From the corner office for April 10, 2022

From the Corner Office is Father Mike's weekly bulletin column.

“Jesus proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem…” The first Gospel reading from St. Luke starts out at the beginning of our celebration. The passage has Jesus entering the city and the Pharisees ask Jesus to have the disciples quiet down, but Jesus replies [that if they do], “…even the stones will cry out!” We have been journeying through Lent together, and I have to ask, What is our posture towards Jesus as we enter into this sacred week?

The First Reading from Isaiah has the prophet proclaiming with a well-trained tongue to be not disgraced! The Second Reading from Philippians tells us of Jesus being the Glory of God! This week we begin the sacred time of Holy Week. Will we simply be going through the motions to get to Easter Sunday? Will we be pushing the kids, friends, and family to join us in going deeper in our faith? Will we be taking time out from the busy life we live to pray a little more, maybe be good to ourselves a little more, and (maybe) even face that hurt from our past that has been holding us back from growing in our faith? All good questions, all facets of our life that we need to look at as we move forward for a deeper and more meaningful Holy Week. Again, what is our posture?

Fr. Mike

From the Pastor’s Desk:

Speaking of “posture,” we are moving forward with more movements and adjustments. The Communion portion of the liturgical celebration continues to be tweaked. The posture for all of us, who can do so, is to come forward to the sanctuary to receive the Holy Eucharist and we all (again, those who can do so) is to remain standing until the last person receives the Holy Eucharist. Once everyone has received the Holy Eucharist, the faithful can sit or kneel for prayer.

On coming forward, I would ask that those who are not able to do so, to please sit in the handicap section or within the first row or two of each section. The lack of Eucharistic Ministers makes it a challenge to go to all the corners of the church. Your help and patience is appreciated as we want everyone to share in this banquet.

Also, be sure to respect those who still need to socially distance themselves and be mindful of their health and psychological needs at our gatherings. We want everyone to be comfortable and able to pray together as a united family of faith. We can always use more servers and ministers, so please consider helping our family.

NEWS about the Synod:

Deacon Don will be working to help coordinate and lead the Synod here at St. Thomas More. We will need to adjust the process and listening sessions, as I would encourage you to begin praying and looking deeper at the whole process of the Synod, from the Holy Father’s request on down. More information is at the Diocese of Cleveland website link: https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/synod

From Deacon Don:

The church has embarked on a two-year synod, which is a meeting of the Church leaders, initiated by Pope Francis to discover a common path forward for the Church. In the weeks following Easter, we will meet as a parish to listen to your needs of the Church.

Please pray about what is needed in the Church for yourself and family, and also for those who you believe the Church can help in some way, as they may be disconnected from the Church.

Dc Don