Well August certainly flew by and here we are in September already. So here’s what’s going on as we say goodbye to Summer and prepare to welcome the Fall....This Sunday (September 1st) I will be giving a special blessing to Ray and Jan Norris who are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary. They have been longtime parish- ioners here at St. Leo’s and we are happy to celebrate with them on this special day. Please be sure to congratulate them when you see them and thank them for the example of their faith and faithfulness.
Our Labor Day Mass will take place on Monday, September 2nd at 9am. As you enjoy the long weekend, please remember to thank the Lord for the gift of work which allows us to share in God’s creativity.
Tuesday, September 3rd, is the first day of School for our students here at St. Leo’s. We welcome back our return- ing students and we especially welcome our new students which brings our total enrollment up to 285, 25 more students than last year, which means we needed to add another class to our kindergarten grade. So we now have 2 kindergartens and 2 first grades, which we haven’t had here in many years. This is due in large part to our Principal, Mrs. Denise Burns, and to our Tuition Manager, Cindy Funari. And of course they depend upon the teachers and school staff who not only give our students an excellent education but do so in the atmosphere of faith. God’s bless- ings on them all as they begin this new year.
We offer our congratulations to Ryan McNamara and to Melissa Kitko who will be joined as one in the Sacrament of Matrimony next Saturday, September 7th. They are a wonderful couple who live their faith and witness to it by their presence at weekend Mass. I look forward to celebrat- ing this wonderful occasion with them and ask for your prayers as they begin this new chapter in their lives.
Last week I mentioned that some parishioners were interested in a ministry to the dying and to the bereaved. But I also want to remind you that we hope to offer spiritual help when someone is seriously ill or advanced in age (I’ll leave that specific number up to you!). So often we get called when someone is in need of the last rites or has died but we hope to be present to the sick and to the dying long before that time. Many of you ask to be anointed when you are here at Mass and I am always happy to celebrate that sacrament with you. But please know that you are encouraged to call on us when you or a family member are experiencing a serious illness so that we can offer you our prayers, the sacraments and our support in any way you need it. I know that times such as these can be stressful and there are so many details to attend to, but we hope you consider reaching out to us so that we might be there to support you before it becomes an emergency situation.