Padre’s Points to Ponder – 9/5/25 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m currently, at the time of this writing, at Mundelein Seminary outside of Chicago for the next installment of a Certificate Program in Pastoral Supervision for the Synthesis Stage of Priestly Formation, or, as I am wont to call it, “Synthesizer Training.”  No keytars … Continued

Sacred Silence Be on the lookout for ways our three enemies–the spirit of the world, the weakness of the flesh, and the devil– try to urge us away from silence.  These spirits know that when we are silent, we encounter the living God.  St. Augustine said it best in his Confessions: “Late have I loved … Continued

Reverence at Mass, Especially in the Gym Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This past week, there were two occasions that hit my “pastor heart,” both on the theme of reverence at Mass, and since we are now in a gym, a less-than-sacred location, for our celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it … Continued

Padre’s Points to Ponder 8/15/25 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, A big announcement coming your way…starting this coming Tuesday, August 19, we will begin a multi-week ceiling cleaning and restoration project in the church that will cause significant disruption to our parish life. Just like we needed to do in the Social Hall, the … Continued

Padre’s Points to Ponder – 8/8/25 You may have noticed over the past several weeks that our liturgies have begun with the inclusion of something new (truth be told, something ancient, but perhaps new to many of our parishioners): a short, reverent chant or spoken line of Scripture known as the Entrance Antiphon. Similarly, at Communion … Continued

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Every one of us has a birthday, a day we celebrate the gift of our earthly life. But as Christians, we also have a spiritual birthday, the day of our Baptism, when we were born again by water and the Spirit (John 3:5). Whether we were baptized as infants … Continued

I am Fr. Anthony Baffour Awuah from Ghana, west of Africa. I was ordained a Catholic priest on December 7th, 2002, and I had my first Mass on December 8th, 2002, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. I am a diocesan priest incardinated into the Diocese of Obuasi in Ghana, but currently serving in the Archdiocese … Continued

The Sacramentality of the Dinner Table In our fast-paced world, family dinner can feel like a luxury, something squeezed in between work, practices, meetings, and homework. But what if we were to see the dinner table as one of the most sacred spaces in our homes? The Church teaches us to see the world sacramentally, … Continued

Christ the Good Shepherd Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, This Sunday, the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, the Church Universal celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, a powerful reminder that we are not alone in this journey of life and faith. Jesus proclaims in the Gospel of John, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know … Continued

Padre’s Points to Ponder – April 4, 2025 Dear All Saints brothers and sisters, As of this Sunday, Passiontide has begun. We are well past the halfway mark of our Lenten journey, and things are getting serious as we draw ever closer to the celebration of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. First, what is … Continued

Illuminating Worship Dear All Saints Parish Family, With the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord now behind us, we 100% conclude our Christmas festivities.  But while the trees and lights have come down, I’m very excited to share with you that new altar candles and communion kneelers have arrived, and are being put to … Continued

Pilgrims of Hope: The 2025 Jubilee Year Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As we step into 2025, we are blessed to celebrate a Jubilee Year, a sacred time in the life of the Church that invites us to deepen our faith, experience God’s mercy, and renew our commitment to living as disciples of Jesus … Continued

Sunday of the Word of God Dear All Saints Parish Family, This weekend, we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God, a special observance instituted by Pope Francis in 2019 through his Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis. This celebration, held annually on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, emphasizes the importance of the Bible in … Continued

God’s Children are not for Sale Dear All Saints Parish Family, In this month of January, we are called to reflect on a sobering but urgent issue: human trafficking. Designated as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, this time beckons us to be reawakened to the great evil of the countless lives exploited through modern slavery. … Continued

Baptism of the Lord (Jan 10) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  One last time. Christ is born for us, and He makes all things new.  May these last days of the liturgical Christmas season continue to flood you with holy joy. This weekend is the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.  Our Lord was baptized by John not … Continued

New Year, New You?  HE Makes All Things New Dear All Saints Parish Family, First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS!  That’s right, it’s still Christmas, and what a glorious time it is.  The Christmas decorations will stay up in the church through the whole of Christmastide, which ends with the Feast of the Presentation of the … Continued

O Come, Let Us Adore Him Dear All Saints Parish Family, Adeste Fidelis ranks up there for me with O Holy Night as a favorite Christmas hymn.  The refrain of Venite adoremus…O come let us adore Him…gets me every time! A few years ago, I had the privilege of being the spiritual director of a … Continued

Christmas Chaos Dear All Saints Parish Family, Are you experiencing any form of Christmas Chaos?  Things like family plans not coming together as you’d like, a sense of unpreparedness, loneliness, frustration that the year hasn’t gone like you thought it would, or even disappointment that your high hopes for Advent being more fruitful or meaningful … Continued

Rejoice, Y’all! Dear All Saints Parish Family, This third Sunday of the holy Advent season is called Gaudete Sunday, a title it gets from the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete!  It’s the Latin (which is still the official language of the Church) of Philippians 4:4 which reads: “Rejoice, … Continued

I have some incredible news to share with you…but before we get there, a couple of end of year (or liturgical beginning of year) reminders: And now for the pièce de résistance. When the cellphone tower was constructed here on our property, an electronic bell system was included, giving the parish the ability to announce … Continued