St. Louis de Montfort

Oak Lawn, Illinois

Fr. Stan’s Utterances Page 2 Let us please bring back someone in our family, friends or someone on our neighborhood block back to our church who has not been coming and bring them home closer to God this new year. Please devote yourselves everyday to Mary via the rosary, praying the Magnificat, Memorare, The Angelus throughout the day or even silently speaking to Mary from our hearts. In today’s First Reading, we’re reminded of one characteristic of holiness, which is; in imitation of the Lord, that boils down into not let anger take hold of the heart. The teaching is framed in the command of the Lord to be holy in imitation of Him. God has something to teach us, even in the Old Testament, way before the Incarnation, of how to be holy. He doesn’t say not to get angry. Anger is an emotion you cannot control. He says not to let the anger into your

heart. Holiness is not letting something upsetting seep into your heart and, therefore, into your love for the person who is upsetting you. If you need to tell someone that they’ve acted wrongly, it should be in a spirit of fraternal correction. Fraternal correction is helping your brother or sister see the wrong of something they’ve done for their good. Grudges and a desire for revenge are a sign that you have let something upsetting creep into your heart and taint your love toward the person responsible.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds us that hatred not only seeks destruction and harm to the person we hate but brings destruction upon us too. God dwells in us as long as we remain in communion with Him through living a holy life. In that way, we are His disciples. Paul warns those who would destroy these temples out of envy or resentment that if they have God within them, such actions will drive Him out of their heart.

The glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines anger as “An emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins.” A capital sin is a mortal sin: that means spiritual death.

How many movies and television programs have depicted two bitter enemies glaring at each other with disgust and saying, “I’ll see you in Hell!” That thought should chill us to the bone: it is a lose-lose situation. In a world that’s often focused on vendettas, avenging wrongs, trampled rights, and payback, our Lord reminds us today not to harbor anger in the heart and look towards peaceful solutions.

Meekness is often considered a weakness, but it actually involves a very virtuous effort not to strike, or even dislike, the one who’s struck you, to give your time and possessions when someone doesn’t have a right to them, or to go out of your way beyond what any reasonable person would expect. Our Lord has set the standard. How many blows did He receive on Holy Thursday and Good Friday? Being God, He didn’t have to sacrifice Himself for our salvation. When Adam and Eve sinned, God could have left us to the mess they’d made of our lives, just as He could every time we sin and continue to sin. With all that baggage anything we ask, or sometimes demand, of our Lord is something He is under no obligation whatsoever to fulfill, and yet He does and continues to do so.

We often focus on the receiving end of the slights and offenses that He describes in today’s Gospel, but what He also teaches, for example, is how we should not be on the giving end of them either. Even today, we have an eloquent testimony in so many Christians suffering persecution and death. When evil stares us in the face, not some nebulous force or Hollywood movie caricature, but real evil done by real people and to real people, we must combat it for the sake of others, but we must not lose our concern for the people who are on that path to misery and failure by their misdeeds. That is the sign of genuine love, perfect love, like our Heavenly Father’s love. It’s not a love conditioned by the love we expect in return or have received; otherwise, we’d only care about those who care for us. That is the secret to overcoming the damage any lack of love on the part of others may have caused in our lives. Love can triumph if we let it. Society, a difficult family situation, an evil done to us can only conquer our love if we let it. Here is an illustration to help understand this better.

Fire spreads quickly and consumes everything. It’s no coincidence that anger is associated with fire: people make incendiary comments, are bombastic, and get into heated arguments. One spark can consume an entire home, acres of forest, and destroy many lives. Anger works similarly. It starts small and if it is not checked it soon flares up into something much worse. So, what is the application?

If you get mad, don’t get even! Today’s society is plagued by ways of losing your temper, inspired by the principle of “don’t get mad, get even”: people go postal, get road rage, swear, go ballistic, send bad emails and phone text messages and are branded as trolls online.

Our Lord, in today’s Gospel, tells us the Christian response to people who get on our nerves: “don’t get mad, get praying,” talk to your manager if you’ve got a problem, keep driving calmly and forgive the person who’s tailgating you, watch your mouth, take a walk and cool off, send that e-mail draft or destructo-comment to the trash unpublished. In today’s edgy, thin-skinned, irritable society that is a tall order. It’s not something we can accomplish overnight. The best way is to contemplate Christ crucified when we think we’re about to blow.

