Deacon Greg Kandra
Living the Word / Deacon Greg Kandra Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 29 Exodus 22:20-26; Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40 Anyone who has spent time watching reruns of “Law and Order” knows the first rule of being a good witness in a courtroom: Never answer a question that you […]
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An estimated 600 supporters spilled out of St. Mark School gym into hallways and overflow rooms at a town hall in Peoria to show support for the continuation of the Invest In Kids tax scholarship program, currently slated to “sunset” at year’s end. Miranda Eversole, mother of two children attending Holy Family School in Peoria through the program, is applauded as she voices her support. (The Catholic Post/Paul Thomas Moore)
By Paul Thomas Moore Terry Mischler, director of religious education at St. Mark School in Peoria, didn’t hear everything the speakers said at the Oct. 12 town hall in the packed school gym to save Illinois’ Invest in Kids tax scholarship program. She was too busy taking people to overflow classrooms showing a livestream of […]
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Deacon John Murphy distributes feedback forms during a "Growing Disciples" parish meeting Oct. 5 at Harkrader Hall of St. Louis Parish in Princeton. All parishes in the Diocese of Peoria are hosting gatherings in October to discuss and offer feedback regarding a second draft of parish models in the pastoral planning process. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
By Tom Dermody Proposals to historically reorganize the network of parishes throughout the Diocese of Peoria in order to strengthen the local church for present and future realities are being reviewed in every parish during October. “Your feedback is needed, welcomed, and necessary to this process,” says Bishop Louis Tylka in a video message played […]
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As more than 500 participants in the Emmaus Procession cross the new I-74 bridge over the Mississippi River between Moline and Bettendorf on Saturday morning, Oct. 7, Father Patrick Wille elevates the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament to bless all residents of the Quad Cities region. (Provided photo/Armando Calderon)
By Anne Marie Amacher, courtesy of The Catholic Messenger As the gathering sang out “Alleluia,” the sun shone intensely through the stained glass windows, filtering rainbows throughout Sacred Heart Church in Moline. The Oct. 7 Mass drew a standing-room-only crowd of Catholics from the Diocese of Peoria and the Diocese of Davenport. The liturgy preceded […]
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Peggy Kocher of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Peoria, accompanied by her son Bob, comes in for a hug from Bishop Louis Tylka following the Spirit of Hope Mass for Cancer at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria on Oct. 7. Kocher’s daughter Mary Couri had passed away three days before from pancreatic cancer, the same disease that took Bishop Tylka’s mother Norma and youngest sister Mary Lou Bryant. Bishop Tylka had anointed Couri prior to her death. (The Catholic Post/Paul Thomas Moore)
By Paul Thomas Moore In his homily at the Spirit of Hope Mass for Cancer on Oct. 7, Bishop Louis Tylka revealed that he had just arrived at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria “literally 15 minutes ago” from Chicago. He had been attending the funeral of his friend, Bishop Kevin Birmingham, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, […]
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Volunteers with the Pro-Life Billboard Project install a sign along Route 45 near Ludlow. The sign is one of 20 the group has placed in Central Illinois. The landowners for this sign location are Judy Jepsen-Popel and her grandson, Cody Wyman, and the volunteers pictured are, from left, Steve Clarkson, Mike Ostrowski, and Victor Vasquez. (Provided photo)
By Paul Thomas Moore CHAMPAIGN — The Pro-Life Billboard Project has installed 20 billboards across Central Illinois over the past three years. “This is an entirely volunteer-led endeavor to install pro-life signs . . . so that people facing an unplanned pregnancy can find help at free, faith-based pregnancy centers as opposed to ending up […]
Continue reading Deacon Greg Kandra
Living the Word / Deacon Greg Kandra Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 15 Isaiah 25:6-10a; Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14 This Sunday’s scripture is not very helpful if you’re trying to stay on a diet. Again and again, we hear about extravagant dining — “rich food and choice wines” […]
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The newly renovated interior of St. John’s Catholic Chapel at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign is seen from the choir loft as those who filled it for the Oct. 8 Mass of Blessing come forward for Communion. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
By Tom Dermody CHAMPAIGN — Calling the newly renovated St. John’s Catholic Chapel “absolutely gorgeous” and congratulating all involved in the $2.5 million project, Bishop Louis Tylka on Sunday blessed the church that since 1928 has been a place of encounter with Jesus Christ for tens of thousands in the heart of the University of […]
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Pope Francis listens during an ecumenical prayer vigil before the assembly of the Synod of Bishops in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sept. 30. (CNS/Vatican Media)
By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After warning the world against ignoring the cries of the earth and the poor with his 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis intensified his critique with “Laudate Deum” (“Praise God”), warning against the selfish obsession with human power and the “irresponsible derision” […]
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Participants in the Peoria Diocesan Council of Catholic Women pilgrimage to the National Shrine and Museum of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Darien begin a five-day novena to St. Thérèse, the patroness of vocations for the Diocese of Peoria. (Provided photo)
By Paul Thomas Moore The Peoria Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (PDCCW) led a pilgrimage to the National Shrine and Museum of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Darien on Sept. 25. Approximately 60 pilgrims (including several men) from 23 parishes across the diocese journeyed by bus from Peoria and Champaign. Pilgrims sought the intercession of […]
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