Parish Office Phone ................................... (701) 223-3606 Hours (Mon.-Fri.) ............... 8:30 am-4:00 pm Education Office ............................ 258-5692 Fax ................................................. 223-5783 E-mail .......... ascension@midconetwork.com Web .......................... ascensionbismarck.org

Pastoral Staff Rev. Msgr. Jim Braaten…………..….Pastor Ray Grabar……………………………Deacon Tony Finneman……………………...Deacon Doyle Schulz…………………………Deacon James Foertsch…..…… Business Manager Kathy Lewis………………... Music & Liturgy

Jan Sitter………………..……….Bookkeeper Julie Luger & Rita Ritter ........... Secretaries Bob Urlacher…………………. Maintenance

Eucharistic Liturgies Saturday ........................................... 5:00 pm Sunday ...................... 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am Weekdays (Mon.-Fri.) ....................... 8:00 am Holy Days ....................... 8:00 am & 7:00 pm

Sacraments Reconciliation Tuesday-Friday ........... Before 8:00 am Mass Saturday .................................. 3:30-4:30 pm Baptisms Please call the Parish Office to schedule. If possible, contact the office three months prior to the due date. Marriage Arrangements are to be made with the Pastor at least nine months prior to the wedding.

Newcomers

Welcome to the Parish! Contact the Parish Office to register.

As a people of God, of Ascension Catholic

Parish, we are united by Baptism and

committed to meeting the needs of our

faith community. In union with the whole

Church, we will build the Kingdom of

God by proclaiming the Good News,

worshipping God, creating community,

and promoting social justice.

1825 SOUTH 3RD STREET • BISMARCK, ND 58504

Ascension C H U R C H O F T H E

April 9, 2017

LiturgicalNotes

LENTEN REGULATIONS

Fasting & Abstinence: Catholics aged 14 and older abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays of Lent. In addition, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics from ages 18-59 fast, limiting themselves to one full meal and two smaller meals each day. Prayer: Catholics are encouraged to pray more during Lent, especially with scripture. Lent is also an ideal time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in preparation for the celebration of Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection. Almsgiving: Moved by the sacrifice of Christ, many Christians combine almsgiving with fasting, giving the poor the money they saved by eating, drinking or buying less as they rely more upon God's abundant grace.

FaithFormationNews

Sunday, April 9th at 3:00 pm at Ascension

Monday, April 10th at 7:00 pm at St. Mary’s Tuesday, April 11th at 7:00 pm at Corpus Christi Wednesday, April 12th at 7:00 pm at Cathedral

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 pm, with Eucharistic Adoration until 10:00 pm

Good Friday, Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion at 12:00 Noon, with Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm

Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil at 9:00 pm, followed by breakfast in the Community Room

Easter Sunday Masses are at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 am

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

June 5th-8th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Cathedral

Join us for a Cat Chat VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, June 5-8 from 1:00-4:00PM at the Cathedral! VBS is for children entering Kindergarten through 5th grade this upcoming fall. Registration forms are available in the church entrance and on our parish website www.ascensionbismarck.org. Cost is $30 per child. Registration form and payment are due to the parish office by Wednesday, May 3.

Volunteers are needed to help with VBS. We need current 5th grade -12th grade students to serve as Crew Leaders (counts as three stewardship service projects for Confirmation) and adults to serve as Station Leaders. For any questions regarding VBS or to sign up to help, please contact Beth Kathol at 258-5692 or bkathol@ascensionbismarck.org.

1ST

COMMUNION PRACTICE

Wednesday, April 19th at 7:00 pm in the Church

All students preparing to make their 1st Holy Communion on Saturday, April 22, are required to come with at least one parent to practice on Wednesday, April 19th. They will not have to attend their regular Faith Formation class this evening, but students in all other grades will still come as normal.

9TH

GRADE CONFIRMATION PRACTICE

Wednesday, April 26th at 7:00 pm in the Church

All students preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation taking place on Friday, May 5, are required to come with their sponsor or a parent to practice on Wednesday, April 26th. Classes for grades 1-8 will take place as normal.

There will be no Faith Formation classes this Wednesday, April 12th, due to Holy Week.

