Pastor's Column

     Please say a prayer for Leonard Young, a member of our parish who passed away a couple of weeks ago. Leonard came to talk to me back in the fall & shared with me the news that he had cancer. He was looking forward to his annual trip to Florida during the winter months with his wife & so I told him I'd be in touch with him while he was away. When I called to say hello to him & to see how he was doing, his wife sadly informed me that he had just passed a couple days before. There will be a funeral for him when she returns to Cleveland in a few months. Though I had just gotten to know Leonard from this one conversation I had with him, I can see how he was a man of deep faith. I'll share more about him when we have his funeral but ask that you keep him and his wife Ann (Erna) in your prayers.

    Please put these others on your prayer list too...Steve Simonik, who recently had some stents put in his arteries, Dennis Badar who had eye surgery, Daniel Staskiews who is in hospice, Jack Habrat & Rich Bunosky who are at Holy Family Hospice Center, Donna Mlady who continues to receive chemo treatments (it was good to see her able to come to church last weekend), and all those sick & homebound people whose names are listed in the bulletin. Out of respect for people's privacy, I am careful to publish here only the names of those people whose permission I have received to mention them in the bulletin. If I did not have a chance to ask them but know they would appreciate prayers, I may include only their first names. I always want to respect the privacy of those who are ill but also want us to remember them in thought & prayer. 

    Next Saturday, March 5th, Bishop Gries will be here to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation at the 4pm Mass. We welcome the Bishop and we pray for those who are completing their Sacraments of Initiation. I'm grateful to their catechists & to all who helped prepare them for this celebration. My cousin Father Dan Schlegel will be providing the meal that will be served to the Bishop and to those who helped prepare these young people for Confirmation. I've eaten his meals before and did not become ill so as long as he can cook without vegetables, he's welcome to prepare something for us. I guess we could call him "Chef Schlegel" but I bet you can't say that 5 times fast. (I know you just paused reading this to see if you could do it...and I was right, right?). 

Homily Thoughts...Chance vs. Choice

“Did you hear what happened?” So begins many of our conversations when some tragedy has occurred, like another shooting at a school or more terrorism attacks by ISIS. In the beginning of today’s gospel, people say to Jesus, “Did you hear what happened about how Pilate killed Galileans while they were offering sacrifice in the temple?” And Jesus himself chimes in, “Did you hear what happened when a tower fell on 18 people in Siloam & killed them?” But Jesus makes it clear that these bad things happened by chance & not because God was punishing them for sin. “Do you think they were worse sinners than everyone else?”

Sometimes bad things happen by chance. At other times, they happen by choice, by OUR choice. But what is worse than the physical death of people by chance, Jesus says, is the spiritual death of people by choice. “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.” If we live in destructive, sinful ways, bad things will happen to us not because of God, but because of our own choices. 

But there is good news too! Jesus tells a parable where God is the gardener. He says to the owner of the garden who wants to cut down the unfruitful fig tree, “Give this fig tree more time & I will do my best to take care of it.” God is patient. “God’s patience is directed toward our salvation” says St. Paul. God will wait for us to turn things around if we work with his grace. God uses his patience for us to change our hearts. 

Pastor's Column

     There's a little black book that we made available (in limited number) to people on Ash Wednesday which offers some short reflections during Lent. It said that "around the world, under the old rules of Lenten fasting, cultural preferences and food availability affected what people could eat during Lent." Then it went on to give an example. In certain parts of the world, you were allowed to eat turtle and muskrat during Lent because years ago, early settlers in Michigan had convinced local Church authorities that muskrat was a water animal and not a land animal, which made it permissible to eat on Fridays of Lent. In 2014, the archbishop of New Orleans said that it was permissible to eat alligator meat because it's considered to be part of the fish family. Given this new-found information, I tried to get muskrat & alligator put on the menu for our Lenten Fish Fries here at St. Leo's, but I just couldn't get them to budge. I'd probably not eat here in protest, but the food is so good that I can't pass it up. So I strongly suggest you try our Fish Fry if you haven't yet this year, and I encourage you to request muskrat & alligator for next year. They won't listen to me but I'll bet they'll listen to you. 

    Just in case you did eat muskrat or alligator BEFORE you knew it was OK to on Friday's of Lent, we have a remedy for that called confession. As you know we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation available every Saturday from 2:45 until 3:30 and at any other time by request, but this Wednesday we have a special, diocesan-wide opportunity for you to receive the sacrament. Every Catholic parish in the diocese will have a priest or priests available to hear confessions this Wednesday, February 24th, from 5pm until 8pm. We tried this a couple of years ago & so many took advantage of it that the Diocese has decided to make it an annual opportunity. Fr. Vesely & I will be available in the reconciliation rooms by the chapel area here at St. Leo's on Wednesday, but you can go to any other Catholic Church as well if it's closer to where you live or work. Take advantage of God's free gift of forgiveness, especially during this Holy Year of Mercy.

    Please pray too for Becky Dolly who had surgery for a brain aneurism. Gratefully this risky surgery was successful & she is now recuperating. May she have a speedy recovery. 

Homily Thoughts...There Are No Walls in Heaven

One of the pope’s titles is “Pontifex Maximus” or “Supreme Pontiff.” Pontiff means bridge builders. Pope Francis says that Christians must build bridges, not walls. 

Here is what Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical (letter) called Laudato Si: “At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God and be able to read with admiration and happiness the mystery of the universe. Even now we are journeying towards our common home in heaven. Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place and have something to give those poor men and women who will have been liberated once and for all."

