May 11, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

As of the time of me writing this letter, we still do not have a pope. I’d like to reflect a bit on our shepherd on this “Good Shepherd Sunday,” which is always the 4th Sunday of Easter.

There seems to be many opinions being offered these days about Francis’ papacy and what we need in our next Holy Father. This is a good thing. We should care and we should discuss it. You or I do not have a vote in the conclave, but we do have a “vote” with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is ultimately the one deciding this election. All of us have access to the Holy Spirit. So, I encourage you after you read an article or have a conversation with people about the state of the church, that you take it to prayer. Prayerfully reflect upon what you think the church needs and then don’t be afraid to ask the Holy Spirit for it.

That is the ultimate point I want to make in this letter. To repeat: care about the state of the church, be free to have an opinion on how you think it’s going, and pray for it.

Let me add something more, a little bit of my own editorial. I’ve heard from both “liberals” and “conservatives” on this issue, be it individuals or media outlets. It’s no shock that liberals very much supported Francis and hope his successor will continue in Francis’ direction. Conservatives have been more critical and hope the next pope offers a change. For Pope Benedict XVI, you could say it was the opposite: liberals opposed him, conservatives accepted him. I know this is a gross oversimplification, and the categories “liberal” and “conservative” aren’t ideal, but bear with me for the sake of my greater point.

Francis was our shepherd. His predecessor was our shepherd and his successor will be our shepherd. Jesus speaks of the sheep following the shepherd because they recognize the shepherd’s voice and trust him. If conservatives didn’t follow Francis and liberals didn’t follow Benedict, it was because they weren’t hearing his voice as a shepherd of Jesus Christ. They were hearing his voice as a shepherd of world peace or a traditional/progressive liturgy or a clean environment or a critique of secularism or a reformed Roman Curia or whatever. Not that the pope can’t or shouldn’t speak of those things, but as Catholics we love our shepherd because he speaks as Christ. If we find ourselves not listening to our shepherd and opposing him, it’s probably because we’re focusing on the wrong thing he’s saying. Christ is the ultimate point of unity, not those other things.

Francis had a deep love for Jesus and a unique intimacy with him. Read his homilies or his Wednesday audiences and you won’t doubt it. Francis knew Jesus and led us to him. As did Benedict and John Paul II. May our next Holy Father be a genuine shepherd who knows and loves our Lord, and may we follow him.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in our parish: mothers, grandmothers, single and married women who are spiritual mothers. You make our world and our church beautiful. As we did last year, I have invited a mother from our parish to give a reflection after communion at all the Masses this weekend. A special thank you to Christine, Kathy, Danielle, Margie, Maria, and Kristin for sharing their faith with us. We are proud of you and inspired by you.

We will have a Family Mass this Sunday, May 11th at 10:30am in the Holy Family Chapel. Next Sunday, May 18th will be our second Family Mass of the month and our last Family Mass of the season.

Congratulations again to the children who made their First Communion this past Saturday, May 10th. This was our second and final round of First Communions, with over 200 children receiving the sacrament. A special thank you to Anna Mae Parkhill for organizing the Masses, and to the 2nd grade teachers and catechists who have prepared our children for this wonderful moment.

We will have our school May Crowning this Wednesday, May 14th at 10am. We will hold a parish May Crowning in church following the 8:30 am Mass on Friday, May 16th.

I am pleased to announce we have hired our new principal for SPC School, Mr. Jim White. Please see inside the bulletin a letter I sent to school families last Friday. Dr. Erika Mickelburgh, our current school principal, will become the new principal of St. Viator High School. We are grateful to Dr. M’s seven years of service and wish her the best in her new endeavor. Please join me in welcoming and praying for Mr. White.

Our parish will be hosting a Young Adult Retreat this Saturday, May 17th in the Holy Family Chapel. Please spread the word and invite any young adults you may know. A special thank you to Beshar and Clare for organizing the retreat.

Finally, this is the last weekend our seminarian Deacon Lee Noel will be at the parish. Deacon Lee will head back to his home in Wyoming to be ordained a priest on Wednesday, May 28th. It has been a real privilege to have Lee with us these past four years, and this past year as a transitional deacon. Lee truly is blessed by our Lord and will be a great service to the church in Wyoming. We hope whenever Lee is back in Chicago he will stop by St. Paul of the Cross to see us and celebrate Mass.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace