September 22, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

I know it’s kind of childish, but imagine Jesus was right next to you in your conversation. You’re talking with someone outside the church in the parking lot, you’re in the kitchen with some friends with a glass of wine, you’re out on the golf course, you’re writing an email or posting something on social media…Jesus is right there with you. That might stop the unkind comment about the third party who isn’t present, the crude joke, the complaint, the lie. It might actually cause us to say something kind, something insightful, something encouraging. The disciples argue among themselves about who is the greatest. They had lost sight of Jesus right next to them and so they deteriorated as a group.

            We actually don’t need to ‘imagine’ Jesus is right next to us in our activity because he is. If only we could stop and recall the fact that Jesus is here with us, how many mistakes, misunderstandings, quarrels, and other problems would we prevent. How much goodness would be spread.

            The disciples make the mistake of speaking when they shouldn’t and not speaking when they should. They had a legitimate question about Jesus’ prediction of his death. Anyone would rightfully be concerned about such a saying and want to follow up with it. Imagine if I told you all “I predict I will die in six months,” you wouldn’t just nod and move on with your life. You would want to know why I would say such a thing and so forth. But the disciples remain silent in such a case. The scripture line says “they were afraid to question him.” This is their error. We should never be afraid to question our Lord. We should never be afraid to talk to him.

            If we don’t question Jesus and speak freely with him, then we’ll be inclined to speak freely to others, and this is where mistakes are made. When you say something you shouldn’t–a piece of gossip, a lie, etc.--it’s stemming from some restlessness within you. You’re feeling insecure, inadequate, jealous, needy or something else. The invitation is to talk about that first with Jesus in prayer. He will find a way to help you through your struggle and prevent you from taking others down with you by your unhelpful speech.

            This is precisely why a solid prayer life is not a waste of time or purely selfish activity. Being close to Jesus can make us better contributors to society. And the more we pray, the more we will see Jesus with us always wherever we are.

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RCIA is underway for a new year. If you know someone who is interested in being Catholic, or someone who was raised Catholic but hasn’t received the sacraments, please send them our way. I’m grateful to Beshar Bahjat and his team for running these weekly sessions. Please join in my praying for all those who will be entering the Church at the Easter Vigil in April 2025.

            We are including again in the bulletin this week renderings of our capital campaign project: the new parish center annex off the main parking lot and the outdoor Stations of the Cross. The new parish center will be a beautiful addition to our campus and allow us to accommodate more of our parish groups, as well as school student activities during the day. Immediately accessible from the parking lot, this space will be able to hold over 200 people for large gatherings. It can also be divided into three smaller rooms for smaller meetings. The Stations of the Cross around the entire campus will allow us to take our prayer outside the church walls.

             Thank you to all those who have contributed to the capital campaign. Inside this bulletin you will see a campaign pledge card along with a letter from Cardinal Cupich about the campaign. If you are ready to make a pledge, please cut out the sheet and return to me. You don’t necessarily have to include any payment with the card. As the Cardinal writes in the letter, you can make your contribution all at once or make it a pledge over five years. The five year pledge allows for a more substantial donation. Our goal is $2.7 million, so we need the support of everyone if possible. If you would like to meet with me to discuss your donation, I am more than happy to do so. Thank you again for your support.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace