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ASSUMPTION CHURCH
Fifth Sunday Of Easter
May 3, 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 3, 2015
VOCATIONS THEN AND NOW
Once upon a time, when I was giving a tour of Our
Lady of Sorrows Basilica on the West Side to a group of
college students, one of them asked why there were a
dozen different altars lining the sides of the church. I
explained that at one time all of them were needed.
When the adjoining Servite monastery had a dozen or
more priests teaching at St. Philip High School or performing other non-parish ministries, many of these
priests would come out at about the same time each
morning and each would say Mass privately on one of
these altars. One student looked at me and said,
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
One of the most difficult concepts to convey to
younger Catholics is what a well-oiled machine the
Catholic Church was fifty or sixty years ago. There
was a veritable army of priests, brothers, and sisters
staffing Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, orphanages, and nursing homes. Some things we did in
those days may not make much sense in retrospect, but
because it was done that way everywhere by everyone
it made sense at the time. When Sister Michael from
the Little Sisters of the Poor spoke at Assumption last
weekend, I think most of us recognized that her congregation’s ministry is an anomaly in today’s Catholic
Church. Their Sisters continue to do “hands on” nursing in their institutions and do not just serve on the
Board of Directors or hold some vague title like Mission Consultant. That once vibrant army of women
and men religious has aged and dwindled dramatically
over the past fifty years. There are many reasons for
this, too numerous to list here. Yet this is not merely a
story of retrenchment and diminishment. While the
decline in the number of priests and religious has
forced many Catholic institutions to close, it has also
opened up opportunities for lay men and women to
exercise real ministry in the Church, and this has enabled the Church to connect with people in ways that
an all-celibate work force could not do.
This past weekend Pope Francis issued a special
message for the 52nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations. As with many of the things the Pope has said
and done these past two years, he approaches the call
to priesthood and religious life a bit differently. In his
message he points out that the common vocation we
all have as Christians is mirrored in the Exodus experience, which is a story of liberation from slavery in
Egypt and the beginning of “an amazing love story between God and his people.” We are all called, the
Pope says, to leave behind certain comforts, familiar
structures and self-centered pursuits “in order to center
our life in Jesus Christ.” This leaving things behind is
“not to be viewed as a sign of contempt for one’s life,
one’s feelings, and one’s own humanity,” but as a way
of growing in love. To receive and to respond to a call
to priesthood or religious life “is not a private and
completely personal matter fraught with momentary
emotion,” but is part of “the missionary and evangelizing activity of the whole Church. The Church is faithful to her Master to the extent that she is a Church that
‘goes forth’, a Church which is less concerned about
herself, her structures, and her successes, and more
about her ability to go out and meet God’s children
wherever they are, to feel compassion for their hurt
and pain.”
The Pope is reminding us that a vocation to priesthood or religious life is not a career path, but a call to
work with, to energize, and help the People of God to
discover the central mystery of God’s love in their
lives and to respond to God’s call to leave behind what
does not serve them well. About young people considering a religious vocation, he says, “At times uncertainty, worries about the future and the problems they
daily encounter can risk paralyzing their youthful enthusiasm and shattering their dreams, to the point
where they can think that it is not worth the effort to
get involved, that the God of the Christian faith is
somehow a limit on their freedom. Dear young
friends, never be afraid to go out from yourselves and
begin the journey! The Gospel is the message that
brings freedom to our lives; it transforms them and
makes them all the more beautiful.”
As a footnote to all this, the Order of Friar Servants of Mary (the Servites) have been at Assumption
since the parish began in 1881. Our present Provincial, Fr. John Fontana, has stated on a number of occasions that he hopes that we will be here for a long,
long time to come. But that depends upon vocations
to our Order. After a number of dry years, we now
have some young men studying theology and several
others are slated to enter initial formation this fall.
Please pray for them in their journey of discernment.
And if anyone has any questions about what this life is
like, know that Fr. Brown, and Fr. Doyle and I would
be happy to talk with you.
Fr. Joe
TAIZE PRAYER: Our monthly Taize Prayer Service
is this Monday, May 4 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Come
and experience a form a prayer that has touched people
of all faiths throughout the world.
