Back in October, parishioner John Sabol did a presentation on the history of our parish which was very interesting. John was kind enough to make a short video (about 20 minutes long) of the presentation so that you can watch it at your leisure. It can be found (with all sorts of other useful information) at our website (leothegreat.org). Our thanks to him for all the work he put into that & to him and his wife Jeanne for the great work they did with the display of old pictures (currently from Christmas past at St. Leo’s) during our 70th Parish Anniversary.
Just a reminder that we started selling the new Great Sweepstakes raffle tickets on December 1st. We have a $100 weekly winner (and again, you can win more than once in the year!). We will have $200 winners on New Year’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and 4th of July and we will still have a $1000.00 winner on the feast of St. Leo. Many people love to play this raffle & they make wonderful gifts, especially as stocking stuffers at Christmas.
I had hoped that Fr. Vesely would be able to celebrate one of our Christmas Eve Masses but he is already “booked” for 3 Christmas Masses at Mount Alverna! We will try to have him here again soon but it depends on several sched- ules working together. In the mean time, do keep him in your prayers especially as we celebrate Christmas soon.
As I type this, our maintenance people are putting up Christmas decorations in the rectory. This is my favorite time of the year. But it can also be a very sad time for those who are ill or for those experiencing a loss around the holidays. So while we welcome the joy of the season in our celebration of the Lord’s birth, it is also important to remember those who are having a hard time around the holidays. I mentioned some “CareNotes” that we have made available in the vestibule of the church, in the rectory office and in the Parish Community Center. We have recently ordered ones that have to do with grief, especially around the holidays. Please feel free to take one of these for yourself or give it to someone whom you think may find it helpful.
Please keep in your prayers William Wachenschwanz and Joanne Marsik, both parishioners of St. Leo’s, whose funeral services were held this past Wednesday. Geraldine Piotrowski’s Funeral Service will be held this Wednesday. May they rest in peace until the Lord comes again.
This week my step mother turns 99. I had Thanksgiving with her and my dad and they both look great and are doing quite well. I’m just glad that their Christmas tree decorating days are over. I remember when Santa used to decorate our tree when we were young. He used quite a bit of tinsel (remember that?) that would stick all over you. But I’m sure my dad was glad he didn’t have to do the work himself. The good old days.