Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What an extraordinary week this past week has been. Our beloved Pope, Pope John Paul II, died last Saturday. We, together with all of our brothers and sisters all over the world, mourn the passing of our Holy Father, the 264 th Vicar of Christ since Jesus entrusted His Church to St. Peter. We pray for the Pope’s soul. We pray for our Church. And, hopefully, John Paul II continues to pray himself for the Church that he loved so much. On the day that he died, Pope John Paul asked friends and co-workers to not be sad, and not to cry; instead he asked that they rejoice with him over going home. And certainly this is exactly what our Faith calls us to do. We know that John Paul didn’t just “disappear” last Saturday. He is not “gone forever”. His soul, the very essence of his being that we loved and the part of all of us that he spent his life reminding us of, is with the God that he loved and devoted his life to. And yet, there is still such a great sadness for all of us who stay behind. I think that all of us can feel it. I know I do. Our world is a darker place without this extraordinary man who was such a light for all of us. We weep, we feel sad, not for this amazing soul that suffers no longer, but for ourselves. And we do this just as Jesus’ followers wept when He ascended to Heaven almost two thousand years ago. John Paul’s death challenges all of us to now let our light shine in new and greater ways. What better way have we of honoring him, than by living the Faith that he so beautifully taught us to live?

This past week certainly has been a reminder to us all, not only that we have had a Pope to be very proud of, but also we have a Faith to be extremely proud of. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more proud of being a Roman Catholic than I have been this past week. The power and the majesty of truly being a Catholic Christian can change the whole world. Pope John Paul II showed us that. This past week, the whole world was Catholic, united in honoring this holy man. It was a reminder that that’s the way it is always supposed to be… one family, one church, and one people.

Of course, now we pray for the Cardinals as they gather in Rome for the conclave. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their discernment of who the next Pope will be. We must remember during this time that it was the Holy Spirit who led the Cardinals back in 1978 to Pope John Paul II, and that the same Holy Spirit will continue to take care of the Church today. This is not a time to be afraid. This is a time to have great Faith and Hope, as we await who God will choose to lead our Church next. May all of us set aside some time for extra prayers these next couple weeks for the Church and for the next Pope.

You may have noticed quite a bit of landscaping is being done outside on our campus. This is to get all of the islands, plots, and gardens in sync with the landscaping of the new church. Since our new church was completed and dedicated in December, the decision was made to put off the major landscaping of the new building until Spring. Now that it is time to do this, several sections of the old landscaping are also being re-done at the same time. This can be a very personal issue for many of us, myself included, who spent many hours out on the “islands” pulling weeds and planting things. Almost all of the flowers that all of us have planted will be relocated somewhere on our campus. I thank everybody for all their efforts over the years. Now it is time for us to move to a more comprehensive plan that aligns all of our various areas. Thanks to Jim and Stacey Martino and the nice folks at Cicero Lawn and Garden for all their help with this. I would also like to thank Todd Wade who has headed up our Landscaping Committee for several years now. Todd is going to be moving on to other service and ministries. And I would also like to thank and welcome on board Dick Panasuk who will be taking over the leadership of the Landscaping Committee. Many volunteers are still going to be needed for this ministry. We’re just trying really hard to get everything on the same page and same base line so that it all looks good together. You may have also noticed that last summer we lost several of our trees. The trees are being treated and trimmed to help all of them last a lot longer. Hopefully, all of this will make our grounds and campus look nicer and more welcoming for everybody.

The high school folk get a new opportunity this week. Beginning this Tuesday evening, all of the high school students of the Parish are invited to a brand-new, youth Bible study. This will take place each Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM in the Rectory’s basement. The Bible Study is being facilitated by Jim Wack and Jeff Stankovsky. For more information, call Jeff at the Parish Office.

What a week! This week should be even more exciting! God bless you all!

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

People are like tea bags: You have to put them in hot
water before you know how strong they are.