Pastor's Column for December 27, 2020

Since many will be joining us via livestream for our sacred Christmas liturgies, I wanted to be sure that our beautiful nativity scene could be seen “up close & center” & so asked the Art & Environment people to put it right in front of the altar this year. In recent years the Church has asked us to keep the altar and what is placed on it as the main focus of the sanctuary since it is on that sacred table that we place the Body and Blood of Christ, and nothing is more important in our liturgical space than that. But at Christmas, what we celebrate is what the Church calls the “Incarnation” or the very real presence of God “in the flesh” as the divine God chooses to take on our human nature. In the liturgy, that same God becomes incarnate in the bread and wine we offer on the altar and which we receive into our bodies. Though many people fail to remember the “rubric” that is in italics on the page where the Creed is found in our hymnals, Deacon Pat & I make a conscious effort to bow when we say the words “For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Why are we (all) directed to do this? To show our profound respect for what we celebrate today...that the Son of God came down from heaven & became one of us. The significance of this can never be overstated. And so the priest & deacon also bow or genuflect after the priest repeats the words of Jesus, “This is my Body...this is the cup of my Blood.” May the manger scene you see displayed before our altar (a picture is on our website), be a reminder of the truth we are in awe of this day. 

Not only can you see the pictures of former Christmases at St. Leo’s on display in the vestibule, but our website (leothegreat.org) also has a 10-minute YouTube video showing several pictures as well. We have also posted a Christmas concert held at our parish many years ago along with a list of the songs they are singing so you don’t want to miss that either. Thanks to parishioner John Sabol for putting these together for us to enjoy.

I want to thank you for your participation in our Adopt a Child program this year (headed by John’s wife, Jeanne Sabol). We collected a total of $3,475 (a total of $4,075 with the matching funds grant from the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association)! Last year we collected $2100, so you were especially generous this year. In addition, gift cards in the amount of $1920 were collected and approximately 300 gifts were distributed to children. You also continued to be faithful to your contributions to the parish this year, even when you couldn’t be here in the church. So I thank you in advance for your Christmas donations as we are several thousand dollars behind our collections budget due to the absence of Easter liturgies this year. Many more have signed up for online giving through WeShare (again available on our website) which helps a great deal as well. I pray you will receive much for giving much.

It took us about 5 hours to make 650 cheese raviolis and an uncountable number of homemade noodles for chicken soup. We had a couple of extra helpers this year (who of course took an oath of secrecy for the recipe) and that probably saved me from being seen bent over as I celebrate Christmas Masses today. I hope to enjoy the fruits of this labor today. I will probably have to increase my intermittent fasting hours well into the new year but I’m OK with having a gut more like Santa’s for the remainder of this holiday. 

Pastor's Column for December 20, 2020

On this 4th & final Sunday of Advent, I want to let you know about our Christmas Confession & Mass Schedule for this year of the pandemic. I know that many like to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas, however I ask you to keep in mind that due to social distancing requirements and the unavailability of priests like Fr. O’Grady to help us with confessions this year, opportunities for the sacrament will be limited. During the pandemic, I have asked that you either make an appointment with me on our website for confession, or to simply ask me if I am available to hear your confession after one of the weekday or weekend Masses. These are still options for you but I do also ask that you consider the words of Pope Francis earlier this year when the question of the necessity of confession came up during the lockdown. He said, “Do what the Catechism (of the Catholic Church) says. It is very clear: If you cannot find a priest to confess to, speak directly with God, your Father, and tell him the truth. Say, ‘Lord, I did this, this, this. Forgive me,’ and ask for pardon with all your heart.” Make an act of contrition, the pope said, and promise God, ‘I will go to confession afterward, but forgive me now.’ And immediately you will return to a state of grace with God.” 

Secondly, I will announce at all the Masses this weekend our Christmas Mass schedule and it is also posted on our website and included in our greeting when you call the rectory office. If you come to the 4pm Mass on Christmas Eve, please try to park in the rectory office parking lot if you are able. When we have determined that the church is at capacity, we will then direct others to park in the lot closest to the school & gym buildings and to attend Mass in Lux Hall where the 4pm Mass in the church will be live-streamed. We will have Eucharistic ministers bring over Holy Communion. 

There will be no 7pm or 10pm Mass on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we will continue to have the 8am and 11am Masses in the church. Of course all of these Masses will be live-streamed on our website as well as through our YouTube, Twitter & FaceBook accounts.

We have more 2021 Breaking Bread books for you to take home and keep (you’re welcome to bring them with you to Mass but please be sure to take them back home with you). We are ordering additional ones in case those we have provided this weekend run out again. 

Congratulations to Grace Stanek as she receives her First Holy Communion during the 11am Mass this Sunday! What a wonderful time of year to receive the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Please visit our website for an Advent message from Bishop Malesic as well as additional resources for Advent & Christmas from the Diocesan website.

Just to backtrack a little bit, on Thanksgiving Day, I was able to enjoy a wonderful meal at my sister Janet’s home in Akron, along with my sister Judy. I was also able to meet Janet’s first grandchild and my first great-nephew, Logan Christopher, who was born about 6 months ago. I also had my first great-niece born this past year too. So these were the highlights of 2020 for me. My step mother Mildred also turned 101 last Saturday. That’s a lot of Christmases she’s celebrated...and a lot of gifts received. What a gift she is to my dad & to all of us.

