THE GREGORIAN

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

“SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE HAD “SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE HAD “SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE HAD “SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE HAD

PITY ON YOUR PITY ON YOUR PITY ON YOUR PITY ON YOUR

FELLOW SERVANT,FELLOW SERVANT,FELLOW SERVANT,FELLOW SERVANT,

AS I HAD PITY ON YOU?” AS I HAD PITY ON YOU?” AS I HAD PITY ON YOU?” AS I HAD PITY ON YOU?”

PARISH/COMMUNITY EVENTS/INFORMATION

OUR PARISH MISSION St. Gregory the Great

Mission Statement

St. Gregory the Great is a Catholic Church made up of people of many different ages, talents, and cultural backgrounds. We are an urban faith community with a small town feel of welcome and hospitality. Motivated by our baptismal calling, we accept our duty to embody the presence of Jesus Christ in the world and to take up the mission he entrusted to us by our word and example. We glorify God through support and service of our time, talent, and treasure to our church and to the larger community in which we live.

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From the Friars

Thank you so much for your warm welcome this weekend! After this long unification process, the friars are so happy to finally be with you. I'd like to thank all those who were involved in the planning of the Vespers Service and procession to St. Ita, as well as the unification Mass. It was a very beautiful and moving evening.

For those who were not there, Fr. Paul led a walking procession of parishioners from St. Gregory with gifts, signifying the parish, to be presented at the Mass. These gifts included the book produced as part of the Parish's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1954, Msgr. Klasen's "Church Beautiful" booklet, books on St. Gregory High School graduations Gerry and Gwen Coniker, a new icon of St. Gregory the Great written by artist in residence Joe Malham, and a first class relic of St. Gregory the Great himself.

Below are Fr. Bob's comments upon receiving these gifts on behalf of the new united parish.

Fr Bob’s Comments of welcome at the Unification Mass

To Bishop Casey: Bienvenido a tu Casa—el hijo favorito de la parroquia! With his family being parishioners of St. Greg’s and his long relationship with St. Ita, Bishop Casey symbolized this unification in his person. In fact, so perfect was he for this even, the Cardinal was our backup choice. To Fr Michael Zielke, OFM Conv.: We welcome Fr. Michael with us tonight. He is the Minister Provincial of the friars assigned to our parish—he is our regional superior and is here representing the Conventual Franciscan friars. I’d also like to introduce the friars assigned to our united parish: Fr. Arturo Felix, Fr. Simon Minyati and Fr. Robert Melnick, as well as our deacons: Deacon Paul Spalla and Deacon Juan Ramirez.

To welcome the people of St. Gregory the Great here tonight, we’ve invited members of our parish staff, Ms. Christine Boyd (the principal of St. Thomas of Canterbury School), members of Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Council, Secular Franciscans, Renew My Church teams (from both times we went through it) and the leaders of our Cuban, Vietnamese, Lao, Filipino, Nigerian, Eritrean, and Latino communities. I’d like to especially thank Fr Paul tonight. He officially retired as of 12:01 this morning and so I thank you for coming out of retirement to be with us tonight.

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PARISH NEWS/INFORMATION

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You have been such a good shepherd to your people—over these weeks, I’ve come to know the people of St Gregory and heard of your love for them and theirs for you. You will be a tough act to follow.

And, Bishop Casey, I’d like to thank the Archdiocese of Chicago for entrusting the souls of St. Ita, St. Thomas of Canterbury and St. Gregory the Great to the Conventual Franciscan friars.It is our joy to be here with these churches and we won’t let you down. But most importantly, we welcome the people of St. Gregory the Great here tonight. On behalf of Ss. Ita and Thomas of Canterbury, and on behalf of the Conventual Franciscan Friars, we welcome you. It is a moment of great joy for the parish and the friars to be together at long last, ready to embark, together, on our com-mon future. These gifts, representing your community, are very meaningful to the rest of the parish because they help us to know who you are.

The 50th Anniversary book from 1954 is a sign of your long history—founded in 1904. At first, a parish for German speakers but then you opened your doors to all who came. Your history of being a welcoming community has continued to this day, resulting in your diverse congregation including your vibrant Filipino Community. This book also evokes your grade school and high school, so much a part of your history and family, and the Sisters of Christian Charity and Sisters of Living Word who taught there. It evokes the larger St. Gregory community—they even have their own Facebook page--the graduates and parishioners who have moved away but still consider St. Greg’s their home.

