Beginning this weekend, all of the parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland will make a small change during the Communion Rite. It’s very simple: after you have received Holy Communion and returned to your seat, please remain standing until the last person has received. Then you may either sit or kneel for personal prayer. We used to stand after Communion until the leftover consecrated hosts were placed back into the tabernacle, however with many different practices in the Diocese, the Bishop felt it would be good to standardize our posture at this time. Toward the end of Com- munion, the Communion Song will end so that you may have some silent time to pray. Thank you for your cooperation.
Congratulations to Benjamin McDonald who will be baptized this Sunday morning. We welcome him into our Catholic Family and pray that he may come to know the resurrection of Christ and believe in the promise of his own resurrection.
Next Saturday the 2nd graders will be making their First Holy Communion during the 4pm Mass. We are grateful to all who were involved in their preparation for this Sacrament, especially our 2nd grade parish school and PSR teachers. It’s always a joy to see them process up the aisle and to hear them sing a thanksgiving song after Communion. May they receive the Eucharist countless times during their lives so that they may know that Christ is with them always.
I may be bald the next time you see me because I’ve been pulling my hair out dealing with the HVAC in the church and rectory. As you know, these are 50 years old (both were built in 1969) and so we have had to make many repairs, some of which are small and some of which are big and expensive. Part of the problem is the way that the system was designed. The boiler (for heat) and chiller (for air conditioning) which are located in the church/rectory basement, were intended to heat and cool both the church and rectory. It turns out this has made things complicated. A few years ago, cooling units were added to the rectory so that they would be separate from the church, but again this has made the system difficult to deal with. The bottom line is that it is quite a science trying to get the church at the right temperature at the right time. The goal of course is to make it as comfortable as possible in the church so that we can focus on our prayer, but sometimes it may be warmer or cooler than you like. Even if we can get it to remain at a set temperature, some still like it warmer or cooler depending upon age, health, and personal prefer- ence. We will continue to do our best and I thank you for your understanding. If you’re too hot, then take off your coat (but nothing else please) and if you’re too cold, then bring an extra sweater with you (but don’t sit too close to the person next to you, trying to warm up through their body heat). Just remember that the scripture says (in the book of Revelation) that the Lord would prefer us either hot or cold, but not lukewarm!