Dear Parishioners,
Please keep in your prayers this weekend all the Dads of our parish. What an awesome responsibility it is to oversee the lives that God has put into your hands. As the “Family Perspective” says earlier in this bulletin, even the smallest things you do can have a major impact on your child – for better or for worse.
We need Dads who love their children’s mother and who are the best of teachers to their children of God’s commands to love Him and one’s neighbor.
But, what about the Church? What can we as a parish do to support a father’s vocation? One way has been the spiritual and social group formed recently for men who come together to pray and socialize. They meet monthly and will do so again in July with a Mass at the Grotto in Randolph. Another is the Holy Name Society that meets monthly for spiritual and educational purpose to strengthen a man’s Catholic identity. Then, of course, there are the Knights of Columbus who are involved in many charitable efforts in the Akron area. But, what else? Are there other interests, areas of services, areas of support – including Dads who go through a divorce, lose a job, has increased anxiety or loneliness. How can we do better to help families by connecting Dads as Catholic men?
Prayers are also requested this weekend for the second annual Homeless Women’s Retreat being held at Loyola of the Lakes Retreat House in Clinton. Our own reader and Eucharistic Minister, Karen Kapes, is again helping with this excellent ministry to the area homeless.
You may wonder why there is only one Daily Mass these next few weeks. Priest Shortage! I will be leading a pilgrimage of 40 people to the Shrine of St. Therese of Lisieux in Juneau, Alaska. About half the pilgrims are from our parish. Pleas pray for us.
The days Fr. Norm is not available for the 12:10 Mass, a retired priest of the Diocese will be here to preside so we have one Mass. Please consult neighboring parishes for a convenient time if daily Mass is a way to maintain your spiritual life.
At our recent parish council meeting a question about Daily Mass and Holy Day Masses came to the table. A few people feel our current schedule is not conducive to the schedule of many parishioners. As we wait the re-opening of St. Mary Church, some may want to look at our entire Mass Schedule after parishes are re-opened. So, please let one of the parish council members know your thoughts and feelings on the matter. They are: Helen Trares, Trish Bozsik, Jim Dyer, Dave Klein, Ruth and Dick Reinhart, Richard Williams, Tom Fritch, Cheryl Custer, Gary Geis, Susan Kramer, Patty Ayers, Dennis Siwik, and John Hornacek.
Our thanks to the many who helped to make last weekend’s Corpus Christi Mass and Procession an enjoyable experience. Even a few visitors for Founder’s Day in Akron, who went to the church at 9:30, came down to join the celebration for the Lord. Thanks to God for the blessings; this included the great weather.
We hope to hear soon some official word about clergy placements in the 11 re-opened parishes. The Bishop has stated his desire to have everything in place by early August. This past week the St. Mary furnishings that were in storage in Parma, Ohio, were returned.
Let me draw your attention to the Prayer Sheet in your bulletin and available at the church doors. Bishop Lennon wrote in his column for the Universe Bulletin this past week, the following excerpt regarding “Fortnight for Freedom” beginning this Thursday:
“After Mass (in March), as I shook your hands and listened to your comments, I could see and feel the concern each of you have about the health and human services mandate requiring all employers, even those that are religious institutions…to provide health care insurance that covers contraception, sterilization, abortion or other medical procedures even if those procedures are against the individual’s or institution’s conscience.
As I said in my homily, this is not just a Catholic issue. The bishops are standing up for all people of faith to defend their First Amendment right to follow their maker and live their lives according to his or her religious beliefs.
As promised by the Bishops, we have not let this issue simply fade away in bureaucratic red tape. We have continued to stand with faithful throughout the country in speaking up for religious freedom.
Most recently, our own Cleveland-based law firm Jones Day filed 12 lawsuits in federal courts across the U.S. on behalf of 43 Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals and social services agencies challenging the Health and Human Services mandate as a violation of religious freedom under the First Amendment and Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Cleveland Diocese has come out in full support of this action as well. But as Catholics we cannot stop there…”
We are encouraged to write our elected officials to voice our concern over this HHS Mandate and join many in the Fortnight for Freedom. This 2-week period begins June 21 and ends July 4, Independence Day.
These weeks include the feast days of several saints who were martyred for Christ when facing persecution by political powers of their day – St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist. The Bishop’s website: www.usccb.org will have daily reflections, study guides, and the Litany for Liberty found in today’s bulletin.
Let us make a difference together – here at home and as some of us sail to Alaska. Let us be one nation under God, the giver of life and liberty. Peace, Fr. Dan