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 22, 2026

The First Sunday of Lent

The First Sunday of Lent

Lent has begun, and in this first week of the season, we are invited to slow down and return to the heart of our faith. After receiving ashes and hearing the call to “repent and believe in the Gospel,” we begin a 40-day journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These practices are not meant to burden us, but to free us—to clear away whatever keeps us from deeper communion with God and with one another.

The readings of this first week remind us that Lent is a time of decision. Each day we are presented with opportunities to choose trust over fear, generosity over self-interest, and faithfulness over distraction. Even small sacrifices and moments of intentional prayer can open space for God’s grace to work within us. As we take these first steps into Lent, we do so knowing that transformation happens gradually, through daily commitment and openness to the Holy Spirit.

You are warmly invited to deepen your Lenten journey by participating in our parish gatherings this week. Whether through communal prayer, Eucharistic celebration, reflection opportunities, or acts of service, these moments help strengthen us as a community walking toward Easter together.

Please join us this week at the following events:

• This Sunday, February 22, after the Brewed at St. Gertrude social gathering: The Catholic Faith We Profess: Reflections on the Nicene Creed
• Thursday, February 26: Simple Supper followed by the Lenten Spirituality Session titled Prayer: The First Pillar of Lent with Sr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ
• Friday, February 27: 3:00 pm – Traditional Stations of the Cross; 6:00 pm – Lenten Season Meditation Series: Music, Stillness, Solidarity; 6:30 pm – Stations of the Cross: Through the Eyes of the Youth

The Season of Lent: Activities and Events

Lent is a sacred season that calls us to reflect, repent, and renew our commitment to the Gospel--and is a time to choose love, forgiveness, and a life more closely aligned with Christ.

Listed below are many opportunities to support your Lenten journey. Let us begin this pilgrimage together on Ash Wednesday and allow this holy season to transform our hearts.

Thursdays at 6:00 pm: Lenten Simple Suppers

Simple Suppers are returning for Lent on Thursdays evenings! Parishioners are invited to meet in the Social Hall, 1401 W. Granville Ave., at 6:00 pm for dinner.

Each week, a different parish group will host the event. The schedule is:

• Thursday, February 26: Parish Pastoral Council
• Thursday, March 5: Adult Basketball Social Ministry
• Thursday, March 12: St. Gertrude's choir
• Thursday, March 19: Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership
• Thursday, March 26: TBA

Thursdays at 7:00 pm: Lenten Spirituality Sessions (Immediately after the Simple Suppers)

This Lent, the Adult Spirituality and Formation Committee offers five opportunities to explore together the mystery of our Lenten journey. All sessions, except for session three, will take place from 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm in the Social Hall, following our Simple Supper, which begins at 6:00 pm. You are welcome to attend any or all sessions. Please come to Simple Supper and the Lenten series – and bring a friend! 

• Thursday, February 26 – Prayer: The First Pillar of Lent – Sr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ
• Thursday, March 5 – Finding the Sacred On Our Lenten Journey – Patrick T. Reardon
• Thursday, March 12 – Return Again To The Land of Your Soul: An Evening of Contemplative Music - Jonathan Hannau
• Thursday, March 19 - Fasting: The Second Pillar of Lent – Chris Countryman
• Thursday, March 26 - Almsgiving: The Third Pillar of Lent – panel of St. Gertrude parishioners

Here is the description for the first session, Prayer: The First Pillar of Lent with Sr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ:

When we think of preparing for Holy Week and Easter, one of the three great themes of Lent is Prayer. Sr. Wendy, Professor Emeritus of the New Testament and First Generation Christianity at Loyola University Chicago, will share some of Jesus’ encouraging counsel to us about our prayer from the heart, and also what the Gospels tell us were times when Jesus felt a special need to pray. We will have an opportunity to share our thoughts with one another, to reflect on our own experiences of prayer, and on how prayer touches our own lives and transforms the world.

Fridays at 6:00 pm: Lenten Season Mediation Series: Music, Stillness, Solidarity

We live in incredibly troubled times. Injustice after injustice and a stream of never ending tragedies show through social media algorithms designed to distract us. It is difficult to digest it all, let alone find a moment of stillness to reflect and potentially act on it.

