Two Holy Family Parishioners Pursuing Priesthood
Two young men from our community are taking major steps in their discernment of priesthood as a response to God’s call in their lives.
On August 10, Jack Rosenwinkel made initial vows as part of his commitment to become a Jesuit priest. Jack is a 2013 graduate of Holy Family Catholic Academy. He then graduated from Fremd High School and the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. His parents are Maureen and Kurt, and his siblings, Katie and Brian.
Tyler Harris professed simple vows last June 28 as part of his commitment to becoming a Franciscan priest. Tyler graduated from St. Theresa, St. Viator and Notre Dame University. His parents are Laurie and Kevin and his siblings, Krystal, Kimberly and Patrick.
Both Jack and Tyler are continuing their formation leading to taking final or permanent vows in the future. Jesuit and Franciscan formation vary slightly and both are different from the formation that I participated in as a diocesan priest.
Let us all continue to pray for Jack and Tyler in their process of responding to fulfill their baptismal call. That is the call that unites us all, flowing from our Baptism, through which God encourages us to discern the talents, skills and passions that He has placed in our hearts, and then making decisions to use those talents in the most meaningful way. Tyler and Jack have discerned that those talents are leading them to priesthood. Where is God’s call leading you?
See Matthew 20:1-16, the story of the laborers in the vineyard, for insight into our God who calls us multiple times throughout our lives. The one day of the parable is a metaphor for the various stages of our lives presenting more opportunities to respond to God’s call.
Holy Family Catholic Academy Has Begun a New Year
This past week our Academy students and faculty began a new year of adventure, learning and faith formation. I want to thank our Principal Kate O’Brien and her staff for their dedication to sharing their faith with our students.
Our enrollment is right at 500 students with new students in every grade. Hallmarks of our curriculum continue to be Inquiry-Based Learning where students learn to think critically and solve problems AND our certification as an International Baccalaureate school, one of only a handful in the state of Illinois. We have students who speak 15 different languages at home, a total of 61 faculty and staff, 37 full-time and 24 part-time, eight of whom are from other countries including Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Egypt, Peru and Turkey.
Please take time to familiarize yourself with our unique and outstanding Academy by visiting their website connected with our parish website.
Bread of Life
This weekend concludes the five-part series of the Bread of Life Discourse from the Gospel of John that we have heard proclaimed at Mass. Hopefully, you have given it serious reflection. I would encourage each of you to read the entire sixth chapter of John’s Gospel as a review. It begins with the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with very little bread and resumes at verse 22 with the discourse that grounds our Catholic belief in the REAL presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Footsteps In Faith Inquiry
I am repeating my challenge to all of you to encourage anyone you know who is interested in becoming Catholic to attend our inquiry night this Monday, August 26 at 7:00 pm here at Holy Family. We will share details of what we call Footsteps in Faith, which is an educational and spiritual adventure for adults who are curious about Catholicism.
Pray the Rosary at Holy Family
We continue to invite anyone interested in praying the Rosary with others on the First Sunday of each month following 9:00 am Mass in the Chapel. Beginning Saturday, September 7 we will offer an opportunity to pray the Rosary beginning at 4:40 pm on the first Saturday of each month just prior to 5:00 pm Mass. We also encourage any of you to pray the Rosary in private OR to find a group to pray it with at a designated time in our Chapel.