Pastor's Column for December 13, 2020

Wally Alflen always sat in the first pew by the front door on the pulpit side. He sat all the way at the end of the pew closest to the door...not so that he’d be the first out but because he was usually the first one here on Sunday morning for the 8am Mass, along with his wife Aggie (Agnes). Sadly Wally passed away from cancer and we celebrated his funeral Mass on Friday, December 4th. I always loved to see Wally before Mass because he was a kind man who loved to joke around & tease people. He was also a person of faith as I mentioned during the 8am Mass the Sunday after he died. He will be greatly missed and we pray not only for him but for his wife and their children and grandchildren. May he celebrate the birthday of Christ with St. Jude, his favorite saint, in the heavenly kingdom. 

I also celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial for Marilyn Summers whom I anointed on November 29th after the 11am Mass. She and her husband Don, who have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, were married for 68 years! What a wonderful witness to us of the love of Christ for his bride the Church, as St. Paul reminds us marriage is a sign of. Marilyn was also loyal to her Catholic faith and had St. Anthony of Padua as her favorite saint. We extend our sympathy to Don and to his children and grandchildren and again pledge to keep Marilyn & her family in our prayers. It was strange that at Holy Cross cemetery, in order to get to Marilyn’s gravesite, we needed to step over my mother’s grave and the tombstone that bears my name & that of my parents. There’s always the reminder that death (& resurrection!) awaits us all. 

Last Monday I also celebrated a funeral service for Sgt. Riley Brandt who died suddenly. Again last weekend I mentioned how sad it is for a parent to lose their child, and even more painfully so when we are close to the holidays. We extend our sympathy to his family and assure them of our prayerful support. May God, who always knows our pain, reassure us that his loving mercy attends all those who have died as he fills us with the hope of eternal life where there will be no more tears but only peace in God’s kingdom. 

You heard us pray last weekend for Father Joe Piskura whom I’m sure many of you will remember as a classmate & friend of Father Vesely & who used to celebrate Mass here at St. Leo’s from time to time. Fr. Piskura passed away on November 26th (Thanksgiving Day). Funeral services were private due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please remember Fr. Piskura in your prayers and thank God for his generous service to us and to other parishes in the Diocese during his retirement years.

I believe it will be best for us to alter the Christmas schedule for this year in this way: We will have the 4pm Christmas Eve Mass in the church, but when we hit 50% capacity (or perhaps even less), we will redirect people to Lux Hall (the gym) where Mass will be live-streamed on a large screen. Of course the chairs will be set up for social distancing and all will be expected to wear masks. Holy Communion will be brought over. We will not have a 7pm or 10pm Mass Christmas Eve Mass this year but will continue to have the 8am and 11am Mass on Christmas Day. Thank you for your understanding and willingness to adjust to the schedule due to the pandemic. 

Christmas Mass Schedule

We will have a 4pm Mass on Christmas Eve in the church. Due to social distancing requirements still in effect, when we reach capacity (30-50%), we will redirect people to our live-streamed Mass in Lux Hall (gym). Of course anyone can choose to participate in Mass there to begin with as well. There will be no 7pm or 10pm Masses on Christmas Eve this year. Mass on Christmas Day will be at 8am and 11am. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have.

Pastor's Column for December 6, 2020

Happy feast of St. Nicholas! Of course liturgically we celebrate today the Second Sunday of Advent, but when December 6th does not fall on a Sunday, the Church honors St. Nicholas, the one after whom Santa Claus gets his name and his characteristic of helping children (Nicholas, who lived in the 4th century, is said to have secretly given three purses of gold to a poor man who could not afford dowries for his three daughters). It is customary in some places for St. Nick to put either coal or candy in the shoes of children, depending upon whether they’ve been “naughty or nice.” Just don’t leave your shoes in the church today or you’ll be sure to find them filled with coal. Besides, you don’t want to walk barefoot outside today.

We certainly got a blast of winter this past Tuesday on the first day of December. Personally I love to see snow at this time of year…even all the way through January. But when February arrives I’m really tired of its inconvenience & so tend to travel south during that month, especially before Lent begins. I’m still hoping to go to my sister’s in Florida in February but we’ve all learned this past year not to plan too far ahead so I’ll just keep that hope as part of my Christmas wish list for Santa. But I do want to suggest that in such inclement weather, when there is either extreme cold or snow-filled roads (or both), please do not attempt to drive to church for Mass, whether it’s during the weekday or the weekend. The most important thing is for everyone to stay safe, either because of the threats of bad weather or because of the pandemic, especially if you are elderly or have health conditions. For daily Mass goers, I would suggest you give us your name & phone number so that we can call in advance if daily Mass will be cancelled on a certain day. You can also feel free to call the rectory office (216-661-1006) & hopefully I’ll be able to pick up & answer the call. Safety & health should always come first.

Bishop Malesic has informed us that Eucharistic Ministers may bring Holy Communion to their family members whom they reside with and who are homebound but they may not yet bring the Sacrament to others outside of their own home. Clergy are encouraged by the bishop to be very cautious about visits to the hospital and nursing homes due to COVID but he is trying to gather a few priests in the Diocese who would be trained for visits to those in need of the Anointing of the Sick. If you have any questions or doubt regarding anointing or receiving Holy Communion for yourself or a loved one, please do not hesitate to call Deacon Pat or I and we would be happy to assess the situation with you.

Since the bishops of Ohio have dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Mass during the pandemic, there will be only one Mass this Tuesday, December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It will be at 8:30am & will be live-streamed on our website and to the children in our parish school. More information about our Christmas schedule will be given next weekend.

We have ordered a limited number of 2021 Breaking Bread books which will be available to you at the doors of the church. You may take one home & bring it back with you each week but please do not leave it behind in the church. It is yours to keep. We will order more if there is not enough for all who would like to have one.