One of the first things that newcomers notice about Chicago winters (after the cold, the wind, and the snow) is that they rarely see the sun. In fact, 60% of our winter days are cloudy. This persistent cloudiness is mostly the result of our city being adjacent to the Great Lakes. Not only do we have lake effect snow and rain, but we also suffer from what is called temperature inversion. Cold air masses moving across the Lakes mix with warmer air over the water and this produces clouds. Throw in a weaker winter sun and you have a lot of cloudy days. Every once in a while, though, cloudiness works in our favor. It was mostly cloudy on the morning of February 2. The groundhog could not possibly have seen his shadow, and that means we will not have six more weeks of winter.

Maybe we have felt the gloom more this winter because it has been an unusually cold winter; but the world around us may also be making us gloomy. There is a lot of darkness. Think of the wars and civil unrest around the world. Think of the plight of refugees and migrants. Think of different forms of insecurity that many people face every day: insecurity about food, medical care, housing, and safety. There is disrespect for human life and a lack of care for God’s creation. In so many ways, we seem to be surrounded by darkness.

Every year about this time all of us are invited to participate in The Annual Catholic Appeal, a pledge campaign that supports many necessary services and ministries of the Archdiocese of Chicago. It seems appropriate that in the gloom of the Chicago winter and in the  darkness that surrounds us, that the theme of this year’s campaign is Together We Bring Light. As individuals we can easily feel overwhelmed and helpless when it comes to bringing light into the darkness, but together with Christ and together with the many other Catholics in the Archdiocese, we can make a difference. The Annual Catholic Appeal supports parishes in need, Catholic schools, religious education programs and programs for training teachers, catechists, and faith formation leaders. The ACA funds initiatives for respect life, violence prevention, refugee and immigrant assistance.  The ACA also helps fund Catholic Relief Services, which provides immediate material assistance to victims of war and natural disasters. These are all ways in which we can bring Christ’s light to people who are impacted most directly by the darkness.

Although the primary goal of the Annual Catholic Appeal is raising money, it also raises awareness. Because we at Assumption have been able to raise the funds that we need to operate, we may not be aware that 30% of the parishes in the Archdiocese, parishes which provide a vital role in economically stressed areas, would not be able to survive without a subsidy. Because our parish school closed in 1945 and the issue of Catholic education is far in the past or far in the future, we may not realize that without support from the Archdiocese, Catholic education would become almost exclusively the domain of the wealthy. Because our own immigrations tatus is not in question, we may not realize how active the immigration ministry is right now in advising, advocation and supporting migrants. Because we may not have a family member incarcerated, may not even know about Kolbe House ministries to the imprisoned and to their families. Because we were born and raised Catholic, we may not realize how important the Office of Evangelization has become in jumpstarting parish renewal and outreach.

Many of you who have contributed to the ACA in the past have already received pledge material in the mail. Please return your pledge envelope as soon as possible. The rest of us will be guided through the pledge process at Mass next weekend. It is important to remember that once we reach our goal of $45,308, or 7% of last year’s collection, 90% of funds received in excess of that amount are retuned to us at Assumption. Every year that I have been at Assumption, we have exceeded our goal by a significant amount. In fact, the amount rebated to us by the ACA is typically our largest fundraiser of the year. So, supporting the ACA is a win/win proposition. The Archdiocese receives what it needs from us to continue many vital ministries, and Assumption receives what we need to support our ministries. I give to the ACA. I hope you will too. Together We Bring Light.

                                                          Fr. Joe