Celebrate Sunday Mass at St. Alphonsus! Greetings! In this Sunday's Gospel, John testifies that Jesus is the Lamb of God, God’s own Son. John’s witness is an excellent example of what it means to be a disciple. By our Baptism, we are called to make Jesus known to all the world by our words and by the witness of our lives. Daily prayer keeps you in good relationship with the LORD, and yourself. Mass Readings for Second Sunday In Ordinary Time Reflection for Second Sunday In Ordinary Time January 15 Parish Bulletin Our parish is in need of faithful Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion. EMHC’s should be fully initiated and practicing Catholics having received baptism, confirmation, and first Eucharist. If you would like to volunteer for this important ministry at Mass, please contact Harvey Levin. Men's Evening prayers group (Vespers) continue on Wednesdays from 8:15 to 9 PM in the chapel. How to Pray the Rosary This Sunday January 15, our Spanish community celebrates Señor de Esquipulas with a Procession and Mass at 12:30 PM w/ a fiesta in the Festival Hall to follow. More info can be found in the parish bulletin. Safe Families For Children Ministry are in need of: Baby/toddler clothes sizes: 9mo, 18mo, 2T, 4T/4 High chair Baby/toddler coats, hats, & gloves All genders/sizes shoes & boots If you can help provide any of these items (or equivalent gift card), please either leave the items in the narthex/parish office Safe Families donation bins, or reach out to safefamiliesstals@gmail.com to coordinate a drop-off time. Thank you for your generosity! Friends Through Faith Welcoming Sunday Brunch! Do you feel you're missing a sense of community when attending mass? Would you like to meet those in the pews around you? Are you looking to form friendships with people of the same faith that are in your own parish? You're invited to a Sunday Brunch after the 11 AM Mass on January 29 to do just this. Come meet other adult parishioners and share a meal, coffee, bloody mary's and mimosas with this newly formed Adult Group…. For more information or to help with this event, please contact Amy Keefner.

Catholic Schools Week   Sunday Jan. 29 kicks off Catholic Schools Week. The 9 AM Mass will be a designated "Family Mass", where our parish AACA students will be involved in reading, bringing up the gifts, singing in children's choir, and more. For the 2nd year in a row, our friends at Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an Ice Sculpting event outside the church! This will take place Saturday January 28 from 2 to 4 PM, and Sunday January 29 from Noon to 2 PM. All are encouraged to check out this very neat community event!

Faith Formation  Rev. Steven Bauer and our parish staff are always open to the faithful in assisting with your spiritual journey. May God bless us with patience and peace as we seek to live in harmony with one another and all creation! Our Religious Education program is looking for an additional 2nd grade catechist to serve January- May 2023! If you are interested in this wonderful opportunity, please contact Erica Cook. Are you ready to become Catholic? Registration is still actively open for Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). If you or someone who know is interested, contact our pastoral associate Brooks Robinson.   Walking With Purpose- Women’s Group at St. Alphonsus— Tuesday mornings and evenings 9:30-11 AM or 6:30-8 PM.  ** Walking w/ Purpose will be taking a winter break, returning on Feb 7 with a new study, Beholding Your King. Questions? Contact Susan Combes ** “The Body Matters” Webinar Series Mondays - January 23, February 6, February 13 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. The Offices of Catholic Schools and Lifelong Formation invite all catechetical leaders, school principals, teachers and catechists to join for a series of 3 webinars presented by the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team. These webinars will help parish and school leaders, teachers and catechists gain knowledge and practical strategies for teaching students how and why The Body Matters. Learn more and register here Our friends at the Notre Dame McGrath Institute for Church Life encourage all to learn about the relationship between faith and science through this free and downloadable resource There is no freedom without the truth... Monday January 16 is Religious Freedom Day. As Congress continues its work, join in praying for our legislators, that they may have wisdom and courage to promote policies and laws that help our global family and protect our common home.

Stewardship at St. Alphonsus "Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." (Proverbs 3: 9-10) What Does It Mean To Give First Fruits? If you would like to learn more about living a stewardship way of life, please visit our section on giving on our website, or contact a member of our parish stewardship team by calling the rectory at 773-525-0709 or by emailing parish Director of Operations Daniel Szymanski Thank you and God bless you! Text Sunday to 773-570-7600 Click on the link you receive via text Fill in the information and click "Submit Form" to make your gift! ** Next week, all St. Alphonsus parishioners who made a donation in 2022 will be emailed your contribution statement for your tax purposes.**

Make Your Sunday Offertory Contribution Here!

To carry out our mission that God has graciously invited us to participate in, we must be stewards of the temporal goods. By giving up our time, talent, and treasure, we are able to respond to the call of our why in our “whats” and “hows.” This means, we baptize, we see others face-to-face, we draw in, we invite in, we create spaces of deep hospitality that we are able to accompany others as they seek to discover how God has been already present to them. In other words, as Henri J.M. Nouwen reminds us in, A Spirituality of Fundraising, stewardship, fundraising, and generosity are all concrete ways we help the Kingdom of God come about. We invite you to join us in responding to the vocational call of our shared baptism. Please click here and consider the ways in which you may be generous with your time, talent, and treasure for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the mission with St. Alphonsus.

