Celebrate Sunday Mass at
St. Alphonsus!
In this Sunday's Gospel, an angel appears to Joseph, directing him to take Mary as his wife and telling him that the child she will bear will be called Emmanuel.The message of the angel of the Lord given to Joseph in his dream tells us much about the child that Mary bears and his role in God's plan. He is conceived by the Holy Spirit. His name will be Jesus, which in Hebrew means “Yahweh saves.” He will be the fulfillment of the prophecy heard in today's first reading from Isaiah: “. . . The virgin shall be with child . . . and shall name him Emmanuel [God with us].”
Joseph does as the angel of the Lord directs and takes Mary to be his wife and accepts the child in her womb as his own. Joseph and Mary are both cooperative with God's plan. They are both models for us of what it means to be faithful servants of God.
Daily prayer keeps you in good relationship with the LORD, and yourself.
Invite your friends/loved ones to Mass! Sunday Mass schedule in English is at 9 AM, 11 AM, and 5 PM. Mass in Spanish is at 12:30 PM. The 9 AM for the first Sunday of each month, readings are bilingual English/German.
Christmas Mass Schedule:
Christmas Eve Saturday, Dec. 24 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM, and 11:00 PM
Christmas Day, the Nativity of the Lord Sunday, Dec. 25 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM (Spanish) NO 5 PM this evening
New Year's Mass Schedule:
No Vigil New Year's Eve Mass on Saturday, Dec. 31
New Year's Day, Sunday, Jan. 1 Regular Sunday Schedule
December 18 Parish Bulletin (cover art for Dec 18 and the Dec 25 Christmas bulletins are from our talented AACA school children as part of a contest last month)
Volunteer at Mass!
Our parish kindly asks for volunteer ushers for all Christmas Eve/Day Masses. There will be a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex. Contact John Meindl for more information.
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.
Every Advent season, O Come, O Come Emmanuel is sung in parishes throughout the world. Each verse for this hymn is based on one of the O Antiphons, which are rooted in imagery from the Old Testament. Our friends at University of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute of Church Life have provided a free downloadable E-Book to help the faithful in "singing the Os" from Dec. 17 to Dec. 23
A HUGE THANK YOU to all who bought a gift for someone less fortunate in our Giving Tree! Check out a recent article highlighting Catholic Charities' annual Toy drive.
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!
The parish's maintenance department is currently experiencing a transition of personnel, so we apologize if some issues take a little extra time to be addressed. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work to get back to normal.
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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?
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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As we await Christmas, this is a reminder that we have been given the wonderful opportunity to be a blessing unto others. The onset of Advent brings the spirit of hope and the return of goodwill. St. Alphonsus couldn’t be more happy that there is a prevalence of kindness in our faith community. We thank you for your continuous and immense support in helping our church and our mission! |
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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.
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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 extra 2nd grade catechist starting in January 2023. If you are interested in this wonderful opportunity, please contact Erica Cook.
“All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements, and talents.” (LS14)
As we continue to care for the most vulnerable and our common home, we encourage you to download and use the Laudato Si Advent Calendar this season.
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 **
University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary is proud to kick off the USML Paluch Lecture series on February 15, 2023 with Dr. Deborah Kanter, author of "Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican". This book is filled with stories about the unique evolution and relationship between Chicago and the Mexican Catholic community. This is a free event to attend but registration is required.
Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House is located on 80 acres of gently rolling meadows and wooded countryside just 40 miles northwest of Chicago.
Bellarmine offers a variety of retreats for men and women. Click here for the Retreat Schedule.
Find Your Fraternity - Exodus 90 Chicago
Fraternity is an essential pillar of Exodus 90. The first day of this transformational program is January 9, 2023, and it ends April 8th. You can't go it alone, though, and you wouldn't want to. Start here to find other motivated men to outfit your band of brothers -- brothers that promise to help make you a better man and grow closer to God.
