Sat. May 13
8:00 Lillian Coughlin
by Fred & Jean Willey
5:30 Lou Grimm
by Mr. & Mrs. Rick Spoo & Richie
Sun. May 14 Fifth Sunday of Easter
8:00 All Mothers, Grandmothers, &
Godmothers
11:00 All Mothers, Grandmothers, &
Godmothers

THANK YOU
Thank you to all whom contributed to the collection on the weekend of April 30th and May 1st. The weekly amount collected was $1,101.75.

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
Judy Jones

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
May 7 May Crowning (10:45 AM)
May 7 First Communion (11 AM)
May 13/14 Annual Flower Sale
May 15 Women's Guild Meeting (7 PM)
May 21 Dinner in honor of Fr. Altman (1 PM)

PARISH COUNCIL
The wrong date was put in the bulletin last week. The meeting was for May 1st. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We will see everyone at the meeting in September.
If you would like the minutes from the meeting, please call Linda at the parish office.
Please have a great summer.

CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Patricia Smith on achieving the Honor Roll at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School during the third quarter of the 2005-2006 school year.
It is always a pleasure to recognize the achievements of one of our parish family, especially our teenagers.

WOMEN'S CENTER NEWS
During the month of May we remember our blessed Mother, Mary, and our own mothers in a special way. We ask your help for the pregnant mothers who come to us for assistance.
Each year our counselors help approximately 5,000 women and their families. If you have a heart for helping us save babies and their mothers, call Katie at (773) 794-8807 for information about counselor volunteer training sessions.
We always need new or gently used baby items and clothes. Toiletry items for use by an entire family would also be greatly appreciated. Please call (773) 794-1313 for our address where these items can be dropped off. We can provide tax receipts for all donated items. It would be a great help if you could deliver these items to us, otherwise please call (773) 794-1313 to have a volunteer pick them up.
We have offices in Chicago, Evergreen Park and Des Plaines.

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.

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.

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.

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. (c); 2. (b); 3. (a); 4. (b); 5. (c).

This week's questions are:
1. The doctrine that refers to the unbroken continuity between present-day bishops and the Apostles of Jesus is known as (a) apostolic succession; (b) the Apostles' Creed; (c) the apostolate of prayer; (d) an apostolic delegate.
2. Of the following, the one that is not a name or title of Jesus in the New Testament is (a) Son of David; (b) Son of Man; (c) Emmanuel; (d) Son of Naphtali.
3. Ancient underground Christian cemeteries are known as (a) catacombs; (b) catafalques; (c) catechesis; (d) cenacles.
4. Thomas Merton's autobiography is titled (a) The Seven Storey Mountain; (b) The Three Faces of Eve; (c) Six Steps to Success; (d) The Ten Commandments.
5. In the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII of England broke with the pope, Clement VII, because of (a) a war; (b) a divorce; (c) a land dispute; (d) doctrinal differences.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
We gather together on this fourth Sunday of Easter to be cared for by the Lord, our Good Shepherd. "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me." Jesus knows us; He is the Son of God, the Father Almighty, who created us. Jesus knows our minds and hearts, and He loves us. He laid down His life that we might have eternal life.
When we are lost, this Good Shepherd seeks us out. When we listen to those who draw us away from the Lord, this Good Shepherd constantly calls our names. He is constantly calling us back into the flock.
How have we come to know our God? We listen to His teachings when we attend Mass and hear the readings from the Scripture. We attend religious education classes. We can learn from the examples of the lives led by the Saints. We know Jesus in people around us who live their faith in what they do every day. We know Jesus in the Eucharist, when He comes to us in His body and blood and we are sent forth in His name to love and serve one another. During this season of Easter, our joy is great because Jesus lives - and we know Him!

O God, your Son bids us to follow the path that leads to You. Grant these
prayers in your kindness and mercy. We ask this in the name of Christ your
Son, the Good Shepherd, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen!