May 17, 2026

This past week we celebrated the first anniversary of Pope Leo’s reign as our Holy Father. In a very short time, Pope Leo XIV has had a tremendous impact on the Church.
His election as the first American pope, it astonished the world. As a man who grew up on the South Side of Chicago, we have a special reason to celebrate.  Pope Leo should have a place of pride in our hearts.

During this past year, Pope Leo has built on the foundation of Pope Francis. One of the cornerstones of Francis’ papacy was a call for us to learn how better to speak to one another with respect and understanding. In the Church, this is called ‘synodality’. This is a word that is unfamiliar to most of us but what it means at its core is simply how we talk to one another. For too long in the Church, we have been ‘talked to’. Francis wanted us to ‘talk to each other.’  Pope Leo wants us to talk to each other more.

The most important — and difficult — part of talking to each other is listening to each other. Listening is a skill that requires a great amount of talents but most of all, over all the others, is to stop talking and let the other speak! That is harder than it may seem. But it is amazing what we can learn when we let the other express themselves.

Pope Leo is moving in this direction. And his guiding principle? Well, it is the Gospel, of course! Please pray for Pope Leo, that the Holy Spirit will guide him as he watches over the Church. And let’s pray that we can be open to his challenging words. No one especially likes to be challenged but let’s face it, if what someone is saying doesn’t challenge us, we are probably living in an echo chamber. We hear what we think is nice but we rarely learn anything new from it.

Last week, I highlighted the good work of our grief support group. This week, I’ would like to highlight the good work of our care-giving support group. This group is intended to assist people who are at home taking care of a sick person. I have a special place in my heart for these individuals. My grandmother cared for my grandfather for over 15 years. During those years he had eight operations. He walked on crutches. Today, a hip replacement would have resolved his mobility problems but that wasn’t available at that time. The world got very small for them but having all these grandchildren coming by helped a lot. Not everyone has that. If you or someone you know is caring for a sick person, invite them to a place of love and support., Our care-giver support group meets this Tuesday at 6:30 PM in the Parish Life Center. If you or someone you know would benefit from this, please join us!

On May 18, I will celebrate 41 years as a priest. What better place to celebrate the gift of priesthood than Saint George! Thank you for the gifts you bring to my priesthood!