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Hello St. Alphonsus,
Why the Pastor is Hot Under the Collar
When peak summer heat hits, people often offer the advice of “stay cool.” Unfortunately that’s proven impossible in the rectory this week. During the first hot weather of the season, which came during Memorial Day weekend, the decades-old air condition system on the third floor of the rectory (where the priests live) was failing. The AC in the pastor’s suite is completely toast, and during this week’s heat wave, the indoor temperature in his room held a steady temp in the upper 80s, even at night. Plus humidity. Needless to say, he hasn’t slept much and has been trying to hide the toll it’s taken on him physically and mentally. With the parish Director of Parish Operations home with a new baby, Fr. Bauer, in an attempt to expedite acquisition and installation of new AC units and new freon, had to purchase them using his personal credit card. The new parts and new freon not installed yet, hopefully within the next several days, and hopefully Father will get reimbursed before his credit card bill comes due.
Many parishioners have had some kind of experience renting an apartment or belonging to a condo association, and when there are major repair items, the landlord is called. Parish priests, while residing and working in parish rectories, are not the owners of the building. The parishioners are. So this letter is an appeal to the “landlord” of St. Alphonsus Parish – all the parishioners – to help restore the rectory to a more habitable condition for our spiritual fathers.
Here’s how you can help: evaluate your contribution to the church. When we think about all the blessings of life, education, love, relationships, and family that God has given us, how do we express our gratitude to Him? We have no material possession that God “needs,” but a significant way we demonstrate thankfulness to the Lord is through a tithe – an offering of our own resources to the Lord and his church. This ensures that current and future members of our community can be nourished in their faith by the ministers which Christ sends to us to be shepherds of souls. This is what is meant by caring for the temporal goods of the church: providing for our priests, preserving the beauty of our church, and maintaining the facilities needed so the Sacraments can be celebrated.
Tithing is also a spiritual practice, and thus an integral part of a life of faith. The Sacred Scriptures are filled with exhortations to give praise and thanks to God, and He intends that to happen not just spiritually or emotionally, but financially from our resources. In the Old Testament, those offerings came in the form of turtledoves, rams or other sacrificial animals. Such as a lamb. So it is no coincidence that Jesus offers not just another animal, but Himself, to the Father as the final Lamb of Sacrifice, offered once for all humanity and for our personal benefit. and that gift is re-presented to him on the altar at every Mass.
And so at every Sunday mass, a collection is taken up as a sign of our willingness to participate in the spiritual transformation wrought by Jesus and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us and done for us. The biblical norm for contributing to the church was a tithe of 10% of a persons income or resources. Because of current inflation and other political and economic factors, many people believe that amount unreasonable by today’s standards of living. Nevertheless, the issue at stake is that if God enters into a human condition simply out of love for us, are we willing to give a portion of our human resources back to God out of gratitude?
If every parishioner would tithe only one hour’s worth of their wages to the church, we would easily be able to balance our budget and fund routine maintenance. If every parishioner tithed two hours worth of wages, Fr. Bauer would never have to ask for money again. But if every parishioner tithed according to the Biblical standard, we could not only multiply our ministries and outreach, but also install air conditioning in the church!
In light of all this, we invite you to prayerfully consider increasing your Sunday offertory, or setting up electronic giving using the website here. To help support our parish, and keep our priests cool and effective.
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Celebrate Sunday Mass at St. Alphonsus!
This Sunday June 19 is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood or Christ, or Corpus Christi. This solemnity marks the return to Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. There will be a Eucharistic procession around the St. Alphonsus campus block. On this Sunday, the 11 AM Mass will be bilingual and there will not be a 12:30 Spanish Mass. Fellowship and refreshments will follow after the 11 AM Mass, provided by our Knights of Columbus council.
The feeding of about five thousand in this Sunday's reading is the only one of Jesus' miracles to appear in all four Gospels and is connected to the institution of the Eucharist. The bread Jesus gives is his body, which he will continue to give as often as the community breaks bread in remembrance of him in the Eucharist.
St. Alphonsus invites you to join us in worship this Sunday as we celebrate all fathers this weekend with a Father's Day blessing at all Masses. Invite your friends/loved ones! Daily prayer keeps you in good relationship with the LORD, and yourself.
Mass Readings for Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Reflection
June 19 Parish Bulletin
Rectory Office and Mass News
The parish office will be closed on Friday June 24. Due to the priest convocation in Lake Geneva from June 27-30, both St. Alphonsus parish priests, Fr. Bauer and Fr. Gorman will be away during this time. The regular daily Mass for Tues 6/28, Wed 6/29 and Thurs 6/30 will now be Prayer Services with Deacon Michael Mehringer preaching.
St. Alphonsus' Festival Hall will be utilized as a Polling Place for the Tuesday June 28 Primary Election.
Friday July 15 from 6 to 8:30 PM, St. Alphonsus will be hosting Night of Mercy, with Adoration, Reconciliation, and music.
Do you have upcoming exciting events that you would like to share with our St. Alphonsus Church and our parish school communities? You can share them here!
Did you know that you can view all upcoming church events on the calendar on our website? If your ministry has an event that you would like to host at St. Alphonsus, you can complete the Plan An Event form. Any inquiries can also be directed to the parish Office Manager, Mario Serrano.
