Come Join Us for Our 19th Annual Super Bowl Tamale Fest! We will be taking orders for our authentic Mexican Tamalesthrough February 6th for pick up on SundayFebruary 8th, from 8:00 AM to Noon in the Commons.
You choose pork tamales with red (mild) or green sauce or chicken tamales with red (mild) or green sauce. The cost is $30 for one dozen or $15 for half a dozen. Cash, credit, or check payable to Knights of Columbus #5573 will be accepted at pick up on February 8th.
Place your order any time by calling Jerry Burns at 815-545-2860 or Tom Krepelka at 708-218-5733. Your order will be ready and waiting for you!
Advanced orders are recommended. There will be a limited number of tamales available for purchase on the pick-up date.
On Sunday, January 25th, St. Mary Immaculate School will be holding an Open House from 9:00 AM until Noon for the students & parents of the school as well as prospective students and their parents. Come and see what makes our school such a special place to learn, grow, and shine!
Tour our classrooms
Meet our teachers
See what a typical day looks like for our students
Would you like to deepen your relationship with God?
Are you looking to connect with others and form new friendships?
Would you like to grow in your faith and love of others?
Do you want an opportunity to serve others as Jesus did?
St. Mary Immaculate Parish has a Ministry for you!
Please join us in the gym on Sunday, January 25 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. to learn more about many of our parish ministries. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions and share more information about their ministry’s mission.
We will also have Sunday Hospitality! So, come enjoy some Munchkins, coffee and juice.
Happy New Year! Help us celebrate our 1st luncheon of the New Year, Wednesday, January 28th. Mass in Cana Hall @ 11:00, lunch to follow. Bring a dish to pass. $3/person for the chicken; $1/chance for raffles; $2/person for bingo.
For more information, contact Paul @ 630-464-7434.
Enjoy a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage links, and scrambled eggs, and know that you are supporting important area charities!
Breakfast will be served in the gym after the 7:30, 9:00, and 10:45 a.m. Masses on January 18th. The Knights are not charging for this breakfast; however, goodwill donations are encouraged and accepted. Cash and check only.
Make Learning How to deepen your Prayer Life one of your New Year’s Resolutions.
🌟 Ready to deepen your prayer life? 🌟
Join with other St. Mary Immaculate Parishioners for a 14-Day Prayer Challenge on the Hallow app: “How to Pray” 🙏✨
Guided by inspiring leaders like Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Barron, Sr. Miriam, Jonathan Roumie, and Mark Wahlberg, you’ll explore 14 unique ways to pray over 14 days. Together, we’ll focus on listening to God and letting prayer transform our hearts to share His love through charity and service. ❤️
📅 Starting January 12, 2026! Don’t miss this chance to grow closer to God with your parish family.
➡️ Join our parish page on the Community tab to join the challenge! Let’s journey together.
If you’re brand new to Hallow, visit hallow.com/parish to get started!
Are you interested in becoming Catholic, completing your sacraments, or exploring baptism as an adult? Or do you simply have questions about the Catholic faith?
Faith Curious? Come and Ask is an open and welcoming evening of conversation designed just for you—no lectures, no pressure, just honest conversation in a relaxed setting where your questions matter.
“We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire.” — Pope Francis
Understanding the Jubilee Year
What is a Jubilee?
A Jubilee Year is a time of forgiveness, renewal, and spiritual reflection in our relationship with God. In biblical tradition, a Jubilee was marked by the remission of debts, the return of property, and the restoration of relationships—among individuals, nations, and even creation itself (cf. Leviticus 25:8-55). The first Christian Jubilee was declared in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII.
The 2025 Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope
The upcoming Jubilee, titled Pilgrims of Hope, calls us to rediscover the hope found in Christianity and to become signs of hope in our daily lives. This sacred year will take place from December 29, 2024, to December 28, 2025.
As Pope Francis reminds us, “May this Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. Jn 10:7,9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere, and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Tim 1:1)” (Spes Non Confundit, 1).
Pilgrimages and Holy Doors
During Jubilee Years, the Pope designates Holy Doors for pilgrims to pass through as a sign of conversion—leaving behind their old way of life and embracing renewed faith and zeal. Passing through a Holy Door is an act of spiritual renewal and devotion.
This year, the only official Holy Doors will be in Rome. A replica of the Vatican’s Holy Doors can be found in our Commons area, serving as a reminder of the significance of this pilgrimage tradition.
