Dear UCYM Community,
As the world around us continues to become more polarized and people experience hardships, it is important to be a voice of support, prayer, and advocacy. UCYM is proud of its Closed on Sunday podcast program that was built by our young adult community. As we are making decisions about our priorities, we have decided to revamp this program and make it stronger than ever to demonstrate our support of a world where wisdom in thought, courage in voice, and love in action prevail. If you are interested in joining our podcast content or production teams, please contact our Podcast Program Leadership Team at [email protected]. If you would like to make a donation to our program to help us improve and purchase new equipment and editing software, please click the giving button below or contact us at [email protected]. You can note "Closed on Sunday" in the notes section. Blessed Carlo Acutis, pray for us! Your UCYM Mission and Ministry Team Dear UCYM Community, Today, there is a lot to reflect on. Today is the federal holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King left a legacy that continues to challenge our American society, which, as a reverend himself, was rooted in deep theological overtones. Dr. King challenges us to think of others and to never stop fighting for what matters, which is the dignity of each human person. Quotes from Dr. King like, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice" call for us to not only look on the surface, but to look outside of ourselves, our immediate circles, our immediate neighborhoods, and anywhere that we belong in order to ensure justice is present everywhere. This is a radical call, but one that without a doubt was tied to his deep faith in Jesus Christ, who also challenges us to think of others and work for justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., pray for us. Saint Katharine Drexel, pray for us. Today was the inauguration of our 47th president. We want to pray for our new administration and that human dignity is paramount in all decision making and how decisions are carried out. St. Thomas More, pray for us. UCYM is unsettled by the announcement of ICE raids that will begin in Chicago tomorrow. While there is presumably a goal in mind for doing this that targets members of dangerous groups who have threatened the safety and human dignity of those in our communities, we are fully aware that there may be many violations of human dignity of innocent people as these raids are carried out. We stand in solidarity and defense of our immigrant siblings, especially in prayer. We also want to pray for the local, state, and federal law enforcement who will participate in these raids in varying ways. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us. Today, I joined Interfaith Action of Evanston for their annual Walk for Warmth. This year in particular being as cold as it is sends us a strong reminder as to why collaborating with organizations like Interfaith Action of Evanston is so important. In these days of frigid cold, let us pray and let us do what we are able to in order to assist our siblings who experience homelessness. St. Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us. We have a lot of work to do. Let us join together in prayer and action as we continue to work for justice for all. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Peace, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB (he/él)
Executive Director We want to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July. As we celebrate our country's moment of historical freedom, let us remember that there are those who are still oppressed. Let us always remember our Gospel call to act on behalf of the poor and marginalized.
4th of July Prayer Dear God in Heaven, we humbly offer this prayer for peace and unity in the country. Today is a day we celebrate with pride and honor. However, we must not forget that it is also a day that is celebrated peacefully and harmoniously with others. We pray that our Fourth of July celebrations remain peaceful and joyful. Engaging in conflict would only dishonor our ancestors – and, more importantly, You. As our celebrations remain peaceful, we pray for other nations all over the world as well. May they, too, find the peace that they so passionately fight for. We are all deserving of peace, so this prayer is lifted up to You, as everything rests in Your blessed hands. Amen. In today's Gospel, Jesus gives His body and blood to His disciples at the Passover meal. Like anyone who serves as a Eucharistic Minister, I find myself deeply connecting with today's solemnity because I think of this every time I proclaim, "The Body of Christ" and raise the host in front of someone, looking them in the eyes, and entering into this moment, which is not even seconds long, but that forever binds the two of us in the Eucharist. It is powerful and something I take very seriously.
Today is a reminder to us all of the importance of not only the entirety of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection, but of all of those things being given to us in every moment that we receive the Eucharist and our belief in it as we respond "Amen." The Eucharist, like any sacrament, is a living presence. I was blown away once when a priest, before receiving himself after saying "Behold the Lamb of God..." kept the host and cup raised and added, "See what you believe. Become what you receive." It struck me so much that when the priest offered me the Body of Christ, I was almost not able to fully realize what I was doing. I was simply "thrown off." I will forever remember that moment and will forever say those words in my head and in my heart when I see the Body of Christ raised. "See what you believe. Become what you receive." Every time we receive the Eucharist, we see what we believe in the host and in the wine. We realize in seeing how precious this gift is that is given to us by Jesus. So, we are left with the question of how we become what we receive. How do we become the Body of Christ? Aren't we intrinsically the Body of Christ as part of the faithful? Yes, but the question is deeper. Just being is not always enough. How do we become the Body of Christ for others: for the marginalized, the poor, our enemy, our loved ones? We must think of this in terms of being a living presence of the Body of Christ and not just a passive part of it. We must enter into the Mystery, into the joy and the sacrifice. My friends, as we receive the Eucharist this weekend, let us ask ourselves: how do you want to become the Body of Christ for others? UCYM takes pride in its roots, which are in the Gospel and the two Great Commandments of Jesus Christ, which are to love God and love our neighbor. During PRIDE Month, UCYM affirms the dignity of each human person who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ Community. You are always welcome in our community and we celebrate you and who you are, which is, first, a person made in the likeness and image of our God, who is love. Happy PRIDE Month!
Loving God,
We thank you for the freedom you have given to us, and for the price that was paid by Christ so that we could live free. We remember today. The cost of it all. The great sacrifice for freedom. We thank you for the brave people who have fought, and continue to fight, so courageously for our nation. We ask for your covering and blessing over them and their families. We pray that you would be gracious and encircle them with your peace. We pray for your great favor and goodness to be evident in their lives. Please be with all those who wear the uniform, who serve our communities and nation every single day. We ask that you provide your protection, that you would be their guiding force who leads the way, and their rear guard who keeps them safe from behind. We ask that you would draw them to yourself amidst the dangers they face in a dark world, for you are the Truth, you are the Way, you are the Light. Amen. Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity
Patricia Tomich Senior Director, Mission Integration Among the feasts and solemnities celebrated throughout the Church's liturgical year, the Most Holy Trinity reverberates through the ages with mystery. The Trinity structures our entire belief system. We mark ourselves with the sign of the cross and teach our children and grandchildren the sign of our faith. The Catholic catechism instructs that the Trinity is a dynamic communion of persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—united in perfect love. Though the doctrine of the Trinity is often depicted through symbols and doctrinal formulations, its essence transcends mere abstraction, resonating deeply within the realm of love and relationships. The Trinity moves us to the most profound mystery of LOVE animated in a dynamic relationship. This is where my mind and heart resonate on this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. This solemnity invites us to reflect upon the role we play in the dynamic relationship entangled within the Trinity. This is God’s very nature, a gift given freely to all. We are created in the image and likeness of God, and it’s in this relationship that we discover that we too are relational creatures with the desire to be in communion with others and the entire created order. In our loving relationship with God the Creator, we become co-creators with the freedom to reimagine and fashion a world anew. Through the incarnation of the Son, God probes the depths of our human experience, bridging the divide between the divine and the human. In Christ, we witness love incarnate—a love boundless in its reach, descending to the lowest depths to raise each of us to divine heights. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit empowers us to live a divine life, fostering communion with God, one another and all creation and reaching beyond the cosmos. On Trinity Sunday, we reflect upon this dynamic relationship calling us into communion with all that is ONE. O Triune God, breathe within and through us your Divine Love; may our relationships radiate your Light and Truth to the ends of the earth and beyond. Pentecost Sunday
Dr. Molly Cinnamon, Ed.D. Board of Directors I grew up in the Episcopal church. I also became a Catholic in my 40’s so that I could serve as principal of a Catholic school. I’m an interesting combination of faith practices, but Episcopalians are not too far away from Catholics and I treasure both. Last Sunday, I sat with my mom, my daughter and my niece for Mother’s Day at our Episcopal Church. Father Chris, my mom’s spiritual guide, gave the homily that day. It was remarkable—and it also shed light for me on what Pentecost is really all about. Advent and Easter are beautiful seasons of the church. There is so much to think about and so many liturgical stories from these celebrations. While Easter is all about the resurrection, Pentecost is when we experience the resurrection on a more personal level. The Holy Spirit is poured out over us, and we are then entrusted with the charge of going out into the world and sharing that love and light with everyone we encounter. Right now, our world is going through so much turmoil and angst, and there is fear and hatred everywhere, it seems. Some days I feel like around every corner we might encounter something that we might not recover from and that can feel overwhelming. This is when we need to remember Pentecost. From the Acts of the Apostles 2:2, “Sound… from heaven, like the rush of a mighty wind” is the image I think of when I imagine what having the Holy Spirit poured out on all of Jesus‘s followers might sound and feel like, especially during times of fear and turmoil. We might feel as if we don’t have what we need to protect us, but nothing could be further from the truth. All we have to do is go out into the world and love unconditionally. Choose love, choose compassion, choose curiosity, choose peace. We are a week away from ending this Easter time. The liturgical season of celebration of rejoicing in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Sunday in the readings we again get to hear who Jesus is, who Jesus came to be, and why he came. On this Ascension Sunday we celebrate Jesus, the one who defeated, the one who was victorious over sin and death. His time has come to return to his Father, to rule from the right-hand side of God the Father. This leaving us does not mean he is leaving us forever. It means as he ascends is that his body in this world is leaving to join His Father, to join our Father. Leave this world physically, but for forever be in each and every one of us.
The past couple of weeks of Easter have been a reminder of who Jesus is, why he came, and how we are to believe now that we have gotten to know him in this world. Today in the second reading we are told how Jesus will stay alive with and in us. How we as believers are called to believe. Not just in words, but through our actions. Doing so through the way we live. In Love, to maintain that love Jesus Christ leaves us with all the tools, blessings, and graces to be able to do so. The sacraments like reconciliation to care for our relationship with God and knowing that in this world we will fall, but God is there with open arms for us to reunite with him. The Eucharist as nourishment of that same sacrificial lamb to fill us with love and grace to continue the Christian mission. Coming to Mass knowing we are one in communion and uniting with our brothers and sisters around the altar to be nourished. We are also reminded of our relationship with God himself and with one another to be able to live out as faithful people. To be able to love the way God who created us loves us. To love sacrificially the way Jesus did when on earth to forgive our sins and free us from death. To one day all be able to rejoice in the heavens because of our free will, the grace of God, and his continuous never-ending love for us. We will one day be reunited with the ascended Christ and all those who believe in words and actions. |