Mon. March 28
8:00 Katherine McNichols
by the Geist Family
Tues. March 29
8:00 The Sick & Caregivers in the parish
Wed March 30
8:00 The Elderly of the Parish
Thur. March 31
8:00 Communion Service
Fri. April 1
8:00 The Elderly of the Parish

Sat. April 2
8:00 Purgatorial Society
5:30 Ann Gilbert
by Kathy & Bill O'Connor
Sun. April 3 Second Sunday of 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 26th and March 27th. The amount collected was $1,351.95. A special thanks to all who contributed to the Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund. This special collection totaled $833.50, including a special $300.00 contribution by Dell Computer Corporation.

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
Julius LoCicero
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
Karen Beenson

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
April 11 Parish Council Meeting (7 PM)
April 18 Women's Guild (7 PM)
April 26 SGM Players Game Night (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.

Fr. Joe

WOMEN'S GUILD
The Bake Sale was a huge success. The biggest "Thank you" ever to all who baked and / or made a purchase at the bake sale. We greatly appreciate the parish's support of the Women's Guild's events.

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.

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC
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.

SISTER OF PROVIDENCE
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., are planning a benefit fund-raising excursion on Lake Michigan May 21.
The journey on the Odyssey begins at 11 AM at Chicago's Navy Pier. The event will include a delicious meal, music, silent auction and a raffle for an Abusson rug, which retails for $5,600. The Odyssey will return to the dock by 1:45 PM.
Cost of the cruise is $65 per person, $10 of which is deductible.

The Sisters of Providence are also offering a Chicago-area retreat. Providence at the Heart of Our Lives is the focus for a spring retreat April 15-17 at the Warrenville Retreat Center in Warrenville, IL.
Sisters of Providence Mary Alice Zander and Susan Paweski will lead the retreat. The retreat commences with a social gathering at 7 PM Friday and culminates with brunch at 1 PM Sunday. Eucharistic Liturgy will be offered Sunday before brunch.
Cost is $200, which includes two nights' stay, the Friday social, five meals and all retreat materials.
For more information, contact Sr. Susan Paweski at (773) 463-2478 or at alumni@spmw.org.

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.

PRO-LIFE YOUTH RALLY
There will be a rally of interest to youth from the ages of seventh grade to college called the 1st Annual Notre Dame Pro-Life Youth Rally: Live It! It will take place on April 2 on the campus of Notre Dame, from 9:30 AM-6:00 PM, including Mass at 5:00 PM in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. We have two keynote speakers, food, music, sponsors from Indiana Right to Life, pregnancy centers, adoption services, etc. and a wonderful day planned for youth to celebrate chastity and the pro-life message.

CARDINAL'S SCHOOL FUND
Did you go to a Catholic school? Then don't forget the Cardinal's School fund, established to help archdiocesan schools face financial challenges.
The tax-deductible fund is seeking critical donations because increasing costs jeopardize the future of many Catholic schools. For more information, call (312) 752-5250 or visit www.archchicago.org.

WHAT'S YOUR CATHOLIC IQ?
The answers to last week's questions were: 1. c; 2. a; 3. c; 4. b; 5. a.
1. The standard Latin translation of the Bible is known as the (a) New American Bible; (b) Jerusalem Bible; (c) King James Bible; (d) Vulgate.
2. Denial of the existence of God is called (a) altruism; (b) atheism; (c) agnosticism; (d) pantheism.
3. In the past, the country from which the most cardinals were chosen was (a) Spain; (b)the United States; (c) France; (d) Italy.
4. The Aramaic word for "father" is (a) abba; (b) pater; (c) mater; (d)alleluia.
5. The feast the church observes on March 25th is (a) All Saints (b)the Ascension; (c)the Assumption; (d)the Annunciation of the Lord.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
In today's Gospel we hear about Mary Magdala running from the tomb to tell the disciples that the tomb is empty. We can picture the disciples reaching the tomb anxious and out of breath. What would they find? What would it mean? It was just too hard to believe that their friend, Jesus, who died such a horrible death was not in the tomb where His body had been placed. The disciples still did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead. Someday they would understand. In fact, they would understand and believe so strongly that they would devote the rest of their lives to preaching about Jesus of Nazareth who was raised from the dead.
Like Peter and the other disciple, we don't know everything there is to know about Scripture or our friend Jesus. On Easter Sunday we proclaim and celebrate our belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Proclaiming and celebrating faith, though, is something we do every day of the year. Every day is a day to grow in faith.

Dear God of Eternal Life,
Help us to pay special attention to your holy word in Scripture, especially in the stories we hear about your Son, Jesus. This is our faith. Amen.

HAPPY EASTER!