Author: Diane Reiter

June 21 – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

BLESSING PRAYER FOR FATHER’S DAY

(suggested to be given by eldest child or mother of the family)

 

Blessed are You, Lord and Father of All Life,

  who has given to us the gift of the father of our family.

   today, we honor him, and we thank You for the numerous good things

   that are ours because of him.

His love for us has been a sign of Your divine affection

   and a sharing in Your holy love.

His continuous concern for our needs and welfare

   is a mirror of Your holy providence.

And so, as we honor him,

   we praise You, Father of All Peoples.

Bless him this day with Your strength and holy power

   that he may continue to be a sign of You, our God,

   and a priestly parent to our family.

May we who have the honor of bearing his family name

   do so with great pride.

May we, the members of his family,

assist him in his holy duties as a parent

   with our respect, our obedience and our deep affection.

Bless him, Lord, with happiness and good health,

   with peace and with good fortune,

   so that he who has shared of his very life

   may live forever with You, his God and heavenly Father.

This blessing and all graces, we pray,

   descend upon the father of our family:

   in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen+

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Father Don

 

 

June 14 – The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

How long can a human live without food?  Given various circumstances, it varies greatly.  At age 74, Mahatma Gandhi, the famous advocate for India’s independence, survived 21 days of total starvation.  A Norther Ireland prisoner endured a 66-day hunger strike before he died.  The illusionist David Blaine had no food for 44 days in a stunt where he was sealed in a plexiglass box which was suspended over the Thames River in London.  A Japanese hiker who was lost went without food for 24 days and survived.  In the desert, Jesus went without food for 40 days.  There is an adage called the rule of threes:  You can’t live without air for three minutes, without water for three days and without food for three weeks.

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us, “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”  Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ – Corpus Christi.  How long can you survive without consuming the Body and Blood of Christ?  During this COVID-19 pandemic and with our churches closed, I know many of you have been starving!  Livestreaming Mass and receiving “spiritual” communion has not quite been the same as receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist.  With some restrictions lifted, we are now able to celebrate the Eucharist with the maximum of 100 people present in the church.  With the parking lot Mass, more people are able to receive the Eucharist, as the number of people are not restricted, but the number of vehicles.

But what about those who do not come to Mass regularly or not at all?  Surely they must be incredibly malnourished!  I began by asking how long we can go without eating before becoming starved to death. Of course, that is for our physical existence.  But there is more to us than our bodies.  We are not just flesh and blood.  We have a soul.  And that needs to be fed as well.  Maybe people just aren’t aware of that.  But maybe some are afraid of the implications of Jesus’ statement in the Gospel today that he is true food.  The people who heard Jesus speaking the words in today’s Gospel knew well that eating and praying together implied communion.  The shocking thing Jesus did by calling himself the living bread had nothing to do with cannibalism.  The scandal was the declaration that in his very humanity he embodied divine life being offered to them.  Jesus claimed that communion with him was the way to communion with God that he already enjoyed.  What tripped them up, and perhaps us too, is that he brought God too close.  A God who is majestic and unreachable is far easier to deal with than one who invites us to communion in the here and now.  It doesn’t cost much to worship a god to whom we can offer placating sacrifices and then go on with our lives as normal.  But God who initiates communion with us is going to claim everything we are as we come to abide in Christ and allow him to abide in us.

 

Have a Blessed Week in Communion with God!

 

June 7 – The Most Holy Trinity

Here it is, the first weekend in June and we are slowing emerging from two and a half months of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Some have used the time as an opportunity to grow spiritually and accomplish some long put off goals or projects.  Others were stressed out with the lack of community and sense of a loss of freedom and new demands that life became burdensome of a challenge.  Which are you?  For me, I think I am a combination of both.  I did spend some of the time doing spiritual reading, but I never seemed to get around to most of the projects I had planned to do.  I did get one project done…..cleaned out the basement of the rectory. At other times, I felt overwhelmed by the ever-changing directives that came from the governor and bishop. I dealt with the stress by what I call the other COVID-19…..the 19 or more pounds I put on by eating every sweet and dessert in sight.  But that is now behind me…three things I resolved on Memorial Day weekend to do:  1. Start bike riding again, which I have done every day.  2.  Pay more attention to my diet.  I have stage III kidney disease since I had a kidney removed four years ago due to cancer.  I have to reduce protein, and avoid foods high in potassium, sodium and phosphorus.  And since glucose level is at 110, I need to STOP eating bread and sweets.  3. Laugh more!  They say laughter is the best medicine, and maybe it just is the best way to deal with all the stresses of this pandemic.  So, every night when I go to bed, I take my iPad, go to YouTube and watch an episode of “I Love Lucy” or the “Carol Burnette Show” or “Hollywood Squares” or animals doing goofy things. Anything to make me laugh!  And then I try to do something each day to make someone else laugh.  That’s been the penances I’ve been giving lately, do something to make yourself laugh and do something to make someone else laugh.  Pray for me St. Philip Neri….he gave goofy penances too!

On this Trinity Sunday, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit offers new pathways for us to reflect on his love for us and draw us into an intimate, dynamic, and life-changing relationship.  God the Father: “receives us as your own.”  The words of Moses remind us that God has created us as his own, loves us, and we belong to him. God the Son:  If we forget God’s love for us, we need only look to the cross to be reminded. God the Holy Spirit:  Our relationship with the Spirit is not an abstract proposition.  The Holy Spirit can impact our lives in concrete and life-changing ways.  The Holy Spirit pours out God’s love into our hearts.  The Holy Spirit transforms fear into freedom, isolation into community, and sends people out with purpose.  May the power of the Blessed Trinity touch your life!

Have a blessed week!

Father Don

 

 

Hooray! It’s Pentecost! The Holy Spirit has been unleashed upon us!! Thanks to the hard work of our re-opening leadership team, Fr. Mark, Jolene LeRoy, Bob Gancarz, Phil Zwick, Len Eickhoff, and Phyllis Anderson, I am pleased to inform you that our parish has received certification from the Diocese of Joliet to begin scheduling confession times, baptisms, weddings, funerals, private prayer times and Eucharistic adoration. We are the first parish in the Diocese to receive certification. ALL of these celebrations have the following requirements:

• 10 people maximum (excluding celebrant and assisting minister(s)

• Face masks must be worn at all times

• 6 foot social distancing must be maintained at all times (except those living in same house)

• Hand sanitizing upon entering and exiting church

Confessions will begin on May 26. The last week in May and first two weeks in June we will be scheduling confession times only. The schedule for confessions and directions for anonymously reserving a time are on our website.

We will add scheduled times for private prayer and Eucharistic adoration beginning the week of June 14.

We have also been certified by the Diocese to begin weekday and Sunday Masses. However, we may not begin celebrating public Masses, weekday or Sunday, until the Governor allows churches to open for public worship. When this happens, it will likely be limited to a certain percentage of our seating capacity. We have planned for 20% occupancy, which means 200 people at a Mass. We have planned to celebrate four Masses on the weekend. We will continue to livestream Sunday Mass at 9:00AM and weekday Masses at 8:00AM. Like confessions, an online reservation system will be used for Sunday Masses.

For those who do not have access to the internet, you can make a reservation for confessions (and Mass when we are permitted to celebrate) by calling Zara Tan at 331.707.5381.

I know this has been a very challenging and difficult time. You have missed reception of the sacraments and the solace and spiritual comfort they provide. You have missed the quiet and peace of praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. You have missed community, and we have missed you!! It has been a messy time for all of us, but remember, God is in the mess too! God is with us! And so too is the power of the Holy Spirit!!

Have a Blessed week!

Father Don

“Why are you looking at the sky?” Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus to heaven. For forty days after his resurrection, he had been appearing to his disciples and speaking with them about the Kingdom of God. We are told in today’s Gospel that Jesus and the eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee where he told them, GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe all that he commanded. This is why the disciples were asked as to why they were looking at the sky. It was time to get going!! Making disciples is our mission and vision here at Our Lady of Mercy. Since the shutdown of our church, offices and parish programs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a challenge in making disciples without the one-to-one or group in person contact. None-the-less, our staff has risen to the challenge!!

I want to applaud and recognize our staff who have been constant in their devotion to making disciples – this time electronically! First, I am so very grateful to Fr. Mark and Zara Tan for their outstanding work in providing for the livestreaming of Sunday and daily Mass, as well as programs to keep us spiritually nourish us during this time. Thanks to Mary Jo Trapani our DRE, Dave Miserendino our Youth Minister, and Candy Rice our EDGE Director, as well as their support staff Jean Rehmer and Jean Palasz who have kept parents, catechists, and children supplied with on-line faith formation content. Trust me, none of them have been sitting home twiddling their thumbs wondering what to do!

