Old St. Pat's Prepares for the New Roman Missal: Theological and Pastoral Reflections

What will you hear at Mass starting Advent 2011? The Church has made some significant alterations to the language and words of the English translation to the Mass. While the "rites" will stay the same, the words we say at Mass are going to change. There are many questions being raised as to why and what does this all mean for us as a Catholic community. Please join us as Fr. Edward Foley, a professor of liturgical theology at Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park and a weekend presider at Old St. Pat's, hosts a three-part series on the new Mass. 


The Series began on Sunday, Feb. 20 from 10:45 a.m. to noon in the Old St. Pat's Church hall, and continues with the next session detailed below. 


Session Two:
"What Was The Process and What Is At Stake?"


Sunday, March 27 ~ 10:45 a.m. - noon
Old St. Pat's Fr. Jack Wall Mission Center, Room 25 ABC
711 W. Monroe Street in Chicago.


Our second session will provide an historical overview of the long process (more than 25 years) that has led to this change. It will also examine some of the theological and ecclesiological issues at stake this and every vernacular translation of the Church Liturgy.


Session Three:
"Our Pastoral Response"
Sunday, May 1 ~ 10:45 a.m. - noon


Old St. Pat's Church Hall
700 West Adams in Chicago. Please R.S.V.P. by Wednesday, April 27.


In our final session, we will explore how this new translation provides an opportunity for faith communities to reconsider how Liturgy is at the very center of the life of a faith community. This "pastoral response" will include strategic suggestions for the exploration and implementation of the new translation of the Roman Missal.


About Fr. Foley 
Edward Foley, Capuchin is the Duns Scotus Professor of Spirituality and Professor of Liturgy and Music at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. With 19 books to his credit, he is currently serving as general editor for a scholarly commentary on the new Order of Mass to be published by the Liturgical Press. We, at Old St. Patrick's Church, are delighted Fr. Foley is a regular guest presider and preacher at our Sunday Liturgies. 

A Mother's Love Lost

Rain falls softly on window panes
Leaves follow the current of the wind
Her heart is in so much pain 
As the preacher speaks of the beloved
She knows nothing will ever be the same
The end of a spirited life filled with so much love
A mother's soul has risen and gone on
On into the depths of heaven, on into the clouds
Through space and time to rest beside our maker
Her laughter has become nothing more than a memory


Her daughters feel the pain of loss deep within their souls
As they try to cope with losing a Mother's love
Tears stream down saddened faces
Mouths curl up to scream 
The heart bleeds for the beloved that will never be seen again. 


Rest my friend, your suffering is over; pain you'll feel no more 
She touches her cold hands 
Knowing she'll never see or touch her  again
She bends and softly plants a kiss on her lips
Tears stream down her face 
As she says good-bye to a Mother's Love
A Mother's Love is lost; her smile is gone
Her life is mourned, her laughter but a memory

Old St. Pat's 2011 Lenten Speaker Series: Reflections on Compassion, Justice, Forgiveness and Communion

Old St. Pat’s invites the city of Chicago to experience the 2011 Lenten Speakers Series as four individuals share their life’s work and the motivations that drive them towards a life of compassion, justice, forgiveness and Communion. Please join us in March and April at Old St. Pat’s Church, 700 West Adams, for this (free will donation) Speakers Series, which takes place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. as we hear from Fr. Gregory Boyle, Avis Clendenen, Fr. Michael Pfleger, and Eboo Patel listed below:

Fr. Gregory Boyle, S.J.
Tuesday, March 22

 Fr. Boyle, a pastor working in a Los Angeles neighborhood with the highest concentration of murderous gang activity, created Homeboy Industries. This organization provides jobs, job training, and encouragement to young people as they also learn the importance of working together and learning more about the mutual respect that comes from collaboration. Homeboy Industries is recognized for its unparalleled success as a gang intervention and re-entry program. Moved by the “power of boundless compassion,” Fr. Boyle’s work and words inspire us to more deeply embrace the common human longing for hospitality and to stand with and find room for all those who are left out.

Avis Clendenen, Ph.D.
Wednesday, March 30

 Avis Clendenen, a professor of Religious Studies at Saint Xavier University, she draws from profound personal experiences of loss and offers transformative wisdom into the mystery of human and divine forgiveness. Her article “Accidental Killers and Their Long Lament” published in the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling is a chapter in the forthcoming book Forgiving God: Healing Fractures in the Divine Human Relationship, co-authored with Troy W. Martin. Dr. Clendenen teaches courses in the area of pastoral and practical theology.  She is co-author with Sister Irene Dugan, r.c. of Love Is All Around in Disguise: Meditations for Spiritual Seekers, editor of Spirituality in Depth, and co-author with Tory Marin of Forgiveness: Finding Freedom through Reconciliation. She is a regular contributor to the journal Lectionary Homiletics and is currently completing a study, Experiencing Hildegard: Jungian Insights into the Spiritual Vision of 12th Century Hildegard of Bingen.

Tuesday, April 5
Fr. Michael Pfleger

Fr. Pfleger, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor of St. Sabina Parish on the south side, has lived and ministered in the African-American community on both the west and South Side of Chicago. In the course of his extensive and active ministry, Fr. Pfleger has been recognized for his commitment to equality and passionate stance against injustice. His life calling and work are the subjects of a recent documentary film by Bob Hercules, Radical Disciple: The Story of Fr. Pfleger.

Eboo Patel
Wednesday, April 13

Founder and president of the InterFaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel works to advance the vision that religion is a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He’s inspired to build this bridge by his faith as a Muslim, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship. Eboo Patel was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and serves on the Religious Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations.

For more information on the Old St. Pat’s 2011 Lenten Series, please call 312.648.1021 or visit www.oldstpats.org. Follow us on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-St-Patricks-Church/11066008345.