But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) So with the Lord's promise of grace and strength, Mama and I will complete what began back in 2020. Together in spirit, we will be running in the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon to raise funds for the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels! Back in the early 1950’s, Our Lady of Angels was one of the largest Catholic parishes in the city serving the Italian and Polish immigrants of Chicago. Then tragedy struck! On December 1, 1958, 92 children and 3 BVM sisters died in a horrific school fire that forever changed the lives of the families who lost loved ones. Neither the school nor parish ever fully recovered and unfortunately closed its doors in 1999. However, as with most tragedies and sufferings, God brings forth good. Just over a decade later, the Blessed Mother and Jesus brought a light of hope back to the community. Knowing the importance and significance of this sacred site, God intervened and instituted the Franciscans of the Eucharist. For the past 13 years, this newly established religious order has found the joy, love and strength to help support and serve God's people in one of the poorest and most challenged neighborhoods in Chicago. To this day, the Mission feeds and provides material and spiritual support for over 3000 families a month. The Mission continues to provide pastoral support to families, youth, and senior citizens. However, what’s most eternally impacting is the love of God the sisters and brothers bring to a neighborhood so desperately in need of Christ. For more information, please visit the Missions website: www.missionola.com.
Funds raised from this year’s Team OLA 2023 will be used for the following:
(1) Help the Mission to expand its food pantry and other material needs to the poor.
(2) Help the Mission begin using its new outreach center, formally the old school.
(3) Help the Mission begin hosting large retreats for service groups and parishes.
(4) Help the Mission expand its many Social Service Programs to surrounding neighbors.
Please consider making a monetary donation to be part of the miracle that is TEAM OLA! The Mission is a 501(c)(3) and relies entirely on donations.
Mama and I are overjoyed that we have been given the opportunity to be part of God's providential plan for Team OLA. "As people of faith, there are no coincidences, only aspects of God's providence that we have not yet fully understood." Currently, the Catholic church is in the midst of a National Eucharist Revival, a movement to help restore faith and understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and to rekindle devotion in the Blessed Sacrament. Secondly, the Mission is run by a religious community dedicated to the Holy Eucharist. And lastly, for Mama and I, the Holy Eucharist is the central and most important part of our day. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (John 6:56). Therefore, it's only fitting to say that at this time and place in history, Mama and I are part of a mission that has been providentially orchestrated by our Lord. "Now to Him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." (Ephesians 3:21). The Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that united in His one Divine Person is really, truly, and substantially present. Being united with Jesus through the Holy Eucharist fulfills our greatest desires as followers of Christ. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)
The National Eucharistic Revival is being inspired by the Holy Spirit and is opening the channels of grace to generate creativity, joy, and missionary zeal. We all need to have an encounter with Jesus who will set us on fire to be sent out on mission. This encounter happens in a profoundly powerful way in the Eucharist. Whether at Mass or in silent adoration, we come before the living Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus reveals himself to us, and he reveals us to ourselves. This encounter leads to mission. And we need this encounter not just once but innumerable times throughout our lives to be sustained by our friendship with Jesus. Sr. Alicia Torres
"When nourished by the Living Bread, may we become more like Our Resurrected Savior, who is the fountain of our joy. May the Eucharist always be the center of our life, and source of all holiness.” St. John Paul II
"By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy. The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven. The Eucharistic Liturgy of the Mass is the most important prayer we can perform to help the departed souls to leave purgatory. The Eucharist is the highway to heaven." Blessed Carlos Acutis
“The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time that you will spend on earth (for it will prepare you for your final home in Heaven).” Mother Teresa
“O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this and hide under the form of a little bread, for the salvation of souls.” St Francis of Assisi
Let us ALL pray for the grace of faith to always believe in the True Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Let us pray that like St. Thomas any doubt or unbelief in the Real Presence of Our Lord will be turned to belief so that when we receive the Holy Eucharist or stand before the Blessed Sacrament we too will say, “My Lord and My God.”
Lord Jesus Christ, you give us your flesh and blood for the life of the world, and you desire that all people come to the Supper of the Sacrifice of the Lamb. Renew in your Church the truth, beauty, and goodness contained in the Most Blessed Eucharist. Jesus living in the Eucharist, come and live in me. Jesus, healing in the Eucharist, come and heal me. Jesus sacrificing yourself in the Eucharist, come and suffer in me. Jesus, rising in the Eucharist, come and rise to new life in me. Jesus loving in the Eucharist, come and love in me. Lord Jesus Christ, through the paschal mystery of your death and resurrection made present in every Holy Mass, pour out your healing love on your Church and on our world. Grant that as we lift you up during this time of Eucharistic Revival, your Holy Spirit may draw all people to join us at this Banquet of Life. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Eucharist, Pray for us.
And finally, I would like to pay tribute to my best friend, Mama. Lord, I'm very thankful to have been blessed with a mother who shares and walks alongside me in my faith journey. As a Christian, Mama has been most like You through her unconditional and supportive love for me. Over the years, it was Your love and comfort Mama brought to me during some of life’s most painful trials, lessons, and heartaches. It was in those moments when through Mama, You were waiting with open arms even when my suffering was self-inflicted. Never did I receive a look of disappointment, judgment or feeling of being unloved. It was during those times Mama was Your best advocate in extending love, mercy and compassion. Lord, I know this brought You Great Glory; for the most loving thing a parent can do for their child is to show and teach them the love and mercy of their Heavenly Father. And then after hours of tears, I knew it was You speaking through Mamas words of encouragement and support needed for me to take the next step. “One day at a time,” Mama would say. And ALWAYS, “We’ll get through this together.” And knowing Your Mighty Hand was upon me, things always did get better and with Mama I always pulled through. Life with Mama has been Your greatest gift and I thank you Lord for allowing Mama and I to share in this life together. And so Lord, if you don’t mind, I would like to dedicate this song to Mama for her ‘yes’ to motherhood and for all the years of sharing in Your love. I love you Mama to Heaven and Back.
Reba McEntire - I'll Be - YouTube
