Category: Nuntium

In any other year, our second collection on Mother’s Day weekend would be for Catholic Charities to help the mothers, children, and seniors in Cook and Lake Counties who are struggling. In these difficult times, Catholic Charities is still hard at work feeding the hungry via food pantries and meal programs; visiting seniors to offer vital homemaker services; coordinating housing and case management for the homeless and victims of domestic violence; and checking in with counseling patients who may need extra help coping.

Though we cannot pass the basket at church today, Sunday, May 10, we would like to still support these Works of Mercy. If you are able, you may contribute online via GiveCentral or at catholiccharities.net; through your offering envelope and the mailbox at the parish office; or by mailing your check directly to Catholic Charities at 721 N. LaSalle St, Chicago, IL 60454. If you are not able to give at this time, there will be another opportunity for this collection in September.

For more information about the response to COVID-19 at Catholic Charities, please visit catholiccharities.net.

Based on current guidelines from the CDC and local public health departments, which recommend the cancellation of public gatherings involving 10 or more people, Cardinal Cupich mandated the suspension until further notice of all liturgical services effective Saturday evening, March 21 with the regularly scheduled weekend services. In addition, he has mandated the closing of schools operated by the archdiocese, and to close the Pastoral Center and related agency offices until further notice.  Schools in Illinois remain closed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

Update 5/16/2020: The closure of our church and the suspension of public liturgies continues, though a plan was announced by the archdiocese on May 13 for the gradual re-opening of the churches.

At Queen of Angels, we are reviewing the plan and considering how it will apply to our parish’s needs, and staff will participate in the initial online training offered by the archdiocese in the coming week.  We anticipate that we will first open for sacraments such as confessions, baptisms, weddings and funerals, where participation can be limited to 10 people.  In a few weeks we may be able to open for Adoration and private prayer under similar conditions. Streaming Masses will continue for our people to stay connected with the Eucharist and one another.      

Queen of Angels Church and Parish Office are closed.  Parish Office staff can be reached during regular office hours at 773-539-7510.  Our answering service is available after-hours for emergencies.

Queen of Angels School is closed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year and summer camp activities are canceled.  Please check the school web site for updates on the school status.

All parish meetings are canceled and Religious Education classes will not meet.   First Communion celebrations which had been set for March 29 and May 2 are postponed and cannot be rescheduled at this time.

Let us pray for our fellow parishioners and staff that all will remain healthy, safe and fed, especially those most vulnerable.  The Society of St. Vincent dePaul is still working to help clients in need and our Senior Social Club is still checking in on our older parishioners.  If you know of someone in need of help or would like to offer assistance, please contact the parish office, 773-539-7510 or parish@queenofangelschicago.org.  Other parish ministries are finding creative ways to stay connected during this time when we cannot gather in person.

Please see our separate post with prayer resources to continue our parish’s spiritual communion at home.

We also invite you to participate in our Masses which are streaming online in English and Spanish or in the TV Mass (9:30 a.m. Sundays on WGN TV).

Weekend Masses Online from Queen of Angels Church

• available after 5 p.m. Saturdays in English
• available after 10 a.m. Sundays in Spanish

Weekday Masses Online in English

• St. Benedict in North Center
• St. James Chapel at the Quigley Center

If you are able, please consider continuing your regular contributions to Queen of Angels in this time of crisis.  You can drop off or mail in your envelopes, or sign up for online giving with GiveCentral.

“This was not a decision I made lightly,” said Cardinal Cupich. “The Eucharist is the source and summit of our life as Catholics. And our schools and agencies provide essential services to many thousands across Cook and Lake Counties. But, in consultation with leaders from across the archdiocese, for the sake of the safety of our students, parishioners, and all the women and men who serve the people of the archdiocese, it is clear that we must take the better part of caution in order to slow the spread of this pandemic.”  Please view the video from from Cardinal Cupich and the statement from the Archdiocese in mid-March announcing the suspension of public liturgies and transition of Catholic schools to remote learning.

With all public celebration of Masses and Holy Week services suspended to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, we are pleased to offer our alternative schedule of online Masses and services as well as resources for praying at home to mark this holiest of weeks as best we can.

Palm Sunday, April 4-5

• Join us for streamed Masses from Queen of Angels Church, available online at 5 p.m. Saturday 4/4 in English and at 10 a.m. Sunday 4/5 in Spanish.
• Unfortunately, due to the shelter-in-place order, blessed palms cannot be distributed or picked up at this time.
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Welcome Jesus into your home as he was welcomed into Jerusalem.  Create a simple prayer space at home, and gather there to pray during the week.  Make last year’s palms part of your prayer space if you still have them.  “Christ reigns here,” they proclaim.
  • Read the first Palm Sunday Gospel (Matthew 21:1–11) and meditate on or discuss what Jesus might be thinking as he enters Jerusalem for the last time.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week, April 6-8

• Unfortunately, due to the shelter-in-place order, we are not able to hold confessions in the time leading up to Easter.
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Ready Easter clothes, prepare festal foods, clean the house, beautify the yard.
  • Pray the Act of Contrition on your own and resolve to go to confession when the sacrament is once again publicly available.
  • Pray for those who have been preparing to receive Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation, including the adults in RCIA preparing to enter the Church or complete their initiation.

