Rita See

When I moved to La Grange from Plainfield about five years ago, I found the nearest Catholic Church, St. Francis Xavier, and the first time I passed through the doors, I was blown away by how stunningly beautiful it was.  I thought God's La Grange home could easily pass for a Cathedral!  I began attending and found the 7:30 Mass was my Mass of choice.  One Sunday, a man at the lectern began speaking about Habitat for Humanity, something I often thought I would like to do.  After Mass, I asked the man about volunteering my help in Clarksdale, Mississippi and was accepted.  When day 1 of the trip arrived, I drove to St. Francis's parking lot to meet the other volunteers and made my first friend in La Grange.  Helping build the house in Mississippi was both exhausting and rewarding, and the volunteers knew how to let their hair down in the evenings.  I totally enjoyed the trip and the other volunteers, one who is still my closest friend today.  I thank God for his gift of a great new friend and a rewarding experience, one I repeated the following summer.   This was the first of the new friends I would make from St. Francis which continues today, five years later.  God has blessed me in the form of these friends.  Five years later, I am still making new friends at St. Francis.  The friendliness of the parishioners at this Church is wonderful, and I thank God for blessing me with a church where I can worship Him and thank Him for the ever-expanding people I can call my gifts from God, my friends.  St. Francis is the most welcoming church I have ever attended, including priests who are open and willing to help in times of need or troubles.  Thank you, Lord, for bringing such good people into my life and sharing your La Grange home with us all.