-
Volume 2016 No 1 ~ Spring~ Mary T. Collins, Editor
The Faith Formation program made 144 “Socks of Love” containing
cereal bars, hard candy, hats and/or scarfs, toiletries and a
Christmas card wrapped with a new pair of socks. These were donated
to Hesed House in Aurora.
All k-5 students participated in A nativity play in
December.
Confirmed students attended a Cookie Bake afternoon at the
Ronald McDonald house in Winfield. The students made cookies in
their kitchen, made sock puppets and played games with the families
present over their Christmas break.
-
St. Alexander Parish Rev. Mark Cote, Pastor Christopher Cochran,
Deacon John Gibbons, Deacon Julio Jimenez, Deacon James Krueger,
Deacon Matthew Tretina, Deacon Parish Center 630-833-7730 FAX
630-833-3127 Parish Office Hours M-Th 9-12am and 1-8pm Friday 9am
to 1pm Saturday 9-12 noon Website: www.stalexanderparish.org
E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
At 630-833-7730: Deacon Christopher Cochran, Pastoral Associate
Susan D’Alessandro, Parish Secretary Annmarie Baughman, Parish
Registrar Jonell Stetz, Music Coordinator Faith Formation
630-834-3787 Ann Krueger, Director Lilia Kari Griffin, RE Secretary
E-mail: [email protected] MASS SCHEDULE Monday through
Friday 8:30am Saturday 5:00pm Sunday 8:30 and 10:30am Domingo Misa
español 6:00pm EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Eternal Father Adoration
Chapel 2nd floor , Fr. Kennedy Center 3:00pm Sunday through 12
midnight Friday SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Attendance at a pre-Baptismal
Preparation Class is required. Pre-registration is necessary prior
to class. 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, 12:00pm Bautizmo 3er
domingo de Mes 12:00pm SACRAMENT of RECONCILIATION Saturday 4 to
4:45pm Domingo Confesiónes 5:30 to 6pm SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
Arrangements must be made AT LEAST SIX (6) months in advance and
before making other arrangements. NEW PARISHIONERS are always
welcome! Please call the office (see above) and ask for a form to
be mailed, or go online to the parish website:
www.stalexanderparish.org, click on ‘Our Parish’ at the top and
scroll down to Forms and download the Parish Registration form.
Return either by mail or drop in the Sunday offertory
collection.
Page 2 Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016
St. Alexander Eternal Father Adoration Chapel will celebrate its
18th year anniversary this June! Our doors opened in June of 1998
allowing anyone to come and adore our Lord in His Chapel almost
every day and night throughout the years. The Chapel is open from
Sunday afternoons at 3:00 PM through Friday evenings at Midnight.
This past
November the Chapel underwent much needed renovations including
lighting, painting, asbestos abatement, and installation of
beautiful new tile flooring and trim. Thank you to the many
parishioners who donated their time, talent and treasure to create
a beautiful worship space here at St. Alexander Parish. During this
year of Mercy and this season of Lent, please make a commitment to
stop in to pray before the Blessed Sacrament! Jesus waits for YOU!
Do you have a loved one whom you would like to honor or a family
name you would like to commemorate? To aid in refurbishing and
beautifying the Chapel, donations are gratefully accepted and your
dedication will be honored. Donations of $100 or more will be
honored with an engraved dedication plate on a shared wall plaque.
Donations of $500 or more will be honored with an engraved
dedication plate on an Adoration Chapel pew. Donations may be
placed in the offertory basket at weekend Masses marked “Adoration
Chapel Renovation.” Please include an email address or phone number
so you can be reached for follow-up with your dedication. Are you
interested in making a weekly visit to the Adoration Chapel to
spend one hour with Jesus? We have many current Adorers who would
love to share their hour with you! Please see the weekly bulletin
for open hours or contact Bob or Barb Klatt ([email protected]
or 630/530-4691) if you would like to sign up for an hour or if you
have any questions. Please prayerfully consider devoting one hour
of your time to Jesus in the Chapel. It will be life-changing and
faith- building!
Ash Wednesday 2016...Deacon Chris Cochran “took it to the
street” at the Villa Park train station with
local clergy of different denominations.
Palm Sunday, March 20 ~ Mass: Saturday, March 19 Mass 5:00pm
Sunday, March 20 Masses 8:30 and 10:30am Spanish Mass 6:00pm Holy
Thursday, March 24: Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:30pm Good Friday,
March 25: Good Friday Walk 10:30am begins and ends at St. Alexander
Church followed by soup and bread Living Commemoration of the
Lord’s Passion 7:30pm and Spanish 8:30pm Holy Saturday, March 26
Food Basket Blessing 11:30am in Church Easter Vigil 7:30pm Easter
Sunday, March 27 Masses 8:30am, 10:30am, and 12:30pm Spanish Mass
6:00pm
-
Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016 Page 3
Barbara Klatt and her husband Bob have been members of St.
Alexander Parish since their marriage 35
years ago. While raising their three sons, she has been an
active part of the Parish family concentrating her efforts on
service to God and community. Born in Elmhurst, she is the younger
of two daughters to the late Arthur and Dorothy Rosenwinkel. Her
father passed away when she was 15. She met her husband Bob at York
High School during his junior year – her sophomore year. They went
their separate ways and ran into each other while Bob was at
Benedictine and she was at College of Du Page. They married in 1981
on the day of her graduation from the University of Evansville
where she attained a BA in Legal Administration. She worked at the
DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. She left to be a full-time
mom when their first son was born. It was at this time, God’s
purpose for her life and her passion for service really took root.
To help meet the needs of their growing family, she went back to
work part-time in the construction industry and maintained a
home-based mailing service. The day after she left her job to stay
home again, her mom fell and broke her hip. She helped to take care
of her for the next 10 years. Her mom passed just before Mother’s
Day in 2013. Among the most recent of her commitments, is the
Casserole Ministry. As co-coordinator with Betty St. Louis, along
with many volunteers from the parish, Barb collects and delivers
50-60 casseroles each month (which are prepared and donated by St
A’s parishioners) to Franciscan Outreach in Chicago. To date this
parish has prepared nearly 1000 casseroles to provide approximately
11,000 meals for the hungry. Through this same ministry, 85 bags of
cookies, toiletries, hats, gloves, and scarves have been collected.
Most recently, the under garment drive was a great success thanks
to the generous support of parishioners. Our parish provided the
following: Women - 3 pairs of pajamas, 4 pairs of slippers, 19
pairs of socks, 18 thermal tops, 13 thermal bottoms and 155 ladies
panties; Men – 82 undershirts, 95 pairs of underwear, 7 pairs of
socks, 25 thermal tops and 24 thermal bottoms. Barb is also a
facilitator for the operation of the Eternal Father Adoration
Chapel in the Kennedy Center
which will be celebrating its 18th year this June. Barb has been
an Adorer since the doors opened. There is no better place for
quiet prayer and spending time with Jesus than in His Chapel. The
Chapel is open from 3:00 PM on Sunday through Midnight on Friday
evening. St. Alexander’s Project Gabriel Program will be
celebrating its 10th anniversary this October. Barb and her
co-coordinator Lisa Fairbank have overseen this ministry since its
inception. Through the generous support of St. Alexander
parishioners and the Knights of Columbus, many young mothers in
crisis pregnancies have been given hope for their future and the
future of their babies. Through the generous support of this
Parish, these women have felt the love of God in a tangible way.
