Events Around the Parish
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Perpetual Profession of Vows Mass for The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist invite you to join them for the Perpetual Profession of Vows Mass.
Perpetual Profession of Vows Mass
Sisters' Final Vows are happening again this year in Ann Harbor, MI. It is a truly beautiful event to see so many young women give their lives totally to Jesus Christ. Last year St. Jude had the largest showing of any parish or group. Of the 800 people present, 100 of them were from St. Jude! Please join us again this year. See the website listed below for all the necessary information including registration.
After the Mass, please share any pictures you have - we'll put them on our website.
Date: July 25, 2017
Time: 10:00am (eastern time)
Location: Christ the King Catholic Church
4000 Ave Maria Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Get Directions
Click here for event details and to register.
To learn more about the The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, visit their website. It's got great information including a page to meet them and see all the Missions they are involved in.
Part 3 with Nic Wilson
The most important, and the most challenging, thing I have learned in seminary is that truly loving Jesus, committing to knowing Him personally through daily prayer and good works, changes everything. It gives life to study, prayer, and service. It provides the strength and motivation necessary to overcome hardship.
Nic Wilson
This is part 3 of a 4 part series where we asked seminarian Nic Wilson (from St. Jude) about hearing the call of God and his path to priesthood.
If you missed the first or second post, you can go back and read it here.
This post talks about the freedom of truly giving yourself to God.
What is the most important or challenging thing you have learned in seminary?
The most important, and the most challenging, thing I have learned in seminary is that truly loving Jesus, committing to knowing Him personally through daily prayer and good works, changes everything. It gives life to study, prayer, and service. It provides the strength and motivation necessary to overcome hardship. It is the decisive element in the discernment of a vocation because vocation is above all a call for a specific work, and you can only hear the call if you are in a relationship with the caller. It is the most challenging because it demands that you let go of an identity that you create, your “false self,” in order to be who you truly are, a beloved son of a loving Father.
The idea of “freedom” as doing whatever you what and the feeling of comfort that might come from being good at a sport, or academics, or well-liked, must fade in the light of constant conversion, in the process of being conformed to Christ. Yet you find that that “freedom” and comfort was really nothing but dust, and I found that a great gift of seminary formation is the freedom to use the gifts that God has given to me in order to be the man, the seminarian, and one day, God willing, the priest that God wants me to be.
We'll be back next week with our fourth (and final) note from Nic Wilson.
Add the New St. Jude Calendar
St. Jude Catholic Church has a new online calendar on our website. The best part is your can also download a copy of the calendar to your favorite app via a .ics file, or if you're a Gmail user you can add the calendar to your profile and view it right next to your personal calendars.
Feeling in the dark about what's happening? St. Jude has a new online calendar.
St. Jude Catholic Church has a new online calendar on our website. The best part is your can also download a copy of the calendar to your favorite app via a .ics file, or if you're a Gmail user you can add the calendar to your profile and view it right next to your personal calendars.
There are simple instructions to download the .ics file or add the calendar to your Gmail account. Check out the calendar page for details.
Below you'll see what things will look like on an iPhone if you're a Gmail user and add this calendar. You can turn the parish calendar "on" or "off" as needed and view it next to your personal calendars also.
Part 2 with Nic Wilson
The process to become a priest depends on whether you enter seminary immediately after high school or after earning a bachelor’s degree. I entered immediately after high school, so I went to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, a college seminary in Winona, MN....
Nic Wilson
This is part 2 of a 4 part series where we asked seminarian Nic Wilson (from St. Jude) about hearing the call of God and his path to priesthood.
If you missed the first post, you can go back and read it here.
After prayer / discernment, what is the process to become a priest? (i.e. what type of school, what type of classes, what happens after seminary?)
The process to become a priest depends on whether you enter seminary immediately after high school or after earning a bachelor’s degree. I entered immediately after high school, so I went to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, a college seminary in Winona, MN. At college seminary, a seminarian studies philosophy for four years. My academic classes were held at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, the university adjacent to the seminary. The seminarians all live and pray at the seminary, and the priests on the seminary faculty help seminarians develop in virtue and manners, commitment to prayer, and service to the community.
The other track, for those seminarians who already have bachelor’s degrees, is called pre-theology. Typically, a pre-theology program is connected to a major seminary. Pre-theologians study philosophy as well, but it is condensed into a two year period.
After completing pre-theology or college seminary, a seminarian goes on to major seminary. College seminary forms the man, and major seminary forms the priest. Thus, seminarians in theology school earn Master’s of Divinity degrees. Formation, while building on the lessons and habits fostered focuses more on the practical aspects of priestly life - giving homilies, celebrating sacraments, and offering pastoral guidance.
After three years of major seminary, the seminarian is ordained to the transitional diaconate. He is a deacon for his final year of major seminary, after which he is ordained a priest. From there, the bishop decides where to best send the newly ordained. He will spend a few years with an experienced pastor as he grows into priestly life.
