St. Mary of the Assumption

Maple Park, Illinois

It is a beautiful and praiseworthy tradition to recite an act of spiritual communion when one is unable, for whatever reason, to receive Holy Communion. Below is an act of spiritual communion composed by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri.
 
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.  Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Weekend Masses have resumed. 

Mass on Sunday will also be live-streamed on Facebook at 8 AM. 

Daily Masses are celebrated here on Wednesdays & Thursdays at 8 AM.
 

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The Lion's Roar

This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. In the year 2000, St. Pope John Paul II made Divine Mercy Sunday universally recognized by the Church. In his turn, Fr. George Kosicki provided a teaching tool, the “ ABC’s of Mercy,” that can help us understand what Divine Mercy is about.

A = Ask for mercy. Jesus reminds St. Faustina, “Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion.”

B = Be merciful in deed, word, and prayer. From the Diary of St. Faustina: “I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first—by deed; the second—by word; the third—by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me.”

C = Completely trust. We find in the Diary: “I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls.”

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This Sunday was established by St John Paul II as “Divine Mercy Sunday,” a day when we focus on the mercy of God. While many parishes have special devotions to the mercy of Jesus on this Sunday, the Pope made it clear that extra Masses or special prayer services are not necessary, although, of course, if people want to add them to the Sunday schedule they are free to do so.

I think this devotion to the Divine Mercy is especially important at this time because we are living in a culture that is referred to as “the cancel culture.” The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago once commented that in our time, “everything is allowed and nothing is forgiven.” We want a wide-open society in which the main virtue is tolerance of almost any opinion or action that someone wants, but if someone disagrees or acts differently ─ whether now or in the past ─ we find little tolerance on the part of the people who express themselves as offended.

In contrast, notice what Jesus did after His resurrection. He had been abandoned by most of His inner circle of Apostles, betrayed by one of the Twelve, and rejected by many people who cheered Him on when He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. I have little doubt that in our culture today, all those people would have been canceled out.

But Jesus took a different approach. He is always more interested in the future, not in past mistakes. He did not reprimand the Apostles when he appeared to them after the Resurrection and say He would select another group because they had abandoned Him. His message was “Peace be with you.”  And He gave them the mission to go into the world and proclaim the forgiveness of sins and a new life of virtue for those who repented.

As the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, tell us, we are all sinners in need of repentance. If God were not merciful as well as just, we would all be canceled out ─ and that includes those who are so eager to get rid of past history. Our celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us that we are not captives of our past, that in Jesus the mistakes of the past can be acknowledged, corrected and replaced by a better future. I think that is the answer to the “cancel culture’ which is so rampant today.

May are constant prayer be, “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Important News Items

• Forever Young Luncheon - Enjoy an afternoon with lunch and great  conversation. Come join us on Wednesday, April 14th at noon in the Saints Peter & Paul parish hall. Any who are 60 and over are welcome. We will save a place for you - just call the SSPP parish office at 630-365-6618.
• Anchor: Episode 50 - Visit with our priests this Thursday, April 15 on Facebook at 11:30 AM.
• Mass on Sunday will be live-streamed on Facebook at 8 AM.

• Daily Mass: Daily Masses are currently being celebrated here on Wednesdays & Thursdays at 8 AM.
• Church Open Hours

• Confession Schedule

• Year of St. Joseph - In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special “Year of St. Joseph.”  It is a wonderful opportunity to increase our love for St. Joseph and knowledge, “to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal" (Patris Corde). Fr. Ariel has assembled a worship aid and we encourage you to Down-load it here and use it during the year. You may also pick-up a printed copy at church.

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Religious Education

Sundays 9:15-10:30 AM

Please pray for our Confirmation
students who will be Confirmed
on Wednesday, April 21st at
St. Catherine of Genoa.
   
Calling All Crafters: Could you help create a new Confirmation banner? The new banner will feature “Fruits of the Spirit”. It is approximately 12’ x 8’. Please contact the Religious Education office if you are interested. Thank you!
     

