I celebrated the funeral Mass for Steve Nagy on Friday, July 24th. Steve was a very devout Catholic who was married to his wife Jackie for 57 years. They have 2 daughters who are also active in the Catholic faith. Steve has been homebound for some time but prayed the rosary each day & had a devotion to St. Anthony of Padua. Through their intercession, may Steve rest in peace and may God’s peace be given to his devoted wife Jackie and to their daughters Sharon & Shelly.
Carmella Shrader was also a long-time parishioner and her Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated last Monday. Her children went to our parish school here. Carmella was also a devout Catholic who attended Mass weekly and so it was good for us to bring her body here to the place where she listened to the Word of God and received the holy Eucharist. She also had a devotion to Mary whom we ask to “pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” May Mary also show Carmella her Son now that her exile from this life has been complete.
I know that many of you have not yet joined us for Mass due to the pandemic and I want you to know that we respect your decision to remain at home during this time. We want you to know that you’re not forgotten and that you remain in our prayers. We hope that you can join us virtually through the live-stream as we celebrate Mass each weekend. We are having the camera replaced (hopefully by the time you read this) as we were getting some intermittent problems with the previous one. The new one is much cheaper but will hopefully give us the same good video and sound quality as the one it is replacing. It’s always better to be actually present with the community when that is possible but at least technology gives us options when that is not possible. But whether you are here or at home during our weekend Masses, remember that we must pray for one another during this unprecedented time.
I know it can difficult to go without the use of a missal at this time but here’s another option if you like to read the scriptures as the lector is proclaiming them or even before or after Mass. If you know what a QR code is (a barcode which can be read by most modern cell phones), you can just “scan” it with your camera app & it will bring up a website with the scripture readings of the day. We’ll have this on our website & in our bulletin and hanging in the entrances of the church for you to scan if you wish to use it. If you’re not sure how, feel free to ask me or Deacon Pat.
As we enter the month of August, I was a bit sad to receive a complimentary Golden Buckeye card from the Ohio Department of Aging. It said it was my pass to discounts and activities and my link to elder caregiver and aging services. Why not just prepare for my funeral services as well? It’s hard to believe this time has come as I still feel like I’m in at least the 2nd phase of life, not in the third and final one. But Father Time (who must be a Catholic clergyman) comes marching in my life. I just hope he marches right back out of it.