This ministry provides spiritual, emotional and financial support
to these young mothers who have chosen life for their babies. Some
of the other ministries for which Barb has served are: CCW where
she brought home-made bakeries to their Bake Sale, Parish Council,
the Godparent Program, Engaged Couple Program, First Friday Holy
Hour, Christian Service Commission, Bereavement, and Minister to
the Homebound. Barb contends that the success of the ministries she
loves would not be possible without the generous support of the
parishioners here at St. A’s. It is the work of many hearts, hands,
and prayers that have made these ministries so successful. To her,
service is the action form of Love and we are all a cog in the
wheel. Their sons, daughters in law, grandchildren and especially
her husband, Bob, have been her rock. Her family’s love, support
and belief in her commitments propel her to continue to work
diligently for God’s kingdom through service to others. She is
humbled and honored to be receiving this acknowledgement but
insists she shares this award with this Parish family who has so
steadfastly rolled up their sleeves, cooked a meal, clothed the
homeless and contributed their gifts of prayer, time, talent and
treasure to those in need. Along with her amazing family, it is all
of you who have been an example for her. From this beautiful St.
Alexander Parish family, she has learned what it means to pay it
forward and gives all glory and honor to God.
Congratulations Barb!
-
Page 4 Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016
Mary Unseth, Scott Martin, and John Golba are one of the Giving
Tree teams which sorted and packed more than 500 "gifts of joy" for
needy children in our community during Advent. We are so grateful
to all who have any part in this yearly ministry-preparing gift
tags, buying gifts, sorting and packing, delivering.
Columbian Squires is the Youth Organization of the Knights of
Columbus. It's a Leadership Program made up of Catholic Young Men
10-17. They run their own meetings led by the Chief Squire (Rob, a
Senior at ICCP Elmhurst). They serve the Parishes of St. A's, St.
John's and Mary Queen of Heaven as well as the
Community. Their motto is" ESTO DIGNUS" which means to "Be
Worthy" and try to model their lives after the Youth Christ. The
boys have to go thru a Ceremony to gain membership which is
conducted by the Squires. ALL activities and meetings are
supervised and encouraged by Counselors who are members of Fr. John
Barrett Council. We have all gone through different training and
child protection programs. To join just contact us at:
[email protected].
Scout Sunday is held every February to commemorate the founding
of Boy Scouts in America. The first Boy Scout Troop was chartered
on February 8, 1910 by the US Congress. Places of worship
throughout the nation recognize Scout Sunday on this day. The boys
and leaders of Troop 199 and Pack
122 would like to thank St. Alexander Parish for allowing us to
recognize Scout Sunday at the 10:30 mass on February 7th. We were
honored that you were a part of our celebration. Nicholas Black,
Zachary Bolton, Braden Kubish, and Hayden Roscoe from Pack 122
received the Light of Christ Emblem. Graham Black and Nicholas
Denault from Pack 122 received the Parvuli Dei Emblem.
The American Eagle Production of Godspell was presented in our
church on Tuesday, February 9th, followed by a Mardi Gras
party.
-
Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016 Page 5
Recently the CCW: Continued making Prayer Blankets for ill
parishioners, family members and friends (over 1,700 to date)
Continued to support in prayer, through the Rosebud
Program, couples expecting a baby Held a fund-raiser for 2
Reverence for Life
programs Continued our current International program:
raising funds for Friends of Shalom to build and maintain a
community medical center in Uganda
Initiated a plan to buy new chimes for the Children’s Bell
Choir
Organized the annual Vocation Luncheon, and contributed to
Catholic high scholarships in our diocese.
