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The Catholic biblical scholar John Bergsma comments on this Sunday’s Scripture readings:  “the readings this Sunday are calling us to discard our usual standards for judging success in this world and adopt a radically supernatural outlook on life” [The Word of the Lord, p 403, Emmaus Road Publishing, Steubenville, OH, 2021].

The French atheist philosopher Voltaire is reputed to have said,  “In the beginning God created man in his own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.” That’s the great temptation, even for Christians. I know people who look with disdain on self-identified Christians in their area because they find them arrogant and self-centered. Of course, anyone who looks disgusted at the views or behaviors of others would do well to remember the words of Our Lord:  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye [Luke 6:42].

I suspect that the “wooden beam in (my) eye” can often be making up my own Christian religion by assuming that God validates any opinion or view that I have made my own. That can apply to our experience of human suffering. If we are anchored in earthly life, instead of in God, we are prone to expect that if we are basically good people, everything should go well for us. If suffering comes, we question “Does God really love me?”

We can be as mistaken about God’s ways as the Apostles were when, after Jesus had told them about his suffering and death, they didn’t get it and began to argue about who would be the greatest among them. They were still anchored in the worldly view about greatness being about self-importance. That’s a fundamental temptation in every human generation, and many people buy into it.

Our challenge today: buy instead into God’s way, which ─ according to Jesus ─ will include suffering at times because the world is broken and in rebellion against its Creator. But Jesus showed us in His own life that suffering has meaning when it is borne patiently out of love for God, who can use it to bring about eternal happiness.

Important Messages from Bishop David J. Malloy

Dispensation from Mass attendance ended July 1

Bishop David Malloy advised priests of the Diocese of Rockford in a June 11 letter, that the dispensation from the obligation of attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation would be lifted July 1, 2021. Both Bishop Malloy and St. Mary's ended live-streaming Masses on June 27. It's time to come back to Mass in church!

Read the Press Release Here

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Other News Items

• Latest COVID-19 Guidance - Effective immediately, masks are required at all Masses and inside parish buildings regardless of vaccination status. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation! To view the latest guidance given to us by Bishop Malloy, please visit the diocesan website at www.rockforddiocese.org.
• Daily Mass: We are celebrating daily Mass here on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 AM.

• Confessions: Tuesday 8:30-9:30 am; Wednesday 11:00 am-12:00 noon; Saturday 11:00 am-12:00 noon.
• Year of St. Joseph - In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special “Year of St. Joseph.”  It is a wonderful opportunity to increase our love for St. Joseph and knowledge, “to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal" (Patris Corde). Fr. Ariel has assembled a prayer aid and we encourage you to download it here and use it during the year. You may also pick-up a printed copy at church.

 

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Religious Education

It's time to sign-up for the 2021/2022 Religious Education Program.  You can choose in-person classes following appropriate safety guidelines or homeschool. Download the RE Calendar and Combined Registration Form here.

CLASSES BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 9:15-10:30, in St. Mary's Novak Center. REGISTRATION FORMS available for download above, in the back of church, and in the Novak Center.

If you have questions, please call our RE Coordinator Leila Rivers at 815-827-3205 x3.

 

Celebration of the Eucharist

Sunday Masses -
Saturday 4:00 PM
Sunday 9:30 AM

Weekday Masses -
Mondays & Tuesdays 8:00 AM
First Fridays Mass: Novena of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and exposition of the blessed sacrament.

Confessions- 
Saturdays: 11:00 AM-12:00 (Noon)
Tuesday: 8:30 AM-9:30 AM during Adoration
Wednesday 11:00 AM -12:00 (Noon)

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