Pastor's Column for August 1, 2021

Louise Horvath was the 93 year old mother of Judi Krahn who is a member of our parish. Judi would ask me to come over and anoint her mom from time to time and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have done that, the last time not being too long ago. We also prayed the last rites for her as she had been bedridden for some time in her home. Judi took great care of her mom and truly honored her by doing so during Louise’s last years. Fr. Josh Cochrac from St. Charles parish was kind enough to celebrate her funeral Mass in my absence while I was away in Florida. May Louise now rest in eternal peace.

I visited with Michael Coffman and his wife Jeannette shortly before I left on vacation. He told me about his struggle with cancer and how good his wife of 42 years had been to him through that illness. I anointed him and gave him Holy Communion. I had hoped to see him again after my vacation but he passed away shortly after I returned and we celebrated his funeral Mass on Saturday, July 24th. Mike was a man who loved his wife and two children, Michael & Michelle, and who loved life itself. He was a man of faith who was devoted to his patron, St. Michael the Archangel. We thank God for the good care he received from Hospice & from his family. May God now take good care of him on the other side of life.

Congratulations to Christina Giangrande & to James Hafner Jr. who are being wedded this weekend (Saturday, July 31st). I have enjoyed getting to know them. Christina’s parents John & Maria are active members of the parish whom I also got to know well during our trip to Italy a couple of years ago. Congratulations to them & to Jim’s parents as well.

The new editor of this parish bulletin is expecting her first child the last week of July which is when I am writing this column since she needs to have the bulletin for this weekend done before she goes into labor. So first, we congratulate Bailey Milcinovic & her husband on the birth of their child. Bailey has been doing a great job with the bulletin and with all of our social media as well as with her work as one of our Preschool teachers. But secondly, due to bulletin deadlines, including when I was on vacation, I failed to mention in last week’s bulletin that Pope Francis said he established a new World Day of Grandparents & Elderly for 2 major reasons: because of the neglect and isolation so many grandparents and elderly experienced worldwide during the COVID-19 health crisis and because of the important role they play in society. He designated the fourth Sunday of July—July 25th this year, which was last Sunday—for this new commemoration. He chose this date because of its close proximity to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The pope also said, “I was called to become the bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age, and thought I would not be doing anything new” (the pope, who is 84, was elected when he was 76). “The Lord is always…close to us with new possibilities, new ideas, news consolations…he never goes into retirement.” So that is why we prayed for all grandparents & for the elderly last weekend. May they all know that the Lord is close to them & always doing something new in their lives. You can read more about this on the website for the Diocese of Cleveland (dioceseofcleveland.org).

Pastor's Column for July 25, 2021

I had started to complain last week about the hassle of preparing for vacation & even of flying to our desired destination, but tried to realize how blessed we are to be able to travel so far & to enjoy a vacation to begin with. And I am very grateful to have enjoyed Key West, along with the 20 or so members of my family. But permit me to resort to complaining about one hassle some of us experienced on the way home. We flew from Key West to Chicago where we had a late flight back to Cleveland which would have us home by 11:30pm on Saturday night. But the American Airlines flight to Cleveland had been canceled “due to weather.” Trust me when I say that there was no bad weather from Chicago to Cleveland that night. So either the airline was short on staff or short on passengers. They offered us no reimbursement (not even for luggage that was already paid for) and there were no hotels or rental cars available that we could purchase ourselves (let alone the airline picking up the tab for these). My brother-in-law & niece’s husband were, however, able to rent a large Yukon but it had to be for the week which cost nearly $1000. Hopefully my nephew will be able to make use of it for work as he needed to drive back to Chicago for work a couple of days after we returned home. As a result, I arrived back to the rectory Sunday morning with just enough time to prepare for the 8am Mass. It always takes me a few days to catch up on lost sleep so my energy will be low for a few days. So my apologies for the written complaint, but there is some satisfaction in pointing the finger toward businesses that fail to do the right thing for their customers (I’m looking at you, American Airlines!).

Now that I have that out of my system, I apologize that our live-streaming camera went offline as of last Sunday morning, so if you weren’t able to participate in the Mass online since then, you can have the chance to complain to Spectrum, our new online provider, as I’m noticing that they go offline more often than I want a donut (and that’s pretty often). Of course our IT people are working to get us back online as soon as possible, hopefully by the time you read this.

