July 13th - Weekly Newsletter

Take the next step with RCIA, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and more ...

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Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. Dear Friends,  Happy Wednesday everyone, what a beautiful summer day it is!!  LOST KEYS!? - A set of car keys was found at the SJB site ... if you lost your keys recently, please contact the SJB site office at 773-486-4300, or [email protected] to reclaim. Parish Website - https://www.carloacutisparish.org - If you haven't already done so, be sure to check it out. While you're there, don't forget to follow us on the various social media platforms!!  Live Streaming of Sunday Mass from SJB - Just a reminder, the Live Stream of the Masses from the SJB site has moved to the "Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish" Facebook Page. Mission and VISION Integration - We have shared our new Parish Mission Statement, Vision Statement, our Core Values, and last week we shared our Goals. Have you read them? Do you agree with them? Anything we should add?  Remember, we are companions on this journey of faith as a "Unified Parish" together. While we have a new parish name, and we had the Unity Mass, these are just stepping stones. Please help us as we grow together! Food Pantry - PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!! The Food Pantry at SJB is STOCKED and OVERFLOWING with Food! We are even having to throw away some food because it has expired! If you or someone you know is in need of food, please do not hesitate to call the SJB Office at 773-486-4300 (9-5, M-F) and we'll take care of you!! (Pass the word along, you do NOT have to be a parishioner or attend Mass at either SJB or SH to receive food!!!) MASKS are OPTIONAL - 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! 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 on Sunday!  Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish Mission Statement   We are a multicultural, intergenerational Catholic parish community of people on the journey to learning about, celebrating, serving and proclaiming our faith in the Risen Jesus.   A mission statement says who we are and what we do. Please take a few minutes and reflect and pray on this mission statement. Does this mission statement describe our parish? As we continue to grow together, we can add to this statement.   Vision Statement Our vision is transforming spirits, hearts and minds. A vision statement suggests how we need to grow. It is short, specific and memorable. Please take a few minutes and reflect and pray on this vision statement. Does this vision statement describe our parish? As we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ through our participation in Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish, we want to nourish our spirits, hearts and minds.   Core Values   We are welcoming, learning, believing, serving, celebrating, understanding, sharing, diverse, community and focused on quality.   Core values are what we see as most important in our community. Do these values describe our parish? 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.   Goals help us to focus on what needs to be done in the year ahead. Do these goals describe our parish? Yoiur input is welcome.    Your input is welcome. Please send suggestions to Father Paul Sims, C.R. at [email protected]. Saint of the Day for July 14 Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - April 17, 1680) Saint Kateri Tekakwitha's Story The blood of martyrs is the seed of saints. Nine years after the Jesuits Isaac Jogues and Jean de Lelande were tomahawked by Iroquois warriors, a baby girl was born near the place of their martyrdom, Auriesville, New York. Her mother was a Christian Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four, Tekakwitha lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle, who succeeded her father as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes—Jesuit missionaries—but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. Tekakwitha refused to marry a Mohawk brave, and at 19 finally got the courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri--Catherine--on Easter Sunday. Now she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday, Kateri received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She was powerfully moved by God’s love for human beings and saw the dignity of each of her people. She was always in danger, for her conversion and holy life created great opposition. On the advice of a priest, Kateri stole away one night and began a 200-mile walking journey to a Christian Indian village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal. For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity, and in strenuous penance. At 23, Kateri took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented act for an Indian woman whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day—and was accused of meeting a man there! Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: Kateri did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an “ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. Kateri Tekakwitha died the afternoon before Holy Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering, even the pockmarks, disappeared and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980 and canonized in 2012. Reflection We like to think that our proposed holiness is thwarted by our situation. If only we could have more solitude, less opposition, better health. Kateri Tekakwitha repeats the example of the saints: Holiness thrives on the cross, anywhere. Yet she did have what Christians—all people—need: the support of a community. She had a good mother, helpful priests, Christian friends. These were present in what we call primitive conditions, and blossomed in the age-old Christian triad of prayer, fasting and almsgiving: union with God in Jesus and the Spirit, self-discipline and often suffering, and charity for her brothers and sisters. Saint Kateri Tekakwith is the Patron Saint of: Indigenous Americans ~ Franciscan Media 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. The St. Michael the Archangel statue is located in the city center of Kyiv in Independence Square.  (photo: Blik Sergey / Shutterstock) Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel   Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. Sayings of Blessed Carlo Acutis "To him I can always confide something, I can also complain, question him about his silence and tell him what I do not understand. And then, within me, I find a word that he sent me: a moment of the Gospel that fulls me with conviction and certainty." 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   Soledad Ruiz, Secilia Green, Anna Mann, Nicole Vilches, Karel O’Brien, Angela Rivera, Felipe Caraballo, Mary Anne Sedey, Verena Tonnesen,  Rob Turrell, Dennis Zolidis, Linda Klickmann,  Barbara Durbin, Danny Olivero, Junior Burgos, Dolores Kryszak, Joseph Price, Teresa Ellison, Grace Gauss, Tallulah Andresen, Robert Bauer, Antionette Krerowicz, Ana Flores, Apolonio Alarcon,  Antonio de Vera, Patricio A. Yanez Guerra, Manglio Bonilla Gail, Jason & Family, Basilisa M. De Guzman, 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 & Joan Brzeski. 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|*