The books on Gerry and Gwen Connicker—graduates of your High School and founders of The Apostolate for Family Consecration-- speak much about your parish. For those of you who don’t know, the cause for Gwen’s canonization has been introduced. The most important thing that you can say about a Catholic Community is that is has produced saints, and you have had one come from your midst. The Church Beautiful book highlights the vision of Msgr. Klasen and his vision of the connection between worship and beauty, of the Catholic world view of sacramentality, of seeing Christ in creation and in the art of God’s creatures. Cardinal Mundelein called your church “a medieval gem in a modern setting’. For our one parish to have the two finest examples of Gothic architecture in the entire archdiocese is an embarrassment of riches.

The icon of St. Gregory the Great, written by your artist in residence Joe Malham, signifies the way in which you have built upon Msgr Klasen’s vision with the Evangelization Through The Arts program, finding new ways to bring people to an encounter with Christ through the beauty that reflects Him.

And in this relic of St. Gregory the Great, you have brought the saint himself. And in him, I propose, we find a guide for our new parish.

First, he is renowned for his love of the liturgy and the reforms that bear his name. You have reflected your patron with your long tradition of fine liturgy and music, for many years under the direction of Fr. Brian Fischer, Patrick Godin and now Cheri Dahlen.

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PARISH COMMUNITY/ EVENTS/INFORMATION

In Ss. Ita and Thomas of Canterbury, you will meet kindred spirits in your love of the Holy Eucharist—there are masses here English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Lao, the Eritrean Geez Rite, Burmese, Tagalog, Kinyarwandan even some French and Igbo. It is the Holy Eucharist that holds us together. Despite our varied backgrounds, we are one in Christ Jesus we gather around His altar. Second, St. Gregory the Great saw the clear connection between the Holy Eucharist and the Corporal works of mercy with great clarity. He once wrote “the proof of charity is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But where it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.” We show love through action. And it is love that binds. Our new parish has great opportunities to act togeth-er in charity. Our parish school is made up almost entirely of the children of refugees and immigrants, always in need of tutors. Our parish soup kitchen and food pantry have served the poor of Uptown for over 40 years. These are blessings, they are opportunities for service, to grow closer in your relationship to the Lord, to grow in love. If we always keep these two things at the center of our parish—love of the Eucharist and service to the poor— we will always be together. And it will attract others to join us. And we will become the Catholic presence in Uptown, Andersonville and Edgewater that is so needed, now more than ever. This is, indeed, a lofty goal. But, as St. Gregory the Great once wrote: “He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps. And today, we take that first step—together.

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PARISH/COMMUNITY/EVENTS/INFORMATION

BINGO

Bingo at St. Gregory is “Smoke Free”

TUESDAY NIGHT BINGO AT ST. GREGORY Games begin at 7:00 PM in the Gym Basement—Social Hall

(1609 West Gregory St.)

$2,250 in prizes (includes 2— $500 games)

In case of bad weather, please call the Parish Center at 773-561-3546, after 2:00p.m. for possible cancellation.

LIVE STREAMED MASSES The Archdiocese of Chicago continues to livestream weekday and Sunday Masses at https://radiotv.archchicago.org/television/broadcast-masses. All Masses are also available at YouTube.com/catholicchicago.

The Mercy Home Mass for shut-ins is available every Sunday at 9:30a.m. on WGN, channel 9. Bishop Robert Barron is livestreaming daily and Sunday Mass at https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass/. Also, continue to pray daily for all those who have been impacted by the Covid-19 virus when you hear our Church bells ringing at 9a.m., noon, 3p.m., 6p.m. and 9p.m.

AS OF MARCH 10, 2020

BINGO IS SUSPENDED

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

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OUR PRAYERS

Liturgical MINISTRIES SEPTEMBER 19/SEPTEMBER 20

Saturday—4:30pm Sunday—10:00am

Presider

Lectors/Commentators Judy Nocek Gerry Malone

Eucharistic Ministers

Altar Servers

Mass Intentions

SUNDAY, September 13 8:30am—Parishioners 10:00am—Parishioners MONDAY, September 14 8:30am—Parishioners TUESDAY, September 15 8:30am—Parishioners WEDNESDAY, September 16 8:30am—Memorial Fund THURSDAY, September 17 8:30am—Parishioners FRIDAY, September 18 8:30am—Parishioners SATURDAY, September 19 8:30am—Parishioners 4:30pm—+Eileen Holroyd SUNDAY, September 20 8:30am—Parishioners 10:00am—Parishioners

