Brothers and Sisters, Praise be Jesus Christ! Holy Water Returns! You may have noticed that not only have the holy water reservoirs returned to the narthex for those who want to fill their own bottles to use in church or at home, but also we have four new holy water “dispensers” at the main entrances of the nave. They are no-touch and “covid approved.” Simply place your fingers up near the top for a quick second and a few drops of holy water will trickle out with which you can bless yourself in the customary manner upon entering or leaving church. Any stray drops will fall into the bowl below. Remember holy water is a powerful sacramental that helps us to live out the graces of our baptism.

Praise be Jesus Christ in this new year! Happy Feast Day St. Paul’s Due to a miscommunication, I did not expect Bishop Malesic to be here for our 4:30 Mass this weekend. Thankfully it all worked out, but I could only give short notice about his presence. My original hope was that covid would be over by now and we could have a proper Feast Day Celebration with a social and finally conclude our 100th Anniversary, which we were robbed of. Alas, here we are and still waiting. But we are grateful that last feast day Bishop Perez was here before he went to Philadelphia, and this year we have our new shepherd to visit us. While we cannot have the reception or social, I would have liked to, we are glad to meet our new bishop as we continue to persevere through these times united as a church.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Praise be Jesus Christ in this new year! St. Paul Hosting St. Augustine Parish School Fr. Majikas, the pastor of St. Augustine in Barberton, approached me a couple weeks ago with a proposal for our parish to host the lower grades of St. Augustine School children. Due to major renovations in their school building, teaching the kids in person is not possible. Even during covid, the desire for in person instruction for the younger kids is great. Having worked with Fr. Majikas and Elaine Faessel, the principal of their school (who is also a parishioner of St. Paul) when I was assigned there back in 2013, I wanted to help out if we were able. I spoke with our staff and pastoral council. All agreed that we should explore a solution.

Forming Disciples of Christ in Community and Proclaiming the Gospel Dear Brothers and Sister in Christ, Merry Christmas and Happy Baptism of the Lord! Do You Know Your Baptism Day? I ask this all the time, I know, but it’s important! While we all know our birthdays, and, granted, that has to happen before our baptism, our baptism day is actually more important! Only through baptism do we receive God’s life, the promise of salvation, and the infusing of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. We should know that day and celebrate the day every year. So look up your old baptismal certificate and find out.