Catholic Chicago

The 42nd Annual African American Heritage Prayer Service was held in late February.  Awards were distributed to a clergy member, a lay person, two educators and two students.  The high school student who was honored was Senite Barih from Loyola Academy.  She is president of the African American Youth Group, a member of student council, a member of the LA Way, Kairos retreat leader and cantor and worship leader during school masses.  Her compassion, grace, love and hope is evident to all that meet her.  Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholics Schools, and Fr. Greg Sakowicz, Rector of Holy Name Cathedral, spent time getting to know Senite along with Mike Greg, campus minister at Loyola Academy.

Basketball coaches from St. Luke School (River Forest), St. Giles School (Oak Park) and St. Mary's School (Riverside) noticed the talent of their athletes.  They brought together five of their players who normally compete against each other to form a new team that they named Team Fierce.  Friendships were created on the basketball court as they practiced and they competed in the JR NBA 3on3 regional tournament last month at Navy Pier and won!  They now advance to nationals being held in Indianapolis on April 4.  Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and Fr. Greg Sakowicz, Rector of Holy Name Cathedral, spent some time talking with Gia and Cammie, two of the members of Team Fierce.

Ryan Lents and Dawn Fitzpatrick from the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity speak with Christopher West about Made for More, a Theology of the Body presentation that is coming to St. Alphonsus on March 24 and St. Damian on March 25. Made for More will feature reflections, live music, and engaging prayer experiences. Tickets for both events are available for $25, and can be purchased here.

Ryan Lents, director of the Office for Human Dignity and Solidarity, speaks with Olga Canelas, Beth Knobbe, and Deacon Michael Fekete about CRS Rice Bowl, the Lenten formation program that provides opportunities to practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving while growing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters overseas. 25% of Rice Bowl alms go to fund grants that stay in the Archdiocese of Chicago. We also hear about the Global Child Thrive Act and CRS’ Lead the Way campaign.

Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi interview Fr. Hans Zollner and Juan Carlos Cruz about safeguarding children.  Marie Jochum and Michael Bare talk with their guests about Ladder Up, an organization that offers free tax preparation services to thousands of people in need.  Ryan Lents and Dawn FitzPatrick from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity talk with Christopher West, founder of the Cor Project.  And Deacon Richard Hudzik visits with Deacon Gerry Keenan, Director of Operations with Renew My Church.   

Lectura y reflexión del Evangelio según San Mateo 17, 1-9 del domingo, 8 de marzo de 2020. Viernes, 6 de marzo de 2020

The March, 2020 broadcast brings Deacon Gerry Keenan, Director of Operations with Renew My Church, to discuss this transformation project. The conversation with host Deacon Richard Hudzik wends its way from where we find ourselves in the Church today in Chicago and in the wider culture to the Church’s challenges as well as opportunities. These challenges and opportunities include calling all Catholics to a life of Faith. This life in Our Lord is to be integral to the life of the individual and a life that is inviting to all who yearn for the transcendent but do not know or have forgotten that the hungers of their hearts can be satisfied by the Good News of Jesus. Further information about Renew My Church can be found at https://www.renewmychurch.org/

Today’s guest is Sister Kara Davis, Daughters of Charity, who first met her community at a “Nun Run” (Indy’s Got Sisters) in Indianapolis and again at a Chicago’s Got Sisters event. Now one of the coordinators, Sister Kara talks about what this 24-hour “no strings attached” event involves, including meeting several congregations and opportunities for prayer and gathering information. The next Chicago’s Got Sister is April 17-18, 2020. To register, visit https://www.vocationscava.org. Sr. Lovina also promotes a Catholic Sisters Week event on March 11 at CTU. For more info: click https://catholicsistersweek.org/event/stories-of-spirit-and-heart-conversations-with-catholic-sisters/

Filing taxes is an important legal and civic responsibility for all Americans. Yet, for many people it can be a true hardship. One of Catholic Charities longtime partners is Ladder Up, an organization that does a tremendous job offering free tax preparation services to thousands of people in need. Join Marie Jochum and Michael Bare as they welcome Christine Cheng, Executive Director of Ladder Up and Doris Wilson, Director of Special Projects for Catholic Charities Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Food Centers Program to discuss how this partnership works to assist our clients. 

Hosts:  Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi.  Segment I:  Amanda Thompson, Director of Catholic Campus Ministry at DePaul University, talks about Catholics on campus.  Segment II:  Fr. Hans Zollner and Mr. Juan Carlos Cruz talk about safeguarding children in the church.  Fr. Zollner is one of the world's leading experts in the area of safeguarding minors.  He is the President of the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian Institute in Rome, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and a consultor to the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy.  Juan Carlos Cruz is an advocate for victim-survivors and a survivor himself.  He influenced the Pope to set the stage for the global Church to move away from thinking that survivors want to destroy the Church, but instead, to partner with victims as they move forward with their lives as Catholics.