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Maria Sadie Schwarz was born last Tuesday at St. Joseph Hospital. Maria (6 lbs., 12 oz.; 20 inches) is the firstborn child of Holy Name Pastoral Associate Kristin Sadie Schwarz and her husband Dave Schwarz. Dave tells us that mamma and daughter are doing very well. It has been a spell since a member of the Cathedral staff gave birth. There are a bunch of proud “aunts and uncles” strutting around the parish offices. The Young Adult Ministry, Kristin’s primary pastoral responsibility (not to be confused with young Maria, Kristin’s really primary responsibility), also is celebrating the good news this week. Congratulations, Kristin and Dave! Welcome, Maria, to Holy Name Cathedral parish! Nick, a visitor from Ohio, wrote last month to ask how he could contribute to CHICAGO SHARES, the program that invites Cathedral parishioners and our visitors to purchase redeemable coupons for food used by the needy of Chicago at many area stores and fast food restaurants. I suggested that Nick could mail a check that I would use to buy SHARES for the Cathedral’s own pastoral staff to give out to our hungry friends who drop by the parish office. He was really generous in his response. I was pleased to meet Nick and his wife when they visited Chicago again last weekend. I said THANK YOU for all of us. Whether you are among the better than 8,000 who visit Holy Name Cathedral each week for Mass or for a quick prayer; or if you are a member of one of our 5,100 registered households, stop by the Parish Center just across the courtyard north (left) of the Cathedral this Sunday and every third Sunday. From 8:00 in the morning until just after Noon, a friendly parishioner will sell you a book of five SHARES for just $5. CHICAGO SHARES is on ongoing ministry of Holy Name Cathedral. A regular parishioner named Mike dropped a nice note and a check to cover a big piece of our request for money to buy Walgreen’s $10-certificates for guests at our annual Christmas Day Meal for neighbors who are alone. Mike wrote, “I have a great sympathy for seniors who are alone.” Mike, your gift will help. I promise. Is it Christmas already? Father Michael Boland, President and CEO of Catholic Charities and a resident priest at Holy Name Cathedral, told me some great news. Several Cathedral parishioners recently were appointed to the Catholic Charities Board of Advisors. James B. Toohey was appointed for the first time. Re-appointed were Cathedral faithfuls Robin Brown; Richard Burke; Frank Covey; The Honorable Francis Dolan; Claudia Dunne; Dennis Gates, M.D.; Mary Alice Jovan; Peter Kelliher II; Maura Ann Mcbreen; James McDonough; and Virginia and Edward White. Their stewardship is valued by Holy Name Cathedral and by Catholic Charities. December 1st will be the 48th anniversary of maybe the saddest public Chicago day in my lifetime. When Our Lady of the Angels School burned on that date in 1958 killing 92 grade school children and three of the Religious Sisters who taught them, all of Chicago cried. On Friday, December 1, 2006, at 7:30pm an annual Memorial Mass will be offered at Holy Family Church, 1080 W. Roosevelt Road. You are invited. At Holy Name, we missed a scheduled opportunity last weekend. November 10-12 was designated nationally as National Donor Sabbath, a weekend spotlighting the need for organ and tissue donors. Nevertheless the need is there this weekend, too – and always. You may find it interesting that Pope Benedict XVI is a card-carrying organ donor. Cardinal George calls donor giving and organ transplantation “one of the highest expressions of compassion and self-giving to which the Lord calls us as his disciples.” In Illinois, it is most important that those who have made the decision to donate organs in the past recommit themselves to become life-giving donors through a new state donor registry that will ensure that the end-of-life wishes are honored. For more information, try www.giftofhope.org. St. Cecilia is the patron saint of sacred music. At the Confirmation of young teens at Holy Name Cathedral earlier this month, eight girls chose the Confirmation name CECILIA, more than any other name. A cultivated young patrician woman whose ancestors loomed large in Rome's history, St. Cecilia vowed her virginity to God; but her parents married her to Valerian of Trastevere. Cecilia told her new husband that she was accompanied by an angel. However, in order to see it, he must be purified. Valerian agreed to the purification and was baptized. Returning from the ceremony, he found her in prayer accompanied by a praying angel. The angel placed a crown on each of their heads, and offered Valerian a favor. The new convert asked that his brother be baptized. The two brothers developed a ministry of giving proper burial to martyred Christians. In their turn they were arrested and martyred for their faith. Cecilia buried them at her villa on the Apprian Way, and was arrested for the action. She was ordered to sacrifice to false gods; when she refused, she also was martyred. The Acta of Cecilia includes the following: "While the profane music of her wedding was heard, Cecilia was singing in her heart a hymn of love for Jesus, her true spouse." It was this phrase that led to her association with music, singers, and musicians. Wednesday, November 22, is St. Cecelia’s Feast Day. Pray for her and for those who chose her and her association with music as their Confirmation patron and inspiration. On Tuesday, November 21, at 7:30pm, worshippers from Holy Name Cathedral, the Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Congregation Sinai will gather at Congregation Sinai, 15 W. Delaware, for an interfaith Thanksgiving-week prayer. You are invited. The prayers will reflect our common understanding of Thanksgiving not only as a civic milepost, but also as a reflection of God’s call to us as Americans. I will be there. Please join me Tuesday at Congregation Sinai. (By the way, all three congregations – the downtown Catholics, Jews, and Presbyterians - also will participate in a New Year’s Eve prayer on Sunday, December 31, at Fourth Presbyterian Church.)
Fr. Dan Mayall |
