You may have an Advent wreath at home. If not, take a look at the one in church: apart from the candles, which serve as a countdown to Christmas, it is surrounded by green foliage, wrapping itself around the candles in a circular fashion.

Probably my favorite bit of the wreath is the green circular motion of the foliage. It speaks to us of eternity and freshness and life. Now admittedly, I fear the greenery around the parish wreath is probably fake so please use your imagination.  Hopefully the wreath you have at home is real!

During Advent, we celebrate that which will never fade or disappear. We wait for the one who will return physically and in the meantime we celebrate His presence in faith and sacrament. I’m talking about Jesus, the one who walks with us, who died for us, who was born for us and who will come again.

If you like, Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving.  Endless love, endless life, endless joy. Life in Jesus is endless, it is circular, if you like, the same as the wreath for Advent. And the color of the wreath is green: evergreen. His life is real, fresh and it does not fade.

There is so much about our life that fades, tires, sags and wilts. Jesus does not. Want to freshen yourself up this Advent? Then spend some time with Him.

Celebrate Advent this year! Be real about it!

By the way, I promise real greenery at CHS for next year!

Father Jeremy Thomas, Pastor

In September, I had the pleasure of giving a talk to Ministers of Care at the parish of St Edna in Arlington Heights. 

Around 50 people were present. Most were new recruits. These individuals have now been commissioned to take Communion to the sick and homebound of our parishes in the Vicariate. Even during Covid, Jesus finds a way to call people to service.

It is important for us to acknowledge that none of this happens by accident. God calls people to serve and people do respond. Here at CHS we are celebrating 50 years of service.

During our kickoff event, we acknowledged those priests who have exercised leadership roles here at CHS. But there are others too. Linda Engle, a parishioner of CHS since its inception. As Director of the Ministry Commission for this Vicariate, Linda has been responsible for organizing many training programs like the one I attended this past weekend.

I am delighted to say that the Archdiocese recognized Linda’s service with a special award: The Bishop Quarter Award. Linda received it from the Cardinal himself the first weekend of October.

Linda is the last person to look for any recognition. However, it is important that we celebrate her achievements so as to inspire others to do the same.

Congratulations Linda Engle from all at CHS!  You inspire us to Grow Stronger, Grow Deeper and to reach Higher!

Father Jeremy Thomas, Pastor at Church of the Holy Spirit

I have three brothers, one who is older, and two younger.  All my brothers are married and they have children and, they are very happy.  Interestingly enough we were all educated in the same way, brought up in the faith, we were all altar servers from the age of seven, the usual kind of factory, sort of generation of Catholics, but interestingly enough, I’m the only one out of the four of us who still practices the faith formally, I’m the only one that goes to Mass, it’s a good start, right?
 
On a number of occasions when speaking to my Mother, she’s sort of mention that she prays for her boys every day, but she has expressed from time to time, what did I do wrong that only one of my four boys goes to church?  And they’ve all been baptized, and they’ve all made their First Communion, and she hopes and prays that they all come back to church.  And I know that’s a difficulty for parents, when they have children that they’ve  brought up in the ways of the faith because they know how precious it is, and them the children sort of wonder away for the practice of their faith and it’s hard for parents.  And I thought about that last Tuesday, when we had a wonderful gathering here in the courtyard, and it was called “Popcorn & Popsicles”, and we had story telling, and it was a really nice opportunity to gather.  It wasn’t just for kids, it was for everyone, and we had lots of young people, and young families, and I thought, this is wonderful!  I really wished all of those there would come to church every Sunday, then I thought to myself, but this is great, this is a great celebration of community and church here right now.  After the event, when somebody said to me, you see that family over there? “She’s the daughter of so and so who comes to the 8 a.m. Mass, and you see those kids there, they are the grandchildren of so and so that comes to the 10 a.m. Mass”, and all the pieces came together, there was a gathering if  you like of the offspring, of the young members of the Church of the Holy Spirit in our courtyard, in a very Eucharistic Body of Christ way, and it was lovely to behold and to be a part of, and it was very encouraging I think to see that.
 