I also want to thank parishioner Nick Meriage owner of Creative Digital Masters and his team Ann Meriage, Fred Harris, Deanna Trampani and Maddy Rusen for the professional services of livestreaming our Sunday Mass. Nick donated our first livestream Mass and has discounted by half all our subsequent livestreamed Masses. Our weekday Masses are livestreamed at no charge.

Also, making disciples, congratulations to parishioners Jason and Carrie (Beelner) Nadziejko, 2003 graduates of the University of Iowa who were recipients of The University of Iowa’s 2020 Fr. Ed Fitzpatrick Discipleship Award. Newman Singer alumni, they married in 2004, moved to Chicago and started a family in 2005. They settled in Aurora in 2007 and are currently the parents of two teenage girls. The family is involved at OLM as cantors, religious education instructors and altar servers. Both Jason and Carrie credit the Newman Center as being “a rock and constant” when they were college students and as adults raising a family. They said: “We looked for a parish family that exemplified that same stead and sturdy constant the Newman Center provided to us. We are thankful when we can use our time, talent and treasure to serve our faith family at OLM.” As recipients of the Fr. Ed Fitzpatrick Discipleship Award, the Newman Catholic Student Center at the University of Iowa has made a $500 donation in Jason and Carrie’s honor to Our Lady of Mercy Parish.

Have a blessed week!

Father Don

Today we welcome our Bishop, R. Daniel Conlon to Our Lady of Mercy parish as he will administer the Sacrament of Confirmation upon 56 of our parish teens during Mass at 3:00PM.  Of course, those being confirmed today have already received the Holy Spirit at their baptism.  But they, like most of us were baptized as infants, and that awareness of having received the Holy Spirit with its gifts and power needs to be roused.  So I like to refer to the Sacrament of Confirmation as a “wake-up call.”  Confirmation is one of the three sacraments of initiation.  So today we welcome our newly confirmed teens as fully initiated members of the Church.  And with that now comes the responsibility to be ACTIVE members of the Church and growing in a personal relationship (friendship) with Jesus.  Congratulations to our newly confirmed and may the Holy Spirit guide them throughout their lives!

MercyFest begins this week on Thursday, October 4^th and runs through Sunday, October 7^th.  I encourage everyone to support MercyFest in some way as part of the celebration of our parish 30^th anniversary.  The 10:45AM Mass on Sunday, October 7^th will be celebrated outdoors under the big tent on MercyFest grounds.  Our 2^nd pastor (now retired) Fr. Hugh Fullmer will be the presider for that Mass.  Fr. Hugh started MercyFest 17 years ago as a way to bring the parish and neighboring community together in fun and fellowship, as well as a fund raiser to pay off the debt on the church.  MercyFest continues to provide funds for various needed repairs.  Last year’s profit provided for the replacement and installation of new padding on the kneelers in church.  Last year a new spiritual dimension was added to MercyFest that will continue this year. People were invited into church for prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This year (like previous years) a percentage of the profits will be donated to Hesed House, a shelter for the homeless in Aurora.  I have designated the remaining profits to be used for the upgrading of the sound system in church.  But MercyFest is so much more than about raising funds.  It is a way to bring our parish together.  Though many, we are one!  (Our theme for our parish 30^th anniversary this year).  Over 700 parishioners are needed volunteering in some capacity to make MercyFest successful.  The experience of knowing you are part of something bigger than yourself can be inspiring. We as a parish owe a debt of gratitude to the many parishioners who have put their heart and soul into making MercyFest such a great success over the years.  And I have no doubt that through the efforts of the chairs and volunteers for this year’s MercyFest, we will have great success again!

Your part now is to attend!  Bring family, neighbors and friends to enjoy carnival rides and games, food and entertainment, raffles and even prayer and the opportunity for reconciliation.  Please visit our parish website (www.olmercy.old.diocesanweb.org) and click on the MercyFest tab to see a listing of events and musical groups for each day.  And one more thing I ask of you….please PRAY for good weather!!

Have a blessed week!  And see you at MercyFest!!

Father Don

This weekend we are celebrating the feast of our parish patroness, Our Lady of Mercy. (The actual feast day is on September 24^th).  As we continue the celebration of our parish 30^th anniversary through the end of this year, the celebration of our parish patroness reminds us that “together we are one!”  Please stop by the Parish Life Center for fellowship and refreshments following Masses today.

This weekend we welcome back seminarian Senovio Sarabia for his teaching parish assignment.  He was with us last year on weekends for the fall semester and full-time during the spring semester for his internship.  He lived here this past summer while doing a student chaplain assignment at Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.  He will be with us this fall semester on most weekends.  The spring semester ’19 he will be studying in the Holy Land.  Senovio is in his third year of theology at Mundelein. He is on track to be ordained a transitional deacon in March ’19 and a priest in May 2020.

