St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville, Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org

www.stgertrudechicago.org

Bulletin for Sunday, February 19, 2023

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ash Wednesday 

This Wednesday, February 22 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. Mass times are 7:30 am, 8:30 am, and 6:30 pm. From 12:00-1:00 pm, there will be distribution of ashes (only) in church. There will also be a second collection for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe at all Masses.

Lenten Regulations for Fast & Abstinence

Abstinence from meats is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash

Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one's needs but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted.

By the threefold discipline of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, the Church keeps Lent from

Ash Wednesday until the evening of Holy Thursday. All of the faithful and the catechumens should undertake the serious practice of these three traditions.

Lenten Activities



This weekend, we will have a Lenten resource table in church with resources to help make this Lent a prayerful and holy one. We hope that these, along with the many Lenten programs we have in place, will make this a well-spent Lent.

Almoners Lenten Ministry: Second Collection Begins This Weekend

Starting this weekend, we will have a weekly second collection for the Almoner’s Program and then each weekend during Lent. The funds raised will be used to purchase $10.00 McDonald gift cards which parishioners can pick up at the weekend Masses and distribute to the needy encountered on the streets of our city. 

Distribution of the gift cards will begin next weekend.

Lenten Study: The Crucible of Racism by Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ - First Meeting This Thursday

The Lenten book study this year will continue the work begun last year on racism. We will be reading The Crucible of Racism, the second book by Patrick Saint-Jean, author of the book we shared together last year, The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice. In this book, Saint-Jean shows how Ignatian Spirituality and faithful hope can, in fact, change us, the Church, our nation, and the world. 

We have copies of the book available for $20. Study groups will meet in the Ministry Center on Thursday mornings at 9:00 am and Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm beginning February 23 and ending March 30. Each meeting is about one hour. Sign-up sheets are on the tables in the back of the church. For further information, contact Fr. Mike Gabriel at mgabriel@stgertrudechicago.org.

Stations of the Cross: Starting This Friday, February 24th

Every Friday during Lent, we will take time from our busy schedules to reflect on the suffering journey of Christ and others in the world. On Friday afternoons at 3:00 pm, we offer the traditional way of the Cross.

At 6:30 pm, we will also have stations of the Cross joining Jesus’ journey recognizing the present struggles and crosses that challenge the modern world.

Join our Choir

One way to deepen your Lenten experience is through music. Please consider joining the choir and singing at the 10:30 am Sunday Masses during Lent and Holy Week. All are welcome and in particular we are looking to add some male voices. We practice on Thursday nights from 7:00-8:15 pm in the church and usually gather about 9:30 am on Sunday mornings before Mass to go over the music of the day. Email Mary Clare Barker at mcbarker@stgertrudechicago.org if interested. 

Mystic Path in Song Planned for March

On Wednesday, March 15th, we will have a special evening in the Church. Titled "The Mystic Path in Song", the evening will feature Gerry Digman. It will be a time of reflection on the spiritual journey of the great saints and the ups and downs they faced in their own life.

Gerry will provide brief commentary for each of the eight stages of the Path, followed by songs that bring us to prayerful contemplation, deepening our understanding of the presence of God in the lives of the saints as well as in our own life.

The presentation will last about an hour.

The NCA Soiree is Next Weekend

Northside Catholic Academy’s annual fundraising gala, the 2023 NCA Soirée, will take place next Saturday, February 25, at the Ravenswood Event Center. This is NCA’s largest fundraising event, and helps to raise funds to support academic enhancements, facility improvements, and our Guardian Angel Scholarship program. There are a number of ways you can help support NCA in bringing quality Catholic education to students in our community.

Tickets Available! All tickets (event, raffle, Choose Your Own Adventure, and Sponsor-a-Staff) can be purchased at ncasoiree.com. 

• Enter the Grand Raffle for a chance to win $3,000, $2,000, or $1,000! Raffle tickets are $20 or 6/$100, and you don’t need to be present to win.
• Enter the Choose Your Own Adventure Raffle for a chance to win your choice of one of 6 fabulous trips, including an Alaskan Cruise, Barcelona, Napa Valley, Mexico, and more. Tickets are $100—only 100 tickets will be sold.
• Save $50 by purchasing the “All In For 2!” Deal: includes 2 event tickets, 6 raffle tickets and 1 Choose Your Own Adventure ticket.
• Can’t attend the event? Consider sponsoring a ticket for one of NCA’s amazing faculty and staff! 

Care for Real Food Drive in Church on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. ~ Mother Teresa

Welcome to the season of love. Love of God, love of your own goodness (a child of God), and love of your neighbor (all children of God, without exception).

As we celebrate our blessings given in love, perhaps consider sharing your gifts and donating to the St. Gertrude monthly food donation benefiting Care for Real. The first donation opportunity will be Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26 in the back of the Church.

