Dear Friends,
Happy Lent! Our Lenten theme developed by our Worship Commission for this year is: "Take A Risk, Reform Your Life, Live His Journey." May we all learn to take this to heart in the coming weeks.
Living out real Christian faith in the world has always involved Risk. We can think of the risk involved for both early and contemporary martyrs who literally risked their lives for the faith. Not many of us will be called to do that in our own lives. But each of us is called during the season of Lent to risk change and to risk conversion of heart. Change and conversion are risky because they involve the unknown and a process of becoming what-we-do-not-know- yet. At the same time, change and conversion can lead us into deeper relationship with God and one another.
3 We will hear much in the readings during this season of Lent that call us to Reform our lives. We may need to repent of sins or return to God with all our hearts after some period of distance or absence. Or, there may be ways we are called to re-form our lives, giving up old ways of thinking or behaving, developing new relationships or habits, or undergoing some kind of transformation that involves growth in understanding or maturation.
To Live the Journey of Jesus means that we die to ourselves in order to bring new life. The traditional spiritual disciplines of Lent - prayer, fasting, and almsgiving - can help us to do this. Deepening or making more regular our prayer lives, our communication with God, can lead us into more intimate relationship with the One who came that we might have life. Think of all the stories of Jesus withdrawing from the crowds to pray, of all the examples he gave us in his own life of taking time to be alone with God. Prayer is very powerful, not only for ourselves but as we intercede for others. Fasting, along with what is popularly thought of as "giving up something for Lent," are things that are really related to the evangelical counsel of poverty. When we limit our food intake or our attachment to material things, we are more open to discovering our deep hunger and need for God because there is less in the way of blocking that understanding. Almsgiving, or stewardship of time, talent, and treasure, is a way of giving generously out of a sense of gratitude to God for all the blessings we have been given.
Practice of these spiritual disciplines can be a help to us during our Lenten journey. There are other helps available to us, too. The Diocese of Joliet has recommended several sources available for the internet-savvy. One is "The Virtuous Journey: A Seven Week Retreat Through Lent," a program sponsored by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. This retreat, which can be done by families, groups, or individuals, focuses each week on one of the Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, Faith, Hope, and Charity). The website for this program can be found at http://www.usccb.org/publishing/lent2003/index.shtml. Another recommended program is, "Lent: A Call to Conversion," which can be found at http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Lent. And finally, readings of the lectionary's scripture passages for each day can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/today.htm.
In our own parish, we will also be offering some special aids to the spiritual life this season that can be taken advantage of with no technological knowledge at all! First of all, we will be having our Communal Lenten Reconciliation Service (with the opportunity for individual confession) on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00 pm in the church. During the weekends of March 5-6 and 12-13, there will be opportunities for signing up for our new Bible Study groups which will start meeting in April. During Fridays during Lent there will be opportunities for participating in the Stations of the Cross. The celebration of Holy Week's Triduum (the liturgies of the Three Days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening) are a tremendous way to enter deeply into the journey of Christ leading up to Easter and the Resurrection.
I would like you to know about one other wonderful opportunity for all teens and adults of our parish during this Lenten season. Our new Adult Education and Spirituality Committee has organized a Lenten Series for this year, which will take place each Tuesday evening of Lent, beginning with this week. Starting on Feb. 15, each Tuesday at 7 pm in Barrett Hall, a major organization of the parish will be sponsoring a film and discussion of Vatican II. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and our Diocese has many events celebrating this anniversary. Within our parish this Lent, we will have the opportunity to learn more about this momentous event in the life of our church, the changes that have been taking place as a result of it, and the ways that lay people are called to live out the Gospel of Jesus in the world. This Lenten series is very much in line with our theme of "Take A Risk, Reform Your Life, Live His Journey." The implementation of the Second Vatican Council called upon the entire church to take a risk and re-form itself, as we learn to live out more closely the life of Christ together with one another. I strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of this five-week long opportunity to learn more about the history of our church and the ways that we are called by virtue of our baptism to preach the Gospel with our lives.
