I know that all of you join me in welcoming Archbishop Francis Hurley back to Our Lady of Hope. The Archbishop is staying with us for a few days while he is Chicago and it is truly a blessing for the parish to have him with us. The Archbishop is saying mass this morning and we hope that he will join us again whenever he is in the area. I know that you will make him feel welcome.

  Once again the generosity of the people of Our Lady of Hope has been evidenced. To date, we have received donations of over $15,000.00 to support the people in the Wings of Hope Mission in Haiti. This is a wonderful figure and it will be matched by Father Tom Schwab. Because of your generosity and his we will be able to send $30,000.00  to the Wings of Hope. If you are still thinking of making a donation please do so there is still plenty of time and Father Tom is still willing to dig deeper in his pocket for this special cause which is so dear to his heart. Father Tom was instrumental in setting up the mission in the first place and it was through his work and prayer that the project was a success. The other night at the dinner table he showed me a set of pictures from his trip down to Haiti. There was such a joy and pride in his face as he told me about the wonderful people he had worked with in Haiti. I believe that it means a great deal to Tom that we continue to help and support this project that he gave part of his life to . If you have already given thank you. If you would still like to give don’t hesitate. And Fr. Tom thank you for making Our Lady of Hope a parish that was willing to help the larger church and those in need.

  Speaking of those in need, there is a letter in the Narthex of the church from Mr. Knight the recipient of the House of Hope. Be sure to take a minute or two and read this message.

  Whatever your politics, don’t forget to vote this Tuesday. It is so important that all of us exercise this privilege. Don’t fail to have your voice heard.

  Politicians probably understand part of the Gospel better than most of us. They face each time they need to run for re-election the phrase “ what have you done for me lately “. In just nine verses in Luke’s Gospel Jesus went from “ And all spoke highly of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His mouth “to“ when the people in the synagogue heard this they were filled with fury. They rose up and drove Him out of town” How could He have gone so fast from prophet to hated? The answer is simple. The message that He delivered was not easy and was not what the people wanted to hear, it was the truth.  Sometimes the truth is hard to hear and even harder to swallow but Christ spoke the truth even to His death. The message that He gave was not always acceptable to the society that He lived in and in went against some of the leaders of the people. They resented His message and so they rejected Him. If we are to be His followers we need to be aware that the message that we share is His message and it may not be any more acceptable to the people of today than it was to the people of Israel. Does this mean that we don’t speak it? If we are true followers of Christ the answer is no and more so we must speak it as Christ did. Being a disciple calls for us to be people of courage. Let us pray together today that we may witness to our faith no matter what the cost.

  Have a great week. Pray for your parish. Remember you are loved and live that love.