Young Adult Ministry St. Alphonsus has a vibrant young adult community! Be sure to check out our Facebook page for service opportunities and other future events! Town Hall Meeting All are encouraged to join us this Sunday January 15th after the 5 PM Mass in St. Al's Rectory Common Room (2nd Floor of Rectory) for our Town Hall Event. This is an event we are restarting for this year! Please bring any questions or suggestions you have to help us plan future St' Al's YAM events.Our YAM Board will be present at this event to help answer any questions you might have and take down your suggestions for future events in a Town Hall setting.Plus learn how to get involved in our small groups and Spiritual, Social, Service and Intellectual pillars. We will provide free soda, water, beer and wine along with having some snacks! We look forward to seeing you at our event! Whether you're a YAM regular or newcomer, all are welcome! If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to email us! YAM Retreat: Catholicism, Ourselves, and Others: A Faith-Based Perspective on Mental Health Next Saturday, January 21, St. Alphonsus YAM will be hosting Julia Hogan for our January day retreat. Julia is a licensed therapist, author, and speaker who will be discussing mental health, our faith lives, and living a healthy and balanced life. Julia has spoken at the SEEK retreat, Notre Dame, Deloitte, and many other places and we are excited to have her! The half-day retreat will be filled with talks, small group discussions, adoration, music, and more! The retreat begins at 8:30 AM and will end around 1:30 PM. Register Here! Registration is $60. Walk ins are welcome. Save the Date: Tuesday January 24, Sister Jess of the Franciscans of the Eucharist Talk/Discussion. More info in the parish bulletin.

Building a Culture of Life Archdiocesan Overnight Vigil for Life 12 hours of Adoration and Closing Mass Celebrated by Bishop Jeffrey Grob at 6:15 AM In-person or livestream Thursday, January 19 to Friday, January 20 7 PM to 7 AM (CST) St. John Paul II Newman Center Chapel at UIC, 700 S. Morgan St. For more info and for access to the livestream, please scan the QR code in the flyer here. March For Life Chicago is moving to Springfield, IL in 2023. Learn more here. Build a Culture of Life! 11 Pro-Life videos from FOCUS Largest death row system in U.S to be dismantled

Around the Archdiocese Holy Name Cathedral Organ Concert January 20 Come see Dr. Kola Owolabi, Professor of Organ at Notre Dame University, in an organ concert presented by the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the Holy Name Cathedral Music Series on Friday, January 20 at 7:30 PM at Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State St. The concert is free and free parking is available at One Chicago in the Archdiocese of Chicago parking garage. Dr. Owolabi will perform on the Flentrop organ and share a program of Muffat, Weckmann, Corelli, Utterback, Hurd and Vierne. Join for an evening of musical splendor. Newman Forum’s “Science, Science Fiction, and God” Conference – January 21 On Saturday, January 21, the Newman Forum’s “Science, Science Fiction, and God” conference will gather hundreds of teens from all over Chicagoland at the University of St. Mary of the Lake to explore questions such as: Is It a Sin to Lie to Siri? If We Discover Aliens, Should We Baptize Them? Is Merlin a Scientist? Is Luke Skywalker a Saint? Meeting with experts in their fields, we will discuss cutting-edge scientific knowledge, great works of sci-fi literature, and how the faith of the church enhances our pursuit of both. If high-schoolers in your community are interested in science, technology, or sci-fi, invite them to the Newman Forum at the University of St. Mary of the Lake to explore how faith relates to discovery, innovation, and the scientific imagination. Highlights include: ·       A plenary lecture on “The Frankenstein Problem: Should Some Science Not Be Done?” ·       Multiple “Lightning Round” Talks from experts in their fields ·       “Office Hours” with professional researchers and scholars ·       A closing discussion of “The Science of Prayer” and Adoration   The event is co-sponsored by the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein; the Archdiocese of Chicago Vocation Office; the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame; and the Society for Catholic Scientists. Find more information and register here NCYC Fully Alive Thursday, November 16 — Sunday, November 19, 2023 "Save the Date" and join the Chicago Archdiocesan Pilgrimage to NCYC: Fully Alive! The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) is a biannual event held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. High schoolers are invited to join 30,000 of their peers from across the United States for this electrifying pilgrimage, filled with opportunities for worship, music, speakers, a thematic park, and more. We are excited to once again be taking a Pilgrimage from the Chicago Archdiocese to NCYC. Please look out for more information regarding registration coming in 2023. Scholarships will be available through the Archdiocese for parishes participating in the Chicago delegation. Save the date flyer.

Living Peace and Justice January is Poverty Awareness Month. Join the U.S. Bishops, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the Catholic community in the United States in taking up Pope Francis' challenge to live in solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Daily Reflections- English Reflexiones Diarias- Español Research some major legislative policies that help people living in poverty get back on their feet. Choose one and contact your elected officials to tell them why you care! Movie Nights Around the Archdiocese The Parish Immigration Coordinators will hold the 5th Annual Immigration Ministry Film Festival during the month of January. The flyer here contains information about registration, dates, times, and the featured films. You can register at this link. Starting February 1 through the 11th, receive the beautiful, compelling message of "The Letter" by experiencing the recently released film with an audience across the Archdiocese of Chicago. Building on the encyclical Laudato Si', "The Letter: shares the real stories of people from around the world who come together on a transformative journey. As the stories unfold, be inspired by how spiritual values unite us in the face of a planetary emergency. Details and Registration can be found here. Young Leaders United will host an inaugural Be United Bash Thursday February 9 to support United Way’s Neighborhood Network Initiative. USCCB statement for Martin Luther King Day The Pulse January Newsletter

When we plan our weekly giving, and set this money aside first, we demonstrate the great importance that God and the support of the Gospel have in our lives. Click here to learn more about how you can give of your First Fruits.

Our weekly bulletin features many of the ways you can contribute to the vibrancy of St. Alphonsus parish. View our past bulletins and get involved with St. Alphonsus this week.