Mon. March 7
8:00 Lorraine Jarvis
by Minister of Care
Tues. March 8
8:00 Mary Roach
by Bob & Marlene Gilbert
Wed March 9
8:00 Nikki Grimshaw
by Theresa Bauer
Thur. March 10
8:00 Communion Service
Fri. March 11
8:00 All the sick & their care givers
Sat. March 12
8:00 Purgatorial Society
5:30 Doris Boysen
by Norm & Rita Cole
Sun. March 13 Fifth Sunday of Lent
8:00 Doris Boysen
by Jean Insalaco
11:00 Ann Gilbert
by the SGM Players

THANK YOU
Thank you to all whom contributed to the collection on the weekend of Feb. 26th and Feb. 27th. The amount collected was $1,162.00.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK
Linda Jones
Ann Knight
Rita Schreiber
Lou Grimm
Corine Murphy
Ann Dytrych
Julie Laur
Adeline Deneen
Betty Nemecek
Helen Blaha
Betty Paschal
Ann Mysliwiec
Lottie Fik
Osie Dompier
Eileen Desidero
Bernadine Smith
Tess O'Hern
Clara Migas
Eugene Orris
Margaret Lee
Roselee Gacke
Brittany Dubs
Lillian Coughlin
Dorothy Loeffler
C. Campbell
Jorge Rodriguez
Shaun Deneen
E. Thielmann
Della Herrod
Marge Straub
Julius LoCicero

Anyone who is ill in our parish and would like to receive Holy Communion; call (708) 331-8400. If you can be removed from the sick list at this time, please call the parish office.

DATES TO REMEMBER
March 7 Parish council Meeting (7 PM)
March 20 Movie Afternoon "The Passion" (12:30 PM)
March 21 Women's Guild Meeting (7 PM)

EASTER FLOWERS
We will once again be decorating our church with beautiful Easter flowers. Please be as generous as you can in the Easter flower envelope. As with all things, the cost of decorating the church has also increased. Thanks to several parishioners donating their time and talents, we will have new Easter banners this year. If you would be interested in designing, cutting out or sewing new banners to be used at various times of the year, please let the parish office know. This is a way to help your church when you have limited time.

WOMEN'S GUILD
The Guild would like to thank everyone for their help and support at the Valentine's Day Luncheon. You all did an outstanding job. All the food was delicious. We could tell it was prepared with time and love. The Guild netted a profit of $658.00.
We want to thank our friends at the Lutheran church for their support by inviting you to attend their luncheon on March 10th from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Tickets will be $5.00 for seniors, $6.00 fro adults, $2.59 for children 4 to 12 and children under 3 free. For more information or tickets call (708) 331-4885.
On March 12th and 13th the Guild will be taking donations for the USO. These donations are our way of sharing and showing we care for the men and women in the service of our country. The money is used to brighten their lives especially those stationed such a long way from home and loved ones.

POP TABS
The Guild is still collecting pop tabs. The money collected from the recycling of these goes to help support Ronald MacDonald House.

ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS
For those who purchased an Entertainment book, now is the time to look through the book again. Start using some of those coupons you were saving or forgot about. When planning your vacations see how many coupons you can use to save money on your trip.

MISERICORDIA CANDY DAYS
Misericordia is looking for volunteers to help with their "candy days" sale on April 29th & 30th, 2005. In 2005, Misericordia must raise almost $10 million for program costs not covered by the government.
For more information call (773) 273-2768 or visit www.misericordia.org.

KEEPING IN TOUCH
Two members of our parish have moved away to live with family members. They would love to hear from their St. Gerard Family. If you have a chance, please send a note to Rosalee Gacke at 754 Savannah Lane Crystal Lake, IL. 60014 and Lil Coughlin at 12805 Silver Creek Austin, Texas 78727. You will brighten their day.

MOVIE DAY
The SGM Players will be showing the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion" in Shevlin Hall on March 20th at 12:30 PM. We had to change the date because of the availability of the equipment we use to show the film. This depiction of the last days of Christ is graphic in nature and viewer discretion is recommended. During Lent we are compelled to think about what Jesus did for us. The club chose a Sunday afternoon for this viewing to better accommodate the parishioners attending St. Gerard Majella Church. Bring a comfortable chair and invite others to see this stirring film with you.

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC
The Easter Choir has begun rehearsing on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. We hope that many parishioners will join us in this ministry.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Our sister church, Ascension/St. Susanna will be presenting the Living Stations of the Cross on March 18th. Those that attended this event last year found it to be a moving experience.

GAME NIGHT
The SGM Players are interested in hosting a "game night" at St. Gerard. It would be open to anyone. You bring the game you want to play and hopefully some friends to play it with you. It doesn't cost anything, but it would be nice if you brought a treat to share. We already have yahtzee, cards, dice, dominos, and scrabble.
If you are interested, let Linda or Eric know. That way there will be enough tables and chairs set up. We will pick a date sometime in March after we find out which date is better for the most people.

PRESCRIPTION ASSISTANCE
A new resource has been developed to help lower - income Illinois residents access programs that provide free or discounted prescription drugs. Rx for Illinois features a Web site and a toll - free phone number, through which Illinois patients and their families can quickly find out which patient assistance programs they qualify for and how to apply for them.
The web address is www.RxforIllinois.org and the toll - free number is (877) RX-FOR-IL or (877) 793-6745.

CONGRATULATIONS
We want to say congratulations to our parish family members who agreed to share their time and talents by training to be a reader or an Eucharistic Minister. Our new readers are Alex Roskos, Eric Hawrysz, and Bernard Eagle. Our new Eucharistic Ministers are Drew Roskos, Shirley Roskos, Eric Hawrysz, and Linda Thusing.
If you are interested in joining one of these ministries please let Fr. Bob or Linda Thusing know. We can always use more ministers.

REPAIRS HAVE BEGUN
The repairs to the front wall of the church are expected to be completed before Easter. It will be nice not to see the plaster falling away from the wall. It has taken awhile to get all of the vendors on the same schedule so that this task could be done. Pray for no more leaky roofs.

TAIZE PRAYER
We gather to pray for an end to world hunger through chant, scripture and silence. Join us at St. Michael Church on Sunday, March 13, 2005 at 7:30 PM. The address is 14327 Highland Ave., Orland Park.

WHAT'S YOUR CATHOLIC IQ?
1. The two Old Testament figures who appeared with Our Lord at the Transfiguration were (a) Moses and Elijah; (b) Abraham and Isaac; (c) Ruth and Boaz; (d) Peter and Paul.
2. The first Christian writer who urged the abolishment of slavery was (a) St. Paul; (b) St. John of the Cross; (c) St. Patrick; (d) St. Therese the Little Flower.
3. The Jewish leader who offered his own tomb for the burial of Jesus was (a) Pontius Pilate; (b) Caiaphas; (c) Herod Antipas; (d) Joseph of Arimathea.
4. The symbolic action ritually observed by Catholics only on Holy Thursday is (a) the washing of feet; (b) confirmation; (c) extreme unction; (d) Stations of the Cross.
5. The term for a person who might likely be elected pope is (a) papal nuncio; (b) papabile; (c) popemobile; (d) paraclete.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
The Gospel story for this weekend is about Jesus giving sight to a man who has been blind his entire life. This inspiring story talks about courage, and faith. It is the kind of dramatic tale that inspires us to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus. The man receives the healing power of Jesus. After which he remains faithful always to the new life he is granted through the gift of his sight.
We need to respond to the gift of "sight" God has given us. We must use our beliefs and faith to see the world and people around us. We must look at the world with our mind's eye and our heart. There is an old adage that says, "We walk by faith and not by sight". For our journey through these forty days of Lent, let the man born blind be our model of faith, and the words of the song "We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight" express our commitment to Jesus, whom we do not see yet know He is near.

Dear God of Wonder,
Your Son Jesus Christ came to bring the good news of healing and peace to the world. Increase our faith every day so that, as disciples of your Son, we might bring others to greater faith.
Amen.