Of course we’d like to see them all here around the Altar, but they were gathered because we had popsicles and popcorn, and stories, but the real reason that made them come was Jesus Christ, because He was the one they all had in common, he was the one that brings them together, He is the one that makes us Church of the Holy Spirit, that forms this community, He is the Bread of Life which draws people to Him, and feeds us and nourishes us.  And there is no limits, or boundaries, or frontiers to the depth of that love, of that community, of that gathering, and we sort of very Eucharistic solid gathering in the courtyard this past Tuesday, and it warmed my heart, and it made me feel so good, and I felt so good for all of you parents of those wonderful people that gather here at Church of the Holy Spirit.
 
So, I think that we can be hard on ourselves, especially as parents, you can be hard on yourselves, because you try so hard to give the best to your children, to bring them up with the best of values, and to bring them to the altar of God faithfully, and to show them the ways of the faith, and you want your kids to grab it, to hold on to it, and you may tend to feel that they haven’t, that they’ve forgotten, and they haven’t you see.  The seed that was sewn during their Baptism which was nourished by Jesus here through all those Masses you brought them here as kids, it continues to grow, maybe not quick enough for us, but it grows in its own way, and it brings people to God, brings people to Jesus as and when God decides.  So, we must feel in some ways blessed, blessed through the efforts that we’ve made through each of you over the years, which makes such a thing as Popcorn & Popsicles happen, and we need to do more that here at Church of the Holy Spirit, because it brings people to Jesus, that’s what we are about here, about bringing people to Jesus, and if it takes popcorn and popsicles, or hamburgers and hotdogs, that’s what we need to do, and do it joyfully knowing that this is really what Jesus Christ, bringing us together, little by little, and in His time, when the time is right.
 
One of my favorite ministries is the Ministry of Care, and when we get called out to anoint somebody.  Especially, somebody when they are in their final moments, and they are transitioning if you like, into eternity, they are getting ready to die, so I get called to anoint people, and it’s a very special, intimate moment with those people, and during that time if they are able we give them Holy Communion, we give them Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and that moment of giving them Holy Communion in the church has a special name, and that special name is Viaticum, which means, for the road, it’s one of the road, it is food for the journey, provision for the journey, as these people spiritually journey into eternity. 
 
Now, that spiritual journey began with their Baptism, and continued when they received First Communion, and the grace of that Sacrament never stopped flowing, never stopped working, never stopped bringing them to Jesus throughout their whole life, it doesn’t even stop at that moment when they are about to die, and to move into eternity.  And that’s how I think we need to think about and understand the extent of Jesus’ love for each one of us.  What really matters is that Jesus comes to us as the Bread of Life, and down from heaven and He brings us to us, through all ways, through all channels throughout our life.  And a lot of that good work that you did with your children, maybe you’ll never see the results in your own lifetime, but it does bear fruit, because the grace of the Sacrament, the grace of Jesus, and the reality of Jesus in your life, it always brings rewards, reaps benefits, time after time again.
 
So please, don’t be hard on yourselves, be thankful to God that the faith which is stored in your hearts, you share with other people, and you continue to share with people.  Our mission is to bring people to Jesus, and you are doing that here, and you’ve done it, and you will continue to do so here, at the Church of the Holy Spirit.

​Happy Father’s Day, Dads!
 
I am the luckiest man in the world. I have a great wife, companion, and friend, and together we have three wonderful children who are now adults and married to great spouses. They have made their own families and given us eight incredibly special grandchildren.
 
I have found that being a father is many things: listener, helper, companion, talker, fixer, advisor, provider, supporter, and many other roles. Loving my children and them loving me is the best role of all. No matter what differences we might have from time to time, love always keeps us together. My wife and I and our children have built communities of families, neighbors, and church. I believe love extends to all peoples of the world and that includes understanding and respect.
 
