Pastor's Column for September 1, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
Many people were here on August 23rd to pray for Cathryne Figas whose funeral we celebrated. Cathyrne was struck with illness while on vacation with her husband Aaron and a couple of friends from the parish. She was 61. Cathy and her husband are the parents of a son, Danny and daughter, Allison and the aunt of many nieces & nephews. She was very much loved by all as evidenced by the people at her funeral Mass. Death came unexpectedly for her but she lived her life of daily service, love and faith. Her children attended our parish school and Cathy served at St. Augustine’s Hunger Center and helped with our Adopt-a-Child program, among many other things. She was described as a “creative visionary” and used her gifts for others. May her husband Aaron and her children be comforted by their faith and may Cathy receive her reward in heaven.
I also celebrated the funeral Mass for Regina Rose Parle, who died in April of this year. Regina or “Jean” had a daughter, Theresa or “Terri” with whom Jean lived for the last 10 years after her husband James of almost 60 years passed away in 2012. We are glad that Terri returned to St. Leo’s for her mother’s funeral liturgy where Jean had been a parishioner for 45 years. Jean was very proud of her Slovak heritage and all four of her grandparents emigrated here from Slovakia. Jean and her mother were able to visit family in Slovakia in 1977. Jean had a devotion to St. Padre Pio, as she was born on his feast day, and to Our Lady of Fatima. She prayed the rosary often due to her devotion to our Blessed Mother. Jean has 2 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. May she be welcomed to the kingdom by the Virgin Mary, who prayed for her in life and in death.
Congratulations to Sean Mahon and to Lauren Daunch who were wedded here last Saturday, August 24th. May they be blessed in every way as they begin their married life.
So many of you have expressed your pleasure at seeing the tabernacle moved to the center of the sanctuary and I’m glad to hear of your great devotion to the Eucharistic Presence of Christ. The statues of the Holy Family should be returned soon as they are being carefully painted to bring out the beautiful details in the wood out of which they are carved. If you approve of their appearance when returned, I believe that the corpus (body) of the crucifix would also benefit from some new paint which would bring out the details of our Lord’s crucified body and remind us in a more striking way of what he suffered.
We now have candles in front of the statue of St. Michael the Archangel which burn for 10 hours. These cost less than a dollar a piece so we will not ask for any donation for them and you may light as many as you wish since there are many candles available. If you wish to throw a dollar or some change into the collection basket for these that would be fine but again feel free to light as many as you wish as often as you wish. These candles serve as a symbol that our prayers and those of St. Michael continue to rise to heaven even when we are not present in the church. St. Michael is the patron of police officers, paramedics, fire fighters and those in the military. And of course he intercedes for all those who need protection against evil of any kind.
This Monday, Mass will be celebrated at the Shrine (weather-permitting) for the Labor Day holiday and will be at 9am. I am excited for our children to return to school this Tuesday under new leadership. Please pray for them and for the teachers & staff.
Fr. James P. Schmitz