We have been blessed to have another one of our Diocesan seminarians assigned to Our Lady of Mercy for his teaching parish assignment.  Joining Senovio this fall semester is Luis Miguel Garcia.  Luis is in his first year of theology at Mundelein.  We welcome Senovio and Luis Miguel!

Well, our Religious Education program is in full swing with classes for K – 5 beginning last week, EDGE for Junior High and LIGHT for High School have all begun as well.  I want to thank all who have volunteered as catechists, aids and for various other positions supporting our Religious Education program.  We can’t do it without you!  Also I want to thank our new DRE, Mary Jo Trapani as well as Candy Rice and Dave Miserendino for their leadership.  And a special word of thanks goes to Cheryl Lohse and Jean Rehmer for all their hard work in the RE office and the support they give to our RE staff and families.  We are looking forward to a great year!

Finally, MercyFest is only two weekends away!!  If you haven’t signed-up to help yet, you can do so online or at the table in the lobby of the Parish Life Center.  There are new music groups this year, and, the Sunday 10:45AM Mass will be celebrated outdoors under the big tent with Fr. Hugh Fullmer coming back to preside.  Fr. Hugh started Mercyfest 17 years ago and it is only fitting that he come out of retirement to celebrate Mass during our parish 30^th anniversary year.

This year we will again donate a portion of the profits from MercyFest to Hesed House.  I have also designated profits to upgrade/replace the sound system in our church.  Last year’s profits were used to install new pads on the kneelers in church.

Come out and support MercyFest with your presence….bring family, friends, and neighbors too!!

Have a blessed week!

Father Don

 

Last weekend I shared with you the annual financial report for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2017 and ended on June 30, 2018.  If you weren’t here and didn’t get a copy, you can review the report on our website or stop by the office for a copy.  Also, if you do have any questions about the financial report, please feel free to contact our business manager, Bob Gancarz either by phone (630.851.3444 x 223) or by email robertg@olmercy.old.diocesanweb.org.

Today is our annual “Commitment Sunday” for your weekly/monthly financial gift to the parish through the Sunday collection.  Your support of the vision for our parish that I shared with you last weekend in my homily will be deeply appreciated. If you didn’t hear my homily last weekend you can hear it on our parish APP.  Thanks for your support!  Also, I encourage you to consider secure electronic giving.   We always see a drop in the Sunday collection during the summer when many are away on vacation. Through electronic giving you can keep your financial support of the parish consistent during the year.  If you aren’t currently giving electronically, sign up between now and October 31^st and your name will be entered in a drawing to win a $100 gas card.  For information contact our business manager.

Another reason to consider an increase in your financial support of OLM is that our parish has been asked to receive another seminarian from our Diocese to assist in his formation to become a priest.  So we now have two seminarians assigned to Our Lady of Mercy for their teaching parish assignment.  You all know Senovio Sarabia.  He has begun 3^rd theology at Mundelein and will be with us again on most weekend this fall, winter, and spring.  Our new seminarian is Luis Miguel Garcia who is in 1^st theology at Mundelein. He will be with us most weekends as well.  Both Senovio and Luis will start their assignment here beginning the weekend of September 22/23.  We look forward to seeing Senovio again, and welcoming Luis.

MercyFest is now 3 weeks away!  Over 700 volunteers are needed in various capacities.  Please off your help by signing up online or after Masses in the lobby of the PLC.  This year the Sunday 10:45AM Mass will be celebrated outdoors under the big tent and Fr. Hugh Fullmer will be coming to celebrate that Mass.  Your support of MercyFest will be deeply appreciated, as I have designated the profit this year to go towards a new sound system in church.  I don’t know about you, but I have trouble hearing in the back of church, and when I sit in the presider’s chair I often can’t hear the readings being proclaimed or if someone is giving words of remembrance at a funeral.  We had an analysis of the sound system done, and several of the in ceiling speakers don’t work anymore, and there is so many technological advances in sound systems since ours was first installed 20 some years ago.  Last year’s profit went to the re-padding of the kneelers in church.  So please support MercyFest and bring your family, friends and neighbors.

Have a Blessed Week!