Our Lord didn’t just preach this in today’s Gospel; he lived it. He lived to the cross and has forgiven from the cross! None of us have been mistreated as badly as Him, and he bore with it all and forgave everyone who sought it. Contemplation is not merely remembering; it is seeing the scene in your mind, with Christ, and not just once. It is through contemplation and grace that we achieve the recollection to help us keep from losing control, and in contemplating Christ crucified little by little, we realize how beautiful charity toward others and despite others is, and how petty we can often be.

St Louis de Montfort, pray for us! Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us!

Also, loving God, please hear our prayers as we gather as your children saddened by the loss of our school. We ask you to help us be a warm and caring community for each other as we anticipate the school’s closing and celebrate its many accomplishments of your mission among us.

Have a great week and enjoy life! Pray always!

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SCHOOL NEWS . Parents...as a reminder, in honor of Presidents Day, there is no school Monday, February 20th!!

We will be selling Hoops Mania tickets for $10.00 through the month of February.

If you would like to purchase a ticket, please contact the School or Parish Office. All tickets must be purchased and activated by March 3. School families will get $7 credit toward their fundraising commitment for each ticket they sell. As a reminder, every ticket stub has to be returned with purchaser name and phone number and $20 to be activated by the program organizers Our Jr. High students attended a NET ministries retreat at St. Gerald’s Parish on Thursday. We are grateful to St. Gerald’s for inviting our students to participate. Mark your calendars….The school board is planning a

Spring Family Dance Details are as follows: Saturday, March 25th ~ Quinn Hall 6:00 pm—10:00 pm Dinner served at 6:15 pm Cost is $8.00 per person or $25.00 per family (children under 2 years old are free) if you pre-register by Friday, March 17th! Tickets at the door on day of the event are $10.00 per person.

We are also looking for volunteers to help make this a successful event! If interested in volunteering, please contact Tess McGillicuddy at tess.mcgillicuddy@gmail.com

Please pray for our 2nd grade class, they are preparing for their Reconciliation.

You can find their names in a basket located at the back of the church. Please take 1 name and keep them in your daily prayers.

February R.E. classes will be on:

Saturday, February 25th, 2017

Mrs. Cheryl Plesha R E Coordinator

STUDENTS NEEDING SERVICE HOURS

FSA is helping to coordinate 8th grade and high school student volunteers to help serve dinner during the St. Josephs Table dinner on Saturday, March 18th.

Students wishing to volunteer can earn service hours.

Please contact Donna Liesen for more details 815.307.2062

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All Parishioners…Parish Picnic Update On Tuesday, February 21st our next meeting is scheduled to discuss the Picnic. We had lots of great ideas at our first meeting and are looking for more input and participation! This is not a school only function, all parishioners are welcome and encouraged to get involved! To get a head start we will be looking for donations of gift cards, baskets, and new, unused items suitable for a raffle prize. If you know of area businesses or organizations in the area, or perhaps your employer, that would like to donate please start asking! We want it to be a memorable time for all students, past and present as well as all parishioners. As with any large event, a lot of planning, volunteer hours and team effort is needed to make it successful. We welcome your input. If you are available to join us for planning, we would love to see you! Although June may seem a long way off...it’s just around the corner. Maybe planning a spring event will help us all to “THINK SPRING” and add a bit of much needed sunshine to our days! Join us!

Mark Your Calendars

Women’s Auxiliary Upcoming Events

Monthly Meetings 2nd Thursday of each Month

7:00 PM Quinn Hall

Saturday, April 8th Women’s Auxiliary Craft Fair

Quinn Hall Watch the bulletin for more information on these events.

PARISH PICNIC—JUNE 4th

PLANS ARE IN THE WORKS SO SAVE THE DATE AND SPREAD THE WORD!!

VOLUNTEER ~~ SHARE IDEAS

INVITE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS REACH OUT TO ST. LOUIS ALUMNI

IDEAS CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

CAR SHOW ~~ RAFFLES JUMP HOUSE ~~~ BINGO

ENTERTAINMENT FOOD ~~ BEVERAGE

SHARING OF ST. LOUIS MEMORIES

SCHOOL WALK THRU

You can email suggestions to parish.office@sldmparish.org

JOIN US FOR OUR

ST. JOSEPHS TABLE DINNER ~ DANCE Where: Quinn Hall When: Saturday, March 18th Doors open 5:30 ~ Dinner served 6:30 Cost: $25 per person

Food – Beverages (cash bar) – Desserts Split the Pot – Basket Raffles - DJ

Meal will be catered by local restaurants Sweet table donations are welcome!

Tickets will be available in the vestibule after masses.

Limit of 200 tickets will be sold

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Lenten season is fast approaching, Ash Wednesday is on March 1st. With the season, comes a change in our church décor. We welcome ALL volunteers to assist in the decorating of our church. Our decorating team, led by Midge Montoya, will be gathering in church at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, February 28th. Please consider volunteering! Thank you to Midge and those who offer their time and talent to making our church a beautiful place to worship.

Parish News from Fr. Stan Effective with March Collections... In light of the financial hardship our parish is experiencing, the decision has been made to discontinue contributions to St. Bride Parish. We ask that you consider making those donations to our Restore and Renew fund. When we are once again financially stable we will resume contributing to our sharing parish. **As a reminder if you are currently making your contributions to St. Brides with Give Central, we ask that you update your contribution elections.

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Jackie Adomovicz Jesse Anderer George Badke

Jim Ball Richard Bania

Erik Baranowski Irene Baranowski

Lillian Berenis Sr. Bernardine Mikey Bevan Joyce Bitinas

Jesselyn Brucki Diane Chrapkiewicz

Pat Chudy John Condon Sue Conley

Betty Connolly Donna Dong

Mary Dragozetic Rita Duchowicz Shirley Duran

Jack Falsey John Furmaniak Sr.

Dave Gallagher Sandra Gilbert

Lorraine Grams Dorothy Hayden

Janis Hayden Mary Hinchey

Theresa Iser Marilyn Jones

Mary Jane Kirchner Mary Kmak

Doris Konieczka Daniel Kosiek

Bill Kutschke Kurt Kutschke

Joyce Lenzi Josie Maracic Agnes Mark Rita Mazur

Mary Ann & Bill Meskowski Rosemary Mihelic

Andy Mikal Barbara Minster Judy Mitchell Vencia Munis

Christopher Murphy Teresa Myczek Michael Nolan Debbie Ornat Kari Raspanti

Kelly Robertson Frances Schmidt Joan Schramm

Bridget Schroeder Ruth Ann Smith

Jim Staros Mercedita Suclan

Terry Swierk Jay Tarczon

Dorothy Tinman Diane Uryasz

Jerry Wantroba II Mary Wantuck

Cathy Jo Werner Kimberly Willett Bud Wirisbinski

Shelley Werner-Torsan Robert & Carol Zucas

REST IN PEACE We pray for our family and friends

that have recently died Mary Lou Surma

Please keep them and their families in your prayers

We pray for those among us who are suffering from illnesses

Feb. 25 5:00PM Feb. 26 7:30 AM Feb. 26 9:30 AM Feb. 26 11:30 AM D. Sichelski H. Niemiec S. Kozak K. Tarczon J. Werner M. Kocher A. Weiss C. Karnoski M. Leffers M. Uryasz D. Widmer C. Gotto

Extraordinary J. Kocher M. Gilbert M. Murphy J. Hurckes Ministers of Communion J. Miller J. Sibick J. Cepek M. Gal

T. Wasik K. Delmagori V. Munis M. Farrell L. Trail B. Gilbert J. Mitchell D. Ott

Commentator D. Sichelski M. Uryasz D. Widmer C. Karnoski

Lector A. Sinde E. Tierney P. Weiss C. Gotto

You’re Invited!

Mother McAuley Father’s Club and Mother’s Club Present

Comedy Night at the McAuley Auditorium Featuring Chicago’s Pat McGann & WGN’s Ana Belaval

Saturday, April 1st Doors open 6:30 pm ~~ Show starts 8:00 pm

Ticket cost is $25 each or 6 for $125 Includes: light appetizers, door prizes, raffles, split the pot, cash bar for beer & wine. **Must be 21 years old to attend For questions, contact Casey Pytel 708.478.0710 Tickets are available at www.mothermcauley.org, click on Parent tab and then Father’s Club.

