Need a good Chicago parish!

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Hi Kendy,

And of course, that is one area of the city that i don’t know very well so i can’t recommend a parish in that area.
Sorry.
 
Kendy,
Hyde Park. Good news!
The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, has made its home and US headquarters at the old St. Gelasius at 6415 S Woodlawn. Msgr. Schmitz is a holy priest and the Mass there a joy.
The men of the Institute are delightful, and everyone makes you feel very welcome. They only offer the Tridentine Mass.
Might be something you’re interested in.
www.institute-christ-king.org
Otherwise, I can report to you that several parishioners from St. John Cantius live in Hyde Park and just take LSD North to Chicago, Chicago west to Carpenter to come to SJC. (In fact, I live in Rogers Park, so I pass about 100 Catholic Churches to get to SJC. It’s…uh…worth it, to say the least.
And LSD on Sunday is wide open, no traffic at all.
 
Most solid orthodox parishes will have perpetual adoration of the blessed sacrament in the parish chapel… you can check masstimes.org.

The Tridentine Mass is the Latin Mass of the 1962 Roman Missal. The Pauline Mass is named after Pope Paul VI (sometimes called Novus Ordo) is the Mass which can be celebrated in Latin or in the vernacular.
 
Semper Fi,
My parish does not have perpetual adoration, but I would love it.
And it is a good, solid orthodox parish, as anyone who’s been there can attest.
You know what twangs me out? Parishes that list their adoration as “9:15 to 9:30”. I mean, what is that?
Why bother?
Anyhow, thanks for the link.
I can definitely use it in the future when I need to know who’s having adoration NOW. 😉
 
Well, excuse me people … after some time I realise that this is close to the protestant stand … which church to join? baptist, pentecostal, methodist???

Well, I feel it doesn’t matter that much. Usually, parish is regional, and is something that is close to residence.

And, we shouldn’t forget that Catholic=Universal. As for me, most of the cases I visit and participate in various parishes. I do it for a change. 😃
 
I thought about. I ended up going to mass today at the closest parish:).

Kendy
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christaddict:
Well, excuse me people … after some time I realise that this is close to the protestant stand … which church to join? baptist, pentecostal, methodist???

Well, I feel it doesn’t matter that much. Usually, parish is regional, and is something that is close to residence.

And, we shouldn’t forget that Catholic=Universal. As for me, most of the cases I visit and participate in various parishes. I do it for a change. 😃
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Kendy,

Good for you. The parish I belong to is more progressive than I care for. However, when it comes down to it, we participate in the Mass. The Mass is the Mass, if it is in a conservative parish or a more progressive one. The object is to give worship to God and pariticipate in offering ourselves up in union with Christ to the Father.

Sometimes i think we lose focus on that in looking at all the externals.
 
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christaddict:
Well, excuse me people … after some time I realise that this is close to the protestant stand … which church to join? baptist, pentecostal, methodist???

Well, I feel it doesn’t matter that much. Usually, parish is regional, and is something that is close to residence.

And, we shouldn’t forget that Catholic=Universal. As for me, most of the cases I visit and participate in various parishes. I do it for a change. 😃
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This is a very good way of looking at things and I can agree. However, I think that the state of things being as they are it is necessary to select carefully what parish one attends for the very reason you cited concerning catholicity. Unfortunatelly in many diocese it is hard to find a parish that is Catholic.
 
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Kendy:
I thought about. I ended up going to mass today at the closest parish:).

Kendy
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This is great news Kendy! How did it go?

Did you feel the presence of God there?

Did you recognize the scripture throughout the Mass?

Did you notice how the entire focus of the Mass is on Christ, rather than on the congregation. It’s not about Me, it’s about Him, a real different focus from so many of the “feel great” churches that are out there.

It’s exactly this difference that grabs folks out of the Church. If we fail to realize that worship is not meant to focus on us, but rather on God, we can go seeking a place that caters to Us, to our needs. The strange thing is, when we surrender to God, and give our focus to Him, he gives us our greatest desire (although frequently masked behind sacrifice, go figure).

God Bless you Kendy, as you seek to find God’s truth, where ever that leads you. Certainly, we believe you will find it here, Home, in the Church based in Rome, the Catholic Church. I pray that you come to that conclusion and find your questions answered to your satisfaction.