Father Don

 

Kind of a boring picture of me without Heidi isn’t it! I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all who have reached out to me in various ways offering support and prayers at the death of my 15-year old dog Heidi.  On August 23^rd, due to her failing health and quality of life, I had her euthanized.  Your kind hugs, words, cards, flowers, cookies and sweets have all made the grief journey more bearable.  Many have asked am I going to get another dog?  I don’t plan to at this time.  Seven years passed after I put my dog prior to Heidi down before getting Heidi.  I need some time to grieve and with retirement on the horizon in 2022 and not yet having decided where I will be living upon retirement, I wouldn’t want to get a dog now and later find out I couldn’t keep it.  I am tempted however, next time I visit Fr. Mark’s farm so sneak a piglet home – they have 15,000 of them….surely they wouldn’t miss one! Would they?

Included in today’s bulletin is the annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2018.  The Diocese requires pastors to provide a yearly report to parishioners so that they are aware of the financial state of their parish. The report shows a robust increase of 10% in the Sunday collection over the previous fiscal year.  Your overwhelming response to my request last year for an increase in the Sunday collection put our parish at the top parish in our Diocese to increase their Sunday collection.  Thank you for your incredible generosity!  And because of your generosity much has been accomplished this past fiscal year. I’ve been concerned about the safety and security of children attending RE classes, as well as all who use the Parish Life Center.  There has been no way to communicate throughout the building an emergency situation such as a tornado or other life threatening situation.  We have now installed a public address system in the hallways that can be heard in the classrooms and throughout the center.  We have also install a security camera system throughout the building.  WI-FI is now available throughout the PLC enabling access to internet programming for RE classes and adult formation programs.  Our phone system, computers and monitors have been updated.  Video screens have been installed in the lobby on the PLC and narthex of the church which display information about upcoming programs and activities as well as funeral information for parishioners who have died.  So a lot has been done to enhance our communications efforts.  Some new ministries were started.  Moms & Tots enable young mothers to come together in support and prayer.  Fit Shepherds, a men’s exercise group enable guys to bond in friendship and masculine spirituality.  Mary’s Squad is the women’s version of the men’s exercise group.  But most of all, the increase in the collection has allowed us to hire a full-time Director of Evangelization and Communications.  Evangelization is the next area that we are going to focus on in the coming months.

So, I am asking for your continued financial support of OLM.  Next weekend, September 15/16 is our annual “Commitment Sunday” for your weekly/monthly support of our parish through the Sunday collection.  You will receive your commitment card in the mail this week.  Please pray about your financial support and the parish and fill out the card and bring it to Mass next Sunday.

Again, I thank you so much for your support!

Have a Blessed Week!

Father Don

I find myself saying on every Labor Day weekend – “Can you believe that summer is over already!”  While summer is over in the sense of outdoor swimming pools and beaches we know summer doesn’t officially end until September 22 this year, so we still have time to enjoy God’s gift of the beauty of summer.  Don’t put those BBQ grills and patio deck chairs away just yet!  And one of the great things I enjoy about Labor Day weekend, it kicks off the college football season.  Go Irish!  But just as on Memorial Day weekend that unofficially starts the summer season, we don’t want to forget there is a reason for this holiday.  On Memorial Day, we remember those who have died defending the ideas and principals of our nations.  Labor Day, started in the 19^th century honors the American labor movement and the contribution that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of our country.  Our Church, through the teachings and proclamations of several popes and American bishops promote the dignity and rights of workers, as well as fair and just salaries.  So on this holiday weekend, let us not forget those who are un-employed, under-employed, and all who struggle to make ends meet.

As I did last year on the weekend after Labor Day, I will be speaking at all the Masses next weekend to share with you the annual fiscal report for the fiscal year July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. I will share with you some of the highlights and good news for the past fiscal year as well as some of the budgetary needs for the current fiscal year that just started July 1^st.  As always I am so very grateful for the sacrificial support you have given to Our Lady of Mercy as well as the sharing of your time and talents in our various ministries and outreach programs.  The weekend of September 15^th and 16^th will be our annual stewardship commitment weekend for your financial support of OLM through the Sunday collection.  In the week prior to commitment weekend you will receive in the mail your commitment card.  As you review the materials and consider the needs I will outline next weekend, I ask you to prayerfully consider your weekly or monthly contribution, and if possible make a small increase to help us reach our goals for the 2018 – 2019 fiscal year.  Please bring your completed commitment card to Mass the weekend of September 15/16.  We will have cards in the pew in the event you forget your card.

Again, Fr. Mark and I are so very grateful for the spiritual support and affirmation you have given us, and we have seen that support by the increase in the Sunday collection for the year.  Please be assured that we remember you and thank God for you in our daily prayers!

Have a blessed Labor Day weekend!

Father Don