The Easter Season we are celebrating is all about LIFE! It is about the life of God and how He has poured out that life in us. It is about how He came into the world sharing our life and becoming one of us in all things except sin. It is about how He sacrificed His life by dying on the cross for us and finally conquered sin and death once and for all by the power of His Resurrection.
Life is the greatest gift that God has given us, and it is a gift that is meant to last forever as we come to know God’s love for us through this journey of life and coming to fulfillment in His heavenly kingdom. However, as we all know, life does not seem as sacred and precious to us as it is to God, who is the creator and giver of life. We are made in the image and likeness of God. Throughout history we have been killing our brothers and sisters since the time of Cain and Abel. And so, it continues in our own time; the wars, the violence, abortions, capital punishment, human trafficking, drug cartels, and the list goes on and on. The one that is the most tragic is the killing of the unborn. These innocent children are not even given a chance to live the life God has given them. Each one of us is created by God with a plan; a plan that is good and meant to bring God’s love and mercy into this world of ours. We need to respect this life and the plan of God from the moment of conception to natural death.
For over 50 years the Pro-Life Movement has been praying and working to secure the right to life of everyone. It has been quite a battle and it is not over yet. The reversal of Roe vs. Wade was a victory, but one that shifted the battle grounds to the states. There is the beginning of a battle right here and right now in the State of Ohio to place the right to abortion in our state constitution. The pro-abortion people are now starting to collect signatures for this very purpose. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN THESE PETITIONS. Do not be taken in by falsehoods.
Today in the bulletin you will find a letter from the Bishops of the State of Ohio explaining this. Please take the time to read and reflect on this letter. Read! Pray! Act! Do not be afraid to share your Faith and knowledge with others on this teaching of the Gospel. So much is at stake, our very lives and salvation.
Please remember in your prayers the children who will receive our Lord for the first time in Holy Communion next weekend. We pray that they will always grow in their love for Jesus and know how much He loves them and all of us. The Holy Eucharist is the center of our Catholic Faith and going to Mass and Communion is the most important thing we do in our lives on earth. We must all be prepared to receive Him each Sunday and even more often if possible. This means that we go to confession regularly and avoid serious sin like missing Mass through our own fault.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The Feast of the Sacred Heart this year is on Friday, June 16. Since the Feast of the Scared occurs on a Friday we are permitted to move the celebration to the weekend because it is our patronal feast. So, we will celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the weekend of June 17 and 18 at all the Masses. Following the 5 PM Mass on Sunday, June 18 we will hold our parish picnic. The Family Life Commission and the Parish Council will be working to plan the event, but more help and ideas would be most welcome. So, if you would like to help plan this parish gathering, please call the parish office as soon as you can. In the meantime, we can all pray for good weather, or we will have to have our “picnic” downstairs in McMahon Hall. What would a Parish Picnic be without a raffle! This year we will have a raffle with a Grand Prize of $500. The tickets will be $5.00 each and will also be sold in advance as well as on the day of the picnic. The winner need not be present. The proceeds from the raffle will go to help Ukrainian refugees coming into the Cleveland area. We are joining with three other parishes to raise money to help these refugees. Please be generous in supporting our efforts.