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Weekly Activities at St. Louis

Sunday, February 19 Monday, February 20 9:00 AM— Rosary (CH) No School—Presidents Day Tuesday, February 21 9:00 AM — Rosary (CH) 7:00 PM — Needle workers (QH) 7:00 PM— Picnic Planning Meeting Wednesday, February 22 9:00 AM — Rosary (CH) 9:00 AM—10:00 AM—Parish Pantry Thursday, February 23 9:00 AM— Rosary (CH) Friday, February 24 9:00 AM— Rosary (CH) 9:00 AM—10:00 AM—Parish Pantry Saturday, February 25 9:00 AM — Rosary—(CH) 9:00—10:00 AM— Adoration 11:30 AM —1:00 PM Sandwich Ministry (QH) Sunday, February 26 1:00 PM—Baptism

Weekly Mass Intentions

Saturday, February 18 8:30 AM Communion Service 5:00 PM + James Kopulos Sunday, February 19, Seventh Sunday Ordinary Time 7:30 AM + Alice Puriski + Genowefa Giedrojc 9:30 AM + Leopold & Anna Ciezczk + Deceased members of Hynes Family + Helga Olsen 11:30 AM + Jan Podczerwinski Monday, February 20 8:30 AM +Clem Hojnacki +Tony Samanic Tuesday, February 21 8:30 AM + Monica Robinia Wednesday, February 22 8:30 AM Communion Service Thursday, February 23 8:30 AM Patricia Venard Friday, February 24 8:30 AM + Saturday, February 25 8:30 AM Communion Service 5:00 PM + Louis & Rostan Family +Emanuel Scribano & Family +Lawrence & Margaret Keating +Carol Fox Sunday, February 26, Eighth Sunday Ordinary Time 7:30 AM + Joseph Sirak 9:30 AM + Wolter & Diane Skupien + Amelia McDowall + Dombrowski Family 11:30 AM + John Holowach +Rosemary Ibarra Kim Tomczak—For health

Sunday Readings for February 19

First reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 Second reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 Gospel: Matthew 5:38-48

Sunday Readings for February 26

First reading: Isaiah 49:14-15 Second reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34

WEEKLY OFFERING

February 4/5 $5,835.00 Give Central $ 305.00

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

ST. JOHN PAUL II EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ASSOCIATION

ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

Every Saturday St. Louis de Montfort Chapel

9:00—10:00 AM

Please join us

Knights of Columbus Council 14553

The 2017 Mass book is open. Please contact the Parish Home at 708.599.5300 during regular business hours if you would like to have a mass said in remembrance of a loved one or for a special intention.

Fr. Stanley Stuglik: Pastor Mr. Bill Sullivan: Deacon Fr. Mark Canavan: Pastor Emeritus Mrs. Cindy Cochran: Operations Director Ms. Jan Podolak: Parish Secretary Mrs. Karen Deegan: Director of Music Parish Home: 8808 Ridgeland Ave, Oak Lawn IL Phone: 708-599-5300 Fax: 708-599-2678 Email: parish.office@sldmparish.org Parish Website: www.sldmparish.org Parish Home Office Hours: 9:00 AM— 2:30 PM Monday—Friday Mrs. Melissa Wilson: School Principal Mrs. Cheryl Plesha: Director of Religious Education School Address: 8840 Ridgeland Ave, Oak Lawn IL School Phone: 708-599-5781 School Fax: 708-599-5782

MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 AM Weekdays 8:30 AM (Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri) 8:30 AM Communion Service (Wed) Saturday 8:30 AM Communion Service Confessions: Saturday 4:00 to 4:30 PM Baptisms: 2nd & 4th Sunday of every month Pre-Baptismal Program: The 1st Tuesday every other month. Arrangements can be made by calling the Rectory. Weddings: Couples should contact the parish priest at least six months in advance of wedding date.

Welcome to St. Louis de Montfort Parish

CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS St. Louis De Montfort Church #000448 8808 S. Ridgeland Avenue Oak Lawn, IL 60453 TELEPHONE 708 599-5300 CONTACT PERSON Jan Podolak EMAIL: parish.office@sldmparish.org SOFTWARE MSPublisher 2013 Adobe Acrobat XI Windows 8 TRANSMISSION TIME Wednesday 11:00 SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION February 19, 2017 NUMBER OF PAGES SENT 1 through 8 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS