September 14th Weekly Newsletter

9/15/2022

This weeks "Did you know?"; Family Mass/Catechetical Sunday; Exultation of the Holy Cross, and more ...

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.

Dear Friends,

Happy Wednesday everyone, this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it, what a beautiful day!

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 ... ?

Family Mass and Catechetical Sunday - THIS Sunday, September 18th is Catechetical Sunday. Join us at the 9:45 a.m. SJB Mass for our 3rd Sunday of the Month "Family Mass", where there will be a special blessing for Teachers and Parents/Guardians. There will ALSO be a special blessing for the Catechists at the 11 a.m. SH Mass as we begin Religious Education classes this weekend.

Second Collection this Sunday - There will be a special second collection this weekend. It is in support of the Seminary Education Fund. Thank you for your generous donation for the education of our future priests!

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.

Food Pantry - PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!! The Food Pantry at SJB is STOCKED and OVERFLOWING with Food! If you or someone you know is in need of food, please do not hesitate to call the SJB Office at 773-486-4300 (9-4, 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!
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.

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 pasims@ameritech.net.

Being Catholic - Did you know?!

The Liturgical Year - Also known as "The Church Year", it is the annual sequence of seasons, liturgies, and feasts in the Church which "unfolds the whole mystery of Christ" (Sacrosanctum Concilium/Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 102.) It begins with the first Sunday of Advent followed by the Christmas season. Then we have a few weeks of Ordinary Time before we enter into the holy Season of Lent. Lent quietly ends on Holy Thursday morning when we begin the Sacred Triduum, the three days of Christ's passion, death and resurrection concluding on Easter Sunday. We celebrate the Season of Easter until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles. After two more weeks of special Feasts (Trinity and Corpus Christi) the Church enters into a long stretch of Ordinary Time.

We are currently in that long stretch of "Ordinary Time". But there's nothing ORDINARY about this season, its name is rooted in "ordered time" because the weeks are numbered. The readings during this season reflect on the mystery of Christ's life and help the faithful grow as a Church.

~ Journey of Faith for Adults
Year of Grace 2023 Poster from Liturgy Training Publications

Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.

"It is called: Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving go God."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1328)

Exaltation of the Holy Cross
September 14

The Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Early in the fourth century, Saint Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ’s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman.

The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus’ head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissing the cross, they move on.”

To this day, the Eastern Churches, Catholic and Orthodox alike, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim.

Reflection

The cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome’s authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine’s edict of toleration.

~ 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.

Sayings of Blessed Carlo Acutis

"“The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven"

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

Anna Mann, Nicole Vilches, Karel O’Brien,Angela Rivera, Felipe Caraballo,
Mary Anne Sedey, 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.

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September 14th Weekly Newsletter