Prayer List

Cassandra C. Morales Jesus Manuel Rosario Rosa Maria Santos Stanley Gnoske Richard Malone Elsa Ardales Eloise Coughlin Ida Christiansen Peter Saldanha Virginia Rodriquez Edward Joyce Jerry Cressy Martin Roach Paul Zale Colleen Dwyer Letty Tibudan Marylyn Ahlfeld Katie Fangman Paulie Corbett Debra Melbye Daniel Ahlfeld

Memorial Fund

Anthony DelRosario

Our Armed Forces Please pray for

Joel Rivera John Sharonbrock Jim Maloney Edward Thomalla Mark Dichosa Cresanto Pineda Chris Cano Joan Frost Angel Luis Rosario Dawn Turco Darlene Keane Kameron Reyna Chris Fitzgerald Lenore Thomalla Jerry Barrio, Jr. Martha Schaffrath Paula Marroquin Thomas Ahlfeld Jr.

Greeters

At 6p.m. every Wednesday, we ask that you take a moment to pray for the healing of the Church and its leadership and for the healing of all victims of clergy sexual misconduct.

PARISH CENTER 5545 N. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60640 773-561-3546 773-728-3827 (fax)—www.stgregory.net Hours: Monday-Saturday- 9:00am - 5:00 pm

PASTORAL STAFF Fr. Robert Cook, OFM Conv. Ms. Cheri Dahlen, Director of Music Mr. John Miaso, Business Manager Mr. Joseph Malham

SACRISTAN Mr. Dan Creed

Mr. Joseph Malham, Iconographer, Artist-in-Residence Amy Alznauer, Creative Writer, Artist-in-Residence

SCHOOLS Northside Catholic Academy (NCA) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Admissions Office: 773-743-6277

ST. GREGORY CREDIT UNION 1609 W. Gregory St., Chicago, IL 60640 773-561-5493 Sunday 9:30am-12:00pm & Wednesday 7:00pm-9:00pm

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT APP Can be found at St. Gregory the Great, Chicago IL iPhone Users-Text : great1 to 555888 Android Users-Text : great2 to 555888 MASSES Sunday: Saturday Evening—4:30pm, Sunday—10:00am. Parish Daily Mass: Tuesday to Friday at 8:00 AM at St. Ita To register Please call 312-291-1502 or visit the St Ita Parish website at https://www.saintita.org

SACRAMENTS Baptisms: First Sunday of the Month—1:00pm (except during Lent)

Weddings: Arrange with a pastoral staff member at least six months in advance. Participation in marriage preparation is essential.

Parish Confessions: Saturday– 3-5PM at St. Ita or by appointment To register, call 312-291-1502 or visit the St. Ita website at https://www.saintita.org

SERVICES Prayer Requests: If you or a family member or relative is ill and would like to be included on the list of prayer requests, please call the Parish Center. Mass Intentions: You may request a Mass intention for someone who is living or deceased or special occasions such as birthdays, special anniversary, get well wishes. Please call or stop by the Parish Center.

DEVOTIONS Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: 1st Friday of each month, 9:00am-10:00am, except when funerals are scheduled. Novena To Our Lady of Perpetual Help: Wednesdays 6:30pm

TAIZE PRAYER SERVICE The Taizé Prayer Service will focus on seasonal icons. Taizé Prayer Service will be held in Church on Sundays at 4:00pm.

CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP The Charismatic Prayer Community meetings are held on Sundays from 5:00-7:00pm in the Baseheart room in the lower level of the gym building.

Date Envelopes Cash/Loose Electronic Giving Total

June 7 $ $1,980 $1,980

June 14 $ $ $

June 21 $ $2,370 $10,768 $13,138

June 28 $ $1,265 $1,265

Holy Days $ $ $ 30 $ 30

Total $ $5,615 $10,798 $16,413

Parish & School INFORMATION & SERVICES

Sunday and Holy Day Collection Totals

For Fiscal Year July 1—June 30

June

Over/(Under) Monthly Budget—Year-to-Date $ (32,407)

Year-to-Date Collected as of June 30, 2020 $287,014

Planned Annual Budget for Sunday & Holy Day Collections $320,000

YTD Collected as a percentage of Planned Annual Budget 90%

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