It was 25 years ago on July 1 that first came to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish to be the pastor following the retirement of Fr. Conry, who had been pastor for 15 years. I was not all that familiar with Sacred Heart Parish or Wadsworth even though I had grown up in Barberton which is just 10 minutes away. When I was growing up, we never came to Wadsworth except to go to the Blue Sky Drive In to see a movie. So, it was a very new experience living in Wadsworth.
I must say that I found Wadsworth to be a very delightful community and Sacred Heart Parish to be a very vibrant parish firmly rooted in Catholic tradition and way of life. It has been a great 25 years that have gone by at incredible speed.
We, as a parish, have grown so much and much has changed especially in the physical plant and campus of the parish. I dare say that Fr. Conry would barely recognize the parish grounds today. Growth has not only occurred on the physical plane, but there has been a great deal of growth in the Catholic Faith as well as our commitment to service and sharing the Catholic with others. We have surely grown in grace and service. This is not my doing, but it is because of you, the people of God, who have been so very generous with your time, talent, and treasure. You have done so very much to build up the Kingdom of God here at Sacred Heart Parish and we continue to grow in all these areas because of the dedication of many long-time parishioners as well as those who have joined our parish family over the years.
I have been so blessed to have been a part of this wonderful growth of the Catholic Faith in our parish family and I pray that we can all continue to grow in faith and grace and be able to pass that legacy on to the children and grandchildren so we can build a solid future for the Catholic Faith in the years to come.
Thank you as so very much for your years of support, cooperation, hard work, and prayers. Our lives are rooted in our Catholic Faith. This is the only way we can come to know the Lord Jesus ourselves and evangelize others in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must always put God first in our lives because that is what He created us to do. We are His children, and our destiny is to be with Him forever in heaven. This is my prayer for all of you and I hope it is your prayers for one another. May our example to one another always be on that speaks of God’s love for all of us. As St. Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians, “Say only the good things that people need to hear. Things that will really help them.” (Eph. 4:29)
Congratulations! Dennis Jacobs, one of our parishioners, was recently named “Knight of the Year” for the Knights of Columbus Council 14111. Congratulations Dennis for all your work and devotion to the Knights of Columbus. May God bless you and your family.
We are in the midst of summer and all that we are involved in which hopefully makes our lives so much happier and fulfilling. Of course, there can be some frustration and trials that go along with it. We may be looking at vacations and more time spent with family and friends. It is good to get out of our routines every now and then. Let’s always remember that vacations from some aspects of our lives are good and much needed, but no one needs a vacation from God or prayer or the Holy Eucharist. These are the things God has given us and should be a constant in our lives so that we can live our lives as He created us to live them. We can do nothing without God and so we need to be with Him and our brothers and sisters every Sunday. We should always know that it is only at Mass and in the Eucharist that we can be as close to God as is possible in this life. So, as I teach the children, we need to be at Mass EVERY Sunday unless we are sick. When you are traveling, please check out masstimes.org for the parish and the Mass times of where you will be staying. Have a blessed and safe rest of the summer.
One more thing that needs repeating is to be aware of how we are dressed when we come to Mass. I should we would all want to present our best selves when we come to the House of the Lord. Think about it. Pray about it.