Join us for a Chicagoland-wide "Find Your Fraternity" event at St. Mary of the Angels, Museum Room (1850 N. Hermitage Ave., Chicago, IL 60622) on Tuesday, December 27th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Please RSVP, but regardless whether you can attend on Dec. 27th or not -- please also fill out the questionnaire here to facilitate formation of your Exodus 90 fraternity!
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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!
YAM Retreat: Catholicism, Ourselves, and Others: A Faith-Based Perspective on Mental Health
On 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!
The early bird price will be $50 until Jan 4th and $60 after. Walk ins are welcome.
Mission of Our Lady of the Angels needs volunteers for their Confirmation Retreat on Saturday, February 11. If you can help out, please sign up here! More info can be found on our Young Adult Ministry Facebook page.
CSL will be bringing back the annual indoor volleyball league. Please note the league will not be at our school/parish gym in 2023. Join this popular league with weekly games beginning in February. Sign up as an individual, or with a friend or two. Register before early bird pricing ends on January 11th!
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Knights of Columbus
JAN 8, 2023, St. Alphonsus Parish BLOOD DRIVE - Reserve your donation time, https://bit.ly/JAN8StAlphonsus Spread the word. We're trying to exceed 35-donations!
**Update: Donors who donate at a Vitalant blood drive, Dec. 26 – Jan. 20, will be entered to win a Big Trip to the "Big Game" through an exclusive Roadtrips package! **
FEB 24-25, 2023 - St. Alphonsus KofC OVERNIGHT MEN'S RETREAT led by Fr. Patrick Gorman at Joseph & Mary Retreat House, University St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, IL; retreat will begin about 8PM FRI evening and finish mid-afternoon on SAT, permitting return back home by SAT evening; will include Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, talk(s), rest, leisure time to walk around the lake. Fee of $128 includes dinner (available for late arrivals), one night's stay in individual room, breakfast & lunch. Please sign up https://tinyurl.com/FEB-24-MENS-RETREAT
Lenten FISH FRY - MARCH 31, 2023
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Alphonsus Academy
If you are planning to send Christmas cards this year or create personalized Christmas gifts, a great way to save money and help raise money for AACA is by ordering through www.minted.com with the promo code FUNDRAISEALPHONSUS. You will receive 20% off your purchase and Minted will donate 15% of all sales back to AACA. The promo code and savings/giveback are all year round.
Give To Catholic Education! Invest In Kids Act Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Learn more here.
Congrats to all of our AACA students on wonderful Christmas concert(s) Thursday. Thank you to all our caring AACA school parents/teachers who helped with photos, videography, and production. A special thanks to our Director of Arts Integration, Rebecca Manuel for all her behind the scenes work to make this event a success!
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At the Athenaeum
Ballet Chicago's "The Nutcracker" is celebrating 20 years at the Athenaeum! Final Shows this weekend; 2 PM and 7 PM Saturday Dec 17, 2 PM on Sunday Dec 18.
Through its inspiring story, beautiful music and charming choreography, "The Nutcracker" is a celebration of the joyous holiday season. "The Nutcracker" takes us on an unforgettable journey with young Marie as she travels from her home on Christmas Eve to the Kingdom of Snow and the Land of the Sweets, featuring George Balanchine's Sugar Plum Fairy Pas De Deux. For adults, it is a time to relive cherished memories of childhood. For children who wait with breathless anticipation for the holidays to arrive, it is the opportunity to create new memories. For everyone, it is a time for sharing and giving among family and friends. For tickets and more events happening at ACTC
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Around the Archdiocese
Join Cardinal Blase J. Cupich on Facebook for a special video celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 4 PM. CST. Cardinal Cupich will share a Christmas prayer and the blessings of the season.
On December 21, the first official day of winter and the longest night of the year, all are encouraged to pray for the homeless. Old St. Patricks, 700 W. Adams will be hosting a prayer service this evening at 7 PM dedicated to those who have died this past year while experiencing homelessness. There is also a Zoom webinar to learn more about National Homeless Memorial.
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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.
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Our weekly bulletin features many of the ways you can contribute to the vibrancy of St. Alphonsus parish.
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