ASSUMPTION CHURCH Pentecost Sunday May 24, 2015 323 West Illinois Street Chicago, Illinois 60654 (312) 644-0036 Church Office (312) 644-2490 Night Emergencies (312) 644-1838 Fax www.assumption-chgo.org MASSES Daily: 7:00, 12:10 PM Saturday: 7:30, 5:00 PM (For Sunday) Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, 12:15, 5:00 PM CONFESSIONS Friday: 11:35-12:05 Daily: After All Masses (by request) Serving the People of River North and Chicago Since 1881 Founded and Staffed by Members of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary (Servites) Rev. Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M., Pastor also resident in priory: Rev. David O. Brown, O.S.M. Rev. Michael Doyle, O.S.M. Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, O.S.M. NEWSLETTER OF THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY AT ASSUMPTION CHURCH Page Two May 24, 2015 IS IT JUST CHURCH TALK? Fr. Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent theologian and a prolific writer, who died about five years ago. A convert to Catholicism, he was raised Lutheran in a small town in Ontario where his father was the Lutheran pastor. Because all the Lutheran congregations in the area were small, they had a tradition of banding together each summer for a Mission Festival. At some central location they would erect a tent large enough to accommodate worshippers from four or five nearby towns. The choirs would come together to provide the music and they would bring in a big-time preacher from the seminary to preach the Mission. Fr. John tells the story in one of his books about a great spiritual breakthrough he had at one these Mission Festival when he was seven years old. The Mission Preacher had been speaking for about an hour when suddenly he stopped talking. He pulled out his pocket watch and stared at it for a whole minute without saying a word. Then he put his watch back in his pocket and said, “In the last minute 37,000 souls have gone to eternal damnation because no one was there to tell them about Jesus.” John was alarmed. Why wasn’t anybody moving? 37,000 people had just gone to hell and everyone seemed to be taking the news so calmly: a mother was combing her daughter’s hair; two older kids were elbowing each other; most of the older people just sat and fanned themselves listlessly. John spent a restless night thinking about all the souls being condemned to hell every minute because no Christians were there to tell them about Jesus. Then, the next morning, John was in for an even bigger shock. At breakfast his dad told John that he and the mission preacher were going fishing for three days. How could they be going fishing for three days when 37,000 people were going to hell every minute? It was then that it dawned on him that he was the only person in the congregation that afternoon who had actually believed what the preacher was saying. In later life he came to identify the preacher’s extreme pronouncement as an example of “church talk”— simply a device to grab peoples’ attention during a long sermon on a hot day. Church talk is something said in church that has no real significance outside of church. To come up with a glossary of “church talk” would not be difficult. Words like salvation, justification, redemption, incarnation, conversion, and resurrection could fall easily into that category if used carelessly; but so could words that should mean something to us personally, like Christmas, Easter, Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. We may accept them as things that happen in church, but they may be totally divorced from our from real life. It strikes me that what happened at Pentecost was the exact opposite of church talk. Anointed by the Spirit, this small group of believers poured out of the upper room where they had been secluded and were able to speak to a very diverse group of pilgrims from many nations who were in Jerusalem at the time. Their words were not only understood by people who spoke different languages, but these words were found to be both meaningful and transformative. 3,000 people were added to the church that day. What language could the church use today that people would find both understandable and transformative, that would not just be dismissed as more “church talk”? Maybe the world has heard too many words already. Maybe we need to move beyond words and use the language of the Holy Spirit, the language of those who claim to be alive in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Perhaps that was true at Pentecost itself: what really attracted people to the Christian community was not so much the words they heard but their encounter with Spirit-filled people. It was the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that was so captivating. Perhaps you have seen a news report on the latest Pew Survey of religious practice in the United States, a survey that shows a significant drop in church affiliation in the United States among both Protestants and Catholics. This decline in church affiliation, however, is not matched by