This weekend we welcome our Mission speaker, Fr. Jim Clarke. Jim will preach at all Masses and then present this Sunday, February 11, Monday, February 12 and Tuesday, February 13. The title of the Mission is “Love Me Tender, Lord: The Work of Transformation.” Fr. Clarke is a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and serves there as the Director of New Evangelization. He is also the Associate Spiritual Director at the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer for priests in Los Angeles. Previously he served as Director of Spiritual Formation at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California. He is very well known nationally as a Mission preacher and a regular presenter at the Religious Education Congress in Los Angeles.
You can find a brief description of the Mission on page 9 of this bulletin. Remember, there is no cost, hospitality follows each night, and it is a great opportunity to gather with members of your ministry, Small Christian Community, class or simply with friends. Come to the Mission and get your heart and soul ready for Lent. Please give a warm welcome to Fr. Clarke as he joins us!
Yes, Lent begins this coming Wednesday. We anticipate a deeper spiritual focus as we embark on another journey that, as always, encourages us to become more reflective, adding extra time and variety to our prayer life, to be more intentional either in added practices or diminished consumption, such as fasting from food or other things. We are always called to works of charity during our Lenten journey and we here at Holy Family have a strong tradition of focusing on a Social Justice Project during the forty days of the season. With particular excitement this year, we are proud to be the first and only (so far) parish to join Cardinal Cupich’s Anti-Violence Initiative. This Lent we will be a partner with Catholic Charities, St. Sabina Church on the South Side of Chicago, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, and the City of Chicago in supporting programs that address some of the root causes of violence, not only in some areas of Chicago, but here in our community.
Sue Geegan, our Director of Human Concerns, Ro Geisler, our Parish Manager, and I have been in extensive conversations with members of the above agencies and communities for some time now and our research has led us to ask your support for two initiatives specifically, the “Strong Futures” program at St. Sabina on Chicago’s south side and “The Peace Corner” on the West Side of the city. Both of these programs help young men by creating opportunities for them to address gang affiliation, drugs, guns and other weapons, and unemployment, just to name a few, as factors contributing to violent behavior.
Anti-Violence is our intent, but our method, or approach, is to create Peaceful Pathways, which, again, is not solely focused on violence in the city of Chicago, but forms of it right here in our area, even in our own homes and amidst our families. We will use the word “Hope” as a guide throughout the season. We want to hold up Hope in the midst of experiences and emotions such as Anger, Judgment, Doubt, and more. Look for the word Hope displayed in church with associated words and how it will lead us to the ultimate Hope of new life at Easter.
I want to thank Pete and Cari Pappas for sharing their witness talk at all Masses last weekend, and for being such faithful Ministry Leads for our Small Christian Community ministry. Many of you signed up for more information and have accepted Pete’s invitation to “test drive” participating in a SCC during Lent. Please consider coming on each Wednesday of Lent at 7:00pm here at Holy Family to get a taste of what being part of a Small Christian Community is like. In addition, if you are interested in a Small Christian Community focused on Leadership in Business or connecting Faith and Work, please contact Pete and Cari at at:pmpbears@comcast.net or 815-670-3734.
Our 2018 Gala is fast approaching. The Gala is our major fundraiser for the year, but it is also a really fun way to catch and share the strong spirit of Holy Family Catholic Community. Our faith community continues to grow and change, and although the Gala was conceived as an event that would support our Academy exclusively, in recent years I have asked that we see this event as a way of supporting and expressing the mission of our entire parish because WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER! Proceeds from the Gala are available for all ministries parish wide with certain focuses each year.
As you know, the Gala requires much planning, energy and execution. I want to thank this year’s Gala Chairs Stephanie Andre-Ouellette, Helen Kalantzis and Kathy Marousis who are working with Bernie Schaeffer, our Director of Development, and others from both Parish and Academy staffs, to make our Gala as successful as possible and help to advance our very ambitious mission here at Holy Family.
Please attend the Gala. Please support it in any way possible if you can’t attend. Catch our spirit, meet new parishioners and support our mission through the 2018 Gala, Le Grand Bal de Versailles, at the Concord Banquets in Deer Park on Saturday, February 24.