Daily Mass Schedule (during the Summer):
Monday-Friday:
6:30am and 8:00am
Saturday: 8:00am
Weekend Mass Schedule:
Saturday: 5:00pm
Sunday: 8:00am, 10:00am, NOON & 6:00pm
Sacrament of Reconciliation:
Saturday: 8:30am or by appointment with a parish priest
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| Fr. Nacius' Letter to the Parish: 2020 Sabbatical |
June 19, 2019
Dear Parishioners,
I am writing this note as many activities are taking place at the Church of St. Mary. These activities include the Summer Camps at the Primary Grade Center, Religious Education Intensives at the Upper Grade Center, Sewing Camps in the Parish Office as well as the Phase Four and More for St. Mary's construction project. These are just a "few" of the many activities taking place at St. Mary's. We gather as a Church, coming together at St. Mary's for daily and weekend Masses. The rosary is prayed every day; Eucharistic Adoration is offered every Wednesday; children are being baptized; couples are coming to St. Mary's asking for God's blessings on their vows and funeral Masses are being said for loved ones. Teens gather for prayer, fellowship and fun. We are blest at St. Mary's to have a vibrant community of faith-filled people.
Before coming to serve at St. Mary's as pastor I heard many wonderful stories about the parish, the people and the ministries. A large parish is going to be active, busy and engaged using talents in building up the kingdom of God. It's with the help of the pastoral staff and the parish leadership that these many activities are offered and will continue to be offered. I am blest to serve as the pastor of St. Mary's and to also work with such a dedicated staff, parish leadership and giving parishioners.
As a pastor and parish priest in the Archdiocese I strive to generously serve all of God's people. The Archdiocese offers priests the opportunity to take a sabbatical every seven years. A priest's sabbatical is to include prayer, study, and rest, as well as time with family and travel. As you know, I just celebrated my 30th anniversary as a priest. In these 30 years, I have been granted one sabbatical. I reached out to the Archdiocese and to Bishop Rojas asking for a sabbatical while remaining pastor of St. Mary's. I am writing to let you know that a six-month sabbatical was approved for early 2020.
Much to my surprise the news of my sabbatical recently appeared in the Chicago Catholic and on the Archdiocesan website. I had requested the announcement of my 2020 sabbatical to be announced after I had a chance to meet with the staff and parish leadership. Unfortunately, the announcement in the Chicago Catholic was made before I was aware of it being communicated, and before I could inform my family, the staff, parish leadership and parishioners of my sabbatical.
Fr. Mark will be the Administrator while I am on my sabbatical, from January 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020. This will be good for continuity in the parish as Fr. Mark has been serving the parishioners and works well with the parish staff and parish leadership.
I am and will be working with the staff in anticipation of my time of sabbatical. I will continue to work with the staff and leadership so that we can continue to serve the Lord, each in our own way! St. Mary's will continue to thrive and be the faith-filled people that we are! Upon completion of my sabbatical, I will return to the Church of St. Mary to serve as your pastor. Thank you for your support and for your prayers.
I hope you have a glorious and relaxing summer. Please let me know if you have any questions.
God bless you!
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From the Desk of Fr. Mike Nacius, Pastor
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Last Sunday there was a story in the Tribune that I shared with Fr. Mark. Perhaps you saw it as well. The story was about the first Mass celebrated in over two months at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Attention from around the world was focused on Notre Dame when the fire raged through the beautiful cathedral months ago. The story last Sunday, as also seen on the news, was about those attending the Mass all wearing hard hats because of the threat and the danger of parts of the church and debris falling down. It was the first time I have ever heard of the celebrant of the Mass and those attending being adorned in hard hats.
Our
Phase Four and More
construction projects have limited familiar access to our beautiful church where we gather to offer praise and thanksgiving to our God. It is our hope and desire to have the lot on the south side of the church, the Green Bay Road parking lot, open this weekend and through the completion of the
Phase Four and More
project. As you are aware, St. Mary's is open during construction. May we be led and guided by God's grace through each and every obstacle that comes our way.
As you enjoy the beauty of the summer, may we find time to reflect on and give thanks to our generous God for graces and blessings in our lives. Consider that you are a person brimming with gifts. Do you dare offer them to a world always in need of love and wisdom? This summer, in prayer, in gratitude, and in appreciation, allow yourself to identify what you have to give from all you have been given, from all you have received from God.