From its Bridge Marathon, donated $450 to St. Vincent DePaul
Chose our 2016 Woman Of the Year (see Barb Klatt’s bio elsewhere
in this issue)
Hosted the annual women’s Communion Breakfast: Deacon Chris
Lankford, speaker
Co-hosted with the Knights of Columbus the parish’s annual Chili
Cook-Off
and planned for upcoming events: WE 3/10 Lenten program,
announcement of
2016 Woman Of the Year, etc. SA 3/23 Annual Spring Luncheon SU
3/24 Coffee honoring our 2016 WOY, after
the 8:30am Mass WE 5/18 Deanery Spring Mass, Dinner &
meeting, Holy Trinity, Westmont May and June: Selling/Arranging
flowers for
Mothers’ and Fathers’ Days and looking even farther ahead: *
2016 Salad Supper and women’s Service
Awards * 2016 Parish Mass of the Anointing SA 10/29 Crafter’s
Holiday, our major annual
fund-raiser (*date tba) Details are in weekly bulletins and for
several are available in our white 2015-16 Calendar on the CCW
shelf on the information kiosk in the church’s Gathering Space. Due
to many requests, we have put together a list of short-term
Volunteer Service Opportunities on pink sheets. Also available are
blue brochures on who and what the St. Alexander CCW is.
A look back at the activities and achievements of the Hispanic
Ministry of St. Alexander Parish during 2015 is impressive! There
has been significant growth in our Hispanic community, which Deacon
Julio Jimenez coordinates. Active
in the areas of outreach, preparation for and reception of the
Sacraments, liturgical celebrations and quinceañeras, the Hispanic
community is a vibrant community that promotes and esteems family,
and practices and reveres many of the beautiful devotions of the
Catholic Church. Take, for instance, the celebration of the Feast
of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12. We gathered twice in
Church that day: once on that Saturday morning at 5:00 A.M. for the
beautiful, traditional greeting at dawn of Our Lady on her Feast
Day with “Las Mañanitas,” by singing songs and reenacting the story
of Our Lady’s appearance to Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill in 1531.
Later in the day a 7:00 P.M. Mass was held in her honor. On
December 20th, following the scheduled weekly Spanish Mass at 6:00
P.M, we celebrated “Las Posadas”—a form of Christmas caroling which
involves a sung dialogue between Joseph and Mary on one hand, who
seek shelter for the birth of the Christ Child; and the people who
turn them away on the other, proclaiming (in song) that they have
no room for them. When in the last refrain they are allowed to
enter and their lodging (posada) is found, the gathering turns into
a party, complete with food, drink, music, and the breaking of
piñatas! The vibrancy and growth of the Hispanic community at St.
Alexander Parish has come with the hard work of Deacon Julio, and
the dedicated help and commitment of Fr. Ray Corkery, OCarm, who
presides at our weekly 6:00 P.M. Sunday Masses. This community lost
a great advocate, mentor, and friend, with the passing on November
28, 2015, of Mrs. Virginia Jimenez, mother of Deacon Julio. The
work and dedication of Mrs. Jimenez was vital in the initiation of
this important and growing Ministry at St. Alexander Parish. We
will be celebrating 4 years of Hispanic Ministry. From a meager 12
people attending the first Masses to up to 150 people attending
Mass on Sunday nights.
-
Page 6 Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016
Do you have Publisher© software? Would you like to share your
skills with it? St. Alexander Publications Committee is in need of
a 3rd editor Like many internships nowadays, it is unpaid, but the
experience looks good on a resumé. For more information, drop us an
email with your phone number and we will let you know the date of
our next meeting. [email protected]
Bishop Conlon visited St. A’s on November 20th to confirm 36
candidates. A “photo op” reception in the hall followed.
A LIVE performance of the Passion of Christ was performed by a
theatrical group from St. Hyacinth Basilica in Chicago was held in
the church on Friday, February 19th. The Confirmation classes
hosted a free simple soup dinner prior to the performance.
ATTENTION SENIORS…
St. Alexander’s Senior Club invites you to come to our next
meeting. There is no obligation. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of each
month at
1:30 pm in the St Alexander room. Some of our upcoming events
are The Horse-Race game on April 12th, Villa Park Readers Theatre
on May 10th, Mr. Larry Bergnach’s presentation about “The Golden
Age of Television”, our summer outing and much much more. It’s a
fun club!
See the photo of our pizza party below. We always have a good
time with each other. Try it, you’ll like it! Coffee and desserts
are always served. For more information call Roy at
630/279-3484.
