We ask your prayers for those who will be initiated at the Easter Vigil this year. This Sunday, we'll celebrate the final scrutiny with our elect (those preparing for baptism) at the 10:00 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart Church. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, and then heal, all that is weak or sinful, and bring out, and then strengthen, all that is upright, strong and good. This ritual includes the 'laying on of hands' by the priest (as well as their sponsors/godparents), which is a personal prayer for each of the elect.
You can view the video of last week's laying on of hands above. As their Catholic community of faith and support, please keep our the Elect in your prayers as they prepare for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist: Frank, Gaby, Aoife, Abby and Aedan Ryan. We also ask your prayers for our Candidates for Reception into the Catholic Church, who will receives the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist: Suzanne Dunne, Lisa Lesniak and Diane Ryan (yes, part of the same Ryan family). We invite you to join us at our 8:00 a.m. Mass at St. Philip the Apostle on Friday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, as we unite with the Holy Father, Cardinal Cupich, Bishop Bartosic and churches around the world to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Pope will pray the Act of Consecration, and has asked all Bishops and priests to join him spiritually in this prayer. Fr. Steve will offer this prayer at Mass. If you are unable to be with us, but would like to join in the prayer, the text of the Act of Consecration follows. Please note that the Vatican News channels, including their website, YouTube channel and Facebook, will broadcast the Act of Consecration (with English-language commentary) around 12:30 p.m. our time on Friday, March 25th, if you'd like to watch. The Act of Consecration O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord! Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love. We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid. That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help! Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer. Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war. Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation. Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world. Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness. Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons. Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love. Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity. Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world. O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside. More in Europe: Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty. Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world. Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen. First and foremost, pray for peace. Pray for the people of Ukraine, those who are displaced by the war, those who have remained behind, those who have died, and those who are defending their country.
Ways you can help: Visit Catholic Relief Services to make a donation. Visit Catholic Extension , whose efforts support the nuns and priests taking care of children and families in Ukraine. Make a donation to the U.S. Bishop's collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which includes Ukraine, via our safe and secure GiveCentral portal, which you can find here. Visit the US Bishop's website, which links to the Catholic News Service, listing several Catholic agencies collecting donations for the people of Ukraine. Just click here. The following sets forth the Ash Wednesday (March 2nd, 2022) schedule for the parish at both of our worship sites:
Sacred Heart Church 8:30 a.m. - Daily Mass with distribution of ashes (School Children in attendance). 12:00 p.m. - Liturgy of the Word with distribution of ashes. 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. - Continual distribution of ashes in Church. St. Philip the Apostle Church 12:30p.m.- 3:00 p.m. - Continual distribution of ashes in Church 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:30 p.m. - Mass with distribution of ashes. Please join us Fridays (March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1 and 8) during Lent for Stations of the Cross which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at St. Philip The Apostle.
Lent is a time when we take stock of where we are in our faith and prepare for the death and resurrection of our Savior. As a parish, we seek to prepare for Jesus’ death and resurrection, and experience true transformation in our lives during this powerful season, so that we arrive at Easter renewed.
This year, we're hosting small faith groups that will engage with Ascension’s Lenten video series hosted by Fr. Mark Toups. Each session will only last 45 minutes to one hour. Groups will watch the video together and then discuss its content. We’ll offer this series both online and in-person. And, if you'd like to create your own small group, that's great. Just contact Judy Pyke for more information at [email protected] or 847-446-0856. Available Groups: Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (online) hosted by Joe McGowan and John Henik Meets Mar 1, 8, 15, 22, 20, Apr 5 Thursday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. (in-person) hosted by Judy Pyke JPII Room at St. Philip the Apostle Church Meets Mar 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Apr 7 Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (online) hosted by Patty Sanfilippo and Susan Burke Meets Mar 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, Apr 7 Think about joining a group. This is an opportunity for our parish community to come together, and to enter into the season of Lent intentionally, and receive the grace God is waiting to give us during this holy season. Join us and take full advantage of this transformative experience. You can register here. Divine Mercy parishioners have been invited by St. Clement Parish in Chicago to participate in their Lenten Night of Renewal featuring Fr. Rob Galea, on Monday, March 7th from 7-8:15 p.m. at St. Clement Church, located at 642 Deming Place in Chicago.
Fr. Rob was the keynote speaker at Holy Fire in 2019, the Archdiocesan day long youth conference. Fr. Rob is an ordained Catholic Priest who currently serves in the Diocese of Sandhurst in the Australian province of Victoria after migrating to Australia from his home country of Malta. He has been producing music for over a decade, and in that time has released several projects and amassed an international fan base. Additionally, Fr. Rob and his team currently minister to over 400,000 young people each year, carrying Christ’s message of hope to all they encounter. Fr. Rob’s passion is to draw others to the heart of God, and he believes that music is an important instrument in helping people understand the need for intimacy with God. Fr. Rob has released seven music projects to date, all while fulfilling his duty as a priest. Check out his videos on YouTube! Join us at the 8:30 a.m. Mass tomorrow, Wednesday, February 2nd for the Feast of the Presentation and the Blessing of Candles.
It's an ancient Church custom to use blessed candles for household prayer throughout the year. Many families use these candles for family prayer, at family dinners, be it every day or special occasions like Christmas, Easter, Anniversaries, birthdays, or to remember loved ones who have gone onto heaven to be with Jesus. With Christ as our light, we warm a lost and wintry world! Join us! And bring your candles that you'd like to have blessed! |
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& OFFICE HOURS The Divine Mercy Parish office is located at our Sacred Heart Church site, 1077 Tower Road in Winnetka, and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. It's always helpful to call first! TELEPHONE NUMBER > 847-446-0856 |
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