Serve as a Wedding Coordinator!
Are you looking to get more involved in our parish? St. Alphonsus is currently looking for wedding coordinators to join our team. Being part of the Wedding Ministry is a rewarding opportunity, fun, and all volunteers receive a stipend for their time. For more information, contact sacraments coordinator Kaitlin Holyk
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Faith Formation News
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!
Totus Tuus Summer Camp - July 10th - 15th
Totus Tuus Summer Camp is coming to St. Alphonsus! Totus Tuus is a week-long, summer youth retreat for kids in grades 1st through 12th grade. Participants will grow in their faith through skits, games, songs, the celebration of the sacraments, and engaging, interactive teaching.
Day Program: Grades 1 - 6
Monday July 11 - Friday July 15
9:00 AM - 2:30 PM
$60 per child (yes, really!)
To register:
Night Program: Grades 7 - 12
Sunday July 10 - Thursday July 14
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
$15 per student
Registration below! Payments to be made via Give Central
To register visit: https://www.stalphonsuschicago.org/religious-education
Questions? Contact Erica Cook at ecook@stalphonsuschicago.org
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Young Adult Ministry
June Newsletter, Indiana Dunes (This Saturday!),
Next Friday Praise and Adoration, Cocktails After 5 PM Mass June 26
Theology on Tap is our summer speaker series every Wednesday in July. Our 2022 first speaker and topic on Wednesday July 6 is professor William Cavanaugh, who will be talking about The Amazon Economy and Idolatry. More details are in the parish bulletin. Full speaker schedule and topics will be announced next week!
More Young Adult Events
Young Catholic Professionals hosts a monthly service day, YCP Chicago Gives Back. Next Saturday June 25, YCP will be here at St. Alphonsus from 9:30 AM to Noon. This is a great way to meet new people! All volunteers will be helping out cleaning and organizing in the Festival Hall. You can sign up to volunteer here!
Echo Retreat 2022 Last chance to sign up!
Echo Chicago is a Theology of the Body weekend retreat for young adults. At Echo, we dive into, unpack and process the themes of prayer, our identity, and our mission to LOVE. We are all created to be in a personal relationship with God, and each of us are created as a unique, unrepeatable man or woman with a vocation to love like God.
*This is an overnight (Friday and Saturday) retreat for Young Adults that will begin on Friday evening, June 24 and go through Sunday evening, June 26 and held at St. Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd St, Chicago, IL 60655
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"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!
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Knights of Columbus News
Sunday, June 19, Corpus Christi Procession following one, single combined 11:00AM Mass on June 19. The 12:30 will be combined with the 11 AM; the procession will start right out of church after the 11AM, and wind around the block, return for benediction, and refreshments. LOOKING a few more PARISHIONERS to volunteer to help take turns carrying the canopy, candles and assist our parish priests in the procession. Men, Women, Teens - everyone can help! Sign up at this link - thanks!
If any trouble signing up, please email parishioner Carlos Medina
The KofC was founded by Blessed Fr. Michael McGivney to support our Pastor, our Parish and those in need, as well as to support strong marriages & families. If you are interested in learning more about our St. Alphonsus Parish Council #15158, then please contact parishioner Paul Gillespie (773/612-4408). To join online, please follow online exemplification
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Around the Archdiocese
Eucharistic Revival Kicks Off with Mass and Procession June 18
The National Eucharistic Revival officially begins on Corpus Christi Sunday, June 19. As part of our local kick off, there will be an archdiocesan-wide Mass and Eucharistic procession on Saturday, June 18 at Holy Name Cathedral. Bishop Robert Lombardo will preside over the 5:30 PM. Mass and then lead an outdoor procession around the cathedral, given his membership on the advisory committee for the Revival. The Mass will be livestreamed.
Learn more about the Revival here.
Eucharist Film In Theaters Again- One Day Only Tuesday June 21
Pope Francis: Church must communicate faith with 'theology that is alive'
Bishop Robert Lombardo, Bishop of Vicariate III in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Sally Blount, Catholic Charities President and CEO will discuss “Poverty and the Catholic Response” on June 22 at the Newberry Library. This will be the inaugural event of the St. Martin de Porres Society, a new Catholic Charities forum for dialogue and debate on issues such as economic growth, social justice, the Mission of Charity and the power of faith in serving. For more info and to register
The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States has created a Laudato Si' Action Platform hub with resources to help you reflect, discuss, and respond to the call of LSAP.
Has the thought of guiding and impacting young scholars crossed your mind? Would you like to be a part of the largest private school system in the nation with approximately 200 schools across Cook and Lake Counties, committed to our students’ educational and spiritual success? Teaching in one of our schools is a rewarding experience for anyone who believes in the power of education and the strength of faith. With a wide range of positions and school locations, we offer our teachers the flexibility and resources they need to succeed at our award-winning schools. Does this sound like something you’re up for? If so, this could be your new calling. If you are ready to share your time and talents educating the youth of Chicagoland, share your interest by clicking on the link here. And if it’s not for you, it might the right role for a family member or friend – please share this opportunity with those you know! Here’s the link with all of the teacher roles available across our Catholic schools
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