"Take A Risk, Reform Your Life, Live His Journey." May this theme become ingrained in us during this holy season and may our Lenten practices help to deepen our faith as individuals and as a parish family.
Mary Foley, Pastoral Life Coordinator
Benedictine University offers Free Nutrition Counseling for Area Seniors Healthy Table, a service of the Nutrition Department at Benedictine University, provides free nutrition counseling and education to seniors age 60 and older, persons on Medicare or Medicaid and those participating in public food assistance programs. Nutrition counseling is designed to meet individual needs. Healthy Table can help people learn why certain foods may help improve these conditions: diabetes, high blood pressure, weight management problems, high cholesterol, anemia, osteoporosis, and bowel trouble. Healthy Table hours are: Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturdays from 9:00 am. to 1:00 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled at other times. Interested individuals should call Julie Ann Behluli at 630-829-6518, for information or an appointment. St. Charles Borromeo We are now accepting registrations for the 2005-2006 school year. Birth certificate, baptismal certificate, social security number and a $40 non-refundable fee are required to register. For information, call the school at 766-0116. VITAS Hospice Care Is offering Volunteer Training To prepare caring individuals to work with terminally ill patients and their families. Classroom sessions will be held: Saturday, and Sunday, February 26 and 27 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm. (both days) VITAS Innovative Health Care 580 Waters Edge, Suite 100, Lombard Course content includes Hospice Movement & the VITAS Story, VITAS Palliative Care, Spiritual Care, Communication Techniques, Psychosocial Needs & Family Dynamics, and a host of related topics. Volunteers provide service in homes, nursing homes, or our inpatient Hospice House. We care for patients near your home or office! For further information call Nancy Petersen, Volunteer Services Mgr, at 630-268-6237. Fellowship Sunday On Sunday, February 20th, after the 10:15 a.m. Mass, we will have Fellowship in Barrett Hall. Members of our Parish Council will be the hosts. Bring your family and enjoy conversing with friends and fellow parishioners while having a cup of coffee or juice, donuts, coffee cakes and other goodies. Candlelight Bowl Friday, February 18th The Council of Catholic Women and the Men's Group are co- hosting a Scotch Doubles Candlelight Bowl at Stardust Bowling Lanes, 27 E. Lorraine in Addison. Dinner will be served at 8:30 p.m. followed by three games of Scotch doubles (including one "crazy bowl" game). There will be raffles, and prizes will be awarded. The cost is $45.00/couple. Cash bar. Call your relatives, neighbors, and friends and invite them to join in the fun!! For reservations, call Mary White (833-9809) or stop at the table in the church vestibule this weekend. The deadline for selling tickets is this weekend, February , 12-13. Make checks payable to the Council of Catholic Women. Christian Service Commission "Gather Books" You may have noticed that our "Gather" books are looking tattered and many of them have been lost. A new edition is now available. The cost for each hardcover book, engraved with our parish name, is $15. Replacing our books would be quite an expense to the parish, so we thought perhaps our parishioners would like to donate a book. Every book donated will have a donor bookplate with the words, "Gift Of" and your family name, or inscribed with the words "In Memory Of." These books are an important part of our liturgies. We hope to provide four "Gather" books at each end of our pews (8 per pew). There are forms available in the church vestibule. Please return the form with your check made out to Mary Queen of Heaven. Thank you for your generous contributions to our thriving parish. Parish News Market Day Orders for MONTH are due Monday, February 14, at noon. Turn in your order form in the box at the back of church or at the rectory. Pickup on Saturday, February 29, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. in the Social Hall. If you have questions or would like to place an order, please call Mary at 832-8263 or Karen at 279-4108. Parish Library To Open February 20 Mary Queen of Heaven's new parish library, located at the north end of Mary's Gathering Place, will open for the first time on Sunday, February 20 from 9:00 a.m. until Noon. This will enable parishioners to have the books available for nearly all of Lent-not that we think reading is a form of Lenten penance, but rather a chance to deepen our spiritual knowledge. Members of the Library Committee have divided the books into various categories and color coded each category to help parishioners using the library. Among the topics covered are Church History, The Church Today, Theology, Christian Reading, Spirituality, Devotional, Saints, Biography, Women, Fiction, Psychology, Children, and Young Adults. In addition, a number of magazines will be available in the magazine rack for reading. Some additional books have been ordered to fill in the gaps in certain categories, which we hope will arrive before February 20. There is some overlap between a few of the categories, but since ours is a small library this should not present a serious problem. For example, Spirituality focuses on the ideas involved in the spiritual life, while Devotional emphasizes the "how to" in developing one's spiritual life. The library will be open from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Sundays. Books may be checked out for three weeks at a time by filling out the cards in the pockets in the back of each book, and leaving the cards in the library. Members of the Library Committee will be present to answer questions during library hours. Anyone wishing to volunteer to help with the work of the library should call William Barnds at 630-782-5966. William Barnds, a former U.S. government official and author, joined the parish last year. He is also a member of the Finance Committee. Religious Education News Mark Your Calendars Bishop Schlarman will be here to talk to our 8th grade Confirmation candidates, their parents and sponsors on Wednesday, February 23rd at 7:00 PM in Barrett Hall. We are delighted that Bishop Schlarman will be here since he will be the presider at our Confirmation celebration on April 23rd. It is our hope that all of our parents and all of our local sponsors will be here with their candidates Please let us know if for some reason you cannot attend. Reminder to all Parents Please caution your children to be extra careful when crossing the parking lot, walking on the sidewalks, etc. We ask that all our parents be extra careful as well when driving in and out of the parking lot. Winter is still with us and that means the outside surfaces can be slippery. Please help us keep our children safe. It's Not Too Early To Start Thinking of Being a Catechist This is the perfect time to start thinking if you are being called to be a catechist in our Religious Education Program next fall. It's also a great time to come by on a Wednesday and see what goes on after the children arrive. The only qualification is that you love children and you want to share your faith with them. Everything else is provided. With our enrollment nearing the 500 mark, the need for catechists is even greater. If you thought about it or know someone who is interested, call the office for details. Lenten Project: For the past several years we have collected Easter basket "fixings" for the children of Marillac House. This year on all the Wednesdays of Lent there will be a "Basket" in the hall of school. The need is for Easter candy, small plush animals, toys, anything that one can put into a basket. Your generosity will make the children who live on Chicago's West Side just a little happier on Easter morning. Thank you in advance. For more information on any of the above, please call Mary Ann Woods at the REO, 832-8962 Christian Education Commission Scripture Study Program Update Leadership training for more than 15 facilitators and co- facilitators for our upcoming Scripture Study Program is already underway, and will continue for the next four weeks. Watch this space for more details about this program, including the Information Weekend to be held March 5/6, and Sign- Up Weekend on March 12/13. Actual study groups will begin the week of April 3. Meanwhile, please pray for discernment about taking part in one of the study groups, and pray for our facilitators, co- facilitators - and trainers - during this time of formation and preparation. For information, call Lynn Suwanski at 530-2523. 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, alone or as a family. Thank you. Pam Bondfide Heather Marie Brennan Kathleen Bryers Rose Caffarelli Kathy Calzante Jim Clynch Jenie Colletti Trudi Dolato John Doyle Jeannette Elderkin Dan Focht Paul Francetic Anna Heffel Jen Huwalt Tom Huwalt Pat Holmes Maureen James Tom Janicke Irene Kmieciak Baby Emma Ann Lynde Nancy Maloney Robert Manion Bobbi Nannini Stephanie Shostok Jeff Smith Joe Tinnerello Alex Villamil Tyler Vincer 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. Christian Worship Commission Lenten Vatican II Series The MQH Adult Education and Spirituality Committee invites you to explore 40 Years of Catholic Tradition The Faithful Revolution: Vatican II It began in 1962 with one man's vision to bring about change and reform. Who was the man known as Pope John XXIII? What influenced his decision to call the Second Vatican Council? How would Vatican II affect the evolution of the Church? The opening session of our Lenten series develops the history of the Council, the death of Pope John XXIII and the legacy of this "genius of the heart." It tells of the changing relationship with the mass media, the Church's struggles with a changing world, and the eventual changes in the liturgy. This