St. Alphonsus Church

Ash Wednesday is February 14

Mass/Service Schedule:

7:00 AM Service

8:30 AM Mass, with our AACA School

12:00 PM Service

3:30 PM Service

6:00 PM Mass (en Español)

7:00 PM Mass

There are traditional practices for Lent which help us to engage in the penitential nature of the season. All adults from the age of 18 until their 59th birthday are asked to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. This means eating only one full meal that day. One can eat at two other times, but the total food should not equal a full meal. This does not apply to those who are ill, pregnant or nursing. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon Catholics from age 14 onwards.

The faithful are welcome to please take a free Lenten "Little Black Book" or Word on Fire reflection book available on the table(s) in the narthex to help you keep the season. You can also sign up for a free EBook with Lenten reflections.

Pope Francis message for Lent 2024 "Through the Desert God Leads Us to Freedom"

The Archdiocese of Chicago has produced video reflections that will be available throughout the season of Lent. In addition, to deepen your Lenten journey, the Department of Parish Vitality and Mission has compiled a list of resources. We encourage you to bookmark the webpages below:

Lenten resources

Recursos Cuaresmales

Catholic Family Faith complies a list of Lenten resources that can be used by all members of the family. Visit their site for resources to learn more about the season of Lent and for ideas on how we can all live out our call to engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the Lenten season.

The Stations of the Cross will be prayed every Friday during Lent at 6 PM in Spanish, and 7 PM in English. The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed at 6:30 PM.

Ash Wednesday bulletin

Lenten Retreat- The Eucharistic Revival

Saturday, Feb. 24 | 9 AM

The Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian Life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324) and the Catholic Church teaches that the bread and wine we bring to the altar are transformed into Christ’s body and blood. And yet, in an age when we seem to need Christ more and more every day, barely 31% of American Catholics believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Last year, the bishops of the United States initiated a Eucharistic Revival movement to encourage the faithful to rekindle a relationship with Christ.

On February 24th, everyone 18-39 years old are invited to join us at St. Alphonsus for a half day retreat focusing on the Eucharist and our relationship with Christ. This event will kick off at 9AM and end at 1PM. We will be joined by Fr. Derek Ho, who will offer talks on the Eucharist and lead us in small group discussions. Additionally, confession and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament will be available.

The cost to attend this event will be $15/person. Coffee and Bagels will be available in the morning with light food available throughout the retreat. We ask that you sign up in advance so we can get an accurate count of attendees.

Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl

This Lent, our community will participate in CRS Rice Bowl, a program that invites us to reflect on the challenges of global hunger—and our Gospel call to care for our global human family.

CRS Rice Bowl gives us a wonderful opportunity to encounter different people from around the world, know more about their lives and recognize them as our sisters and brothers. We will see how, through our prayer, we encounter Jesus, who is present in the face of every member of our human family. When we fast, we encounter the obstacles that prevent us from fully loving God and our neighbor. And when we give alms, we share in solidarity with those who need our support.

By joining our prayers, fasts and alms this Lent with those of other parishes and Catholic schools in the United States, we will help millions of women, men and children around the world whose economic challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Together as a Church, through CRS Rice Bowl, we can contribute to the efforts of those who seek to build a better world for themselves and their communities.

CRS Rice Bowl provides many resources for daily reflection throughout the liturgical season. Consider these suggestions in your family’s Lenten plan:

• Use your CRS Rice Bowl and Lenten Calendar each day to guide your prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

• Read the Stories of Hope and daily reflections to inspire your Lenten journey.

• Use the CRS Rice Bowl recipes to prepare simple, meatless meals on the Fridays of Lent to eat in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world.

• Visit crsricebowl.org to watch videos of the people and communities you support through your Lenten gifts to CRS Rice Bowl.

Your sacrifices during this holy season have the power to change lives by providing enough nutritious food for families to thrive. And by practicing the pillars of Lent through CRS Rice Bowl, I hope both your faith and connection to our one human family deepens.

CRS Rice Bowls will be collected at the end of Lent. Thank you for participating in CRS Rice Bowl with your family.