Pastor's Column

     I really don’t know how they pulled it off. I’m speaking of the Festival Committee who for months has been meeting & planning & working behind the scenes so that our two-day Festival might be enjoyed by both parishioners & neighbors alike. We could not have asked for better attendance, despite the cold & rainy weather. The number of people who volunteered either a little or a lot of their time is inspiring. I heard so many positive comments from people who expressed their gratitude for this enjoyable event. The food was just great (I tried to taste everything I could to make sure it was safe and delicious for you to eat), the games were fun with great prizes (especially the stuffed animals…I was just hoping no one stuffed Michaela to give her away as a prize), and the music was…well, loud (I’m over 55 now so I can say that every time I hear a band play). How do you adequately thank all those who gave so much so that this festival would be enjoyed by so many? All I can really do is to say it to you loud & clear: THANK YOU! Thanks if you were a committee member, thanks if you donated something like baked goods, thanks if you worked in a game booth or in the kitchen & thanks to our great maintenance crew who spent many hours before, during & after the festival to ensure everything went smoothly. Finally, thanks to all of you who just came to support us and enjoy the company of fellow parishioners. I’m already looking forward to next year. 

    We welcome Scott Swinerton to our parish this weekend. Scott is a seminarian who will take just a couple minutes after Communion to ask us to pray for vocations & to encourage others to consider the priesthood or religious life if we see something in them that may indicate they have such a vocation. Of course every week in the bulletin we have the name & picture of a seminarian or a religious brother or sister as we ask God to give them the grace of perseverance. This weekend we celebrate “Priesthood Sunday” & so are reminded of those who have served our parish or have helped us personally & we pray for them, whether living or deceased. Let’s especially thank Father Vesely for his almost 61 years of service to the Church which continues here at St. Leo’s. 

    Please add to your prayer list Rich who needs God’s strength at home (& his wife Eva who is his loving caretaker), Dale, who is the son of parishioners & who had major surgery this past week, and Carol & Leonard who have cancer. I can see the grace of God working in each of their lives & so am assured that my prayers and yours are heard and answered.

Homily...I Want to See

There were 3 times in my life when my sight was in jeopardy but was restored: when I needed eyeglasses, when I had a detached retina & when I needed cataract surgery. It’s an amazing thing to have our sight preserved or restored. 

But Bartimaeus received two miracles: the healing of his physical blindness and the gift of spiritual insight. After his healing, he became a follower of Jesus immediately instead of just going off to enjoy his new ability to see. 

Today is Priesthood Sunday. If there is one thing I hope I can offer people through my priestly ministry (& what I ask you to pray for on my behalf), it’s the gift of insight. Faith has everything to do with how we see…how we see God, others, ourselves, our past, present, future, our world…in a word, everything. Jesus asks us: “What do you want me to do for you?” Can we say, like Bartimaeus, “Lord, I want to see?”

Pastor's Column

     Last week I saw a number of people who I promised we would pray for. So I’ll ask you to remember Linda & Ken who are taking chemo, Walter who is recovering after a long illness, Doris who tries to appreciate each day she is given, and Jack who has made great progress after his heart attack. It is my hope that if any parishioner is undergoing chemotherapy or is facing or recovering from surgery, or is dealing with any kind of serious illness, that they will let me know so that I may anoint them, visit them or make sure they are receiving Holy Communion. Ministry to the sick was so important to Jesus & it is important to us as a parish so please don’t ever hesitate to let me know how we can help you through an illness. Of course we also commit ourselves to praying for those whose names are published in the bulletin so perhaps you can cut that out & put it in a prayer book or on your refrigerator or even in your wallet or purse in order to remember to pray for them.

    You saw last weekend that our first handrail was installed by the tabernacle so that Father Vesely can have an easier time with the steps to the sanctuary. Another one will be installed by the pulpit and I would encourage all lectors & eucharistic ministers to make use of it if you feel you can use that assistance when entering or leaving the pulpit or altar areas. Two small ones will also be installed on the steps approaching the presider’s chair but hopefully our altar servers won’t be needing those quite yet. Our thanks to Jan Papez and to Irene Venesky who generously donated these handrails. They get a lifetime pass to use the handrails for free! 

    You will also start hearing some new sounds coming from our organ. A person who is quite passionate about music generously donated an add-on to the organ that uses technology to produce a large number of new sounds. My favorite is the one that sounds like a large choir is humming or singing “Ahhhhhh”! I think our liturgical music will be greatly enhanced by what the organ is now able to do for us. It’s so good to have our choir back singing during these months after summer, but we’re always in need of new (and real) voices. If you believe (& you've been told) that you have a nice voice, please consider joining. We need you! Nothing is more important to the lifting up of our hearts than the music that is a part of our worship. It teaches, encourages, strengthens, & consoles us while at the same time allows us to praise the God who is worthy of our adoration. See Mickey & let her know you’d like to give it a try.

Homily...Ransomed

When someone is kidnapped, there is always a ransom that has to be paid in order for the hostage to be released. But the cost of the ransom depends upon the value of the person who is being held. 

Jesus said that he has come not to be served but to serve & to give HIS LIFE as a RANSOM for many. That is how much we are worth to God: Jesus would give his very life, he would give everything for our freedom & happiness. There are people in our lives that we’re willing to do anything for because they’re worth a lot to us.

Jesus has given so much to us because we are worth so much to him. How much is God’s friendship worth to us? How much is our faith worth to us?

