I missed everyone last weekend. All of my family was in town. We were celebrating my Dad's 75th birthday and my granddaughter Emma Michele's baptism (she is the little angel pictured above!). We celebrated Mass together on Saturday evening after our 5:00 Mass and then I was able to spend time with everyone for a couple of days until they all went home. My Dad had a great time. We had not only family but his classmates from St. Ignatius High School and Loyola University here. Seventy-something people in all! Spending quality time with family is very important. In my biological family, I treasure opportunities these days, since so many live out of state. But near or far, being together with those we love and really taking time to have fun and share stories can be rejuvenating, healing, and can help to make it very clear how much we are blessed.
Today (Thursday is past bulletin deadline, so this is why my column is an insert!), I spent time with a member of our Mary Queen of Heaven family who has been away from us for some time. Today, I had lunch with now-retired Deacon John Maloney, who lives at St. Patrick Residence in Naperville. Some of you may know that Deacon John and his wife Nancy sold their home across the street a few years ago because they needed extra care for Nancy and Deacon John would never be separated from the love of his life! He lost Nancy in 2006 (and then suffered the loss of his daughter, Maureen Guttman, in a terrible freak accident involving a deer later that same year). After that, he remained at St. Patrick's Residence, the place that has become his new home.
While he has officially "retired" after 33 years as an ordained permanent deacon of the church, he remains quite active. His family, too, had a baptism last weekend. Deacon John baptized his first great-grandson last Sunday ... this was his 454th baptism! Some of you know Deacon John well and many of you, especially those who have joined the parish in recent years, do not know him at all. Since he is a part of our parish family, I wanted to tell you about him.
Deacon John Maloney was the very first deacon candidate in the Diocese of Joliet. For this reason, and because I am the first person not a priest entrusted with pastoral care of a parish in our diocese, he and I have always had a special bond. I have often heard stories about what it was like for him to be a pioneer and how things were lonely for him in ministry during the first years because he had no peers and because there was, in his own words, a "lack of knowledge" about his ministry among priests and other people at that time. This kind of goes along with the territory when you are the first one serving in a ministry that is new in the church. I know from some of the parish surveys that are coming in that some parishioners still do not know or understand my ministry (or the priest shortage, which is getting worse and is the reason that the bishop was able to appoint me to this office in the church). I know there are those who do not like it when I talk about my role because they think I am "tooting my own horn," which is never my intention. If you have ideas about how it would be best to provide needed ongoing education for parishioners, especially for those who are new, please let me know your thoughts.
Back to other things Deacon John talked about: He wants everyone to know that he would "highly encourage" men of the parish to consider the ministry of permanent deacon, a ministry that he has treasured as a gift all these many years. (He knows about Alex Grozik, who is in his first year of deacon formation.) He also wanted me to share some other thoughts with you. Deacon John says that he "devours the bulletin" each week and he loves to read how parishioners are responding to the open invitation to service. He said that it is a thrilling experience for him to read stories like the one written last week by Beth Wrobel, who came into the church through the RCIA program last year. At 85 years old, Deacon John says that he feels "restricted" now ... he cannot do things he was able to do even 5 years ago. But he still remains active in our Lord's service. Besides baptizing his great-grandson last weekend, he leads the Rosary every day at St. Patrick's, where he also considers himself a "Minister of Encouragement" for those around him.
I talked with Deacon John about some of our parishioners who I know are suffering from cancer or other illness or from great worries. I asked him to please make it part of his ministry to always pray for the people of our parish. One of the people I mentioned to him is a long-time friend of his family and he wants to telephone her to encourage her not to give up. I think that this "Ministry of Encouragement" will be life-giving for Deacon John, too. If you know someone who is sick who might like a call from Deacon John, please let me know. He is hard of hearing these days but if people speak up, he can hear them just fine. And I'll tell you that no matter how his body may be failing with age, his mind is still sharp and his generous spirit and sense of humor remain as they have always been.
Even as he prays for us, I ask that you also pray for him. This itself is "quality time" that we can spend together ... in prayer as family. May God continue to bless our own families and all our parish family at Mary Queen of Heaven.
Dr. Mary Dr. Mary Foley, Pastoral Life Coordinator
A Vocation View
As the Church year comes to a close, may the Lord Jesus
strengthen your heart for every good work and word. May you live
your vocation.
Prayer Requests
To pray for our sick is an important privilege of our parish
family. We hope that you will pray for these persons every day.