This year we bring back “Music, Stillness, Solidarity”. It will happen every Friday night from February 20 to March 27. From 6:00-6:30 pm, St. Gertrude's will be open as a safe space where ALL are welcome to come, sit, pray, and meditate as we navigate these realities as a community.

Contemplative music will be played through the duration of the time to help guide and promote reflection on the day. 

Fridays at 3:00 pm and 6:30 pm: Stations of the Cross

Each Friday at 3:00 pm during Lent, we will offer a traditional Way of the Cross.

Another Stations of the Cross will be held at 6:30 pm on Fridays after our Lenten Meditation: Music, Stillness and Solidarity. These Stations of the Cross will have a social justice theme:

• February 27: Through the Eyes of the Youth
• March 6: LGBTQ+
• March 13: Refugees and Migrants
• March 20: Through the Eyes of Mary
• March 27: The Way of the Cross for Our Time

Saturdays at 4:00 pm and on March 23: Sacrament of Reconciliation Opportunities

Every Saturday from 4:00-4:45 pm, private confession is available. There is also a communal confession for all the parishes in our deanery (Deanery 2B) on Monday, March 23 at 7:00 pm at the St. Nicholas campus of St John XXIII Parish in Evanston.

Sunday Masses (and Sunday Vigil): Almoners Lenten Ministry

Our parish's Almoners’ Program will be held again from February 21-March 29. Each weekend, a second collection will be held, with funds used to distribute McDonald's cards to those who are in need. At the end of each Mass, those wishing to participate in distributing cards to the needy will be invited to come forward, receive the cards, and be given a blessing as they go out in this charitable outreach. 

Thursdays at 6:00 pm: Lenten Simple Suppers

Simple Suppers are returning for Lent on Thursdays evenings! Parishioners are invited to meet in the Social Hall, 1401 W. Granville Ave., at 6:00 pm for dinner.

Each week, a different parish group will host the event. The schedule is:

• Thursday, February 26: Parish Pastoral Council
• Thursday, March 5: Adult Basketball Social Ministry
• Thursday, March 12: St. Gertrude's choir
• Thursday, March 19: Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership
• Thursday, March 26: TBD

Thursdays at 7:00 pm: Lenten Spirituality Sessions (Immediately after the Simple Suppers on Thursdays)

This Lent, the Adult Spirituality and Formation Committee offers five opportunities to explore together the mystery of our Lenten journey. All sessions, except for session three, will take place from 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm in the Social Hall, following our Simple Supper, which begins at 6:00 pm. You are welcome to attend any or all sessions. Please come to Simple Supper and the Lenten series – and bring a friend! 

• Thursday, February 26 – Prayer: The First Pillar of Lent – Sr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ
• Thursday, March 5 – Finding the Sacred On Our Lenten Journey – Patrick T. Reardon
• Thursday, March 12 – Return Again To The Land of Your Soul: An Evening of Contemplative Music - Jonathan Hannau
• Thursday, March 19 - Fasting: The Second Pillar of Lent – Chris Countryman
• Thursday, March 26 - Almsgiving: The Third Pillar of Lent – panel of St. Gertrude parishioners

Here is the description for the first session, Prayer: The First Pillar of Lent with Sr. Wendy Cotter, CSJ:

When we think of preparing for Holy Week and Easter, one of the three great themes of Lent is Prayer. Sr. Wendy, Professor Emeritus of the New Testament and First Generation Christianity at Loyola University Chicago, will share some of Jesus’ encouraging counsel to us about our prayer from the heart, and also what the Gospels tell us were times when Jesus felt a special need to pray. We will have an opportunity to share our thoughts with one another, to reflect on our own experiences of prayer, and on how prayer touches our own lives and transforms the world.

Daily Masses

• Daily Mass: 7:30 am - Monday-Friday (No Saturday am Mass)
• Sunday Mass: 8:00 am, 10:30 am Church, 10:30 am Gym Mass; 5:00 pm - Saturday (Sunday Vigil)

Collection Drive for Care for Real is is This Weekend

St. Gertrude has its monthly collection drive for our neighbors in need on February 21-22! In addition to info in the image, you can visit https://linktr.ee/cfrchicago for information about donating and links to their Facebook and Instagram pages to see what they are specifically looking for at this time. 

