Pastor's Column

     I’m happy to begin with a couple of thank you’s. First, to all who helped organize & execute a very enjoyable parish picnic last Sunday, thank you! There was good food, it was a beautiful day & we had a bigger crowd than last year (and no rain!). I know many of you were able to meet Sister Erin for the first time & noticed again her youth & energy. When people see me for the first time, they say, “Who’s that big & old guy over there?” But I’m happy to let the younger generation assume leadership & am glad that people like Sister Erin answer the call to service in the Church. I did need to confiscate the left-over hamburgers and hotdogs so that they don’t go to waste. I’ll do my best to consume them before they spoil. 

    Our thanks also to those who responded so generously to Sister’s call for donations for our school projects. I’m always amazed at how willing people are to give of their time and from their financial resources. Once you see the improvements in the gym and school building, I’m sure you’ll see that it’s all being put to very good use. 

    One more word of thanks to Irene Venesky who donated the statues in the church in memory of her sister Catherine Venesky. May she be remembered prayerfully as we enjoy these sacred images of the saints. 

    I ask your prayers for Kristen Dowhaniuk whose funeral Mass was on August 21. Kristen attended our parish school along with her brother Billy, and sadly, her mother died of cancer while she was in elementary school here. We pray for her & for her father Bill and her brother that God may give them peace.

    We also remember Edwin Wilde, the brother-in-law of parishioner Cora Dejelo, whose Memorial Mass was celebrated August 22nd. He was remembered as a man who lived so well the command of Christ who said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers or sisters, you do to me.” I am confident of his eternal reward in heaven. 

    Finally, please say a prayer asking for healing for Jack Habrat, Walter Alflen & Robert Holshue. 

    Well it is that time of the year when parents rejoice and children mourn: our students return to school this Monday, August 31st. We are anxious to have them back and especially welcome all the new students this year in both our preschool and elementary school. At Mass this weekend we will ask God’s blessings on teachers and students alike.

    Don’t forget to pick up your raffle tickets in the vestibule of the church this weekend…you’ll receive a free Jack Frost donut in exchange…otherwise the donuts cost $10 a piece.

Homily...Looking in a mirror

A famous philosopher was fond of saying that “Reading the bible is like looking into a mirror.” In other words, the bible does not speak so much about the characters that are in its stories as it speaks about us. So when Jesus criticizes the Pharisees, he is also asking us to look at ourselves. 

What is he critical of? The Pharisees, like Jesus, were law-abiding Jews. But they placed too much importance on laws of lesser value than on ones with great value. They kept the law of washing their hands before a meal (not so much for sanity reasons but because it symbolized their need to be clean before God), but they gave in to the greater sins that Jesus lists at the end of this gospel passage…sins that come from within.

We do the same. We look at things in other people that we would like them to change: be more punctual, more organized, more responsible, we say to them. But we ignore what is really good about them. We must not let that which is less important cloud what is most important: our love of God and neighbor.

Homily...Who Should Be Submissive?

The words of St. Paul in his letter to the people of Ephesus still make many people uncomfortable in these days when gender equality is celebrated: “Wives should be submissive to their husbands because the husband is head of his wife.” But these words of Jesus also made people very uneasy: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will have no life in you.” So in today’s gospel, we hear his own disciples say, “This sort of talk is hard to endure. How can anyone take it seriously?” and they walk away, returning to their former way of life.

But let’s go back to what St. Paul wrote. He begins this passage by saying “Be subordinate to one another.” And he places the greater burden it seems on those who are husbands: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church & handed himself over for her.” How did Christ love the Church? He died for her…he handed himself over for her!

We all have our opinions, our likes & dislikes, our prejudices. So it’s hard to take the humble road & to submit to the other person. But that’s how marriage is suppose to work. That’s how ALL relationships are suppose to work. Defer, submit, be humble. Hard to do, but not impossible. After all, we have Christ himself as our example for he always submitted to the will of God and to the suffering of the cross.

Pastor's Column

     We welcome 3 children into our Catholic Family this Sunday as we baptize Lenox Marrero, Cameron James Winland & Makenzi Miner. May their parents & godparents, who promise to raise them in the practice of the Faith, be given the grace to live out their own baptismal calling so that they may be faithful in bringing up their children in the same way. 

