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Given my almost preternatural lack of mathematical skills, it probably surprises some that I have always loved statistics. Perhaps the only stats that I enjoy more than old baseball stats are the hypothetical stats that only God would know. How many times have I sneezed in my life, who scored more points in pickup basketball games between me and my dad; you know, the really important things. Towards the end of seminary, I started wondering how many vocation talks I must have given to high school and junior high classes. Conservatively, it must have been over a hundred. In virtually every one of those talks, we talked with the kids about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Whether they wanted to be star athletes, musicians, or business people, there was one thing that was universally true: no one wanted to be mediocre. CLICK TITLE FOR FULL COLUMN

Immaculate Conception Masses (Holy Day of Obligation) Friday, December 7 St. James of the Valley, 7:00 pm Saturday, December 8 St. Matthias, 8:00 am Our Lady of the Rosary, 9:00 am

The WWPR Advent Reconciliation Service is tonight, Wednesday, December 5 at7:00 pm at St. James of the Valley.

There are many great things that make me excited for Advent every year. The extra candles, the somewhat more somber, stripped down liturgy, and perhaps my personal favorite: the awesome purple chasuble that I don’t get to wear near often enough. But there’s another shift that happens every year in Advent, and that is the transition Gospels we hear from week to week. We have completed our trek through the Gospel of Mark, and we now begin a year with St. Luke. Click title for full column.

Please remember that Giving Tuesday is coming up soon, and you have the opportunity to support your parish's funding goal through the #iGiveCatholic campaign. Your gift can be given online or brought in to the parish offices today through Tuesday, November 27th. Click title for full article

One of the things that has changed the most since my youth is our methods of communication. I remember sending cards and letters, using a landline (which ran the risk of one of your siblings listening in on the other phone), and the early days of email when people didn’t check it every twelve seconds. One of the major changes in virtually every form of communication we use is how quickly we receive the information other people want us to have. I say all that because the deadline for this bulletin was a week earlier than usual due to Thanksgiving, and I want to talk about a situation that could change dramatically in the ten days between when I write it and when you read it. Click on title for full article

The regional Thanksgiving Mass will be Thursday, November 22 at 9:00 am at St. James of the Valley.

I have never been much in the way of a math and science guy. I have always found them interesting, but they were not generally the subjects in which I got my best grades. Since this relegated me to the study of the humanities, I spent the majority of my higher education being told by STEM major peers of mine that everything I was learning was useless, and I would always be poor. Once I entered seminary, I realized that I was in one of the few places where my background in Classics, Theology, and History was invaluable. During one particular Biblical studies class, the professor asked if anyone could recite the prologue of the Canterbury Tales in Middle English, and I knew I was in the right place. That must be why I now make the big bucks… Click title for full article

On Saturday, November 17 at 10:00 am, WWPR will celebrate the anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho by having a procession with a statue of Our Lady of Kibeho, Mass and brunch at St. Matthias. Each year the feast day of Our Lady of Kibeho is celebrated in commemoration of the first apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Kibeho. All are invited.

I realize that it’s a long way off, but I was thinking recently about my family’s Mardi Gras tradition. Every year, someone in the family makes an enormous batch of dough on Fat Tuesday, and then we all gather there that evening, fry it in chunks, cover them with powdered sugar, and eat so many homemade donuts that we couldn’t break our Ash Wednesday fast the following day even if we wanted to. We call those donuts “Kee-Ka-Lee’s,” and they set the tone for Lent every year. There’s nothing that teaches me the value of fasting like eating until I want to die. Click title for full column.

The St. Matthias Cultural Food Festival that was scheduled for Saturday, November 10 has been postponed. Sorry for any inconvenience.

A message from the clergy of the Winton Wyoming Pastoral Region... In light of the deeply disturbing sexual abuse revelations of the last couple of months, our Pastoral Region will host a Day of Prayer for the Church and Victims of Abuse on Friday, November 9, at Our Lady of the Rosary. The day of prayer will begin with Mass at 8:30 am and include Scripture reading, group prayer, intercessory prayer, the opportunity for confession, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the day.    The Day of Prayer will conclude with Benediction and Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 6:30 pm.   We ask that you all prayerfully consider joining us at some point during this day as we pray for the healing of all victims of the grave sin of sexual abuse and for the Church.  Click on title for schedule of day of prayer

I have noticed an increase in recent years of a worrisome trend: specifically, the phenomenon of comedy that is designed to be awkward and/or cringe-inducing. Many movies and tv shows seem to aim for making the viewer so unnerved that they laugh so as not to cry. I cannot put into words how uncomfortable it makes me, as someone with an awkward streak of my own. Click title for Fr. McCullough's full column.

Saturday, November 3 St. Matthias 8:00 am~11:00 am Spend a morning with the women of the parish region. Renew friendships or make new ones. Together spend time reflecting on the theme “Being Still in God’s Presence.” No Registration required. Contact Anne Berry at anneb4294@gmail.com.

All Saints Holy Day is a holy day of obligation. Vigil/Wednesday, October 31 5:00 pm St. Matthias Holy Day/Thursday, November 1 8:00 am St. James of the Valley 12:10 pm St. Matthias 7:00 pm Our Lady of the Rosary Click on title for more information on the All Saints Holy Day.

On Friday, November 2, 7:00 pm at St. James of the Valley the Winton Wyoming Pastoral Region will offer a Mass in prayer for the souls of our departed parishioners and for all the faithful departed. Prayers will be offered at the Mass of Remembrance for those whose names are written there. Please join us at this Mass to offer prayers for the deceased and for those that mourn them.

I was once reading one of the seminal works of Western literature when a line jumped out at me that has stuck with me for many years now. That line was “Prayer is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Or I heard it on an episode of The Simpsons. It’s tough to say after all these years, but either way, the sentiment rings true. There is a big difference in praying when we feel like we’re stuck in a corner, and building up an interior life so that we have a relationship with God when those difficult moments come our way. Click title for full column

Among my very favorite things in this life, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, is being right. I’m a deeply competitive person, and there’s nothing better than winning an argument, and if it’s against a close friend, or better yet, a sibling, proceeding to rub their face in their demoralizing loss. It is not a particularly attractive or Christian attribute of mine. Click title for full column

While Spring is my favorite season, October might be my favorite month. In addition to the pleasant weather, we have high school football, postseason baseball, and the changing trees. But above all else, October is the month of the Rosary, and every year it provides us with the chance to renew our commitment to this devotion which draws us into the mysteries of the life of Jesus. I leave you now with the typed text of a letter I received from my dad almost fifteen years ago, which I shared during the Sunday Masses at OLR this past weekend in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. I do it for two reasons. First, because it’s amazing that I haven’t lost the letter in fifteen years, and it seems wise to do something to enter it into public record and the cloud. Second, and more importantly, because the message it contains is too important to only share at one parish in the region. It is a better summary of what my prayer is for you, my flock, than I could ever write myself. God bless you all, and know that I bring all of you in prayer to the Blessed Mother every day. Fr. McCullough Click here for Fr.McCullough's full column.

Dinner and a show! Join the fun at 5:30 pm Saturday, October 27 for a good-natured Chili Challenge Cook-Off and Potluck Dinner in the hall outside of the St. James Gym. CLICK TITLE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE