Respond with Compassion
 In the Gospel for this 3rd Sunday of Lent Jesus references two recent tragedies that must have been on the minds of his listeners. He mentions an incident in which Pontius Pilate mingled the blood of some Galileans (Jews) with the customary Roman (pagan) sacrifices, and an incident in which a tower fell on some people in Jerusalem and killed them. After mentioning each incident, Jesus asks, “Do you think they were greater sinners because this happened to them?” And in both cases he says definitively, “By no means!” In the face of great evil, whether natural or moral, we want to know why, and often we are all too willing to settle for a simple answer. In Jesus’ own time a prevailing attitude in the wake such tragedies would have been to assume that those afflicted had done something wrong or were bad people. Jesus directly refutes this kind of thinking, while at the same time calling us to greater faithfulness. It is reassuring to me that Jesus does not go on to offer his own alternative “easy answer.” Rather, with us, in his sacred humanity, he has to wrestle with a certain amount of mystery in this life. And yet, he is compassionate (literally, “suffering with”). As we continue our Lenten journey, may we not be tricked by simple answers to big questions, but in all cases imitate the compassion of Jesus. Fr. Thom. |
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Memorial Mass for Dr. Anita Zahs
Our St. Ambrose University community was saddened to learn of the death of Biology professor Dr. Anita Zahs. We will celebrate a Memorial Mass in her honor on Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 pm in Christ the King Chapel, with a simple reception afterwards. All are welcome.
To paraphrase the words of St. Ambrose, our patron:
"We have loved her in this life. Let us not abandon her until we have conducted her by our prayers into the house of the Lord." |
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Spring Antioch Retreat
Friday, April 5 - Sunday, April 7
Feeling stressed out, or just wanting to get away for a weekend? Join in this semester's Antioch retreat. This is a great chance to make new friends, have some fun, and take time out of your busy schedule to reflect and grow. Open to all SAU students. Click here to sign up! |
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Congratulations 2019-2020 Peer Campus Ministers!
The following students have been selected to serve as Peer Campus Ministers for the 2019-2020 academic year:
Kelli Kluever - Bechtel; Jacob Braun & Kaitlin Enright - Cosgrove; Jess Mendenhall - Davis; Riley Beltramea - Franklin; Jenny Dickes - Hagen; Claire McCarthy - McCarthy; Alberto Vargas & Alyssa Duran - North; Emily LePretre - Rohlman - Andrea Adam - Tiedemann; John Callahan - Townhouses.
Congratulations to next year's Peer Campus Ministry team! |
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Going Away Party for Kaitlin Bormann
Sunday, March 31
Following the 10:30 am Mass
Kaitlin, our director of Service and Justice, will be leaving St. Ambrose University in the middle of April after almost 5 years of service. Please join us after the 10:30 am mass on March 31 as we celebrate Kaitlin and wish her and her family well on their next adventures! |
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Online Stations of the Crosshttps://saustations.blogspot.com/Our Online Stations of the Cross provide a great resource for Lent no matter where you are. Each station features reflections from a current SAU student, as well as the Station artwork from Fr. Edward Catich, as featured in Christ the King Chapel. Be sure to view the entire collection!
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A Story of Hope from Sri Lanka
In this Lenten season, we are reminded that we are called to look out for one another - indeed, we belong to each other. See how your Rice Bowl donations can help us to extend that community outward as we learn about Christyan from Sri Lanka. Please pick up and fill up your Rice Bowl, or click here to donate online! |
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Ambrosian Reflectionshttps://saulent.blogspot.com/Hear from the collective wisdom of SAU faculty and staff as they reflect on the weekday readings during Lent. New reflections posted every weekday school is in session until Holy Thursday.
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QUICK BUZZ
- Lent is a perfect time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Offered before every daily mass at: 11:15 am Monday/Friday; 3:45 pm Tuesday/Thursday; & 8:30 pm Wednesday. Also available by appointment. Contact Fr. Thom to learn more.
- BeesKnees is our prayer chain for the needs of our St. Ambrose community. Email BeesKnees@sau.edu Have a prayer request, or want to join.
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