-
Catch the Spirit, Spring 2016 Page 7
Christ Renews His Parish (CHRP) is a parish and personal renewal
program, structured so that it becomes part of normal parish life
without becoming another parish organization.
Rather, it supports other parish ministries and organizations
and sends renewed individuals into these groups. Though people
experience it at different levels of intensity, most
agree it is an authentic encounter with God. St. Alexander
Parish is approaching its 20th year for these men’s and women’s
weekends.
2016 Men’s CHRP January 23rd and 24th
2016 Women’s CHRP February 27th and 28th
The Francis Effect was the name ofthis year’s “cross town”
parish mission hosted by St. John the Apostle Parish. Participants
were invited by presenter, Dr. Mary Amore, Executive Director of
Mayslake Ministries, to explore their spiritual journey through the
writings of Pope Francis.
Parishioners, assisted by the Boy Scouts, gathered in the parish
hall before Thanksgiving to sort food and assemble baskets which
were distributed to families in the area. Thanks to everyone for
your gifts of time and donations to help those in need.
Photos Courtesy of Joe Gilles
-
Return Service Requested
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID LOMBARD, IL
PERMIT NO. 205 lexander
St. Alexander Parish 300 S Cornell Villa Park, IL 60181-2671
For this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on
the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those
who
believe. – 1 Timothy 4:10 In case you have not seen me yet, I am
John Horan, the new seminarian at St. A’s. I am here from Mundelein
Seminary for my Pastoral Internship until May, and I am excited to
be with you! When I first started discerning the priesthood in
2011, I would go back and forth in my mind, wishing that I could
know for sure whether I was being called or not. I was waiting
for
the day when God would send me the perfect message: then I could
know my path once and for all. I wanted to see the future before I
went there. Well, God had others plans. Something that I have
learned on my journey is that a vocation, a call from God, is not
like a Christmas present that comes neatly wrapped in colorful
packaging. You cannot just open it and possess it. Rather, it is a
gift that one can hardly grasp at all, like a sunset or a
waterfall. It is a treasure that you cannot see all at once.
Everyone has a vocation. God has a plan for each and every one of
us, and He is calling us to discover this path anew every day. For
me, the hardest part of jumping from seminary life to parish life
last month was that I felt very
tired. I wanted to get a lot done and not waste any time, so I
rushed into the priestly activities. I went to the hospital,
visited the homebound, greeted people at all the masses, saw
anointings and baptisms, and prayed with individuals and groups.
The thing is, at the end of the day and week, I would feel
exhausted. Eventually, it hit me. Before I can get focus on what I
am doing, I need to get settled in who I am being. In other words,
this internship is a chance for me to grow in my identity as a
parish priest. So my actions are necessary, but they are not
everything. What I need most is to receive this identity from God.
Vocations are all about self-gift. Whether your vocation is to
marriage, priesthood, the religious life or the generous single
life, God wants your actions to embody a gift of your very self to
others. However, if we try to give without first receiving an
identity in Christ, our gifts are frustrated and we feel empty. Our
human supply to give is limited. Only God can provide us with the
means to continually empty ourselves in love like Jesus does. I am
learning that my internship here at St. A’s is not all about
actions, but about an identity in Christ. This spring, join me in
asking God to reveal His will to us: Lord, how can I love you and
my neighbor more this year? Remember that perfect message about the
future that I was asking for? Well, it never came. Yet, God has
always been faithful. Day by day, He gives me the grace I need to
keep going, and He will do the same for you.
/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false
/CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 150
/GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages false
/GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300
/GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
/GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true
/GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages false
/GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict >
/GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false
/CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200
/MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true
/MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 600
/MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 2.00000
/EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
/MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects true /CheckCompliance [ /None
] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false
/PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000
0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
/PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier ()
/PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped
/False
/CreateJDFFile false /Description >>>
setdistillerparams> setpagedevice
