This Tuesday we will be having a Parish Council meeting (we generally meet once a month). As with the Finance Council, you are welcomed to ask any questions or make any suggestions to any of the council members, whose names can be found in the parish bulletin.
This Wednesday is the Feast of All Saints, a holy day of obligation. Mass will be at 8:30am (school Mass which all are welcome to attend) & at 7pm. Please join us as we cele- brate these holy men and women throughout the ages who inspire us in our faith and who pray for us who are still on our journey.
This Thursday is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (more commonly known as “All Souls’ Day). We pray in a special way for all our loved ones and parishioners of St. Leo who have died, confident that our prayers assist them on their journey to God. Mass will be at our usual time, 7:30am Thursday morning. The month of November, especially All Souls’ Day, is a traditional time for visiting the graves of loved ones.
This weekend a seminarian will be visiting St. Leo’s and will be speaking briefly after Holy Communion. As Bishop Perez noted to the priests earlier this month, the Diocese of Cleveland is known nationally for our large fraternity of priests and for the support we offer to one another. This is due in large part to the College and Major Seminaries that we have had in our Diocese for many years and which are located on one campus in Wickliffe. So at this time of the year we try to remember the seminarians who are discerning and preparing for ordained ministry in the Church. We welcome Ryan Arto, a seminarian at Borromeo College Seminary in Wickliffe, who will share with us how he became interested in the priesthood. As you know, every week we publish the picture of a seminarian or novice (someone preparing to enter a religious order) along with their name and parish so that we might pray for them as they discern and prepare for this spe- cial life in the Church. Perhaps you can even cut out that little part of the bulletin each week & put it in your pocket or purse as a reminder to pray for them during the week. I’ll let Ryan tell his story but I will say that he started to think about priesthood when he was in the eighth grade (same as myself) when he attended St. Francis de Sales in Akron. Again we welcome Ryan and pledge our prayers and support for him as he seeks to do the will of God in his life.