"Peace be with you. As the Father
has sent me, so I send you." John 20:19
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A Letter from Father John
Taking into account countless sacrifices
Dear Friends,
Sometimes a front porch is the best room in the house.
SOME IN OUR PARISH community are veterans of war; some have family members who are. All of us, no doubt, know someone who served in the military and put themselves in harms ways. This weekend, however, we remember those men and women who served, but did not come home.
The Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC inscribes the name of each soldier, sailor, airman, and marine who died in that war. It is a quiet, passionate, eloquent place. Walking the wall, all fall silent, and silence becomes a prayer.
Numbers are not names—they do not have the impact of a name. Numbers are anonymous and cannot tell the story of one person’s war or measure the impact his or her death had on those who survived. Numbers, however, can point us toward recalling, at least in imagination, the countless sacrifices and unrecorded moments of courage and devotion endured by others in distant places for us because they had hope for peace and a better future for the generations to come after them.
With gratitude we recall and we pray for those men and women.
- The American Revolution (1775-1783): 6,188 dead
- The War of 1812 (1812-1814): 4,505 dead
- The Mexican War (1846-1848): 4,152 dead
- The Spanish American War (1899-1902): 2,445 dead
- World War I (1914-1918): 116,516 dead
- World War II (1939-1945): 405,399 dead
- Korea (1950-1953): 54,246 dead
- Vietnam (1961-1975): 60,433 dead
- Iraq I (1991): 312 dead
- Iraq II (2003-2011): 4,474 dead
- Afghanistan (2001-2012): 1,959 dead
God bless them all,
Fr. John
Announcements & Upcoming Events
Friends of the Grape
OCTOBER 7, 12:30 PM
Mark your calendars for our signature parish fundraiser: Friends of the Grape (FOTG) in the School Hall and play lot. The FOTG committee met this past week, and we have set an ambitious goal of 500 paid guests. We are going to need everyone in the parish and school to think of friends, neighbors, and family to invite. We have some excellent suggestions of how to cut costs and increase revenue. The areas for the most growth are the auctions.
MAY 21, 7 PM: There will be an auction brainstorming session for Friends of the Grape in the rectory. If you have never gotten involved, or if you have a creative side, please consider attending. And as always, if you have any suggestions for a new food vendor or have special connections with wine distributors or vineyards, please let Terry Tuohy know at tuohyterry@ gmail.com, or 773-968-6434.
St. Scholastica Farewell Open
House MAY 27, 1:00—4:00 pm.
SSA Alumnae are invited to attend an open house. The building will be open for you to wander and reminisce. Some SSA memorabilia will be available for sale. www.scholasticacommunity.us if you would like to attend.
Looking for Flowers and Plant Donations
THE KEEHAN Community Garden can use some help. For the past three summers St. Matthias has been blessed with parishioners who have generously donated flowers, trees, fences and labor to make the garden a show place on the north side. This year we are in need of some annuals to be planted in the pots and gardens around the church, rectory and convent. If you are at the store buying your annual flowers please remember St. Matthias. All donations can be dropped off at the rectory.
Gardeners Needed!
Ann McIntee has done a fabulous job in turning a hill on the side of the rectory into a beautiful garden. At the same time she has expanded the rose garden and started some work at the convent, but she could use some help in maintaining the gardens. If you have a morning or afternoon available to do a little watering or weeding, your efforts would be greatly appreciated. Please call the rectory and they will direct you to Ann.
Consider Online Giving
The summer is fast approaching and with so many parishioner traveling we encourage all to sign up for on line giving. It is easy, effective and beneficial to the parish please visit Give Centrals web site: GiveCentral.org
Steve Quick Jewelers Battery Replacement
MONTH OF MAY
Been putting off replacing that watch battery? Starting Tuesday, Steve Quick Jewelers in Lincoln Square is donating all proceeds from watch battery replacements to St. Matthias for the month of May!
School and Religious Education News
Class of 2012 8th Grade Class Set for Success
The class of 2012 has much to be proud of. As they get ready to leave St. Matthias and embark on the next chapter of their journeys, we wish them all the best and congratulate them on a job well done. Over 80 percent of this year’s graduating class was accepted into their first choice high school. Following is a list of the graduates and the schools they’ve elected: Emily Alcaraz, St. Ignatius; Helen Diep, Trinity; Freddie Edwards, Notre Dame College Prep; Oscar Gonzalez, Northtown Charter; Ann Marie Hussar, Willows Academy; George Kyle, St. Benedict Preparatory; Gabriel LaBoy-Rosales, St. Benedict Preparatory; Tara McCarthy, Lane Tech; Brianna Ortega, Resurrection; Bryan Padilla, St. Benedict Preparatory; Alex Sheedy; Gordon Tech. Additionally, we’d like to congratulate Tara McCarthy and Bryan Padilla for their acceptance into the Honors Program at Gordon Tech, and election as scholarship recipients, and Emily Alcaraz, who was awarded the Daniel Murphy Scholarship.
St. Matthias Summer School: Open to Non-School Families as Well
JUNE 19-JULY 26: 9 AM-NOON, TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, AND THURSDAY:
St. Matthias School will be offering summer classes again to help continue to build skills in math, reading, and writing for our students entering grades 1-8, who would benefit from additional instruction and reinforcement. Our classes will offer high quality instruction at a much more economical cost than private tutoring. There is no class on July 4. Please contact Sheila Klich to enroll: sheila.klich@stmatthiasschool.org.
