January 25th - Weekly Newsletter

Kick off for Catholic Schools Week, Food Pantry needs CLOTHES, Did you know? And more ...

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I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord. Dear Friends,  Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope everyone is surviving the snow out there ... Catholic Schools Week - We will "kick off" Catholic Schools Week THIS Sunday at the 9:45 a.m. Mass. Immediately after Mass, there will be an OPEN HOUSE showcasing our School and the work of our students. Come one, come all, celebrate our great school!   BCAP Client Choice Food Pantry - The Parish Food Pantry is constantly evolving to meet those who are in need. Please see the information below on what has changed, and what is needed! IN ADDITION TO FOOD ... We are now collecting the following (new or gently used) items for our Immigrant brothers and sisters in need.  Coats, Winter Clothes, Jeans, Shoes, Blankets, Towels, Sheets, Pots/Pans, and Utensils.  So far about 40 men have showed up, and they desperately need our help ... they need more than food. If you're able in any way, items can be dropped off at the SJB Rectory. (M-F, 9 am - 3 pm) Bagged Meal Distribution - We need your help! Food is being prepared for the hungry, unhoused and less fortunate, but we need your help to distribute the food. See below for more info ... Catholic Social Teaching 101 - How are we called as a faith community to respond to the signs of our times? Come to this presentation by BCAP Parishioner Joyana Dvorak on Feb 5 and find out. More info below ... MASKS are still OPTIONAL, BUT ...  With Covid and the Flu on the rise, please use your best judgement when it comes to your own safety and the safety of others, and do not come to church if you are feeling ill. As always, be kind and respectful to one another if the person choses or not to wear a mask. Remember, we're all in this together! Being Catholic - Did you know?! - Many of us grew up attending Catholic School, or CCD classes, etc ..., and knew "about" things, but we didn't really remember what they're called or knew the meaning behind a word/phrase. In this weekly newsletter, we will feature a "Did you know?!" It will sometimes be a word, or a place, or an object related to our Catholic Faith. So, did you know ... ? Parish Forms on the Website - https://www.carloacutisparish.org/parish-forms.html Did you know that many of our forms and requests are on our website? Inquiring about a Baptism ... Need a copy of your Baptismal Certificate ... Want to schedule your wedding? It's all on our website! Simply fill out the form and we'll get back to ya. Prayers for the Sick - Both in the Sunday Bulletin, and here in the Weekly Newsletter, we list the names of those who are in sick and in need of our prayers. If you would like to add you someone's name to the sick list, please email the Parish Office. Please also email us when it's ok to remove them from the sick list. This helps to ensure our list is up to date. We hope to see you at one of the Masses this weekend, wear a mask or not, and don't forget to bring a friend or two!!    God Bless, see you in Church! Michael White, Director of Music and Liturgy AND Weekly Newsletter Editor Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish Mission Statement   We are a multicultural, intergenerational Catholic parish community of people who through the help of the Eucharist, are on the journey to learning about, celebrating, serving and proclaiming our faith in the Risen Jesus.   Vision Statement   Our vision is transforming spirits, hearts and minds.   Core Values   We are welcoming, learning, believing, serving, celebrating, understanding, sharing, diverse, community and focused on quality. Goals 1). To have vibrant, welcoming liturgies. 2). To be an evangelizing community. 3). To reach out to youth. 4). To provide social justice education and outreach to the poor.   Your input is welcome. Please send suggestions to Father Paul Sims, C.R. at pasims@ameritech.net. Our BCAP food pantry is now a CLIENT CHOICE! A Client Choice based food pantry allows people to select their own food instead of being given food that they already have, don't like or cannot eat for health or personal reasons. Next time you go to Costco, or your favorite grocery store, please remember some of the stuff on this list and consider donating to the Parish food pantry. IN ADDITION TO FOOD ... We are now collecting the following (new or gently used) items for our Immigrant brothers and sisters in need.  Coats, Winter Clothes, Jeans, Shoes, Blankets, Towels, Sheets, Pots/Pans, and Utensils.  You can drop off any donations to 2517 W. Logan blvd between the hours of 9-3 pm M-F, or on Sundays in the back of either of our churches. Bagged Meal Distribution We need your help feeding the hungry, unhoused and less fortunate.   SJB students are making food bags and uplifting messages for those less fortunate, but we need help getting it to those that need it. Please consider volunteering to drop off these packages at nearby homeless encampments and migrant worker hubs. The food can be picked up at the SJB Church Hall between 8:45-9 am or 3-6 pm. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact FOSJBCares@stjohnberchmans.org. If you are interested, please sign up using the signup genius below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0949aba62ba0f4c52-sack1/31035747#/ Being Catholic - Did you know?! The Liturgy of the Word   Last week, we talked about the "Introductory Rites," the beginning of Mass. Once these Rites are concluded, and we all sit down to listen to the readings from Scripture ... we officially move into "The Liturgy of the Word." The Liturgy of the Word  is the first main part of the Mass. We start with a reading from the Old Testament, except during the Easter Season when we hear from the Acts of the Apostles. After this first reading, at least during the Sunday Mass, the Cantor leads us in the singing of a Psalm or Canticle. This is called the Responsorial Psalm because it is done in a 'call and response' format where the Cantor sings something and we all respond back to them. A reading from the New Testament comes next, followed by a Gospel Acclamation which is usually an Alleluia (from the Hebrew 'Praise the Lord',) except during Lent where we refrain from using the "A" word. (That's another topic when we get closer to Lent!) The Gospel, proclaimed by the Priest or Deacon, is followed by the Homily. We profess our faith with the Nicene Creed, and the Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Universal Prayer aka the Petitions, where we ask God to "hear our prayer." As the Gifts are brought forth and the Altar is prepared, we move into the other main part of the Mass ... the Liturgy of the Eucharist. (We'll save that for another time...) Saint of the Day for January 25 The Conversion of St. Paul The Story of the Conversion of Saint Paul Saint Paul’s entire life can be explained in terms of one experience—his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In an instant, he saw that all the zeal of his dynamic personality was being wasted, like the strength of a boxer swinging wildly. Perhaps he had never seen Jesus, who was only a few years older. But he had acquired a zealot’s hatred of all Jesus stood for, as he began to harass the Church: “…entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment” (Acts 8:3b). Now he himself was “entered,” possessed, all his energy harnessed to one goal—being a slave of Christ in the ministry of reconciliation, an instrument to help others experience the one Savior. One sentence determined his theology: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5b). Jesus was mysteriously identified with people—the loving group of people Saul had been running down like criminals. Jesus, he saw, was the mysterious fulfillment of all he had been blindly pursuing. From then on, his only work was to “present everyone perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me” (Colossians 1:28b-29). “For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and [with] much conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5a). Paul’s life became a tireless proclaiming and living out of the message of the cross: Christians die baptismally to sin and are buried with Christ; they are dead to all that is sinful and unredeemed in the world. They are made into a new creation, already sharing Christ’s victory and someday to rise from the dead like him. Through this risen Christ the Father pours out the Spirit on them, making them completely new. So Paul’s great message to the world was: You are saved entirely by God, not by anything you can do. Saving faith is the gift of total, free, personal and loving commitment to Christ, a commitment that then bears fruit in more “works” than the Law could ever contemplate. Reflection Paul is undoubtedly hard to understand. His style often reflects the rabbinical style of argument of his day, and often his thought skips on mountaintops while we plod below. But perhaps our problems are accentuated by the fact that so many beautiful jewels have become part of the everyday coin in our Christian language. ~ Franciscan Media “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.” Pope Francis is cautioning people not to get accustomed to the war in Ukraine, and is calling for the faithful to keep those suffering "this tragic reality" in our hearts and prayers. "The thought of the people of Ukraine, afflicted by war, should remain vivid in our hearts."  Please continue to pray for them. Online Book of Intentions   Praying for each other's intentions is an important part of our parish life. If you would like the parish to pray for your intention, please write the intention in a sentence or two in this Online "Book of Intentions."  These intentions will be remembered in our intercessions at our Sunday masses. Click HERE Please pray for the Sick of our Parish Fr. Paul Reicher, Doreen Maneely, Anna Mann, Nicole Vilches, Karel O’Brien,Angela Rivera, Mary Anne Sedey, Linda Klickmann, Barbara Durbin, Danny Olivero, Junior Burgos, Dolores Kryszak, Joseph Price, Teresa Ellison, Tallulah Andresen, Robert Bauer, Antionette Krerowicz, Ana Flores, Apolonio Alarcon, Antonio de Vera, Patricio A. Yanez Guerra, Manglio Bonilla Gail, Jason & Family, Daniel Brady, Cyndi De Lira, Carolyn S. Duckunue, Transito Alvarez, Frances Alequin, Alejandro Carmona, Sophie Hernan, Eleanor Jura, Monika Kloniecka, Joseph Wyse, Verena Tonnesen, Berenice Sosnowski, Nick Jurado, Jackie Schuman, Terry Brady, Salomea Olszewska, Hertha Runowski, Angie Schuman, John Graff, Joseph Murphy, Linda Riske, Margaret Flisiak, Jazzmyne Aguilar, Hailey Marose, Sarah Ellison, Nancy Idaszak, Sally Cox, Daniel Salas, Eleanor Rylko, Nancy, Brian, Jimmy Denges, & Crystal Mohetano. Please follow us on our Social Media platforms by clicking the links below! View this email in your browser Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*