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.

We are asking for a significant increase in our Sunday collections and believe that any request for support must be based on a well-documented need. We rely on three main sources of funds:

The start of a new year is a great time for us to take another look at our support of our parish.  Committing to stewardship of time, talent, and treasure is an important part of living a Christian life, and real Christian living asks a lot of us and is not easy. Making a commitment to stewardship is a serious challenge...

We look ahead to Christmas next weekend knowing that our Christmas collection, one of our two largest special collections of the year, 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 2020/2022 when our normal parish life was interrupted...

It's not too late to learn about 2022 contributions to benefit Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships. As an example, a $1000 contribution will cost you only $250 after a 75% state income tax credit and will be matched 1-for-1. That means your after-tax final cost of $250 will result in $2000 for financial aid scholarships for Archdiocese of Chicago schools, or you can simply designate Queen of All Saints School itself to receive those funds. 

It's not too late to learn about 2022 charitable contributions to benefit Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships. As an example, a $1000 contribution will cost you only $250 after a 75% state income tax credit and will be matched 1-for-1. That means your after-tax final cost of $250 will result in $2000 for financial aid scholarships, and you can designate students at Queen of All Saints School, or a wider group of schools, to receive those funds. 

It's not too late to learn about 2022 charitable contributions to benefit Illinois Tax Credit Scholarships. As an example, a $1000 contribution will cost you only $250 after a 75% state income tax credit and will be matched 1 for 1. That means your after-tax final cost of $250 will result in $2000 for financial aid scholarships, and you can designate students at Queen of All Saints School, or a wider group of schools, to receive those funds. 

Regular readers of this page in our weekly bulletin know that we always present an honest assessment of our parish finances, and our goals for our shared future.

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 2017/2018, then to make more extensive than expected repairs to the bell tower during 2019/2020 and now to make extensive repairs to the east and west transepts of the basilica, extending into 2023.

We talk about stewardship as time, talent and treasure.  Let’s talk about time. COVID restrictions are mostly an increasingly distant memory. Vaccinations are routine, school is in full session, work routines have become more flexible to adapt to people’s desires for more work from home. New experiences are planned and yet we remember the traditional need to return to our basilica for worship...

Here is how our parish campus looked in 1955, when all our buildings had been erected except for the new church. Then, as now, all those other buildings were in heavy use as important parts of a healthy and vibrant parish, including squeezing Masses into multiple cramped spaces in the Keene and Lemont buildings.  Solving that situation was the final piece and crowning glory of our parish’s early years.

Prayer - Spending Time with God; Participation - Sharing Talent; Proportionate Giving...

The global health crisis from COVID-19 was sprung on us two and a half years ago very quickly and without warning. Every day brought more uncertainty as we were called upon to do our best for ourselves, our families and for each other, even in our gatherings for Mass and other liturgies here at Queen of All Saints.

We hope you had a chance to visit our Ministry Fair and Oktoberfest last weekend. Perhaps also the rain that drove our event indoors gave you an opportunity to see our Parish Center and cafeteria.  The Parish Center was the final construction phase of our Capital Campaign, which was our collective confident vote in the future vitality of our parish. 

There is just one-third of the year remaining so it’s not too early to start thinking about our 2022 tax returns and how we can support our parish in a tax-advantaged way. Certainly, the primary motivation for our charitable contributions to Queen of All Saints Parish is the generous return to God for the great gifts he has given us.

Lord Jesus Christ, As we celebrate our national holiday in honor of the dignity of labor and our duty to use the fruits of our labor for others, teach us to recognize you, and help us follow you amidst our busy life.

As we look ahead to the beginning of our parish year, we remind ourselves of how fortunate we are to be a part of a vibrant parish. Our parish is blessed with many ministries through which we reach out to and serve each other, including those listed on our website at qasparish.org and in our annual financial statement..

There’s something wonderfully renewing about late summer, especially as it begins a new school year.  It’s all about new beginnings. Maybe it has something to do with new classrooms, new teachers, clean smells, new sights.