 We are here to journey with you. Assisting you where we can. Let us help you. Click the button below to request help and someone from the St. Vincent de Paul Society will respond as quickly as possible. If this is an emergency, please call 911 or 311 for immediate assistance.
 Mary, Mother of God Parish has a variety of groups that can help grow your prayer life.
The Sunday Prayer Group of the Blessed Virgin Mary provides a remote option every week for parishioners to come together and pray the Rosary. The group meets in person for special occasions at St. Thomas of Canterbury church (4827 N. Kenmore). We are blessed to have so many committed prayer groups! Contact the parish office to get involved. Editor's Note: this post initially identified the group as the Legion of Mary
The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves to be protected. Indeed, the right to life is the very foundation of every other human right. For this reason, only when a society safeguards the sanctity of human life will it flourish and prosper (cf. Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See, 9 January 2026).
In this regard, we affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed.Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2267). This is why Pope Francis and my recent predecessors repeatedly insisted that the common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment. Consequently, the Church teaches that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” (ibid.). I therefore join you in celebrating the decision made by the Governor of Illinois in 2011, and I likewise offer my support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world. I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person, and will inspire others to work for the same just cause. With these sentiments, I cordially invoke upon all of you the divine blessings of wisdom, joy and peace. Thank you. On Sunday, April 19, some of our Becoming Catholic group attended the Mass of Thanksgiving with Cardinal Cupich at Holy Name Cathedral. This was a wonderful opportunity for our newest parishioners (those who were Received in the Church at the Easter Vigil) to be welcomed by the head of the Archdiocese.  On April 19, we celebrated Laotian New Year at St. Thomas of Canterbury church. The Laotian community blended their Lao culture with their Catholic faith for a beautiful celebration. Mass was held at 8 AM followed by traditional dancing, the baci (thread tying ceremony), and the feasting in the social hall. Thank you to Fr. Thien Nguyen, SVD; Fr. Paul Schneider, OFM Conv. (former pastor); Pastor Fr. Alejandro Lopez, OFM Conv.; and Deacon Joseph for celebrating the Mass. Accompanying the wonderful Vietnamese choir was Fr. Thomas Fetz, OFM Conv. on the flute.
Things You See at Lao New Year
*Adapted from laosinthehouse.com.  We are extremely grateful for our student volunteers from SFX School in Wilmette, IL. The 8th graders recently completed their final volunteer shift of the school year at the Food Pantry. (The students have been coming every Monday).
Earlier this year, the 8th graders also precented the Food Pantry with a check to purchase new shelving. We now look forward to continuing this partnership and working with the new class after summer break! Thank you to all involved.
Images: Relic of St. Faustina at St. Ita church (5500 N. Broadway) If you were born well before the year 2000, you know the feast of Divine Mercy has not always been celebrated in the Church. In the early 1900s, a young Polish nun began receiving private revelations. Jesus appeared to her during her times of prayer, speaking a message of mercy and love for the world. She received a set of prayers — the Divine Mercy Chaplet — and the request to have a feast day established to remind the Church of the mercy of God. St. Faustina died in 1938, on the cusp of war and amid one of the most violent centuries in the history of the world.
Her story and her diaries began circulating in Poland and beyond. It quickly became apparent that this was a holy young women, and the cause for her canonization opened. In the year 2000, she was canonized by the first-ever Polish pope, St. John Paul II. On her canonization day, he established the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, “a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind with experience in the years to come.” (©LPi) 
Palm Sunday
Masses*Photos courtesy of parish volunteers Luana Lienhart, OFS; Silvia Tellez, OFS; and Mitch Legan Holy TUesday
TenebraeWatch the video to see and hear the final procession!
*Photos and video courtesy of Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan Holy Wednesay
Covered Statues & Images*Photos courtesy of Communications Coordinator Stephanie Held Holy Thursday
Mass of the Lord's SupperAt the end of Mass, the Eucharist was processed out of St. Ita church and taken to St. Gregory the Great church for Adoration.
Eucharistic Adoration*Photos courtesy of parish volunteers Luana Lienhart, OFS; Silvia Tellez, OFS; and Communications Coordinator Stephanie Held Good Friday
Private Prayer with the Statue of Christ's Body*Photo courtesy of parish volunteer Steve Mosklain and Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan
Stations of the Cross*Photos courtesy of Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan
Celebration of the Lord's Passion*Photo courtesy of parish volunteer Luana Lienhart, OFS; Silvia Tellez, OFS; and Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan Holy Saturday
Blessing of the Easter Baskets*Photos courtesy of Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan
Easter Vigil*Photos courtesy of parish volunteer Luana Lienhart, OFS Easter Sunday
Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord*Photos courtesy of Communications Coordinator Stephanie Held
*Photos courtesy of parish volunteer Steve Moskalin and Communications Coordinator Mitch Legan 
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