    Several people have already made a donation toward the school projects that Sister Erin, our new Principal, spoke of last weekend so we are very grateful to them for their financial support. If you didn’t get a chance to see the letter that Sister wrote the parish as she introduced herself and outlined her vision & goals for our parish school, you can read it online at our website (leothegreat.org). It’s going to be an exciting new school year and you can just sense the enthusiasm of our faculty & staff (though you’ll notice I didn’t mention the children!) as they prepare to begin the year next week (Monday, August 31st). I want to welcome not only our new Principal but also our new Preschool Director, Sue Poultney, and our new teachers in the elementary school: Alexis Hipkins (1st grade), Megan Monroe (2nd grade), Theresa Kirby (4th grade), Evett Moynihan (7th grade) & Mary Corbo (kindergarten aid). They will be a great addition to our wonderful veteran faculty members (their pictures are also on our website). We are especially excited to welcome back Cherise Pacanovsky who was out last year on medical leave. She will bring back her wonderful disposition & energy to our Preschool. 

    We hope that you will consider joining us for our parish picnic that will take place after the Noon Mass this weekend. We provide free hamburgers & hot dogs and you are welcome to bring something to share (but not required). Last year we had a nice time sitting outside by the Parish Community Center just enjoying a good meal & each other’s company as we listened to music provided by a DJ. I also remember that it all ended rather abruptly when a storm came up & threatened to drench us all but gratefully we were able to wrap it up quickly. We could certainly use some rain but it’s up to Fr. Vesely to keep it away from our picnic. 

    Remember too that our parish festival is coming up in mid-October! But we need your help to make it financially successful & so ask you to pick up your envelope of raffle tickets in the vestibule of the church. If everyone the parish sold (or bought) just a few tickets, we could make an incredible profit but we need everyone to participate. If you help us out, we’ll give you a free Jack Frost donut next Sunday! So please be sure to pick up your tickets before or after Mass. 

Pastor's Column

     I am excited to introduce to you our new Principal, Sister Erin Zubal, OSU, who will be saying a few words at all the Masses this weekend. The “OSU” at the end of her name stands for “Order of St. Ursula” as she is an Ursuline Nun. The Ursulines have a very long history of service in the Diocese of Cleveland and have expanded their ministry of teaching far beyond the classroom, though many of us remember how wonderfully they taught us in Catholic School. 

    Sister Erin jumped into her work as Principal long before she even started receiving a paycheck from us. The last four months she has taken the time to learn from our former principal, Diane Weiss, who helped her tremendously to make a smooth transition. Sister has done incredible work with our maintenance crew organizing and cleaning our school building. But there is much more we would like to do so she will be asking for your help this weekend. What we do have to share with you though is that Sister was able to procure the help of Sherwin Williams in painting Lux Hall (our gym). They donated all the paint and the labor & it looks fantastic. We paid only for the labor to have the ceiling painted since that required scaffolding and special equipment. I’m really proud of how it turned out and am anxious for all of you to see it. But again, this was due to Sister’s initiative and also to the generosity of our Athletic Department which donated new items for the gym since as a scoreboard, new matts, and several other things from the money they have raised throughout the year. We continue to clean, organize & improve the looks and functionality of our school building & gym so that we can be proud of our facilities. The best news about our school is that we have increased our enrollment this year for both our Elementary and Preschool, with a full kindergarten class & full-time preschool class. We are very pleased with all that Sister Erin has done so far and look forward to all that she will bring to our school in the coming months & years. 

    I ask you to pray for Jack Habrat, one of our faithful Mass parishioners who had a heart attack a couple weeks ago. His wife Margaret has been at his side and we keep praying for his recovery. Please say a prayer for him now as you read this.

    We also celebrated the funeral Mass for 95 year old parishioner Leokardia Los and extend our sympathies to her daughter Roma. May Leokardia, whose name includes the patron of our parish, rest forever with St. Leo and all the saints.

Homily...Depressed? God will send an Angel

None of the statues in our church have bodies or faces that express emotion. They all look rather stoic. I have seen statues that DO express great emotion, like the one of St. Theresa in Rome who is portrayed in a state of ecstasy, or the status of Mary & Christ in Mexico that display their great sorrow and agony. 

If someone were to create a statue of Elijah the prophet from the Old Testament story today, they would show him sitting under a tree with a look of depression & even despair on his face. A queen by the name of Jezebel was after him, seeking to take his life. So he sits under a tree & shows classic signs of depression: he slept, he had low self-esteem (“I am no better than my fathers”), and he literally prayed for death (despair). 

God sent him an angel to feed him & encourage him to get up & move on with life. And he did. We all suffer from depression from time to time. But God sends us messengers to help us get on with life. Whom has he sent to you? Is God calling you to be an angel, a messenger to another to help them in their depression?

