St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville,

Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org

www.stgertrudechicago.org

Bulletin for Sunday, January 5, 2025

The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

From Fr. Mike Gabriel

Dear Friend,

My hope is that your Christmas and New Year's celebrations have been, and will continue to be, filled with overflowing love, joy, and a deeper sense of the Lord’s presence in your lives. I pray that the bonds of family love, unity, and holiness have increased because Christ is born in you and for you.

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. This great feast reminds us that Christ came into the world for all people to bring light, hope, and peace. A wonderful way to celebrate Epiphany is to reach out to someone who may be experiencing darkness, pain, or isolation and offer them a renewed experience of God’s love. It is also a great opportunity to invite someone we miss to join us, not just at Christmas or Easter.

This was my last Christmas at St. Gertrude parish, and I have to say, there was such a sense of joy and peace in our Christmas celebrations. Thank you all for your presence, generosity, and for all the ways you bring Christ to others.

A very special thank you to all who helped us celebrate so beautifully and joyfully! Thank you to pastoral associate Eloy E and his team, who so wonderfully created an environment of incredible beauty. Our church always looks wonderful, but that beauty truly stood out with all of the added decorations.

Thank you to our music director Jonathan and all of the heavenly voices and musicians. What a great joy it was to celebrate liturgy with such a well-attended congregation! Thanks also to everyone who participated in the Christmas pageant at the 5:00 pm Mass. Thank you to Edgar Osorio Leon, our maintenance person, who worked tirelessly to keep our church clean and is so often behind the scenes and seldom thanked. Thank you to the many others who do a fantastic job behind the scenes: Tracy, our bulletin and website manager; Sr. Susan and Laurie, who work so hard at Heart to Heart to meet the needs of others, especially during the holiday season; as well as our business manager Eduardo and our office manager Sherl, who all do the Lord’s work in so many ways throughout the year. And thank you to all our Eucharistic ministers, Ministers of the Word, altar servers, and everyone else who make Christmas and Advent so special! We are truly blessed beyond measure.

Let us never stop praising the wonders of our God and proclaiming the Good News of His presence to all. Keep on celebrating—the Christmas season lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 12th. I pray that this new year will be marked by growth in holiness and a greater commitment to serve.

May this year be filled with many blessings, even and especially through the things that may happen, which at this point God alone knows. Trust that God is with us in all that we do and encounter, and that God is good.

On another note, as you know, the pastoral staff, parish council, and finance board met with the placement board in mid-December to name the qualities our parish community would like to see in our new pastor.

As we cross into 2025, there will certainly be changes in our lives and our parish that we cannot control. However, there are aspects within us that we can choose to change for the better. Spend some time reflecting on areas of life that you can transform for the good. God will continue to guide the path of life with joys and blessings, as well as challenges that bring growth and deeper dependence on Him. Hold on to all that is good from the past, and give praise and thanks to God. Be open to what lies ahead with deep trust and faith. God leaves all the choices to us, so choose to live more fully the life of Christ, whose birth we celebrate, and continue to spread the Good News to everyone you encounter.

May this new year be filled with the Lord’s peace and abundant blessings. I love you. In God’s love!

~ Fr. Mike

Friday Morning Men’s Prayer and Scripture Discussion Group

The Friday Morning Men's Prayer and Scripture discussion group will have in-person gatherings for all of the Fridays in January and February.

It will be at the St. Gertrude Ministry Center, 6214 N. Glenwood. We meet for social conversation at 7:45 am and begin prayer at 8:00 am. 

We read and share our insights into the Scripture readings for the coming Sunday. We want to better live the Gospel in our daily lives and we share what the readings mean to us, from our personal perspectives rather than a scholarly point of view. We finish with an “Our Father” at about 9:00 am. Some opt to linger longer as their schedule permits.

An option to meet via Zoom is also available. Here is the Zoom information for our weekly gathering:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84331230411?pwd=rnUN9lmPtxjVg6bdiQ5QnsbBlpcptc.1 

Meeting ID: 843 3123 0411; Passcode: pray

There are currently about 6-8 guys participating in a typical Friday morning gathering.  We hope several who are reading this will also find this to be appealing and give the group a try.  If you are interested and plan to come, it would be helpful – but not required – if you let Allen Stryczek know you are coming by sending him an email to astryczek@sbcglobal.net.  

