Pastor's Column for August 29, 2021

Congratulations to Genesis Ramos & Jose Alvarado who are getting married here this weekend. May they find the grace of God throughout their married life as they grow in love for each other.
Last weekend, two younger parishioners, in the process of learning more about our Catholic Faith, asked a very good question (always welcomed!) related to the reception of the Precious Blood at Mass. The question was this: why don’t we use small, plastic cups to receive the Blood of Christ at Communion time which would prevent the risk of contagious germs during the pandemic or even during flu season? As you know, even when we started to remove the restrictions that were made during the liturgy because of the pandemic, we did not yet start offering people the Blood of Christ through the communion cup. This is especially a relevant question during this time we have been hearing from the 6th chapter of John’s gospel in recent weeks which again is called the “Bread of Life” discourse as the evangelist speaks at length about Jesus’ teaching concerning himself as the One who nourishes us with his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

First, I can’t repeat this often enough: the Catholic Church has always believed that Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharistic bread and wine that is consecrated by the priest at every Mass. This is not just a symbol or reminder of his presence, but his actual Body and Blood that we take into our bodies. (Though we normally offer both the consecrated bread and wine as the fullest symbol of Christ’s Body and Blood, even when we receive Holy Communion under one “species”, for example, just the host, we are still receiving the “whole” Christ). This teaching has been a major source of separation from most of our Protestant brothers and sisters who, since the 16th century, have abandoned this long-standing belief in favor of a “symbolic” understanding of the Lord’s Supper. As I mentioned in my homily last weekend, architecture and art and scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers and saints throughout the ages have consistently held up and reaffirmed this ancient belief.

This sacred teaching has manifested itself even in the way we act during Mass: we genuflect and bow when entering a church with a tabernacle that houses the reserved consecrated hosts (for the sake of the sick who receive Communion at home). We kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer during which the words of Jesus at the Last Supper are repeated, asking the Holy Spirit to transform bread & wine into his Body and Blood. We receive Communion with a bow, and speak an “Amen!” to the minister’s proclamation: “The Body of Christ.” Even after Communion has been distributed, you will notice the priest carefully cleaning (or “purifying”) the chalice, communion cups (when used) and even consuming any crumbs of consecrated bread that may be left in the containers used to distribute Communion. We take such particular care to do this because Christ is present even in the smallest crumb or in the smallest drop of consecrated wine. Hence, to offer the Blood of Christ in small, plastic communion cups would require a purification worthy of our belief in Christ’s Real Presence. We even use only the best materials (such as a metal chalice plated with gold) for containing the Eucharistic presence of Christ. So allow even these details of the liturgy to speak to you of this incredible gift of the Lord’s Real Presence to us and let the Mass always be our great Thanksgiving for Christ who is really present to us in many ways during Mass, but “par excellance” in the Eucharist itself.

Pastor's Column for August 22, 2021

We welcome Rylie Jenkins into our Church and parish family as she was baptized last Sunday, and also Michael & Elizabeth Shue who are being baptized this Sunday. May they know the joy of being loved children of God forever.
With nothing else to report at this time as we draw near to the end of the summer months, I thought I’d share with you my impressions of a TV series on the life of Jesus and his chosen disciples that has recently been brought to my attention. It is called “The Chosen” as it reveals the story not only about Jesus but also his chosen disciples, including of course the 12 apostles but also the women whom the gospels tell us accompanied him during his public ministry, such as Mary Magdalene. I started watching it just a couple of weeks ago and am still surprised I had been unaware of it until then. It is different from the made-for-TV or movie theatre shows we have seen before about Jesus, both in its length and in its intention. I believe there is a plan for 7 seasons, and I am currently viewing the 2nd season and understand that filming is underway for the 3rd season. Each season has about 10 episodes and is financed not by a traditional film-making company or studio but by “crowdfunding” which depends on the contributions of those who wish to see it produced. It’s not difficult to appreciate how much money has already been raised for its production as it has millions of viewers who are understandably deeply appreciative of the way the story of Jesus and his chosen ones is being told.
Of course I have watched many such films & movies on the life of Jesus (and even was part of a play called “Godspell” when I was in the high school seminary during the 70’s). My favorite production is probably the one called “Jesus of Nazareth” which came out several years ago. But The Chosen is quite different from all of these which I have seen. Somehow it manages to highlight the humanity of Jesus and his disciples, without taking anything away from the Lord’s divinity. In fact the divine nature of Jesus seems to be even more obvious as his humanity is fully seen. But it is by far the very best production that I have seen and I will refer to it from to time in my homilies as it makes me think about things that I may have never considered before, despite my studies in scripture and the reading that I have done on the life of Jesus.
The director makes it clear that this series takes a lot of liberty in “filling in the blanks” with regard to what we don’t know from the gospels. It uses scripture and of course the gospels as its basis, but it also relies on what we now know about Jewish culture, the Jewish faith, and first century knowledge about the holy land that is available to us. So it appears to be based on not only imagination of how things were or might have been, but also on historical facts. And I appreciate the fact that a Catholic priest, a Jewish Rabbi and Christians from other traditions are consulted during the process (the director himself is an evangelical Christian). It certainly heightens my desire to visit the holy land next year.
You can download the app called “The Chosen” to your Apple or Android device and also view it and many videos about it (including conversations between the director/writer & actors) via YouTube. I hope you will find it as helpful to your faith as I have if you choose to watch it.

