bâü _twç Éy à{x UÜÉÉ~ ctü á{ aéüà{uüéé~? \ÄÄ ÇÉ á November 30, 2014 First Sunday of Advent Our Lady of the Brook Mission Statement Our Lady of the Brook Parish is called to be a Catholic Community where all are welcome. Believing God to be the center of life, we commit to: Remember the values handed on to us in the Sacred Scriptures and teachings of the Apostles Celebrate Christ s presence among us in Word and Sacrament Act to foster peace, justice and compassion for all.
Our Lady of the Brook Parish Northbrook, Illinois 2 OUR LADY OF THE BROOK PARISH Parish Family Worship Center & Rectory 3700 Dundee Road Northbrook, IL 60062-2200 Website: www.olbparish.org phone: (847) 272-5686 fax: (847) 498-0899 e-mail: rectory@olbparish.org Parish Office Hours: M F 9 am to 4 pm Parish Staff/Rectory (847) 272-5686 Father Robert Heinz, Pastor Father Robert Herne, Pastor Emeritus Father Richard Sztorc, Pastor Emeritus Father Tom Moran, Pastor Emeritus Deacon Peery Duderstadt Deacon Dennis McAllister Eva-Maria Rill, Office Manager Catherine Colleran, Administrative Assistant Amy Principi, Bulletin Editor bulletin@olbparish.org Bookkeeper/Webmaster use email above (Individual e-mail addresses are available on our website: click on contact us for a listing.) Mass Schedule Saturday Anticipated Mass - 5:00 PM Sunday Masses - 10:00 AM Daily Mass - Monday through Friday - 8:30 AM Holy Day Masses - as Announced Baptisms Baptism - 12:00 PM on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Sacraments of Reconciliation & Anointing The Sacrament of Penance is available on Saturdays at 4:15 PM until all confessions are heard or by appointment. Anointing of the Sick and Communion to the Homebound is available upon request. Weddings Marriage - Arrangements must be made a minimum of 6 months in advance. For all of these sacraments, please call the rectory office. Mass Intentions Saturday, November 29, 2014 5:00 PM For Those Suffering from Cold Weather Sunday, November 30, 2014 10:00 AM Robert Homberger request of family Ann & Louis Schmerschneider requet of Joanie Sosinski Dorothy Plunkett Hudash request of Lettie Bratta Monday, December 1, 2014 8:30 AM Jerry Wodzinski request of Phil VerPlancke Tuesday, December 2, 2014 8:30 AM Frances Stuhlmiller requet of Florianne & Louise Rzeszewski Joanne Futrell requet of family Wednesday, December 3, 2014 8:30 AM Lewis Miller request of Paul & Gerri Miller Thursday, December 4, 2014 8:30 AM Helena Miller request of Paul & Gerri Miller Friday, December 5, 2014 8:30 AM Cathie Gasirowski request of Paul & Gerri Miller Saturday, December 6, 2014 5:00 PM Deceased members of the Bubak & Dougherty families Sunday, December 7, 2014 10:00 AM Paul Donovan request of family Joseph Shaker request of Breit family Helena Miller request of Paul & Gerri Miller For Those Who Have Requested Our Prayers Sidney Ament, Shawna Beagle, Coleen Bokor, Jean Borin, Elizabeth Chen, Kristen Rill-Cohen, Wilfred Copa, Estelle Douglas, Gaynor Edwards, Carol Erickson, Anna Polus Esha, Anita Farenga, Sally Faso, Rev. Erwin Friedl, Anne Richardson Golm, Barbara Gryzmala, Beth Hansen, John Hyun, Brady Irwin, Milton Johnson, Sara Klimaszewski, Fr. Charlie Kouba, Diane Kotula, Todd Moser, Jane Malley, Ray and Rita Niebur, Debbie Olson, Pat Orlando, John Ormond, Carol Parker, Patti Parker, Carolyn Price, Nick Principi, Christine Rakow, Kristin Rill-Cohen, Alexandra Salamone, Talie Schnoll, Sophia Sparacio, Angelo Suranno, Patricia Tingay, Victor P. Villasin, Elizabeth Wagner, Marion West, Evelyn Whitson, Audrey Zywicki Pray Also For Those Born to Eternal Life Violet Lynch Reego
First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2014 3 Overcoming Hypersensitivity Rev. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI In her autobiography, Therese of Lisieux describes what she considers as one of the key moments of conversion in her life: She was the youngest in her family and her father s favorite. He doted on her and every year when the family came home from church on Christmas Eve, he had a little ritual he played out as he gave a gift to her, his youngest and favorite daughter. One Christmas Eve when Therese was nine years old and still tender and sad from her mother s death, as the family returned home from church, she overheard her father tell one of her older sisters that he hoped that, this year, he would no longer have to play that little, childish charade with Therese. Overhearing this, Therese, a deeply sensitive child, was stung to the core, felt betrayed, and fell into a long period of silence and depression. Eventually she emerged from it and regained her resiliency and joy. Looking back on it years later, she saw her giving up of that particular hurt, and the hypersensitivity that provoked it, as one of the key moments of conversion in her whole life. We usually wouldn t define overcoming sensitivity as a religious conversion, but it is precisely that, a conversion with immense religious and emotional repercussions. Our happiness depends upon having the resiliency to accept the many hurts, disappointments, and injustices of life so as to live in the give-and-take that is required for family and community living. And we learn that lesson slowly. The older I get, the more I am coming to know how sensitive people are and how easily they get hurt. It doesn t take much for someone to ruin your day. We don t just get hurt when we meet open hostility, insults, unfairness, or hatred. We can get deeply hurt just by overhearing a casual remark or simply by not being noticed, appreciated, or invited. The human heart is easily bruised, too easily. And then, like Therese, the impulse is to withdraw, withhold, grow silent, nurse the wound, become depressed, grow cold. That is why we are often so cautious and paranoid inside of our families and communities. We don t want to be cold, but we re hurt. Moreover, that doesn t bring out the best in us. Pettiness too often spawns pettiness. Thomas Aquinas once suggested that we have two souls inside us: an anima magna (a grand soul) and an anima pusilla (a petty soul). When we act out of our grand soul, we are generous, hospitable, big-hearted, and warm. Conversely, when we act out of our petty soul, we are paranoid, bitter, over-protective, cautious, and small-hearted. When we feel hurt it is all too easy to act out of the petty half of our souls. We know the truth of that from everyday experience: One minute we can be feeling generous, hospitable, and bighearted, and then an insult or a simple slight can trigger feelings of disappointment, bitterness, and pettiness. Which is really us? They both are! Everything depends, day to day, minute to minute, upon which soul we are drawing our vision and energy from at a given moment. Of course we can always rationalize our bitterness, coldness, and pettiness by appealing to our sensitivity. We feel slights and insults deeply precisely because we are deep. There s truth in that. The more sensitive we are, the more deeply we will feel both love and its betrayal. But, and this is the point, we need, like Therese, to see our hypersensitivity as something to be converted from so that we can be resilient enough to absorb the bumps and bruises of everyday living. Nobody can live for any length of time within a family or a community without hurting others and without getting hurt. The challenge is to have the resiliency to live with that. Daniel Berrigan once commented that if Jesus came back today he would go into every counseling office in the world and drive out both the doctors and their clients with the words: Take up your couch and walk! You don t have to be this sensitive! Perhaps that s strong, but it contains an important challenge to conversion. Henri Nouwen used to say that one of the key elements in spiritual conversion is to move from hostility to hospitality. All major spiritualities tell us the same thing. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bowl is the image for resentment. In it is contained all our bitterness, disappointment, and disillusionment. We sit holding that bowl in our hands. We can either pour it forwards, so that the resentment flows away from us, or we can tip it onto ourselves, allowing all that poison to infect us. Our happiness depends upon which way we tip that bowl. How can we let go of our hypersensitivity? A priest that I know once gave me this advice: Whenever you feel stung and hurt, pull away, sit in prayer, and stay there until the pain softens enough so that you can face others with warmth again.