Upcoming Youth Group Outing: Loyola Ramblers Men's Basketball Game Planned for Saturday, January 4

The youth group has a new activity for Saturday, January 4, replacing plans originally made for January 11. The teens will attend a Loyola Rambler's basketball game, as the men's team takes on VCU at Gentile Arena at 1:00 pm. There are a limited number of tickets!

Any teen in 7th grade and up is welcome to attend. Please email Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org to reserve a ticket or with questions.

Care for Real Collection for Asylum Seekers is January 4 & 5

St. Gertrude has its monthly food drive for asylum seekers this weekend. Care for Real is urgently seeking donations of diapers in sizes 2-6, baby wipes, juice boxes, thermal layers (all sizes) gently used coats (all sizes), hand warmers, lotions and hand soap, shampoo and body wash, adult incontinence under bed pads.

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, which this month is January 25-26.

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.  

Friendship Club is Thursday, January 9

The St. Gertrude Women's Friendship Club meets monthly on the second Thursday of every month in the Ministry Center, 6216 North Glenwood Avenue.

The gathering begins at 11:30 am, and attendees should bring their own (brown bag) lunch.

PreCana Class Offered at St. Gertrude Parish on Saturday, January 11

PreCana classes at St. Gertrude are primarily intended for couples getting married at St. Gertrude. Before registering, you must speak with Father Mike Gabriel about your planned wedding at St. Gertrude or receive consent to attend if you are getting married at a different parish.

This full day, in-person gathering on Saturday, January 11 is dedicated to considering your life together as a married couple. Led by a facilitator couple from St. Gertrude, each session begins at 9:00 am and features presentations, prayers, and discussions with your partner and 5-10 other couples. Lunch and snacks are provided.

Couples can register for either session by calling the Rectory office at 773.764.3621or by filling out an online PreCana registration form at https://stgertrudechicago.org/marriage. If a sufficient number of couples do not sign up, the session will be canceled, and they will be provided with information about how to sign up for session elsewhere.

The cost of PreCana is covered by the church fee couples planning a wedding at St. Gertrude are charged. 

Book Club Gathering is Tuesday, January 14

The book club will discuss Tom Lake by Ann Parchett on Tuesday, January 14. Please note, we now meet on the second Tuesday of the month! The gathering is at 7:00 pm in the Ministry Center, located at 6214 North Glenwood Avenue.  

We would love new voices and opinions!

Contact Lea Cloninger at her new number, 773.213.0509, or Sue Benjamin at 773.551.8401 with questions.

No Religious Ed Classes on Sunday, January 19/Rectory Office Closed on January 20

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday, January 20. There will be no Religious Ed classes on Sunday, January 19. 

The Rectory office will be closed on Monday, January 20. 

Reconciliation for First Communion Candidates - Monday, January 27

Please keep the young students of our parish in their prayers as they prepare for their First Reconciliation on Monday, January 29 at 6:30 pm in church.

Contact Eloy Escamilla, our Pastoral Associate for Religious Education and Youth Ministry, at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org if you have questions.

You're Invited to An Evening of Romance

Save the date! St. Gertrude's Marriage Ministry is planning a special evening for couples on Saturday, February 8. The night will celebrate, renew, and strengthen your sacred commitment to your life partner. 

The night will start off at 5:00 pm mass, followed by cocktails, appetizers, dinner, and dancing from 6:00-10:00 pm. Dim lighting, romantic decorations, and great food will set the mood for an evening for you and your partner to reconnect and socialize with other couples in the Social Hall.

The cost is $125 per couple and includes dinner, beer, and wine. A limited number of tickets are available at https://bit.ly/NightofRomancetickets.

For more information, contact mgabriel@stgertrudechicago.org.

Help Wanted!

We are also looking for volunteers to help with bartending, serving, and dishwashing. Sign up at https://bit.ly/NightofRomanceVolunteers.

A Note from our Music Director

As we close out this Christmas season, I want to take a moment to thank each of you for your beautiful contributions to our Christmas Masses. Your dedication, talent, and the heart you bring to your music added so much to the joy and reverence of our celebrations.