ParishNotes

9:00 PM 8:00 AM 9:30 AM 11:00 AM

Count Offering Team #2

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

Easter Vigil

Doug Mormann—Plate Rose Senger—Plate John Bitz—Plate Mark Weigel—Plate Susan Mormann—Plate Pete Baumgartner—Cup** Cheryl LaBonte—Cup Andrew LaBonte—Cup VOLUNTEER—Cup** VOLUNTEER—Cup

Scott LeBlanc—Plate Marlene Zimmerman—Plate Mary Neigum—Plate Alice Ternes—Plate Danita Deichert—Plate Cathy Hruby—Cup Paulette Heringer—Cup Freddie Frank—Cup Pam Moormann—Cup Rod Wald—Cup**

Rosie Dingus—Plate Howell Flowers—Plate Bobbie Grassel—Plate Jay Uhlman—Plate Lynn Burgard—Plate Mark Dosch—Cup Dave Charles—Cup Marla Kranig—Cup Shirley Schafer—Cup** Pauline Mueller—Cup**

Hospitality

Jeff Engleson Lori Engleson Judy Ness Terry Daffinrud Jan Daffinrud Joletta Kern

Tim Kaiser Joan Kaiser Bob Heringer Josh Hager Deb Schon Troy Schon

Levi Bitz Vern Mock VOLUNTEERS (4)

Lector Rita Ritter Cathy Hruby Bev Charles

Altar Server Michael Simek

Milla Weigel Grace Haider Cooper Weidner

Maranda Kranig Ethan Stewart

Video/Audio Operator Nancy Hoselton Dan Hopfauf Dave Charles

Music Ministry

Kathy Lewis Sally Dasinger Pat Anderson

Cheneniah Mary Bachmeier Family

Serving the Assembly April 15th and 16th: Easter Sunday

AdultFaithFormation

FORMED.ORG FEATURE OF THE WEEK

CLARE AND FRANCIS - MOVIE

This outstanding movie is unique among films about St. Francis because of the historical accuracy of the story and its authentic spirit of joy and piety Francis was known for, as well as the major role played by Clare, who is given equal stature with Francis. Francis renounces his inheritance of wealth to live the Gospel and serve the poor and outcasts. Clare reads deep into his heart and decides to follow him, leaving her home and family to give herself as the bride of Christ. Both found major religious orders and together they inspire many to follow their radical call to live the Gospel, and their impact has even reached across the centuries to change the world. Our parish offers this online subscription to all of our parishioners as a free gift. Go to www.formed.org and register with our parish code: Z79KWG. There are movies, books, audio presentations and programs for the whole family!

LADIES OF ASCENSION

The monthly meeting of the Ladies of Ascension will be held on Wednesday, April 12th, at 8:30 am in the Community Room. Our guest speaker will be Kathy from the Dakota Center for Independent Living. She will share ideas on how to make our every day tasks easier, as we continue to live on our own. After the program, we will have a short meeting. This is an opportunity to visit and share ideas that we, as the Ladies of Ascension, can take on as a project for the betterment of our parish. We hope to see you there!

ST. MARY’S CEMETERY CLEAN UP

With the arrival of spring, we will begin our cleaning at the cemetery. Over the winter there have been many things placed on the graves. The rules at the cemetery state all things placed on graves, except one week before and one week after Memorial Day, must be in a vase attached to the headstone base or to the headstone itself. This includes solar lights, etc. We will be removing all items after April 17th that do not meet this criteria, so we can complete our spring clean up. If you have questions, you may contact Deacon Rex McDowall, Cemetery Manager at 426-2097 or email at mcdowall@midco.net.

TimeTalent&Treasure

Prayer Line Call the Parish Office at 223-3606 or Pauline Mueller at 226-9471. The Prayer Line is a group of parishioners who pray for requested intentions. The names of those requests and/or the intentions are not made public. Names of people listed in the bulletin have given permission to use their name.

John W. Bitz, Mildred Schall, Marjorie Bitz, Jerry Feist, Larry Sackman, Don Hopfauf, Erna Jacobchick, Michelle Niska, Viola Bitz, Bill Feist, Jolene Klein, Dennis Conklin, Deacon Ray Grabar, Don Masseth

FINANCIAL BLESSINGS

ParishCalendar

Monday, April 10 8:00 am Communion Service Tuesday, April 11 8:00 am †Jane Silbernagel by Tony & Celia Vetter Wednesday, April 12

8:00 am †Art Mueller by Tony & Celia Vetter Thursday, April 13 7:00 pm †Valery Vetter by Tony & Celia Vetter Friday, April 14 12:00 pm Good Friday Service Saturday, April 15 9:00 pm †Jean Wanner by Keven & Kristi Wanner Sunday, April 16 8:00 am †Loretta Grabar by George & Claire Saiki 9:30 am †Irene Ternes by Baldwin Ternes 11:00 am People of the Parish

