Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me….Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (excerpt from Matt. 25:34-40)

Chicago, Illinois -- The coordinators of the upcoming Holy Week “Mercy Missions” in Chicago, Illinois, are asking us to prayerfully consider these words of Our Lord.  Will you take the time to help during this Lenten season 2013?

The Mercy Missions will focus on the seven corporeal works of mercy mentioned

	Going out to bring Christ to others

in the above scripture passage. 

One missionary from a past Chicago event recalls how her group affected the life of an elderly woman in a nursing home.  After the missionaries discovered the woman was Catholic and brought her a priest to hear her confession, the woman told them “she felt like Christ brought us to her that day and that he was smiling down at her.”

Missionary Michelle Cap said, "For me, Holy Week missions in Chicago…showed me that you don´t have to go far to make a difference.  Sometimes the people most in need of your love are in your own town…Not only was I able to help others in my own community but, I was also able to bond with other missionaries who had the same love for their faith that I do.”

This year’s events will take place from Wednesday, March 27, 2013 to Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, centering around St. Pius X Parish, 4314 S. Oak Park Avenue, Stickney, IL 60402.

Mission events begin on March 27 at St. Pius, with the opening Mass at 6:00 pm.  (A closing Mass, with the time yet to be determined, will take place at St. Pius on Easter Sunday.)

Participants can register to participate in the Youth

	Drawing strength from the Lord

Mission and High School Mission programs, or the Family Mission program.   Family Day Mission activities will take place on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

Registration begins at 1:30 pm, and Virtus Training (the "Protecting God’s Children" workshop), which is required for anyone participating who is age 18 and older, will be available from 2:00 to 5:00 pm on this day.

Click here for more information on the Chicago Holy Week Missions. To register, young women interesting in participating can contact Eleanor Segraves at esegraves@regnumchristi.net, and young men should contact Fr. Jacob DuMont at jdumont@legionaries.org.  To register for the Family Missions, contact Daire Ryan at dryan@regnumchristi.net.

Registrations received on or before March 1 qualify for the early bird fee of $75 per person.  The registration fee after March 1 is $100.  The fee includes meals and lodging, and mission kit materials. (For returning missionaries who already have mission kit materials, the fee will be discounted to $50 for early registration and $75 for registration after March 1.)  All registrations are due by March 15.  Checks, made payable to LC Pastoral Services, and registration forms should be mailed to Rae Joyce Baguilat at 3700 West 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655, RUBLOFF 110. 

Locations around the country will be sponsoring Mercy Missions in addition to Chicago.  Click here to find out more, or check out their Facebook page.