Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus, Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Soon to begin our Centenary Celebration! If you haven’t got your tickets yet for the September 22 dinner in Boeke Hall, be sure to call the rectory. This will be the opening day to a year-long celebration, which will include the opening of a time capsule in October, liturgical anniversaries, a concert series, a visit from Bishop Perez for our Feast Day in January, and much more! Be sure to keep an eye on the bulletin for upcoming events.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus, Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Soon to begin our Centenary Celebration! If you haven’t got your tickets yet for the September 22 dinner in Boeke Hall, be sure to call the rectory. This will be the opening day to a year-long celebration, which will include the opening of a time capsule in October, liturgical anniversaries, a concert series, a visit from Bishop Perez for our Feast Day in January, and much more! Be sure to keep an eye on the bulletin for upcoming events.

Handbell Choir Director Charles Kobb promises an evening of serendipitous entertainment as the Summit Bells wield 6 octaves of bells and 7 octaves of choir chimes in order to inspire and entertain their audience.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus, Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Fr. Bob Pfeiffer and Fr. Sam Cicollini This weekend I am out of town for my annual Canada trip, so Frs. Pfeiffer and Cicollini will be covering Masses during this time. I appreciate their help, and I know they enjoy coming here to experience the love this community shows to God and to each other.

Please check out the St. Paul Photo Albums to see photos of the Basilica and National Shrine to Our Lady of Consolation. About 20 people from St. Paul's accompanied Dcn. John Amedeo on this pilgrimage to Carey, Ohio.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, South Parking Lot As I write this the plan is to have the south church parking lot sealed and the lines re-striped. So hopefully as you read this you will have already noticed the difference. This time we went a bolder yellow color rather than white so even in the snowy months people can see better where to park. This project also includes repairing damage in the gym parking lot. Thank you to parishioner Denis Randall who volunteered his time to help get the project done.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Blessed Virgin Mary Grotto I was sitting in the rectory with a priest friend enjoying a drink and good conversation when he looked out the window and saw the grotto on the corner of the parish property. He complimented how beautiful it looks, and it sparked more good conversation about parish and how God’s grace inspires people to make it happen.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Yes, We Still Believe in That! Last week I wrote about the reality and importance of angels. There are many examples in Scripture of angels, and the Church’s teaching is clear on their existence. The same can be said of demons, which are fallen angels. Demons retain their natural abilities but are fallen and thus deprived of God’s sanctifying grace. At the very moment of an angel’s existence it has the choice to fulfill or reject God’s mission assigned to it.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Yes, we still believe that! A while back I wrote a small series of articles on teachings of the Church that have not been as emphasized, but are still part of Catholic belief. I would like to continue that here. If there are teachings or topics you would like me to write about, please let me know! For this week - Angels.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Liturgy Days Please look in the bulletin for the upcoming annual Liturgy Days. Every year I offer some continuing education in what is most important for us as a parish - giving worship to God through the Church’s Liturgy. Without the Liturgy and sacraments (especially the Mass) we are lost and all our efforts are diminished. Because the Mass is God’s continuing presence among us, there is always more to learn and deeper to go.

The artistry of international soloist, Angela Massey, has been described as beautiful, enchanting, and magical. Hsin-I Huang captivates his audiences with his virtuoso performances, in which he exhibits masterful playing and profound musical sensitivity. This program will include works across the classical repertoire with Baroque Variations by Marais, Romantic "Odelette" by Saint-Saens, and an exquisite new work by Uebayashi, "Moments du Cristal.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Liturgy Days Please look in the bulletin for the upcoming annual Liturgy Days. Every year I offer some continuing education in what is most important for us as a parish - giving worship to God through the Church’s Liturgy. Without the Liturgy and sacraments (especially the Mass) we are lost and all our efforts are diminished.

Please check out the St. Paul Photo Albums to see photos of the Historic Churches of Cleveland. About 50 people from neighboring parishes including St. Paul's accompanied Dcn. John Amedeo.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Vocations The word vocation comes from the Latin word, “vocare,” and it means “to call.” As Catholics we should know that every person has a primary vocation of living a life of holiness (even non-Catholics and non-Christians). God calls each of us to this no matter what our circumstances. This means we use the opportunities God gives, especially the sacramental graces as well as actual graces constantly calling us to deeper relationship with our Lord and deeper love of our neighbor.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Freedom in Christ This Thursday is Independence Day. Please note the Mass time is changed to 9am. It is a day we celebrate Freedom and thank God for the gift of freedom. We thank Him also for our country, this great experiment in republican democracy. The second reading for this weekend is apropos. St. Paul writes to the Galatians, “For freedom Christ set us free, so stand firm and do not submit again to the yolk of slavery. For you were called for freedom ... but do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather serve one another through love.”

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Happy Pentecost! As I write this I am in Assisi, Italy on retreat with Bishop Perez and twenty-five other priests of the Diocese of Cleveland. The hometown of St. Francis is a beautiful and blessed place. It is as if the whole town is the retreat house. The landscape is wonderful and the people charming. Think rustic old town country and then add one thousand years. Thankfully there are modern amenities and of course the food is awesome!

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Diabolical Weather and God’s Grace How about that crazy weather last Saturday night! Right as the 4:30 Mass began it became very loud in the church from the hail hitting the church roof. Even the lights seemed to dim ever so slightly and our electric organ’s volume wavered just a little bit. Interestingly this was during the blessing of water to prepare for the sprinkling rite.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Connected Through Prayer Bishop Perez is hosting a retreat for priests in Assisi, Italy. In honor of our ten year anniversary, my classmates and I are joining him for this great opportunity. And because we will already be in Europe we figured we might as well tag on some vacation time to celebrate with just the five of us, so we are touring through Germany on the Rhine River for a week after the retreat.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Gift of Priesthood, the Gift of Parish Last week you may have read in the bulletin that on May 16 was my tenth anniversary of Priestly ordination. I thank God for my sharing in the ministerial priesthood of His Son, Jesus, Who is the High Priest offering Himself eternally to the Father. Every vocation to the priesthood is a gift and a mystery.