Weekly Schedule Sunday, April 9 3:00 pm Reconciliation at Ascension Monday, April 10 8:30 am Eucharistic Adoration Tuesday, April 11 7:00 pm KC Meeting Meeting Wednesday, April 12 8:30 am Ladies of Ascension NO Faith Formation Classes Thursday, April 13 7:00 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper 8:15 pm Eucharistic Exposition to 10:00 pm in the Community Room Friday, April 14 12:00 Noon Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion 5:30 pm Stations of the Cross Saturday, April 15 9:00 pm Easter Vigil, followed by breakfast in the Community Room

Readings for the Week of April 9:

Sunday: Mt 21:1-11/Is 50:4-7/Ps 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24/

Phil 2:6-11/Mt 26:14—27:66

Monday: Is 42:1-7/Ps 27:1-3, 13-14/Jn 12:1-11

Tuesday: Is 49:1-6/Ps 71:1-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15, 17/

Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Wednesday: Is 50:4-9a/Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34/

Mt 26:14-25

Thursday: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14/Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc,

17-18/1 Cor 11:23-26/Jn 13:1-15

Friday: Is 52:13—53:12/Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25/

Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9/Jn 18:1—19:42

Saturday: Gn 1:1—2:2, 26-31a/Gn 22:1-18, 9a, 10-13,

15-18/Ex 14:15—15:1/Is 54:5-14/Is 55:1-11/

Bar 3:9-15, 32—4:4/Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28/Rom

6:3-11/Mt 28:1-10

WEEK COLLECTIONS BUDGET

April 2,

2017

$11,339.89 $12,230.00

Fiscal Year

to Date

$499,406.02 $489,200.00

Most of us know today as Palm Sunday, although officially in the Church it is called Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, and to many Church leaders it is simply Passion Sunday, which comes from the Latin name for it, Dominica Passionis. We have reflected on this day previously how the liturgy begins with great joy and becomes more and more somber with the reading of the Passion. During the procession of the palms Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to great tumult and rejoicing as the people cry out “Hosanna… blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.” As the Mass progresses we get an overview of what is to occur during this holiest of weeks, including the institution of the Eucharist, the passion and death of the Lord, the prediction of His Resurrection, and then His Resurrection itself. Imagine the confusion of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus has been spending time with them in the recent weeks prior to the Passion trying to get them to understand that His time of suffering was near and approaching, and that is the reason He must go to Jerusalem. And here is the crowd welcoming and praising and laughing and celebrating His presence. We are not much different in many ways, but now is the time for us to really embrace and understand the sacrifice the Lord made for each of us, and the incredible gift He has given us. In the coming days it is our final chance to truly rededicate ourselves to being His disciple.

CommunityNews&Events

LightofChristCatholicSchoolNews

KEEP THE PROMISE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN EVENT Please join us for a campaign event to get detailed information about our

school projects and learn more about the campaign!

Food will be provided.

Attend any evening session that works best for you.

Every Monday night in April & May

Bismarck Elks Lodge

900 S. Washington

5:30-7:30 pm

SAVE THE DATE. . . THIRST 2017 MEN’S CONFERENCE Gentlemen, mark your calendars for the THIRST 2017 Men’s Conference sponsored by the Diocese of Bismarck and held at the

University of Mary on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

2017 SMCHS HALL OF FAME Nominations are open until April 15th!

Visit smchs.org/hall-of-fame to learn more or nominate someone for this special honor.

JOB POSTINGS Open positions include:

• Elementary level teachers (FT)

• SMCHS Anatomy/Physiology & Chemistry teacher (FT)

• SMCHS English/Language Arts teacher (PT)

After-school Program Classroom Leaders

For more information, please visit www.lightofchristschools.org/employment

or call Kate Bleth at 701-425-0793.

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE CONVENTION ND Right to Life is sponsoring a bus trip to the National Right to Life Convention in Milwaukee, WI. The bus will leave from Bismarck and Fargo. We will leave June 28th and return July 2nd. A $100.00 deposit by May 10th will hold your seat. This is a wonderful chance to learn about the life issues from cradle to grave. For more info call 258-3811 or e-mail director@ndrl.org.

BISMARCK-MANDAN CATHOLIC YOUNG ADULTS GROUP Part 6 of the Living the Beatitudes series will be Saturday, April 22nd! Join CYA as we host Father Nick Schneider from Christ the

King to discuss the 5th Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” The event is hosted by Mike and

Brianna Weisbeck at their home at 216 Tower Avenue in Bismarck, with fellowship beginning at 6:00 pm and the speaker at

6:30 pm. The group serves young adults, age 21 and older from all parishes and faith traditions, who desire to live a good and holy

Christian/Catholic life. Please spread the word about this wonderful opportunity for fellowship and growth. If there are any ques-

tions or you’d like updates on future events, please visit our Facebook Page—Catholic Young Adults, or contact Bri Weisbeck at

426-0456.