CHECK BACK IN ABOUT A WEEK AS WE HEAR MORE FROM NIC IN POST 3 OF 4!
Corpus Christi Procession
Join for a Peoria area Corpus Christi Procession. It will be a wonderful event.
Corpus Christi Sunday
June 18, Corpus Christi Sunday, the Diocese of Peoria is hosting a Corpus Christi procession at the OSF Sisters Motherhouse at 2:00pm. See the attached flyer that has all the details.
Please note that all Altar Servers are welcome to vest and process, also all First Communicants are asked to dress in the suit or dress and process. It would be great to have a large showing from our parish and school present at this wonderful event. If you have any questions contact Fr. Bolek.
Date: Sunday June 18, 2017
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Sisters of Third Order of St. Francis Motherhouse
1175 St. Francis Lane
East Peoria, IL 61611
CLICK HERE FOR EVENT DETAILS.
Emmaus Days
Emmaus Days is a vocations awareness program sponsored by the Diocese of Peoria. By providing a spiritual, fun environment for young men, we help make them more aware of God’s presence in their lives and get them excited about living their faith.
Grow Closer to Christ at Emmaus Days
Emmaus Days is happening again this summer for all boys entering 7th grade through college. It is a wonderful time for the young men of our parish to enjoy. See the website listed below for all the information. Those in 7th to 10th grade will be here at Peoria Notre Dame this year. Last year 18 young men from our parish were present for Emmaus Days. It is always more fun to go to these types of events in groups so you know other people, so please feel free to invite your friends. There's already a group of about 10 guys signed up. If you have any questions or need help with rides, contact Fr. Bolek.
http://comeandfollowme.org/emmausdays/
Sessions 1 & 2 From Last Year
Sessions 3 & 4 From Last Year
Fr. Bolek looks like he's quite the card shark!
Part 1 of a 4-Part Series From Seminarian Nic Wilson
Entering seminary is no guarantee that God is calling one to the priesthood, but it is a time of more intentional discernment of the priesthood. At Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (IHM), I was blessed to have challenging courses in philosophy, excellent priests to help form me in virtue...
Nic Wilson
We reached out to St. Jude Catholic Church’s very own Nic Wilson for an update on his path to priesthood. Nic provided some great comments on hearing the call of God, the seminary process, and some of the big challenges he’s faced so far.
We will share these in a series of four posts so be sure to be watching the parish website and our Facebook account. Below is the first one!
Let’s start here…
Nic, can you share how you knew God was calling you to be a priest?
My time at Peoria Notre Dame High School was essential to hearing God’s call to go to seminary. At PND, we had to complete 100 hours of service in order to graduate. I chose to serve at a nursing home in Peoria, and when residents would die who I had befriended, it caused me to think seriously about how I was living and what came after death. As a result, I started going to Eucharistic Adoration, praying the Rosary, regularly going to Confession, and attending daily Mass. I was also invited to start serving Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Peoria, and there I was able to spend time with seminarians and priests and see the joy they had in following Christ.
While at PND, I was also a member of the robotics club, and though I enjoyed the designing and building the robot, I found that I was most concerned for the souls of my teammates. As I continued to grow in my prayer life and thought about how the priest cares for souls, my desire for priesthood grew. While attending Emmaus Days, the diocesan vocation retreat, after my junior year of high school, I talked to our vocation director at the time, Monsignor Brownsey, about becoming a seminarian. He told me to get to know St. Therese of Lisieux, and later that summer he gave me an application to seminary. During my senior year of high school, in addition to reading St. Therese’s Story of a Soul, I also read many books by Venerable Fulton Sheen and Father Michael Gaitley. This spiritual reading, in addition to regular prayer, solidified my commitment to entering seminary.
Entering seminary is no guarantee that God is calling one to the priesthood, but it is a time of more intentional discernment of the priesthood. At Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (IHM), I was blessed to have challenging courses in philosophy, excellent priests to help form me in virtue, great opportunities for service at nursing homes, schools, prisons, and most importantly, a schedule of daily prayer consisting of Mass, the Rosary, the five hours of the Liturgy of the Hours, and an hour of mental prayer. Over the course of my four years in college seminary, I found myself growing in joy and peace as I lived the way of life provided by the seminary and as I worked during the summer in the archives of the diocese and teaching Totus Tuus. As a result, as I continue in formation, I feel confident that God is indeed calling me to be a priest.
Check back in about a week as we hear more from Nic in post 2 of 4! Leave some comments below and let us know what you think.
Altar Server Night at the Peoria Chiefs
The St. Jude Altar Servers had a special time at the Peoria Chiefs game yesterday. Guess who threw the first pitch! Find out here.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
The St. Jude Altar Servers had a special night at the Peoria Chiefs game yesterday. It was a great game, and Fr. Henehan even got to throw the first pitch!
