WEEKEND MASSES HAVE RESUMED!
WELCOME BACK! WE'VE MISSED YOU TOO!
SATURDAYS AT 5PM & SUNDAYS AT 10:30AM
Please see Mass instructions below for more information-
THE PARISH CENTER OFFICE BUILDING REMAINS CLOSED TO ALL ACTIVITIES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Let us continue to hold each other in prayer.
Fr McMahon
Food for Thought …
A Prayer for Our Earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si’; On Care for our Common Home
Online giving for continued support of Immaculate Conception during COVID-19 closure
We know that with the COVID-19 virus there is fear, sadness and anxiety, and we want you to know that you are all in our prayers daily.
During this unprecedented time, your donations and support are vital to funding our parish operations, including, but not limited to, salaries, utilities, ministries, maintenance on our aging buildings, support for outreach efforts, IT support, etc.
If you already donate via your bank debit or through the electronic giving platform, we thank you!
If not, it’s easier than ever to sign up for electronic giving through our safe, secure and easy to use electronic giving platform. Please visit the givecentral.org website here and follow the prompts to donate to Immaculate Conception. It’s that easy and we are so grateful!
You can also make your donation directly to Immaculate Conception Parish, at 770 Deerfield Rd Highland Park, IL 60035.
Thank you! We appreciate your support as we journey together through this in prayer, with and for, one another.
God Bless
Father Mike McMahon and the IC Parish Staff
Mass Instructions from the Celebrant
At the beginning of Mass
- Welcome back to Immaculate Conception! It is good to see you here this evening/morning. As you noticed when you entered, things are different. You checked in when you arrived, your hands were sanitized, and you were escorted to a marked seat, front to back.
- You can see that we are keeping some rows empty to maintain the required social distance between you. Please try to remain in your seat for the entire Mass/service, so as to keep movement within the church to a minimum. This helps prevent the spread of any germs and makes the task of sanitizing the Church after Mass easier.
- Remember that you need to keep your mask on until you exit the building.
- We will not sing during Mass, nor will we exchange any physical Sign of Peace.
- There will be no collection or offertory procession. There are two baskets on the usher table in which you can place your donation when you leave.
Before Communion
Fr. McMahon and Deacon Louie will be distributing communion. An usher will tell you when to approach the altar, keeping a 6-foot distance from each other. Keep your mask on while you are in line. To avoid crossing over people, please approach the altar even if you are not receiving communion, crossing your arms as you approach, and you will receive a blessing.
A Greeter will be in the aisle to spray your hands with sanitizer as you approach the front. Please do not touch anything after your hands have been sanitized. When you reach Fr. McMahon or Deacon Louie, say Amen, and receive the host in your hand. Then move 6 feet away before you consume the host. There you can remove your mask with one hand, consume the host, and then reposition your mask before moving back down the aisle to your seat.
After communion, please remain in your seat until the end of Mass.
Before Dismissal
You will need to remain in your seat until an usher comes to your pew and leads you out of church. We will be leaving the Church from the back to the front.
Please do not congregate in the vestibule, but move through as quickly as possible and exit through the main doors into the parking lot. In the parking lot, please keep a safe distance as you greet others.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation with all these new procedures. While we hope to return to something like normal, right now we are most concerned with keeping people safe.
Father Mike’s Homiletter
Father Mike’s Homiletter – September 27, 2020
Scripture: Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25: 4-9; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21: 28-32
Fall has come, and with it election time. Most of us have already encountered more campaign ads than we need – and it’s still 5 weeks until Election Day. The politicians are blathering non-stop, and Congress seems to be all talk and no action these days. Unless it’s finger pointing!
Our readings this week do a little finger pointing of their own. Ezekiel tells the Israelites God’s views on their attitude: they are wondering why life has gone so wrong – they’ve been exiled to Babylon – and thinking like many a three-year old: it’s not fair! They blame their unfortunate situation on the sins of prior generations. God tells them what’s really fair – you are responsible for the consequences of your own actions. In God’s eyes, if a bad character turns good, he is saved, but if a good character turns bad, he is condemned.
St. Paul urges the Philippians to put on the mind of Christ – as a united community. Christ who did not look out for himself first, but who did the will of God, without argument or grumbling or trying to bargain his way out. Our Psalm implores God “Your ways…make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me…” and “[t]he sins of my youth and my frailties remember not” – in other words, change me. We pray this and similar thoughts this Sunday and others in the Responsorial Psalm - but do we really mean it? Are we subconsciously thinking “but not too much? I’m mostly OK as I am - I just need a little tweaking.”
