St. Matthias Parish

Welcome to St. Matthias Parish

Welcome Everybody!

STANDING SQUARELY at the intersection of faith and life, St. Matthias Catholic Parish and School in Chicago’s Lincoln Square Community is committed to your spiritual and educational journey. The soul of a wildly varied and thoroughly Chicago neighborhood, St. Matthias welcomes everyone. Joined by a faith that celebrates Catholic social values, we treasure each individual’s unique gifts. In our school and church we build values for living and friendships for life. Welcome to our vibrant, nourishing, and faith-filled community that is the heart of a life well-lived from infancy to eternity.

The Most Holy Trinity - June 3, 2012

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations"
Matthew 28:19

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June 3, 2012

A Letter from Father John

Lifelong blessings on the Class of 2012

Dear Friends,

THERE WAS A REAL ESTATE AGENT, a bricklayer, an undertaker, a plumber, a doctor, a priest, a dry cleaner, two politicians, an insurance salesman among them …and none of that mattered. What did matter was that they were Arlingtons. They were the most faithful of friends and had been since they were kids in the eighth grade and their teacher made them form a club. Every month as many as possibly could, would meet at one or another’s house for dinner, to play pinnacle and to talk. The Arlingtons met through high school, two world wars, the depression, marriage, children, grandchildren and old age. Over the years their wives became fast friends, at first out of necessity perhaps but then, soon, by choice. My grandfather O’Neill was at the very last meeting of the club— last, sadly, because there was only one other Arlington left when grandpa died.

I n just the past few years I’ve been getting emails from a high school classmate, Chuck, updating us graduates of Quigley, class of 1964, about ourselves, our families and former teachers. It’s great. I see names and hear news of guys I haven’t thought of in decades and get a little peak into a lot of lives that otherwise would be lost to the distant past. (I have high school classmates who are actually retiring in order to play with their grandchildren, and golf and fish, while other guys from ’64 are still coaching their third grade kids’ Little League teams.) Chuck’s emails are not nearly as personal or key a part of my life as the Arlingtons must have been for my grandfather, but they’re really good, nonetheless. Finding, connecting and staying in touch regardless of geography and the pressures of time are so much easier to do now than it was 100 years ago. For instance, there’s instant Google searches, and text messages and emails. (How’s that for stating the obvious.)

This past Friday evening St. Matthias School held its 124th graduation Mass. This graduating class is small (11 students and they are a very, very close bunch)—and a terrific group of young men and women in whom the parish can take great pride. They are the last of the small classes which date back to 2003 when our school had barely 170 students. Next year we’ll have over 350 students in school and even more in the years to come. Yikes!

Grandpa’s eighth grade buddies had no idea that two world wars, the great depression and a myriad of other tragedies, challenges and triumphs lay ahead of them but they made sure that, through it all, they had each others’ friendship and that made all the difference, he said. I wish that blessing of lifelong friendships for our class of 2012, as well.

So… Congratulations to St. Matthias’s 124th Graduating Class!

EmilAcaraz
Helen Diep
Freddie Edwards
Oscar Gonzalez
Ann Marie Hussar
George Kyle
Gabriel LaBoy- Rosales
Tara McCarthy
Brianna Ortega
Bryan Padilla
Alex Sheedy

Announcements & Upcoming Events

Please Visit the Sick

Tuesdays, 1 PM

When we help the poor we are truly followers of Jesus, servant of the poor. Consider serving the poor by joining Deacon Roland and others who visit and minister to the forgotten and lonely. Tuesdays at the Balmoral Nursing Home 2055 W. Balmoral.

Movies in the Park

June 11: Vertigo 300 W. Belmont Ave

The Chicago Park District's popular summer series returns with 176 screenings of new and classic films, including Bennett Miller's 2011 baseball biopic "Moneyball" and Sidney Lumet's 1978 classic, "The Wiz," starring Michael Jackson, at more than 120 neighborhood parks from June 11-Oct. 26. Films screen at dusk, weather permitting.

St. Joan of Arc Carnival

The Carnival is coming to town at St. Joan of Arc School in Evanston, June 7 – 10. Come enjoy food, rides and games for the whole family. Located in the school parking lot at 9245 North Lawndale (the corner of Lyons and Lawndale, just south of Central Park), the Carnival is an annual fundraiser for the school. Adult party under the tent on Saturday night starting at 9pm. Tickets may be purchased at the Carnival for individual rides, or a four-day Megapass allowing unlimited rides for $55. Daily ticket specials are also available. For more information see www.saintjoanofarc.net

A Great Parish Continues to Get Better

I HAD THE PLEASURE of dining with Father Terry last week and we did a lot of reminiscing about St. Matthias circa 1999. We have some fond memories as well as an insight on how far the parish and the school has come over the last 13 years. I spend a lot of time writing articles encouraging you all to donate, get involved , sign up for electronic giving and encourage new ideas, all of which has gotten us this far. And yes we have a lot further to go and the next few years look very exciting for the school and parish.

