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St. Emily and St. Thomas Becket Parishes
November 27, 2018
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Dear Families,
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Give Yourself an Advent Break
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As we return, it is time to think of Advent. This year, Advent begins a little later than usual (this coming weekend), so preparing for it is also a little more relaxed.
One wonderful tradition that we would recommend is
lighting the Advent wreath at home each evening. Kids love ritual, and being able to light the candles (or blow them out if they are still little) is part of the fun.
Combine it with grace before meals. Take the time to pray for family and friends in need of prayers. End with the Our Father, Hail Mary or Glory Be. (This helps if you have a child still working to memorize any of these!)
A few minutes of quiet family time in prayer is an enormous gift to give your children.
We are sending home
Advent calendars with each child this Wednesday, so they can begin to keep the season on Sunday.
Our storm this week reminds us that it makes sense to take note of our
Emergency Closing procedure
. It is a good idea to visit the site below and sign up for alerts, in case we need to close on a class night.
St. Emily has begun a Queen of Hearts Raffle. The raffle pot builds until the Queen of Hearts is drawn. Drawings are held weekly. Come to the St. Emily office to buy tickets. It's a fun and exciting way to support the parish.
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 St. Emily Dinner Dance
Save the Date for February 9
We'll Pass the Hat on Thursday, November 28
Religious Education has been asked to help donate a basket for the Silent Auction.
Look for the top hat this week, as we pass the hat. You might not have had cash on you at our last session, but we'll be there one more time and give you the chance to contribute.
We ask that each family contribute between $2 and $5. However, any amount will be welcome!
The proceeds from the dance will help to maintain, heat and light the school building, which your family uses each week. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
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Was your child in our Sunday pre-school?
Come Back And Sing!
St. Emily's Sunday School is celebrating 10 years!
To mark this milestone,
we would like to invite all former Sunday school students to join us in singing "Light One Candle" (our traditional Advent song) after communion during the 9:30 AM mass on December 16.
We will have a brief practice on December 9 after the 9:30 AM mass.
Please contact Barb Zediker at
barbzediker@comcast.net or 847.650.5308 with questions and to let us know if you will be able to sing with us.
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Breakfast with Santa
Join in a fun Christmas event on December 15. There will be two sittings, at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children.
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New Year's Eve Dinner and Dance
St. Thomas Becket - December 31
Join in the fun and ring in the New Year. There will be dancing to the music of The Rangers Band. A full sit down dinner and hot hors d'oeuvres will be served. Included is a free bottle of alcohol and champagne for each table. New Year's Eve accessories, too! Tickets are $80 per person. Please call for tickets: 847-827-9220.
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Youth Ministry
Join in the fun
Middle School and High School
- December 2 - 7:00 pm
All Grades Social Meeting
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St. Emily Women's Club
All are welcome
Join the women of St. Emily for their annual Christmas party on December 5 at 7:00 PM in Hajdu Hall.
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Living the Beatitudes
More in our exploration of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation,
Gaudete et Exsultate.
Pope Francis now moves on to consider each Beatitude in turn.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Hunger and thirst are intense experiences, since they involve basic needs and our instinct for survival. There are those who desire justice and yearn for righteousness with similar intensity. Jesus says that they will be satisfied, for sooner or later justice will come. We can cooperate to make that possible, even if we may not always see the fruit of our efforts.
Jesus offers a justice other than that of the world, so often marred by petty interests and manipulated in various ways. Experience shows how easy it is to become mired in corruption, ensnared in the daily politics of quid pro quo, where everything becomes business. How many people suffer injustice, standing by powerlessly while others divvy up the good things of this life. Some give up fighting for real justice and opt to follow in the train of the winners. This has nothing to do with the hunger and thirst for justice that Jesus praises.
True justice comes about in people's lives when they themselves are just in their decisions; it is expressed in their pursuit of justice for the poor and the weak. While it is true that the word "justice" can be a synonym for faithfulness to God's will in every aspect of our life, if we give the word too general a meaning, we forget that it is shown especially in justice towards those who are most vulnerable: "Seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow" (Is 1:17).
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness: that is holiness. (#77-79)
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Emergency Closing Information
Know how to be informed
We hope that all our Wednesdays are sunny and dry, but it is Chicago and we realize that winter weather is no joke.
If we find it advisable to close, we will send a blast email to all families that day.
We will also post any closings at the
Emergency Closing Center. Please check there to make sure.
You can also sign up there for email alerts that tell if and when the Religious Education program cancels.
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- December 2 - First Sunday of Advent
- December 19 - Eucharistic Adoration in the church.
- December 26 and January 2 - No Class
- January 9 - Class resumes
- February 9 - St. Emily Dinner Dance
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St. Emily Parish
Catherine Crino, DRE
847-299-5865
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St. Thomas Becket Parish
Renata Sosin, CRE
847-296-9051
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