February 1, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

Those of you faithful readers of this weekly letter are familiar with me asking “what’s your favorite this or that?” (and then inviting you to let me know what it is). My creativity is waning these days, so I’ll ask another question in the same vein: what is your favorite and least favorite Beatitude?

I know, this is not as fun as “what is your favorite movie?” But stay with me if you will. Here are the Beatitudes in case you forgot:

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Blessed are they who mourn.

Blessed are the meek.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Blessed are the merciful.

Blessed are the clean of heart.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Allow me to give you my answers. That might help stir some reflection in you.

But first, let me give a quick preamble as I am wont to do. Both my favorite and least favorite Beatitudes are ones I do not feel I possess, or ones that don’t come naturally to me. This is why they are my most favorite (I aspire to it) and my least favorite (I struggle with it).

Let me start with my least favorite. It’s the last Beatitude: Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. If you had asked me fifteen years ago when I was in seminary and yet to be ordained a priest, I would not have chosen this Beatitude. As a passionate and zealous disciple, I wanted to be persecuted for Christ’s sake. I loved Jesus and would die for him. If anything this would have been my favorite Beatitude.

Not that I don’t love Jesus anymore and still wouldn’t die for him (I would), but insults, persecutions, and utterances of evil come in different forms than I realized. The naive zealous Christian, when contemplating martyrdom, imagines they’ll be martyred by the God-hater. Think of the ancient Romans or the Nazis or Communists who killed Christians. It’s almost easy to be persecuted by them. They are clearly the enemy and the “because of me” part in this instance is not very nuanced.

But that is not how we face insults and persecutions in our everyday life. We don’t have an atheist with a gun to our head telling us to apostatize or die. No, the insults and attacks we face are much more subtle. And they often come from Christians themselves. I think, for example, of all the Catholics who attacked Pope Francis during his life or who attack Cardinal Cupich or any other public figure in the Church, not necessarily a clergyman. These public figures in the Church are men and women who are close to God and discerning God’s will. Others don’t see that–they think what God is saying to them is the only authentic voice of Jesus–and so they utter evil against others.

I don’t like this Beatitude because I don’t want to be insulted and misunderstood. I can’t imagine too many people want to either. And yet, this is the invitation, for God has something specifically to speak to me (which you might not like). He has something to speak to you (which I might not like). The fascinating thing? What God is speaking to me is actually not meant for me but is really meant for you who don’t want to hear it. What God is speaking to you is actually really meant not for you but meant for me who don’t want to hear it. In other words, God speaks to us through the words of others, and usually the words that are most challenging. Not a fun Beatitude, but so good nonetheless.

And my favorite Beatitude? Blessed are the meek. Again, I don’t feel like I do meekness well. I wasn’t raised in an environment where meekness was exalted. It was always about doing something to make a name for yourself: do the best in school, do the best in sports, get into the best college, have the most popular group of friends, make the most money, have an opinion. It wasn’t my family necessarily saying this, but the society around me. I can see this assertiveness trickling over into the spiritual life: have the most consoling prayer every time, preach the best homily, be the most dynamic and savvy priest, etc.

To be meek is not to strive for mediocrity. To be meek is to accept yourself, love God in your way, and not strive, first and foremost, to make a name for yourself. We don’t look to make an impact. If we make an impact, it happens without us even knowing it. And, even then, we don’t care that we made an impact.

Jesus says “the meek shall inherit the earth.” I guess I do want to inherit the earth. Not the earth as it looks now, but an earth full of fellow pilgrims where I won’t be the only heir.

As I conclude this reflection, I realize, actually, that it’s all of the Beatitudes that I like and dislike. There’s something to say about each one. Perhaps why this is the greatest sermon ever given.

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We will be hosting this Saturday, January 31st in the Holy Family Chapel a Young Adult Retreat focused on the Mass. We had a great turnout at our Young Adult Word on the Street a few weeks ago–thank you to Beshar and the young adults for their ministry.

There will be a Word on the Street this Wednesday, February 4th at 7:30pm at the Harp and Fiddle in Park Ridge. We are excited to welcome back Fr. Victor Ingalls and Fr. Pat Arensberg from Mobile, Alabama. They will be present at the Word on the Street as well as Masses next weekend, February 7-8, for the Lenten Almsgiving Appeal. Thank you for your warm welcome and support.

The SPC Men’s Club is holding their annual Bocce Tournament on Friday, February 6th starting at 4pm at the Mezzini-Verdi Club.

Next Saturday, February 7th will be the Sacrament of Confirmation for our 8th graders. We welcome Bishop John Siemianowski, the auxiliary bishop of Vicariate II, who will be celebrating the two Confirmation Masses. Congratulations to the Confirmandi and their sponsors and families. Thank you also to the catechists and teachers for preparing our students, and a special thank you as well to Anna Mae Parkhill for organizing the liturgy.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace