Fr. Simon's Letter - May 8, 2022

Happy Mother’s Day!

Every culture and nation honors mothers in a particular way. It is because we know instinctively the gift of a mother. It is she who carried us in her womb, our first home, before we were offered to our family and to the world. 

I recognize that this role of ‘mom’ does not need to fit a strict definition of ‘woman who birthed me.’  When I think of my mother, I remember her nurturing, the sacrifices she made, the generosity of her time, her patience, her resilience, her compassion for the poor and the sick, her determination to learn a new language and adapt to a different culture, and above all, her faith. She loved me and expressed it in different ways, for which I am grateful, because it showed me that love comes in many forms, taking shape according to the persons expressing and receiving it. 

These days it is even more challenging being a mother – whether you are a stay-at-home or working mom. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. After she made breakfast, packed our lunches and saw us off to school and my dad off to work, she would sit down with the newspaper, coffee and breakfast, and relax a bit. The time when we were at school was ‘her time.’ I guess most mothers today have little ‘mom time’ with work, keeping up with children’s learning, preparing endless snacks and other chores and other responsibilities, leaving little time for herself. Moms have to adjust their needs and schedules and adapt quickly to accommodate their children’s ever-changing needs. Hats off to you, moms! You deserve this day, and we certainly owe it to you!

This Mother’s Day let us honor and remember all the relationships we have with the women in our lives who are important to us, both young and old, alive and gone before us. We can choose to reflect upon and celebrate mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, wives, girlfriends, friends, colleagues, mentors, daughters, nieces and granddaughters. Happy Mother’s Day!

Finally, after missing the UPP, our parish signature celebration of community, for the past two years, we are blessed to gather again this coming week on Friday May 13. Sure, even though we will miss the event under a great big tent in the shadows of one of the most beautiful churches in Chicago, we are able to come together at Chateau Ritz to gratefully remember our past, become mindful of the present and hopeful of the future. It just so happens that this year we will celebrate our community, with family and friends in the same place we celebrated the 60th anniversary of our parish. We will have food catered by Stefani’s, entertainment, both live and silent auctions and many opportunities to reconnect with friends and parishioners to celebrate and support our parish. Please make your reservations for this Gala event, and note that there will be buses to and from Chateau Ritz and our parking lot. 

Much is happening in the days before our ‘big event.’ There’s still time to support the UPP through the purchase of raffle tickets, placing an advertisement in our event book, becoming a sponsor or donating to the wine pull.  As the shepherd of this gifted and generous community, I am confident that we will meet our goal of raising $275,000.

Thank you for your generosity and support of this year’s UPP and our parish community. I look forward to seeing you on Friday for this year’s ‘Lights, Camera, Auction’!

Blessings!!