Care for Real currently serves more than 1,300 families per week (almost double the need from one year ago), while its share of food donations from the Chicago Food Depository has declined dramatically (from 7,500 lbs. per week to 5,200 lbs. per week).

Please see the list of requested items in the above image. Show some love and care, for real.

Growing in Faith

"Nothing is as it appears." OK, that is confusing. However, I am told that this is what quantum mechanics instructs us, as does — apparently — much of the rest of modern science. Our five senses are not the truest guides to what is. Common sense may well betray us, especially the deeper you inquire.

Jesus in today’s reading from Matthew 5:38-48 says something similar to me about the realm of human conduct: our “common sense” may not be the truest guide. “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you ....”.  Here, too, the deeper you go, the less you can rely on common sense.

Now, do I really understand this? Or live my life accordingly? Of course not, or mainly not. I rarely turn the other cheek or walk the extra mile or love my enemy and pray for those who persecute me.  

But, like the good non-scientist that I am, I accept — as best I can — the insights of physicists and microbiologists, etc. Likewise, in the quite different realm of the spiritual, I can sense — as best as I can — the overwhelming importance of this new understanding or Good News, both of self and of neighbor, that Jesus has taught. While I can’t be sure where today’s readings are leading me...I am prepared to follow where they lead.

- John Williams

A Note From Bishop Bartosic About NCA

Recently, Northside Catholic Academy learned of the need for leadership change at the end of this academic year. Parents, teachers and clergy were invited to a meeting earlier this month to discern a new path forward. The goal is to grow a robust, diverse, urban Catholic school serving the North side of Chicago. The wellbeing of children, the stability of the school, and a shared vision for a bright, sustainable future are of paramount importance as this community embarks on the journey of change.

Our first step is to assemble a collaborative team of people to serve on a committee to select a leader. I will be looking for volunteers representative of these groups:

• NCA teachers
• School administrators
• Parents of current NCA students
• Board of Specified Jurisdiction members
• Clergy from sponsoring parishes
• Members of sponsoring parishes
• Community partners (business, education, government)

If you are interested in serving on this committee, please speak to your pastor, who has a tool that will help me learn more about you. I will keep you informed of our progress.

With humility, I ask that you pray for the process, trust in it, and offer suggestions aimed at a bright future for Catholic education in our neighborhood.

Pastoral Migratoria

LENTEN CAMPAIGN

40 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Action for Immigration Reform

Join us live via Zoom (Meeting ID: 87423832789) or Facebook Live

Every Wednesday in Lent at 6 p.m. CST

Starting Ash Wednesday, February 22 through Holy Week, April 5

All are welcome to join in the 2023 Multilingual Lenten Campaign for Immigration Reform. The campaign provides the opportunity to share one’s faith through prayer, fasting and acts of mercy to raise awareness of the need for immigration reform.

Please register at https://bit.ly/lenten-rosary. For more information, please visit https://pvm.archchicago.org/immigration-lenten-campaign.

Contact Mauro Pineda at mpineda@archchicago.org or 312.534.8103 or Huguet Gonzalez at mdgonzalez@archchicago.org, with any questions and/or if you would like to pray a decade in your native language.

Upcoming Mass Intentions

• Monday, February 20: 7:30 am - James Corbett †
• Tuesday, February 21: 7:30 am - Living and deceased Torreano family members
• Ash Wednesday, February 22: 7:30 am - Mary Jo Martin †; 8:30 am - St. Gertrude parishioners; 6:30 pm - St. Gertrude parishioners
• Thursday, February 23: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Friday, February 24: 7:30 am - Purgatorial Society
• Saturday, February 25: 7:30 am - Living and deceased parents of St. Gertrude parishioners; 5:00 pm - Thomas Harrison †
• Sunday, February 26: 8:00 am - St. Gertrude parishioners; 10:30 am - Calero Family †; 10:30 am Gym Mass - Living and deceased Torreano family members



(† indicates the person is deceased) 

Click HERE for the daily readings for Masses. Here is the list of readings for this week for parishioners that prefer to look them up:

• Monday, February 20: Sir 1:1-10/Mk 9:14-29
• Tuesday, February 21: Sir 2:1-11/Mk 9:30-37 
• Wednesday, February 22: Jl 2:12-18/2 Cor 5:20—6:2/Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
• Thursday, February 23: Dt 30:15-20/Lk 9:22-25
• Friday, February 24: Is 58:1-9a/Mt 9:14-15
• Saturday, February 25: Is 58:9b-14/Lk 5:27-32
• Sunday, February 26: Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7/Rom 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19/Mt 4:1-11 

If you would like to add a name to the prayer list, please contact the Rectory at 773.764.3621 or email stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org. Names will remain on the list for three weeks. After that time, please renew the name using same contact information.