Religious/Personal

Woman’s Lenten Retreat Day: Sat., March 23

Miles Christi Priest and Local Priest Fr. Eduardo Martinez will Lead CCL’s Woman’s Lenten Retreat Day

Need a day of prayer and instruction to put you on a sure path to perfection for a holy Lent? Then come to CCL of Chicago’s Woman’s Lenten Retreat Day, Sat. March 23, 2013 at the Holy Family Hospital Chapel in Des Plaines.

(Read the stunning tale of one participant about the Woman’s Retreat, below)

Download the Woman’s 2013 Retreat Flyer and distribute at your parish, and to your friends!

There will be time for Mass, Confessions, Lenten talks, Meditation, Rosary, and Stations of the Cross.

Fr. John Ezratty, a priest of the Miles Christi Religious Order, will be the morning speaker and Confessor. Mass, afternoon reflection and Confessions will be given by Fr. Eduardo Martinez, Associate Pastor of St. Edna.

“A powerful experience - enlightened me in the meaning of Lent and its purpose…. The benefit of being with others who also believe…. It’s renewal… enlightenment… encouragement.”

- One woman’s testimony about the retreat

Registration begins at 8:00 am. The retreat will begin at 8:30 and end at 3:30 pm. Holy Family Hospital Chapel is at 100 N. River Rd., Des Plaines, IL.

NFP Witness Couples Needed for Pre-Cana Classes

Teaching Couple/Promoters Matt and Anne McClure. A few good witness couples are needed. Will you help?

Archdiocese of Chicago Needs Personal Testimonies

Would you agree that Natural Family Planning is a good thing? Have the NFP values been an important part of your marriage?

Then the Archdiocese of Chicago needs you. Their Family Ministries department will now have NFP witness talks at all pre-Cana seminars, which are required as a part of marriage preparation, and they need our help! CCL of Chicago, of course, is happy to lend a hand - can you contact us?

To sign up as a witness couple, contact Anne & Matt McClure, 630-843-1066, by Feb. 1.

Anne McClure, one of our chapter Promoters, says, “This is a significant step for natural family planning ministries in Chicagoland, and we are so happy to be moving forward with this effort to share this beautiful teaching with more families.”

Will new book on the Pill bring Catholics and Evangelicals Closer?

Adam and Eve After the Pill: Pointing out the Wisdom of Pope Paul VI’s Teaching

"Evangelicals need to reckon with ... the sexual revolution."

Did the sexual revolution bring with it a new sense of freedom, or rather widespread discontent? Mary Eberstadt’s groundbreaking book, Adam and Eve after the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution, connects the much-overlooked dots between societal ills and the culture of the sexual revolution. And the book might do a lot to bring about a common vision between Catholics and evangelicals for a more widely accepted, but sane approach to sexuality today.

Eberstadt speaks about her book, saying, “The [sexual] revolution is like a big party that a lot of people initially looked forward to, but that’s now gotten way out of control.” Of course those who defended the party to begin with are going to have trouble admitting they were wrong - no one wants to swallow their pride. In the same way, not everyone out there is willing to accept the message of this book.

Plenty of support however, has been garnered for this work. Washington Times columnist Claire Gillen praises it saying, “In this concise, elegantly written book, Mrs. Eberstadt marries brilliant analytical power with wry wit. By sensitively and honestly depicting the ironies of the sexual revolution, Adam and Eve After the Pill makes an enormous contribution to understanding both modern moral culture and the significance of current political debates.”