Smile Ministry

The Smile Ministry names are in the back of the church. Please take a name and send a Fall greeting!

Do you know someone who can’t get out and needs a smile sent their way to brighten their day? Ask them if they would like to have their name put on our Smile list. They will be sent a greeting at each holiday throughout the year. Call the office to add a name to our list.

Pope St. John Paul II

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”

“APERUIT ILLIS”

APOSTOLIC LETTER
ISSUED “MOTU PROPRIO”
BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF
FRANCIS
“APERUIT ILLIS”
INSTITUTING THE
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD

1. “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45). This was one of the final acts of the risen Lord before his Ascension. Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, broke bread with them and opened their minds to the understanding of the sacred Scriptures. To them, amid their fear and bewilderment, he unveiled the meaning of the paschal mystery: that in accordance with the Father’s eternal plan he had to suffer and rise from the dead, in order to bring repentance and the forgiveness of sins (cf. Lk 24:26.46-47). He then promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them strength to be witnesses of this saving mystery (cf. Lk 24:49).
The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, Prologue: PL 24,17B). Continue reading ““APERUIT ILLIS””

October Food Truck

The Northern Illinois Mobile Food Pantry will be in St Joseph parking lot on Friday, October 11 from 10:00am to Noon. We need twenty to twenty-five volunteers to assist in unloading and distributing the groceries. If you can spare a couple of hours to help feed those in our community who are experiencing financial difficulty, contact Mary Koppi at 815-232-4687. Please check in at the breezeway by 9:45am.
This truck is made possible through the generosity of St Mary and St Joseph parishioners and friends. If you would like to sponsor or co-sponsor a truck in 2020, please contact Mary.

Domingo XXVII tiempo ordinario ciclo C 2019

Lo que quiere decir Jesús a los apóstoles cuando le piden que les aumente la fe es que lo primero que tiene que hacer un cristiano para poder ser un buen discípulo suyo es hacer lo que él le ha mandado, sin pensar en la recompensa que recibirá por el cumplimiento. La primera virtud del cristiano, como tantas veces nos dice san Agustín, es la humildad. Es verdad que somos hijos de Dios, pero no debemos olvidar que también somos sus siervos. La misma Virgen María se declara esclava del Señor, en el mismo momento en que el ángel la llama bienaventurada y dichosa porque ha sido elegida para ser madre del salvador. Es verdad, y no debemos olvidarlo nunca, que también sabemos que Jesús quiere que nos comportemos siempre como hijos de Dios, y lo más propio de un hijo es el amor. Sí, en nuestras relaciones con Dios tenemos que saber unir la humildad con el amor. El hijo sabe que debe amar al padre, pero también sabe que debe obedecerle. Por eso, es totalmente necesario saber unir en nuestras relaciones con nuestros padres y, por supuesto con nuestro Padre Dios, la humildad y el amor. Es verdad que, en nuestra historia civil y cristiana, frecuentemente hemos insistido demasiado en uno u otro lado excesivamente. Del miedo medieval a un Dios juez que sólo sabe castigar nos hemos pasado en nuestros últimos tiempos a pensar en un Dios Padre que sólo sabe amar y que, por consiguiente, sólo sabe perdonar y premiar. En el medio está la virtud, como ya nos enseñaba Aristóteles. Continue reading “Domingo XXVII tiempo ordinario ciclo C 2019”

Thought for the Day

Hence it is clear that in the Old Testament alone, we have ample Scriptural warrant for our belief in the angels, and the New Testament is quite as explicit. Our Divine Lord himself alludes to Jacob’s vision when He speaks of angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. He also represents to us the angels of the little ones who believe in Him as ever beholding the face of His Father who is in heave, giving us in these words the surest basis for what the Church teaches us with respect to our guardian angels.