The Mass is the great encounter with Jesus Christ.
Bishop Barron
Weekend Holy Mass
Saturday Vigil 4pm
Sunday 8am, 10am, 12pm, 5:30pm
Daily Holy Mass
Monday 8am and 6:30pm Spanish
Tuesday 8am and 6:30pm
Wednesday 12pm
Thursday 6:30am and 8am
Friday 12pm
Saturday 8:30am
GUIDELINES FOR RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION
The Church gives us some guidelines for the reception of Holy Communion to help us approach the sacrament reverently.
The Eucharist is a communion with Christ and with His Body, the Church. It is a statement of faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and of unity with the entire Catholic Church. Outside of the unbroken succession of authority from the Apostles to today’s bishops (apostolic succession), there is no priesthood; and without the priesthood, there is no valid Eucharist. Therefore, the bread and wine received in Protestant ecclesial communities is not the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Because of these differences, only a baptized member of the Catholic Church who believes in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist may receive Holy Communion; and a Catholic must not receive communion in a Protestant service.
The Eucharist as a sign of the real unity of the Church—including all Christians who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church—reminds us to pray earnestly that God would heal the divisions among believers.
We should not receive the Eucharist if we are conscious of having committed a mortal sin. All mortal sins must be confessed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation before receiving the Eucharist.
We must fast for at least one hour from food and drink (with the exceptions of water and medicine) before receiving the Eucharist.
The faithful may receive Holy Communion a maximum of two times in one day, but only if the second reception takes place during a Mass. (The exception to this is in the case of the Eucharist given as Viaticum to a person in danger of death, which may be received at any time.)
Reconciliation
Tuesdays 7pm until all are heard
Wednesdays 12:30pm until all are heard
Thursdays 7am until all are heard
Fridays 12:30pm until all are heard
Saturdays 9am to 10am
and 1:30pm to 2:30pm
During MAGNIFY (the last Wedsnesday of the month) 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Or please do make an appointment by calling 630-851-3444 or fill out the appointment request form on the following Reconciliation Resources page; let’s get our hearts prepared for Mass.
Eucharistic Adoration
Monday through Friday 8:30am to 10pm
Wednesdays at Magnify (typically the last Weds of the month) 7pm to 8:30pm
Check out our Eucharist Adoration Resources at this link; sign up to become a committed adorer, block the time on your calendar to spend time with Jesus, He is looking forward to spending time with you!
Private Prayer in Church & the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel
Open daily 8:30am to 9pm
(will close if there is a Funeral, Wedding or Baptism)
Christian faith is not only a matter of believing that certain things are true, but above all a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Latest Diocesan Guidelines for Parishes
Dispensation
- The dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass will be lifted on Palm Sunday, please refer to Bishop Hicks’s Letter regarding this.
- As always, if you are not feeling well or have a medical condition that puts you at a higher risk of being infected with COVID, you should not attend Mass. Those having such conditions are encouraged to contact our parish nurse to arrange for communion to be brought to their home.
- Once the obligation to attend Mass is re-instated, parking lot communion will be discontinued. Watching Mass on livestream or television does not fulfill the obligation to attend Mass.
Wearing of masks
- The Diocese of Joliet has revised its protocols and lifted restrictions effective 2/28. Here’s how they will be implemented at OLM
1. Mask wearing is optional for everyone, including liturgical ministers, except that anyone distributing Communion will be required to wear a mask when distributing Communion. Please be respectful of everyone’s personal choice whether or not to wear a mask.
2. Eucharistic ministers will continue to sanitize their hands before distributing Communion.
3. Communion on the tongue will continue with the current procedure. Please remember that those who wish to receive on the tongue must go to a priest, deacon, or seminarian (who will sanitize between each communicant), and those who do not wish to receive Communion behind someone who receives on the tongue can always go to a lay-minister.
4. For those with grave reasons for not attending Mass in-person, Communion in the parking lot will continue until Bishop Hicks revokes his COVID-dispensation from attending Mass, at which point the distribution of Communion in the parking lot will be discontinued. If you would like to be visited by a minister of care with Communion after this point, please contact our parish nurse Jolene LeRoy at 331-707-5380 or jolenel@olmercy.old.diocesanweb.org.
5. Please remember that “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice.” (CCC 2181) Thus, our livestream Masses, while a beautiful source of support for the homebound and evangelization through the internet, is only intended as a supplement but never a substitute for the real thing. We will continue livestreaming daily Masses, but always encourage you to come and encounter Jesus personally (rather than watching digitally) whenever possible.
Hand sanitizer
- Hand sanitizer will be available, but not required for entering/exiting the church and/or at the reception of Holy Communion. Feel free to sanitize your hands before receiving communion with your own personal sanitizer.
Singing
- Praise God! We are now allowed to sing!
Sign of Peace
- Congregation may make whatever Sign of Peace they are comfortable with.
Livestream Mass and parking lot communion
- The 10AM Mass on Sunday will continued to be livestreamed. Those not comfortable coming inside the church may continue to watch the Mass on a mobile device in their car and communion will be brought to you.
- Once the obligation to attend Mass is re-instated, parking lot communion will be discontinued. Watching Mass on livestream or television does not fulfill the obligation to attend Mass.
Vaccination Status
- You will not be asked your vaccination status.