Pastor's Column

     I am grateful to Macrina Dodson, a member of our school staff and a Pastoral Minister here at St. Leo’s, for her willingness to play the guitar for the 8am Mass until we bring an Associate Musician on board. I realize that some people don’t like guitar music, especially at Mass. Some don’t like organ music or piano music. Some people don’t like music at all. In 1 Chronicles 13:7 it says, “David and all Israel danced before God with all their might, with singing, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.” (See also the movie “Footloose.”) A lyre is a stringed instrument, like a guitar. The point is, we all have our preferences, but we are here to worship God, not to look for what pleases us. Sorry for the second homily. But you only have to pay for one.

    Since the bulletin (and this column) needs to be submitted by Tuesday, I am sometimes behind a bit in the news I offer here. So my apologies for not letting you know earlier that we celebrated the funerals of James Krilosky & Anna Lubera recently. James was married for 45 years to his wife Delores, and was a very devoted father to his children. He was proud to be Catholic and let others know it. He suffered from his illness during the last 9 months of his life, but is now free from all that could harm him. Anna Lubera went every night with her husband to the State Road Park to watch the baseball games. She finally admitted that she hated baseball, but went because her husband enjoyed watching the games so much. She was a member of our St. Leo’s Seniors and was almost 95 when she died. May God receive them and all our faithful departed into his kingdom.

    You know those surveys or questionnaires where you have to choose which age group you belong to? Well, I’ll just say that this past week, there was a day that moved me from the 45-54 age group to the 55-64 age group. And I now qualify for the Ohio Buckeye Card. I hate to see those digits move so quickly…it’s like watching the reels spin on a casino slot machine. But there is one consolation…I’m still watching the reels spin. As long as their spinning, I’m OK.

    August 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary, is on a Saturday this year which means the Bishops have dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on that day. But we can still celebrate this glorious event in the life of Mary by praying the rosary. And don’t forget about “The Feast” in Little Italy. There’s more pasta there than you can shake a rigatoni at.

Homily...Bread from Heaven

In the 2nd Eucharistic Prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to come down on the gifts of bread & wine like "dewfall." This image comes from the Old Testament reading from Exodus today. The people in the desert were hungry in their long journey. So God sent them bread from heaven. How? In the morning, under the dewfall (the moisture from the cold night air), they found white flakes of a substance they could gather in order to make bread. God fed them through this manna (bread) in the desert.

At Mass, we too ask the Holy Spirit to come down upon the gifts of brad & wine like dewfall, so that we may be fed with the Body & Blood of Jesus. The Spirit feeds us. 

I recently received an elderly woman into the Catholic Faith. She is under the care of Hospice. Her joy at being given the Bread of Life (the Eucharist) was palpable. She is at peace. That is the what the Spirit does. The Spirit feeds us with bread from heaven to keep us nourished in our faith. 

Pastor's Column

     Congratulations to the parents of Samuel Otto and Ava & Christopher Casey who are being baptized this weekend. May they be true to their promise to raise these children in the practice of the Faith. 

    We also congratulate Caitlin Soucek (St. Leo) & Todd Kacher who were married this Saturday in our church. Caitlin worked as a receptionist in our rectory office a number of years ago and both she and Todd are active in the practice of their Faith, especially serving as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. May their married life be long and fruitful.

    And a final word of congratulations to Doris Aigner-Copfer, mother of parishioner Shelley Aigner. Doris is a delightful woman who unfortunately has been ill and under the care of Hospice. But when I went to visit her, she asked if she could become Catholic. She was baptized many years ago in another Christian Tradition, so after she made a Profession of Faith, she received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist and is now a Catholic. What a joyful experience for her and for us. Pray for her that she may know of God’s loving presence with her especially in her illness. 

    I’m sad to say that we celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial this past Tuesday for Sandy Chichil who was not only a member of our parish who also worked in the rectory office as one of our receptionists. Sandy always greeted people with a smile and a helpful disposition and we have missed her during these past few months while she was hospitalized. She died too young but her life was very meaningful to those she touched. May she know now the joy of the resurrection.

    I want to welcome Mickey Stitt as the new Director of Music at St. Leo’s. You know Mickey from when she was an Associate Musician here but due to the weather and the long distance she had to travel, she has not been able to be a part of our music ministry for several months except for when she would play at funerals. Now that she lives much closer, she has accepted the invitation as Music Director and will bring on an Associate Musician who can assist with two of the weekend Masses as well as assist with directing the choir. We are grateful for all Mike Caraffi did for our music ministry and wish him well in the new responsibilities which come with his promotion at PNC Bank. Until we secure an Associate Musician however, we’ll be singing a cappella (without accompaniment) at the 8am Mass. Fr. Vesely will do better at this than I, but just remember, the louder you sing, the less you can hear ME sing.