Pastor's Column for August 15, 2021

This year the feast of the Assumption falls on a Sunday so we focus on Mary this weekend. It’s an important feast for us to celebrate because it not only provides the opportunity for us to honor Mary as the first person after Christ to be raised to the glory of heaven “body and soul,” but because she leads the way for rest of us who share in her humanity. We pray that like Mary, we too will be raised body and soul into heaven at some point after our death. So this feast is a cause of joy for us, even as we look to Mary & her example of holiness. May each of us be given the grace to join her some day in the life of God’s kingdom.
When asked by the Berigan’s if we should attend The Feast in Little Italy which honors Mary every year at this time, my response was rather liturgical: “It is right & just!” So we plan to drive there after the 4pm Mass this Saturday. A little warning to you if you plan to be there at the same time: I intend to buy up all the cavatelli, meatballs, pizza & bakery that I can find while there, so you may want to get there before I do. The pizza I buy there is different from the run-of-the-mill pizza we normally eat. It’s cut into squares & uses a different sauce & cheese & maybe spices than what we are accustomed to and so it is uniquely Italian in that way. It’s best when eaten cold, so I love to stock up on it when I can. Their cavatelli is also homemade of course. Since I’m going to the Holy Land and not to Italy in this next year, I need to eat all the Italian food I can to satisfy my Italian palate. Unfortunately I’ve noticed that my weight is increasing after a year & a half of keeping it down but that concern is for another time. I’ll see the endocrinologist soon anyway but not until I’ve feasted at the Feast on the weekend of this Marian feast. That’s a lot of feasting.
I have not yet begun to ask anyone to be a part of our parish and finance councils but I will be doing so soon so please give some consideration to the request but also feel free to say no if for some reason you don’t feel it’s the right fit for you at this time. I won’t ever speak to you again but I want you to be truthful (just kidding about the never speaking to you again). We’ll begin meeting in September and keep in mind that I don’t believe in meetings going over one hour in length. As they say, the mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.
While I was away in Key West, a priest from St. Charles celebrated here the funeral Mass for Rita Shandersky on July 12th. She was the mother of 4 and grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of 20. We express our sympathy to her family and keep her in our prayers along with all those who have died as members of our parish.
I’ve been noticing that more people are starting to wear masks again when coming to Mass, and of course that is commendable for those whose health or age or home circumstances encourage them to do so, regardless of their vaccination status. We will again provide masks for those who may not have one with them and will have sanitizer at the doors of the church as well. Let us continue to pray for an end to the pandemic and remember those especially who are becoming ill with the new variant of the COVID virus.

Pastor's Column for August 8, 2021

I have some news regarding the trip (or more precisely, the pilgrimage) to the Holy Land: I am now able to give dates and a price and a meeting date so thank you for your patience in waiting for these. The trip will take place from Monday, May 16, 2022 through Thursday, May 26, 2022. We will fly from Cleveland to Toronto, Canada, then from Toronto to Tel-Aviv. The cost of the trip will be $3,400 per person (which I think is a great price!) and we will have a meeting with Eddie Abufarha on Sunday, August 29th at 6:30pm in the Parish Community Center. He will give us more details about the trip and will answer any questions you may have. You have seen Eddie here many times before while he and his father Abraham (who was just here a couple weeks ago) have sold items made of olive wood in the vestibule of the church. Eddie and his family are from the Holy Land, as you may recall, and so are able to tell us much about it. So mark your calendars and please remember that we have a limit of 30 people, and several have already asked me to mark them down as interested so first come, first serve. You’ll also see some posters up in the church as a reminder. Feel free to reach out to me for any questions you may have or to confirm your interest, even if you have done so before. I’m really looking forward to walking in the same place where Jesus walked and getting to know the life he lived.
Next Sunday, August 15th, is the feast of the Assumption of Mary, a holy day of obligation. But of course you will be here anyway for our Sunday (or Saturday) celebration of the liturgy. I look forward to celebrating what this feast means for us as we honor Mary and what God did for her and what he promises to do for us.
Normally August is a reminder that summer is coming quickly to a close as our students have been returning to school at the end of this month but this year school does not open until September 1st. But already we’re into the 2nd week of August so I hope you are enjoying these summer days as I am. We’re looking at an enrollment of over 300 this year, the first time our school has seen a number over 300 in many years. This is due to the hard work & leadership of our Principal, Denise Burns, and to the commitment of our teachers and school staff. This summer, the school office got a makeover with new paint and a new floor, and the two main hallways in the school also have a new tile floor which will be much easier to keep clean than the older terrazzo floor. The girl’s bathroom has been redone as well with a new floor, all new toilets and sinks, and new stalls. I believe it’s so important to keep our buildings not only in good working order but in good appearance as well as this has an impact on those who send their children to our school and on those who worship with us or visit us for any reason. We also have ordered awnings for the entrances of the rectory, Lux Hall (gym), school and parish center (Preschool). These will be especially helpful in identifying the buildings to the many visitors we have who are often confused about where to go. Again I believe they will enhance the appearance of our buildings as well. They are due to be installed sometime in November.