NEW ULM DIOCESAN COUNCIL OFCATHOLIC WOMEN

March, 2017

In a particular way during Lent, we are asked to devote ourselves to the spiritual and corporalworks of mercy that "remind us that faith finds expression in concrete everyday actions meant tohelp our neighbors in body and spirit."

"Lent is a favourable season for opening the doors to all those inneed and recognizing in them the face of Christ."-- Pope Francis,Message for Lent 2017. . .

WE BEGIN THE 40 DAYS OF LENT,Wednesday, March 1st

Dear friends, Lent is the favourable season for renewing our encounter with Christ,living in his word, in the sacraments and in our neighbour. The Lord, who overcamethe deceptions of the Tempter during the forty days in the desert, shows us the pathwe must take. May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so thatwe can rediscover the gift of God’s word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, andserve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need. I encourage all the faithful toexpress this spiritual renewal also by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns promoted bymany Church organizations in different parts of the world, and thus to favour theculture of encounter in our one human family. Let us pray for one another so that, bysharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and poor. Thenwe will be able to experience and share to the full the joy of Easter.

Taken from message by Pope Francis for Lent, 2017

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONSLord, God, we praise and bless your holy name.

We ask that you give the Church of New Ulm holy priests, dedicated women and men religious, selfless deacons and zealous missionaries.

Inspire in the hearts of our youth a spirit of generosity to commit their lives to themessage and ministry of Jesus, Your Son.

We ask all this through Him who lives and reigns as our Lord,forever and ever, AMEN

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

PRAYER TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCEO God, our world at times is divided and hostile. Some people consider themselves dominant over othersbased on gender, race, color, class or status. Through your Son’s cross our world can be reconciled; thewalls of hostility can be broken. We pray for all women who experience the pain and suffering of violence,that they may feel your healing touch and be at peace in your living embrace. We pray for those whovictimize and abuse others that they may see the errors of their sins and seek repentance. Through theintercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel, may we understand and support those who may come to us forhelp. We ask these things through Your Son, Jesus Christ. AMEN

PRAYER FOR OUR PRIESTSLord Jesus, May Your priests always seek holiness despite human weakness.We pray that they will strengthen us with their conviction, courage and perseverance in thefull teachings of Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition and Your One, Holy, Catholic Church,without fear or compromise...even unto persecution. AMEN

PRAYER FOR THE SICK AND SENIORSAll praise and glory are yours, Lord our God. For you have called us to serve you and one another in love.

Bless our sick today so that they may bear their illness in unionwith Jesus’ sufferings and restore them quickly to health.

Bless those who have grown old in your service and give them courage and strength in their faith.Lead us all to eternal glory.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Sonwho lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one God, forever and ever. AMEN

PRAYER FOR ELIMINATING THE TRAFFICKING OF HUMAN BEINGSO God, our words cannot express what our minds can barely comprehend and our hearts feelwhen we hear of human beings deceived and transported to unknown places for purposes of

sexual exploitation and abuse because of human greed and profit at this time in our world.Our hearts are saddened and our spirits angry that their dignity and rights are being transgressed through

threats, deception and force.We cry out against the degrading practice of trafficking and pray for it to end.

Strengthen the fragile-spirited and broken-heartted. Make real your promises to fill these, our sisters and brotherswith a love that is tender and good and send the exploiters away empty-handed.

Give us the wisdom and courage to stand in solidarity with themthat together we will find ways to the freedom that is your gift to all of us. AMEN

PRAYER IS POWERFUL!(We are caring, faithfilled women! Some prayers to help you in your prayer life.)

THE TIME HAS COME TO MEET AGAIN TO PRAY FOR AN END TO ABORTION!!!!! Keep passing the word about our vigil this campaign & if you have not yet signed up please do so, by calling your daycaptain (if you have an hour established from previous campaigns) or e-mail me if you are new. We especially needhours filled on Thurs from 8am-noon & Friday 7-10am & 4-5:30pm. Tues also has 7-8am open THANK YOUALL SO VERY MUCH. Looking forward to meeting many of you to pray together for an END TO ABORTION.Judy Haag

ARE YOU WONDERING IF “40 DAYS FOR LIFE” MAKES A DIFFERENCE?

YES!!!!!... since 2007, God has used Prayer, Fasting & Vigil Presence to accomplish amazing resultsthrough 40 Days for Life ... in 675 cities in 40 countries:725,000 individual participants from 19,000 churches12,668 lives saved from abortion141 abortion workers quit their jobs75 abortion facilities closed

The next campaign runs from March 1 to April 9th. Please consider “giving up” someof your free time during Lent to pray at the 40 Days for Life-St Cloud prayer vigil onEast St Germain in front of the Planned Parenthood Clinic. Prayer is the force behindthe vigil, so if you cannot ?come?? to the vigil site, please pray for a respect for all lifefrom conception to natural death. Any questions, contact Judy Haag judy4life@meltel.net 320-453-7592

40 DAYS FOR LIFE

Your attendance is wanted along with many women from your parish. Region 1 to Region 5 gatherings will start with5:30 pm registration. Region 6 gathering starts with 9 am Mass. Note when your Region CCW Spring Gathering isscheduled and start organizing a carpool. What a great way to spend a spiritually uplifting evening or morning duringLent! Region One Thursday, March 16, 2017 Speaker: Heartland Girls Ranch

Cathedral, New Ulm “The NUDCCW Service Project for 2016-17”Region Two Thursday, March 9, 2017 Speaker: Deacon Mike McKeown

St. Joseph, Lamberton “Unbound from the Office of Healing Ministry”Region Three Tuesday, March 7, 2017 Speaker: Karen Schwaller

