CONGRATULATIONS, JODI! Congratulations to Jodi Thyen who received the highly distinguished Christifidelis Award (which means (“Being Faithful to Christ”) from Cardinal Blasé Cupich at Holy Name Cathedral last Sunday. The award recognizes her great service to our parish community and beyond.

CONGRATULATIONS, JODI! A good and faithful steward is one who generously shares their time, talents and treasures to promote the building of the Kingdom of God. These Christian virtues have been a natural hallmark of Jodi Thyen’s journey of faith for many years. Our parish has been blessed by her dedication, commitment and service.

THREE PILLARS OF GIVING — We often hear that we are called to be good stewards by sharing our time, talents and treasures. But what does this mean? To really understand what stewardship is, the best place to start is to realize all that we are, and all that we have, comes to us as a wonderful gift from God our Creator. As stewards of God’s creation, we are invited to use our gifts wisely to build up God’s kingdom right here on earth.

We joyfully celebrate Catechetical Sunday this weekend. We recognize and honor our teachers for the good work that they do. I came across a few wise quotes that stress the importance of their vocation and the impact that they can have on others.

Patrice Tuohy, (who is the cofounder of TrueQuest Communications and the publisher of PREPARE THE WORD) recently shared a story of how people can be spiritually and emotionally paralyzed when they are unwilling to forgive. My hunch is that we all have already experienced similar stressful situations.

In the gospel that we hear at Mass this Sunday, Jesus is brutally honest with his disciples. He tells them the truth about where things are headed if they continue to follow him. He explains how he will suffer death, be buried, and then rise again on the third day.

It is great to have our parish choir back from their summer break. It is always a joy to join our voices with theirs as we offer our praise and worship to our loving God. Music is such an important part of our Sunday worship. Often the quality of music that is provided at Mass will determine if people will come back again next Sunday.

I graduated from Quigley North High School Seminary a long time ago, way back in 1976. The seminary that was at the corner of Rush and Chestnut is long gone. The historic gothic building was converted into the Pastoral Center for the Archdiocese of Chicago. It now serves as the central offices for many of the departments and ministries for our local church.