REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND MASS!
We ask that you please arrive on time, and do not attend Mass if you are not feeling well, or have any symptoms of COVID-19. Face Masks are required!
Please click here to Register for Masses
Please click here to Volunteer Greeters, Ushers, Communion helpers and Cleaners needed!
Please sign up for weekend Masses by Friday at Midnight.
In the interest of safety, and in an effort to maximize seating, we will be assigning seats for Mass. This new procedure will be as follows: - when you arrive for Mass, a Greeter will check you in and dispense hand sanitizer. Next an Usher will greet you and escort you to your assigned seat. If you have not signed up, you will be asked to wait until we are sure we have seating available to accommodate.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation with these new procedures. The health & safety of all who worship at Immaculate Conception Parish is our main priority!
THE PARISH CENTER OFFICE BUILDING REMAINS CLOSED TO ALL ACTIVITIES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Please see Mass instructions below for more information-
Food for Thought …
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If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.
- Meister Eckhart
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.
For this year’s "Corks... but no Forks! event we gathered a wide range of wines, both as far as origin and price is concerned, to meet your personal and gift giving needs for the holidays! All wines are at - or below – regular retail price, and our parish will receive generous ‘commissions’ on your entire purchase!
I hope that many of you will find some wines to your liking, and place an order today! If I may answer any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me at 847.736.2130 Thank you for your support and God bless! Hans
Father Mike’s Homiletter – November 22, 2020
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-2,15-17; Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46
Today is the last Sunday before Advent and the feast of Christ, the King of the Universe. Throughout the calendar year, the Church liturgy celebrates the events in the life of Jesus Christ, but it begins by preparing for Jesus’ earthly arrival at Christmas on the first Sunday of Advent, which falls at the end of November or the beginning of December. We refer to this December through November cycle as the liturgical year.
During the 2019-2020 liturgical year now ending, we have been hearing mainly from the Gospel of Matthew, and our readings today describe the end of time. This is logical, because our Gospel readings the last few weeks have been describing events during the last week of Jesus’ earthly life – just before his Passion and Death (though the narrative of his suffering is read in Holy Week). There has been a sense that Jesus is trying to pack in all that He can teach His disciples in this time – there have been lots of parables and discourses (lectures in today’s language) in which Jesus is explaining and reinforcing the most crucial parts of His teaching. And a lot of His emphasis has been on how His disciples are expected to treat their fellow human beings.
In the readings about the end of Jesus’ life and about the end of our lives, the Church may seem to be a little out of sync with the title of the feast. As we celebrate Christ the King, we might expect triumphant language describing the splendor of Jesus’ entrance into heaven. Instead, we get readings which explain how God is working to take care of his people. This is not a remote king – we are hearing about a working, nurturing king. Our first reading describes how God plans to look after his flock – us. He will find the lost ones, feed, water, heal and rest those who are in need of care. But, he will also deal with the strong and the sleek – giving them what they need as well – “shepherding them rightly”. And, God will judge all His sheep. Our Psalm response acknowledges that God is a good shepherd, with whom we shall be content to dwell for all time. St. Paul assures us that Jesus has risen first, and all believers, dead or living, will also rise with Him. He will reign until all evil has been conquered, and He can return all that the Father has given Him, including us, to the Father. But he will also sit in judgment of those who claim to be His followers.
We would all be willing to do anything we could for Jesus himself. But how can we? How well and how closely can we, and do we, really follow Him? This is the final exam – comprehensives at the end of a course of study. But in His generous way, Jesus has given us the answers – in earlier Gospels, and again in our reading today. In our age, we certainly can’t do anything for the physical Jesus, but He offers another way to do the same thing. Did we feed the hungry, provide drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, visit and care for the sick and imprisoned, clothe the naked? And did we interpret those actions broadly, rather than narrowly. Many are hungry for company, thirsty for kindness, imprisoned at home –alone. As in the readings of the last few weeks, which have emphasized action, we are told what to do - care for those still on earth who are without. Jesus is saying that He lives in everyone, especially those in need. And He has shown us how, as well. His life is a model for how to live and give. John Shea identifies the signs of giving which imitates Jesus’ - it is “proactive, uncalculating and … inconspicuous”. We don’t wait to be dragged into the fray – we stay alert to identify needs, and while acting prudently, we act, rather than talk ourselves out of helping. We don’t calculate what good our actions will do for ourselves or those we value – it’s not about the return favor. And we don’t go looking for publicity and/or admiration for our kindness. The Gospels contain many accounts of Jesus healing all those who came to Him, mostly those who couldn’t do Him any good. He did not brag about His work – in fact, He often told people not to say anything about it – though often people were so overjoyed, they talked about Him because they couldn’t contain themselves. Jesus is telling us how to spread His love, how to be His love, and it’s the answer to the final exam at the end of time. Will we pass?
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 Calendar as of Oct 5 2020
SACRAMENTAL DATES TO KNOW
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
- Nov 25 2020 8:30 am - Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
- Nov 25 2020 10:00 am - Sunday Connection Scripture Group
- Nov 28 2020 4:00 pm - Confessions