I am pleased to provide you with this update on the Parish Priority Plan and its progress. This update represents an outpouring of perseverance, prayer, and planning. It is clear the Holy Spirit is at work within our parish. For any plan to work, it must be reviewed regularly. This article provides some accomplishments since the Parish Priority Plan was first published.
Cultivating the Spiritual Life – The goal of this priority is to encourage those habits that lead us to experience the deep joy of encountering the Lord through a better prayer life.
There is not a better place to encounter the Lord than in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel. Thank you to the 300+ new Adorers. If you have not committed to a weekly Holy Hour, it’s not too late. Please call the parish office at 316-682-4557 or contact Angie Holladay at 316-633-6776 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The most important thing to realize about making a Holy Hour is that you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to say any particular prayers, or read, or sing, or anything else. All you have to do is to be present to the One who is present to you. It is in this silence that we encounter the Lord.
Enhancing the Sunday Mass Experience – We hope to create the conditions for the faithful to more powerfully encounter the Lord at our parish.
Everyone is invited to attend the last session of “The Mass Explained” by Father Andrew on Tuesday, March 27th at 7:00 PM in the church. This final session will be on the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion.
A specific goal of the Parish Priority Plan is 1400 parishioners to attend our weekend Masses. We are currently averaging about 1480 Sunday Mass attendance. Only approximately 49% of our parishioners are attending Mass at The Church of the Blessed Sacrament. Although our obligation is fulfilled by attending any parish, there is added significance and fruit by worshiping with your parish family, and as Catholics our faith is not individualistic but rather has a very tangible communal element.
Living the New Evangelization - The goal of this priority is to equip Blessed Sacrament parishioners with the skills needed to share their faith in an inviting and compelling way.
Over 75 parishioners just completed the Christ Life series. Christ Life, the 21-week series helps you to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. This is accomplished by praying together, teaching, and supporting one another. Christ LIfe equips Catholics for the essential work of evangelization and provides a great opportunity for parishioners and guests to encounter Jesus and to grow in this personal relationship. It is also a way that our parish can begin to create conditions to becoming an evangelizing community. Next series will begin in August 2018!
In the Church today, Lectio Divina can provide a simple yet prayerful method for faith sharing among Christians at every stage of life. The Latin phrase “lectio divina” may be translated as “divine reading.” Lectio divina is a method for praying with the Scriptures. As one reads and invites the Word to become a transforming lens that brings the events of daily living into focus, one can come to live more deeply and find the presence of God more readily in the events of each day. The method of lectio divina follows four steps: lectio (reading), meditatio (meditation), contemplatio (contemplation), and oratio (prayer).
Lectio Divina groups are now being formed at Blessed Sacrament:
Wednesday, 6:00 PM (after 5:30 PM Mass), Bishops Hall
Thursday morning 7:00 AM, (after 6:30 AM Mass), Bishops Hall
Thursday 6:00 PM (after 6:00 PM Mass), location TBA
If you are interested in participating in a Lectio Divina group, please contact the parish office at
316-682-4557.
For our Parish Priority Plan to bear fruit, we need to be reminded that the plan will require the commitment, energy, and partnership ALL parishioners. Please be mindful of any area that you can offer support and participation. We must believe that our parish will grow stronger through the relationships we build with God and each other in fulfilling our Vision. Please continue to pray for God’s blessing on this plan as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.
Prayerfully Yours, CY Suellentrop