St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville,

Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org

www.stgertrudechicago.org

Bulletin for Sunday, March 16, 2025

The Second Sunday of Lent

From Fr. Mike Gabriel

As you are reading this, the parish pilgrimage will be

walking still towards Rome. Regardless of where we are, we are all working on praying, fasting, and giving alms.

As all of us continue our journey, mostly the journey of

our hearts, I like for everyone to see Lent as an opportunity to come home, to find our way back into the loving embrace of God if we have strayed.

This Lent is situated within the jubilee year of hope. We have already learned this jubilee year is a time to forgive debts, to restore broken relationships, to return to the Lord: all part of the Lenten disciplines. These themes should be applied individually to our lives and collectively to our society.

The church gives us the gift of Lent to focus and look within our hearts and discern how

God might be calling us to pattern our lives more and more after Jesus. It is a personal decision, and each person's response is equally important.

It is a good time to realize that, all around the world, the Church helps us with this journey home, seeking hope to be fulfilled.

The Season of Lent: Activities & Events

Daily Mass

• Daily Mass: 7:30 am - Monday-Saturday
• Sunday Mass: 8:00 am, 10:30 am Church, 10:30 am Gym Mass; 5:00 pm - Saturday (Sunday Vigil)

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:

• March 21 - Walk the Stations with the LGBQT community 
• March 28 - Walk the Stations about social justice
• April 4 - Walk the Stations through the eyes of Mary

Lenten Season Mediation Series: Music, Stillness, Solidarity Begins This Friday                                     

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.

You are invited to a new series titled “Music, Stillness, Solidarity” every Friday night until April 11. 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. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation Opportunities

Every Saturday from 4:00-4:45 pm, private confession is available. There is a communal confession for all the parishes in our deanery (Deanery 2B) on Monday, April 14 (the Monday of Holy Week) at 7:00 pm at the St. Ita campus of Mother of God Parish.

Almoners Lenten Ministry

Our parish's Almoners’ Program will be held again. Each weekend, a second collection will be taken, 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. 

Little Black Books

A limited number of Little Black Books of Lenten Reflections have been kindly donated by a parishioner. These small books offer daily six-minute meditations on the Passion.

Lenten Simple Suppers & Scripture Study on Wednesdaya

Parishioners are invited to meet in the Ministry Center, 6214 N. Glenwood Ave., at 6:00 pm for dinner, followed by bible study at 7:00 pm. Each week, a different parish group will host the event. The schedule is:

• March 19: Northside Catholic Academy (NCA)
• March 26: Men's Basketball
• April 2: Music Ministry
• April 9: Commonweal Dialogue
• April 16: Porch Prayer Group

No 7:30 am Mass This Saturday Morning

There is no 7:30 am Mass this Saturday, March 15. The church will open at 4:00 pm.

Thank you for your understanding!

Combined 10:30 am Mass in Church This Sunday, March 16

There is no Gym Mass this Sunday, March 16. Please join us in church for the 10:30 am Mass in church.

Confirmation Rehearsal is This Sunday and the Sacrament of Confirmation is Tuesday, March 18!

The Sacrament of Confirmation will take place next week. We ask that families of these students please note these important dates:

• Sunday, March 16 - After the 10:30 am Mass in Church, there is a rehearsal for Confirmation.
• Tuesday, March 18 - The Sacrament of Confirmation will take place at 7:00 pm in Church. Confirmation candidates are expected to attend a meeting with Bishop Bartosic at 6:30 pm in the Ministry Center. 
• Thursday, May 1 - There is a second Confirmation Retreat planned in the Ministry Center from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

Questions? Contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org. 

Please keep these students in your prayers as they prepare for this sacrament.

Care for Real Collection is March 22-23

Our next collection drive for Care for Real is March 22-23.

Care for Real is urgently seeking donations of hand and toe warmers, gently used coats (all sizes), new socks and underwear, diapers in sizes 4-6, shampoo, hand soap, and adult incontinence briefs.

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

Next "Brewed at St. Gertrude" Gathering Planned for Sunday, March 23

Please join us next Sunday, March 23rd, for a parish hospitality event, "Brewed at St. Gertrude!" Following the 10:30 am church and gym masses, come to the Social Hall for pastries, coffee, tea, and hot cocoa.

All are welcome: new and long-time parishioners, families, and visitors! We would love for the entire parish to be there! 

We are seeking a few volunteers who are willing to help set up, serve, or clean up. Please email Steven Patzke at stevenjcpatzke@gmail.com if you are available.

Teens are Invited to Register for St. Gertrude’s Youth Mission Experience 

Parish teens are invited to take part in St. Gertrude's Youth Mission experience this summer from June 23-27. Teens in seventh grade through high school will volunteer with a different Chicagoland organization each day.

This is an excellent opportunity to have fun and earn volunteer hours! There is a $100 fee for the week. A $50 deposit is required at the time of registration. Please note that there are scholarships available! All participants will receive a t-shirt, water bottle, and a sports drawstring backpack.

To reserve a spot or for more information, contact pastoral associate Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org. 

The Parish Pastoral Council is Looking for New Members!

The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is renewing its search for new members. If you are interested in learning more about the PPC or are interested in joining, please complete this INTEREST FORM. 

Questions or comments for the PPC can be sent to stgertrudeparishcouncil@gmail.com.

Volunteers Needed!



Several months ago, we began the transition process of welcoming a new pastor. However, this transition involves much more than just one person—it represents a shift in the mission and direction of our parish.

As part of this process, we have been reflecting on who we are as the parish of St. Gertrude’s, what our mission is, and the role we play in our neighborhood and the broader world.

This transition also includes some very practical changes. The pastoral staff has been taking on increasing responsibilities, and they have been doing an excellent job. However, they cannot carry this weight alone—they need your help.

We need more volunteers to sustain the programs and ministries we currently offer and to continue moving forward, no matter who the pastor may be.

Here are a few immediate areas where your assistance is needed:

• Baptismal Preparation: We offer a monthly class for families having their babies baptized for the first time.
• Live Streaming: The 10:30 am Mass is live-streamed to bring the liturgy into the homes of those who cannot attend in person.
• Choir: The choir is looking for singers and musicians. Rehearsals are on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. All voices are welcome.
• Heart to Heart Ministry: This outreach program offers aid and support to older adults in need.
• Church Environment:/Decoration: As we approach Lent and Easter, there is need for assistance making the church look beautiful.

Please consider getting involved in one of these ministries. If you have any interest in any of these ministries, please reach out to Fr. Mike Gabriel at mgabriel@stgertrudechicago.org

Growing in Faith: Transfigurations

As we reflect on the Transfiguration today, I share a humble experience of spiritual transfiguration.

For most of my life I have struggled with the prayer, "thy will be done." I have benevolently wrestled with God, asking “What about my hopes and desires and plans for my life?” How do I reconcile this dichotomy?

Not long ago, I had a moment of epiphany/spiritual transfiguration which brought me closer to an acceptance of thy will be done. As a bit of background info, I was born and raised on a family farm, so I’ve been a nature-child since the start. The natural world has always been my most clean and transparent window to the divine: Orion in the winter sky, the smell of fresh hay, watching angry storms approach over the western cornfield, the smell and blaze of campfires.

One winter night, while shivering and admiring the constellation Orion, I unexpectedly said out loud, “Yes.” At that moment, I realized it was to the God of Orion, the life force and intelligence that created this infinitely beautiful and complex universe that I could say a confident YES. I accepted the profound paradox that this incomprehensible God lives within us. God of creation is our truest and deepest self, so therefore when we find God, we find ourselves.

In John 14:20 Jesus affirms “…you are in me, and I am in you.” To you, loving God of Orion, who knows me better than I know myself (Psalm 139), thy will be done.

May we have spiritual transfigurations this Lent so we can then transfigure our world.

~ Beth Nelson

New Parishioners

• Cassandra Grafstrom ad Michael Waters

Rest in Peace

• Bob Radycki, friend of Carleen Lorys

Ministers of the Word

• Saturday, March 15 at 5:00 pm - Art Lyons, Millie Slane
• Sunday, March 16 at 8:00 am - Kathryn Stimac
• Sunday, March 16 at 10:30 am - Sarah Millar, Liam Benham

Upcoming Mass Intentions

• Monday, March 17: 7:30 am - Cheryl Veccie+
• Tuesday, March 18: 7:30 am - John+ & Lillian McCall+; 7:00 pm - Confirmation
• Wednesday, March 19: 7:30 am - People of God
• Thursday, March 20: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Friday, March 21: 7:30 am - Peggy Sue Riodan+
• Saturday, March 22: 7:30 am - Ezaristo Centeno+; 5:00 pm - Fr. James Stoeger+
• Sunday, March 23: 8:00 am - Abigail Phillips+; 10:30 am - Mark Schreiner+; 10:30 am - deceased of the Shields family+

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.