St. Vincent de Paul Parish The St. Vincent de Paul community lives out the Vincentian charism by serving and loving the Body of Christ without exception. May 2nd, 2021 Fifth Sunday of Easter “Barnabas reported to the apostles how Saul had seen the Lord on the way.” — Acts 9:26-31 Rev. Jeremy Dixon, C.M., Pastor Parish Center: 1010 West Webster Avenue Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: 773-325-8610 Fax: 773-325-8626 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stvdep.org Facebook: facebook.com/ stvincentdepaulparishchicago Mass Schedule Sunday: 10:00 am 5:00 pm 8:00 pm (CCM) Thursday: 8:00 am St. Vincent de Paul Parish 2 Sunday Scripture Reflection “Love in prac-ce is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.” -- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Wri$ng in 19th century Russia, Dostoevsky tapped into one of the truths and paradoxes of our human condi$on. While we are called to love and we o@en strive to do so, love in reality is very difficult. It is much easier to say “love one another” and proclaim that we do so in our hearts. However, when we seek to put that love into prac$ce, we may fail. In our readings today from the First LeHer of John, as well as the Gospel, we hear again the call to love. The epistle tells us to “love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” We are called to believe in Christ and love as he commanded. And we all strive to do so. However, if we only seek to love on our own, that love is not perfected and that love does not always bear fruit. It is only through our connec$on with Christ -- and his strength and grace -- that we can truly love. He tells us to “remain in me” and “whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” O@en enough, we may feel that we can do it all ourselves, that we don’t need to rely on anyone else. This tempta$on can lead us to feel the same about Christ. Do we really need him? Can’t I be a good person without him? While we may do good things and be a good person, without the strength of Christ, this goodness and love will not last. We are invited to be in communion with Christ in order to fully realize the love we have in our hearts. With him, we can bear fruit that lasts, that leads others to embrace that love in their lives. We are called today to work at puTng that love of God into prac$ce by loving and serving those around us. It is not easy because some are not grateful, some refuse our love, some may ignore us completely. We are called, however, to con$nue to love, just as Christ did. He never stops loving us and reaching out to us, even when we are ungrateful, refuse him or ignore him. He never stops. And neither should we. Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 3 Pray : Serve : Share ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO Office of the Archbishop 835 North Rush Street Chicago, IL60611-2030 312.534.8230 archchicago.org Spring, 2021 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Mothers are the great unsung heroes of the pandemic. And they need our help. The responsibilities and stresses of motherhood have increased tenfold over this past year. Keeping family members healthy, housed, fed, on-task with schoolwork, and supported amidst fear and uncertainty is a staggering undertaking. Add to this the hospitalizations or deaths of loved ones from COVID-19; lost jobs, wages, and child care; and the complete erasure of what little stability many families could count on, and you begin to understand the devastation the pandemic has wrought for so many mothers. The health and economic repercussions of COVID-19 have been disproportionate for people already facing the challenges of poverty, food insecurity, mental health challenges and lack of health care. This is particularly true for women of color, who have experienced higher rates of infection, more loss of life, and greater job losses. Your gift to the Catholic Charities Mother Day Collection means those bearing the most direct impact of this crisis don't have to struggle and lose ground they've worked so hard for. Your gift means they can access the resources—food, rental assistance, counseling-and professional help they need to ensure their families don't fall further behind. What better way to honor our own mothers and other women we admire than by helping another mom provide for and strengthen her own family? To be part of their resilience and success? To live out the lessons our mothers—many of whom had their own struggles—worked hard to ingrain in us. You have my sincere gratitude for your past support of the Mother's Day Collection, and my most urgent plea to give again. Contributions can be made at www.catholiccharities.net/donate, or mail your gift to Catholic Charities, 721 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60654. This Mother's Day, the face of need is mothers and their children; the face of hope is you. Please join Catholic Charities in bringing God's infinite mercy and profound hope to thousands of mothers who are heroically shepherding their families through this unprecedented time. Sincerely yours in Christ, (:W- Archbishop of Chica^ Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 4 Pray : Serve : Share Learn about our seventh and final theme of Catholic Social Teaching “The dignity of work and rights of workers” in this four minute video. hHps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txH7G1RkD8I&t=8s We welcoe into the chuch this weekend: Tyler Joseph Mathew, child of Shawn and Erin Mathew Catherine Rose Cunningham, child of Brian Northrup and Cassidy Cunningham Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 5 Pray : Serve : Share Baby Bottle Project Please take a Baby Botle home aftr Mass beginning April 11 fom te Vincentian Women at te door, fil it wit your spare change, and return it by May 9t, Moters’ Day. Botles are also available in te Parish Centr during office hours, Monday trough Friday, 9 – 5. If you are making a donation by check, please make it payable to: The Women’s Center You can also go directly to their website at: GoTWC.org or call 773-794-1313 to donate. Thank you on behalf of The Women’s Center. Encouraging women to build friendship and community in our parish through faith and service. Join us to Pray the Rosary every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. facebook.com/StVincentDePaulParishChicago/ Visit our website for more information: stvdep.org/community-life/vincentian-women/ Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 6 Pray : Serve : Share Virtual Book Discussion “Zipporah, Wife of Moses” By Marek Halter From the internationally bestselling author of Sarah comes the riveting story of the remarkable woman who walked beside Moses. Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 7 – 8 pm We will meet via Zoom. Sign up is required for zoom link. Please RSVP to Ginny at [email protected] Although she is a Cushite by birth—one of the people of the lands to the south— Zipporah grew up as the beloved daughter of Jethro, high priest and sage of the Midianites. But the color of Zipporah’s skin sets her apart, making her an outsider to the men of her adopted tribe, who do not want her as a wife. Then one day while drawing water from a well, she meets a handsome young stranger. Like her, he is an outsider. A Hebrew raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Moses is a fugitive, forced to flee his homeland. Zipporah realizes that this man will be the husband and partner she never thought she would have. All are welcome to attend! Vincentian Women St. Vincent de Paul Parish Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 7 Pray : Serve : Share Weekday Morning Mass for the Lincoln Park – Old Town Parishes at 8:00 am The five parishes in our Renew My Church Grouping are working together to offer a weekday Mass. You will need to follow the same procedures for health and safety as you would for attending Sunday Mass. Monday- St. Joseph Church Tuesday – St. Michael’s in Old Town Wednesday – St. Teresa of Avila Church Thursday – St. Vincent de Paul Church Friday – St. Josaphat Church Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2021 St. Vincent de Paul Parish 8 Pray : Serve : Share Our local council of knights at St. Vincent de Our local council of knights at St. Vincent de Paul Parish engages in Faith in Acton Paul Parish engages in Faith in Acton Programs, actvites designed to serve our Programs, actvites designed to serve our community while building upon core values of community while building upon core values of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotsm. charity, unity, fraternity and patriotsm. Membership is always open and we invite you Membership is always open and we invite you to learn more about us. to learn more about us. For more informaton? Contact Justn Tucker For more informaton? Contact Justn Tucker at [email protected] at [email protected] Service and charity are at the heart of the Knights. Founded to Service and charity are at the heart of the Knights. Founded to meet the needs of immigrants, refugees and families sufering meet the needs of immigrants, refugees and families sufering from the death of a breadwinner, the Knights began as a small from the death of a breadwinner, the Knights began as a small service organizaton and has grown into a worldwide fnancial service organizaton and has grown into a worldwide fnancial and charitable organizaton.