 Advent which is the beginning the Church's liturgical year. The season of Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or "to come to") is the four weeks leading up to the celebration of Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of Our Lord’s birth on Christmas.
As we prepare for Christmas, note some differences to the Mass that are observed. For instance, the priest wears violet or purple during Advent, except for the Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) when rose may be worn. Aside from what the priest wears, other aesthetic changes in the Church can include a more modestly decorated altar. Advent devotions including the Advent wreath, remind us of the meaning of the season. The USCCB has created an Advent calendar to help Catholics fully enter into the season with daily activity and prayer suggestions to prepare us spiritually for the birth of Jesus Christ. Click the button below to see other resources for the season. Our Food Pantry is deeply grateful to St. Francis Xavier School; St. Norbert & Our Lady of the Brook Parish; Saints Faith, Hope & Charity Parish; and St. Edward Parish for their Thanksgiving donations to the food pantry. Donations included turkeys, household goods, and pantry food items.
The good work of our parish Outreach Ministries would not be possible without the help of our partner parishes. We are blessed to have these on-going partnerships! Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped our parish Thanksgiving celebration possible! We are thankful for the time and talents of the Franciscan Friars, Secular Franciscans, and parishioners who helped set up, cook, and clean up the luncheon. We are also grateful to St. Mary of the Woods Parish for generously donated over 500 pies for the occasion! *Photos courtesy of parishioner Carmelita and Fr. Alejandro Lopez, OFM Conv.
Food PantryNovember 28: Food Pantry closed in honor of Thanksgiving Soup KitchenNovember 29: The Soup Kitchen will be OPEN for guests
Despensa de alimentos28 de noviembre: Despensa de alimentos cerrada en honor al Día de Acción de Gracias Cocina de Sopa29 de noviembre: La Cocina de Sopa estará ABIERTA para huéspedes
Los feligreses han informado haber recibido mensajes de texto de alguien que dice ser el padre Alejandro y les pide tarjetas de regalo. ¡Esto es una ESTAFA y debe denunciarse INMEDIATAMENTE!
NO responda a estos mensajes. En su lugar, llame a la oficina parroquial. Si alguna vez recibe un mensaje que "dice" ser del personal de la parroquia y le pide dinero o su información personal, lo primero que debe hacer es llamar directamente a la oficina parroquial. Es mejor prevenir que curar en estas situaciones. OFICINA PARROQUIAL: 773-561-5343
The St. Rita Domestic Violence Awareness Ministry sends a big THANK YOU to all the parishioners who donated to our gift drive! Thanks to your generosity we were able to fill double the number of gift bags we had hoped to. We are thrilled to extend the Christmas spirit to so many clients of Connections for Abused Women and their Children. Special thanks go out to all who helped with collecting the donations, buying the gifts, packing and wrapping the gift bags, and the youth greeters who helped with cleaning up the rectory afterwards (photo above).
The St. Rita DVA Ministry invites all parishioners to join us at our next meeting on December 17 at 6:30 PM in the St. Ita rectory (1220 W. Catalpa). We are truly blessed to have so many caring people in our parish!  Beginning in December, the monthly Mass celebrated for Our Lady of Perpetual Help is changing to evening Adoration and devotions. The group has decided to move the celebration to 4 pm on the second Wednesday of the month at St. Gregory the Great church (5545 N. Paulina).
The traditional devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help will be combined with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Adoration and then Benediction. All are welcome to join at this new time to ask for the Virgin Mary’s intercession. We hope to see you there!  Our parish food pantry depends on the generosity of volunteers to keep its doors open and operations running smoothly. Thank you to the eighth graders from Saints JFX School in Wilmette for volunteering every Monday. We are grateful for this on-going partnership and are happy to give the students a way to put their faith into action!
Thank you to the Filipinos of St. Gregory for sponsoring the autumn parish dinner dance on November 16. Attendees enjoyed a night of food and drinks, live music, and dancing! The dress code for the evening was "orange." The event took place in the social hall of the Monsignor Klasen Building (Memorial Gym). The money raised will support projects around the parish. |