Please place nonperishable items in the bins at the back of church.

Our asylum seekers’ collection is the full first weekend of each month, and our general collection drive for Care for Real is always the fourth calendar weekend every month.

We are so grateful for your help supporting Care for Real as they work to provide food and much-needed supplies to our neighbors who are struggling. 

Brewed at St. Gertrude Planned for This Sunday, February 22

After the 10:30 am masses on Sunday, February 22, all are invited to our monthly “Brewed at St. Gertrude” hospitality event in the Social Hall, featuring pastries, coffee, tea, and hot cocoa.

All are welcome—new and long-time parishioners, families, and visitors!

Save the Date! The Catholic Faith We Profess: Reflections on the Nicene Creed Scheduled for Sunday, February 22

On Sunday, February 22, in the Social Hall after Brewed at St. Gertrude’s (approximately 12:15 pm), Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, will lead a presentation and discussion on the Nicene Creed, which Catholics and other Christian communities have professed for 1,700 years. Fr. Peter will discuss why we continue to profess the Nicene Creed, what controversies moved the Council of Nicaea to promulgate the Creed, and how the Creed expresses and safeguards the basic beliefs of our Catholic faith.

Please plan on being present for an informative and engaging reflection on the Nicene Creed. All are welcome!

Presented by the Adult Spirituality and Formation Committee

Catholic Voters Guide to Be Distributed at Masses the Weekend of March 1

Catholic social teaching is an important body of thought in the Catholic Church that calls Christians to uphold the dignity of every person and to care for God’s creation. Rooted in Scripture and developed through the Church’s tradition, these teachings guide us in living out our faith not only in our personal lives, but also in our responsibilities as members of society.

In recent months, a group of parishioners has gathered to study and discuss Catholic social teaching and reflect on how it speaks to the challenges of our time. Their conversations have informed the development of a Voters’ Guide designed to help us consider how these teachings may shape thoughtful and purposeful citizenship.

Copies of the Voters’ Guide will be distributed at all Masses on Saturday February 28 and Sunday, March 1. We encourage you to take a copy and prayerfully reflect on how our faith calls us to engage in civic life with wisdom, compassion, and a commitment to the common good.

Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) Meeting Planned for Saturday, March 7

St. Gertrude is a member of CSPL, the faith-based organization that organized the recent People’s Mass and Eucharistic Procession to the Broadview Detention Center.

Come together with other parishioners on Saturday, March 7, from 1:30-3:00 pm in the Ministry Center to build community and discuss how to help advance our parish's commitments to social justice, human concerns and faith formation through our participation in CSPL. Learn more about CSPL. 

All are welcome! 

Teens Invited to Join St. Gertrude’s Youth Mission Experience

Parish teens are invited to participate in St. Gertrude’s Youth Mission Experience, taking place June 22–26. Open to students entering seventh grade through high school, this weeklong experience offers teens the chance to serve alongside Chicagoland organizations while growing in faith, friendship, and community.

Participants will enjoy meaningful service, have fun together, and earn volunteer hours. The cost for the week is $125.

To reserve a spot or learn more, please contact Pastoral Associate Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org.

Growing in Faith

And so we begin again, disciples of Jesus, walking 40 days into the desert moments of our lives. In these moments, we learn again the mystery of encountering the Divine in silent listening and prayerful response; in pondering, as we hold the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters; in responding, in the hunger and thirst for justice. We learn again what it means to “rend our hearts and not our garments.”

For me, the desert seems only too real this year. Perhaps, some of you feel the same way. Battered by the, seemingly, unending images of cruelty and suffering, from the streets of Minneapolis to the war-torn fields and streets of Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, we feel the weight of worry and concern of so many that we, as a people, have lost our way. We are also so aware of our own brokenness and need for healing, peace, forgiveness, and new life. We, like the writer of Psalm 91 cry out: “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble!”

