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Begin Lent marked with the Sign of the Cross. The blessing with ashes will be included at all Masses and prayer services on Ash Wednesday, February 21. At the Masses, the blessing will be given after the homily. Masses are scheduled at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00am when the Frances Xavier Warde School’s students will be present; at 12:10pm when Cardinal George will offer the Mass and will preach before an anticipated full Cathedral; and at 5:15pm. At prayer services, the blessing with ashes will be given at the conclusion of the 10-minute prayer. Prayer services are scheduled for 10:00 & 11:00am and 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, & 7:00pm. Please join us at the Cathedral on Ash Wednesday. Lent regulations regarding FAST & ABSTINENCE are the following: ABSTINENCE FROM MEAT should be observed by Catholics 14 and older on Ash Wednesday and on all Lent Fridays. FASTING is observed on Ash Wednesday & Good Friday. For those at least 18 but not yet 59, fasting means eating just one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted. Those on medically directed diets should ignore the rules of fast & abstinence and look for another penitential practice. Do not get sick! Sunday afternoon Holy Name will open the Cathedral doors to RCIA candidates from all over the Archdiocese as the Cardinal celebrates the first of five Rites of Election welcoming thousands to the final stages of preparation for full entrance into our Catholic Church. We finished the Cathedral renovation just in time for you! The pews are back. The new kneelers are attached. The new floor is in place for the next 100 years. The ramp enabling those in wheel chairs to enter the sanctuary looks as if it were always there. Custom-made hand rails will be installed around Easter. The project began at 6:00pm on New Year’s Day. We announced that the construction would take no more than 34 full weekdays, 6 half-Saturdays, and the evening of January 1. On folding chairs, we had half the Cathedral for four weekends and the full floor the final two weekends. Experienced property owners and managers without dissent doubted that the job I described could be finished in that narrow a time window. It got done and done well! Holy Name Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Chicago are grateful for the cooperative hard work of Metropolitan Terrazzo of Elk Grove Village for the floor/ramp; Daprato Rigali Studios of Chicago for the marble work; Cindy Olszewski of Pioneer Refinishing from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for the pews/kneelers; Brian Ward from Ward Contracting and Building Restoration of Hodgkins, Illinois, for the General Contracting; and Bob Nickola from Jaeger-Nickola & Associates of Park Ridge for the architectural design. In addition, I acknowledge the efforts of Liturgy Director Fr. Paul Stein; Pat Still, Pastoral Assistant in charge of Special Events; Deacon Stan Strom, Administrative Chief of Staff along with Engineer Robert Dominguez and the maintenance crew; Rich Costa and the ushers as well as Janice Klich and the Extraordinary Ministers for their weekly adjustments; Donna Czsewski who organized the PPC and other lay leaders to act as greeters and to steer late-comers to overflow Masses; Donna & Pat again with the Art & Environment volunteers; the flexible sacristans; Ricardo Ramirez, David Jonies, and the music staff for making the calls with style despite the handicap of covered instruments, limited space, and the demands of bi-location; Gene DeMuro who chaired the project’s weekly meetings with Brian Ward and Bob Nickola attended by Stan Strom, Pat Still, Fr. Paul Stein, Rich Gargul, Robert Dominguez and joined by Archdiocesan construction pros Greg Veith and Ron Engels; and the priests who gracefully supported the work. Finally, thanks to the regular parishioners for your patience during the intense 7 weeks. Now, Holy Name Cathedral, prettier than ever, is ready for Lent. Let us pray. Last Saturday we received the shocking news of the sudden death of Father John Hall, Cathedral Associate Pastor and director of liturgy and special events from 1985 – 1995. He was 52 years old. He was buried on Friday from Our Lady of Ransom Church in Niles where he rebuilt the Church during his tenure as pastor, a post he assumed after leaving Holy Name and which he was preparing to conclude this coming summer. Father Hall especially admired the Cathedral’s Pastor Emeritus, Bishop Timothy Lyne who returned early from vacation to take part in the farewell prayers for his friend. In recent years, Father Hall offered invaluable assistance to Holy Name Cathedral in the ordination ceremonies of four auxiliary bishops and in the funeral Mass for Auxiliary Bishop Edwin Conway. Veteran Cathedral parishioners remember Father Hall with great fondness. Pray that Our Lord will welcome His faithful servant to a place of eternal rest. Father John Hall was a good priest, a proud and real friend of Holy Name Cathedral. I was delighted to offer a “teaching” Mass for Young Adults last Sunday at the Quigley Seminary Chapel. Organizers expected about 50; we had at least twice that number. Great! I am scheduled to offer Mass Tuesday in the Quigley Chapel for the seminarians and their priest-sponsors. Sadly, Quigley, a Chicago institution in various forms and locations for over 100 years, must be down to fewer than 70 days as it prepares to close its doors in June. Plans call for an interior renovation of the building in order to function as the administrative central offices of the Archdiocese beginning in 2008 or 2009. I understand that the chapel will remain as it is; its use will be determined. Our parish RCIA group is scheduled for a day of recollection at Quigley on March 3. So I guess I will get to say Mass there at least once more. Still, I realize my sentimental glances at the holy place where my adolescent vocation was nurtured are coming to an end. Excuse me if I take a few minutes before continuing to write; I seem to have something in my eye. Almost religiously, I take Wednesdays off. However I will be working the next three Wednesdays – Ash Wednesday (2/21); the third night of the much-anticipated Lenten Mission given by Father Frank DiSiano (2/28); and the opening night of the annual Lenten Lecture series when I myself am talking on “Coming Home to Christ” (3/7). I’ll catch my breath by taking off the next two Fridays (2/23 & 3/2) and the following Thursday (3/8). Wednesday will resume its weekly throne as my day of rest on 3/14.
Fr. Dan Mayall |
