Mon. March 21
8:00 Living & Deceased Members of the
Grimm & Tragnitz Families
by Lou & Shirley Grimm
Tues. March 22
8:00 The Sick & Caregivers in the parish
Wed March 23
8:00 The Elderly of the Parish
Thur. March 24 Holy Thursday
7 PM People of St. Gerard Majella
Fri. March 25 Good Friday
7 PM People of St. Gerard Majella
Sat. March 26 Easter Vigil
7 PM People of St. Gerard Majella
Sun. March 27 Easter
8:00 People of St. Gerard Majella
11:00 Ann Gilbert
by Fr. Bob Gilbert

THANK YOU
Thank you to all whom contributed to the collection on the weekend of March 12th and March 13th. The amount collected was $1,334.00.

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 20 Movie Afternoon "The Passion" (12:30 PM)
March 21 Women's Guild Meeting (7 PM)
April 11 Parish Council Meeting (7 PM)
April 18 Women's Guild (7 PM)

A LETTER FROM FR. JOE
After a long, cold winter we long for the mild, gentle breeze of spring to touch our world and breathe life into the dormant landscape that surrounds us. This is our hope so that we can shed our burdensome garments and witness the emerging signs of life in the nature around us. As we experience this return of the life of nature our outlook for the future can become more optimistic and we can become energized as we face each new day.

Just as are hopes are raised on the natural level by the approach of spring, Easter lifts our spirits and offers us the hope of a richer, more meaningful life in this world and everlasting happiness in the world to come. The Resurrection of Jesus demonstrates the power of righteousness over evil. His victory over death confirms the truth of His teachings as a message from God that we are all called to live by. Those of us who follow the words of Jesus in this life are given the promise of sharing in His Resurrection.

However, we must remember that the victory of the Resurrection is not won easily. It happens only after the Passion, Death, and Burial of Our Lord. If we wish to glory in Jesus' Resurrection, then we must also walk with Him through His suffering and death on the Cross. In this way we can better appreciate what it means to give ourselves to God and closely follow the teachings of Jesus throughout our lives.

I invite you, along with your family and friends, to join your fellow parishioners of St. Gerard Majella Parish as we take part in this year's Triduum and Easter celebrations. Be with us as we experience anew the Lord's Last Supper on Holy Thursday, walk along the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, be a witness of Jesus as He breaks the chains of death and burial and arises from the tomb at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, and celebrate the joy of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Last Supper --- March 24th at 7:00pm

Good Friday, Passion and Death of the Lord --- March 25th at 7:00pm

Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil --- March 26th at 7:00pm

Easter Sunday Mass --- March 27th at 8:00am and 11:00am

Also, Blessing of Easter Baskets on Holy Saturday, March 26th at 1:00pm

I hope to see you there.

Fr. Joe

WOMEN'S GUILD
The Women's Guild will be hosting their annual Palm Sunday Bake Sale at church this year. Please stop by the new social room (formerly the crying room) and purchase some of the ladies homemade goods.

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.

THANK YOU
Dear St. Gerard Majella Parishioners,
My family and I would like to express our gratitude and extend our thanks to everyone for their support during this sad time in our lives. We will miss Grandma greatly, but your prayers and Mass intentions help ease our sadness. We are so overwhelmed and amazed by the kindness and thoughtfulness given our family by the parishioners of St. Gerard Majella. As you keep us in your prayers know that you are also in our prayers.
God Bless You,
Fr. Bob Gilbert and Family

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.
We would like to renew our church's Resurrection Choir. After Easter we would like to hold a rehearsal for the "Resurrection Choir" on either a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. While we know it is difficult to add another commitment to your busy schedules, this is an important ministry to the parish family. Please consider joining this ministry and returning to this group if you have helped in the past.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Our sister church, Ascension/St. Susanna will be presenting the Living Stations of the Cross on March 18th at 7:00 PM. 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 hold our game night on April 26. If this date is not good for you, let us know.

HAPPY EASTER SEASON
The members of all the ministries here at St. Gerard Majella want to wish everyone a joyous Easter season. Now might be a good time to pledge to
take a more active role in the church family. There are a variety of clubs, organizations, and ministries that can use your time, talent, and treasure. Life is so much more rewarding when you are involved.

JOAN OF ARC
The Faith & Values Media's original docudrama, Joan of Arc: Child of War,
Soldier of God, will be presented on the Hallmark Channel Sunday, March 21st at 10:00 PM/9:00 PM CT.

WHAT'S YOUR CATHOLIC IQ?
The answers to last week's questions were: 1. c; 2. b; 3. a; 4. b; 5. a.
1. The parents of John the Baptist were Elizabeth and (a) Amos; (b) Peter; (c) Zechariah; (d) Zerubbabel.
2. The community of Jews described in the Dead Sea Scrolls is known as the (a) Essenes; (b) Sadducees; (c) Herodians; (d) Maccabees.
3. The Jewish feast that remembers Israel's release from slavery in Egypt is (a) Hanukkah; (b) the Feast of Booths; (c) Passover; (d) Yom Kippur.
4. Jesus said that the one to throw the first stone at the woman who had been caught in adultery should be (a) her partner in adultery; (b) the one without sin; (c) the chief priest; (d) the oldest rabbi present.
5. In the late 1900's a group of young people reported having visions of the Blessed Mother in (a) Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina; (b) Loudres, France; (c) Fatima, Portugal; (d) Knock, Ireland.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
Parades are fun and exciting. In today's Gospel we hear the reading from
the Gospel of Matthew as we process through the church. This reading is about Jesus entering Jerusalem. This marks the beginning of the week before His crucifixion and death. Crowds had gathered to welcome Him and cheer His coming. People were waving palm branches and celebrating.
This is our opportunity to reenact the glory of Jesus' entrance into the city. As we march around with our palm branches waving let our voices join with the voices of people all over the world and throughout the last 2000 years, proclaiming with joy: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"

Almighty God of all time and people,
The joy of your Son Jesus makes our lives full and happy. We welcome your Son; we praise your Son; we love your Son.
Amen.