In the journeys of our lives, even though many of us will try to avoid doing so with every part of our being, few of us will be spared the experience of walking in the desert. Like Jesus, we will be tempted to take the “quick fixes” offered by the Tempter, relying on our own strength and power, worshipping the false gods of power, prestige, money, and empire rather than remembering that “the Lord is our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear!”

Surviving our journey in the desert is only possible if we believe in the depths of our beings that we are held close and passionately loved by the One who is closer to us than our next breath. Resisting the false lures in the desert is possible only if we know in our bones that we are the Beloved of God.

In these difficult and challenging times, it is so easy to become fearful and paralyzed. But Jesus says, if we wish to experience the power and the glory of the Resurrection, our faith factor must be greater than our fear factor. Washed in the waters of Baptism, anointed in the power of the Spirit, and nourished with the Bread of Life, let us boldly proclaim in these Lenten days: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.”

~ Bob Backis

Join Our Choir!

Do you enjoy singing? Are you still looking for a New Year’s resolution? Do you see yourself leading the congregation in song—or perhaps joining a choir that is fun, engaging, and sings in four parts?

I warmly encourage you to consider joining the St. Gertrude Music Program! Our choir rehearses regularly on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm and sings weekly at the 10:30 am Mass. No prior choir experience is necessary; however, singers should be able to hold a melody. Whether you read music or learn by ear, you are welcome to join us.

If you are interested in serving as a Cantor and leading the congregation in song, an audition is required, and training will be provided.

If singing isn’t your thing but you play an instrument, I invite you to consider joining our ensemble—we are always happy to welcome additional instrumentalists.

Music is essential to the life of the Church, and this parish’s rich musical tradition is deeply near and dear to me. If you have questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to speak with me after Mass or email me at jhannau@stgertrudechicago.org.

~ Jonathan Hannau, Music Director

Volunteers Needed to Help with Live-Streaming Sunday Masses

We are looking for assistance with live-streaming our 10:30 am Sunday masses. The process is simple, you do not have to have a technical background, a special camera or phone, just a willingness to help. 

Contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org for more information.

Catholic LGBTQ+ Retreat Scheduled for March 6-8 in Racine, Wisconsin

"Walking Together, Walking With Christ" is a weekend-retreat which focuses on the roles of LGBTQ+ people in a synodal church. The facilitator is Brian Flanagan, Ph.D., the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago. The program will be held from Friday to Sunday, March 6-8, 2026, at the Siena Retreat Center, 5637 Erie Street, Racine, Wisconsin.

The retreat is sponsored by New Ways Ministry, a 49-year old Catholic group which promotes ministry, justice, and reconciliation with LGBTQ+ people. The program is designed for LGBTQ+ people, family members, friends, and pastoral ministers. All are welcome. 

For more information and to register, click here.

New Parishioners

• Erin Power

Ministers of the Word

• Saturday, February 21 at 5:00 pm - Roman Reyes, Patrick Reardon
• Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 am - Jennifer Kiedaisch, Jacalyn Meier  
• Sunday, February 22 at 10:30 am - Rose Karasti, Theo Fletcher 

Eucharistic Ministers

• Saturday, February 21 at 5:00 pm - Millie Slane 
• Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 am - Barb Daly
• Sunday, February 22 at 10:30 am - Rafael Melendez, Sarah Millar, Troy McMillan

Altar Servers

• Saturday, February 21 at 5:00 pm - cross bearer: Carter Dant; acolytes: Wyatt Dant , Angel Garcia
• Sunday, February 22 at 10:30 am - cross bearer: Kora Cunningham; acolytes: Daniel Cunningham, Diarmuid McKeown  

Upcoming Mass Intentions

• Monday, February 23: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Tuesday, February 24: 7:30 am - People of God
• Wednesday, February 25: 7:30 am - Joey Harris+ 
• Thursday, February 26: 7:30 am - Purgatorial Society
• Friday, February 27: 7:30 am - Living & deceased parents of St. Gertrude parishioners 
• Saturday, February 28: 5:00 pm - Geoffrey Penar+
• Sunday, March 1: 8:00 am - Jim Ness+; 10:30 am - Monica Yurak+; 10:30 am Gym - Edith Herbin+

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.