a column of benevolent gossip

• Parish potpourri —

  St. Margaret Mary Parish (W. Chase) has the new ordinary of Milwaukee, Archbishop Jerome Listecki, preaching their Lenten mission, 7 p.m. March 1-3. . . . St. Mary’s (Buffalo Grove) varsity cheerleaders are Illinois Elementary School State Champions. The seventh- and eighthgrade girls competed in Peoria, Ill., against 15 other statewide teams. . . . St. Odilo Parish (Berwyn) had over 700 patrons enjoying “An Afternoon with Mozart” Jan. 31 with the Salt Creek Sinfonietta and their parish festival choir. . . . J. Quinn Mucker of St. Gerald Parish (Oak Lawn), will be one of the Soaring Spirit awardees honored by Oak Lawn’s Children’s Museum on March 27. . . . St. Robert Bellarmine School (W. Eastwood) held a bake sale for Haiti Jan. 29. Eighth-graders, other students, faculty and staff were able to send a check for $483 to Catholic Relief Services. . . . In the spirit of “Catholics Come Home,” St. Kevin Parish (S. Torrence) will have a ministry fair 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 21 to show what they are all about.

• Here’s-s-s Lent! —

  The Pope John Paul II Eucharistic Adoration Association in the arch just published a new booklet for use during the
  New devotional prayer book
  Year for Priests and after. “Holy Hour for Priests” is ideal for Benediction, but it has psalms, a litany and prayers that can also be recited silently before the Blessed Sacrament. To receive one, call (708) 728-0840 or e-mail them at info@PJP2ea.org. Did you know the Stations of the Cross were made for people like you and me? People who can’t get to the Holy Land, that is. The devotion began on the real Via Crucis from Gethsemane to Calvary. But then came the Crusades and the capture of the holy sites by Muslims. No more pilgrimages, but the memories and devotions lived on in Europe. Franciscans promoted the “substitute pilgrimage” with replicas of the holy happenings of Jesus’ sufferings and by the 18th century the devotion was supported by the popes who granted a plenary indulgence for those who devoutly make the stations.

• Got a Minute? —

  Quickie Lenten gems
  “Minute Meditations for Lent” by Sisters Kathryn Hermes and Christine Setticase, is a winner for busy Catholics. There’s a general theme for each week, and a page a day with a short Scripture verse, a meditation and a one line prayer. Like: “Lord, show me how to reach out to others.” From Pauline Books & Media, it’s $2.95 plus shipping, from (312) 346-4228.

• Think-about-it department —

  So much is being written about compulsive texting among teens while studying, conversing or driving, that former Chicago Catholic editor A.E.P. Wall had an inspiration: “Maybe what the world needs is a rosary phone. Let your fingers do the praying?” Wall is a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi (Orland Park).

• Lookin’ good —

  St. Ann Parish (Lansing)
  Josephine Schoettle, 100, and her pastor, Father Fred Pesek
  honored its matriarch, Josephine Schoettle, with a statue of the Blessed Mother for their chapel to mark her recent 100th birthday (New Year’s Eve). Josephine has been a St. Ann parishioner since 1936. At that time one of the “ministries” was keeping the church’s pot belly stove well stoked. Josephine still helps count the Sunday collection, attends club meetings and helps the hospital/shut-ins ministry.

Send your benevolent gossip to Church Clips, Catholic New World, P.O. Box 1979, Chicago, IL 60690-1979; or e-mail to dmadlener@catholicnewworld.com.