Pastor's Column for September 19, 2021

Congratulations to Andrea Mendoza & Darren Joyce Jr. who are being married this weekend at St. Leo’s. May the Lord bless their marriage as they celebrate it in the atmosphere of faith.
Cora Dejelo will be taking over the responsibilities of being the 11am Sunday Mass Coordinator and I’m very grateful for her willingness to accept this invitation. At the same time, I want to express my profound gratitude to Doris Neylon who has been active in this role for many, many years…actually decades! The Mass Coordinator position was established to enable the priests to focus on the celebration of Mass without worrying about all of the details concerning the setup for each liturgy. This has been a tremendous help to priests over the years, and most especially to me as I enjoy using that time instead by saying hello and visiting briefly with those who are coming in the church before Mass. The person in this role determines the number of hosts that must be placed on the offertory table in the back of the church which are to be consecrated at that Mass, fills the communion cups with wine (when we are using them outside of COVID times), sets up the priests’ chalice and Roman missals, and makes sure the lectionary is setup correctly for the proclamation of God’s word. They also contact the liturgical ministers such as altar servers, lectors and Eucharistic ministers and makes sure everyone is present & ready for their liturgical ministry. Then after Mass, they make sure everything is cleaned up and locked up as well, along with many other details in-between. Again, I can’t express how important this is to the priest but also to the people of the parish who expect that the liturgy will be celebrated with all such details taken care of. Besides Doris, Loretta Mlady also retired from this ministry after many years of dedication to the 8am Sunday Mass. Chris Rath also participated in this ministry and I’m sure some others who were before my time. I am deeply grateful to them and to those who continue to serve generously in this ministry, especially Nancy Zola at the 4pm Saturday Mass & Ron Kollar at the 8am Sunday Mass, along with each of the weekday Masses. May God bless all of them for their generous time and faithful commitment over many years of service to God, the priests and the people of St. Leo.
This weekend we will be taking up another 2nd collection for those affected by Hurricane Ida. We are grateful for the recent donations to aid those who are in need as a result of these natural disasters.
Just a reminder that Confessions are heard on Saturday from 3pm until 3:30 AND on Sunday morning from 10:15am until about 10:45am. I am also happy to hear your confession any time by request or by appointment, which can be made by using the link on our website or by calling the rectory office.
We are looking to hire someone part-time as a housekeeper and lunch cook for the staff. We are also in need of another full-time maintenance worker, preferably someone young enough to keep up with our daily needs in the school, church, rectory and parish center buildings, along with some outside work. Please contact the rectory office if you or someone you know may be interested.