St. Mary of the Lake

I love this church, too. Its not only beautiful but the priests and deacons seem very kind and gentle. Even the folks who attend Mass there are nice and friendly.
I feel good as soon as I get near the doors to enter St. Mary’s. They have a beautiful little candle lit room off the church itself, open to everyone, where you can write names or intentions in a book and they will receive prayers during Mass.
Fr Kastigar and Fr Collins are the kind of priests I admire. They aren’t full of admonishments and scoldings as some area priests are but offer homilies filled with hope and love.

this is the church of the catholic school i attended from kindergarten to eighth grade. i had my first communion and confirmation here, i was a member of the choir, a frequent reader for mass, and even served as an alter girl briefly. countless easters and christmases. i was even in this very church for mass the morning of september 11^th, 2001. this church carries so much meaning for me.
a beautiful space with masses throughout the week in both english and spanish and an amazing sense of community. i always make a point of going to church here when i’m home even though there’s a (gorgeous) basilica near my house. if i ever get married, this place is definitely at the top of my list.

I have been an attendee at SML for many years, and have witnessed several changes in personnel. Some of the priests were excellent, others passable, and some really put my sense of Christian tolerance to the test! Unfortunately I include the current pastor in the last classification. I know that the circumstances surrounding his assignment to SML were less than ideal and it appears that he only exacerbated the tensions by doing some things (like keeping a very loud dog fenced in the lawn) that seemed deliberately calculated to antagonize both the parishioners and the surrounding community. If only these «negatives» were balanced by «positives» like good, inspiring sermons and liturgies… but alas, I have found his pastoral qualities sadly lacking so far. If the homily mentioned by another poster was Fr. K’s handiwork, either directly or indirectly, it makes me feel even more disappointed and increasingly alienated from a parish that I’ve loved and supported for a long time. More and more over the last few months, I have been seeking alternatives to SML. Fortunately the North Side has many other parishes within easy distance of my home. It appears that my weekly donation (never mind how much!) Will not be missed however. (Memo to Fr. K — read and review that Gospel lesson about the «widow’s mite.»)

I have to say, my experience with this church was less than satisfying. I went last week, having just moved into the neighborhood. The priest talked about money throughout the homily. He went so far as to say that small donations were unacceptable because we should «give Jesus our best.» If all we can afford was $ 1.00, he warned, we would be better off just keeping it — I’m pretty sure that directly conflicts with lessons in the Bible.
Additionally, the whole mass felt like an eternity — the wrong kind of eternity.
I will NOT go back to this church.

Yes, Patrick is right – they have instituted a new system for communion that has ushers releasing people pew by pew. Much more organized (except for the people who have not caught onto this system).

This is a beautiful old church in a very pretty section of Uptown. I had been going way out of my way to go to church, ahem, not that I’ve been exactly a regular, ahem, because frankly I didn’t realize St. Mary’s was here… and within walking distance! I’ve only just been here for my first time, but am impressed. As stated, it’s a beautiful old building and has a great mix of young and old parishioners.
It sounds like Father Kastigar read Beth’s review, because there’s a Theology on Tap event today and the parish picnic is next Saturday… so it looks like they’re building up the community a bit.
I read Beth’s review before going this morning and was rather intrigued by what she called «the running of the Catholics.» My eager anticipation of the holy eucharist– besides for religious reasons– was uneventful. Other than the elderly lady in the pew behind me doing an end around and getting to the eucharistic minister before me, I saw no evidence of a bum rush to take communion, so I can only conclude that order has been instilled into the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

I’ve only been to the food pantry, they are polite and there’s no wait at all. Quality stuff, not that you should complain though, since it’s free.