HYMNS FOR MASS: #560, #423
Fifth Sunday Of Easter
Lectors
Eucharistic
Ministers
May 9-10, 2015
D. Laria
J. Bormes
5:00
L. Pelka
K. Pomroy
7:30
P. Brown
E. Bernacki
9:00
A. Bjurman
G. Bjurman
10:30
K. Nagatoshi
K. Zajdel
12:15
M. Deneen
B. Kabacinski
5:00
K. Sredl
J. Bisbing
R. Ciambrone
R. Wedgbury
L. Pelka
R. Schauf
P. Manning
K. Kubiak
E. Bernacki
L. Japp
P. Japp
L. Dues
L. Carrera
K. Zajdel
B. Fumo
C. Argento
D. Pikarski
P. Simon
SOCIAL JUSTICE: Assumption’s new Social Justice
Group will meet for the second time Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30
p.m. at the Rectory. Anyone interested in joining them should
contact Joel Vugteveen at [email protected].
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
August 9 - Homecoming Mass and Picnic
November 9 - Italian Dinner and Silent Auction
BAPTISM PREPARATION: Our next preparation session
for parents (and, if possible, godparents) of infants to be baptized will be held Monday, May 11 from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. in
the Rectory. This is for new parents and for those who have
never before attended a preparation session. Call the parish
office to register. Infant baptisms usually take place on the
second and fourth Sundays of the month at 1:15 p.m. and on
the first weekend of the month during Mass.
FR. DOWD SCHOLARSHIP
Fr. John Dowd, O.S.M., died of cancer in March, 2006, while
serving as pastor of Assumption Church. Most of Fr. Dowd’s
priesthood was spent not in parish ministry but as a seminary
instructor or formation director—at the Servite International
College of St. Alexis in Rome and at the University of St.
Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. After his death a group of
Assumption parishioners decided that the best way to honor
Fr. Dowd’s memory was to establish a scholarship in his
memory at St. Alexis and at St. Mary of the Lake. Every year
a grant of $3,000 has been given to each institution as a partial scholarship for one student. Each year we invite contributions to this fund, so that the scholarship program may continue. If you wish to contribute to this scholarship fund,
please take one of the forms on the table in the back of the
church and follow the instructions.
MOTHER’S DAY COLLECTION: Every thirty seconds
someone turns to Catholic Charities of Chicago for help. Almost two-thirds of them are women and children. For 97
years Catholic Charities has been there to help those in need:
moms and children, seniors, veterans, and anyone who is
struggling. Please be generous to their annual Mother’s Day
collection next weekend. The theme this year is “Women and
Children First.”
CHICAGO HELP INITIATIVE
Assumption will be providing the meal which Chicago Help
Initiative will serve at Catholic Charities, 721 North LaSalle,
Wednesday, May 13. To volunteer to help serve this meal or
any Wednesday night meal or to volunteer for any other CHI
activity (such as tutoring, game time, bike fair) go to their
website, www.chicagohelpinitiative.org, and click on the
Volunteer heading.
WEDDINGS
RICHARD MILLER & KRISTEN O’BRIEN
JAMES MALLERS & MARY SHANNON LAUGHLIN
NICHOLAS MCCARTY & CRISTEN BALDONIERI
JAY FRANCIS ALCANTARA & IVY KLARISSE JOSEPH
CHRISTOPHER CATIZONE & ANNA HEILBURN
VINCENT BANEA & MARIA JARDINICO
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
MASS INTENTIONS
FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 2, 2015
Sat.
2nd
5:00
Norman Morris-Semeerin (RIP)
Sun.
3rd
9:00
Michael & Rose-Marie Sopko and
Sopko Fam.(RIP) Pfiester Fam. (RIP)
Helen Morris Fam. (RIP) Joy &
Richard Jenkins & Fam. (RIP)
10:30 Assumption Parishioners
12:15 Semon Emil Peter Knudsen (RIP)
5:00 Regolio Poo (RIP)
Mon.
4th
7:00 Nina Bassiouni (RIP)
12:10 Charles & Beth Mulaney (RIP)
Tues.
5th
7:00 Charles & Paul Dubuque
Wed.
6th
7:00 Charles & Paul Dubuque
12:10 Charles & Marion Joachim (RIP)
Fri.
8th
7:00 Charles & Paul Dubuque
Sat.
9th
7:30 Mrs. Theodore J. Dubuque