Pastor's Column

     Happy Birthday to Rosemarie Hamski who celebrated her 90th Birthday with a party in our Parish Center on November 26th. May God bless her with health & happiness.

    My dad is now at an assisted living home in Lakewood and is doing quite well there so far. Thanks for all your prayers for him this past year. I consider them answered as his health has improved and he is in a place where he will be safe and well cared for. I look forward to celebrating his 90th birthday in July of 2017. 

    We will not be having our Sunday Morning Faith Sessions this weekend or next but will resume again on Sunday, December 11th. We meet from 9am until 9:45 so you can attend either the 8am or 10am Mass. We will be talking about the meaning of Advent on December 11th. All are welcome to attend to learn more about our Catholic Faith (and the free coffee & donuts help our brains to be awake & ready to learn!). 

    We made a profit of almost $20,000 from our Parish Festival this year which is about what we made last year. Though we lost some participation due to the World Series and Ohio State games that weekend, we had less expenses than we did last year so it pretty much evened out. The Festival is primarily meant to be an opportunity for social connections but it's wonderful that we can make such a great profit on it at the same time. My thanks again to the team and to every person who worked for or at the festival. You helped us to remember what community is all about. 

    Now that we're past the Thanksgiving holiday, we look forward to the great feast of Christmas. It's always easier when Christmas falls on a Sunday as it does this year. Our schedule will be similar to years past: we will have a 4pm Mass on Saturday, Christmas Eve, as well as a 7pm and 10pm. On Christmas Day we will have a 10am Mass and a Noon Mass. We had our regular Sunday Mass schedule last year (8, 10 & 12) but all 3 were poorly attended since most people prefer to attend Mass on Christmas Eve. The 8am Mass on Christmas Eve had the lowest attendance last year so we will just have the two later Masses this year on Christmas Day.

    I will try to remind you throughout December about our revised Mass Schedule which will begin on Sunday, January 1, 2017. So Mass on Saturday, December 31 will be at 4pm, and we will have an 8am and 11am Mass on Sunday, January 1, and this will be our weekend Mass schedule going forward. I understand that adjusting to this Mass schedule will take some effort for half of the parish, but am confident that this is the right thing to do and the right time to do it. I look forward to the 11am Mass on Sunday where we will have less spaces in the pews and so a richer experience of worship together.

Homily...Christ the Thief

There have been found many ancient symbols used by the early Christians: a person with hands outstretched in prayer, a boat (symbol of the Church), an anchor (symbol of hope), two birds (symbol of peace), and so on. 

Though there are dozens of these symbols or images (such as Christ the Good Shepherd) that have been used to express our Christian faith, one I have never seen anywhere is an image of Christ the Thief (perhaps it would show him wearing some kind of a mask, as a thief would be pictured today). But Jesus speak of himself in this way: "If the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. In the same way, you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

A thief is successful only because of the element of surprise. A thief will invade mostly at night when people are asleep & so not watching over their property. So the image of Jesus as a thief reminds us of the importance of staying awake. To be awake is to have a spiritual alertness, an awareness that the Lord who will come at the end of our life is with us now in our life. We need not be afraid if we are live in the light of faith and not in the darkness of sin. We light our 4 Advent wreath candles so that we may live in the light of the Lord. 

Pastor's Column

     Our sympathies go out to Jeff & Monika Madej who lost their daughter Lyndsey in a premature birth. Whether a person has lived many years or only a few short months, grief can bring such sadness and pain at their loss. We trust that Lyndsey now rests in the loving arms of her heavenly Father.

    I also had a funeral Mass for Doris Leisman who was originally from Corpus Christi but has been a member of St. Leo's for several years. She was a member of our St. Leo Seniors and was someone who reached out to others to bring them the happiness that she herself felt. May she rest in peace.

    Finally we celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Jerome Voldrich. Jerry struggled with diabetes which caused him to be in a car accident a couple years ago. He dealt with the challenges of life and a blessing to those who knew him. All three of these funerals were celebrated during the week when we honor all the Saints and when we pray for all the faithful departed. May our prayers be with each of them that they may recieve the Mercy of God. 

    In last week's bulletin I congratulated the Indians on what I hoped would be a World Series Win. But it was not in the cards...or should I say, the bats. And as I write this on Tuesday, November 8th, I will not dare venture to make a guess on who will win the presidency. But no matter the outcome, we all pray for God's blessing on all of our civil leaders that they may be people of justice and peace. 

    I should have put this in last week's bulletin but I don't always look ahead...we wish a very Happy (Belated) Birthday to Father Vesely who turned 8__ on Tuesday, November 8th. I left a blank there because I don't think it's my right to give away someone's age. But 8n't it great that someone would turn 8__ on the eighth? 

    I also want to acknowledge the feast of our patron, St. Leo the Great, which was on November 10th. We congratulate the winner of $1000 from our Sweepstakes Raffle though I don't know yet who that lucky person is as I am writing this on November 8th (boy that number comes up a lot!). When I was in Rome, I celebrated Mass next to the altar of St. Leo the Great which is also where his remains are kept inside of St. Peter's Basilica. Of course I prayed for the parish while doing so. St. Leo the Great, pray for us. 

Homily...Perseverence is the Answer

3 years ago, when we last heard today's scripture readings, I was announcing to the people of my former parish that I would be leaving them to become Pastor at St. Leo the Great. I had mixed emotions about that. I looked forward to being at St. Leo's, but knew it would be hard to leave the people I got to know and care about for almost 5 years. 

Six years before that, again when we heard these same scripture readings (they run on a three year cycle), I was telling the people of the parish I was assigned to at that time that the parish would be closing. Again, we shared feelings of anger, uncertainty, and fear. 

But as I look back on these and many other such experiences when change was imminent, I recognize now that I was able to persevere and so found many blessings during difficult times. When Jesus spoke of the fearful future to his people, he invited them to work on the virtue of perseverance. He said it would secure their lives. In my experience, it does just that. We find security if we stay the course, trust in God and put one foot in front of the other. We see the "sun of justice rise with its healing rays."