I invite you t o join me in giving thanks for the ministry of Deacon Jack Herrmann and Deacon Bob Thomas at the  Church of St. Mary. May God bless them in their ministry and in their service to the people of our parish. I encourage you to read the letter from them in today's bulletin.

 

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are central to our observance of the holy season of Lent. It is up to us to decide, commit to and follow through on the prayers, fasting and almsgiving that will deepen our relationship with the Lord.

 

There are opportunities to come together to pray in community, supporting others that worship at St. Mary's as well as being supported by the public worship, Masses, and prayer services. These may include praying the rosary, praying the Stations of the Cross, praying Lectio Divina, spending quiet time in prayer, and reflection in church. These can be done privately or with other parishioners during this Lenten season.

A Lenten Mission is offered to give people an alternative in their lives, to come together, to be challenged, s trength ened and nourished in faith. Our Lenten Mission is the first week of March. It begins with the weekend Masses on Saturday, March 3 rd and Sunday, March 4 th . It continues with evening presentations on Monday, March 5 th - Wednesday, March 7 th at 7:00pm.

 

Family and personal obligations may prevent us from gathering for the Lenten Mission. If we are creative with our scheduling we may be able to adjust obligations to attend one or more of the evening presentations of the 2018 Lenten Parish Mission at St. Mary's. Know that you are invited to bring friends, co-workers, neighbors and family members to the Parish Mission. You are encouraged to attend as many of the evenings as you can.

 

This year we are welcoming Fr. Ken Simpson to lead us in prayer. He has been working with the Parish Staff in preparing for his time with us.

 

Father Ken Simpson  was ordained  a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978. He was assigned as associate pastor to St. Michael Parish in Orland Park until being asked to join the faculty at Niles College Seminary of Loyola University. At Niles he taught Theology and served as Dean of Formation and Vice Rector. Expecting to return to a parish he was surprised to be asked to move into campus ministry as Chaplain/Director of the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University and served there from 1992 until 2007. In that year Fr. Ken was named pastor of Saint Clement Parish in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago where in addition he served as a Dean in Vicariate 2.

 

On January 1, 2017 Cardinal Blase Cupich appointed Fr. Simpson as Vicar for Professional and Pastoral Development of Priests. Fr. Ken holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Mundelein Seminary and a Masters in Applied Spirituality from the University of San Francisco. We will welcome Fr. Ken to our parish next weekend.

 

This coming Thursday, another prayerful and spirit led Bible Study comes to a close. Thanks and appreciation go to Cheri Klock, Deacon Jack Herrmann, Jeanne Hlavacek, and Diane Archibald for working with the participants of the Bible Study. Plans are being made for next year. You can register today by filling out the registration form in today's bulletin.

 

Next weekend the second collection is for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks for your generous support.

 

God bless you with you a renewed heart this Lenten season.