Trust in God leads to life. We hear this premise from the 15th chapter of the book of Sirach in this weekend’s first reading. One powerful invitation that we have as Christians to trust in our life giving God is to believe that he became one of us in Jesus Christ and as the second person of the Trinity, God incarnate in our world, God made real in our world, the word made flesh, the human manifestation of God – who has not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. This is a key statement from the long passage from Matthew’s Gospel that we hear this weekend The remark from Jesus is followed by a rather stern message instructing us to both follow the law and to teach others to follow it. He goes on to give expansive details regarding what the letter of some of the commandments means – not simply the statement of the commandment, but the spirit as well.
He not only cautions against killing but anger as well. He encourages reconciliation with those we need to reconcile with before performing the prayerful rituals and offerings of our faith. He challenges us to reflect on what might lead us to things such as sexual indiscretions as well as the indiscretions and sins themselves. He challenges us to reflect on the importance of keeping commitments we have made, not swearing, and meaning the things we say such as yes and no.
Let’s commit ourselves to the spirit of the laws of our faith and not simply the letter. Let’s trust that this will lead us to life in God through the fulfillment of the Law through Jesus Christ.
This week we begin a three week series of the Annual Catholic Appeal. The theme of this year’s appeal is “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.” Please take a flyer placed in your pew explaining how this Appeal works, it’s importance to our local church and beyond, and how it extends the ministry of Mercy that is so near and dear to the heart of our beloved Pope Francis as well as our beloved Cardinal Cupich. We will hear the cardinal’s message next weekend and have an opportunity to make a pledge to the Appeal the next two weekends.
Your gift to the Appeal benefits the following:
- Parishes and schools serving financially challenged communities in the Archdiocese
- Funds raised in excess of individual parish goals are returned to support local parish ministries
- Programs to support parish vitality, evangelization initiatives and liturgy enhancements
- Religious Education for youth, young adults, campus ministry and adult education
- Formation of lay ministers including ongoing training for those non-ordained serving in parishes
- Catholic Relief Services assisting the poor and vulnerable overseas
- Programs and ministries of Human Dignity and Solidarity promoting Respect for Life at all stages, immigration, Kolbe House Prison Ministry, and Peace and Justice initiatives
- Ongoing formation and continuing education for priests
- Parish Transformation, programs to revitalize local parish communities
- Family Ministries including marriage preparation and enrichment.
Please inform yourself about the Appeal and consider making a generous donation. Remember, all funds collected here at Holy Family that exceed our parish goal are returned to us, but this is also a significant way to support many ministries in the Archdiocese and beyond that do not have a regular source of income, but carry out very meaningful ministry.
Our 2017 Gala is fast approaching. Please plan on attending Saturday, February 25 at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows. This is an event that began as exclusively benefitting our Academy and my vision was that it become a fun fund raiser for the ENTIRE Holy Family community. More and more of the proceeds from the Gala benefit parish activities and are available upon request from any ministry. Please come to the Gala. Catch our lively and passionate spirit. Meet new members of both the Academy and parish. Please consider supporting our Family, Teen and Adult Faith communities in addition to the Academy.
You can support the Gala in several ways:
- Come to the event
- Get friends to come and join you, preferably non-parishioners, so we can show them the vibrant Holy Family Spirit and have a lot of fun
If you can’t attend:
- Donate to the very successful “Wine and Dine” $25 Bottle of Wine/ $25 Gift Certificate from local restaurants – bring these items to the front office
- Help set up the day before at Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows between 10am-2pm or take down after the event from 11pm-1am (college kids encouraged!) – contact Andrea Farrell at acfarrell@comcast.net
- Many auction items are ideal for multiple families or groups of couples to arrange to bid on ahead of time – more info to come to help you plan for this
- Offer to purchase a ticket for a staff member, teacher or catechist who might not be able to afford a ticket.