Aurora Arce Natalie Baker
Katherine Brennan Pam Bondfide
Pat Caffarelli Rose Caffarelli
Kathy Calzante Cosmore Ciancio
Dennis Ciancio Lou Ciancio
George Cibula Paul Cirone
Ida Corriedo Cynthia Catalano Family
Rosemary Davis Deacon Bob Delbeke
Trudi Dolato Baby Dobrowolski
Virginia Feret Kathy Filipiak
Cecilia Garstki Mary Goggins
Mary Hagerty Anna Heffel
Jen Huwalt Tom Huwalt
Michelle Humann Maureen James
Richard Jones Kathy Johnston
Irene Kmieciak Bernadette Kohn
Anne Kostas John Larkin
Baby Emma Lynde Marie Mangano
Robert Manion Mary Martin
Dennis McCabe Mary Piszczor
Raymond Mitchell Fred Moss
Mary Sabel Oye Geri Pstrzoch
Baby Faith Reid Robert Restivo
Vera Rossiano Agnes Sabel
Patricia Sabel Joaquina Scroppo
Joan Skimina Linda Barone Simons
Jess Smith Mary Spierowski
Rachael Thompson John Unger
Richard Vanni
If you or a family member would like to be included in our
prayers, please call the rectory at 279-5700. Also, please let
us know when a name should be removed.
CCW WINE AND CHEESE GATHERING
The CCW will be hosting a Wine and Cheese Gathering and
Homemade Cookie Exchange in Barrett Hall on Tuesday November 13th
at 7:30pm. All women of the parish are invited to attend.
Please plan on joining us for a relaxing evening of fun and
fellowship. It will be the perfect opportunity to catch up with
old friends and make some new ones before the start of the busy
holiday season. If you would like to participate in the Cookie
Exchange, please bring three dozen homemade cookies, copies of
your recipe to share, and an empty tin to fill. For more
information contact Karen Vicary at 630-279-4108.
FROM THE BISHOP
CAMPAIGN FOR
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
My Dear Friends in Christ,
Tens of millions of Americans are struggling below the
poverty line-struggling to better their lives and meet the
needs of their families. Our faith calls us to work for an
end to injustices linked to poverty.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)
stands with poor and low-income people, helping them create
permanent solutions to poverty in their communities. Real,
sustainable change is happening because of the support of
parishioners across the country.
CCHD's efforts are funded almost entirely through an
annual parish Collection. This year's Appeal will take
place on the weekend of November 17/18. We send 75% of the
donations to the CCHD national office to support anti-
poverty projects across the country. We keep 25% here in
our diocese to fund self-help initiatives to benefit our
local communities, such as the Azzarelli Outreach Clinic in
Kankakee.
CCHD is committed to helping people find permanent
solutions to the problem of poverty, but they cannot do it
alone. Please join in solidarity with the Catholic
Campaign for Human Development to put an end to poverty in
our nation.
May God bless you for your generosity.
Sincerely in Christ,
Religious Education News
For more info on any of the above, please call Mary Ann Woods at
the REO, 832-8962.
Reminder to all RE families:
There will be no class on Wednesday, November 21st due to
the Thanksgiving holiday.
There will be no class on Wednesday, November 28th due to a
catechist evening of reflection.
FELLOWSHIP SUNDAY
On Sunday, November 18th all are invited to attend
Fellowship which will be held in Barrett Hall immediately
following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Bring your family and join your
friends in conversation while enjoying some sweets and a cup of
coffee, tea or juice.
BREAD FOR THE WORLD...
JOB WELL DONE
Here is the final report on the writing of letters to our
representatives in Congress.
Our parish should be VERY proud that 333 letters were sent
to the offices of Rep. Peter Roskam, Senator Dick Durban and
Senator Barack Obama in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to each person who took the time to write these
letters. Our representatives in Congress must be reminded that
we, the citizens of this country, consider helping the poor of
our country and the world a high priority.
Many thanks to Tom Goebel, chair of this project, for
organizing and executing this project so successfully.
Several persons inquired about contacting these officials
by e-mail. For future reference, you might want to save the
following information when you wish to communicate with our
politicans in Washington, DC. If you have difficulty implementing
these directions, feel free to contact me: Milt Honel at {630}
279-7086. I may also be able to provide phone numbers and
addresses of local and state public officials.
For those of you who prefer writing a letter to these
officials in Washington, D.C., I have included their postal
addresses. Please be aware that letters sent by mail may be
significantly delayed due to mail procedures implemented in the
wake of the anthrax and ricin incidents. I have also included
phone numbers to reach the local offices of these officials.
******
(by letter) Mr. Peter Roskam, U. S. House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C. 20515
(local office where you will have an opportunity to talk with a
staff member about your issue) (630) 893-9670
(by e-mail) (1) www.house.gov (2) scroll down to Roskam, Peter J.
Illinois (3) click on GO (4) go to right end of red bar, click on
CONTACT (5) follow directions to compose an e-mail.
******
(by letter) Mr. Dick Durban, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C.
20510 (local office where you will have an opportunity to talk
with a staff member about your issue) (312) 353-4952
(by e-mail) (1) www.senate.gov (2) scroll down to Durbin, Dick
(3) Click on durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm (4) follow directions
to compose an e-mail
******
(by letter) Mr. Barack Obama, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C.
20510 (local office where you will have an opportunity to talk
with a staff member about your issue) (312) 866-3506
(by e-mail) (1) www.senate.gov (2) scroll down to Obama, Barack
(3) click on obama.senate.gov/contact (4) select POSITION ON AN
ISSUE (5) follow directions to compose an e-mail. I would suggest
that you write out your message before you start this process.
MARY QUEEN OF HEAVEN
"CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY" RAFFLE
Looking for money to pay off those "Christmas Gift" Bills.
Why not take a chance on our "Christmas Holiday" Raffle. YOU COULD
BE A LUCKY WINNER! All Raffle proceeds will benefit our Parish.
Only 250 tickets will be sold and the winners need not be
present. The odds of winning a Raffle Prize are great! The Ticket
Donation is $100. Each ticket contains 10 slots so that the cost of
the ticket can be divided with as many as 10 people if you choose.
1st Prize $10,000
2nd Prize $2,000
3rd Prize $1,000
The Drawing will take place on December 16th in Barrett Hall
immediately following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Refreshments will be
served. Please consider helping us make this event a success so
that we can continue to grow as a welcoming parish that provides
ministries involving all walks of life and continued spiritual
growth to our families and their children. Invite your family,
friends and co-workers to participate in the Raffle.
Tickets will be available beginning next weekend in the
vestibule of church or can be obtained by contacting the Parish
Office or one of the following committee members: Sheila Reiter
(833-6657), Derrick StaRosa (291-9115) Phyllis Twardowski (279-6239)
or Mary White (833-9809)
FROM THE MARY QUEEN OF HEAVEN PARISH FINANCE
COUNCIL
Streamline your MQH contributions!
You have the ability to make your Sunday offertory
contributions to Mary Queen of Heaven electronically. There
are numerous benefits to you and to the parish, including:
1. The funds can be deducted automatically from either
your checking account or credit card using the service
"Parish Pay." Eliminate the need to hurriedly write
checks, get envelopes, etc. just before leaving for
Mass- this hassle is eliminated!
2. If you are maintaining a budget for your expenditures,
this creates a uniform, predictable stream of
expenses.
3. Most importantly, these predictable streams of
contributions in turn help us to more accurately
budget revenue.
4. By committing to the monthly amount to be deducted, it
keeps your contributions flowing, even if you cannot
attend Mass for whatever reason. It also is an easy
way to acknowledge how important our parish is to you.
5. Recordkeeping is much easier for you- 12 monthly
deductions of an equal amount (plus any special
contributions) make it easy to maintain records for
tax purposes.
6. If you use Parish Pay and your credit card is billed,
you will possibly earn miles or cash based on your
card benefits.
If you would like to enroll in either of these programs,
please contact the Parish Office. You may also enroll in
Parish Pay yourself by going to their website at
www.parishpay.com.
RENTAL AND USE OF BARRETT HALL
AND SOCIAL HALL
The renting and use of Barrett Hall and the Social Hall
depends upon the event. Barrett Hall is available for things
related to the sacraments or ministries of the church. For
example, in Barrett Hall we have had multiple wedding receptions,
gatherings after funerals and memorial services, and retreats for
religious groups. We do not use Barrett Hall for individual
celebrations when many children together receive a sacrament for
the first time, although we try to have group receptions there
when possible, nor is it used for private parties. The Social
Hall (in the school building), as well as classrooms at certain
times, are available for rent for private parties or meetings of
groups or organizations from outside the parish. We will
accommodate what requests we can, at times when adequate staffing
is available.
All facility rentals require an application and approval.
In addition, there is the necessary purchase of insurance through
the Diocese of Joliet.
