School bells will be ringing soon if they have not already done so for some. Sacred Heart School will begin the new school year on Tuesday, August 23, with around 220 students in Pre-K thru 8th grade. We pray that this new school year will mark the return to a “normal” way of conducting the school year after the covid pandemic that seems to be over. We will continue to take reasonable precaution to protect our students and teachers from this or any other virus that might threaten our health and well-being. From what I can gather the Covid 19 virus will not just go way, but like all viruses it will continue to mutate and will hopefully become like many of the viruses we have dealt with in the past. We continue to pray for health and well-being of our entire parish family. May God watch over us and protect us from all harm both physical and spiritual.
Please keep all our students and their families in your prayers, as well as our Principal John Czaplicki, all our teachers, and the entire school staff. Hopefully this will be a good year for everyone at Sacred Heart School during which everyone will be able to grow in wisdom and knowledge in every way – especially in relationship to Jesus Christ. I hope that our school will be a place of faith, learning, and service to God and our neighbor, especially those who are in need. May our Blessed Mother watch over her children and guide them in the way of Jesus.
I hope that everyone’s summer has been relaxing and peaceful, but now we return to our routine of learning and growing in grace and service and who we are in relationship with God and His Church. I know that this new school year will be one of much change for many. Some of our young people will be starting high school, some will go off to college, and some will be starting their careers after graduating from college. These are very important times for everyone including the parents. Change is never easy, but it is very much a part of our lives. We are changing all the time. Some changes are more difficult than others and some changes we hardly even notice. If we are alive, then we are changing. The one constant in our lives is Jesus Christ. As the scriptures tell us, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is a good thing for us. We know that we can always rely on Him, and He will always be there for us no matter what may happen or how much we or the world around us changes. New beginnings come with new opportunities to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ. This does not happen automatically. We must put forth the effort to keep focusing on Jesus through prayer and the sacraments especially being faithful to going to Mass every Sunday. Going to Mass on Sunday is the most important thing we do on this earth so nothing should keep us from being there unless we are sick. We have no idea how much we really need Jesus present in the Eucharist and what a great difference being there makes in our lives. We may not always feel His presence, but He is with us through it all. I hope everyone has a blessed school year in every way possible. You are all in my prayers.
The Heart of the Shepherd Campaign that the Diocese of Cleveland initiated last year continues to bless the diocese and our parish community. We recently received a check for $65,000 as a result of the generosity of so many of our parish family. There was over $900,000 pledged by Sacred Heart Parish, most of which will come back to us. As I stated at the beginning of the campaign, these funds will be used to pay the salaries of our Director of Discipleship and Director of Marketing: Claire Corridoni and Dan Fuerst respectively. I think both are doing well in their areas of ministry and I know that this will continue in the future by God’s grace and our prayers and cooperation. I am very grateful to all who generously contributed to the Heart of the Shepherd Campaign and are faithful to those pledges. May God reward you for your goodness and sacrifices.
