The Church of St. Mary :: 201 E. Illinois Lake Forest, IL 60045
Virtual Office: 847-234-0205 :: Email: receptionist@churchofstmary.org
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From the Desk of Fr. Mark Augustine, Administrator
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March 21, 2020
Dear family of St. Mary's
Yesterday Governor Pritzker put the "Shelter in place" policy in effect for the entire state beginning at 5:00pm tonight through April 7th. In order to help facilitate this, we have been asked by the diocese to close the church building and parish center offices until the ban is lifted, which we are following. I am still available by phone and email for talking, prayer, and emergency responses throughout the ban. Please, during this time, stay home and be safe! I know many people desire the Church to remain open for personal (and, let's be honest, public) prayer. The rest of the world is making sacrifices and changes, and we cannot ignore the reality of what humanity is going through currently. The Church is not folding, it is not going underground. It is present through our prayers, the celebration of private Masses, the rosary, the church bells, and the family at home continuing to pray! The Church will remain and will continue to be guided and sustained by the Holy Spirit.
It is a sacrifice and struggle for all of us. It is surreal and odd. It is unprecedented. It is trying to find a firm footing on quicksand. Yet, we are a people of faith. Our faith, our history, and our Church is prepared for this. No, not prepared for the changing circumstances day by day. Not prepared for the cancellation of Holy Week public liturgies. In those regards we are unprepared and re-actively responding. What I mean when I say we are prepared is that we have a Savior who has already won the battle. Christ's blood poured out for us has given new life. It has transformed the meaning of suffering and death. We are prepared because we know in the end, the victory is already achieved. God has brought his people through worldwide catastrophes before, he will do so again. I have no doubt in this regard.
God has never abandoned his people, even if it may have felt that way at times. As all of this has been developing and shifting, I have found myself incredibly grateful to be a person of faith. It is our faith which is sustaining me. It is our faith which is guiding me. It is our faith that remains my rock, my fortress, my sure support while absolutely every other aspect of my life is falling from beneath my feet.
As we navigate unchartered waters, there are a few practical points I can share:
 1) Pray.
Do not ever abandon a life of prayer, especially in trying times. Take time to read the Bible, learn about new saints, pray the rosary, the divine mercy chaplet, stations of the Cross, attend a virtual Mass and make a spiritual communion. Pray individually and as a family. Take time to recognize the presence of God. The Carthusians, a devout religious order, has for their motto: Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. Translatedas: the Cross is steady while the world is turning. Let the Cross be your focal point right now. Let it be that source of grace, mercy, healing, and compassion.
 2) Reach out to your neighbors. Call your neighbors and check in on them. Do not neglect the neighbors among us, the elderly, the sick, the widowed, the lonely. As Lady Liberty states: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" See if they need help, even by going to the grocery store or pharmacy for them and delivering food. Talk with them and let them hear another person's voice. Be compassionate for all those struggling, and reach out if you need help yourself.
3) Spend time with your family.
Reconnect and focus on those relationships that are present in your life. As many other distractions have been removed, well beyond our control, focus on what is in front of you. Spend time in games, conversations, prayers, and relaxation. Share more meals together. Help one another out, whether they are working or studying from home, taking on a home improvement project, or even struggling with how the world is right now.
4) Entrust all of this to Christ.
If we don't choose to unite this with Christ, or as some of our more seasoned parishioners may have been told when younger, "offer it up," then we will not succeed; C hrist is with us, here and now. He understands our pain, agony, uncertainty, and distress. He alone is the one who can guide us as the beacon of hope. He is the one leading us through this desert as we all experience Lent in a more drastic and powerful way. Give yourself to him, for he did not refrain from giving everything to us as he died on the Cross.
May the world experience relief and a cure to this pandemic. May we continue to care for one another. May we lift each other up in prayer. And may God send down his blessing upon us all.
Your humble shepherd,
Fr. Mark
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Palm Sunday, Holy Week & Easter Liturgies Will Not Be Held Publicly
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March 19th 2020
Solemnity of St. Joseph
Dear Church of St. Mary Family,
The COVID-19 virus and our current social distancing guidelines have created many challenges and disruptions to our usual way of community prayer and worship, as well as our entire way of life. As the final weeks of Lent near and we approach Holy Week, the most sacred season of our Liturgical year, we are called again to act in the most responsible way for all humanity.
Today, March 19, 2020, all parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago received guidelines from our Vicar General, Bishop Ron Hicks, regarding Holy Week and Easter.
Click to read the complete letter, but I will summarize it here.
- Palm Sunday and all of Holy Week Triduum liturgies will not be publicly celebrated, even outside, in any parish across the Archdiocese of Chicago.
- To review, this specifically includes: publicly the blessing of palms, Palm Sunday procession and Mass, Morning prayer, Holy Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper, Good Friday's Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, Stations of the Cross, Holy Saturday's blessing of Easter baskets, the Easter Vigil Mass and any Easter Sunday Masses and following liturgies until further notice.
- The Lord's Supper, the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion, and the Easter Vigil will be celebrated by Cardinal Cupich and the auxiliary bishops in Holy Name Cathedral without a congregation and will be livestreamed via the Holy Name Cathedral Website. I encourage all of you to celebrate these liturgies in prayer and communion with our shepherds of the local Church in Chicago.
