Hello, St. Margaret Mary Parish,

Thank you to all who joined in praying Vespers this past Sunday evening at 5 PM at SMM. I would like to again share a couple of Liturgical / Prayer opportunities that we will be starting at SMM. We are now praying Vespers / Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours at 5 PM in St. Margaret Mary Church each Sunday. This will take place prior to our 5:30 PM Mass. Evening Prayer takes about 15 minutes, so we, the Priests who celebrate the 5:30 PM Mass, as well as Thomas, our Seminarian, will lead Vespers each Sunday. This will be a weekly Sunday occurrence. You are welcome to join us for Vespers and stay for Mass, or you can simply come to pray Vespers and then leave prior to Mass. We will provide a handout for the Vespers, but if you have the Liturgy of the Hours in print form or on your phone, you are welcome to use that as well. I hope you consider joining us on Sundays for Vespers / Evening Prayer.

The second opportunity I would like to share will begin in November. Starting on the First Friday of November and every First Friday thereafter (with the exception of a holiday, such as January 1, which falls on a Friday in 2027), we will, at the conclusion of the 6:30 AM morning Mass, begin the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the main St. Margaret Mary Church. We will repose the Blessed Sacrament just prior to the 8:15 AM Mass and then continue Exposition at the conclusion of the 8:15 AM Mass until 4 PM. Adoration will conclude with simple Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament by either a Priest, Deacon, or EMHC at 4 PM. However, to begin this First Friday practice, we will need SMM parishioners to take/cover Holy Hours from approximately 7 AM to 4 PM on First Fridays of each month. Personally, I would like to have at least three parishioners for each hour, so that if someone is unable to make a particular month, the hour will still be covered. If you are interested in covering a particular hour on First Friday, please contact the Parish Office and let Rosie (our receptionist/secretary) know, or email Rosie at rgrothaus@smmomaha.org, and she can sign you up. It is particularly important that the final Holy Hour from 3–4 PM be filled with parishioners who are already an EMHC or willing to become an EMHC in order to Repose the Blessed Sacrament if a Priest or Deacon is not available. Thanks for your consideration in helping us cover these First Fridays.

One final liturgical note is that we will be using incense at the 10 AM Mass most Sundays. The use of incense adds a sense of solemnity and mystery to the Mass. The visual imagery of the smoke and its fragrance reminds us of the transcendence of the Mass, which links heaven with earth and allows us to enter more deeply into the presence of God. The purpose of incensing, and the symbolic value of the smoke, is one of purification and sanctification. For example, in the Eastern Rites, at the beginning of Mass, the altar and sanctuary area were incensed while Psalm 50, the Miserere, was chanted, invoking the mercy of God. The smoke also symbolizes the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven: the Psalmist prays, “Let my prayer come like incense before you; the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141). Incense also helps create an ambiance of heaven. The Book of Revelation describes the heavenly worship as follows: “Another angel came in holding a censer of gold. He took his place at the altar of incense and was given large amounts of incense to deposit on the altar of gold in front of the throne, together with the prayers of all God's holy ones. From the angel's hand, the smoke of the incense went up before God, and with it the prayers of God's people.”

So, that is just a little bit about the use and reasoning behind incense. Again, this will be used only at the 10 AM Sunday Masses, and not at every Mass.

This coming weekend is the kickoff to the annual Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. The Appeal helps to build One Church throughout the Archdiocese of Omaha. Your support of the annual appeal directly impacts parishes, schools, and ministries throughout northeast Nebraska as they work to become missional communities. Please view the video from Archbishop McGovern, then read more about the Appeal by clicking on the image. You can make your gift by selecting the button below. You will also find the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal brochure/pledge card / return envelope and giving guide in this weekend’s bulletin. I would encourage everyone to pray the Annual Appeal Prayer and submit any prayer intentions that you would like Archbishop McGovern to pray for. You will find the prayer and instructions for submitting prayer intentions in this update, further down.

Next week, I will share more about our annual Fall Clergy Conference, which Fr. Andy and I attended this past Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meantime, please pray for Archbishop McGovern as well as the Priests and Deacons of our Archdiocese.

Thank you to everyone who participated in last Sunday’s Life Chain prayer rally. Also, thank you to the Knights of Columbus from St. Margaret Mary and Our Lady of Lourdes for providing the grilled burgers and all the fixins following the Life Chain.

As part of our focus during Respect Life Month, our parish and school are hosting a baby item drive and scholarship drive for the Christ Child Society of Omaha. Last year, over $275,000 was given to single parents to further their education and break the cycle of poverty. You may drop off donations in the baby cribs located in the east foyer of the church and the school foyer over the next 2 weeks. 

I would like to spend the last part of this weekly update focusing on our patroness, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, as next Friday is her feast day and hence it is actually a Solemnity for us at SMM. I found the following on Franciscan Media and wanted to share with all of you.

Margaret Mary Alacoque was chosen by Christ to arouse the Church to a realization of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus.

Her early years were marked by sickness and a painful home situation. “The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering.” After considering marriage for some time, Margaret Mary entered the Order of the Visitation nuns at the age of 24.

A Visitation nun was “not to be extraordinary except by being ordinary,” but the young nun was not to enjoy this anonymity. A fellow novice termed Margaret Mary humble, simple, and frank, but above all, kind and patient under sharp criticism and correction. She could not meditate in the formal way expected, though she tried her best to give up her “prayer of simplicity.” Slow, quiet, and clumsy, she was assigned to help an infirmarian who was a bundle of energy.

On December 21, 1674, three years a nun, Margaret Mary Alacoque received the first of her revelations. She felt “invested” with the presence of God, though always afraid of deceiving herself in such matters. The request of Christ was that his love for humankind be made evident through her.

During the next 13 months, Christ appeared to her at intervals. His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. By her own love Margaret Mary was to make up for the coldness and ingratitude of the world—by frequent and loving Holy Communion, especially on the first Friday of each month, and by an hour’s vigil of prayer every Thursday night in memory of his agony and isolation in Gethsemane. He also asked that a feast of reparation be instituted.

Like all saints, Margaret Mary had to pay for her gift of holiness. Some of her own sisters were hostile. Theologians who were called in declared her visions delusions and suggested that she eat more heartily. Later, parents of children she taught called her an impostor, an unorthodox innovator. A new confessor, the Jesuit Claude de la Colombière, recognized her genuineness and supported her. Against her great resistance, Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters, and to make this known.

After serving as novice mistress and assistant superior, Margaret Mary died at the age of 43, while being anointed. She said: “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”

Have a blessed week.

Prayerfully yours in Christ,

Fr. Jim Keiter