Pastor's Column

     You’ve seen a couple of changes in this bulletin over the last 21 months, but this one is the biggest yet as it’s in color and has two additional pages (going from 6 pages to 8). Our 4 year contract with the bulletin company ended this month and so we had the opportunity to evaluate a couple of other companies that provide church bulletins and have decided to go with one that really offers us so much more. We do not pay anything for our weekly bulletins since the ads that are placed on the back page generate the revenue for them. These advertisers are local businesses, and some are parishioners, so please support them. We make use of them ourselves at the parish as much as we are able. Besides having color and additional pages, the company will also print our quarterly newsletter (the “News & Views”) in color and on glossy, magazine-like paper. And there are many other benefits as well that come with this new contract. We hope you enjoy reading the bulletin & that you pass it on to neighbors who may be interested in joining our parish. 

    In the next week or two, you may also be receiving a magazine called “Northeast Ohio Catholic” which is being published by the Diocese of Cleveland and is a replacement for the Catholic Universe Bulletin that issued its last publication this summer. It looks to be a fantastic source of Catholic news and information which will be published 6 times a year at no cost to you. Watch out for it & again, pass it on.

    At our Parish Council meeting last week, Sister Erin gave an update on what’s been happening in the preschool and elementary school. I gave an update on our financial status which will be published this month to the parish. We spoke about our effort to provide an opportunity for people to become Catholic through the RCIA process, while at the same time preparing adults for Confirmation and helping those seeking baptism for their children or marriage in the Church to reconnect with their Catholic faith. At the end of this month, I will pass on the information that the priests of the Diocese will be receiving from the Bishop this month with regards to staffing of parishes. Any parishioner is welcome to attend these meetings and council member’s names are listed in the bulletin & on our website if you’d like to ask them questions or have them bring something to the attention of the Council. 

    This will be my last opportunity to invite you to help us in some way with the Parish Festival to take place this next weekend. Even if you only have a couple hours, you can help. Sign up sheets are in the vestibule. Hope to see you all enjoying this parish event!

Homily...The Sad Young Man

When we want something for ourselves, we usually go to the person that we think may help us obtain whatever it is we are looking for. That’s what this rich young man in the gospel did; he wanted eternal life, which is to say, he wanted a good relationship w/ God, to be friends w/ God. So he asks the one whom he knows can give him the answer to what he must do to get that: Jesus. Since he was rich, we might guess that at one time he might have asked someone who was wealthy, “What must I do to become wealthy myself?”

I recently saw a picture of myself that was taken 20 years ago…and I hardly recognized myself! I was so thin in this picture that I was shocked at how I look now in comparison. So I ask my Doctor, a fit man about my age, “What must I do to lose weight?” and every time I ask, he 1st says to me: “You need to exercise!” & I tell him I’ve been doing that for years. So he says, then there’s one more thing you must do: stop eating the potato chips & all the wrong foods!

But then I, like the rich young man, walk away sad because I know that to achieve what I want, I have to give up something I really like & that’s hard to do. What do you need to give up that keeps you from a better relationship with God? The rich young man in the gospel walked away sad, even though he was just as wealthy when he walked away from Jesus as he was when he first approached him. Why? Because his wealthy wasn't really making him happy. He wanted something more.

Pastor's Column

  Our sympathies go out to the family of Heather Harmon whose funeral we celebrated September 25th. She leaves behind a 13 year old daughter (who wrote beautiful words about her mom) along with her mother and two sisters. May she know eternal youth in God’s kingdom.

    October 4th is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the saint known for his love of God’s creation, including animals, and the saint whose name was taken by the Pope (due to Pope Francis’s concern for creation, his love of the poor and simple lifestyle). So we had a Pet Blessing this weekend on Saturday morning. Of course Michaela & Abby were there (pretty much the stars of the show if you ask me). Michaela turned 3 years old last Saturday so she thought it was a surprise birthday party for her! But she’s still wondering where the birthday cake was…

    Once again, Sister Erin & I thank all those who contributed to the fund which enables us to accomplish the many school projects we had planned for this year. We received over $11,000 in total and are very grateful for all gifts, big or small. Along with our faculty and staff, we are committed to educating our children in the atmosphere of faith so that the Gospel may be proclaimed to them in their youth & hopefully embraced by them in their adulthood. 

    This Sunday, October 4th, we begin a process which encourages conversion and deeper faith for those in many different situations. For those seeking to become Catholics, this process is called RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). For others it is a preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation by those who were baptized & raised Catholic but who, for whatever reason, were never confirmed. And finally, for those who are having a child baptized or getting married, it is an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of their Catholic Faith and to reconnect with the practice of the faith. So if you are someone who fits into one of these situations or would just like to learn more about our faith and how it impacts your daily life, feel free to call me or just join us as we meet each Sunday morning for JUST ONE HOUR at 9am in the Parish Community Center. You can attend the 8am Mass & then join us or join us and attend the 10am Mass. We will provide a brief presentation on a topic pertaining to faith in the Catholic Tradition. You can just sit & listen or join in the discussion or ask a question. It’s informal and focused. We welcome all who want to join us every week or whenever it’s convenient for you.

Homily...What God has Joined

I have watched many couple, including my parents, live out courageously the vows they made to each other to remain true in sickness as well as in health. Almost every married couple will face a time when one of them is sick, even terminal, and the other will need to be there in loving support.

I’ve spoken recently to someone who was worried about their spouse because their spouse was seriously ill. And I’ve spoken recently to people who were worried about their spouse because they themselves were terminally ill, and wondered how their spouse would do without them. That is the sacrament of marriage being lived out in all its beauty and power. That is a couple loving each other as the scriptures say Christ loves his bride the Church. 

Jesus said “No one must separate what God has joined.” Sometimes, it’s not possible to separate a couple because their love for each other is so strong and faithful. Yet at other times, a couple needs to be separated for their own good, such as when there is some form of an abusive relationship or perhaps when it is believed that God did not really intend for a couple to be joined due to irreconcilable differences. But I thank God for those many couples I have seen over the years who indeed remind us of how God loves us in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.