We talk about stewardship as time, talent and treasure. Let’s talk about time. COVID restrictions are long behind us but we are still working out new and more flexible work and recreation schedules, yet we remember a constant—the need to return to our basilica for worship, for prayer and for spiritual comfort.

Is there such a thing as a stewardship of recreation? Some people might dismiss the thought. But they’d be wrong. Author Thomas Cahill observes that, in receiving the Ten Commandments, the ancient Hebrews did something no other ancient society had ever done: they established a day of rest. The God who made the universe and rested bids us to do the same, calling us to a weekly restoration of prayer, study, and recreation (or re-creation)...

Our parish has always depended on the generosity of our parishioners and friends, and the challenges of tomorrow are no exception. There are many ways we can show our support, including the following - Sunday and Holy Day Collections...

The beginning of June means summer is right around the corner. Flowers are blooming and trees are in full leaf. And Christian stewards are reminding themselves that stewardship continues as we head into the days of vacation, barbecues, summer reading lists, family reunions and trips to the beach.

We all need time off to recharge and refresh. Enjoy your respite from your usual work and then plan to rejoin our parish community with a new sense of joy and wonder at God’s gifts to us.

We are already looking forward to June and the rest and relaxation of summer. Maybe we’re feeling rested after the cautious reopening of our lives after that seemingly too long COVID restriction. Maybe we’re planning long dreamed-of vacations or staycations.

Here is how our parish campus looked in 1955, when all our buildings had been erected except for the new church. Doesn’t it look and feel like something very essential in our lives is missing?

Remember how the basilica ceiling looked in 2017? We know that the last few years have been especially trying times for our parish finances from a major capital repair perspective. We were faced with the sudden and unexpected need to replace the basilica ceiling during 2017/18, and then to make more extensive than expected repairs to the bell tower during 2019/20, and now even more work to repair weather damage and keep our basilica watertight to withstand Chicago winters. 

Tomorrow is the first day of May, the month in which the earth springs into bloom (at least in Chicago) and we start thinking about planting gardens, family picnics and making vacation plans. It’s also the Month of Mary, the Queen of All Saints, the patroness of our parish.

Regular readers of this page know we were in the fortunate position to be able to borrow from our long-term savings accounts (our endowments) to fund - repairs to our basilica ceiling, repairs to our basilica bell tower, the completion phase of our capital campaign...

We often describe our call to stewardship as our selfless gifts of time, talent and treasure, in response to the wonderful gifts we have received from God. Our call to practice Stewardship of Talent is an invitation to live out our faith by discerning where and how the Spirit is calling us to serve.

We know that our Easter collection is one of our two largest special collections of the year, and is a necessary part of our ability to support the many ministries, liturgies, and outreach that touch us throughout the year, even at times like now when our parish life is close to, but still not entirely back to normal. The dedication of the people of Queen of All Saints to maintain our faith community in time of challenge has always been a hallmark of our parish.

We know that our Easter collection is one of our two largest special collections of the year. This collection is a necessary part of our ability to support the many ministries, liturgies, and outreach that touch us throughout the year, even at times like now when our parish life is close to, but still not entirely back to normal. The dedication of the people of Queen of All Saints to maintain our faith community in time of challenge has always been a hallmark of our parish.

We know that our Easter collection is one of our two largest special collections of the year, and is a necessary part of our ability to support the many ministries, liturgies, and outreach that touch us throughout the year, even at times like now when our parish life is still not yet back to normal. The dedication of the people of Queen of All Saints to maintain our faith community in time of challenge has always been a hallmark of our parish.

It is hard to believe that it was three long years ago that a global health crisis from COVID-19 was sprung on us very quickly and without warning. Every day seemed to bring more uncertainty and we were called to do our best for ourselves and for each other, even in our gatherings for Mass and other liturgies here at Queen of All Saints.

The Lenten season prepares us for the celebration of Easter, the most important day in our Christian calendar. It is a truly rewarding time for us to embrace the ancient triad of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in a more focused way...

Let’s start off this Lent not as a time to “give something up” but rather to “give something back” - the gift of time to look inward to ourselves. Saint Ignatius of Loyola offered us these words of wisdom, which seem particularly relevant as we enter the season of Lent 2023: “He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor.”

We talk about the three traditional pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Let’s look at how those last two can work together for our Lenten preparation. If “fasting” means “doing without” and “almsgiving” means stewardship, then our opportunities for a fruitful Lent become clearer...

The Lenten season begins this week, our preparation for the celebration of Easter. It is a time for us Christians to embrace the “three pillars of Lent,” prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in a focused way. For some it is a time of healing, an opportunity to repair their spiritual brokenness. For others it is simply a good time to cultivate their spiritual lives in a more disciplined manner.

As the memory of our COVID ordeal continues to recede; as we continue to maintain our Sunday giving in sometimes difficult times; as we focus on the need to replenish our parish endowments for the funds spent on our unexpected expenses for repairs in recent years to the basilica; and as we look ahead to our one single parish-wide annual fundraiser, the United Parish Program (UPP) on May 12, it challenges our generous spirit to think about fitting in one more request for support, the Archdiocesan Annual Catholic Appeal.