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Reflections: Praise, peace infuse sounds of Heaven

There are many sounds around us that make us take notice. When we hear an ambulance or police siren, we look around to assess its location to know if we need to pull over to let them pass. In the summer, when we hear the tornado siren, we look to the sky and check for weather warnings. Recently, as I began hearing Christmas songs, I knew that the season was not far away. As I pondered all these sounds, I wondered what Heaven sounds like. I have read about streets of gold and precious jewels and the light of God’s presence, but I couldn’t remember much about sounds. After ...

Bishop Ryan students observe annual Las Posadas tradition

Bishop Ryan Catholic School held its annual Las Posadas celebration Tuesday, Dec. 16, continuing a tradition that blends faith, culture and community. Las Posadas is a Mexican and Latin American tradition that reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter before the birth of Jesus. ...

Follow the Star: Festival experience immerses guests in Christmas story

The Christmas story is more than just a Nativity scene for volunteers with Follow the Star, who strive to create an experience so authentic that guests walk away in awe of Bethlehem. Follow the Star has long been a part of Dakota Hope Clinic’s Festival of the Trees, but it has grown and ...

Reflections: God is enough through 51 years, 51 months

Recently, a mom, apparently overwhelmed by her husband’s job challenges, three young children, and financial struggles, asked me if there were things that I liked about being alone! Well, I don’t miss rushing home when I wasn’t done with appointments and errands because I needed to prepare lunch. I was frustrated, realizing that I could have planned better or prepared something in advance. However, I also knew that he often had headaches if he didn’t eat regularly. More importantly, I knew that he didn’t like being alone. He found love in my presence and because I loved him ...

Saint November, pray for us

I do have misgivings about using this column as an outright platform for all of the grief I and so many others are carrying in the wake of my step-daughter November’s passing. This paper’s readers aren’t coming to its pages looking to feel sad when they open the weekend edition, one ...

Reflections: What world says, what God says

I’ve been noticing some phrases that are commonly accepted in society today. They seem innocent enough, but as I considered them more thoroughly, I began to wonder how accurate they really are. Let’s examine some of them in the light of what the Bible says. When someone is considering a decision, I often hear others encourage them with a phrase such as “follow your heart.” Yet, I wonder if our hearts are actually trustworthy. The Bible says: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…,” (Jeremiah 17:9a KJV). This is further confirmed in Proverbs ...