Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,

 As we pass through the liturgical Easter season, you will notice that the readings and prayers follow a certain progression. The readings right after Easter focus on the wonder and joy of seeing the risen Christ. As the weeks of Easter pass, we will slowly move our focus from the Resurrection to Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit. In this way, Easter leads us toward Pentecost and the birth of the Church.

FIRST COMMUNION This Sunday, our Second Graders will make their First Holy Communion at a special 11 AM Mass. Many of us have blessed memories of our own First Communion. Keep them and their families in your prayers on their special day! Attendance at the First Communion Mass is limited to families of the Communicants.

THE RETURN OF 11AM MASS? I am working on plans to restore the 11 AM Mass in the future. If you attended 11 AM pre-Covid, and are willing to help with ushering and sanitizing, please call the parish office. In the meantime, we are waiting for Illinois or the Archdiocese to relax the Covid precautions. The State of Illinois does not seem to be in any hurry on this. Sometimes I think the politicians are enjoying this health crisis a little too much! If 11 AM is to return, we need some more volunteers.

CONFIRMATION MAY 2 A big Thank You to everyone who helped out with the Confirmation retreat last Saturday. We had 25 of our Eighth Graders there, plus some moms and older siblings helping to supervise. Catechist Tim Hopkins, seminarian Colin Patrick and I gave presentations, while Annette Wynn organized the event. Considering we had not tried holding our own retreat before, the day went smoothly. On May 2^nd I will Confirm them, using the authority delegated to Pastors until the end of June 2021. Perhaps it is a unique blessing of this past year that I get to Confirm our young people. You may recall the newly consecrated Bishop McGovern returned last August for Confirmation. As always, keep our students in your prayers through this special season! 

God bless,
Fr. Matthew Kowalski