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Important Messages from Bishop David J. Malloy

Vaccines and COVID 19

See this important note from our Diocesan Ethicist, Fr. Ken Wasilewski, regarding the new COVID-19 Vaccines:

As concerns about the Coronavirus continue, and talk of an imminent vaccine becomes more prevalent, there are a few moral questions about the vaccine which have also arisen. These really come down to two basic areas: first, how a given vaccine is developed, and secondly, the morality of receiving that vaccine (or not receiving it). Generally speaking, the Church has long been a supporter of vaccine development and use. (more...)

Letter dated 3/5/21 from Bishop Malloy regarding use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine.
  

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Bishop David Malloy announced in a letter to all priests Oct. 8, a list of changes to the “Back in His Presence” guidelines issued in June of this year.

Bishop Malloy said in his letter that modifications to the original protocols are being made periodically “based in the experience that we gain as we live through this pandemic.”

After consultations with the Deans and with the Presbyteral Council, the following modifications have been made to “Back in His Presence.”   These changes were made effective for Masses beginning October 10-11, 2020.

Prior COVID-19 Statements from Bishop Malloy
Letter from Bishop Malloy and Executive Summary for reopening churches
Bishop Malloy's Dispensation Statement
Diocesan Cancellations AND Postponements

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St. Mary's Harvest Draw Down Silent Auction Basket Fundraiser

Hello Everyone!   We are getting ready for another fun Harvest Draw Down with a fundraiser for silent auction items. Grab your favorite Tupperware items through our shopping link now through April 15th. These sales build host rewards (free product) that will ALL go to the Draw Down to be auctioned off. Want to see what’s new? ‍♀‍ We put together a group for the rest of the week in case it’s been awhile since you saw Tupperware!
Join
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3895149327231912/
Shop
https://www.tupperware.com/?party=603997c4998b743f7ea0c569
Browse
http://catalog.tupperware.com/brochure/midmonth2/
 

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Mass Intentions

Please remember your loved ones with a Mass intention. We can pray for anyone, they do not have to be deceased. It can be for a wedding anniversary or birthday, a Mass of Thanksgiving, or any other special intention. Weekend Masses fill up quickly, but we do have daily Masses each week that are available. You can also use these Masses while you are away and cannot be here to pray for those loved ones. Please call or stop in the parish office for more information.
 

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New Parishioners Welcome!

If you are new to our parish or just visiting - WELCOME!!  If you would like to officially claim St. Mary’s as your Parish Home - we would love to have you!  Contact the Parish Office (815-827-3205) for information and a registration form.  Forms can be mailed or emailed to you or you may stop in and pick them up.
 

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Volunteers - We Need You!

The Catholic faith community of St. Mary, Maple Park is in need of people to be involved in our liturgy. During this time of COVID, we are in need of cantors, lectors, ushers, and greeters. Make an effort to actively participate at Mass and step up! Contact the parish office if you feel called to serve in a ministry.
 
 
  

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Remember Your Parish...

Just like for your family, during this time it is important that the parish continue paying its bills. While we are unable to gather in church, if you are able to continue your Sunday contributions to the parish, please mail them to: PO Box 70, Maple Park, IL 60151, or use our Online Giving service. Thanks and may God bless you and your family during this difficult time!

Please also remember St. Mary’s with a gift in your will or estate plan.

Church Stained Glass Window Work (Update)

We continue to raise funds to install exterior vented clear-glass on the remaining ten windows on the South and East (front) areas of the church. We just received a quote on finishing these remaining windows from the proposed contractor, Daprado Rigali, in the amount of $50,000. At the combined Pastoral Council and Buildings and Grounds on November 11, based upon recommendation of the committees, Fr. Ariel approved proceeding. The work will begin this coming spring or summer. Through your generosity and our fundraising activities (many thanks to our volunteers and donors!), we will have most of the funds to complete this phase of work. That being said, we will continue to raise funds to pay for this work and save for rebuilding the actual interior stained glass as it is deemed necessary.

The Diocese has granted us permission that donations we receive for “Stained-Glass” will be exempt from the diocesan assessment (used as a basis of setting our diocesan appeal goal) until December 31, 2024.  Therefore, we ask that you use the “stained-glass” offering envelope, online giving selection, or write “stained-glass” on your checks for contributions for the window work. We sincerely thank you for your past donations and ask for your continued generous support in this endeavor to help properly maintain our beautiful church building.