the Holy Spiritto help us make life-changing decisions,especially in the decisions that I willmake in high school and college. I amwilling to embrace all of the gifts thatthe Holy Spirit will bless me with. Toshow God our love for Him, we are touse these gifts to perform Christ-likedeeds within our community.

Celebrating this sacrament is somethingthat I have been waiting for all my lifeand now it’s my time to receive thelife-giving Holy Spirit. Since it’s mytime, I will not take this sacrament for granted because I know how importantGod will be in my upcoming life. Ihope that I will impress my family

and friends with the good and faithfuldecisions that I promise to fulfill after

becoming a fully initiated disciple of the one and only Jesus Christ. Withthis sacrament being in the season of Lent, I think that it will show that wemust truly praise Christ, especially for his actions that saved us from sin andallowed us to celebrate this amazingsacrament. After Confirmation, our services toward the community, our families and our Church are to continue

and become a common routine in our lives. That is why Confirmation is thelast and the never-ending initiatingsacrament of the Church.

My Confirmationby Alex Lorang

The day I made my Confirmation I was

worried sick, with butterflies in mystomach, and fearful of screwing up.But once mass started I became relaxed;with Bishop Rassas’ good humor andintriguing homily I soon found I wasenjoying myself more than I expected.Bishop Rassas’ homily centered aroundfour main points: Dare to be Different!What would Jesus Do? Use Your Giftsto Make a Difference! And Keep theFaith Alive! All of these have stuck with me since then, but one thing thatstood out was something that was toldto Bishop Rassas when he was in eighthgrade: “Do what is right because it isright, and not because someone toldyou to.”

I went to my Confirmation preparedwith the Saint name Anthony, withmy sister Lizzie as my sponsor and aloving family to help and support me.I left with that and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom to see God inmy life; Understanding to see why Goddoes things in my life; Counsel to knowwhen I can join my friends or to knowwhen they have gone too far; Fortitudeto have the courage to spread anddefend my faith; Knowledge to knowthe Lord better; Piety to have morereverence for the Church; and Fear of the Lord, or Wonder and Awe, to knowthat the Lord can topple the mightiestmountain yet care for the tiniest infant.I have gained the Holy Spirit in mysoul, and a stronger connection in myfaith, and I feel that I have become a

better person. And with all that, I cango into the world, more aware of the

beauty of the Lord in my life. •

(Continued from page 9)




"What I felt was most rewarding thisyear is the excitement and drive of mystudents and willingness/enthusiasm

of wanting to learn. They were anoutstanding group of individuals whochallenged themselves and worked hardin all that they did. I enjoyed teachingLanguage Arts."Mrs. Danielle West Grade 5

"What I found rewarding is the facultyhad the chance to work together on our different committees. Four of us hadthe responsibility of agendas, minutes,

keeping peace amongst the members,and reporting back to the principal andother committee leaders what our groupaccomplished or were working on tomake the school a better place."Mrs. Mary Grabowski

Physical Education

"The most rewarding part of the year was watching all the second gradersgo up with their parents to receive theBody and Blood of Jesus for the first

time."Mrs. Sue Tomala Grade 2

"I enjoyed being part of a committee...working together with colleagues,sharing our resources, ideas and

accomplishing many goals."Mrs. Sharon Drake

Kindergarten

"Getting to know another enthusiasticgroup of first graders and to see howmuch they have grown throughoutthe year!"Ms. Kristy Vilimas-Dusberger Grade 1

"The most rewarding accomplishment

this year, for me, was to hear mystudents tell me they loved the book they were reading. Many of my studentsdiscovered the profound joy of readingthis year."Mrs. Sharon Forster Grade 3

"I feel that the most rewarding partof my year was working with thekindergarteners. It was wonderful to seesuch tremendous growth and progress in

each and every child. Every child grewa great deal intellectually, spiritually,emotionally and physically. It was avery rewarding experience, and one Iwill always treasure"Mrs. Missy Willey

Kindergarten

"Being able to see the love that each of my students has for one anothers’ ideas,thoughts and persons."

Mrs. Kerri Poniatowski Grade 6

"I felt our whole school participating inthe Feed My Starving Children programwas rewarding. I felt that implementingthe reading probes as a form of assessment and seeing the success thechildren achieved over the course of the school year was rewarding. Seeingwhere my fourth graders started out inAugust and looking at them today and

seeing their capabilities is rewarding."Mrs. Colleen Hickey Grade 4

"What I really enjoyed this year wasthe common challenges for my studentsand me. I enjoyed their determination.Overall, I marveled at the way the fifthgrade carried themselves. This is areflection on their homes, parents andon our school."Mrs. Connie Ptacek

Grade 5

We have reached the end of another very successful school year.As always, I am thankful to the parish and our families for all of their help and support.

Please enjoy reading some of the most “rewarding moments” experienced by our teachers!

Have a wonderful summer. We will see you in August!

Teachers Reflect on Year's Most Rewarding MomentsBy Shirley Tkachuk, Principal



By Anna Konarska-Ryttel

Dziś są twoje urodziny Dostojny Kapłanie ,Dostojny Kapłanie ,

Ani ł wie instrumenty str ją,

Nucąc ra śnie najpiękniejsze sł wa, jakie m żna s bie tylk wymarzyd by usłyszed, tak jak Ty je usłyszałeś ‘’O Panie t Ty na mnie sp jrzałeś Tw je usta wyrzekły me imię.’’

Przyjaciele szykują wieczerze, la wszystkich c w niebie mieszkają.

Ty zasią ziesz z Maryją Matką B ga, Ona w bursztynowo diamentowej suknic ś jej w Częst ch wie p ar wał obok niej ukochana Mama,tata, siostra ibrat.Miejsce g zie zasią ziecie- Jezus samwybrał

Spójrz n wi i ą p w lnym kr kiem, aż 96, niesp sób wymienid każ eg .Prezy ent P lski Lech Kaczynski z małż nką zasia ł z si strą Faustyną i Maksymilianem Kolbe.

Ze łzami tym c się w kraju i Eur piedzieje, ksią z Jerzy P piełuszk Rozmawia z Anną Walentyn wicz

Słychad szemranie, g zie jesteś Janie , my tu czekamy? Ty ciągle w małej niebiaoskiej iz ebce, klęczysz p chyl ny, na twarzysmutek

C się stał ?

Zł zarzucił straszne si ła. z Ojczyzny płynie w łanie‘’ r a t u n ku!!!’’ z mapy ziemi znika D o b r o !!

Janie j esteś wybraocem B ga,

On Świetym Ciebie uczynił, zanim świat zr zumiał, że Święty czł wiek przybył.

Wskaż r gę, ajwiary i siłybyśmy swych k rzeni wrócili, jak ngiś Ojczyznę chr nili, a Twe marzenie o Wolnej,Katolickiej Po

ZREALIZUJEMY!

Naró zap mina własneg języka, wr g wie i błu nicy ręce s bie p ają. Z rajców i sprze awczyków c raz więcej, w buci rach P lskę przemierzają.

Dziś są twoje urodziny K chamy Ciebie i k chad nie przestaniem, Twój testament w ypełnimy

Boga nie zdradzimyJeg przykazania zach wywad bę ziemy, tak jak nas uczyłeś pojednanie, zjednoczenie, mił śd,

w naszym życiu zag szczą

Przyrzekamy - Nie Zawiedziemy!

june 2011 news from the pews

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