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Holy Name Cathedral parishioner Donald Moline will be honored at Orchestra Hall next Saturday upon his retirement as an acclaimed member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s cello section. A Grammy-award winner, Donald has established a distinguished orchestral, chamber music, solo, and recording career while performing in virtually every corner of the globe with many of the world's greatest conductors and musicians. A proud member of our parish, Donald also has served as a Minister of Care, bringing the Eucharist to the hospitalized. He and his wife Ayuko relocated last year to Tokyo. Donald will visit the Cathedral next Sunday and once again will play his cello at the 9:30 and 11:00 Sunday Masses featuring pieces from his newly released CD, Cathedral Cello which will be available next weekend world-wide at Tower Records, Amazon, and other outlets on the Centaur Label (Centaur CRC 2832). Holy Name Cathedral Music Director Ricardo Ramirez and the Cathedral’s Chamber Singers also are heard on that marvelous CD. The Holy Name Cathedral Books and Gifts store plans to have copies of Cathedral Cello available next weekend for $21. In characteristically generous fashion, Donald secured our stock of CDs at the artist’s price and has offered the profit to the Cathedral. The Holy Name Cathedral Books and Gifts store is located on the lower level of the Cathedral. Pick up your copy of Cathedral Cello. In his biography on the CSO web site, Donald speaks the authentic words of a true steward when he says that his ministry and his art are driven by a common motive, “giving back something for the wonderful life in music that I enjoy." Thank you, Donald. We enjoy it, too. In addition to the wonderful music, the Parish Pastoral Council and The Cathedral Stewards’ Society will participate in next Sunday’s 9:30 Mass. As they begin another year of volunteer leadership, directing the Christian character of our parish, the PPC will receive a public blessing. The members include Susanne Smith (chair); Donna Ciszewski (vice-chair); Mary Canavan; Jean Carroll; Bob Kornecki; Chris Manns; Eileen Massura; Lawrence Palmer; Mark Steffan; Milli Striegel; Joseph Sunshine; Monica Tynan; John Wolf; and Ann Klocke (staff liaison). They give me invaluable advice, and they set our way in Christ. Over 400 members of The Cathedral Stewards’ Society also will attend next Sunday’s 9:30. The Cathedral Stewards’ Society is an honorary association of parishioners and friends of Holy Name Cathedral who demonstrate commitment to stewardship through faithful financial support of the ministries of our parish. Members include those donating at least $25 per week or 2.5% of their income to Sunday/Holy Day collections and other donations to the general parish fund. Their generosity is a source of inspiration and encouragement for the work we all do in the Holy Name of Jesus. For information on joining the Cathedral Stewards, phone Cathedral Stewardship Director Joe Konen at 312-573-4406. Weekly, Joe writes a bulletin piece about the dynamics of stewardship, an essential Christian characteristic. If you want to see a heavy dose of stewardship, come to the 9:30 Mass next Sunday. Donald Moline, the Pastoral Council, and The Cathedral Stewards’ Society all will draw a vivid picture. At Saturday’s 5:15pm Mass next Saturday, September 23, the Catholic Extension Society will extend its Lumen Christi award to Sister Vera Butler of New Orleans, an advocate for the homeless, senior citizens, and low-income families. Extension President, Bishop William Houck, will be the celebrant; and Francis Cardinal George is scheduled to preach the homily, health permitting. All are welcome to this great celebration. Extension Society supports the missions in rural, remote, and non-Catholic sectors of America. Extension was founded here in Chicago 101 years ago. Our neighbors at St. Michael Church invite all to a day of renewal next Saturday, September 23, 9:30am-3:00pm in the St. Michael Parish Center, 1711 N. Cleveland. Free parking will be available. The title of the day is An Invitation to the Wholeness of Spiritual Living and will be presented by Lynn Stasior M.D. and Redemptorist Father Ken Sedlak. The “breakout” sessions are entitled Mind: Experiencing Your Mind – It’s Bigger than You Think; Body: Listening to Your Body, Hearing Your Spirit; and Spirit: Letting Your Spirit Tell Its Story. Reservations are necessary. Contact St. Michael’s by phone at 312-642-2498; or by e-mail at susanw@st-mikes.org. Along with Pat Still from the Cathedral’s Pastoral Staff, I attended the September 7 dedication of Loyola’s newest building, the John and Terese Terry Student Center and the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J. Residence Hall at the corner of Wabash and Pearson. It’s a spectacular facility. Already 400 students live there with a 450 capacity when the building is finished. The apartments made me jealous. (I lived in a 7X7 cubicle my first two years at the late Niles College of Loyola at Harlem & Touhy in 1969-71. It was a long, cold walk to the bathroom.) Each student in Baumhart Hall has her/his own throne. Their main rooms have floor to ceiling windows next to their own kitchen. Students reserve washers from computers, dump laundry in machines, swipe ID cards through a slot, and continue homework while waiting for an e-mail from the machine when the clothes are done. Why doesn’t the machine fold the clothes and deliver them to the closet?! If they use the attractive exercise room, there won’t be a fat kid in the dorm. All “gadgets” are wireless. The “cafeteria” looks like a fancy French restaurant parked next to a classy coffee shop. Later in the fall, the bookstore and Flapjaws Restaurant will return. For now, Loyola has opened a jewel. It might be time for me to go back to school! A true Cathedral should be the natural place for civic prayer. Holy Name fulfilled its birthright on September 11 when Governor Rod Blagojevich, Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, along with numerous firefighters and police officers joined me as I conducted prayers on the Cathedral steps before inviting all to join me at the 8:00am Mass. Thanks to Pastoral staffer Pat Still, Music Director Ricardo Ramirez, musicians Steven Noone & Jeri-Lou Zike, server Maria Pura, sacristan Leonard Valunas, Deacon Mike McCloskey, and the Cathedral security and maintenance crews, we prayed as we should have on that morning. That great and graceful day, I truly was proud to be the pastor of the famous Holy Name Cathedral. Fr. Dan Mayall |
