The Epiphany of the Lord
January 8 , 2012
SAINT ISAAC JOGUES PARISH 8149 Golf Road ~ Niles, IL 60714 847/967-1060 ~ Fax # 847/967-1070 Website: http://sij-parish.com
All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him. — Psalm 72:11
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THE SECRET OF THE STAR
“A word came forth in Galilee, a word like to a star; It climbed and rang and blessed and burnt wherever brave hearts are…”
-G. K. Chesterton I must have been nine or ten years old when my family brought me to the Adler Planetarium for a remarkable presentation, “The Star of Bethlehem.“ The presentation was an astronomical speculation about the Star that guided the Magi. I cannot re-call the particulars, but I do remember that the most popular theory was that the Star was proba-bly a planetary conjunction. An ordinary conjunc-tion happens whenever two planets pass each other at their closest viewing point from the earth. This happens regularly - - approximately every twenty years. The variables are determined by the specific planets. Much more rare is the con-junction of three planets. Kepler, a great astrono-mer, calculated that the conjunction of Mars, Jupi-ter, and Saturn occurred every 805 years. It was such a conjunction that took place in the year 7-6 B.C. Visually, it appeared as a bright star or pat-tern of stars. Was this, then, the “Star of Bethle-hem”? As I gazed up at the simulated night sky of the Adler Planetarium, it seemed a good theory. It seemed to reconcile science and faith. Whether it was a conjunction of planets, a nova, or a comet perhaps only modern “Magi” can de-termine. But even they might halt before the Gos-pel’s “wandering star.” For the Star is significant not for itself alone, but for where it leads. Pope Benedict XVI, in The Blessing of Christmas, observes;
Man’s true constellations are those men who show him the new path of his heart and his vocation. Christ is the star that has risen for us. In faith, he himself kindles for us the light that makes other men stars who show the way to him.
Beyond this application, or appropriation, of the “Star,” is Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity’s mysti-cal, poetic insight:
I saw the star that showed me by its light The cradle where my baby King would be: Then, in that calm - - the mystery - - of night It was as though the star turned round at me: I heard an Angel’s voice then (how it charmed me!) saying ‘Comprehend This - - it is in your soul that now The mystery achieves its end: God’s Son, his Splendor fair, Incarnate now, this morn In you. With Mary there Embrace God, newly born - - For … yours he is!’
The beautiful “secret” of the Star is that it shows where God is to be found - - within us and around us. Father Horacio de la Costa’s charming poem “The Star” situates Bethlehem in the Philippines and the Magi as local royalty:
...I affirm That Melchior was King of Tonado, When Gaspar ruled Sampaloc, and Balthazar Binondo - - We will not argue. We will walk the streets on Christmas Eve, And I will show you the poor man’s rafter, Where hangs the Star the Kings sought after, High above Christian prayer and laughter - - You will see it!
The “Secret of the Star” remains a tremendous reve-lation: GOD CAN BE FOUND IN EVERYONE . . . GOD MAKES HIS HOME EVERYWHERE! - Fr. Luczak
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Come, Adore Him
The music ministry of St. Isaac Jogues Church will present a concert of holiday music
Sunday, January 8 at 3:00pm in the church.
Our adult choir, youth choir, teen choir and cantor ensemble will provide you with an
entertaining and joyous afternoon of music and laughter. After the rush of preparations, sit back and let the peace of the Christmas season and
its music surround you.
A MEDITATION: The Magi In choosing to be born for us, God chose to be known by us. He therefore reveals himself in this way, in order that this great sacrament of his love may not be an occasion for us of great misunder-standing. Today the magi find, crying in a manger, the one they have followed as he shone in the sky. Today the magi see clearly, in swaddling clothes, the one they have long awaited as he lay hidden among the stars. Today the magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, humanity in God, God in humanity, one whom the whole uni-verse cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as they symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a king, myrrh for one who is to die… - Peter Chrysologus
Fifth century
Financial Update
The collections for the first weekend of January exceeded our budget target by $370. This has placed us $2,150 below our year to date target. Please help us to stay on target in the coming months!
We wish to express our thanks to all parishioners who continue to give of their time, talent and treasure in support of the Parish.
Financial Snapshot First Sunday of Jauary 2012
Actual Budget Difference Actual Last Yr Difference
Sunday Collection $13,545 $13,200 $345 $13,545 $13,694 ($149) Holy Day $2,225 $2,200 $25 $2,225 $2,216 $9 Month to Date $15,770 $15,400 $370 $15,770 $15,910 ($140)
Year to Date $295,600 $297,750 ($2,150) $295,600 $295,412 $188
HUMAN CONCERNS MINISTERS OF CARE MEETING Ministers of Care will gather on Wednesday, January 18, at 7 p.m. in the Holy Family Room. Please make every effort to attend. Agenda will be coming this week.
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SPIRITUAL LIFE SPIRITUAL LIFE COMMISSION The Spiritual Life Commission will meet at 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9th, at the Rectory with some of our Parish Mission Speakers and to finalize plans for the Baby Shower for The Women’s Center. Please arrive a little before 8 p.m. before RE classes dismiss.
BABY SHOWER FOR THE WOMEN’S CENTER All are invited to support the unborn and the newborn and their mothers by coming to the Baby Shower which will be held in the Holy Family Room after all the Masses next weekend, January 14-15. Hospitality will be provided. Due to space constraints at The Women’s Center in Chicago since the fire they had this past summer, we will only be able to accept the following items: new or gently used maternity clothes, baby clothing and infant car seats. Monetary dona-tions are also appreciated. Come and make a difference in the lives of others while giving witness to the Gospel of Life! Pray and be the voice for the unborn so that laws will be passed to protect them.
CATHOLICISM SERIES Episode #4 of Fr. Bob Barron’s CATHOLICISM series will be shown on Friday, Jan. 13th, at 7 p.m. in the Holy Family Room. It will focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Interesting conversation and refreshments follow the viewing! All are welcome to come!
ECUMENICAL COMMITTEE The Ecumenical and Interreligious Committee will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 10th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Rectory. Please review materials sent in the mail.
HOLY HOURS FOR LIFE +The Knights of Columbus North American Martyrs Council 4338 invites everyone to a Holy Hour for Life on Wednes-day, January 18th, at 7:00 p.m. at St. John Brebeuf Church. Come join your prayers with those of Our Lady of Guada-lupe, Patroness of the Unborn. +There will be a Holy Hour for Life here at St. Isaac Jogues Church on Thursday, January 19th, at 7:00 p.m. All are wel-come!
THANK YOU A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard and prayed and served so well during this Christmas Season. The sharing of your love, time, and talents joyfully invited all of us to raise our hearts, voices and lives in giving glory to God as we celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our gratitude to each and every person! May the Lord’s blessings fill your new year!
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION RE NEWS +RE classes resume on Monday, January 9th. Family members and interested parishioners are invited to a time of Expo-sition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with the children and Catechists as the Christmas Season draws to an end. The prayer will begin at 7:15 p.m. Deacon Paul’s Confirmation Year II students will help lead with the prayer. +There will be a First Communion Preparation Meeting for parents/guardians on Monday, January 16, at 6:45 p.m. in the Holy Family Room. Home materials and calendars will be distributed. Please make every effort to attend!
BIBLE STUDY The Wednesday Morning Bible Study group will begin meeting again this Wednesday, January 11th, at 9:30 a.m. On that day and for the next several weeks, we will show the episodes of the CATHOLICISM series by Fr. Bob Barron. All interested parishioners are welcome to join us in the Holy Family Room. Free will offerings appreciated!
ADULT CONFIRMATION CLASSES Are you like many young adult Catholics who somehow missed being confirmed as a younger student? Are you prepar-ing for the Sacrament of Marriage and realizing you would like to reconnect with the sacramental life of the Church? If so, you might be interested in the St. Michael (1711 N. Cleveland, Chicago) Confirmation preparation process which will begin in February and continue through April. Confirmation will take place the first Sunday in May. There are seven Wednesday evening sessions (7-9 p.m.), one Saturday retreat day (10 AM – 3 PM), and one evening of reflection. Your sponsor is encouraged to attend all the sessions with you, but must attend the evening of reflection (May 4) and Confir-mation (May 6). For more information or to register for the Adult Confirmation process, please call Mary Catherine Meek or Deanna Cun-ningham at 312-943-4767 or email [email protected]. There is a $60 fee for the program which includes a hard cover edition of the New American Bible and a United States Catechism for Adults.
PARISH LIFE COMMISSION TEEN GROUP POPCORN SALE You can smell the fresh popped popcorn already, right?!? The Teen Group will sell freshly popped popcorn next weekend, Jan. 14-15, in the Holy Family Room for just $1 a bag. The money earned will be used to purchase food to make lunches for the homeless, which will be distributed by a gentleman from St. John Brebeuf Parish. We hope to be able to make at least 100 sack lunches which will contain two meat sand-wiches, fruit, cookies, drink, veggies, etc. We will really appreciate your help and support.