In heaven, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God, as Peter, James & John were when they saw Christ transfigured (glorified) on the mountain. We are all on this journey toward common home in heaven & that eternal life will be a “shared experience of awe.” In other words, while walls may be necessary on earth, there will be no walls in heaven. Francis said that each creature will be transfigured. Even our bodies will be glorified. So now, we are in the process of being changed, transfigured, transformed. Christ is our Bridge from sin to grace, hatred to love, from this life to the next.

Homily...The Act Against Principle

St. Ignatius spoke of the "agere contra" principle which means "to act against." It's a simple concept. When trying to overcome a particular sin, act against it, even in an exaggerated way.

For example, we fast on Ash Wednesday & Good Friday because we are acting against our tendency to over-eat and over-drink. If someone is ambitious, they can instead look for opportunities to do something good without telling anyone about it. They act against their pride & their ambitiousness in this way. If we're jealous or envious of someone, we can praise that person for the good we see in them. If we are lazy, we can focus our time & energy on a particular project. 

Our greatest example of this principle is of course Jesus. The devil tempted him with all the food he could possibly enjoy, so Jesus fasts in the desert instead. The devil tempted him with power and glory, but Jesus chooses to worship God alone. The devil tempted him to put God to the test, but instead Jesus places his trust in God. Jesus always did the opposite of what he knew was sinful or selfish or against the will of God, and he often did these things in an exaggerated way. During Lent, we fast because we consume too much; we pray because we talk to God too little; we give alms because we keep too much for ourselves. What is a part of your life that is not holy? Act against it this Lent by the power & grace that God will give you. 

Pastor's Column

     My thanks to all those who participated in our Pictorial Directory by having their picture taken during the last couple of weeks. I look forward to getting to know more names to match the familiar faces I see each week. If your picture isn't in the book & I don't already know your name, then you'll have to get used to me saying "Hey you" when trying to get your attention. When I don't know the name of a child, I say to the boys "Hey buddy" & to the girls "Hi sweetheart." Of course everyone knows Michaela's name due to her cuteness & popularity, and if they don't know mine, they can still pretend by just saying "What's up Father?" Regardless of whether we know each other's name, it's comforting to remember during this Lenten Time that God knows & calls everyone by name. Let us in turn call on his Name to save us from our sins. 

    You can also call on the name of God as you pray for your fellow parishioners, especially Marie Masters whom I spoke to this past week when she shared with me the sad news of being diagnosed with cancer. As the President of our Senior's group, I know that she will have their ongoing prayers & support but we all offer her the same. We also continue to pray for Jan Papez, Rosemary Hamski, Linda Coffman, and all those who face cancer and other illnesses especially Carol, Dennis, Helen, Dorothy, Jack, Doris, Walter, Daniel & Leonard. I also ask you to remember Rich Bunosky who went into the Holy Family Hospice Center this past week so that he may receive special care. For these and for those I have failed to mention, we pray that God may provide strength & peace.

    I failed last weekend to include a reminder about our Fish Fry that began the Friday after Ash Wednesday. It's a rare day when I fail to remember an upcoming meal, especially one as good as our annual Fish Fry. Hopefully you remembered to come anyway & perhaps you were reminded by the large billboard you can see on the left as you go north on Broadview Road over the bridge. That billboard allowed us to advertise Catholic Schools Week in addition to our Fish Fry. Thanks to all the people who volunteer a lot of time to provide these meals to us, I look forward to the opportunity to spend time with you in a social setting as we enjoy a great meal together. You are welcome to join us for the Stations of the Cross in the church at 7pm on Fridays...a perfect way to end the evening after enjoying a meal with your family, friends or fellow parishioners. 

Pastor's Column

    For at least the past year, if not longer, I have spoken to Lynn Thomas, a mother who had deep concerns about her son who has been struggling with addiction for some time. We would talk in hopes of his recovery and I would assure her of my prayers for him and for the family. Sadly the family lost Ben and we had his funeral here this past Thursday. He was 23. He is remembered as someone who always made others laugh & who helped others in their struggle despite his own. He liked others regardless of their past and discriminated against no one. While we all have our struggles in this life, the goodness of God can also be seen through us. Ben loved his family & they loved him. Please offer a prayer for him.

    Part of our Parish Council discussion a couple weeks ago dealt with the possibility of participating in the Habitat for Humanity program where both funds and "man-power" (including "woman-power") are used to rehab a home that can be used by those who need proper shelter. I will be speaking to those in the SVDP & ARISE groups about this opportunity but also ask you to let me know of your possible interest in participating in this corporal work of mercy. 

    We have another opportunity to participate in the bodily acts of mercy this weekend in our Annual Catholic Charities Appeal. What I most appreciate about this organization (besides the fact that it's the largest charity organization in the world), is that I know that our contributions are used in the most responsible way possible. The needs of many are examined & then it is determined how much funding can be allocated to each outreach program. It's a most practical way of taking care of bodily needs from feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, and so on. But it also reaches out to the emotional & spiritual needs of others as well. We feed them not only with food but with love. We shelter them from the weather and from the storms of life. We cloth them with clothes and with dignity. "Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers & sisters, you do for me."

    Finally, this week begins the Lenten Time of the year with our celebration of Ash Wednesday. We will have a School Mass at 8:30am (which all are always welcome to attend) and then Mass at 7pm as well. At Noon we will have a Prayer Service which will include the Liturgy of the Word followed by the distribution of ashes (Communion will not be distributed). Remember too that Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence. Wish me luck trying to explain to Michaela that that means, "No treats today."