Easter Blessing

 May every blessing, gift and grace of this Holy Season of Easter be yours.
~Father Andrzej  Skrzypiec~

Activist retires after 26 years with Diocese of Salt Lake City

Back in 1985, Dee Rowland was reluctant to take a job working for the Catholic Church because she feared she might not be pious enough. That concern apparently hasn’t been an issue: For the past 26 years Rowland has served as the government liaison for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Now, however, her retirement is at the door.

"Dee Rowland has been an outstanding member of the diocesan family for many years now," said Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general of the diocese.

In addition to her position as government liaison, Rowland has represented the diocese on many public boards and committees. She also oversees the diocese’s Peace and Justice Commission and coordinates the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

"Dee Rowland has been the superb director of the Government Liaison office of the Salt Lake Diocese for so many years that it is difficult to imagine that work without her," said the Most Rev. George H. Niederauer, Archbishop of San Francisco, who supervised Rowland while he was Bishop of Salt Lake City from 1995 to 2006. "Dee witnesses to the Gospel’s and the Church’s teaching on peace and justice in such a clear, compassionate and generous way that she has the respect and affection of even those who disagree with her, and certainly of us who don’t." Read more>>>

Source: Laura V. Sausedo, Intermountain Catholic

New Words: A Deeper Meaning, but the Same Mass

New Roman Missal, Third Edition

For many people, change does not come easy.  Change requires us to stop doing things a certain way in order to do something else. Many people find comfort in familiar routines and known ways of acting. Change interrupts those familiar routines. But change is also an opportunity to stop and reflect on what we are doing and to come to a better understanding of God, who does not change.

An Interview with Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond

The Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond, Chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship and Archbishop of New Orleans, discusses the upcoming Roman Missal, Third Edition with Msgr. Jim Vlaun, President & CEO of TelecareTV, during the November 2010 USCCB plenary meeting. http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/

Of Gods and Men

Now playing at: Broadway Centre Theatre

111 East Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT

Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Of Gods and Men stars Lambert Wilson as Christian, Prior of the monks, and 79-year-old Michael Lonsdale as a world weary medic who treats up to 150 Muslim villagers each day.

The film derives its title from the Book of Psalms, Psalm 82:6-7 quoted at the beginning of the film: "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."

Filmed in Morocco, the film shows the daily life of the Trappist monks before the terrorist threat ('90s civil war) becomes real, and the groups struggle as they decide whether to leave or stay.

Rated PG-13 for a momentary scene of startling wartime violence, some disturbing images and brief language.

Operation Rice Bowl

Operation Rice Bowl, Catholic Relief Services’(CRS) Lenten program, began in 1975 in the Diocese of Allentown, PA as a response to the drought in the African Sahel. For more than 35 years, Operation Rice Bowl has offered Catholics in the United States a way to connect with our brothers and sisters in need around the world.

Each Lent, nearly 13,000 faith communities across the United States participate to demonstrate solidarity with the poor around the world. Seventy-five percent of Operation Rice Bowl donations come to CRS to help fund development programs designed to increase food security around the world. Twenty-five percent of the donations support hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in dioceses within the United States.

Next Weekend, Palm Sunday, we will place a basket in front of the Altar for your Operation Rice Bowls (or any contribution you would like to make towards Operation Rice Bowl). Please bring them to Mass with you & they will be received with the gifts during the Offertory.

Holy Week Liturgy Schedule

Holy Week is the final week of Lent.  It commemorates the events of our Lord's last week before His death.  The chief festivals of Holy Week are Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil (Holy Saturday).  Holy Week, together with Easter, is the most sacred part of the Christian calendar—the celebration of the death and resurrection Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.


Holy Thursday
Thursday April 21
Mass of the Lord's Last Supper, with the washing of feet, 6:00 pm
(Quiet adoration in the chapel until midnight)

Good Friday
Friday April 22
Stations of the Cross, 3:00pm
Solemn Good Friday Liturgy, 6:00pm
Passion of John, Veneration of the Cross, Communion

Easter Vigil Celebration
Saturday 23
Blessing of Easter Food (in Polish) 3:00 pm
Service of Light, Expanded Liturgy of the Word, Celebration of Sacraments of Initiation,and Eucharist, 8:30 pm

Easter Sunday Masses
Sunday April 24
7:45 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm (Mass in Polish)

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to St. Ambrose: Believers Dialogue blog, an exciting online forum designed to share our Catholic faith.  Like the faith itself, our blog is a place for discovery, insight, and fun!  We’re gathering together Parish information, stories, observations, reflections and more.

Visit us often to read about upcoming events, browse our photos and videos, hear the latest about St. Ambrose activities, and keep up on what’s new in the Catholic faith community.  Blog postings are made by several writers who share a passion for our Catholic beliefs.  They include: Father Andrzej Skrzypiec, St. Ambrose Pastor; Melanie Elizondo, Administrative Assistant; parishioners Holly Langton and Rose West; and other Parish and community guests.

And of course, we want to hear your comments on our St. Ambrose community, favorite prayers and activities, Parish programs, and more.  We hope you’ll enjoy our new online community, which is designed to enhance our Catholic faith, pique our curiosity about many Parish services and the larger faith world around us, and connect with each other.