For more information about the use or rental of Barrett
Hall for religious events, please contact the Pastoral Life
Coordinator, Mary Foley. For information about the use or rental
of the Social Hall or classrooms for a private party or a meeting
of an organization outside of the parish, please contact the
Parish Offices Manager, Sr. Marlene Geimer. Both can be reached
at the parish office at (630) 279-5700.
Parish News
New Yoga Class Schedule
Come for one or more classes recommended for ages 15 to 75
(however, everyone is welcome)
Increase your flexibility, strength, and decrease your
stress. It is about balance, strength, and mobility.
Tuesdays 9 am to 10 am
Nov 13, 20 and 27
$4 per class ($6 for families)
Call Debbie Styka at 941-7224/
Please bring a non-slip yoga mat if you have one.
Required: comfortable clothing, socks that can come off.
Please see our website at www.maryqueenpreschool.org and contact
the school office for more information and registration.
(630) 833-9500
Preschool classes have begun. We still have some openings in our
Tuesday/Thursday class.
Come join us!
Preschool tours scheduled upon request.
Teacher Aide Position Available
Do you enjoy working with children, fostering their growth
spiritually, academically, physically, and emotionally? We are
currently accepting resumes for the teacher aide position for our
Preschool here at MQH. Please direct resumes to Mrs. Liz Lowrey
at MQH Preschool 426 N. West Ave. Elmhurst, IL 60126.
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, all articles for the
November 25th bulletin must be submitted by Thursday,
November 15th. Thank you for your cooperation.
2007 JOLIET DIOCESE
CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC HEALING MASS
Fr. Paul Hottinger
Presider
Deacon Marty Hetzel
Assisting
St. Margaret Mary Church
1450 Green Trails Drive
Naperville, IL 60540
Friday, November 16, 2007
Doors Open 6:30PM Mass 7:30 PM
Sponsoring Prayer Group: Evangelization and Training
Ministry
For more information, please call
Joey Rose at 630-941-7304
MAYSLAKE MINISTRIES PROGRAMS
December 1, 2007 (Saturday)
"VIVIR EN RELACION CON DIOS, MARIA Y LOS SANTOS" on
December 1 (Saturday) with Fr. Gilberto Cavazos-Gonzalez,
OFM at Mayslake location from 9:30a..m.-4:30p.m., $75.
This Spanish School of Spirituality session will fill
quickly. Call 630-323-1620 for reservations by 11/21/07
December 5th, 12th, and 19th, 2007 (Wednesdays)
This Wednesday night Advent series "THREE HOLY WOMEN"
will reflect God's grace as we prepare for Christmas and
meet Margaret of Cortona, Therese of Lisieux and Cornelia
Connelly. Fr. Albert Haase, OFM will present from 7-9p.m.
at the Mayslake location with reservations due by 12/3/07
to 630-323-1620. $75 covers all three sessions.
December 15, 2007 (Saturday)
"IN THE MIDST OF WINTER..." with Sr. Marianne Saieg,
OSF will be presented at the Mayslake location in Westmont.
9:30a.m.-2:30p.m. Cost is $50. Call 630-323-1620 with
reservations by 11/30/07.
Community News
ADVOCATE GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
HEALING RELIEF OF ACUPUNCTURE
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
6:30pm-8:00pm Good Samaritan Hospital-
Red & Black Rooms
Dr. Martha Calden will share the benefits and healing
techniques of acupuncture. This ancient therapy has been
shown to help ease pain, promote health, address disease-
related symptoms, and treat the underlying causes of health
disorders.
COUMIDIN AND YOU
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
7:00pm-8:00pm Good Samaritan Hospital-
Red & Black Rooms
The blood thinner Coumidin is a powerful medication that
has assisted many patients through medical ailments and
medical procedures such as heart valve repair or
replacement. Coumidin has also helped those patients who
have had heart attacks or experience irregular heart
rhythms. Patients taking Coumidin must be aware of the
special concerns of taking this drug properly. If you or a
loved one is on Coumidin, join Dr. Weinstein as he reviews
what every patient should know about this blood thinner.
VOLUNTEER TUTORS NEEDED
The Congregation of St. Joseph of La Grange Park is
greatly in need of volunteers for its Adult Literacy
Program, School on Wheels. New Volunteers are needed to
teach one hour or so per week from 9am to 2 pm or 3 pm to 8
pm in Cicero, Hodgkins, Lombard, Summit, Westmont and
Woodridge. New hours of training are provided on Friday,
November 30th, 2007 from 6 PM to 9 PM and on Saturday
December 1st, 2007 from 9AM to 3 PM. No prior second
language skills are needed. For more information, call
(708) 482-5060 or (708) 482-5085