hour-long video presentation will be followed by discussion and fellowship. The MQH Council of Catholic Women will host this opening session in Barrett Hall at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 15. For more information, contact Dick Reed at 834-4840. Year 2005 Men's Group Events Mark your calendars for the following: Saturday, March 19 St. Patrick's Day Party Monday, April 4 NCAA Men's Basketball Men's Group meets the 2nd Thursday of each month. MQH Help Opportunities For Parishioners Parishioners may submit ads to appear in the bulletin to MQHBulletin@aol.com for approval by the Pastoral Life Coordinator. No ads will be accepted for real estate or by those offering child care services (although those looking for child care providers may place an ad and screen candidates themselves). The parish accepts no responsibility for goods or services offered. The ads are a free service to parishioners. * Lynn Suwanski, who works for an Elmhurst Memorial Hospital physician hospital organization, occasionally hears of openings for positions in physician offices in the Elmhurst area. If you would like to give her your name and phone number in case she finds out there is a need, she will contact you. Please call her at work 630-833-8200 ext. 73714, or home 630-530-2523, and be able to provide a resume. St. Alexander Parish Mission You are invited to join St. Alexander Parish in their annual Parish Mission on February 20, 21 and 22 in St. Alexander Church, 300 S. Cornell in Villa Park. The services begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. John Donahue Grossman will speak on "Feeding the Hungers of Our Lives." Mr. Grossman has been involved in parish ministry and Catholic education in the Chicago and Rockford areas for almost two decades and is known for speaking to people where they are in their life journey. For more information call: 630-833-7730. Volunteer Opportunity: P.A.D.S. (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) Our parishioners help prepare and serve dinner and breakfast, and we man (or woman) the overnight shift (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.). We work at St. Alexis Parish in Bensenville. We serve only once per month, on the 4th weekend of the month, October through March, on the Saturday night to Sunday morning shift. If you are interested, please call Steve Lindberg at 630-983-3392 (work) or 630-941-1355 (home). Diocesan News L.O.S.S. Support Group (Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) Through the collaboration of Catholic Charities (from the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet), support groups are in place for anyone who has lost a relative or friend to suicide. A trained facilitator and a mental health professional assist these groups. The groups meet from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on either the third Wednesday or the fourth Tuesday of the month. The next meeting dates are as follows: Feb. 16 St. Paul the Apostle Activity Center 130 Woodlawn in Joliet Feb. 22 St. Daniel the Prophet Parish Center 101 West Loop Drive in Wheaton For further information, please call the L.O.S.S. Program Center at 312-655-7283. High School Honor Roll We have been notified by Fenwick High School in Oak Park that Steven Lindberg recently made the honor roll for the first semester of the 2004/2005 academic school year. Congratulations Steven!!! Community Conversations Let Your Voice Be Heard The Elmhurst Senior Citizens Commission introduces Community Conversations. This informal setting will provide a forum for seniors residing in Elmhurst to celebrate systems already in place as well as provide a voice for concerns and opinions that directly effect aging well in the Elmhurst community. Topics will focus on diverse subjects such as housing options, senior services and healthcare. Please join us for the first of a series of three Community Conversations on Monday, February 21st at Immaculate Conception Church, at 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The topic will be "Aging in Place." Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited. Please RSVP to Carol Yesko at 630-530-3497. The 2nd Community Conversations will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ, March 15 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., entitled "Choices." The 3rd Community Conversation will be held at First United Methodist Church of Elmhurst, April 12, 2005 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., entitled "A Look at Elmhurst." Questions concerning the Community Conversations may be directed to Commissioners Cathy Raymond at 630-306-9745 or Melissa Cheek at 630-336-0774. A Vocation View Lent is a season of renewal, of spiritual growth. These forty penitential days invite us to strive for our true calling Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross are being held in Church at 7:00 p.m. during the Friday's of Lent. Perhaps you and your family could make a special effort to attend this devotion.