I write this on Tuesday, January 10th, and I just celebrated the 8:30am Mass. I wore green vestments as we are now back in the First Week of Ordinary Time and will remain here until Wednesday, February 22nd, which is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. For God, there really is no “ordinary time” as God is always doing extraordinary things for us as his plan for the world continues to unfold day by day. We may not be conscious of what the plan is, but we do know that God’s purposes are always good, leading us to the fulfillment of all time, to the coming of his eternal kingdom. This should make us always joyful and always at peace, regardless of what is happening in our world or in our individual lives. God loves us. God loves the world he has created. Though we have made quite a mess of things because of our sin, God in his mercy will “make all things turn out for good.” And as we say in the renewal of our baptismal promises, “This is our faith and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A couple of quick reminders: the rectory office will be closed on Monday, January 16th, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and our Parish Council will meet on Tuesday, January 17th at 7pm in the rectory meeting room.

I sent an email to all those going on the Italy Trip in March (coming up fast!) letting them know that we will have a meeting on Sunday, January 29th at Noonish over in the Parish Center. We will have coffee & donuts & will have the opportunity to meet the others going on the trip & to share some practical information, based on those who have traveled abroad before, especially to Italy. So in case you didn’t get the email, consider this your invitation.

I wanted to let you know that we had a technical difficulty (actually a lapse in my memory) which caused our 4pm Mass on Saturday, December 31st, not to be livestreamed. Instead, many people watched the 8:30am Mass that I celebrated the day before on Friday, December 30th. That Mass was only 30 minutes long so in case you wondered why Mass was so much shorter than usual, that is the reason. We’re glad you had something to watch anyway.

Thanks again for your continued prayers for my Dad & his wife Mildred. Mildred is back at Vitalia in Strongsville and doing fairly well though her legs keep swelling up with fluid because of her congestive heart failure. My dad is still in the skilled nursing facility as he is still very confused. He does not really know where he is or why he is there, only that he’s not “at home.” He usually knows who his family members are when we are visiting him but his memory comes & goes. He is not in pain or any real discomfort and that is a great blessing, but we just don’t know where this is going. Some days he eats well, has good memory, & carries on conversations, and other days none of this is true. So we take it day by day & just pray for the guidance to know which direction we need to go in. But again, I thank you for your concern & prayers.

I plan on visiting Nativity Parish in Lorain on Wednesday, January 11th, along with Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan, to view the relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young millennial fascinated by the Eucharist. He loved playing video games, but loved Jesus more, using his computer skills to create a website to teach others about the Eucharist. Since his First Communion, he attended Mass daily and brought his family back to the faith. He died in 2006 at age 15 of leukemia, offering up his suffering for the Pope and the Church. I spoke about him at Mass a couple of years ago. What a gift to see such deep faith in a young person today.