Our Lady of the Brook Parish Northbrook, Illinois 4 Brook Happenings Sunday, November 30, 2014 9:15 AM Choir Warm-ups 10:00 AM Mass Monday, December 1, 2014 8:00 AM Liturgy Committee Tuesday, December 2, 2014 12:10 PM Communion Service 7:00 PM Friends of Bill Wednesday, December 3, 2014 11:00 AM Staff Meeting 7:00 PM Women s Club Board Thursday, December 4, 2014 9:15 AM Adult Faith Formation 2:10 PM Communion Service Friday, December 5, 2014 9:00 AM First Friday Breakfast Saturday, December 6, 2014 4:15 PM Confessions / 5:00 PM Mass Sunday, December 7, 2014 9:15 AM Adult Scripture Study 10:00 AM Mass Table of Remembrance Please remember to retrieve the photos of your Loved Ones from our Table of Remembrance. The table has been relocated to the Social Area, so that we can decorate the Worship Space for Advent. After this weekend, they will be available in the parish office. Thank you for participating in our All Souls Remembrance. Early Bulletin Deadline Submissions for the bulletin of December 21 are due no later than 9 am on Tuesday, Dec. 3. For. Dec. 28, by 9 am on December 10, and for January 4, no later than Dec. 17. www.olbparish.org Don t forget that our bulletin is available online at our parish website. It s in color, and has all the information you might have missed! Deadline is noon on the Monday before the weekend. We also have a page on Facebook, which posts updates regarding Holiday Events, photos from recent events, and more. Scan the code to the right with a smartphone to go directly to our home page. Readings for the Week of Nov. 30 Monday: Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-9; Mt 8:5-11 Tuesday: Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Lk 10:21-24 Wednesday: Is 25:6-10a; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 15:29-37 Thursday: Is 26:1-6; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a; Mt 7:21, 24-27 Friday: Is 29:17-24; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Mt 9:27-31 Saturday: Is 30:19-21, 23-26; Ps 147:1-6; Mt 9:35 10:1, 5a, 6-8 Sunday: Is 40:1-5, 9-11; Ps 85:9-14; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8 Collection Upcoming Dates Mark your Calendars Now! Dec. 13 & 14: WC Craft & Bake Sale Stewardship of Treasure Nov 30 2014 FYear to Date Not available by press time *For consistency, we have changed the goal figure from the previous $10,500. $6500 is the amount budgeted each Sunday for the Collection. Sunday giving, together with other sources of income, (Xmas, Easter, Grants, FSF) needs to total over $540,000 per year in order to cover expenses. ($10,500 per week). Have you switched to Electronic Giving yet? Never write another check again! Call Amy in the parish office for help to get started. You can set your Sunday giving, Christmas, Holy Days, and Archdiocese giving levels in one step. Choose credit card or automated bank withdrawals. Set it and forget it! Thank you for your continued support. Remember Our Lady of the Brook Parish in your will.
First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2014 5 Bulletin Building Blocks - First Sunday of Advent TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Each of the seven sacraments, like other aspects of the Church s pastoral plan, is an attempt to be faithful to the image of Christ we discover in the Gospels. Anointing of the sick is rooted in Jesus saving deeds of healing and even rescue from death. What is your favorite encounter of Jesus with a sick person? Often, it seems that Jesus would go at once to the person in a crowd who was in the most pain, in the deepest need. A man born blind, Peter s mother in law, a woman afflicted by years of uncontrollable hemorrhages, a little Roman girl beloved by her soldier father, a crippled man lowered from the rafters, and even a man who lost his ear to a swinging sword in the garden of agony. This list reads like an admissions chart in an emergency room, and perhaps that is the point. The whole human experience from childhood to old age, from sudden catastrophic illness to chronic debilitating conditions, is represented by those for whom Jesus has such great compassion. This we can name a treasure of tradition with a capital T. We are a people of compassion for our sick, who reach out in tenderness to listen, to keep vigil, to strengthen, to touch with reverence, and to anoint with precious oil. Rev. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. SAT. 5 pm Sun. 10:00 am Presider Fr. Bob Heinz Fr. Bob Heinz Lector Bruno Cortis Dulcelina Stahl Ministers of Communion Altar Servers Greeters Ushers Chuck Sansone Chuck Sansone Walter Kurczewski Elaine Kurczewski Dcn Duderstadt Mary Vollkommer Sal Manso Mary Fran Bubak Marian Reid Suzanne Noonan Joanie Sosinski Dawn McAnaney Barbara Perley Dcn McAllister Medy Newman Irene Homberger Allan Homberger Justin Magsino Kevin Byrne Dolores Favorite Wilmer Lasquite Dennis Morrissey Joe Vitu Sacristan Kitty Kelly & Esther Kelly Linen Sacristan Ministry Schedule: Dec. 6 & 7, 2014 Wayne Liebman Colleen Liebman Wayne Bubak Roland Catenacci Dennis Morrissey John Willson Mary Kusswurm Holy Day Masses The Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) will be celebrated with Mass at 8:30 am and 12:10 pm. Christmas Sharing As you know, our new opportunity for stewardship at Christmas will be supporting WINGS, Women in Need Growing Stronger, a shelter providing help to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. These women and children leave their abusive homes often with only the clothes on their backs. They leave everything behind seeking shelter and safety. WINGS has wish lists for toys, household items, personal items, and baby items. Financial donations will also be accepted. Lists of gift choices will be available in the social area, beginning the weekend of Nov. 8 and 9, and as an insert in the bulletin, You may choose gifts from the list and bring the new unwrapped gifts and place them on the tables provided in the social area beginning Saturday, November 15, through Sunday, December 7, 2014. Thank you in advance for supporting this important need and for making their Christmas special. Christmas Sharing Committee
Our Lady of the Brook Parish Northbrook, Illinois 6 ADULT FAITH FORMATION Be proud of your Catholic faith. Find ways to learn and grow in understanding of our history and the teachings of the Church. Participate in adult formation in your parish and share all that you learn with others (Catholics Come Home Chicago) In their pastoral letter Our Hearts were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States, the Bishops identified six dimensions for adult faith formation content: [1] knowledge of the faith, [2] liturgical life, [3] moral formation, [4] prayer, [5] communal life, and [6] missionary spirit. Adult faith formation is as diverse as retreats, days of reflection, sacramental preparation (baptism, confirmation, and marriage), ministerial formation, our parish mission, and our speaker series, as well as on-going scripture and catechetical study. This year Advent Our Sunday Scripture reflection Who Do You Say that I Am? led by Dcn Dennis McAllister will continue on the first and second Sundays of each month in the rectory conference room at 9:15AM followed by the 10:00AM Mass. NorthShore Hospice Programs Edible Memories: A Workshop to Preserve Favorite Family Recipes Do you have some favorite recipes handed down through the generations or certain dishes that you associate with a particular person or holiday? In this workshop, we will show you a way to create a scrapbook of favorite family recipes, suitable for giftgiving. Bring some family photos and one or two recipes. Space is limited, so pre-registration is required. Monday, Dec. 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm NorthShore Hospice 4901 Searle Parkway, Skokie Workshops sponsored by NorthShore Hospice are free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible and convenient parking is available. For more info, or to register, please call Thom Dennis, Bereavement Services Coordinator at (847) 982-4364 or email Tdennis@northshore.org As part of the seasonal activity we will be looking at Advent-Christmas portion of Handel s Messiah both the scripture and the music. Sessions are on Thursdays, at 9:15AM in the MCR. Registration forms are on the wall racks and on our website. Our Greatest Gifts Speakers Series continues to evolve so that as speakers are lined up, we will announce their dates and topics. We hope you will enjoy the diversity of this year s offerings and will avail yourself of the opportunity as time and circumstances permit to attend one or more of our adult faith formation offerings. Dcn Peery