Jesus goes on to confront the chief priests and the elders for their failure to change. He tells them the parable of the two sons: one who told his father he didn’t want to work in the family vineyard, but changed his mind and did, and a second who said, “Sure, Dad” when asked, but didn’t. Both changed their minds – one for the good, the other, not so good. Jesus reminds the chief priests and elders that when John the Baptist preached a new way of righteousness, they did not believe him, though so-called sinners did: tax collectors and prostitutes changed their ways. But the chief priests and elders congratulated themselves on their careful observance of technicalities of the law and refused to change. Jesus is advocating change – and we should give some careful thought to his “suggestions”. Sometimes I think that a favorite Catholic hymn is a tune called “This is the Way We’ve Always Done It”!
In reality, this year has seen a lot of change in the Church and our parish: the virus has changed our prayer life, our administration, and our finances. We had no choice - it was forced upon us. The virus has not yet run its course, and there will be more changes to come, some necessitated by the Church’s financial situation. Change can be good, and for the time being, we should all give some serious consideration to how we can change for the better. How can we put on the mind of Christ?
Jesus has issued a personal invitation to each of us. What will our response be?
Peace,
Father Mike
PREP Parish Religious Education Program 2020-2021
Classes take place on Sunday mornings for Grades K-5
Wednesday evenings for Grades 6-8
Please click on the link below for our calendar and class times.
Please send registration requests or questions to me at [email protected]
or you can contact me by phone at (847) 433-0130 ext. 110
Thank you!
Blessings,
Barb
PREP 2020-2021 Calendar TENTATIVE
SACRAMENTAL DATES TO KNOW
CONFIRMATION 2020 Rescheduled date Wednesday, September 9, 2020 7 PM AND Wednesday, September 16, 2020 7 PM
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2020 Rescheduled date Saturday, September 19, 2020
Retreat and Reconciliation Saturday 2/7/2021 9 a.m.
First Holy Communion Saturday 5/8/2021 10 a.m.
Confirmation Wednesday, May 5, 2021 7 PM
Mass Times
Wednesday Evening Holy Hour: 6:00PM
Saturday: 5:00PM (Vigil)
Sunday: 10:30AM
Confessions:
Saturday: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Sources which will enable you to hear Mass on-line or watch on television:
ABC7 – 12:00 Sunday – Cardinal Cupich – Mass at Holy Name Cathedral
Univision - 10:00 AM – Sunday – Mass in Spanish https://radiotv.archchicago.org/television/broadcast-masses - includes Mass in Polish
EWTN: Direct TV - Channel 370
Dish Network - Channel 261
Verizon Fios – Channel 285
Xfinity – Channel 33, 291, 1668
Online: St. James Chapel [Archdiocesan Center] – anytime
Holy Name Cathedral – anytime www.catholictv.org/masses/catholictv-mass Daily at 9:30am
Relevant Radio: The Relevant Radio app is available at www.relevantradio.com Mass – 12 noon, rebroadcast at 7:30 pm - Also on the Father Rocky’s Facebook page
Word On Fire Ministry: www.wordonfire.org
Resources for Scripture and Prayer:
Daily Mass readings are available on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops web site: www.usccb.org – choose the date on the calendar on the right or
Give Us This Day – a daily Mass and prayer book is making its content available for free during this time. Go to Give Us This Day. Org
Living With Christ – another daily Mass and prayer book is also making its content available for free. Go to Living with Christ.us
Liturgy Training Publications, the publishing arm of the Archdiocese, also has on-line prayer resources, including daily reflections and a virtual retreat for the Triduum. Go to www.ltp.org , look for the window offering resources during times of crisis, or the media events – current virtual workshops.
For material needs or other assistance, we understand that you can find resources by going to http://211.org, a web site sponsored by the national United Way organization
Ministries
Office Hours
Parish Center is closed until further notice. Please contact us by phone at 847-433-0130 or email at:
[email protected]
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Monday-Thursday
8:30am-3:00pm
Friday
8:30am-12:00pm
Mon-Thur: the office will be closed each day 11:30am - 12:30pm
Saturday-Sunday
Closed
CATHOLIC EDUCATION
Immaculate Conception Parish offers a very fine Religious Education Program (P.R.E.P.) to provide the very best in formation and education for our grade school parishioners.
Immaculate Conception Parish does not have a parochial school. For those who would like to consider the time honored option of a catholic school we are happy to provide the following links to the Catholic School options in association with the parish.
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Events
- Sep 26 2020 4:00 pm - Confessions
- Sep 30 2020 8:30 am - Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
- Sep 30 2020 10:00 am - Sunday Connection Scripture Group