Lil’ Mustangs Summer Camp
Get your registrations in now for Camp, so that you can get your t-shirt and be part of the exciting field trips scheduled. See the school website (stmatthiasschool.org) for the different Lil’ Mustangs brochures and registration information (deadline is Wednesday, May 25).
Pentecost: Lessons in Being a Hero
WHAT DOES IT TAKE for a coward to become courageous? More to the point, what would it take for you, or me, to become a disciple? The Holy Spirit is both gift and choice. The Spirit didn’t fall on unsuspecting passersby in Jerusalem that day, nor in our own time. Imitating the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and that all-important self-control—places your lives in conformity with the Spirit you seek. It seems the hero of an hour has been preparing to be a hero his or her whole life.
Alice Camille
Reprinted with Permissin from “Prepare the Word”
Take Five for Faith
Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow - a day at a time.
Look up the daily passages from the New American Bible online at www.usccb.org/nab/bible.
SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012
SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST
Rekindle the fire
Human beings try to make sense of much of the mystery in the world via simile and metaphor. They try to compare what cannot be exactly described with things that can be described. So when it comes to the power and vitality of God’s spirit, we say it is like fire or it is a fire. The Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin made this comparison in reflecting on human evolution: “The day will come when, after harnessing the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, [humankind] will have discovered fire.” To harness for God the energies of love is nothing less than rediscovering God’s Spirit-fire within.
“There appeared to them tongues as of fire.”
MONDAY, MAY 28
Be happy!
“How happy is our sacrament of water!” This enthusiastic appraisal of baptism comes from Church Father Tertullian around 203 A.D. The first epistle attributed to Saint Peter certainly agrees. It is sometimes described as a homily delivered to cheer on a first-century baptismal class “graduating” to full Christian initiation. It includes a hymn of thanksgiving, encouragement for holy living, instructions for the Christian household, urging to persevere in hard times, and the duties of members to the community as a whole. Take time to read 1 Peter this week, and give thanks for the happy sacrament.
Today's Readings: 1 Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27 (347)
“Although you have not seen him, you love him . . . for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
TUESDAY, MAY 29
In praise of mission
There was a time when mission work was about “saving the heathen” and “converting the pagans.” Contemporary Catholic missionary work has undergone profound change since the Second Vatican Council, and today is much more conscious of issues of social justice and the dangers of cultural imperialism in the guise of religious conversion. Many modern missioners speak of “reverse mission”—of being converted by the generosity and wisdom of those they serve, who may be poor in material goods but rich in spirit and tradition. Invite a returned missioner to your parish or faith community to share their stories. It can be an eye-opening experience.
TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Peter 1:10-16; Mark 10:28-31 (348)
“There is no one who has given up . . . lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more . . . .”
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
What do you see?
When the light is right, usually around dusk, the glass on a train acts as both a window and a mirror. Depending upon where you focus your eyes, you can see either the relatively motionless interior of the car or the scenery outside passing by in a blur. This “double vision” reflects the duality of time and your human experience. There is the unchanging, eternal now where God resides and the rush of encounters and experiences in which you usually live. Just as passengers on the train can choose which side of the window to observe, you also have that same choice in your daily life. Where will you focus your attention today?
TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Peter 1:18-25; Mark 10:32-45 (349)
“The grass withers, and the flower wilts; but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
THURSDAY, MAY 31
FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Just say yes
Have you ever wondered if Mary knew all she was getting into when she said “yes” to be the mother of God? Did she know that her yes to new life was also an implicit yes to the suffering and hardship that comes with that life? She was smart to take some time away and visit her kinswoman Elizabeth. The months they spent together gave Mary a chance to absorb all that had happened and to proclaim again her yes in the prayer we call the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise. What is one of your yeses to new life? How has this yes transformed you through life’s ups and downs, joys and heartbreaks?
TODAY'S READINGS: Zephaniah 3:14-18a or Romans 12:9-16; Luke 1:39-56 (572)
“And Mary said: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’ ”
FRIDAY, JUNE 1
FEAST OF JUSTIN, MARTYR
Light the flame of faith
Though the martyr Saint Justin lived in the first century after Jesus’ death, he is in some ways a very modern saint. Seeking his way in life, he explored many religious and philosophical traditions, but it was a simple, elderly Christian who inspired him to convert to what at the time was a new and risky faith (indeed, it would cost Justin his life), and it was hearing about the Hebrew prophets that inspired him to his outspoken defense of the faith. When he heard their stories, he wrote, “Straightway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me.” Give thanks today to be part of a great tradition that has inspired people to give their all for thousands of years.
TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Peter 4:7-13; Mark 11:11-26 (351)
“Do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you.”
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
FEAST OF MARCELLINUS AND PETER, MARTYRS
The context is love
In composer David Haas’ song “Prayer for Peace,” you hear these lyrics: “Love before us, love behind us, love under our feet. Love within us, love over us, let all around us be love.” The Letter of Jude, one of the last documents added to the New Testament, reminds Christians facing persecution that love is the only proper context for the believer. Surely Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, offered their lives in 304 A.D. firmly fixed in the spirit of love and mercy for which they’d labored. Make every decision mindful that the very ground you walk on is love.
TODAY'S READINGS: Jude 17, 20b-25; Mark 11:27-33 (352)
“Keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
©2012 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. PHONE: 800-942-2811; E-MAIL: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; WEBSITE: PrepareTheWord.com Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New American Bible.
Contributors: Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Caroline Hopkinson, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Ann O'Connor, Joel Schorn, Patrice J. Tuohy, and Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.