I ran across this article written by Bishop Oscar Romero and I thought it truly represents the journey that many of us at St. Matthias are on and many more will be joining.

Creating the Church Of Tomorrow

It helps now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that can be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds that are already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capability. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s Grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.

Written by Archbishop Oscar Romero who was martyred in San Salvador

School and Religious Education News

Chase Park Sports Day

Students in KG through grade 8 had a fun-filled, second annual, “Sports Day” at Chase Park on the 24th. Students enjoyed a picnic lunch followed by a variety games and relay races, where they competed in mixed grade level teams. The “Yellow” team emerged as the victors for the second year in a row. Thanks to Margie Rosmonowski and Richard Cunningham for organizing, and to the many parent volunteers who came out to make it a great day for the students.

Congratulations, Graduates!

The class of 2012 celebrated the culmination of their years together with a Ribbon Ceremony on Thursday morning, followed by a pancake breakfast with their families, and Graduation Mass on Friday evening. Congratulations and best wishes to the class of 2012: Emily Alcaraz, St. Ignatius; Helen Diep, Trinity; Freddie Edwards, Notre Dame College Prep; Oscar Gonzalez, Northtown Charter; Ann Marie Hussar, Willows Academy; George Kyle, St. Benedict Preparatory; Gabriel LaBoy-Rosales, St. Benedict Preparatory; Tara McCarthy, Lane Tech; Brianna Ortega, Resurrection; Bryan Padilla, St. Benedict Preparatory; Alex Sheedy; Gordon Tech.

Altar Server Training

There will be a parent/child meeting on Sunday, June 10th immediately following the 8am Mass in the church for students interested in being altar servers.

Students who are at least in the 4th grade and have made their First Communion are eligible. The meeting will involve some general information and expectations as well as giving us the chance to set up a training schedule.

Please contact Karyn McGovern, 773/334-6622, kemcgovern@ juno.com to sign up or for questions. See you then!

Take Five for Faith

Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow - a day at a time.

Look up the daily passages from the New American Bible online at www.usccb.org/nab/bible.

SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2012
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

Good things come in threes

Now that the Easter Season is over you have the opportunity to reflect on what it means to believe in a Trinitarian God—a central doctrine of the faith. If asked some might recall Saint Patrick’s shamrock or a triangle, but what does a Trinitarian God really mean? One way to understand the Holy Trinity is to imagine a three-note musical chord: When played together the notes complement each other and create a sound that is richer and fuller than any single note. Ultimately, though, a Trinitarian God is not off in the heavens and separate from the world but one who willingly enters creation and becomes human—a truly awesome thought! Spend some time today appreciating the gifts from your Trinitarian God.

TODAY'S READINGS: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20 (165)

“Ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before?”

MONDAY, JUNE 4

Is that you?

That’s me,” one 10-year-old insists to another as they watch an action movie, choosing to “be” the character who is the most powerful, the most beautiful, or even the goofiest. A good storyteller knows that listeners need to identify with the characters, but it can be a shock if your character turns out to be the villain, as when the “chief priests, the scribes, and the elders” realize that Jesus’ upside-down parables are calling them out. Jesus faced opposition—even violence—when his critics realized they were being challenged. Jesus challenges your assumptions about yourself even today. When—by your own lack of compassion, your injustice—you are confronted by the hard truth of the gospel, you still have to say, “That’s me.”

Today's Readings: 2 Peter 1:2-7; Mark 12:1-12 (353)

“They were seeking to arrest him . . . for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.”

TUESDAY, JUNE 5
FEAST OF BONIFACE, BISHOP, MARTYR

A gospel for hungry hearts and minds

As Christians we’ve not always done evangelization well. Saint Boniface (c. 680-754), a Benedictine monk and bishop, had a mixed history in this regard. There are stories about him literally trampling the religious traditions of other cultures but also about him embracing the customs of people and inviting them to see their own lives in light of the gospel. What’s your take on evangelization? Hammer or gospel in hand? Consider the words of the U.S. bishops: “Evangelization happens when the word of Jesus speaks to people’s hearts and minds. Needing no trickery or manipulation, evangelization can happen only when people accept the gospel freely, as the ‘good news’ it is meant to be, because of the power of the gospel message and the accompanying grace of God” (Go and Make Disciples, no. 19).

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Peter 3:12-15a, 17-18; Mark 12:13-17 (354)

“Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6
FEAST OF NORBERT, BISHOP

Encounters of the third kind

Did you know there are members of Catholic religious orders who are laypeople? Some of them belong to what are called third, or tertiary, orders, and most major religious orders include them. Members are men and women who do not necessarily live in community (though some do) but nonetheless participate in the good works of the larger order to which they belong. Saint Norbert was one of the first church figures to initiate a third order. He prepared a set of religious practices that those in secular life could follow. If you feel yourself drawn to a religious lifestyle despite being firmly anchored in a secular life, explore the possibilities third orders offer.

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12; Mark 12:18-27 (355)

“Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?”

THURSDAY, JUNE 7

Work on your sainthood

Lots of saints are and were walking around who haven’t yet claimed a date on the church calendar. Even if they never do, that doesn’t take away from their brilliant witness. Consider Anna Dengal, who graduated from medical school in England in 1919. Convinced that her skills could be better used in India, she became the only doctor serving 10,000 sick and dying women and children. Realizing she could “love her neighbor” better with a little help, she established the Medical Mission Sisters. Their goal remains “to be a healing presence at the heart of a wounded world.” Share the mission: Visit the sick.

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Mark 12:28b-34 (356)

“ ‘To love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

FRIDAY, JUNE 8

Lead us on the right path

King David was very much a flawed leader. Even so he is acclaimed as a great defender of his people, a gifted musician, and a poet and is revered not only in Jewish culture but by Christians and Muslims as well. The honorific title “Son of David” was often applied to Jesus, proving that good results can indeed come from our leaders, flawed though they are. Today is a good day to pray for all elected leaders, asking God to guide them to faithfully fulfill the duties of their offices and to seek justice, peace, and the common good in all of their efforts.

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Mark 12:35-37 (357)

“How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David?”

SATURDAY, JUNE 9
FEAST OF EPHREM, DEACON, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

Music to your ears

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture. Today marks the Feast of Saint Ephrem, a deacon of the church who wrote hundreds of poems and hymns. His imagery, originality, and skill in writing these songs captured the hearts of many Christians, and Ephrem is given much credit for awakening the church to the importance of music and poetry in the spread and revitalization of the faith. Add a little music to your life today and let it take hold of your heart and soul.

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Mark 12:38-44 (358)

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus . . . proclaim the word.”

©2012 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. PHONE: 800-942-2811; E-MAIL: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; WEBSITE: PrepareTheWord.com Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New American Bible.

Contributors: Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Caroline Hopkinson, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Ann O'Connor, Joel Schorn, Patrice J. Tuohy, and Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.

Out and About/Potpourri

The Trinity is About Us

TRINITY was originally shorthand catechism for "Jesus-is-the-Son-of- God and we know that because the Holy Spirit still resides in the church." In other words, Trinity wasn’t about the nature of God; it was about the lived experience of the church. No one was saying God is a mathematically mysterious triangle of aspects. No one intended to say anything about what it’s like to be God in the privacy of divinity. What they were describing was their relationship to God, or rather our relationship to God as church. Trinity isn’t about God so much as about how we know God.

There are three ways we come to know God.

First, through Israel’s relationship to the God of their story: Creation through Exodus, covenant through kingship, prophecy through wisdom.

Second, in the gospel of Jesus: the God of incarnation, healing and teaching, dying and rising.

Third, through indwelling Spirit that guides, inspires, and imbues us with every grace and blessing.

Even if God does look in a celestial mirror and sees Three-in-One, for our purposes it wouldn’t matter. It’s an intellectual parlor game to describe the divine nature as experienced in the Godhead. It’s also a fairly useless exercise that likely causes great mirth in heaven. That God’s self-revelation took shape in these three ways, or a thousand- and-three ways, is important to us insofar as we reply to the invitation to intimate relationship.

God communicates with us through three astonishing avenues: Story, Flesh, and Spirit. God joins us on three essential planes of our experience, we who likewise travel through our own stories as both flesh and spirit. As we live and move and have our being, God is here. God is truly with us.

By Alice Camille
Reprinted with permission from PrepareTheWord.com

Ribfest

Friday, June 8, 5 - 10 PM Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10, Noon - 10 PM

Located at the intersection of Lincoln and Irving Park, Ribfest is three outrageous days of ribs, music and fun for the whole family. Partake in 25 bands, 65,000 pounds of ribs and 12 hours of fun at the Kids Square. A suggested $5 donation at the gate benefits community groups, schools and programs.

Eat Well for Less: Summer Reads for Adults

Saturday June 09, 2012 - 10:00 am

Location: Sulzer Regional 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue 60625

Laura Bruzas, “green kitchen economist,” provides simple, healthy lifestyle options for consumers at this workshop. Learn dozens of expert tips, insider secrets and registered-dietitian approved strategies to save time and money including how to shop smart, save on cooking gear, conserve energy in the kitchen and stock one’s kitchen pantry to create nutritious and tasty meals in minutes a snap! Presented by Laura Bruzas, Healthy Dining Chicago.