I hold so many special memories, like seeing and holding my children as newborn babies and then watching them grow to adulthood. This is amazing, and the desire is always there to protect them and help them no matter what. Then comes the hardest part, however, which is letting go so they can live their own lives.
 
I have always said our grandchildren are very much alike, but each one is so different. It is 
always wonderful to see them when all of us are together for a family event. Being together with family gives me an immensely proud moment of being the father and grandfather. I am thankful to be part of our grandchildren’s lives and to have seen six of them so far grow into adulthood.
 
All this has given me a wonderful life. I am blessed and thankful.
 
Leon Blum

​In infant school, I remember drawing “The Ascension of Jesus”. 

I had him standing on a cloud and the cloud had wings. And Jesus was smiling. I suppose I could’ve put a sad face but I wasnt much of an artist then. And I am still not now.

It has always been a question for theologians and Christians in general as to how Jesus actually ascended to heaven. Did he go up  fast like a rocket? Or did he just drift away into the heavens? 

In the Orthodox Church one icon has Jesus sat on a cloud with his feet dangling over the edge like he was on a parade float.  The truth is, we dont know how. It is intentionally a mystery for all of us to ponder and to wonder and most importantly, to believe!  And what we believe is that He ascended to his Father because His job was complete and he chose to share his Ascension with us in order to once again, show us, the way! 

Where He ascends, we will too. He goes to the Father and so we will we. This is His promise. As the prayer puts it today, that we might be confident of following Him heavenward.

So remember, today, for us who believe in Jesus and who know Him and Love Him, the only way is UP!!!
Not DOWN!!

And it is a great grace for us have a God who cares so much for us that he wants to be sure we are going in the right direction.

So easily we get lost. We get lost in all the wrong things, we get lost in ourselves, we get lost in sin, we get lost in the world. 

This past year, there are many times when ive wondered if Im really going UP!  Coronavirus has been a real downer!  The pandemic has taken its toll on us all.  But through it all Jesus has been pointing us heavenwards and that is what we celebrate today.

So do not be discouraged, do not feel as though no one is looking out for you.  We are being sent into the world to bring Jesus to the world . 

Our reassurance that we are on the right path, are the signs Jesus mentions today:
We will drive out demons, speak new languages, pick up serpents with our hands, drink deadly things and lay hands on the sick and they will be cured if we are on the right path and going in the right direction, we can expect some, if not, all of that.

Do we not drive out demons when we repay a persons rudeness with a word of kindness?

Are we not learning to speak new languages as we grapple to make good use of social media? 

It’s a whole new way to communicate. For example, Facebook is useful but does it constitute communication?

Do we not pick up serpents with our hands as we learn to deal with each other? We are not always cuddly, are we?

And as for the deathly drink.... i don’t think it refers to the extra glass of wine we had last night.

We imbibe regularly, lots of harmful, negative vibes, opinions and much of it is lies. Stuff which is harmful.

But we are still here, and we are still standing and able to sing God’s praises today as we cast our sights heavenward. 

These signs tells us we are going in the right direction.

Just remember this: the only way is UP!  And we will be okay.

​Father Jeremy Thomas, Pastor

​Please keep all the food pantry volunteers and their families in your prayers.
 
Happy New Year 🎉📣.  I say this every year, but I cannot believe how fast 2020 has gone.  I've heard many people say that it went slow for them because of Covid, but not for me.  However, it has been quite a year.  Everyone is agreeing on that.
 
In December the food pantry was used 395 times assisting 1,517 individuals.  Yesterday we had only 15 families which is the lowest one day total.  Throughout the day about 32 volunteers were there at various times which means we outnumbered them by about 2 to 1.  The most frequent comment I heard was "there were 15 families that needed food, so we had to be there."
 
We distributed Christmas dinners to 97 families.
 
2020 Recap
Even with many food pantries having to close due to the many problems brought about by the pandemic, we didn't miss a beat.  We never had a lack of volunteers.  You made it possible with your dedication and concern for others.  We never had a lack of food or supplies.  The community stepped up with food and monetary donations. 
 
I cannot say enough good things about the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  They made sure that all the food pantries and soup kitchens had enough food to distribute by giving us everything at no cost since March plus giving us more food with our orders.  This will continue through June 30, 2021.  They also opened up popup food pantries in areas where there were not enough distribution sites due to the economic needs of low income areas.
 
Our food distribution system changed.  Instead of having people come into the food pantry, register, and take their cart to their car, we adopted a drive through system.  All the families had to do was pull up their cars, answer a few questions, get their car loaded by us and drive away.  We did that from March through September.  We were there in the cold and heat, rain or shine.   In October we again started the computer registrations in the church hospitality area, giving the family a ticket, and having them continue with the drive through method.  
 
The food pantry was used about 6,848 times in 2020 for an average of 571 times a month.  Things have settled down the past few months, so we have averaged about 392 times a month since October.  Our highest day was 254 families and our lowest was 15 (yesterday).
 
I try to keep track of the weight of our deliveries which includes food rescue, orders, USDA, etc. and what we get from our own pickups from Target and Aldi's.  I estimate we received about 596,000 pounds of food through our partnership with the Food Depository during 2020 for a cost of $353.00.
 
We are grateful to the Church of the Holy Spirit and the staff for their generosity to the food pantry.  They have allowed us to do whatever was needed to be done in the facility in order to assist our families.  Fr Jeremy even gives up his garage space on Thursdays, so we can use it during the deliveries and food pantry hours.

Thank you for all that you do 👼👼

LaVerne Horgan
Food Pantry Director

​Please keep all the food pantry volunteers in your thoughts and prayers.
 
The food pantry was used 146 times on December 3 and 113 times on December 10 for a total so far this month of 259.
 
December schedule
 
December 17     Food Rescue, delivery, CEDA
December 22     Distribute Christmas dinners
December 23     No prepacks
December 24     Closed
December 31     No deliveries, Food Depository closed, open at noon.
 
I went to Jewel on Monday to see if they had any idea of how many dinners we would be getting for Christmas distribution.  Unfortunately our contact, Jackie, is on vacation, so I'll try again this coming Monday.
 
We have been distributing vouchers for the Christmas dinners the past few weeks.  As we have done in the past, if the family received a Thanksgiving dinner, then we are not offering them a Christmas dinner.  This way we can help as many families as possible.  The total number of vouchers we distribute will depend on how many dinners we are scheduled to receive from Jewel.
 
We have been truly blessed with donations the past few weeks.  St. Hubert's had a Thanksgiving collection for their Sharing Parish.  Unfortunately they couldn't take most of it, so it was offered to us.  We picked up 5 vans of food from them.  Churchill Chiropractic's annual collection for us consisted of 3 vans of food.  We received a call from Schaumburg Township.  Roto Rooter had a collection which they couldn't take because they are renovating their food pantry area.  We picked up 4 vans of food from them.
 
All of this really helped with our staple items and allows us to keep giving the families a sufficient amount.
 
I didn't send out an update last week as there was not that much to report.  Unless there is a lot of new information, I probably won't send one out next week.  I'm telling you this because a few people commented on it.  I guess it's nice to be missed. 
 
Weather - we have also been blessed with good weather the past few Thursdays.  I'm sure that won't last.  We've talked a little about how we would handle the food distribution as the weather gets colder.  I know better than to tell the "guys" what to do.  We'll have to make that decision each week.  If it is too cold to continue with the outside distribution, we can have the carts ready by the food pantry door.  The family can bring their ticket there and we can bring the cart to the car for them or they can bring it themselves.  We can work it out when the time comes.
 
If I don't see you before then, I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas 🎅 and a blessed, happy New Year 🎉.  I really miss seeing those of you who have been unable to come to the food pantry at this time.   There is always next year.
 
With the COVID vaccine availability coming soon, there is more hope for the future.  I anticipate wearing a face mask for several more months and following safety guidelines during this time, but at least there is a potential end in sight.  
 
Thank you for all that you do 👼
 
LaVerne

What is it that you like best about Advent? It is not an easy question to answer because most of Advent these days becomes obscured by the early celebration of Christmas.

For example, when I was a child, we used to decorate for Christmas on December 24th. Nowadays we start decorating for Christmas in November and if we did as the stores want us to do, we would decorate for Christmas in September! So you see, Advent, that precious time when we look at our hearts and look for the coming Jesus, it gets lost in Early Christmas!

As a child, I loved Advent Calendars. We got to open a special little door each day that hid a picture of Jesus or the saints. My brothers and I would take it in turns.

This week, we light candle number two on our Advent Wreath, which is another way celebrate Advent but apart from those things, how do we celebrate Advent and what is it that we most like about it?
 
For me, it is the color green: evergreen. The fresh green of a wreath, evergreen plants, spruces and fir trees, all these colors point me to Jesus, who is ever-present, ever-true, and ever-loving. He is the permanent fixture in our world that is always changing.

These Advent colors point me to Him.
 
As you ponder Advent in the days to come, think about how any of what you are experiencing, points you to Jesus. A suggestion is to maybe look at the readings we use for Mass during this time. They are very rich and often poetic.

Another suggestion is to ask yourself about Hope: what do I hope for during these days? What do I yearn for? And what does Jesus say to me about all those things.

Remember, Advent lasts only four weeks, so you had better be quick to answer the question: what do I like best about Advent?

Advent is a time to examine your heart. Make sure you are ready for when Jesus comes!

​Father Jeremy Thomas, Pastor

​Please keep all the food pantry volunteers and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
 
On Thursday the food pantry was used by 83 families with 296 individuals.  That's a total of 278 families with 998 individuals so far in October.  This is the lowest weekly number since February - pre-pandemic.  However October does have 5 Thursdays, so we'll see what happens.  
 
We are continuing to get all the new families registered into the Link2Feed  (L2F) database plus all the families that were in L2F previously.  November and future months will be easier since many of the families will already have all their information entered.  I also think it doesn't seem as hectic doing the registrations because we are continuing to start at 1:00 pm.  We don't seem to have the big backup as we did when we started at 2:00 pm
 
CFAP - As far as I know, this is the last week we will receive the meat boxes.  We are scheduled to get 72 of them.
 
Starting this Thursday, October 22, we will pass out Thanksgiving vouchers to the families.  We plan to give out 120 based on the fact that Jewel gave us 100 dinners last year.  The vouchers will be given to families who have been using the food pantry - not first time users.
 
The food collection went very well yesterday.  We received about the same amount of donations as we did in September.  Thank you parishioners.  There were people outside taking the donations and some inside getting everything sorted.  A lot of the stuff will be put in the prepacks this week. Our next collection won't be until January because during November and December the parish gives to our sharing parish in the city, St. Francis of Assisi.
 
Inside/outside - When we first started talking about doing the registrations in the church, the people who have been loading the cars made the decision to continue doing this outside.  As the weather gets colder and more inclement, we can very easily change that procedure and also make the changes each week.  Now that we will no longer be getting the CFAP boxes the carts can be loaded inside the food pantry.  Then after the families register, we can tell them to go to the food pantry door to get their cart.  All they will have to do is just step inside.  The filled carts will be there.  We can still help them to their cars, but we will not have to stay out in the cold inbetween.  
 
Think about this.
 
Wednesday, October 21, will be the 16th anniversary of the food pantry.  Those of us who have been around from the early days never anticipated what we would become.  It has been a challenge but very satisfying and heartwarming to be able to assist so many people.  We are a unique group and I mean that in the nicest way.
 
Thank you for all that you do.  👼  Take care and be safe.
 
LaVerne
😘😷