Changes in the Mass: What you can do to help spread the word

Thanksgiving offers a great opportunity to casually mention to your extended family (all of whom may not be especially frequent Mass-goers) that the words of the Mass will be changing this weekend. It would be sad if the Christmas-and-Easter Catholics are so caught off-guard that they feel alienated for good from the Church.

Right-click to download a copy of the business card
or just click it to go to the download site.

And to help you in this endeavor, the sisters at the motherhouse have created a Mass app that doesn't just offer the new words: it offers basic explanations of key words throughout the new translation. Not to mention the inspirational quotes from spiritual authors like Blessed John Paul II.

iTunes provides a way for you to actually gift someone with an app, making it even easier to share the new translation with your wired relatives for only 99 cents a pop.

That's one thing you can do.

You could also download the Mass app poster, print it on sturdy paper (photo paper works best) and ask your pastor if it can be posted on a the parish bulletin boards. Or download the business card size to print and distribute freely!

Right-click to download a copy of the business card
or just click it to go to the download site.

Advent Retreat: Are you registered yet?

It's in the (Pauline!) Bag!

Pretty soon you'll be able to put your Pauline books in a Pauline bag--the handy kind that zips into its own pouch (in Sr Diane's hand) so you can be ready at a moment's notice to pick up a few items (or accept a handful of whatever free samples they'll be giving out at the Thanksgiving Day parade this year). With the inspiring "Discover Hope" motto (and the $3.95 price), they make a gently uplifting add-on gift for just about anyone. Call the book center to order a few before the holiday rush!

Changes in the Mass!

If you haven't heard already, there will be changes in the translation of the Mass beginning the first Sunday of Advent. Not only is this an opportunity to come to a greater awareness of what the Mass is: it is an occasion to reach out to family and friends who may have drifted away from regular Sunday Mass. Without some kind of advance warning, they may feel alienated from the Church for good if they go to Mass on Christmas (or for a funeral) and find themselves unequipped with the new responses.
To help you help them, Pauline Books & Media is offering three noontime sessions on the new Roman Missal. All sessions are free; each will cover slightly different aspects of the Missal, with plenty of time for your questions. Presenter is Sr Anne Flanagan.
Join us for the first three Thursdays of November at 172 N. Michigan Avenue:
Bring your lunch! Bring your questions! Bring a friend!


You can find more in-depth video presentations on the new Missal at the Pauline Books & Media publishing house website. (More to come!)  For children, order "The Mass Explained for Kids."

8 Steps to Inner Peace: Advent Women's Retreat

How can we be more present to God, ourselves and others?

Registration is open for the Advent Women's Retreat on Saturday, December 3 (from 9:00-4:00). Retreat director and best-selling author Sr Kathryn Hermes is back again, to share

8 Steps to Inner Peace

Practical Prayer Tools and Experiences

Pre-registration is a must! $35 fee includes coffee/donuts and cold lunch. Sr Kathryn's books will be available for purchase and signing. The retreat will be held at St. Peter's (110 W. Madison St. just off Clark, downtown Chicago). For info and to register by phone, call Pauline Books (312-346-4228).

Sr Kathryn Hermes holds a Masters in Theological Studies and an advanced Certificate in Scripture. She is a sought-after speaker and retreat leader, best-selling author, and curren director of the Electronic Publishing Department of Pauline Books & Media, Boston.

Our Next Lenten Program!

We'll be hosting Father Barron's 10-part "Catholicism" series; the book based on the scripts was released yesterday. Here's Fr. Barron talking about it:

Watch live streaming video from imagebooks at livestream.com

Coming Attractions

This year's adult faith program (beginning in January) will be Fr. Robert Barron's ten-part video series, "Catholicism." Call (or email) to enroll.
 We hope to offer a preview screening in September, but meanwhile, here is the trailer for a sneak preview:

Do you hear what I hear...on Michigan Avenue?

You may notice something new as you walk up to our bookstore entrance...the sounds of the Daughters of St. Paul music! Thanks to Sr Anne's Mom (who donated the outdoor speakers) and to HFI member Bill Perales (who installed them), passers-by get a gentle wave of inspirational music whether they continue on their way or, as some have begun to do, stop and take a look at the source of such an unexpected experience. Sister Frances' beautiful front window treatments add to the invitation and give the location a clearly Catholic identity.
Our summer months are usually pretty quiet, but the recently-installed sound system seems to be encouraging new visitors to step inside. The first thing many people want to know is how long the Pauline center has been here. (Um, thirty years!)  It has been consoling to hear several people who, after their first visit, express the intention to make Pauline (and the chapel) their own special sanctuary!

Borders bookstores' final chapter

Is there a place for bookstores in a society where the most avid readers keep their Kindle (or Nook or Kobe or iPad) in their backpack and order books through the ether? This is the question that our community has been discussing since Borders announced it would be closing its last remaining (399) bookstores. Analyses by the Chicago Tribune and the online magazine Slate indicate that the chain made the fatal mistake of focusing more on their brick-and-mortar locations than on the Internet. By the time they attempted to enter the online marketplace in a real way, Amazon and Barnes and Noble had already established themselves securely. Even though Barnes and Noble still faces challenges, it gets a healthy percentage of its income from online sales--something that Borders never managed to do.