a corresponding drop in prayer or spirituality. People just do not choose to identify with any church institution. What this tells me is that people are searching. Thanks to the information superhighway, people have access to so many more spiritualities and spiritual gurus than they had in the past. For some, this shopping around may be motivated by a desire to avoid accountability or responsibility; but for most I believe it is motivated by a desire to find what is personally meaningful and transformative. People don’t want just “church talk”. So, the good news is that there are many more than 3,000 people still out there waiting to receive a message. The bad news is that most of them find our message narrow, judgmental, and irrelevant. Fr. Joe HYMNS FOR MASS: #452, #637 MARK YOUR CALENDAR August 9 - Homecoming Mass and Picnic November 9 - Italian Dinner and Silent Auction Pentecost Sunday Lectors Eucharistic Ministers May 30-31, 2015 G. Herrera G. Brown 5:00 V. Stokes R. Tevonian 7:30 E. Bernacki P. Brown 9:00 J. Dion K. Malhas 10:30 K. Zajdel K. Nagatoshi 12:15 A. Carvajal B. Kabacinski 5:00 M. Foster P. Foster K. Sredl R. Wedgbury L. Pelka R. Schauf P.Brown B. Manna Andrea Cohen J. Sowa J. Dion S. Dion K. Zajdel L. Carrera D. Iaccino E. Kabacinski J. Burke P. Burke MEMORIAL DAY: On Monday, May 25 Mass will be offered at 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. This is a special day to honor and remember those who served in the Armed Forces, especially those who died in war. TAIZE PRAYER SERVICE Our next prayer service in the spirit of Taize will take place Monday, June 1 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Come and experience what so many have found to be a calming and enriching way to pray. NEWLY MARRIED WORKSHOP: Enrich your new marriage by attending a two-hour workshop on the early years of marriage. Topics covered are expectations, adjustments, building strengths, and the Catholic vision of marriage. The next session is Tuesday, June 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Cardinal Meyer Center, 3525 S. Lake Park. To register go to www.familyministries.org or call 312-534-8351. GARDEN BLESSING: We will have our annual Blessing of the Garden following the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, June 14. Refreshments will be served following the Blessing. Our beautiful garden, which honors Bridget Kennicott who is living with Batten Disease, is the result of many hours of work by dedicated parishioners. RETIRING SUCCESSFULLY: What are the cornerstones of a successful retirement? Assumption is hosting a Financial Wellness Seminar on Wednesday, July 1. The Seminar will be repeated Wednesday, July 22. These educational workshops will help build your financial confidence, by discussing five things you need in order to have a successful retirement. Presentations will take place in the Rectory Meeting Room from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. “If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us” (Richard Winwood). NEPAL EMERGENCY RELIEF: Thousands of our Nepalese brothers and sisters are suffering death, displacement, and extreme loss due to the massive earthquake that has affected Nepal and neighboring countries. Please consider donating to Catholic Relief Services: www.ChicagoPeaceAndJustice.org/ NepalEmergencyAppeal. ELECTRONIC GIVING: It’s easy and convenient. Go to our website (www.assumption-chgo.org) and click on Electronic Giving on our homepage. You will be led step by step through the process of setting up a giving plan that allows your church donations to be charged to a credit cards or transferred electronically from your bank account. BAPTISMS RAPHAELA CASCIA GO JULIANA MARIA SCHLUETER JONAH LUIS HENAO JOHN RICHARD GERIG WEDDINGS MATTHEW ALVIN & MADELEINE LARUE JAKE TOOHEY & ERIN PFABE GABRIEL HERRERO & MARIE CASCIARI TIMOTHY AKROYD & STEPHANIE SLOWINSKI KEVIN BARSANO & MELISSA MORAN LEON KUBICKI & SANDY DO MICHAEL LOWERY & ANNE MARIE MARTEN KENT TEDFORD & LAUREN JOHNSON PRAY FOR THEM Sick: Marianne Vitton, Kay Ansani, Bill Boyle, Bridget Kennicott, Joseph C. Hantsch, Janet Hantsch, Brent Murphy, Bill & Barbara Farrell, Katherine Malhas, Marion Schotz, Joyce Walsh, Robert Nadine Palmer, Carmen Arellano, Terry O’Brien, Nicole Meyer, Dan Hodos, Mary Ann Kevin, Don Wilson, Cara Postilion, Cathy Staff, Javier Garcia, John Cappiello, Sheila McAndrews, Gregory McElvogue, Roger Konczal, Roberto Magno, Esther Rybicki and Jeanne Hjorth Military Service: Joseph O’Callahan, Jr., Eric Madson, Nicholas P. Knezevich and Paul Jacobsen Deceased: Fr. Carlo Marchetti, OSM MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 23, 2015 Sat. 23rd 5:00 Charles & Beth Mulaney (RIP) Sun. 24th 9:00 Robert Raddatz (RIP) David McCarty (RIP) 10:30 Michael & Rose-Marie Sopko and Sopko Fam.(RIP) Pfiester Fam. (RIP) Helen Morris Fam. (RIP) Joy & Richard Jenkins & Fam. (RIP) 12:15 Assumption Parishioners Tues. 26th 12:10 Felice Invernizzi (Cancer) Wed. 27th 12:10 Bill Lorch (RIP) Thurs. 28th 12:10 Charles & Beth Mulaney (RIP)