Blog Archives

Welcoming First-year DePaul Students

8/30/2023

On Monday, August 28 Canterbury House (a ministry of Mary, Mother of God Parish) hosted 25 first-year DePaul students as part of their orientation week. Students gathered with their professors in the St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen along with Kathy Kelly — a renowned peace-activist, Catholic Worker, and writer — and Workers from St. Francis Catholic Worker.

After the discussion, the DePaul group finished their day with a tour of the parish's food pantry, soup kitchen, and one of our new solidarity gardens.

Labor Day Schedule

8/30/2023

ATTENTION: On Monday, September 4 there will be no 5:30 PM Mass at Saint Ita and all parish offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day.

ATENCIÓN: El lunes 4 de septiembre no habrá misa a las 5:30 p. m. en Saint Ita y todas las oficinas parroquiales estarán cerradas en conmemoración del Día del Trabajo.

Maggie Flynn's Thank You Message/Mensaje de agradecimiento

8/28/2023

More Photos/Más fotos

Dear parishioners of Mary, Mother of God:

I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support from you all as I prepare to enter religious life at Mission of Our Lady of the Angels as a Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago next month. Thank you so much for all you have done! Your generosity at my going away is nothing short of breathtaking. I have learned so much from you all about how to love God with all my heart and strength, and how to love my neighbors. You will all be in my prayers as I begin this new chapter. Please continue to pray for me and for all who are discerning a vocation!

You can also find ways to volunteer at www.missionola.com/getInvolved_Volunteer I would be so happy to see you.

Thank you for everything,

Maggie Flynn
(Former administrative assistant for communications at Mary, Mother of God)

Queridos feligreses de María, Madre de Dios:

He sido abrumado por la amabilidad y el apoyo de todos ustedes mientras me preparo para entrar en la vida religiosa en la Misión de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles como Franciscanos de la Eucaristía de Chicago el próximo mes. Muchas gracias por todo lo que han hecho. Su generosidad en mi despedida me ha dejado sin aliento. He aprendido mucho de todos sobre cómo amar a Dios con todo mi corazón y todas mis fuerzas, y sobre cómo amar a mi prójimo. Todos ustedes estarán en mis oraciones mientras comienzo este nuevo capítulo. Por favor, ¡sigan rezando por mí y por todos los que están discerniendo una vocación!

También pueden encontrar formas de ser voluntario en www.missionola.com/getInvolved_Volunteer Estaré encantada de verlos.

Gracias por todo,

Maggie Flynn
(Ex asistente administrativa de comunicaciones en María, Madre de Dios)

Check out photos from Maggie's Farewell party on Sunday, August 28!/¡Mira las fotos de la fiesta de despedida de Maggie el domingo 28 de agosto!

Music Ministry Opportunities 2023

8/23/2023

Reflections on Music Ministry

8/18/2023

Our church choirs are welcoming new singers! This is the second in a two-part series on sacred music and music ministry. Information about our choirs can be found by clicking "Read more" below the interviews.

Click here to read Part 1.

Reflection by Mr. Kevin Allen, composer-in-residence at St. Gregory’s Hall and choir director at St. Gregory the Great

Reflection by Mr. Dan Lagacy, director of music and liturgy coordinator at Mary, Mother of God

Can you talk about the role of music in liturgical life?

From the very inception, from the very beginning of the church's liturgy, it's music. Everything is sung except for the sermon, and for the longest time, sermons were optional, so really when you think about church worship, our Catholic worship, it is sung worship. From the readings, which were traditionally sung, to of course the ordinary of the Mass – the Mass parts that everyone says every Sunday at every Mass – and also the propers of the Mass, so those readings that go in between the Kyrie, the Gloria and the Sanctus. That's where we started.

The preaching, what happens on the altar, and the music – all of those things are connected.

What are the roles of the cantor, choir, and congregation in sacred music in the Mass?

Everyone who assists at Holy Mass has a particular role. Some roles are shared by all participants, but most are specific. The Congregation has vital active duties, chief among assuming the various postures of standing, kneeling, sitting and singing the responses with the choir, and sometimes joining the choir in singing the Ordinary of the Mass.

The Choir has the duty of singing the Proper of the Mass as well as the ordinary and the responses.

Obviously as an artist, there's a sense of doing your best, but I know that I'm doing my best because it's worship of the Church, and it's worship of God. So I've benefited from trying to grow as an artist, because in that growth of an artist, that means I'm growing in my prayer life. If I become a better artist, I hope that I'm becoming a better worshiper, a better lover of God.

Can you talk about the role of music in liturgical life?

I think St. Paul sums this up beautifully in two verses he offers in his letter to the Ephesians 5:19-20… “Sing and make music in your hearts, always thanking God the Father for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Even before the time of Jesus – who himself sang psalms to God the Father – music, singing in particular, has been esteemed as a spiritual gift. It is a natural way of expressing ourselves, not only in this world, but in the one to come where God is eternally adored and glorified. So the Church naturally values this form of art, as a means of uniting heaven and earth as we pray at every celebration of Holy Mass at the Sanctus.

What are the roles of the cantor, choir, and congregation in sacred music in the Mass?

The Roman Missal, while being specific about the roles of each of these, envisions and prioritizes them. The People of God are to engage in the dialogue parts between the priest and those who are gathered. The cantor, psalmist, and choir also have specific and exclusive duties, depending upon whose present: some shared and supportive and some exclusive. But these roles are in service of the liturgical action taking place and to those in prayer, sung or otherwise. For instance, from the GIRM…

“40. Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of peoples and abilities of each liturgical assembly… in the choosing of the parts actually to be sung, preference is to be given to those that are of greater importance and especially to those which are to be sung by the Priest or the Deacon or a reader, with the people replying, or by the Priest and people together.”

What does the Church Say About Sacred Music?

8/10/2023

Our church choirs are welcoming new singers! This is the first in a two-part series on sacred music and music ministry. Click here to read Part 2.

Excerpts from Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) -- Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - Second Vatican Council. Chapter VI – Sacred Music

Promulgated by Pope Paul VI December 4, 1963

112. The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art… as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn Liturgy.

114. The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care. Choirs must be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches; but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs…

116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman Liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.
But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action…

120. In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things.

But other instruments also may be admitted for use in divine worship, with the knowledge and consent of the competent territorial authority… This may be done, however, only on condition that the instruments are suitable, or can be made suitable, for sacred use, accord with the dignity of the temple, and truly contribute to the edification of the faithful.

Our choirs are welcoming new singers!

Saint Ita:
Singing Season: September – Solemnity of the Sacred Heart June 2024.
Contact Dan Lagacy at dlagacy@saintita.org or at the parish office (773-561-5343 ex. 13) for a singing interview.

Coro Hispano: Contacte a Martín Corro al mcorro78@yahoo.com Temporada del coro en marcha.

St. Gregory the Great:
Singing season: Begins October 1
Auditions after 9:30 AM Sunday Mass at St. Gregory: August 27, September 3, September 10.
Contact Mark Franzen at mfranzen@archchicago.org or 773-561-3546.

St. Thomas of Canterbury:
English: All singers welcome! Rehearsals before 11:30 AM Mass. Contact Joan Mikol at joancarolm@hotmail.com for more information.

Vietnamese: Contact Hoa Pham at peterlinh9294@gmail.com for singing interview and schedule.

Fr. Alejandro Lopez installed as pastor of Mary, Mother of God

8/7/2023

On Sunday, August 6, Fr. Alejandro Lopez, OFM Conv., was officially installed as pastor of Mary, Mother of God parish. Thank you to Bishop Bartosic for presiding! Please keep Fr. Alejandro in your prayers as he leads our parish and cares for the friars who serve us here.

El domingo, 6 de agosto, el P. Alejandro López, OFM Conv., fue instalado oficialmente como párroco de la parroquia María, Madre de Dios. Gracias al Obispo Bartosic por presidir. Por favor, mantengan al P. Alejandro en sus oraciones mientras dirige nuestra parroquia y cuida de los frailes que nos sirven aquí.

Community Picnic and Welcome for Fr. Alejandro

8/4/2023

Thank you to the Filipinos of Saint Gregory for putting together a great Picnic and Welcome for Fr. Alejandro on Sunday, July 30. Stay tuned for more events and fun this fall!

Meet Our New Friar: Brother Tarcisius Bucca, OFM Conv.

8/1/2023

We are very happy to welcome Br. Tarcisius Bucca, OFM Conv., to Mary, Mother of God Parish, where he will live in residence. If you see him, please say hello!

What drew you to the Franciscans?

I learned about the Franciscans through Marytown [in Libertyville, IL], where I was going on regular retreats. That was how I mainly learned about them; I joined them in 2016.

Where were you before coming to Mary, Mother of God Parish?
I was at the Basilica of St. Josaphat for a year, where I was doing pastoral work, so helping with their food pantry and school. I was also helping liturgically at the shrine.

What will you be doing here at the parish?
I’ll be here in residence, but teaching full-time at a high school in Niles, IL, teaching theology to freshmen. So I won’t be directly involved with ministry at the parish, but I’ll be attending daily Mass and Sunday Mass here.

What are some of the things you enjoy in your spare time?
I really like biking. And Italian pizza!

Estamos muy contentos de dar la bienvenida al fraile Tarcisius Bucca, OFM Conv., a la Parroquia María, Madre de Dios, donde vivirá en residencia. Si lo ven, por favor, ¡salúdenlo!

¿Qué te atrajo a los franciscanos?
Conocí a los franciscanos a través de Marytown [en Libertyville, IL], donde iba a retiros regulares. Así fue como principalmente supe de ellos; me uní a ellos en 2016.

¿Dónde estaba antes de venir a la parroquia María, Madre de Dios?
Estuve un año en la Basílica de San Josafat, donde trabajaba en la pastoral, ayudando en la despensa de alimentos y en la escuela. También ayudaba litúrgicamente en el santuario.

¿Qué hará aquí en la parroquia?
Estaré aquí en residencia, pero enseñando a tiempo completo en una escuela secundaria de Niles, IL, enseñando teología a los estudiantes de primer año. Así que no estaré directamente involucrado en el ministerio de la parroquia, pero asistiré a la Misa diaria y a la Misa dominical.

¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
Me gusta mucho montar en bicicleta. ¡Y la pizza italiana!