God Bless,

CARose

PS, are you anywhere near 106th and Western? That’s where my grandparents lived. I’ll forever remember the Purple Cow, which was just around the corner from their home. A great little Ice Cream Parlor that we always visited when in town to see our Grandparents! 🙂
 
Well, let’s see. The homily was dull and I didn’t care for the hymms. But I did appreciate the long moments of silent prayer before communion, and I received communion, which was awesome. And yes, I did go to confession.

Kendy
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CARose:
This is great news Kendy! How did it go?

Did you feel the presence of God there?

Did you recognize the scripture throughout the Mass?

Did you notice how the entire focus of the Mass is on Christ, rather than on the congregation. It’s not about Me, it’s about Him, a real different focus from so many of the “feel great” churches that are out there.

It’s exactly this difference that grabs folks out of the Church. If we fail to realize that worship is not meant to focus on us, but rather on God, we can go seeking a place that caters to Us, to our needs. The strange thing is, when we surrender to God, and give our focus to Him, he gives us our greatest desire (although frequently masked behind sacrifice, go figure).

God Bless you Kendy, as you seek to find God’s truth, where ever that leads you. Certainly, we believe you will find it here, Home, in the Church based in Rome, the Catholic Church. I pray that you come to that conclusion and find your questions answered to your satisfaction.

God Bless,

CARose
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CARose:
PS, are you anywhere near 106th and Western? That’s where my grandparents lived. I’ll forever remember the Purple Cow, which was just around the corner from their home. A great little Ice Cream Parlor that we always visited when in town to see our Grandparents! 🙂
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That’s probably about 30-45 minutes from me.

Kendy 🙂
 
Cool. I was born in Chicago, at the Lying In Memorial. Delivered by the same Dr. who delivered my mother! Isn’t that cool! We lived briefly in Elmhurst and Lake Forest (or Forest Hills?) (my brother lives in Lake Forest CA, so I may be getting the name confused).

But I was less than 3 when we moved to NJ. My mom didn’t believe that I had actual memories of the time we spent in IL until I described the floorplan of our house to her. She was shocked that I could have actually remembered it when I was so young when we left. I still have a few memories of things that happened when we lived there. And I have the general impression of really liking it.

CARose
 
That’s really neat:).

Kendy
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CARose:
Cool. I was born in Chicago, at the Lying In Memorial. Delivered by the same Dr. who delivered my mother! Isn’t that cool! We lived briefly in Elmhurst and Lake Forest (or Forest Hills?) (my brother lives in Lake Forest CA, so I may be getting the name confused).

But I was less than 3 when we moved to NJ. My mom didn’t believe that I had actual memories of the time we spent in IL until I described the floorplan of our house to her. She was shocked that I could have actually remembered it when I was so young when we left. I still have a few memories of things that happened when we lived there. And I have the general impression of really liking it.

CARose
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christaddict:
Well, excuse me people … after some time I realise that this is close to the protestant stand … which church to join? baptist, pentecostal, methodist???

Well, I feel it doesn’t matter that much. Usually, parish is regional, and is something that is close to residence.

And, we shouldn’t forget that Catholic=Universal. As for me, most of the cases I visit and participate in various parishes. I do it for a change. 😃
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I hear ya, Christaddict, and your points are well taken. However, let’s face it—some parishes are more “on fire” and orthodox than others. In Kendy’s case, she’s leaving a very energetic and spirited Protestant church and is hoping to find the same. It can be frustrating for the well-catechized to attend Masses rife with liturgical abuse: for someone coming home, that sort of dissent might be very destructive. A knowledgeable Catholic can try to correct such problems; a newcomer might not feel that sure of themselves. Or perhaps a parish seems lack-luster: a well-grounded Catholic can take the initiative, but that’s asking a lot of someone who’s newly home.
 
