On Saturday, January 4th, we celebrated a Memorial Mass for Carole Cerveny who died on December 31, 2019. Carole was a woman of faith who had a devotion to Mary, and on that day she died (New Year’s Eve) and the day following, we celebrated the feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Carole spent many years in a nursing home, confined to a wheelchair, but we believe (based on Mary’s Assumption), that she will finally be free from all that constrained her in this life. Carole loved to be with her family and cooked for them when she was able. May she now enjoy forever the feast of heaven. th
Last Monday, January 6 , I had a funeral service for Jack Gabrenya. I had lead the family in prayers for his wife in 2018 and they were blessed with 68 years of marriage. Jack was remembered as someone who helped others in any way he could, even his neighbors, as testified to by a parish- ioner who knew him as one of her neighbors for many years. Jack was 92 and lived independently up until the last few weeks before his death. We extend our sympathies to his 3 children and remember his service as a US Navy Veteran of WWII.
We welcome Fr. Vesely who will celebrate the 4pm Mass this weekend. Remember to thank him for his 65 years of service to the Diocese of Cleveland. We will be publish- ing an article written about his anniversary in our next News & Views Newsletter. May he continue to bless the people of Mt. Alverna as he blesses us with his presence and prayers.
I had asked for your input regarding the lighting in the church, and as expected, I received differing opinions (they say that if you ask 5 priests their opinion on something, you’ll get 12 in return!). Some felt the lighting was fine while others struggle reading the text and music in the Breaking Bread books. It really depends on where you are sitting in the church (and 95% of you sit in the same pew or at least general area every week...but of course I sit in the same seat every week too!). The truth is, the lighting is very inconsistent because of our fan-shaped church. From where I stand, I can certainly see many patches of darkness as I look out at the nave (where the pews are) from the sanctuary. It isn’t too expensive to replace the bulbs with a higher wattage (though we’ll still be using the cost-effective LED bulbs) and they will use extensions to bring the light further down so that it doesn’t get trapped in the ceiling. Finally, the light will be a cooler (whiter) hue than what we use in the sanctu- ary which tends to use a warmer, more yellowish tint. I hope the result will be better visibility for aging eyes. Imagine the days when all they had were the flickering light of candles. I trust you will notice the difference when the bulbs are re- placed in the coming weeks.
While I am grateful we haven’t had many snow days so far, the grey of winter can cause our spirits to droop. Here’s hoping the light of faith will keep you content and grateful in 2020.