In numerous passages in the Gospels, Jesus exhorts His followers “to be not afraid”. With these words He’s calling us to not fear the big difficulties that life throws at us like a major illness or a job loss. His call reminds us that we’re to rely solely on our Father God’s providence in all aspects of our lives.

But if we look below the surface of our Lord’s exhortations we find another profound life lesson – He wants us to soar! St. John Henry Newman speaks of God’s expectation for our lives: “A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.” He goes on, “If we insist on being as sure as is conceivable, we must be content to creep along the ground, and never soar.” Yes, God wants us to live life fully aiming sky-high! If we wait and never risk we won’t reach the full potential we’re capable of as children of God. St. Irenaeus expresses God’s desire this way, “The glory of God is man fully alive.”

So, you may be wondering, “How are we to achieve this lofty goal of letting go and soaring?” Well, the short answer is that we need do nothing out of the ordinary – we’ve already got what it takes. Right now, by virtue of our baptism, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is alive and at work in the lives of the children of God. Our Lord gives us the assurance that He has overcome the power of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. As we abide in Him, let’s not let these things hold us back where we’re content “to creep along the ground and never soar.”

The prophet Isaiah encourages us, “Awake, awake! Put on your strength…Put on your glorious garments…Arise, shake off the dust, sit enthroned, loose the bonds from your neck people of God…” Be not afraid and soar!

May God grant you His peace, His grace, His light, and His most holy consolations!

Deacon Steve

The confraternity of the Most Holy Names of God and Jesus (Holy Name Society) promotes reverence for the sacred names of God and Jesus Christ. Blessed John of Vercelli is the patron and founder of the Holy Name Society.

The Queen of Heaven Holy Name Society is an organization for men 18 and older. We promote supporting the parish's needs by using our time, talent, and treasure. We also support parish organizations such as the St. Vincent DePaul Society and Labre Ministry. In addition, we offer to recite the Rosary for any deceased member of the parish at their wake. We also work closely with all the Holy Name Societies for the Cleveland Diocese. 

One shared project among the Holy Name Societies of the Cleveland Diocese is the Men's Sock and Underwear Drive. The Diocesan Union supports a different organization every year to help homeless men by collecting socks and underwear.  This drive will take place at the end of May (more details to follow). 

The Queen of Heaven Holy Name Society meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Life Center. If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Holy Name Society, please contact the parish office or Joe Leone at josepholeone@hotmail.com or (216) 543-4132.  

The following is our Holy Name Pledge. We encourage all parishioners to pray it (especially during this month of the Holy Name of Jesus).

Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
I believe O Jesus that Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I proclaim my love for the Vicar of Christ on Earth. I believe all the sacred truths which the Holy Catholic Church believes and teaches.
I promise to give good example by the regular practice of my faith.
In honor of His Divine Name, I pledge myself against perjury,
blasphemy, profanity, and obscene speech.
I pledge my loyalty to the flag of my country and to the God given principles of freedom, justice, and happiness for which it stands.
I pledge my support to all lawful authority, both civil and religious.
I dedicate myself to the honor of the Sacred Name of Jesus Christ and beg that He will keep me faithful to these pledges until death.

May God bless your resolutions; may His holy angels and saints assist you to keep them. Laboring during your whole life for the glory and honor of the Holy Name of God, may you merit to share in the glory of the apostles, martyrs, and confessors, who labored and died for the Name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Blessed John of Vercelli, Pray for Us!

Joe Leone, President of Queen of Heaven Holy Name Society and Vice President of the Cleveland Diocesan Union of Holy Name Societies

Merry Christmas Everyone! I am sure you are questioning why we would say Merry Christmas when Jesus is 30 years old being baptized in the Jordan. Because this is the feast, we celebrate the last day of the Christmas Season. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not just to be born in Bethlehem, but to be born again in you and me. Jesus came to share in our humanity so that we could share in His divinity.

It is by our Baptism that we are born again. By our Baptism we share in His divine life…which is called grace. By our Baptism we become members of God’s family, God’s Church, the people of God. Today is a good time to reflect on our own Baptism and thank our parents that brought us into the Church to be baptized, or some of us as adults who were inspired to be baptized.

Today is a good day, to pray that all parents take the promise they took as parents to be the best of teachers of the faith in what they say and do. Today is a good day to renew our baptismal promises by saying no to sin and yes to God’s way of love, which is really a daily decision; and only with the grace of God, we can keep those promises.  Remember, if you are expecting a child or have had a baby recently, our parish offers baptismal classes. Please sign up for a class (if you have not attended one in the last 5 years) and then schedule your child’s baptism (call the parish office at (330) 896-2345).

Of other things…

Thank you to all who made the Christmas Masses a beautiful celebration – the ushers, servers, musicians, choir, decorators, lectors, our Deacon and all who came to Mass to celebrate the best gift of Christmas, Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist.

Reminder…we are having the celebration of a Mass for Life and All-night Adoration to pray for respect of all life from conception to natural death on Friday, January 21 through Saturday, January 22. Please see the ad in this bulletin to sign up for an hour of Adoration.

