Pastor's Column for November 3, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
We welcomed Athena Harte into our Faith last Sunday through the Sacrament of Baptism. We congratulate her parents and ask God to bless them all with a faith that will sustain them throughout life.
Last Saturday (October 26th), I celebrated a funeral Mass for Bernadine Hill. Bernie was a long time parishioner here at St. Leo’s and was one of 8 children, and the last one to die at the age of 98. I celebrated the funeral of her sister, Mildred Mach about 4 ½ years ago and the two of them would come to the 4pm Mass on Saturday so faithfully. Bernie was married to Louis for 50 years and had 5 children (one is now deceased) and several grandchildren including great-great grandchildren. She had a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary & prayed the rosary regularly. We commend her now to God and I ask you to say a prayer for her that she may be reunited with all those she loved as she enters the presence of God.
We also extend our sympathies to the Vesely family on the death of Raymond Vesely, the nephew of Father James Vesely. I prayed with the family for him this past Tuesday and so again ask you to remember him and his uncle, Father Vesely, in your prayers.
As you can see, the corpus of our crucifix has been painted and returned to us so I am very grateful for the great work done by the painter from Henninger’s Religious Goods store on W. 137th off of Brookpark Road. They are also the ones who painted the statues of the Holy Family and will be installing two more stained glass window shadowboxes soon. I also asked them to put up a railing in the vestibule by the steps leading down to the Information Desk as it presents a hazard to those who may be in that area. While re-installing the corpus on the cross, I asked them to place a small crucifix there which we had in the sacristy and which contained a very small relic of the True Cross. I don’t know where it came from nor did I know how we could place it in a place of honor until I got the idea to have it placed on our sanctuary crucifix so that we will know that it is there. We will bless our newly painted crucifix this weekend & ask God to allow it to remind us constantly of the great Sacrifice that Jesus offered to the Father so that sin, death, hell and Satan might be overcome.
Of course this is the week that our presidential election takes place, a time that has produced much anxiety and uncertainty for so many people in our country. It has also given birth to so much animosity toward one another, to the point that we are not even able to talk to many people with a calmness that is respectful of other’s opinions. This is precisely the hope and work of the devil who is associated with division and hatred. So let us increase our prayer. We pray for ourselves. We pray for our enemies. We pray for our civil leaders, whomever they may be, in accord with the command of scripture. We pray for God’s kingdom to come, and His will to be done, regardless of who wins this race. We pray that we may trust, despite our fears. We pray that we will live one day at a time, as Jesus taught us, for we are not to worry about tomorrow. And finally we pray that all Christians may follow not a donkey or an elephant, but a Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
Fr. James P. Schmitz
