From the Director Emeritus

Shem Center For Interfaith Spirituality

Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
Joseph Kilikevice, Director Emeritus
Steven G. Miller, Acting Director

joseph_kilikevice_op

Joseph Kilikevice O.P.
Director Emeritus
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality

Pope Leo XIV — His message comes from the heart.

Pope Leo XIV

Friends, here are some thoughtful words from the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.

Br. Joseph Kilikevice, OP

BREAKING: May 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM

Brothers, sisters…

I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left.

To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home.

I, too, was angry with God. I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine. And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo.

But then I discovered something: God doesn't shout. God whispers. And sometimes He whispers from the mud, from pain, from a grandmother who feeds you without having anything.

I don't come to offer you perfect faith. I come to tell you that faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs.

I'm not asking you to believe in everything. I'm asking you not to close the door. Give a chance to the God who waits for you without judgment.

I'm just a priest who saw God in the smile of a woman who lost her son... and yet she cooked for others.

That changed me.

So if you're broken, if you don't believe, if you're tired of the lies... come anyway. With your anger, your doubt, your dirty backpack. No one here will ask you for a VIP card.

Because this Church, as long as I breathe, will be a home for the homeless, and a rest for the weary.

God doesn't need soldiers. He needs brothers.

And you, yes, you... are one of them.

— Pope Leo XIV

From the Director Archive

The Sounds of Christmas

The Sounds of Christmas, Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality, 2022

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. | December 2, 2022

Yet still we trumpet silent nights, peaceful days keeping hope alive.
— Br. Joseph Kilikevice

Read More
Christmas Message 2022

Shem Center Christmas Message, 2022

By Joseph Kilikevice O.P. | December 1, 2022

Dear friends,

Warm wishes, holiday good cheer, contentment, and happiness is what I want to convey in my annual Christmas message. It’s traditional and expected. But I find I’m falling somewhat short of writing a positive, reassuring message this time. I certainly want our children to feel the delight of unwrapping gifts and the surprises they contain, the colorful lights and decorations on the Christmas tree and the creche under it depicting the reason for celebrating so liberally. Surely they deserve our efforts to give them memories to recall years later as lovely expressions of ours and God’s love.

Read More

Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302

(708) 848-1095
shemcenter1993@gmail.com

Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice

The Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality website is awarded a 2022 American Digital Design Award for excellence in design and user experience.

2022 American Digital Design Awards