Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Spiritual Check-Up
It is always a blessing when I am in the confessional and someone enters and says,” Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It’s been a long time since my last confession.” A priest may hear a person say it has been five, ten, twenty, or I have even heard fifty years!  Christ works through His priests to reconcile people back to Him. Regardless of how long it has been the Lord continually calls us to repentance.  With that being said, that is not a reason to press our luck when it comes to confession.  When a priest reels in one of these “big fish” (as we call them), I do remind them that it is a good idea to make a habit of going to Confession. 
I thought I would offer that reminder to everyone.  The Church requires a catholic to go to confession once a year to confess any mortal sins.  As is often the case, Holy Mother Church in her mercy gives the minimum so as not to overburden us with obligation.  However, our Mother Church also strongly recommends availing oneself of the Sacrament of Confession more frequently.  My personal recommendation is to plan for this great sacrament seasonally.  The first two are pretty apparent: In Advent before Christmas and in Lent before Easter.  During these two seasons most parishes have more opportunity for confessions due to their penitential nature.  I would also add two more: once in the Summer and once in the fall.  This basically makes it a quarterly habit and generally corresponds with the natural changing of seasons. 
So here we are coming to the end of summer and getting ready for the Fall.  When is the last time you went to confession.  Don’t be afraid. Repent and receive the Lord’s mercy.

For the Repose of the Soul of Lela Brown
Recently a stalwart and dedicated member of the Firestone Park Community went to meet the Lord.  Lela Brown was not a parishioner nor was she Catholic.  She was a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist community (located on Waterloo).  She was deeply involved in organizing community events at the different ecclesial communities and fostering ecumenical fellowship.  Think of the Ecumenical Christmas Concert we have hosted here at St. Paul’s for many years.  She had a fire in her heart for God and desiring always to bring people together.  Even among different religions she would stress whatever we all affirm together to foster respect and fellowship.  She will be missed. I ask that you pray for the repose of this kind soul and pray for the true unity that our Lord desires.

New School Year
This hot summer will be coming to a close in the near future.  It of course is a time for many to prepare for school.  As a reminder for those parish families that have children in elementary grades and are wishing to send them to a nearby Catholic school, please contact the rectory.  When we closed our parish school four years ago, the parish wanted to continue helping parishioners get a catholic education if they desired.  Often parishes have higher “non-parishioner” tuition rates as opposed to a lesser “parishioner” rate. So in order to help our parishioners, the parish offers to subsidize the difference of those rates.  This way they benefit from a catholic education but they continue to remain active at our parish.

Even though we do not have a parish school, our building continues to be used for different apostolates of education.  This year there are four different entities using our building!  “The Way” and “The Nativity” homeschool co-ops continue their presence. The Chesterton Academy of Akron was new last year and continues.  New this year is the “Oaks of Righteousness” homeschool co-op. We are looking forward to helping our parishioners as well as many others from the area to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr