Since January 1st, 74 people have been killed in Chicago. In January, Southern California dealt with devastating wildfires that killed at least twenty-nine people and left thousands homeless. Recent tornadoes and other storms in March across six states killed forty-two people and blew several homes away. Ukraine is entering the third year of its war with Russia, and the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has ended, leaving continued death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. One may cry out where God is in all this loss and devastation. Was their misfortune Karma? Did they deserve what happened to them? What about the innocent victims? Who is to blame?

​In the readings, God introduces Godself to Moses and invites him to lead the Israelites out of four hundred years of being enslaved to the Egyptians. God has heard the people’s cries and is ready to keep the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul tells the Corinthians that while God is merciful and patient, we must do our part, repent, and strive to live sinless lives. In the gospel, Jesus reminds us of natural tragedies and accidents that kill or hurt people at random. It is not due to the guilt or innocence of the victims. Others, like wars, are due to the hardness of the hearts of those who started them. Both the righteous and the unrighteous are affected.

The important lesson is to ensure your heart is right with God. Conversion of the heart is key, so when these tragedies occur, we are prepared to stand in victory despite it. We hope that when God calls us home, we are ready. God invites us to be in a relationship with him and one another. The Psalmist tells us, “He pardons all your iniquities; He heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction; He crowns you with kindness and compassion. Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.”  Use this time to recommit to your relationship with God and experience God's mercy and love for you.

Second Sunday of Lent Reflection
Sister Belinda Monahan, OSB, Spiritual Advisor and Board Member

​What is your mountaintop experience?
               
Many of us has an experience similar to the one recounted in today’s Gospel.  It may not have been on a literal mountaintop, it may not have involved the sudden appearance of Moses and Elijah.  Nevertheless, we have encountered Jesus in a new way—in a way that brings us closer to the reality of who Jesus is.  We are awakened from the dullness of our daily lives into a more complete experience of Jesus. 
               
This awakening is the invitation extended to us in this season of Lent.  We often think of Lent as a trip into the desert.  And it’s true that we are—as Jesus was last Sunday—invited into the desert for prayer, fasting, and generosity.  These practices lead us, as they lead Jesus and his disciples this week, to mountaintop experiences; to a deeper recognition of who Jesus is:  the chosen Son to whom God’s voice reminds us to listen. 
               
And when we do listen? When we come down from the mountaintop?  When we have classes to attend, and work to do, and errands to run, and friends to talk to?  How do we bring that mountaintop experience back down into our everyday lives? 
               
Abram in the first reading chooses to believe in God’s promises, even when they seem to be completely outside of the realm of possibility.  Paul urges us to—as he has—stand firm in the Lord.  The disciples in today’s Gospel at first remain silent and fail to tell anyone, but must later have recounted it.
               
Because once we encounter God in his fullness, we are changed.  And even as we travel down the mountain, we carry with us the light of that encounter and share it with others. 
               
​What is your mountaintop experience?  

Ash Wednesday
Lisa Boris, Chief Finance and Operations Officer

Growing up, I always looked forward to Ash Wednesday because we got to sing my (then) favorite hymn, Hosea. "Come back to me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart. Trees do bend, though straight and tall; so must we to others’ call.  Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life."

The first lines of the song Hosea beautifully capture the meaning of Ash Wednesday. Yesterday, we began the liturgical season of Lent, our forty-day journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, with a reminder: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but rather a Holy Day of Invitation. We receive an invitation to, as we hear in today’s first reading “return to” God with our “whole hearts”.

We do this through the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These Lenten practices are invitations and opportunities to rid ourselves of distractions and examine our hearts so we can be people of greater love, mercy, and integrity. Amid the division, injustice, and noise of the world today, Lent calls us to true conversion and change of heart. 

The song Hosea is based on the biblical prophet Hosea. The book of Hosea uses the imagery of an unfaithful wife to remind the Israelites that God’s love for his people never fails. God did not abandon the Israelites even when they turned to idolatry and injustice, instead he longed to bring them back to into a loving relationship with Him. The same holds true for us today. God never stops calling us back even when we often fall short. We can always repent and journey back to God. 

The song continues: "the wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak. Integrity and justice with tenderness you shall know."

This Lent, spend some time in prayer listening to God speaking in your heart. Give generously to those in need and work to bring more love and empathy into the world through your almsgiving. Fast from selfishness, indifference, hopelessness, and judging others and focus on integrity, justice, and tenderness. 

May the ashes you received yesterday be more than just a mark on our foreheads. Let them be marks on our hearts as we begin the grace-filled, transformative journey towards Easter. ​

“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”- Dr. Carter G. Woodson

When Dr. Carter G. Woodson introduced Black History Week in 1926 through his organization, The Association of Negro Life and History, he was inspired by two events; teacher Mary Church Terrell convincing leadership in the Washington D.C. school district to set aside an afternoon for students to learn about the life and legacy of Fredrick Douglass whose birthday is on February 14th and the Lincoln Jubilee celebrations in Bronzeville Chicago in 1915 commemorating 50 years since the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved Africans in 1863.   

Dr. Woodson believed that the teaching of Black History in schools ensured that Black people would be better able to survive and thrive in a country that only sought to marginalize the community. Black men and women were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the country, and young children in schools learned about the history of slavery in this country and the sheer determination and reliance on God that it took to overcome it. Negro History Week also served as a counterbalance to the notion of the Lost Cause ideas that were circulating throughout the country during the 1920s & thirties. The Lost Cause mythology maintains that Black people were content being enslaved, and if it were not for the aggressions of the North, the Civil War would not have occurred.

Dr. Woodson chose for Negro History Week to take place during the second week of February. This was due to Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass's birthdays being only two days apart, and both were widely celebrated in the Black communities during the late 1800s. First, it met with lukewarm responses; it was through the encouragement of Black newspapers at the time that the idea was put into the hands of mayors in cities across the country. By the 1960s, Negro History Week was widely celebrated across the country. In 1969, Kent State University proposed to extend Negro History Week to be celebrated an entire month. With Kent State taking the lead, educational institutions nationwide began to follow suit, and President Gerald Ford recognized February as Black History Month during the country’s bi-centennial celebrations in 1976.

Today, The Association for the Study of African American Life and History continues to encourage and uplift the story and legacy of African Americans through African American Heritage Month by introducing focus themes. For 2025, the theme is African Americans and Labor in the Past, Present, and Future.

The celebration of Black History Month also inspired other marginalized and ethnic groups to create recognition months of their own to highlight their unique experiences as Americans and what they and their ancestors have contributed to the fabric of our country.

Today, Black History Month is observed in at least four countries, including the UK, Canada, Ireland, and the U.S.

​To learn more about the Association for the Study of African American Life and History or Dr. Carter G. Woodson, visit ASALH | The Founders of Black History Month.

​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

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!