Again, these guidelines and all current liturgical guidance, are in line with that of the CDC and other local authorities. We are seeking what is best for further prevention and ceasing the curve of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus.
This challenges us to bring ourselves to celebrate these familiar, beautiful, and incredibly powerful liturgies in a new communal way. We will be communicating to you many resources to still come together and celebrate these sacred liturgies as we face together these new challenges and realities.
Our way of life has been radically changed, beyond what any of us expected or anticipated. Daily we find new restrictions to our freedom and many of the comforts of life we have become so accustomed to. To now bear the news that we continue to be unable to regularly celebrate in prayer and worship of God, as the Church has done perpetually since the Last Supper where Christ shared the Eucharist with his disciples for the first time, is heart-breaking. Perhaps at this time we feel abandoned by God. We can recall the words of Christ on the Cross, citing Psalm 22:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It may feel that we have been abandoned by God. But that is not the case.
We are a people of hope and prayer. This year, perhaps more than any other year for most of us, we are experiencing the desolation of the Cross. In order to celebrate the joy of Easter Sunday and the new life and resurrection promised to us, we must first go through our Passion and Death. There is no resurrection on Easter Sunday without the agony in the garden, the arrest, betrayal, denial, trial, persecution, and Way of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
I am with you all in this disappointment and loss. I feel it very deeply in my own heart and I am sure I will continue to do so as the weight of this news does sink in. Yet, we are a people of hope. Hope does not disappoint. Through these new obstacles to gathering as a people of faith, as the Church, may we entrust ourselves to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary. May we implore that as we share in Christ's Passion, we may hold fast to the promise of what is to come.
With all my love,
Fr. Mark Augustine
Administrator
Church of St. Mary
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From the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich
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Office of the Archbishop
March 20, 2020
The Bells of St. Mary's.
Beginning today, March 21st, our Church bells will ring at 9:00am, 12:00pm, 3:00pm, 6:00pm,and 9:00pm. Church bells have long since been a way to call people to prayer. Typically we ring the bells 5 minutes before each Sunday Mass, indicating that something special and sacred is about to take place.
Cardinal Cupich has requested all Parishes to ring the bells 5 times a day to call our people to a moment of prayer. Each hour will have a special intention, and when you hear the bells (or if you don't live near the church, set your alarm to go off), take a moment and offer these prayers:
9:00 a.m. - Prayer for those infected with the virus and all who are ill
Lord, place your healing hand on those who suffer illness. Bring them to full health and ease their anxious hearts. May our prayer and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary encourage them that they are not alone. We ask this in Jesus' Name. AMEN
12:00 p.m. - Prayer for health care workers and those attending to the sick
Lord, we are ennobled by those who put their lives at risk in caring for the sick. Keep them safe and embolden them when they are weary. We ask this in Jesus' Name. AMEN
3:00 p.m. - Prayer for first responders and essential workers
Lord, we pray for those who run to danger to keep us safe and those who serve the common good. Embrace them with your mantle of protection and comfort the fears of their families. We ask this in Jesus' Name. AMEN
6:00 p.m. - Prayer for people of every nation and their leaders
Lord, the pandemic opens our eyes to see each other as brothers and sisters in one human family. We pray for people of every nation and their leaders, asking that they be inspired to seek the good of all and quell the voices of division. We ask this in Jesus' Name. AMEN
9:00 p.m. - Prayer for those who have died today
Lord, we grieve the passing of our sisters and brothers who have died this day. We commend them to your tender mercy, confident that nothing, not even death, will separate us from your love. We ask this in Jesus' Name. AMEN
May the ringing bells provide a source of peace and solace for us in this ever-changing world we find ourselves in!
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Community Celebration of Mass via Facebook Live
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- Sundays at 10:00am
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 12:00pm
- Saturday at 8:00am
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TV, Radio & Online Mass Offerings
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Here is a List of Places You may watch Mass on TV, Radio or Online:
- TV: EWTN
- DirecTV Channel 370
- Dish Network Channel 261
- Verizon Fios Channel 285
- XFinity Channel 33, 291, 1668
- Online:
- Relevant Radio:
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Resources for Those in Need
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Here are some resources you or those you may know may turn to if needed.
Shields Township
Shields Township food pantry and has gas cards and food cards for those who need immediate help. They also can help with personal incidentals, medications and connections in the community. The beautiful thing about local government is that they can be flexible and respond quickly to the need. Another place to find help that everyone should know about is
http://211.org/
. They have a listing of everything available and will connect you to the best resource for your issue from a drug addiction to a leaky roof repair to feeding the hungry.
Terry Darraugh
Shields Township Supervisor
906 Muir Avenue
847-234-0802
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Prayers for the Sick and Deceased
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Please remember in your prayers those who are sick, especially:
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Pierre Adam
Renata Adamiec
Peggy Adams
Beny Alvarez
Alexa Anderson
Baby Bower Triplets:
Rose Marie, Adelaide Marie,
and Josephine Marie
Baby Mercer
Baby Peter John O'Rourke
Elvera Baeza
Dolores Beck
Jack Brown
Mason Jeffrey Browner
Baby Virginia Bunimovich
Jerry Burns
Francesco Camoletto
Nancy Carani
Nova Carlson
Sember Carlson
Luis and Maria Cardenas
Michael Carpenter
Jeffrey Chicoine
Carolyn Cimarrusti
Jacqueline Cimarrusti
Marianna Cimarrusti
Charles Cook
Virginia Cordoba
Mary Elizabeth Cran
Greg DeBoer
Louis Degaetano
Mimi Degaetano
Mike Dellefield
Lewis Dilts
Joan Dolan
Annamarie Elfering
Hannah Erickson
Susan Ewert
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Abby Furco
Esperanza Galikay
Dorothy Gimbut
Jenny Green
Jeanne Gross
Jesus Guzman
Edward Halle
Elizabeth Hand
Margaret Hartman
Jack Hempstead
John Herbert
Hannah Hodgson
Patricia P. Huber
Juan Hurandas
Rafael Ibarra
Shirley Jacksack
Dolores Jansyn
Dick Jaworski
Christian Jenko
Dr. Mickey Jester
Mark Kalbus
Raine Kamm
Oceana Kashul
Mason Kelly
Genevieve Kluza
Patsy Leonard
Caroline Lyczko
Fely Macalalad
Angela Martinez
Carolina Martinez
Ralph Mastro
Will Matthei-Schmidt
Derrick Mathews
Donna Mathews
Kathryn McConnell
Janet McCue
Margaret Mary McIntyre
Mary Anne Minich
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Dolores Morrison
Rick Nacius
Barbara Neis
Dana Nelson
David O'Brien
Peter O'Brien
Joaquin Padilla
John Paleczny
Mary Margaret Pawl
Mary Butterfield Peddle
James Dean Penar
Lisa Pommer
Lil Porter
Marianne Powers
Carol Pozdel
Marcia Ries
Mathew Rowley
Susan Schey
Leroy Schwaba
Bill Shafer
Colleen Sheerer
Tai (Pascal) Shin
Joan Sparrow
Ellen Sreenan
Debbie Sternberg
John Sternberg
Maureen Strassburger
Elzbieta Szymanska
Leonard Teifeld
Linda Trueblood-Lambert
Joseph Urso
Amanda Van Vleet
Brittany Van Vleet
Jim Wenzel
Martha Williams
Barbara Wilson
Robert Yale
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Please remember in your prayers those who have gone to their eternal rest with Our Lord, especially:
Barbara Thompson
(mother of Joseph "Skip" [Kathy] Thompson)
Margot Walters
(sister of Irene Potts)
Rita Young
(mother of Karen Blocker, Kathleen Witt, Mary McDonough,
and Joe, Helen, Robert, and Bud Young)
Thomas Francis Murphy
(brother of Bob [Kathleen] Murphy; uncle of Colleen, Jack, Kevin, and Mary Beth)
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Mass Intentions will be prayed for during a private daily Mass.
Friday, March 20
Sheila Berberick; Josephine Park
For the Souls in Purgatory; Michael Mannion
Saturday, March 21
Camila Eklund; Narciso Modesto
Eliseo Elisei; Mr. & Mrs. Rudy Iberle
Sunday, March 22
Marcela Alvarez Nacius; Robert Potts
Special Intention for Sarah Vlies; Don O'Meara
Monday, March 23
Kurt Gronau; Robert Wingard
Tess Belli; Jeanne LaPlace
Tuesday, March 24
John Michael McIlvain; Gloria Bednarz
Griffin Mattson; Cimarrusti-Valentino Family
Wednesday, March 25
Dr. James Mack; Dr. Edward Kiwala
Thursday, March 26
Mary Lou Ganshirt; Tom Wilcox
Robert Edmund Kramer; Joe Stanton
Friday, March 27
Special Intention for Michael Hrusovsky; Pilar Jiminez
Frances Sitka; Peter Gillespie
Saturday, March 28
Walter Elfering; Special Intention for the Asma Family
Special Intention for Bruno & Dennis Coppi; Dorina Mentuccia
Sunday, March 29
Lindsay Doherty; Dominic Duy B. Nguyen
Maria & Sam Scopelliti; Jim Adams
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Please Continue to Give to the Church of St. Mary
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PLEASE CONTINUE TO GIVE to the Church of St. Mary
Although public Masses are suspended, Parish Staff are still working to support our Parish as well as our School. The Parish will continue to incur utility, insurance and maintenance expenses. Payroll and benefits are still being paid, yet the collection basket is not being passed on Sunday. Please prayerfully consider continuing to support your parish by mailing your contribution to the Parish Office or scheduling your online donation.
Ways To Give
Mail Your Contribution:
Church of St. Mary
c/o Business Office
201 E. Illinois
Lake Forest, IL 60045
OR
Online Giving:
Schedule your donations via our online Giving safe and secure portal, GiveCentral. You don't have to leave your home. Goto:
Church of St. Mary GiveCentral or click the image below.
Thank you!
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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.
Like the Church of St. Mary Facebook Page
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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Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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