Upcoming Events
Stations of the Cross
Fridays during Lent at 5:30 p.m. in the Nave
Knights of Columbus Fish Dinner
following Stations of the Cross each Friday of Lent
"Priest, Prophet and King" DVD and Discussion Series
6:30 p.m. Sundays
6:30 p.m. Mondays
6:30 a.m. Wednesdays
9:00 a.m. Wednesdays
Alan Ames "Touch of Heaven" Mass and Healing Service
Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30 p.m.
Lenten Communal Reconciliation Service
Sunday, March 29th at 7:00 p.m.
Living Stations of the Cross
Wednesday, April 1st at 5:30 p.m. and Friday, April 3rd at 3:00 p.m.
Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper
Thursday, April 2nd at 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord
Friday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m.
Easter Vigil Mass
Saturday, April 4th at 8:00 p.m. (Please note: There will be NO 5 p.m. Mass this day.)
Easter Sunday Masses
Sunday, April 5th at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
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 The Sacred Triduum
With Lent well underway, our parish staff is looking ahead to Holy Week. It won't be long before we will be celebrating Jesus' royal entrance into Jerusalem and then His passion, death and resurrection. By celebrating these events, we enter into the meaning of the events and allow these events to interrupt the meaning of our lives. The liturgies of Holy Week present our Catholic Tradition at its best.
On Palm
Sunday, we join with the crowds who welcomed Jesus as King, conscious that only days later these same people called for His death. We pray for the courage to remain faithful even when it costs us something.
On Holy
Thursday,
we recall the Last Supper and reflect on the centrality of the Holy Eucharist in our Catholic Tradition. We are also reminded that Eucharist leads to service. By washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus reminded us of the communal dimension of Holy Communion.
Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday is a profession of faith. We believe that crosses carried with patience, quiet resignation, and love which leads to the resurrection. Sufferings united with the suffering of Jesus are redemptive.
In the Easter
Vigil, we recall the history of
salvation
and we wait with confidence for the light of the resurrection. As followers of Jesus, we believe that no darkness can last forever for those who live faithfully.
Each year I am renewed by Holy Week and energized for life. I hope you will come with your children to celebrate these events that are so pivotal in our Christian discipleship.
Father Gregory Tschakert
St. Katharine Drexel Parish
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"Touch of Heaven" Mass and Healing Service
 He grew up in London in the 1950s and 60s, in a world of alcohol, violence, and motorcycle gangs. In 1993, when he was forty years old, Jesus began speaking to him, showing him how the life he was living greatly hurt God. Our Lord offered him love and forgiveness, which he eventually accepted. Today Alan Ames takes the message of God's love, the message that changed his life, across the world. Since 1994 he has shared his story of hatred and pain turned to love in more than 40 countries across 6 continents, and in 21 books in 15 languages.
Alan Ames shared his unique conversion experience at St. Katharine Drexel Parish last March. Our parish is once again blessed to have Alan Ames speak in our church. Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 10th, for the "Touch of Heaven" Mass and Healing Service. We will begin at 6:30 p.m. with praying the Rosary.
If you would like to learn more about Alan, you can read his story at his website. You can also read testimonials from people who have been touched by Alan's message or read and listen to interviews with Alan.
What a blessing for our parish during this Lenten season!
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Have You Ever Considered Joining a Parish Committee?
Many people's first response to this question: "I'd like to, but I just don't have enough time." A little bit of time, though, is enough. Even if you have just a little bit of time to give, you can give a lot. And with so many committees in our parish, there are opportunities in all shapes and sizes!
If you:
- enjoy meeting new people, our Welcoming Committee has some new parishioners waiting to meet you.
- fancy writing or designing or just thinking about new ways to reach out to our parish, our Communications Committee is reaching out to you.
- adore thinking up fun activities and planning and organizing, our Parish Activities Committee is extending a welcome to you.
- like the feel of tools in your hands and the satisfaction of a job well done, our Building and Grounds Committee is hollerin' for you.
- cherish learning about and sharing our faith, our Faith Formation/Education Committee would love to get to know you.
- relish thinking about the dollars and cents that it takes to run our parish, our Finance Committee is counting on you.
- treasure the beauty of the Church's liturgical rituals, traditions, and seasons, our Liturgy/Art/Environment Committee would love to work with you.
- delight in helping others, our Social Ministries Committee is holding its doors open for you.