As the new music director, I feel blessed to work alongside such gifted individuals. Your efforts helped create a truly meaningful experience for our parish community, and I’m excited about the music we’ll create together in the year ahead.

Thank you again for sharing your gifts so generously this season. Wishing you a joyful New Year!

Warm regards,

~ Jonathan Hannau

Prayer for a New Pastor

God of new beginnings, be with us, the people of St. Gertrude, as we await the appointment of our next Pastor. Enable us, in this time of waiting, to be a people of hope, trusting in the presence and power of the Spirit.

We thank you for the pastoral leadership of all who have been pastors of our faith community, for those who have ministered as members of pastoral staffs over the years, and for the gifts of the Spirit shared in countless ways by those whose lives have graced this sacred space. 

May the community of St. Gertrude continue to be a beacon of welcome, of hope, of reconciliation, of peace and justice for all who seek you.

Bless those priests who may be considering applying to be the next pastor of our faith 

community and of all who will be a part of the discernment and selection process. Bless the works of our hands. We ask these things in Jesus’ Name. AMEN!

Catechist Needed

Our Confirmation catechist recently needed to step down to address health issues. We are now in urgent need of a new Confirmation teacher.

If you can help, please contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org.

Growing in Faith for the Feast of the Holy Family

“Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety"… "Why have you been looking for me? Did you not know I must be about my Father’s work?" But they did not understand what He said to them … and his mother kept these things in her heart. ~ Luke 2:48-51

Mary didn’t have the answers. When we don’t have the answers, it humbles us.

When a child or a grandchild is sick or troubled and we don’t have the answers, it humbles us. Mary didn’t have the answers and yet she continued to serve God as the mother of His Beloved Son until His death on the cross. She still didn’t have the answers.

We as parents and grandparents have to learn to live without the answers and put our faith in our God because He has the answers.

Don’t know the answers. Don’t know what is best. Patience and letting go and letting God is a good first step. Just do what you can do as Mary did.



Our children and grandchildren’s life experiences are so different. Their story is not our story.

Don’t back away because you don’t have the answers. Mary did not back away. 

Never withhold your love. Letting them know that you love them and you will be there for them – as bad as it gets – as Mary did for her beloved Son, Jesus.

~ Therese Laslo 

Growing in Faith for Epiphany

Leaving behind the hoof prints of their camels, the footprints of their sandals, they followed a star in the sky. They did not look back, but those prints left an indecipherable language written by the Magi in their faithful search.

They rode their way through sand and rocky ways, tripping and falling, perhaps, thirsting and hungering for a King they were yet to meet. They followed a star in the darkness, to worship and gift the Royal, Holy Child. 

There is a simple hymn we know: “I want to walk as a child of the light, I want to follow Jesus. …..the star in my heart is Jesus. In him there is no darkness at all …. Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.” Tender words, childlike, much like the beloved Away in the Manger.  

Don't we all, in early enthusiasm, follow the Star of our faith eagerly, feeling sure-footed, and well-prepared? We make tracks to run the race. Then we may stumble, not so sure of ourselves. Wait! Where is the Star? In the clouds, in the rainy, or wintery nights of doubt, we may ask, “Was it all a delusion?”  

At times like these we may feel we’ve lost our way, sometimes falling into depression, addiction, or despair. We need to believe that the Star is there! It is leading us to Jesus, who shares our life, and longs to give us the light of hope and the warmth of his own love. 

~ Nancy Bujnowski

Rest in Peace

• Cheryl Stanton

Upcoming Mass Intentions

• Monday, January 6: 7:30 am - Purgatorial Society
• Tuesday, January 7: 7:30 am - Marie Cristol+
• Wednesday, January 8: 7:30 am - Valerie Patterson+
• Thursday, January 9: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Friday, January 10: 7:30 am - Joseph+ and Carol Shields+
• Saturday, January 11: 7:30 am - Cheryl Stanton; 5:00 pm - Harry Glotkowski+
• Sunday, January 12: 8:00 am - Ita Canning+; 10:30 am - Kathleen Marsh; 10:30 am Gym - Cheryl Stanton+

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.