Ss. Peter & Paul, Ivanhoe “Farming With Faith”Region Four Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Speaker: Heartland Girls Ranch

St. Mary’s, Beardsley “The NUDCCW Service Project for 2016-17”Region Five Monday, March 20, 2017 Speaker: Deacon Mike McKeown

Sacred Heart, Franklin “Unbound from the Office of Healing Ministry”Region Six Saturday, March 11, 2017 Speaker: Deacon Mike McKeown

Holy Family, Silver Lake “Unbound from the Office of Healing Ministry”Begins with 9:00 am Mass

2017 REGION CCW SPRING GATHERINGS

Thursday, March 9, 20179:00am 4:00pmOn Thursday, March 9, 2017, The Minnesota Catholic Conference issponsoring their first “Catholics at the Capitol” event to bring the Catho-lic voice regarding Human Life and Dignity into the public square as ourState Legislators are working on laws affecting these topics. Particularfocus will be on

If you are interested in riding a Diocese bus to the event, please contact Deacon Steve Spilman at sspilman@dnu withyour name, city location, and contact information. Transportation is being arranged based on interest level. Your activesupport and participation is strongly encouraged.We expect this event to be the beginning of what will develop into an effective, collective, Catholic Voice in our Dioceseto educate our lawmakers on Catholic Social teachings and how they can positively influence the “Common Good” asthey are intended to do.

Thursday, March 23, 20177:00pm 9:00pmChurch of St. Catherine

Rise of Sexual Expressionism in the Law &the Decline of the Vulnerable

In the past 50 years especially, the federal government in all its branches has valorized adult sexual expression--divorced from children and indiff erent to marriage. While this undermines the wellbeing of all Americans,it strikes women, children, and the poor most dramatically because of their diff erent opportunities, preferences,and constraints.

How did this happen and what can we do about it?Free Admission No registration -- All Invited

Sponsored by the Diocese of New Ulm

Assisted SuicideSchool Choice – especially as it pertains to underprivileged

studentsAddressing the cycle of poverty.

Bishop Lucker Lecture Series featuring Helen Alvare from George Mason UniversitySchool of Law.

When it is safe, he returns with the two into Galilee. He does all of this, because God asks it of him. He never hesitates.Each time we read that the angel spoke to Joseph, the following sentence begins with the action St. Joseph took."Joseph awoke," "Joseph rose," "He went." Each time he received a summons, his reaction was to follow the callimmediately. Never once did he hesitate. He is considered the patron saint of the Universal Church, unborn children,fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, and a happy death. March is the month of St. Joseph.

Together, the two women helped each other through the heat, darkness and brutality of the guards in the prison. Twodays before their scheduled death, Felicity gave birth to her daughter in the prison, and the child was adopted by aChristian woman. Perpetua and Felicity were sent out to face the arena together, and after being exposed to the beasts,were killed by having their throats cut. These last days of the women were recorded by Perpetua, whose diary becameone of the most famous accounts in the early church of the suffering of the martyrs. They are patron saints of mothers,expectant mothers, ranchers and butchers

Sts. Perpetua and FelicityFeast Day March 7th

One of the proofs of a really close friendship is when you can't say oneperson's name without thinking of the other. This shows up in history,with names like Lewis and Clark. It's in story books, with names likeHansel and Gretel, or Jack and Jill.When it comes to saints, there are many examples, but one of the most prominent duos is Perpetuaand Felicity. Perpetua was a young Christian noblewoman and Felicity was a young Christian slave.The two were arrested for their belief in Christ, during the persecution of Emperor SeptimiusSeverus: at this time, Perpetua was a new mother, and Felicity was eight months pregnant.

Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin MaryFeast Day March 19th

Silence is golden… St. Joseph, the model of humility, and one of the world's greatest saints, isoften mentioned as being silent. This silence speaks volumes. In it, the Church realizes his faithful-ness, his love and his acceptance of the Holy Will of God. St. Joseph was not a man of manywords: he was a man of action. We have only one direct statement about his personality: inMatthew's Gospel, he is described as "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:19). His actions alone revealeverything else we know about him. He brings Mary and the Child she bears into his home when,in the sight of the world, he would be justified in divorcing her. He leads the expectant Mary intoBethlehem, and flees with her and her Child into Egypt.

The Angel appeared to Mary.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Feast Day March 25th

"Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely uniqueholiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as'full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28). To the heavenly messenger she replies: 'Behold thehandmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus thedaughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus.Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God's saving will, shedevoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son,under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God"(Dogmatic Constitution on the Church/ LG, 56).

FROM YOUR EDITOR

MARCHPRAYER INTENTIONS

Support for Persecuted Christians - That persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material helpof the whole Church.

Bishop’s Prayer Intention for MarchGeneral Intention - That Mary, the Undoer of Knots, would undo the knots in our lives, help us to simplify our livesand concentrate on living our Catholic faith to its fullest.

Pope’s Prayer Intention for March

Dear Sisters in Christ---

The Season of Lent is a time when we are inviated to hear and ponder more deeplythe Word of God. As Pope Francis quoted in his Lenten Message: May the HolySpirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift ofGod's word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, and serve Christ present in ourbrothers and sisters in need.

I challenge all of you during this Lent to take the time to attend on e of the events listed in this newsletter -- whether it beattendingyour region CCW Spring Gathering, attending the Bishop Lucker Lecture, participating in 40 Days For Life orattending the day “Catholics at The Capitol”. We can’t say we don’t have opportunities to help us in our LentenJourney to deepen our faith.I continue to encourage you in all of your endeavors to carry out the Works of Mercy and thank all of you for yourdedication to CCW.

Blessings,

Donna SandersNUDCCW Newsletter Editor