Congratulations to the parents of Xavier David Cintula who was baptized last Sunday. May his patron, St. Frances Xavier, and all the saints, pray for him as he is raised in the Catholic faith.
Last Tuesday many people were gathered for the funeral Mass of Bill (Boleslaw) Skora. I told them that I met Bill on January 1, 2014. I remember the day well as that New Year’s Day was my first day as Pastor of St. Leo’s. Bill had attended Mass & introduced himself to me afterward, warmly welcoming me to the parish. I have since learned that Bill had a great devotion to the saints (whose feast we just celebrated a couple of days after his funeral Mass) and especially to Mary, the Mother of God (whose feast we celebrate on January 1st, again the day I first met Bill). Bill prayed the rosary often and with Sharon, his wife of 46 years, actively passed on the faith to their 4 children. Bill will be missed by many & we join the saints in praying for him as we remember him and all the Faithful Departed on November 2nd & throughout the month of November.
We welcome Father Vesely as he celebrates the 4pm Mass this weekend and as we offer our birthday greetings to him on his 90th birthday (officially November 8th). Fr. Vesely gave us a number of relics (small pieces of bone or flesh taken from the bodies of saints) and we have placed them in wooden cabinets which hang to the right of the Sacred Heart Statue and to the left of the St. Anne with Mary statue in the back of the church. We are blessed to have them as reminders of those men & women whose saintly lives give us inspiration. Please be sure to thank Fr. Vesely for the gift of these relics. He will join Deacon Pat & I as we bless throats in honor of St. Blaise after the 4pm Mass on Saturday (Deacon Pat & I will offer the throat blessing after the Sunday Masses as well).
Since we now have a Deacon as part of our parish community, it made sense to have a more permanent chair for him next to the presider’s chair in the sanctuary. So Deacon Pat will inherit my “old” chair and a new one has been built for the priest. I spoke to the Parish Council about using the opportunity to re-stain the wood in the sanctuary as it does not match the medium oak we have in the rest of the church, such as on the pews, the stained glass window frames, the frame & rear doors of the vestibule, etc. We are using some of the funds that were left to us in a will last year and I believe it will make the sanctuary much richer in its beauty. The work will be done this week. It’s a good way to conclude our 70th Anniversary next weekend as we celebrate the feast of our patron, St. Leo the Great, on November 10th. We also have a relic of St. Leo the Great which will be on display near his statue to the right of the tabernacle. May St. Leo and all the Saints pray for us!