First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2014 7 Religious Education & Youth Ministry Children s Liturgy of the Word Children s Liturgy of the Word is offered at the 10:00 AM Mass through June. This program is for children age 3 through grade 5. Liturgy of the Word for Children is an opportunity for families to attend Mass together, with children dismissed during the Liturgy of the Word to experience and learn about the readings with a community of other young people. RELIGIOUS ED NEWS Please note that there will be pageant rehearsal Saturday 12/06 at 10:00am in church. All jr. high narrators and 5 th gr. actors must attend and we encourage all other students to participate if they will be in the pageant. The pageant will be held Sunday, Dec. 7 th at 1:00pm. We are looking for volunteers to help set up the risers for our choirs during both the rehearsal Saturday morning and pageant Sunday afternoon. Please call the RE office for more details and/or to volunteer. Also note that on December 8 th, the students attending Religious Ed class on Mondays at 6:15pm will be dismissed early at 7:15 so families can go over to church to attend the mass celebrating The Feast of the Immaculate Conception at 7:30pm. All RE families are encouraged to attend. R.E. CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Please join us Sunday, Dec. 7 th at 1:00pm in church for our annual Christmas pageant. All are invited. The students have been preparing and rehearsing diligently for this pageant presentation. From our narrators to our kindergarten lambs this joyous performance brings home to the children & families a reminder of true meaning of Christmas. Catholic Charities Saint Nicholas Ball Catholic Charities will host its 25th Anniversary Spirit of Saint Nicholas Ball on Friday, Dec. 5 at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave. The evening benefits the children served by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Black-tie required. Entertainment by the Ken Arlen Orchestra. The event will be hosted by Archbishop of Chicago Blase Cupich, and Monsignor Michael M. Boland, President of Catholic Charities. The evening includes dinner and dancing. Tickets are $500 and tables start at $6000. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.catholiccharities.net/ stnick. Catholic Charities d VINE Affair Catholic Charities presents its 14 th Annual d VINE Affair event on Sunday, January 25, 2015. Chicago's Premiere Wine Tasting event features 90 vintners from around the world and over 250 different types of wine available for tasting and to purchase. A new feature for 2015 is the addition of a Craft and Import Beer tasting, presented by Louis Glunz Beer, Inc.! This event benefits the Self-Sufficiency Programs of Catholic Charities. Reservations begin at $125. Contact Dave Gardner, Event Manager, at dgardner@catholiccharities.net or 312-655-7907 for additional information or to register or visit www.catholiccharities.net/dvine. December 1 st is World AIDS Day December 1 st is World AIDS Day which draws public awareness to the AIDS pandemic and to the stigma, discrimination and rejection which people living with HIV/AIDS face every day. It is a day to bring a message of hope, understanding and compassion to people affected by the disease. Please remember those living with HIV/AIDS, their families and loved ones, caregivers, researchers and the millions orphaned by the disease in your prayers. For more information please call Catholic Charities HIV/AIDS Liaison to the Archdiocese at 312-948-6500.
Our Lady of the Brook Parish Northbrook, Illinois 8 WOMEN S CLUB CRAFT & BAKE SALE DECEMBER 13 &14 Our Women s Club will hold its annual CHRISTMAS CRAFT & PRICELESS BAKE SALE after the 5:00 PM Mass on Saturday December 13 th and after the 10:00 AM Mass on Sunday December 14 th in our Social Area. We are looking to all parishioners to donate craft items and baked creations for this sale. You can bring the items to the Worship Center on Saturday, December 13 th, between 12:00PM and 4:00PM. Arrangements can also be made to pick up your items if you are unable to bring them in. ~Raffle tickets for gift baskets will again be available~ Kathy O'Regan is baking Lemon Meringue pies(up to 10 special orders at 847-564-5167) and Jan Zorn (up to 5 homemade apple pies, 847-498- 5907). Minimum donation to the Women's Club $10 a pie. Pies can be picked up at Church the weekend of December 13 and 14 after the Masses. Please be sure to confirm your order with Jan or Kathy as orders are limited. Please stop by to shop for our unique craft items that are perfect for Christmas gifts and for delicious homemade bakery items. For more information contact: Peg Kritek 847-205-9205 Amish Quilt Raffle Please be sure to stop and get your tickets for a chance to win a beautiful Amish Quilt in time for Christmas! This one-needle (made by a single artist) piece is in the Clover Star pattern, and is queen-size. It is displayed in the back of church, and tickets are just $5 apiece. Tickets will be on sale during the weekend of Nov. 29/30, December 6/7 and December 13/14. The winning ticket will be drawn after the 10:00 am Mass on December 14, during the Craft Sale/Bake Sale. For info, stop and see Diana Mundt. Proceeds benefit Our Lady of the Brook.