These last weeks of Lent & Holy Week are a busy time of the year. As we draw to the end of the Lenten season & enter into the holiest days of the Church year there is a lot of planning and preparation to be done, there are details that need to be figured out, homilies to be written, and questions to be answered.

This week we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Patron Saint of the Universal Church. Normally we celebrate St. Joseph on March 19th, but since that is a Sunday this year and St. Joseph is so central to our faith, the celebration of his feast is transferred to Monday the 20th.

Sometime’s it’s tempting and easy to give into spiritual discouragement. Whether that be in failing in our Lenten commitments or any other challenge that might arise on our spiritual journeys. The spiritual journey isn’t always the proverbial “walk in the park.” Sometimes we find ourselves struggling with the same sin over and over and over again and, despite what seems like our best efforts, we haven’t been able to rid ourselves of it yet.

How long does it take you to get ready? Most of us have a routine before we go out, especially first thing in the morning. We may brush our teeth, comb our hair, and change our clothes to make ourselves presentable. From the time we get out of bed until the time we walk out the door, we undergo a transfiguration of sorts. We don’t want just anyone to see us before we transfigure.

Conversion is a reality, I think, that while we know we need to undergo, many of us would rather do it on our terms. It’s much easier to change how we want to change, when we want to change, and to change what we want to change.

“Repent & Believe in the Gospel.” This coming Wednesday we will hear those words proclaimed again as we enter into our annual Lenten observance. As we enter into these days of prayer, fasting, & almsgiving, I wanted to share with you some of the opportunities we have at the parish to help us draw more close to God & embrace His invitation to renew our lives in & with Him:

  Hi there, everyone! Hope that you’re having a great week! I am away this weekend & throughout the upcoming week spending some time refreshing & relaxing with friends while Angel is refreshing & relaxing at “Hotel Grandma” (she says it’s a 10 star hotel & I agree).

Hi, everyone! It’s Angel again. I hope Tat, like my treats, your blessings are abundant! He doesn’t get to do it all the time during the winter, he says it’s because of the cold and how early it gets dark, but I LOVE when my dad takes me for a walk. When I see him putting his shoes on or when I hear him say those 4 letters, I wag my tail & bark for joy!

What would you do if you won the Mega Millions Jackpot? At one point in the past weeks, the Mega Millions jackpot was a total of 1.35 BILLION dollars before someone won it in Maine. That is, to put it lightly, a LOT of money. I’m sure that many of us could think of a lot of things that we could do with 1.35 Billion...

Do you hear what I hear? Yes, I know those are the words of a Christmas song, but even though our Christmas season has concluded, I think that those words are words that you and I are invited to reflect upon today. Do you hear what I hear?

To be a registered member of a Parish is to have a sense of belonging to a family. Registration is important when it comes to requesting the Sacraments or becoming involved in the life of the Parish family. Do you receive envelopes? It could be you’re not registered. If you would like to become a member, receive envelopes, or need to update your address and/or phone number, you can call the church office at 216-252-2626 or drop a note in the collection basket.

As our Christmas season draws to close I wanted to take another opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! As we conclude these Christmas days, I wanted to take the opportunity in today’s column to say thank you! It’s something that while I always feel it, I don’t always remember to say it, so again, thank you!

Have you heard about Father’s Friday Flocknotes? Father’s Friday Flocknote is a note from Fr. John that he sends out (pretty much) every Friday containing important parish news and events as well as spiritual insights & prayers. These notes come via an email service known as Flocknotes (hence the name).

Hi there, everyone! It’s Angel! My dad’s been doing a lot for Advent & Christmas so I wanted to help him out and write today’s column. Let me start out by wishing you all a Happy New Year! As we begin this new year, we enter, in many ways, into the unknown. While we certainly have our hopes, plans, & dreams for today & the upcoming 364 days of this year, in many ways the course of this new year is unknown.

Merry Christmas! On behalf of myself & our entire parish staff please know of our prayers during this holy time of year! A special welcome too to anyone who might be visiting us on these holy days as well as all those who are returning home to celebrate. We are glad that you are here!

Throughout the season of Advent we often sing the familiar hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” It’s a very haunting & very familiar melody, but how many of us are aware of where the words of the song find their origins?

Last month, I took some time for my annual retreat. While many times I like to do group retreats with other priests, for this particular retreat, I packed up my car & headed down to southern Ohio & a cabin in the woods in Hocking Hills for a solo retreat.

As we continue along our Advent journey, I’d like to begin a new tradition on the 3rd Sunday of Advent (next weekend), an annual Bambinelli Blessing.The Bambinelli Blessing isn’t a tradition that I came up with, but rather a tradition at the Vatican that began with Pope St. John Paul II & has continued through Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

As we enter into the season of Advent & begin a new Church year we are invited & encouraged to pay attention for the new ways that God comes among us. As we draw closer to our celebration of Christmas when we celebrate the historical coming of Jesus into our world, we start the Advent season by focusing on Jesus’ coming at the end of time.

In one of my columns last month, I talked about some of  the insights that I had gleaned at our Priests’ Convocation that we had at the beginning of the month.  Over time I hope to share with you some of those insights with you.  This week I want to share some insights that I gained about splitting my time each week between both parish offices.