Today the studded walls in the basement were removed. The stairway has been cleaned the best they can. You can see the black marks are still on the walls & ceiling in the entrance way and up the stairs. That will have to be repainted. Toby was cleaning the hanging lights. Part of the wall inside the church was taken out to see where the soot traveled. A couple of feet will be removed from the floor up and replaced. The big statues and the cross have been removed and placed in a room with an air purifier to take any smell out of them.

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Today the main work was downstairs in Hansen Hall/furnace room. The have a machine to clean the air ducts. Which in turn brings the soot and the smell back into the basement. A big air purifier is vented outside to help take the smoke smell out. All the wainscoting in the church is taken off. The second dumpster was filled so now we are on number 3.

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Back to work today. The wainscot has been removed on the street side and coming down on the other side. Cleaning of the confessionals today. You can see on the wall going down the steps to Hansen Hall where they have begun to clean. Also, Cleaning has begun in the sanctuary. Keep praying for the men and women who endured the heat to clean the church.

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I hope each of us takes some moments this weekend to reflect upon the real reason for our Federal observance of Memorial Day. We remember more than all the faithful departed; we remember more specifically those who have lost their lives defending the liberties we so easily take for granted. There are countless resources lost to defend our nation and its principles. The lost human resources are the most valuable. We are pro-life, so any time any life is lost, we mourn in unique ways. Continue to pray for the repose of the souls of our nations heroes, many of them unspoken and unsung.

Week one is complete. The crew started to go home early this afternoon; some to Wausau and some to Green Bay. Cleaning the walls is progressing and they are starting on the choir loft. The crew will return on Tuesday morning. Steve and Father are asking for extra inspiration (Ha Ha)... Let's keep perspective on the real reasons for Memorial Day.

Hanson Hall is all torn out. Kessler was sweeping up the remains of the wall.

Lance showed me all the brick walls that were hiding in the studded walls. Not much left of the bathrooms with all the walls and fixtures removed. Furnace is removed. They cleaned in the crawl space under the sacristy. Poor Liam was the one that got to do that dirty job. Pray for all the crew that is helping restore our church back to it beauty.

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The containers will be used for running the special air purifier to remove the smoke odor. Everything is removed from the main floor for the scissor jacks to move around. Cleaning of the Stations of the Cross has begun. The electrician is here to install new wiring and get the lights back working. Ceiling and walls are coming down in Hanson Hall.

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And the clean up continues. All the carpet has been removed through out the Church. The pews are cleaned and will be removed later today into containers that will have a special air vacuum attached to remove the smoke odor. They are starting to clean the windows and the walls. The tear down of Hanson Hall continues. The pictures from the walls and papers from the case in Hanson Hall were cleaned with special dry sponges. They will also be put into the containers to remove the odor.

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The equipment is starting to arrive. A few of the ServiceMaster crew have begun cleaning pews before they get removed. Pray for all the wonderful people that will help restore our church.

Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are claimed by Christ…forever. No matter how close we grow in relationship with the Trinity, or how much we work to reject God's presence in our lives, baptized people are claimed by Christ. No matter if people choose to believe that fact or not, it does not become less true. Perhaps that reality alone can continue to inspire us to make prayerful concessions for our loved ones. Our prayers for them can invite the Holy Spirit to reignite the gift of faith within them and guide them back to a living relationship with the Trinity.

May 13th is the annual feast of Our Lady of Fatima. You will recall that last year we joined Catholics around the globe in honoring Our Lady of Fatima. Despite the fact that universal attention on Our Lady of Fatima has diminished, we continue to recognize the value of our Blessed Mother's intercession and compassion for each one of us, her children. We also couple the Blessed Mother's care as we join in honoring Mother's Day 2018. So, reflecting upon mothers is a worthwhile exercise today.

Sometimes we, as Catholics, face questions from disgruntled Catholics and non-Catholics alike about the Church's resources and wealth. Usually, somewhere in the conversation, we hear remarks about the Vatican's bank, property and art. Often people quote some value of those resources to be in the millions, or even billions, and how the Church would be so much better off if those resources were sold and the money used for the poor. Then the conversation moves toward the hypocrisy of the Church who says we should care for the poor but have all of these riches stored up. Well…

As Catholics, we know that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith: it is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has called it the "Sacrament of Love":

"The Eucharist is at the heart of 'Christian initiation', together with Baptism and Confirmation, and it constitutes the source of the Church's life itself. From this Sacrament of love, in fact, flows every authentic journey of faith, of communion, and of witness."

The Daily Mass Outward actions often reflect internal beliefs. Some of that comes into play in regard to how we live out our lives as Catholics. Hopefully our external words and actions reflect the depth of our faith. It's important to remember the distinction between subjective and objective proof. Subjective things are more internal matters of our minds and hearts. These are things which are difficult to prove; we need a lot of trust to believe them. Consider a subjective example: the proof of how much we love our mother. Contrary to subjective evidence is objective evidence. These are things which are black or white, true or false, right or wrong, good or bad. Consider an objective example: the receipt that you purchased flowers for your mom on Mother's Day.

First of all, Happy Easter once again! Those who were able to attend any of the services on Holy Week and Easter weekendwere once again filled with grace. A word of gratitude once again to those who assisted with the liturgies and church environmentto make these days of grace more enriching. An additional word of gratitude is given to the members of the Church of SaintBoniface who so graciously hosted us during the days of the Holy Triduum. May God bless us one and all!

Often we find ourselves in conversation making remarks about favorite things. You know -- sports, food, relatives, vacations, holidays, etc. Sometimes our Catholic holidays make the list among popular favorites, namely Christmas and Easter. Perhaps a secular holiday like Thanksgiving can be thrown into the mix of favorite holidays, too. Whatever the case may be for you, there is ample support for Easter ranking as the favorite holiday of our Roman Catholic Church.

Faithful priests and fervent Catholics around the planet are well aware of the big deal which Holy Week ushers in. In fact, most Catholics of good will are well aware of the big deal we immerse ourselves in within these days of grace. However, there is often sadness when our actions do not reflect our awareness. What will your mindset be during Holy Week?

Our awareness of the big deal of Holy Week means that we understand that the liturgical life of the Church is so unique during these days; no other comparison comes even close throughout our liturgical year. These days commemorate the facts of what Jesus Christ has done for the ones He loves.

The date of Easter, is, of course, determined by the first day of Spring. For memory sake, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). I'm sure countless numbers of us are awaiting the passage of winter on Tuesday of this coming week. Then, with keen observation we will be enjoying the abundance of new life springing forth from the earth. Meanwhile, we are continually reminded to participate, not anticipate, so we continue to discipline our minds for the moments in our midst.

I thought this would be a good time to let you in on a little secret that I discovered in my grandma's kitchen long agowhen I would help her cook all the family meals; the act of praying while cooking.

Some of you may even remember that many Catholic homes and maybe you still do, have a Kitchen Prayer plaque orpicture hanging in the kitchen.

As the 150th anniversary of the diocese gets underway March 3-4 with special Masses celebrated by Bishop Callahan in Prairiedu Chien, what follows are a few “snapshots” from our colorful history. They are condensed and adapted from “Feed my Lambs,”the official book on 150 years of Catholic life in the Diocese of La Crosse, available in parishes ($35).

Snapshots of our History