The Presentation of the Lord - Candlemas

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  02/02/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

With today’s feast of The Presentation of the Lord, the church brings the Christmas Season to what was its official traditional end prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. One can still see traces of this understanding in Rome and parts of Europe where Christmas Nativity Scenes and other decorations are kept in place until this day. Here at St. Joan of Arc, we honor that traditional closure by keeping most of our church decorations up until this day.

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Care for the Sick

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  01/26/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

Among Christianity’s greatest concerns and most effective ministerial activities has been the care of the sick. This has been a consistent quality of our faith since the earthly ministry of Jesus precisely because it mirrors the priority that he himself placed on healing those who were ill whether of body, mind, or soul. We know that one of the most dreaded and harmful effects of sickness is that it marginalizes individuals – relegating them to the fringes of a society or culture. There they are frequently ignored or forgotten altogether which is why the phrase, “out of sight, out of mind,” is, unfortunately, aptly descriptive. Jesus, as part of his divine mission he received from his Father, was to restore unity to creation and to re-unite those who, for whatever reason, had been forced to the fringes of life and the void of non-existence.

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The Jubilee Year

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  01/19/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

By now, most Catholics are aware that Pope Francis has announced that 2025 will be a Jubilee Year for the universal church, with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” Some might wonder, what exactly is a “Jubilee Year” in the Catholic Church? Essentially, it is a year designated with the specific purpose of re-establishing a proper relationship with God, one another, and all of creation. This custom has ancient roots in the history of Israel and can be found in various places in the Old Testament, for example, Leviticus 25. The people of Israel celebrated these jubilee years every 50 years to re-align themselves with the covenant relationship that God had established with them. There was a strong emphasis on mercy and forgiveness. Legal debts were absolved. Broken relationships were to be healed. Even the earth was brought into this jubilee year by having its farmland lie fallow to rest and be restored after years of providing harvests.

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Welcome to 2025

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  01/12/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

I wish all of you a blessed New Year filled with peace, promise, and good health. At the dawn of each new year, many of us make bold declarations such as, "I know this is going to be a good year," or "This new year has got to be better than the last one." While hope springs eternal, we all know that every year has its share of blessings and challenges, both of which are somewhat relative depending on individuals. Nonetheless, we place our trust in God, believing that throughout the next 12 months, we will experience God’s abiding presence in both the blessings and the challenges as we ultimately pray, with Jesus, "not my will, but yours be done."

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The Feast of the Epiphany

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  01/05/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

Today the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord. In times past, this feast was consistently observed on January 6 (when most of the world continues to observe it), thus completing the 12 days of Christmas. The 12th day is actually Jan. 5, the eve of the Epiphany, because the greatest solemnities in the Catholic Church begin the evening before. The biblical narrative of the Epiphany, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12, and the various symbols and customs that have emerged from this story speak to the human heart on multiple levels of invitation.

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Bishop Hicks' December Column: Sacred Steps: Exploring Pilgrimages Near and Far

by Bishop Ronald A. Hicks  |  12/29/2024  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Have you ever made or wanted to make a pilgrimage to a holy site? Before answering that, let’s establish the difference between a vacation and a pilgrimage. A vacation is a leisure trip for a “getaway,” usually focused on relaxation, entertainment, and exploration. A Catholic pilgrimage, on the other hand, is a spiritual journey to a sacred site with the purpose of deepening one's faith, seeking divine grace, or fulfilling a religious vow. While vacations prioritize personal enjoyment, pilgrimages emphasize not only some personal enjoyment but also spiritual growth and devotion.

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Stories of Christmas

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  12/22/2024  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

As we fully immerse ourselves into the joyful exuberance of Christmas, we do well to recall that Christmas is a season and not a single day. Its meaning and power is so rich, that no one day can possibly exhaust all that this celebration offers us. We might think of Christmas as a multi-faceted jewel. As we rotate this Christmas jewel we discover a different dimension of it and come to realize that there are a variety of ways that it is celebrated. Some of these ways may overlap with each other or flow one from the other. Some may stand alone as a singular way that Christmas is observed.

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100 Years of St. Joan of Arc Parish

12/10/2024  |  A Message from Our Pastor

St. Joan of Arc is proud of its 100 years of ministry and service to the Lisle community. Founded on December 14, 1924, the church held its first Mass above Albert Riedy's Hardware Store, with an altar borrowed from St. Procopius Abbey, drawing an attendance of 261 parishioners. Since then, the church has been a steadfast anchor, fostering spiritual growth and education while upholding the values of the Benedictine tradition.

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First Sunday of Advent

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  12/01/2024  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

On this First Sunday of Advent, the universal church begins its new liturgical year with the cycle of feasts and fasts that continue to shape us into God’s holy people. Here at St. Joan of Arc, it has been our tradition to offer a brief summary of the growth of our parish.

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