On a more positive note, I want to welcome the newest member of our parish family, Harrison Shepherd, son of Justin & Madeline, who was baptized on Saturday, July 3rd. A baptism is always a joyful event, but even more so for Harrison’s parents as he was born prematurely and so struggled with many health issues. But he has become increasingly more healthy and strong, thanks in large part to the love and devotion of his parents, whose faith is strong and who have sacrificed so much for their first born child. I am inspired by them and grateful to them for their loving witness as parents and for their courageous faith. May Harrison reward them both with a life dedicated to them and to God. Welcome Harrison!

Our sympathies go to Melissa McNamara and to her mother Dwan on the death of Melissa’s grandmother and Dwan’s mother, Joanne Griffin, who died unexpectedly. Melissa & her husband Ryan, who’s wedding I had here almost 2 years ago, are expecting their first child any day now. May God who gives life both in heaven and on earth, bring peace and joy to those who grieve with the hope of seeing their loved ones again in God’s kingdom.

Pastor's Column for July 18, 2021

I am writing this on the evening before my trip to Florida, knowing that I’m probably not going to be wanting to do it while on vacation, so this needs to be submitted before I leave. I am all packed & ready to go but I have to admit that trying to get emails answered, phone calls made, and the desk cleared, besides packing & going through the hassle of airport security, makes me wonder at times if it’s worth the hassle. This is especially true as I get older, and I’m pushing 61 (or rather it’s pulling me!). On the other hand, how blessed we are to live in a time of history when we can get on a plane & fly to the southern most part of the country within just a few short hours. It took days for the Holy Family to travel (on foot mostly, with perhaps the help of a camel or donkey) just to travel a few miles every year to the Temple, which they were required to make as an annual pilgrimage. And that was without the distraction of cell phones, social media and all the other things that tend to help us pass the time quickly. So I try to just be grateful for the opportunity rather than complain about the hassle (you didn’t hear me complaining, did you?). The other hard part is leaving Michaela & Abby for a week & entrusting them to the care of others. But again, I’m grateful that others are willing to help with that too. So hopefully by the time you read this (I’ll be arriving back in Cleveland near midnight on Saturday the 17th), I’ll be celebrating the two Masses on Sunday morning (the 18th), and thank Deacon Pat in advance that he will be preaching so that’s one less thing for me to do before my return.
This weekend we welcome our friends from Bethlehem (originally…they live in the States now) who will be selling beautiful olive wood pieces, made by the people in the Holy Land. Please support them (plus save yourself the time of looking for gifts for others) since you’ll actually be supporting their families in the Holy Land who continue to struggle, especially as a result of COVID.
Our trip to the Holy Land, by the way, is still on and I am really looking forward to that experience next May. We are in the midst of planning an informational meeting to take place in the coming weeks, but I also need to tell you that spots for this pilgrimage will be limited to about 30 people right now & we already have several people lined up from other parishes who are interested in joining us. Several of you expressed interest to me last year & I have a list of who you are, but please let me know again of your intentions to go so that I can keep track of availability. I have a sister & brother-in-law who are going and I’m anxious to share this journey with them as well. You’ll see posters in the church soon about this trip & we’ll have informational brochures available as well, including the cost.
Before leaving on vacation, Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan & I were able to take Father O’Grady out to dinner. It was great to see him & he is doing pretty well but he is not strong enough to celebrate Mass on his own. We celebrated two special occasions with him: his 88th birthday on July 4th (they have fireworks for him every year) and his 60th anniversary as a priest. He was ordained on May 20, 1961. I sent him your love and prayers & he sends the same to you as well.

Pastor's Column for July 11, 2021

In last weekend’s column I started to tell you about the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign that is taking place right now in the Diocese of Cleveland. I pointed out that all of our ministers in the Church, from Pastoral Ministers to Permanent Deacons to Priests are prepared at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe (about 25 minutes east from here). Our two seminaries, Borromeo College Seminary & St. Mary Seminary, are both housed on this campus. Borromeo is a four year liberal arts college seminary where men discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. St. Mary Seminary is a five-year program called a “major” seminary because it is there that a man is formed for priesthood through an academic and “field education” program. A seminarian at St. Mary undergoes 5 years of academic work and experiences ministry as he is assigned to parishes and to other Catholic institutions for several months. I spoke of how blessed we are in the Diocese of Cleveland to have our own seminary system as it allows our seminarians to learn about our own parishes and Catholic institutions and allows them to get to know the other clergy and lay ministers whom they will be working alongside with after they are ordained.