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Sherlock:
I hear ya, Christaddict, and your points are well taken. However, let’s face it—some parishes are more “on fire” and orthodox than others. In Kendy’s case, she’s leaving a very energetic and spirited Protestant church and is hoping to find the same. It can be frustrating for the well-catechized to attend Masses rife with liturgical abuse: for someone coming home, that sort of dissent might be very destructive. A knowledgeable Catholic can try to correct such problems; a newcomer might not feel that sure of themselves. Or perhaps a parish seems lack-luster: a well-grounded Catholic can take the initiative, but that’s asking a lot of someone who’s newly home.
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Well, Kendy is smart enough to “choose” the right place and God is smart enough to lead her there. 🙂
 
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Sherlock:
I hear ya, Christaddict, and your points are well taken. However, let’s face it—some parishes are more “on fire” and orthodox than others. In Kendy’s case, she’s leaving a very energetic and spirited Protestant church and is hoping to find the same. It can be frustrating for the well-catechized to attend Masses rife with liturgical abuse: for someone coming home, that sort of dissent might be very destructive. A knowledgeable Catholic can try to correct such problems; a newcomer might not feel that sure of themselves. Or perhaps a parish seems lack-luster: a well-grounded Catholic can take the initiative, but that’s asking a lot of someone who’s newly home.
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**Be not afraid people **

Kendy is smart enough to “choose” the right place and God is smart enough to lead her there. 🙂

I appreciate your support though
 
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Kendy:
Well, let’s see. The homily was dull and I didn’t care for the hymms. But I did appreciate the long moments of silent prayer before communion, and I received communion, which was awesome. And yes, I did go to confession.

Kendy
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Kendy I am sure you are seeking the right path. However, be cautious against seeking parallels between the two faiths … they definitely aren’t the same, atleast in expressing them … and yes, Catholicism is more of the inward contemplation … the silent prayer … the communion and the confession that you described about … these are all distinctive and beautiful … guess what? … we have the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist … the Blessed Sacrament …

Taking an example … as part of the job here in the “non-denominational” organisation I have to participate in morning session of praise & worship … it’s mostly protestant “born-again”/“saved” folks … but the best of my spiritual life doesn’t happen here, as I once said to my co-worker … but at the weekends, when I sit in silent prayer … in this beautiful chapel next door … before the Blessed Sacrament … (yesterday while I was kneeling down there I felt how privileged to be staying closeby) … and I also differentiate between a parish and spiritual growth … spiritual life to me happens well out of ‘parish’(which is mostly lukewarm) … so having this chapel is much more important in life than anything … 'cause that’s where I find the utmost peace, before the presence of Christ … no matter what parish you belong to, hold on to the sacraments … and that’s how God can hold on to you …
and if you find a chapel like this grab the oppurtunity 😃
 
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Dan-Man916:
Kendy,

… However, when it comes down to it, we participate in the Mass. The Mass is the Mass, if it is in a conservative parish or a more progressive one. The object is to give worship to God and pariticipate in offering ourselves up in union with Christ to the Father.

Sometimes i think we lose focus on that in looking at all the externals.
Click to expand...
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CARose:
…
Did you notice how the entire focus of the Mass is on Christ, rather than on the congregation. It’s not about Me, it’s about Him, a real different focus from so many of the “feel great” churches that are out there.

It’s exactly this difference that grabs folks out of the Church. If we fail to realize that worship is not meant to focus on us, but rather on God, we can go seeking a place that caters to Us, to our needs. The strange thing is, when we surrender to God, and give our focus to Him, he gives us our greatest desire (although frequently masked behind sacrifice, go figure).
Click to expand...
Well said folks 👍
 
I have lived in several states all over the US, and I have found a few things to be true:
  1. The amount of ditties you hear from the ‘Gather’ hymnal is directly correlated to the amount of times you will hear the priest mention ‘sin’ or ‘Confession’ or ‘birth control’ or ‘abortion’ in a homily. 5000-1.
  2. The availability of the sacrament of Confession, NOT the amount of time a parish devotes to a Mardi Gras party, or a block party, or a coffee and donuts hour, is related to how seriously the pastor is about care of the souls entrusted to him.
  3. The amount of times a priest begins the Holy Sacrifice with, “Hi, welcome to St. So-and-So’s. Stand up, greet your neighbor!” is directly related to how many times he will ad lib the rest of the Mass.
    Now, you might say these are ‘externals’. I say that unless you have decent externals, the Mass can be in jeopardy of becoming illicit, because a priest who chooses a David Haas hymn which welcomes ‘gay and the straight ones’ is not - I repeat not going to give a homily about the disorder of homosexuality.
    Yes, the Eucharist is the source and summit. But the homily, the availability of Confession, theologically-sound hymns, not using unnecessary Extraordinary Ministers — all these things are important for developing true, orthodox Catholicism. Can you foster good, orthodox beliefs in your children at a Church which disregards Catholic principles? Sure, but it’s much tougher.
    Only 30% of Catholics who attend Mass EVERY SUNDAY can answer a simple question about the belief of the Real Presence.
    (When you receive Communion: Is it the Real Body of Christ, regardless of who believes it? Is it a symbol? Is it the Body of Christ because of your beliefs? Is it bread and wine?)
    Church attendance, and with it belief that breaking the 3rd Commandment is a mortal sin, punishable by Hell, has consistently fallen in the previous three decades.
    This is not a condemnation of anyone’s individual parish. I simply write this as a response to people who think ‘externals’ aren’t important. I kneel in front of St. Joseph’s altar to ask his intercession, even though he could hear me just as well if I were lying in bed. I kneel to say my penance even though it’s just as valid to say it sitting.
    God bless the people who can listen to ‘Gather Us In’ and still stay focused. God love the people who can hear a homilist prattle on about some incorrect theology without losing their Christian charity. I can’t. So I drive to a Church where I don’t have to test myself. Is this choosing a different denomination? Nope. I know that the Eucharist at the infamous St. Sabina’s in Chicago is truly the Body of Christ, as surely as it is at my parish. But I also know that if I attend St. Sabina’s I might have the displeasure of hearing the Reverend Al Sharpton deliver the homily, as he did last year. No thanks.
 
Is there anything that can be done about this other than church shopping?

Kendy
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ChicagoOrthodox:
I have lived in several states all over the US, and I have found a few things to be true:
  1. The amount of ditties you hear from the ‘Gather’ hymnal is directly correlated to the amount of times you will hear the priest mention ‘sin’ or ‘Confession’ or ‘birth control’ or ‘abortion’ in a homily. 5000-1.
  2. The availability of the sacrament of Confession, NOT the amount of time a parish devotes to a Mardi Gras party, or a block party, or a coffee and donuts hour, is related to how seriously the pastor is about care of the souls entrusted to him.
  3. The amount of times a priest begins the Holy Sacrifice with, “Hi, welcome to St. So-and-So’s. Stand up, greet your neighbor!” is directly related to how many times he will ad lib the rest of the Mass.
    Now, you might say these are ‘externals’. I say that unless you have decent externals, the Mass can be in jeopardy of becoming illicit, because a priest who chooses a David Haas hymn which welcomes ‘gay and the straight ones’ is not - I repeat not going to give a homily about the disorder of homosexuality.
    Yes, the Eucharist is the source and summit. But the homily, the availability of Confession, theologically-sound hymns, not using unnecessary Extraordinary Ministers — all these things are important for developing true, orthodox Catholicism. Can you foster good, orthodox beliefs in your children at a Church which disregards Catholic principles? Sure, but it’s much tougher.
    Only 30% of Catholics who attend Mass EVERY SUNDAY can answer a simple question about the belief of the Real Presence.
    (When you receive Communion: Is it the Real Body of Christ, regardless of who believes it? Is it a symbol? Is it the Body of Christ because of your beliefs? Is it bread and wine?)
    Church attendance, and with it belief that breaking the 3rd Commandment is a mortal sin, punishable by Hell, has consistently fallen in the previous three decades.
    This is not a condemnation of anyone’s individual parish. I simply write this as a response to people who think ‘externals’ aren’t important. I kneel in front of St. Joseph’s altar to ask his intercession, even though he could hear me just as well if I were lying in bed. I kneel to say my penance even though it’s just as valid to say it sitting.
    God bless the people who can listen to ‘Gather Us In’ and still stay focused. God love the people who can hear a homilist prattle on about some incorrect theology without losing their Christian charity. I can’t. So I drive to a Church where I don’t have to test myself. Is this choosing a different denomination? Nope. I know that the Eucharist at the infamous St. Sabina’s in Chicago is truly the Body of Christ, as surely as it is at my parish. But I also know that if I attend St. Sabina’s I might have the displeasure of hearing the Reverend Al Sharpton deliver the homily, as he did last year. No thanks.
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