ST. JOSEPH TABLE PLANNING COMMITTEE The St. Joseph Table Planning Committee will meet Wednesday, Jan. 11th, at 7 p.m. downstairs in the Parish Hall. We will be discussing donation contacts and providing donation letters, and looking at our needs for food preparation and serving the day of the dinner. Please call Dee or Santa if you cannot attend. Parishioners are encouraged to mark Sun-day, March 11th, on their calendars and plan on participating in this year’s St. Joseph Table.
PARISH LIFE COMMISSION The Parish Life Commission will meet on Thursday, Jan. 12th. Please review agenda sent in the mail and think about the Cardinal’s question for discussion.
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TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — You shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow (Isaiah 60:1-6). Psalm — Lord, every nation on earth will adore you (Psalm 72). Second Reading — The Gentiles are copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6). Gospel — The magi were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother (Matthew 2:1-12). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
One with All People
Revealed At last, since Adam
The Son
Word From Someone
To someone
Friend Of all, closer, now
That new life has begun
-Deacon Rod
SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: The Epiphany of the Lord;
National Migration Week Monday: The Baptism of the Lord; National Vocation Awareness Week Tuesday: First Week in Ordinary Time begins Friday: St. Hilary Saturday: Blessed Virgin Mary
READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 or Is 55:1-11; Acts 10:34-38 or 1 Jn 5:1-9; Mk 1:7-11 Tuesday: 1 Sm 1:9-20 or 1 Sm 1:1-8 and 1 Sm
1:9-20; Mk 1:21-28 or Mk 1:14-20 and Mk 1:21-28
Wednesday: 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20; Mk 1:29-39 Thursday: 1 Sm 4:1-11; Mk 1:40-45 Friday: 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a; Mk 2:1-12 Saturday: 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a; Mk 2:13-17 Sunday: 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19; Ps 40; 1 Cor
6:13c-15a, 17-20; Jn 1:35-42
ST ISAAC JOGUES MEN’S CLUB The weather to date has been warm, but our next Men’s Club
meeting will be a HOT ONE! “IT’S TEX MEX NITE.”
JANUARY 19TH 7:00 PM
CHURCH HALL
Wally Polinski, and his able assistant Paul Wydra will be the Hosts and serve their famous award winning Hot or Mild Chili. Vic Skuran will serve his Hot Tamales. There will also be a guest speaker, PETER MNARIS, CFM. Peter is a wealth advisor, specializing in retirement planning with a resource financial group. He will discuss views and opinions on the stock market for 2012 allowing plenty of time for Ques-tions and Answers. All men of the Parish and friends are invited!
Remember the date - January 19th at 7:00 PM
ALTAR FLOWERS CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE This year we are extending our Altar Flower arrange-ments from the weekend of January 8th through the weekend of February 19, 2012. Parishioners are invited to decorate the altar with flowers in honor or memory of a loved one. There will be two arrangements each week. Your name and intention will be listed in the Bulletin. The cost of a flower arrangement will be $50.00. After Pentecost, Altar Flowers will also be available from the weekend of June 3rdth through Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd.. Dates fill up quickly, so please book well in advance. Please call the Rectory at 847-967-1060 to ar-range a date and make your remembrance special! The flowers on the altar this weekend are from:
Theresa Noble
In Loving Memory of Richard Noble
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COMMUNITY NEWS
January 22nd7pm
YOUNG ADULT MINISTERED MASS
BEGIN THE NEW YEAR RIGHT JOIN US FOR OUR 1ST MASS OF 2012
Celebrant:
Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ
Young Adult “Celebrate Now” Choir Sings the “Chicago Blues Mass”
Mary Seat of Wisdom Church Cumberland and Granville,
Park Ridge, IL
COME FOR MASS STAY FOR PIZZA!
Spread the Good News !!!
Mark Your Calendars for our 2012 Young Adult Masses
01/22, 02./26, 04/01, 05/20 For additional information, please contact Peg Barry:
FR. STAGAMAN'S ADDRESS Several people have asked for Fr. Stagaman's ad-dress so that they might send him cards during his re-habilitation and healing. You can send cards to the following address and the Jesuit Community will see that they get to him: Fr. David Stagaman, S.J. Arrupe House 1030 West Loyola Avenue Chicago, IL 60626 He is grateful for our prayers and our concern.
