A blessed and prayerful Lent unfolds before us as we remain committed to the spiritual disciplines these forty days.
As part of our Lenten journey, we are very fortunate to be welcoming Fr. Jim Presta to our parish next weekend for our Lenten Mission. Please note that the days and times of the Lenten Mission have been adjusted slightly. The 2019 Church of St. Mary Lenten Mission is on:
Sunday, March 31 at 7:30pm in the Church
Monday, April 1 at 7:00pm in the Church
Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00pm in the Church
The sacrament of reconciliation will be part of the evening on Monday, April 1. All are welcome to come share in God's reconciling love in the healing sacrament of reconciliation. The Mission concludes with Mass on Wednesday, April 3. Friends, parishioners, and families are welcome to come and pray with us as we pray with "Mary at the foot of the Cross." Please adjust your calendar with the revised schedule listed above.
The Holy Land is considered by many to be the "5
th
Gospel." Pilgrims who prayerfully journey through the religious sites of the Holy Land are drawn into the power of God's word in the scriptures in new ways. This coming September, I am co-leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Fr. Simon Braganza, the pastor of Queen of All Saints Basilica. The pilgrimage will take place from Wednesday, September 18 - Friday, September 27. While traveling through the Holy Land we will celebrate Mass each day at the Holy Sites. We will walk in the footsteps of Jesus. We will grow in our faith through the time spent in prayer and on pilgrimage.
The
Package price per person in a shared room is
$2685.00+* airlines departure taxes and fuel surcharges. Single room supplement add: $715 (
*International departure taxes and fuel surcharges are collected on behalf of the airlines
. At this time airline departure taxes and fuel surcharge is $696 per person
. Exact amount to be determined at time of ticketing.
)
You can register online using this link:
Please mark applicable box on the registration form regarding travel insurance. A $350 deposit is due when registering for the pilgrimage. Checks should be made payable to AMI Travel, Inc. and mailed to: AMI Travel, Attention: Lebbie Chung, 5803 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60646. Let me know if you have any questions or if you are interested in participating in this prayerful pilgrimage.
Lenten Reconciliation services are one way for us to draw closer to the Lord in Lent. This Wednesday, March 27, a celebration of God's healing mercy is taking place at St. Patrick's at 7:00pm. Reconciliation will be celebrated as part of St. Mary's Lenten Mission, "Praying with Mary at the Foot of the Cross," on Monday, April 1. May God's mercy be received by all who turn to God with contrite hearts.
The next three weeks are of importance for those in our RCIA program. This Sunday and each of the following three weekends they participate in a scrutiny, as they prepare for the sacraments of initiation. Please remember them, their sponsors, families, and our parish in prayer these Lenten days.
Included in today's bulletin is information on how we can voice our opposition to House Bill 2467 and Senate Bill 1594. Additional information can be found at
www.ilcatholic.org
.
Please be careful of scams in our society asking for your goodness to help a worthy cause.
It has come to our attention that some parishioners are receiving texts asking for them to buy gift cards and send the pin numbers of the gift cards to them. Please note that these messages are a scam -
do not
respond to the message.
God bless you with a prayerful heart!!!