Local Pilgrimage Sites
While the official Holy Doors are in Rome, local pilgrimage sites provide an opportunity for spiritual renewal during the Jubilee Year. Pilgrimage sites in our area currently include:
Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus – Joliet
St. Patrick Parish – Yorkville (see attached flyer)
National Shrine of Saint Therese – Darien
Corpus Christi, Carol Stream
Immaculate Conception, Gilman
St. Joseph, Bradley
St. Joseph, Manhattan
St. Peter, Itasca
Sts. Peter and Paul, Naperville
What is an Indulgence?
An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment due to sins that have already been forgiven. While repentance and confession bring forgiveness, sin disrupts God’s order and affects others. As part of divine justice, purification is necessary to restore this order.
An indulgence offers this purification through the merits of Christ’s sacrifice and the holiness of the saints, granting spiritual renewal without the suffering typically associated with penance.
How to Obtain a Jubilee Indulgence
To receive a Jubilee indulgence, one must:
Perform the designated act of devotion.
Confess their sins and be detached from all sin.
Receive the Eucharist at Mass.
Pray for the Pope’s intentions (all within a twenty-day timeframe).
Acts That Grant a Jubilee Indulgence
Visit a Jubilee Site – Pilgrimage to a designated site must include participation in Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, devotional prayers, or a penitential service with sacramental confession.
Pious Visit to a Cathedral or Basilica – Adore the Eucharist for a suitable time, recite the Our Father and the Profession of Faith, and seek Mary’s intercession.
Those unable to travel (due to illness, cloistered life, or imprisonment) can spiritually unite themselves with pilgrims by reciting the Our Father, making a Profession of Faith, and offering their sufferings to God.
Engage in Spiritual Enrichment – Participate in a mission, spiritual exercises, or a study of Vatican II documents or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Perform Works of Mercy – Visiting and assisting those in need is considered a pilgrimage to Christ Himself.
Undertake Penitential Practices – This can include fasting or abstaining on Fridays, making charitable donations, or volunteering to serve others.
The Jubilee Year is a profound opportunity for spiritual renewal and deepening our commitment to faith. May this time of grace inspire us to grow in hope and holiness.
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Reflection
A few weeks ago as the Coronavirus swept through Italy, Pope Francis led a prayer service in the rain in the darkness of night in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. It was an eerie picture seeing a lone figure praying in this huge square that is typically filled with thousands of people. For me, in a way it was a modern re-telling of the story from Matthew’s Gospel quoted above.
It seems that in our world today, many become overwhelmed and begin to feel hopeless. It appears that things will never return to normal. All of the things that we cling to in order to receive hope we have found to be empty. Our lives have been turned upside down. Some have lost jobs, we worry about having enough money to pay the rent/mortgage, or to buy groceries to feed our families.
What is hope? Hope is placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. (CCC 1817). This is key – hope comes from NOT relying on my own strength but one the strength of the Holy Spirit. Our hope is based in part on the assurance of all the times God had proved faithful to his promises throughout history. How can we find hope when we feel hopeless? Here are 3 suggestions I found that have helped me.
Know the reason for our Hope! God! God is both the reason for and the source of our hope. He provides the strength for us to be able to find hope in all circumstances through the many graces he has bestowed on us. On a mission trip to Jamaica where we built a little blue 14×16 house for a family when we went to hand over the keys to this family the husband/father told us that this house was a symbol of God’s Grace. He didn’t earn it, he could not have paid for it, but it was a gift. A gift freely given to his family.
Read the Bible, as well as the teachings of the Catholic Church and writings of the Saints. Reading and re-reading the stories of those who have gone before us will give us the inspiration to place our hope in God. A few weeks ago I was reading the book of Lamentations and was struck by how the Israelites saw in the dawning of a new day a renewal of the promises that the Log God had made to them. Knowing that the God of today is the same God of yesterday and of the future, we can be confident that He will provide for us in the same way that He has provided for all men and women who have gone before us and placed their trust in Him.
Prayer. Pray without ceasing! Prayer takes us out of ourselves and places us in the hands of the Lord. We learn from the Psalmist that we need to verbalize our feelings and emotions to God. Some prayer or maybe even just whisper the words, ‘Jesus, I trust in you!’ is all that is needed to remember “He is the source of our hope.” Prayer is a way to acknowledge that what is happening is bigger than me and I can’t but together with the Lord we can.
G. K. Chesterton’s great bit of wisdom: “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.”
Song
Prayer
My Lord, I bring my burdens to You, knowing You will take care of me. You will not permit me to slip and fall. I trust You to save me out of this hopeless predicament.
O God, have mercy on me, for I feel like I’m being hounded all day long. But I will put my trust in You. I praise You for Your promises of deliverance. I trust in You, so why should I be afraid? Thank You for carrying my burdens.