This Tuesday, January 11, after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, we will be taking down all the Christmas decorations in the church. We welcome any time you can spare to help with this project. Thank you.

Love in JMJ,
Father Dave

Today we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. We know the story: The Magi were foreign, pagan outsiders who traveled a great distance to honor an infant King to which they were mysteriously attracted. They brought gifts of great value and honor. Enroute they were summoned by a wicked ruler who was terrified of losing his power to this new King. The Magi were, however, wise enough to see through the ruler’s wicked plan and disobeyed his orders to return to him and tell him where they found the King. Instead, we are told that they went home by “another way.” And that’s all we ever hear about them.

Scripture doesn’t say the Magi stopped being pagan astrologers. It doesn’t say they started a church or converted people. What it does show is that the Magi knew the deepest truth about the Holy One before a lot of other people knew it, and they were, along with the animals and the shepherds and angels, among the first to worship Him. In fact, in the first thirty years of Jesus’ life this small group of shepherds, wisemen and others, led by Mary and Joseph of course, were perhaps the only ones who worshipped Him as the one true King.

No, the Magi didn’t necessarily fit the mold of what’s been called over the centuries “disciples” – they traveled by “another way.” But nevertheless they “got it” and sought out an innocent, helpless baby and worshipped in their own way. And the Holy Family’s reaction to the Wisemen’s visit teaches us a powerful lesson regarding inclusion, tolerance, acceptance and welcoming of the stranger.

Many Christians today expect their faith to strictly look a certain way and then be reflected in a very specific set of actions and reactions – and that’s okay. Looking closely at the story, however, it seems that the Magi fell short of these narrow expectations. Let’s face it, there are many genuinely faithful people around us who do not really fit in with the typical church crowd. They love Jesus. They would embark on grueling journeys to meet Him and to lay their treasures at His feet. And then they would go home by “another way” yet remain faithful to the Christ, the Creator of all the living.

So today let’s bless all our neighbors and loved ones who seem, in our eyes at least, to be more like the Magi than the disciples. Maybe they’re miles from the center of traditional Christian ways in many respects, yet their faith still holds true at the center of their hearts. Perhaps, for whatever reason, they can’t figure out how to make sense of “church” or organized religion. Maybe their culture or upbringing is different and thus they see the world differently than all the other Jesus people around. Maybe all they have are gifts of great honor and a desire to worship the King.

So, Epiphany is about all of our stories even the stories of those who follow Jesus on the side streets of organized religion. We know that faith counts and when anyone bears witness to the Christ Child, regardless of rites or rituals, it matters. So, let’s work toward greater inclusion, acceptance, tolerance and welcoming of our neighbors and loved ones who may be different and thus go home by “another way.” As He is for us, trust that God is with all his children wherever they go.

May God bless all souls with His great blessings and make them all His!

Deacon Steve

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! Thank you for wanting to celebrate Christmas by coming to Mass – Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, but also born again today on our altar in the Most Blessed Sacrament. How grateful we are that we do not have to be jealous of those shepherds at that first Christmas having the privilege to see the Christ Child. We have that same privilege to see Jesus under the veil of a Sacrament. The best gift at Christmas is not a train or a toy or a new bicycle or a new sweater, but the best gift is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the best gift for three main reasons. First, He is priceless. He is the most expensive gift. He paid the price of our salvation with every drop of His blood. That is the main reason He took on our human flesh, to eventually die on the cross for us to show how much God loves us. Secondly, He is the best gift because He will never wear out. He will last forever. All our other gifts will wear out, but Jesus never wears out. He will be with us always, Emmanuel; and because of Him, we will live forever. Thirdly, He is the most practical gift. We need Him every day and He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

May our infant Savior shower all his choicest blessings on you and your families. And speaking of families, this weekend, not only do we celebrate the Feast of Christmas, but the Feast of the Holy Family. How grateful we are for the gift of our families. May God continue to bless us and help us to grow in love and joy, peace, and respect. Amen.

A blessed Christmas season from myself, Father Semonin, Deacon Steve, and all the parish staff.

Love in Jesus, Mary & Joseph,

Father Dave

Dear Friends,

Advent has come to its completion, and now we are ready to rejoice at our Savior’s birth. This is an incredibly joyous moment in the life of the Church! Thank you, Mary, for your YES to the angel Gabriel and to carrying out God’s will.

All the Advent busyness from within and without is fading away. Did we make this Advent a “good one”? Did we grow in holiness, pray often, prepare well for Jesus to be born in our hearts once again?

It is easy to get wrapped up in claiming our own accomplishments based on this or that result. However, it is worth reflecting on how we attempted to make space for a warm and life-giving faith this Advent. Staying centered on the hope that accompanies the Incarnation, God made man, is what ultimately propels us forward. What remains: God is a loving Father who delights when His children simply try, even if we didn’t “succeed”. Keep the faith, keep striving, keep desiring to make Christ known and loved every day!

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 526: “Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the mystery of this ‘marvelous exchange’: O marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the Divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share our humanity.”

This is the very core of our Faith. With the Church this Christmas season, let us pray for an increase in strength to spread the light of Christ in a dark world.

A Blessed Christmas to you all!

Steven Dyer