While we don't see ourselves going the way of Borders any time soon, the huge chain's experience does challenge us. After all, we have put a great deal of effort and expense into our small national "chain" of Pauline Book & Media Centers, centers our Founder loved to speak of as "not stores, but pulpits from which the Word of God reaches people."

Have you visited our Michigan Ave. location or recommended it to others?

Fun-raiser

To help us meet our fundraising goal for our documentary film project, what event would be more appropriate than the one-woman play, "Sunday School Cinema" with Vicki Quade? "Sister" teaches a class about faith and film! And the Sisters will be there in the audience, enjoying every minute of it. There are only 100 tickets available, at $30 each. Call or email Sr. Helena to secure yours now!

Thirty + years in the neighborhood

Here's an interesting look at downtown Chicago then (1977) and now. We arrived in 1979, so it's a look at our history, too!

94th Floor | Growing Old from Blak Maria on Vimeo.

Catholic literacy opportunities

Holy Name Cathedral started the "Epic" Church History video series: 20 centuries in 20 weeks! 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month January-October, 2011 - 7:00-8:30 PM - Holy Name Cathedral Parish Center Cafeteria;  Free-will offering; bring snacks to share. Register:  hncepicseries@gmail.com

At St. Peter's in the Loop:
Fr. Bob Sprott is back in Chicago! Meet with him for a six-week study of Bl. John Henry Newman's "Apologia Pro Vita Sua," a masterpiece of English literature and of the spiritual life. Tuesdays, March 7-April 11, 12:10-12:50 (info: Carolyn Jarosz, 312 853-2376). Get the book.

The Book of Revelation from a Catholic perspective, in its historical, theological and literary contexts. Just four days: Feb. 28-Mar. 3, 12:10-12:50 (info: Carolyn Jarosz, 312 853-2376).

Catholics Come Home, continuing program especially for people who want to renew their relationship with the Church. Topic for Part 2: Reconciliation, Forgiveness. Thursdays, March 10-April 14; 12:10-12:50 (info: Carolyn Jarosz, 312 853-2376).

In  Lakeview, Our Lady of Mt Carmel is running the 8-week Scripture overview program by Jeff Cavins (video). DATES: Wed. evenings 7:15 - 8:45 PM February 23rd thru April 13th OR Tues. mornings 9:00 - 10:30 AM February 22nd thru April 12th in the parish center. $25 includes workbook packet. Call Rita at 773-525-0453 x12 or email: olmcinfo2@aol.com

And here at PBM, we have begun the full 28-week Scripture program by Jeff Cavins. Saturday mornings (except for 2nd Saturday of the month) 10:30-12:00. Bring your own Bible! Registration: $40; Optional workbook: $30. Call 312 346 4228 to sign up!

Pope Benedict's newest book--and a special offer!

Almost in time for Lent (it's being released just after Ash Wednesday), Pope Benedict's reflections on that last crucial week in the life of Christ--and his Resurrection.
Order it now and get a 20% pre-publication discount! (This could also be a good gift for people in RCIA.)
Order by phone M-F 10 a.m.-6 p.m. S 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 312 346 4228  Offer ends March 14!

From Drop Box

Correction, Tribune: There is still a bookstore on Michigan Ave!

Drive by Chicago's famous Water Tower these days and you'll be struck by the light coming through the windows on the corner of Michigan and Pearson: with no books on display, all you can see is the expanse of floor space and a helter-skelter of empty units. As of last Saturday, the immense Borders bookstore is closed. According to Chicago Tribune writer Mary Schmich, that means that "the city's premier shopping street will be without any bookstore for the first time in decades."
Take heart, Mary! Even if we aren't quite on the Magnificent Mile, there is still a bookstore on North Michigan Avenue!
Granted, we're not exactly Borders, a big-box style bookstore with no limit to categories. Our categories are highly specialized: Biblical; Spirituality; Saints; Theology; Liturgy; Religious Instruction... But we do have a couple of comfortable chairs, a music listening station, and (something Borders could never boast) a tiny chapel where you can meet the One who promised to "give rest for your soul" (cf. Mt. 10: 29).

Did you resolve to learn more about the faith?

If your New Year's resolutions included taking some steps toward a more solid, adult understanding of Catholicism, get your calendar out and start marking it!

This Saturday we continue our ongoing study of "Love and Responsibility," an early work of Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) which reflects his experience as a pastor. If people dismiss Pope John Paul's words on marriage because he himself was not married, they are forgetting that he was the spiritual guide for a number of couples and listened deeply to them. When we read "Love and Responsibility" or "Theology of the Body" we are listening to them, too, through the theological lens of their saintly pastor. Saturday we meet at 10:30 here at the bookstore (ask to be admitted to the conference room); Father Thomas Loya will be our guide for this free morning study.

Next week we begin our 20-week Scripture program, using the Great Adventure DVD series (but with an on-site facilitator). This is a Bible overview program. Class starts at 10:30, and runs every Saturday (except the 2nd Saturday of the month) from January 15 through June 25. BYOB: Bring your own Bible! Call 312 346 4228 to register; the class fee is $40 (optional workbook is $30).