Sunday, January 8 7:30 am Severino Ablaza 9:00 am For the Living & Deceased Members of St. Isaac Jogues & their Families & The Holy Souls of Purgatory Helen Semmerling 10:30 am Maria Raye Janes 12:00 pm Abeda Kiddiwala Monday, January 9 8:00 am Purgatorial Society Fr. John Puisis Tuesday, January 10 8:00 am Loretta Roach Wednesday, January 11 8:00 am Joan Collins Thursday, January 12 8:00 am Ann Maloney Friday, January 13 8:00 am Richard Noble Saturday, January 14 8:00 am Communion Service - No intentions 5:00 pm Bob Branick Sunday, January 15 7:30 am Richard Arendt 9:00 am Deceased Members of the Paul Thorn, Sr. Family 10:30 am For the Living & Deceased Members of St. Isaac Jogues & their Families & The Holy Souls of Purgatory Anna Grande 12:00 pm Venus Nacua Remo
Confessions Fr. McGlynn
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Liturgy next weekend January 14-15 Celebrant 5:00 pm Fr. Luczak/Deacon Rod 7:30 am Fr. McGlynn/Deacon Paul 9:00 am Fr. Kennedy/Deacon Paul 10:30 am Fr. Kennedy/Deacon Rod 12:00 pm Fr. Janas/Deacon Rod Altar Servers 5:00 pm Bryan Roque, Marvin Roque, Jane Escarez 7:30 am Trisha Bonto, Kathy Janik, Alexis Janik 9:00 am Carlo Lasco, Athena Lasco, Thomas Striblen 10:30 am Jeffery Kurian, Joanne Areno, Anna Koziol 12:00 pm Alfonso Hanson, Adam Ratner, Jonathan Magboo Sacristy Committee Arlene Turek
Relatives & Friends Please remember the sick and hospitalized
Anastasia Marsalskaia Michael Baron Tom Schaab Mark Duval
Fr. Stagaman Frances Kobyleski
Dorothy Carrano Da Costa
Tamara Ann Propst
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PASTOR: Rev. Andrew Luczak PASTORAL STAFF: Deacon Bob Kerls, Parish Business Administrator Mrs. Dolores Stanton, Director of Religious Education Ms. Lisa Hall, Music Director DEACON COMMUNITY: Deacon & Mrs. Robert C. O’Keefe Deacon Rod Ranola Deacon & Mrs. Paul M. Stanton WEEKEND LITURGY PRESIDERS: Rev. Ron Kalas Rev. Bernard Kennedy, O.F.M. Rev. Philip McGlynn, O.S.M. Rev. David Stagaman, S.J. Rev. Camillus Janas, O.F.M. Eucharistic Celebrations: Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, & 12:00 Noon Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM Saturday: 8:00 AM & 5:00 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday, 11:00 - 12:00 Noon or anytime by request.
Sacrament of Matrimony: Must be registered for six months prior to setting the wedding date with an addi-tional six months for necessary preparation. Note: The following wedding times can be scheduled: Friday at 5:00 p.m.; Saturday at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.; Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (Ceremony only) Sacrament of Baptism: Second and fourth Sunday of each month at 1:30 PM. Baptism Preparation Session must be completed before Baptism. Contact the Parish Office as soon as possible for details. Parish Office Website: http://sij-parish.com E-mail: [email protected] 8149 Golf Road, Niles, IL. 60714. . . . . . . 967-1060 Mrs. Janet Piovosi (Parish Secretary) Mrs. Marlene Garber (Data Processor) Mrs. Lori Herbert (Data Processor) Mrs. Jane Piper (Bulletin Editor) Religious Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966-1180 Staff Secretary Music Ministry. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967-1091 Parish Hall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965-1091 Ministry Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965-6911 Parish School: St. John Brebeuf School. . . . . . . . . 966-3266 Principal: Mrs. Margaret Whitman
BULLETIN SICK LIST The sick and hospitalized are to be held in thought and prayer. For their family, friends, and faith community it is often times the best, and sometimes even only, way we can help and support them. Yet we must remember that by law we cannot publicly let our parish community know the health status of any of our members without their permission. What that means is that we cannot put peo-ple’s names in the bulletin sick list for prayer without permission. As a reminder our policy is as follows: Names for the sick list in the bulletin have to be called in by the person who is ill or by a member of their family. At the time they call in the name they will be asked whether they are the sick person him/herself, or a member of their family and if they give per-mission for the name to be placed on the list. They will be asked for the correct spelling of the sick person’s name. If a family member, they will be required to give their name for our records. The name will be in the bulletin for one month. Then the person’s name will be inscribed in the Book of Community Prayer. All people and prayer requests are remembered during the petitions at all the weekend Masses. Their names will also be given to our Ministers of Praise to pray for them daily.
CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS ST. ISAAC JOGUES #512032 8149 Golf Road Niles, IL 60714 TELEPHONE 847 967-1060 CONTACT PERSON Jane/Janet/Lori SOFTWARE MS Publisher 2003 Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Windows XP Professional PRINTER Canon IR 3035 NUMBER OF PAGES SENT 1 through 10 SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION January 8, 2012 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS THANK YOU!
