Sat. May 6
8:00 Purgatorial Society
5:30 Bob Mensching
by Joanne Mensching & Family
Sun. May 7 Fourth Sunday of Easter
8:00 Children of St. Gerard Majella
11:00 Joan Roskos
by Hallie D'Amore

THANK YOU
Thank you to all whom contributed to the collection on the weekend of April 22nd and 23rd. The weekly amount collected was $1,060.57.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK
Jack Seniw
Ann Knight
Rita Schreiber
Len Murphy
Corine Murphy
Ann Dytrych
Bill O'Connor
Adeline Deneen
Betty Nemecek
Helen Blaha
Betty Paschal
Ann Mysliwiec
Linda Jones
Osie Dompier
Eileen Desidero
Bernadine Smith
Chloe Ochoa
Terry El
Eugene Orris
Margaret Lee
Marie Craig
Brittany Dubs
Mr. Graves
Dorothy Loeffler
C. Campbell
Marge Straub
Shaun Deneen
E. Thielmann
Della Herrod
Sandra Thomas
Virgil Barron
Dorothy Barron
Toni Velez
Loretta & John
Szewczyowski
Jackie Weirbicki

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

DATES TO REMEMBER
Apr. 30 First Communion Parents' Meeting (9:30)
Apr. 30 Women's Guild Luncheon (12:30)
May 7 May Crowning (10:45 AM)
May 7 First Communion (11 AM)
May 8 Parish Council Meeting (7 PM)
May 13/14 Annual Flower Sale
May 15 Women's Guild Meeting (7 PM)
May 21 Dinner in honor of Fr. Altman (1 PM)

WOMEN'S GUILD MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Once again it is time to invite all women of St. Gerard Majella Parish to join the Women's Guild. Our meetings are only one hour each month. Dues are $5.00 for the year. A real bargain! Envelopes will be in the back of the church. They can be dropped in the weekly collection basket at each Mass. We have a wonderful and dedicated group of ladies. They help at all the parish functions and events. It is through their help and hopefully your help in the future that we will continue to have such a vibrant and devoted group to aid our church.
If you have questions please call Shirley Roskos at (708) 560-0071.

WOMEN'S GUILD NEWS
The newly elected officers for the Women's Guild are Shirley Roskos (President), Sue Klaus (Vice President), Betty Paschal (Treasurer), Linda Thusing (Secretary), Sr. Catherine (Recording Secretary), and Fran Jurek (Membership Chairman). Congratulations to all of you and a huge thank you to all of last year's officers. This organization does many wonderful things for our parish and we are extremely appreciative of all their efforts and support. The installation of officers will take place at the 11:00 Mass on April 30th. This will be followed by a dinner at the Northwoods Restaurant in Homewood.

RESURRECTION CHOIR
The Resurrection choir will hold a practice on Tuesday, May 2nd at 1:00 PM in the church. We would appreciate everyone attending. We have heard many nice comments from grieving families about how nice it was to have a choir sing at these services.

A MASS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL
A Mass for persons with mental illnesses and their families will be celebrated on Saturday, May 13, at 11:30 AM at Queen of All Saints Basilica, 6280 N. Sauganash Ave., Chicago. The Mass will be offered in honor of St. Dymphna, the patron saint of persons with mental illness. Please join in this liturgy if you have a mental illness, support a mentally ill family member or wish to pray for the recovery of mentally ill persons. For more information, call Jim or Shirley Weber of the St. Dymphna Society at (773) 777-6022.

MORE GOOD NEWS
St. Gerard Majella Church's favorite alderman, Gerry Dudeck, has worked her magic and gotten the City of Markham Water Department to resolve our plumbing issues at Shevlin Hall. Many laborious hours outside (including a swift clean-up) resulted in "happy plumbing" for us. Thank you, Gerry and all who contributed their time and effort in solving this problem.

FR. JOE'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 21st at 1:00 PM. We will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Fr. Altman's ordination as a priest. There will be an afternoon of great food, friendship and fun. The festivities will be held at the Orland Chateau located at 145 LaGrange Road in Orland Park.
Please join Fr. Joe, his family and friends from Ascension / St. Susanna, St. Daniel the Prophet, St. Julianna, and St. Gerard Majella in celebrating this milestone in our pastor's life.
To reserve your seat, please call the parish office any weekday afternoon. Reservations must be made and paid for by May 7th. The cost of the event is $50.00 per person. The cost of the tickets will cover the meal and a special remembrance for Fr. Altman.
This would be a lovely opportunity to show our pastor how much we appreciate all that he does for us.
There will also be a card in the back of the church in the coming weeks for everyone to sign and write messages on.

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY
The Easter season continues with the celebration of Good Shepherd Sunday on May 7th. It is World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The world-wide Church invites us to honor all Christian vocations. We are called to be united as one flock under the guidance of our one shepherd, Jesus. By our baptism we are called, chosen, and sent to carry on the mission of Jesus.

MEMORIAL DAY MASS
The Church will be celebrating the annual Memorial Day Mass in Catholic cemeteries on Monday, May 29, 2006. You are invited to attend one of these special Field Mass Programs. The programs are scheduled for 10:00 AM in most cemeteries with the Mass beginning at 10:30 AM. You can call the parish office for a list of cemeteries participating in this program.

ST. STANISLAUS CELEBRATION
St. Stanislaus parish in Posen is trying to locate all former parishioners, alumni, friends, and staff members for a celebration of "113 years of educational ministry" on May 13, 2006. For more information call (708) 388-9211.

WHAT'S YOUR CATHOLIC IQ?
The answers to last week's questions are: 1. (d); 2. (a); 3. (d); 4. (a); 5. (b).
This week's questions are:
1. The dogma that Mary was taken into heaven, body and soul, is called the (a) Visitation; (b) Annunciation; (c) Assumption; (d) Immaculate Conception.
2. Smoke rising from burning incense, especially at the Liturgy of the Hours, is a symbol of (a) baptism; (b) prayer rising to God; (c) Diversity; (d) justice.
3. "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" were Jesus' words to (a) Peter; (b) Paul; (c) Thomas; (d) Hedwig.
4. Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit those in prison, and bury the dead are known as the (a) Spiritual Works of Mercy; (b) Corporal Works of Mercy; (c) Marks of the Church; (d) Ten Commandments.
5. "Alleluia" is a Hebrew word meaning (a) Come, Lord Jesus"; (b) Thanks be to God"; (c) "Praise the Lord"; (d) "So be it".

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
As we gather at Mass, we pray that the face of the Lord will shine upon us. Like the disciples walking to Emmaus, we long to hear the scriptures interpreted for us. We long to know the very presence of the Lord in our lives. Jesus is in our midst every minute of every day. He is in the loving touch of those who care for us. He is in us in every generous and kind thing we do. He is with us in prayer. And especially, he is fully with us in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. In today's Gospel the Lord helps the disciples understand the scriptures, of which he is the fulfillment. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sent the Lord Jesus, the holy offspring, to this world to wipe away our sins. Let us be attentive to God's saving word and pray that we will be witnesses to the power of the death and resurrection of Christ.
O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
open our minds to understand the scriptures.
Hear the prayers we voice for those in need
and keep us always in your care.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.