- You can offer the gift of experience - all you have learned by doing, and some things you've learned the hard way.
- You can offer the gift of listening - whether or not you have anything to say.
- You can offer the gift of creativity - whatever you do well and joyfully.
- You can offer the gift of words - when others need to hear hope and common sense.
- You can offer the gift of your presence - when someone else needs a person close by.
- You can offer the gift of your witness - when a story needs to be remembered and told.
- You can offer the gift of forgiveness - when there's no way a person can make up for what's happened.
- You can offer the gift of hospitality - because everyone needs to sit down to a good meal and a comfy bed.
- You can offer the gift of laughter - because the world needs a lot of that.
- You can offer the gift of prayer - because the world needs that even more.
The above reflection appeared at Ignatian Spirituality.
Would you add any other gifts that you give or have seen members of our community give freely and generously?
I want to let the parishioners know that I will be away from the parish, going back to school for several days this week. I will be in South Bend, IN at the University of Notre Dame. I am joining a number of other priests from the Archdiocese of Chicago attending the University of Notre Dame Preaching Conference. It is offered through the Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics. The theme of the conference is "Mystic and Mystagogue: Preaching as Spiritual Leadership." I ask for your prayers for the presenters and the attendees of this conference. I pray that I will garner some insights and resources to share in my preaching and in my ministry at St. Mary's.
Our calendars tell us that we are gathering this third weekend of June. The climate patterns of recent days have given us weather systems atypical of summer. May we find respite and relaxation these summer days.
God bless you with a grateful and prayerful heart these days.
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Phase Four and Message from Father Mike
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Listen to Fr. Mike Nacius share more about the Phase Four and More for St. Mary's Construction Project.
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Click the GiveCentral Logo to securely and conveniently donate to the
Phase Four and More for St. Mary's, Fr. Barry Preservation Fund.
Thank you for your generosity!
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Faith in Action - 2019 Inaugural Parish Day of Service June 8, 2019
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On June 8, 2019, one hundred forty-three St. Mary's parishioners, aged 2 to 88, provided more than 400 hours of service to the parish and local and international programs.
On a beautiful Pentecost weekend the parishioners of St. Mary's gathered in force to go out and provide over 400 hours of community service to the parish and both local and international programs. Everybody had a wonderful time and gained a lot from giving of their time for the sake of others. We had 143 parishioners, ranging in age from 2 to 88 years old! A number of the projects included:
Constructing Vegetable Garden beds for meals at Most Blessed Trinity
Packing 80 cases of food through Feed My Starving Children
Making 20 blankets for sick children through Project Linus
Writing cards for soldiers through Operation Gratitude
Cleaning up garbage and removing invasive species at Townline Community Park
Beautifying the grounds of the Church, PGC & UGC campuses
Organizing and cataloging libraries in our Religious Education Office
Creating name tags for the campers and counselors of Camp Hope
and more!!!!
Thank you to all who made this day such a successful endeavor and we hope for many more years of service to follow. This day inspired many to see how we can continue to give throughout the year, and keep an eye out for future opportunities. And special thanks to the committee members: Fr. Mark Augustine, Debi Bernish, Leeni Ellis, Michael Lucas, and Cathy Williams for helping plan and coordinate the day.
Click the Logo to see Pictures!
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Parish Center Summer Hours
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Donate or Register for Events
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Church of St. Mary Website
Bookmark our parish website for information on all parish ministries, events, contact information and more!
Information on our Mass Schedule, Sacraments, School, Religious Education, Youth Ministry, Guild of St. Mary, Liturgical Ministries, Bible Study, RCIA, Bulletins, Gospel Reading Podcasts, Homily Podcasts and more can all be found on our webpage.
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Like the Church of St. Mary Facebook page to see regular updates from popular Catholic pages such as the Archdiocese of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, and the USCCB. See news from the School of St. Mary, Guild of St. Mary, Religious Education Program, Youth Ministry and upcoming events at our parish!
Homilies & Gospel Readings!
Listen to past Gospel Readings and homilies anytime, anywhere! Click on the podcast image or goto our website. Click on Multimedia/Podcasts.
Enjoy!
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