Holy Thursday, April 9

• The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will not be streamed from Queen of Angels, but other online options are available:
  • 5 p.m. from Holy Name Cathedral
  • 6:30 p.m. CDT from the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia 
  • 7 p.m. from our neighbors at St. Benedict in North Center
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Join in the 8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer streamed by our neighbors at St. Benedict.
  • Bake bread for dinner and set the table for a special meal.
  • Pray for the needs of the poor and for Spiritual Communion.
  • In the evening, share Lent’s final meal. Pitcher, bowl, and towel make a fitting centerpiece; perhaps conclude the meal by washing each other’s feet as a sign of service, as Jesus taught his disciples in the Gospel today (John 13:1-15). Make a ritual of stripping the table of all cloths and decorations after the meal, as the altar would be cleared at the end of the evening’s Mass.

Good Friday, April 10

• Please join us for the Liturgy of the Lord’s Death streamed from Queen of Angels Church, available online at 3 p.m. in English and at 5 p.m. in Spanish.
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Observe the paschal fast, limiting the size of your meals and abstaining from meat and snacking.
  • Pray the Stations of the Cross, particularly the Stations in the Time of Pandemic video prayer using the images from our church’s Stations.
    
  • Join in the 8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer streamed by our neighbors at St. Benedict.
  • At the invitation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, pray the Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in English or Spanish, on your own or via livestream at 11 a.m. CDT, for a plenary indulgence. To receive this indulgence, a member of the faithful would need to:
    • pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart on Good Friday
    • be truly repentant of any sins they have committed and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (at the earliest opportunity)
    • pray for the Holy Father’s intentions, including prayers for an end to the pandemic.
  • Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary on your own or online.

Holy Saturday

• The Easter Vigil will not be streamed from Queen of Angels, but other online options are available:
  • 7 p.m. from our neighbors at St. Benedict in North Center
  • 7:30 p.m. CDT from the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia
  • 8 p.m. from Holy Name Cathedral
  • other options may be added during the week as announcements are made — you can report a tip to parish@queenofangelschicago.org 
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Read Psalm 64 and break your Good Friday fast solemnly with a simple meal.
  • Join in the 8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer streamed by our neighbors at St. Benedict,
  • Decorate your home for Easter or dye eggs, giving thanks for whatever you have to celebrate this special feast.
  • Pray an at-home blessing of Easter foods in English or Spanish or join in the 12 noon Virtual Blessing of Easter Baskets streamed by our neighbors at St. Benedict,
  • Participate in the evening’s Easter Vigil online or on TV with mind clear, stomach empty, and heart full of “holy anticipation” that bursts into living flame when the new Paschal candle is lit.

Easter Sunday

• Join us for Masses of the Resurrection streamed from Queen of Angels Church, available online at 8 a.m. both in English and in Spanish.
• Suggestions for celebrating at home:
  • Dress up the dinner table again.  Include candles and crosses, so that the baskets and bunnies aren’t the only festive items present.
  • Count and give thanks for all the signs of new or renewed life around you — eggs, flowers, baby animals, budding trees, tiny shoots of plants coming out of the earth.
  • Sing “Alleluia!” together and read an Easter Gospel (Matthew 28:1-10 or John 20:1-9) with solemnity and joy.

Easter Season, April 12-May 31 

• Regular weekend liturgies are available online at 5 p.m. Saturday in English and at 10 a.m. Sunday in Spanish.  Health permitting, Queen of Angels intends to continue to stream Sunday Masses online until the shelter-in-place order is lifted, gatherings become less risky to public health, and the Archdiocese of Chicago lifts the suspension of public Masses.
• Cardinal Cupich has suspended for this year the obligation to receive Communion during the Easter Season, which is one of the Precepts of the Catholic Church.  Read his decree in English, Spanish or Polish.
• Due to the shelter-in-place order, all parish events and classes, including Queen of Angels School, may not gather in person until at least the end of April.  Further updates will be made via the online bulletin and/or emails to parish groups about any events or classes moving online.

Cardinal Cupich has announced a call for common prayer and the ringing of church bells five times a day. Bells are a additional means of calling and uniting people in prayer. We ring them now so that all may know we have not forgotten our people or the needs of our suffering world! The hope is that people will have the experience of being united in prayer, especially at a time when we are isolated. By pausing and lifting up in prayer all those affected by the pandemic, we can offer those in need our support and let them know that they are not alone.

The prayer times will begin Saturday, March 21, at 9 a.m. and continue every three hours each day, with the last bells rung at 9 p.m. Each of the five prayer times will be dedicated to a specific group particularly impacted by the pandemic, as listed below. If you do not live within a few blocks of the church and cannot hear the bells, you can also set an alarm so that you can stop for a moment to join in this common prayer.

Beginning Saturday, March 21, the prayers and intentions for each hour of prayer are:

9 a.m. – Prayer for those infected with the virus and all who are ill

Lord, place your healing hand on those who suffer illness. Bring them to full health and ease their anxious hearts. May our prayer and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary encourage them that they are not alone. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

12 noon – Prayer for health care workers and those attending to the sick

Lord, we are ennobled by those who put their lives at risk in caring for the sick. Keep them safe and embolden them when they are weary. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

3 p.m. – Prayer for first responders and essential workers

Lord, we pray for those who run to danger to keep us safe and those who serve the common good. Embrace them with your mantle of protection and comfort the fears of their families. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

6 p.m. – Prayer for people of every nation and their leaders

Lord, the pandemic opens our eyes to see each other as brothers and sisters in one human family. We pray for people of every nation and their leaders, asking that they be inspired to seek the good of all and quell the voices of division. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

9 p.m. – Prayer for those who have died today

Lord, we grieve the passing of our sisters and brothers who have died this day. We commend them to your tender mercy, confident that nothing, not even death, will separate us from your love. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

At Queen of Angels we normally would ring the bells at 12 noon and at 6 p.m. for the Angelus, and you can certainly continue praying this traditional prayer also.