Pastor's Blog for February 2, 2020

Every February 2nd, the Church celebrates a special feast called the “Presentation of the Lord.” It is also referred to as “Candlemass Day" since we bless candles during the Mass. This year February 2nd falls on a Sunday so we celebrate it this weekend even though it’s still the “Ordinary Time” of the Church year. It commemorates that time when Jesus was presented in the Temple 40 days after his birth. This was a Jewish law which allowed for two things: the ritual purification of the mother after childbirth, and the presentation of the first-born son. You’ll hear about it in the Gospel today and will hear why this was done in the homily. When we celebrate this event liturgically, we begin Mass in a unique way. First, all will be given unlit candles when they come in and then we will begin Mass with the priest and ministers near the chapel area of the church. Everyone will then light their candles and the priest will bless the candles that we use for Mass. If you brought unblessed candles to this Mass, you can keep them with you at your pews and they too will be blessed at this time. Then we will have the opening procession and Mass will continue in the usual way without the Penitential Rite (the Lord have mercy). It’s the only other time of the year when the people hold candles except for at the Easter Vigil. It’s a short but beautiful symbol of what we celebrate on this feast: the light of Christ coming into the world.

Along with the altar and vigil candles that are blessed at this time, we also bless the candles used for the blessing of throats on or near the feast of St. Blaise, which is on February 3rd. Deacon Pat & I will use these candles to bless throats at the end of each Mass, as we begin the closing song. Here is the prayer we say as we place the candles around your neck (fun fact: the candles used to be lit but this was stopped since on occasion they would light someone’s hair on fire...Yikes!). “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

I received word from Sister Gloria Olori that she has been assigned to begin another mission with some of her fellow sisters in the United Kingdom, beginning this Tuesday, February 4th. I remember her coming to my office to introduce herself to me just a few weeks after I arrived here in January of 2014. She has been active in our parish as a Eucharistic Minister, a member of our choir, a tutor and a teacher in our PSR program. She is a member of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel from Nigeria and are sad that she must leave us. We will ask God’s blessing on her during our 8am Mass Sunday & I ask you to say a prayer for her now that she may receive God’s many blessings in the years ahead.

Pastor's Blog for January 26, 2020

Next weekend we will be celebrating the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which is celebrated every year on February 2nd, but this year that happens to fall on a Sunday. We will have the blessing of candles so you are encouraged to bring with you next weekend any candles you would like to have blessed. You can just keep them with you in your pew and they will be blessed at the beginning of Mass. We will also have the blessing of throats at the end of each Mass next weekend as we customarily do on or near the feast of St. Blaise which is on February 3rd.

Monday, January 27th, is the feast of St. Angela Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline Order of Nuns. She wanted her religious community of sisters to be named after St. Ursula, hence they are known as the Ursuline’s and they use the initials O.S.U. after their name which stands for the “Order of St. Ursula” (not Ohio State University!). Sister Erin, our previous Principal, is an Ursuline sister and she continues to send her greetings and prayers to the people & students of St. Leo’s so please keep her in prayer as well.

This Friday, Deacon Pat & I will be attending the annual Clergy Night Dinner with the Knights of Columbus (K of C) at the seminary in Wickliffe (known as the Center for Pastoral Leadership). It’s a good time for me to remind you to consider joining this wonderful fraternal organization if you are looking to make some new friends. They meet here at St. Leo’s and have made us their home in the last few years and we are happy they are here. I believe I failed to mention that they very generously donated $4000.00 to us when we had our new shrines built in the back of the church. This was a big help, especially when we learned that we had to pay for the removal of asbestos that was found in the paint of the old confessional ceilings (a very tiny trace amount, but the law requires this be removed with extensive safety precautions). I want to publicly thank them for their generosity to us and pledge our prayers to them.

All continues to go very well with our parish school. I know it’s something most of you probably don’t even think much about as they are not in session when the majority of parishioners are here but it’s an important part of who we have been and are here at St. Leo’s. We have the wonderful leadership of our Principal, Mrs. Denise Burns, who has continued to increase our enrollment significantly each year. Our teachers and staff are dedicated and I believe are the main reason why so many choose to send their children here for their education. Our school has a long and important history in our parish and we would not be the same without it so I want to express my appreciation to all those who continue to make it what it is. I celebrate Mass with the school community regularly and enjoy my visits to the children. We pray that they may grow, as the child Jesus did, in “wisdom, age and grace.”

Pastor's Blog January 19, 2020

Walter Milewski was well known to many people who attend the 8am Mass on Sunday morning. Walter was an usher here for many years but had been confined to a nursing home for the last couple of months as he struggled with his breathing. We celebrated his funeral Mass this past Monday where we remembered his great devotion to the rosary, which he always had in his hands, praying up to 3 rosaries a day. Walter had been married for 50 years to his wife Marie and they enjoyed traveling together. He was one of 10 children and though he had no children of his own, he was blessed with many nieces & nephews. May Walter now join with Mary in knowing the joy of heaven’s reward for a life of faith.

We welcome Claire Kupchella into our Catholic family as she is baptized this Sunday after the 11am Mass. May her parents, married here at St. Leo the Great, know the joy of raising her in the practice of the faith.

On January 22 each year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ask us to remember the great harm that has been done to the human family through the tragic abortions that have taken place. They have declared this to be a National Day of Prayer and Penance for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The Diocese of Cleveland will have a Mass for Life this Wednesday, January 22nd at 10:00am at the Cathedral downtown. And the Knights of Columbus have made available to us a holy card which you will receive today which contains a prayer to Mary, as we celebrate the Gospel of Life, written by Pope St. John Paul II. Deacon Pat and his wife Joan, our Pastoral Ministers, will also be lead- ing a Holy Hour this Thursday, January 23rd during which we will pray for a greater respect of all human life. May our prayers and awareness of this tragedy help bring it to an end.

Please see information in this bulletin concerning our Baby Bottle campaign which asks for donations of coins to be used to help expectant women and new mothers. It’s another small way we can show our belief in the sacredness of human life.

I am in continuous talks with a founder of Trinity Travels regarding the planned pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the end of this year or beginning of next year. We are working on the best dates and prices possible so please stay tuned & know we’ll be meeting as soon as we have enough information to share with those who may be interested.

I read a tweet which pointed out that the year 1990 is as far away from us as the year 2050. Amazing to think about that, especially if you were alive in 1990 & feel like it’s in the recent past. My great-niece who was just born will live to see the year 2100 if she lives to be 80, which will probably be considered middle age by that time.

Speaking of dates, I received a letter from the Bishop appointing me to another 6 year term here at St. Leo’s. Together let us joyfully continue to work at proclaiming God’s kingdom among us.

Pastor's Blog for January 12, 2020

On Saturday, January 4th, we celebrated a Memorial Mass for Carole Cerveny who died on December 31, 2019. Carole was a woman of faith who had a devotion to Mary, and on that day she died (New Year’s Eve) and the day following, we celebrated the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Carole spent many years in a nursing home, confined to a wheelchair, but we believe (based on Mary’s Assumption), that she will finally be free from all that constrained her in this life. Carole loved to be with her family and cooked for them when she was able. May she now enjoy forever the feast of heaven. th

Last Monday, January 6 , I had a funeral service for Jack Gabrenya. I had lead the family in prayers for his wife in 2018 and they were blessed with 68 years of marriage. Jack was remembered as someone who helped others in any way he could, even his neighbors, as testified to by a parish- ioner who knew him as one of her neighbors for many years. Jack was 92 and lived independently up until the last few weeks before his death. We extend our sympathies to his 3 children and remember his service as a US Navy Veteran of WWII.

We welcome Fr. Vesely who will celebrate the 4pm Mass this weekend. Remember to thank him for his 65 years of service to the Diocese of Cleveland. We will be publish- ing an article written about his anniversary in our next News & Views Newsletter. May he continue to bless the people of Mt. Alverna as he blesses us with his presence and prayers.

I had asked for your input regarding the lighting in the church, and as expected, I received differing opinions (they say that if you ask 5 priests their opinion on something, you’ll get 12 in return!). Some felt the lighting was fine while others struggle reading the text and music in the Breaking Bread books. It really depends on where you are sitting in the church (and 95% of you sit in the same pew or at least general area every week...but of course I sit in the same seat every week too!). The truth is, the lighting is very inconsistent because of our fan-shaped church. From where I stand, I can certainly see many patches of darkness as I look out at the nave (where the pews are) from the sanctuary. It isn’t too expensive to replace the bulbs with a higher wattage (though we’ll still be using the cost-effective LED bulbs) and they will use extensions to bring the light further down so that it doesn’t get trapped in the ceiling. Finally, the light will be a cooler (whiter) hue than what we use in the sanctu- ary which tends to use a warmer, more yellowish tint. I hope the result will be better visibility for aging eyes. Imagine the days when all they had were the flickering light of candles. I trust you will notice the difference when the bulbs are re- placed in the coming weeks.

While I am grateful we haven’t had many snow days so far, the grey of winter can cause our spirits to droop. Here’s hoping the light of faith will keep you content and grateful in 2020.

Pastor's Blog for January 5, 2020

Welcome to 2020! It seems like yesterday we were celebrating the beginning of a new millennium in the year 2000, and now we are 20 years past that & beginning a third decade since then. Are things better now than they were then? Of course we had cell phones back then but not iPhones or iPads or many of the other technology screens that we have now...both for better and for worse I suppose. Is the world a better place? It’s hard to judge history in such a short span of time. But the most important question is this: has our faith grown over the years? All I know for sure is that God has never left us, and if we have left him from time to time, he is always willing to take us back. Let us begin this new decade, this new year, this new month, with thoughts of God’s love and mercy.

Last week I thanked the musicians who allowed us to raise our minds, hearts and voices to God in praise this Christmas Season. Now I turn to those who have once again made our church so beautiful with the Christmas decorations. It’s a lot of work, and they do it so well. I am grateful for all of our liturgical ministers who serve generously throughout the year: the Mass coordinators who setup and clean up for each Mass, the altar servers, ushers, lectors, eucharistic min- isters, and maintenance people who keep our church clean.

On December 19th we celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Gail Bresnahan. I had Gail’s husband’s funeral Mass in 2018. This is what was said of Gail in her obituary: “Known for her spunk and her faith, Gail Bresnahan will be remembered as a Hallmark watching, grandchildren-loving individual who was never afraid to speak her mind. Thanks to her dedicated spirit to stand up for the things and people she loved. Hoping now to spend eternity with her husband, Gail will now live a life of peace together with God and Mary, who she revered so dearly. Her time on earth will be remembered by all those she touched.” Beautiful words. May she rest in peace.

I was sad to hear of the passing of another parishioner named Kathleen Weitzman. Kathy lived in Broadview Gardens with her daughter and she was a true person of faith. Since she had no family other than her daughter, services were private. But we will offer Mass for her and pray for the response of her soul.

We have two weddings this week: On Friday, Marcos Gonzalez & Eirelys (Stefany) Ydrogo, and on Saturday Becky Caraballo & Marvin Beavers IV. Congratulations to both couples! May they be blessed in this new year and in their new lives together.

When I was away, Fr. O’Grady and Deacon Pat gave a blessing to a couple who were the last ones married in our old church on December 20, 1969, just 4 days from when the first Mass would be celebrated in the new church on December 24th. I was happy to meet them at one of the Christmas Masses so I wanted to congratulate Russ & Linda Fisher on their 50th Wedding Anniversary. May they find new joy as they begin their 51st year of marriage.