Dear Parishioners,

         I received an email from a reputable religious goods store which showed pictures of various statues they had obtained & were selling. They are all marble statues which means they would suitable for display either inside or outside. We have received many donations in recent years, including from people who thoughtfully remembered St. Leo in their will, but I have not been able to come up with anything to use those donations for, until now. One of the statues on display which “caught my eye” (you’ll get that in a minute) was one of St. Lucy (also referred to at St. Lucia). I saw the actual body of St. Lucy which is in a glass casket behind the high altar of a church in Venice. She is clothed in a red dress as she had died as a martyr. All we really know about her is that she was very young (probably about 21). She was born in 283 and died in 304 during the Diocletianic Persecution of the Church. Also known as Lucia of Syracuse, St. Lucy is also one of 8 women (including the Blessed Virgin Mary) who is mentioned in the first Eucharistic Prayer (also known as the “Roman Canon”), which I tend to use mainly at Christmas and Easter time. Her feast day is December 13th. What we do know about her is that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and so she was executed in Sicily. In medieval accounts about her, Lucy’s eyes were gouged out prior to her execution. In this statue, you can see therefore a pair of eyes on a dish which Lucy is holding in her left hand, and palm branches in her right hand, which is an ancient biblical symbol of martyrdom. Since St. Lucy is patron of those with no or poor eyesight, I thought she would be a good patron for us as many in our parish struggle with their vision, especially as they get older (I myself had a detached retina & almost lost vision in my left eye). You will be able to see this beautiful marble statue which stands 5 feet, 7 inches, if you look to the right of where our statue of St. Francis of Assisi is at by the side doors of the church, which is where most people enter our church from the rectory parking lot. St. Lucy will be placed on the old base of our marble pulpit and will be against the wall of the sacristy. So if you have made a donation in recent years with no expressed purpose in mind, please know we are grateful that we were able to purchase this statue due to your generosity. St. Lucy, pray for us!

       On October 6th, I celebrated the funeral Mass for Sara Stupic, and I was so happy to see several parishioners there to pray for her. She was known especially by those in the Senior group and by many whom she would see & talk to at Mass. Sara was a very devout Catholic and a gentle and kind person who has been living in another state for about a year where she could be close to relatives. But they assured me that she joined us via livestream for Mass here at St. Leo’s. Sara was married to her husband Edward for 32 years and had many nieces & nephews. Sara served as a Eucharistic Minister here and really enjoyed distributing the Body & Blood of Christ to others. May she now enjoy the presence of Christ forever in the kingdom promised to those who are faithful to him.

         I’d like to remind you that this Sunday evening (October 15th), Trapper Jack will speak to us about the Eucharist at 6pm in the church. Jack has spoken to us before and all who have heard him were really grateful for his insights into our Catholic Faith. In fact, his visit is very timely as Trapper is legally blind and so we will especially ask for St. Lucy’s intercession on his behalf. So please join us as we hear him speak of his own experience of the Eucharist and how important that has been in his life of faith. 

Fr. James P. Schmitz