However the buildings on this campus are in great need of being updated and remodeled and so a campaign was started to address this need. Called “Heart of a Shepherd,” it seeks the financial and prayerful support of the parishes in this diocese. We had the option to raise money through a pledge appeal, but I chose instead the option to simply donate a percentage (15%) of our annual contributions over a three-year period. So we will pledge a total of about $66,000, which amounts to a yearly contribution of $22,000 for three years. I felt that this was a better option than seeking individual pledges from you which would have taken more time away from my ministry as the only priest here at St. Leo’s and which would have also asked each of you to consider an individual pledge over a three year period (or a one-time contribution). I myself have made such an individual pledge but I did not want to impose that on you since many in our parish are on a fixed income and this would have been a challenge for you to commit to. I am also so grateful to you for your continued financial support each week, which you so generously continued even during the long pandemic. A more thorough financial report will be given to the parish this fall but we continue to meet our annual budget thanks to your continued generosity.

If you would like more information about the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign, you can visit here and even make your own personal pledge in addition to our parish pledge: https://www.catholiccommunity.org/heart-of-a-shepherd/campaign-overview. This link will also be highlighted on our parish website at leothegreat.org. 

This weekend I am flying to Key West where I am joining my 3 sisters and their 10 “children” (my adult nieces & nephews) for a week-long family vacation. It’s our post-COVID family reunion and my sister in Fort Meyers was able to reserve condos right next to each other  for us to stay. We look forward to eating at many different restaurants & to enjoying things like jet-skiing & site-seeing while there together. I won’t be returning until late next Saturday so the plan is to have Fr. Vesely celebrate the 4pm Mass next Saturday, July 17th. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to join us so I’m sure you will enjoy seeing him and he will be anxious to see you as well. 

Pastor's Column for July 4, 2021

Happy July 4th! To celebrate this holiday falling on a Sunday, we’ll have fireworks shot off in the church at the end of Mass so sing the closing song loudly as there will be a lot of noise during that time. On second thought, Michaela really hates fireworks & I was reminded of that on Juneteenth when somebody was shooting them off in a place that sounded like it was in our backyard (or in the next room!). Firecrackers have really become a nuisance as they bother our pets and even keep us older folks up at night. So I’ll scratch the idea of fireworks in the church and instead we’ll celebrate the holiday with an outdoor Mass at the shrine on Monday, July 5th, at 9am. It worked out very well when we celebrated Memorial Day there a month ago so we’ll do it again. But this time I’ll let you know that besides the benches we have there (& we’re going to be getting some more), we also have chairs from the Parish Center that we’re happy to bring out for you so if you can’t bring a chair but still want to join us for Mass there, please come & trust that we’ll give you something to sit on & won’t make you sit with your legs crossed on the ground.
On a more serious note, I want to express our sympathy to Allan Morinec on the death of his mother and to Chip Meitin whose mother also passed away recently. These two men are faithful members of our parish and we offer our prayers for them and for their moms. Please say a Hail Mary for them and for their mothers as you read this.
I received a letter this week from Bishop Malesic asking me to thank the parish community for our support of the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign. You won’t know what that is because I haven’t told you about it yet but the Diocese recognized the need to update our seminary buildings which are in Wickliffe, Ohio, only about 25 minutes from here. I began my seminary journey there back in 1974 when I attended Borromeo Seminary High School. (After the high school seminary closed in 1976, I went to another high school seminary in Vienna, West Virginia until I graduated from there in 1978). Borromeo College Seminary continues to be located on this same campus in Wickliffe, and several years ago, the “Major” seminary called St. Mary’s, formerly on Ansel Road in Cleveland, moved to the same campus as our college seminary in Wickliffe. I attended St. Mary Seminary on Ansel Road before it moved to it’s current location. Training for our Permanent Deacons and Pastoral Ministers also moved to this same site in Wickliffe so the whole campus is now called the Center for Pastoral Leadership (have I lost you yet?). With that little bit of background, I get to the point I want to make in that these buildings are showing their age & are in need of being updated and remodeled. So the “Heart of a Shepherd” Campaign was started under Bishop Perez and is now being continued by Bishop Malesic and I support it fully knowing how blessed we are in the Diocese of Cleveland to have our own seminary system. Many other dioceses need to send their seminary students outside of their diocese to study and prepare for ordained ministry. But we are so fortunate to have our own seminary which allows us to get to know our own diocese, parishes and peers in ministry. I will continue to share with you in next weekend’s column how we at St. Leo’s are participating in this campaign. For now, enjoy the holiday weekend & have your ear plugs handy when going to bed.