- rejoice in sharing and would like to help promote the blessings of giving, our Stewardship Committee is opening its arms to you.
And rest assured, you will never be asked to give more than you have time for. All committees are in agreement: members attend meetings when they can and assist when they can. Joining a committee does not mean you've committed to regular meetings and endless work! So please, consider giving of your time and talent to one or more of our parish committees. You decide how much time and talent you can commit.
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March for Life Attendee from St. Katharine Drexel Parish
Adam Kleinsasser of our parish attended his first ever March for Life in Washington, D.C. The busload of pilgrims representing our Diocese left Sioux Falls on Tuesday, January 20th for our nation's capital to make a statement in support of life and returned Saturday, January 24th.
 
Fr. Shane Stevens, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Aberdeen accompanied the group. Fr. Stevens celebrated Mass with the group as soon as they arrived in D.C. That evening they attended a Catholic Youth Rally at George Mason College in VA with musician Matt Maher and other guest speakers.
The next morning they went to the National Mall where they heard several speakers address life issues prior to the 42nd Annual March for Life. One sign Kleinsasser noticed during the March had an impact on him because a speaker had referred to the same Scripture passage. The sign read:
Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do
. And there was a group that was distributing brochures with very graphic photos of abortions that impacted him. He also noticed a group of Franciscan monks who were walking the March barefoot witnessing to their vow of poverty!
"Our group also attended an overflowing Mass of 5,000 people at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception," said Kleinsasser. "We were expecting to celebrate Mass with our group and one other diocese, but pilgrims just kept pouring in." And the trip to the National Cemetery in Arlington, VA and visiting President John F. Kennedy's grave was a very moving experience for Kleinsasser.
They left Washington, D.C. a little earlier than planned to avoid getting caught in a winter storm.
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Construction Progress on the Addition to Our School and Parish
Work continues on schedule with the interior painting to be done in mid-March. Skilled and unskilled volunteers of our parish are making this possible through their dedication of time. Here's a brief progress report:
- Hanging of the sheetrock is done.
- The storeroom is complete.
- The doors and hardware are ready for delivery.
- The cabinetry is in production.
- The gutters have been installed, and we are waiting on downspouts.
- Exterior caulking is complete.
- HVAC rough-in work is complete.
- Electrical and mechanical rough-in work is complete.
- Fire sprinkler installation rough-in is complete.
 
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Parish Life and Faith Formation/Education Committees Merge
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In January, the Parish Life Committee merged with the Faith Formation/Education Committee. Over the last year and a half, members of each committee began to see that their purposes were the same. Each group is concerned with evangelizing, with knowing and sharing the faith. As members realized that they were working toward the same ends, they also realized that their work could be done more effectively and efficiently if they combined the two committees into one.
All of the subcommittees and activities of the two former committees continue to flourish: Rosary Clubs; Teams of Our Lady; visits to the home-bound, hospitalized, and nursing homes residents; special events for married couples, and especially newly-married couples; and other special programming throughout the year. The work of the two committees has not changed -- it just resides under an expanded and stronger committee!
With the merger of our Faith Formation/Education and Parish Life Committees, our Parish Council now comprises the following nine standing committees:
- Communications
- Faith Formation/Education
- Finance
- Liturgy/Art/Environment
- Parish Activities
- Social Ministries
- Stewardship
- Welcoming
Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings of any of these committees, as well as the monthly meeting of our Parish Council. Please check the weekly bulletin for meeting dates and times, or call the Parish Office at 275-6870.
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St. Katharine Drexel Parish on the Web
 Mass Schedule, Calendar, Online Giving, Readings, and much more. Watch for an updated website coming soon!
Have you "liked" St. Katharine Drexel Parish yet? It's a great way to stay up-to-date on parish events. Visit www.fb.me/stkatharinedrexelsfsd.
 Log on to our Flickr site to see photos of our beautiful Sanctuary and Nave as well as our stained glass windows. You'll also see photos from our Stewardship Fair last September. Check back for photos of more events as we build an online photo album of our parish. Want to help us? Contact Carol Deering (274-2521 or [email protected]) of the Communication Committee.
 Our Parish YouTube page includes eight videos. The latest is a 5 1/2 minute overview of space needs in our Education Center. Do you have an idea for a video on our channel? Talk with Fr. Tschakert (275-6870/
[email protected]) or Carol Deering of the
Communication Committee (274-2521 or [email protected]).
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