We welcome the Knights of Columbus who will be join- ing us for the 11am Mass this weekend. As you know they have moved from a few blocks up the street on Broadview Rd. to their new home here at St. Leo’s & we are glad to have them. It’s a great fraternal Catholic organization for men to be a part of so please feel free to see one of them after Mass & ask a member what being a part of the “K of C” means to them.
Last weekend the Church celebrated the “World Day of the Sick”, a remembrance of all who are ill and in need of God’s healing. You may recall that the gospel last week was about Jesus healing a leper. He continues to heal today in body, mind and/or spirit. Since we didn’t make mention of it last weekend because it was our Annual Catholic Charities Appeal, I wanted to offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick at all the Masses this weekend. If you are “advanced in years” (as the Church calls it using very subjective language), or are experiencing a serious illness, the Church invites you to receive this sacrament whereby we pray for healing in whatever way God chooses to give it to us, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. Many people ask me to anoint them at other times after Mass when they are facing a surgery or serious medical procedure and I am very happy to do that as well whenever requested. So feel free to ask so that the Church's prayers may accompany you.
I meant to mention this a few weeks ago but when in flu season, everyone has the right not to receive Holy Commun- ion from the cup. And for the sign of Peace, a simple gesture such as a wave is perfectly acceptable if you are concerned about either giving or receiving germs through hand contact.
Here’s a little fun fact about our first Pastor, Father Lux: when they were building the current church and installing the stained glass windows, Father Lux wanted to learn a little about this specialized skill so he practiced by putting a stained glass window in the priests’ garage at the time (which is currently our maintenance garage that sits between the school building and the Parish Center). I always wondered why a garage such as this would have a stained glass window in it! And there is the answer (thanks to John Sabol for this historical tidbit). You can still see it on the east end of the garage but of course you can only appreciate the real beauty by looking at it from inside the garage so that the light can shine through it. If you’re that interested in seeing it from the inside, I can sell you a ticket. It’s good that we still have something made by our founding pastor’s own hands, even if it’s only a part of the garage.