Jan 30, 2026

Greetings,

With the storm last weekend, I am more grateful than ever for Monsignor Zwisler building in such a way that I only have to walk down a hallway to get to Mass. But even with Bishop Malesic’s reminder online that Canon Law says because of the danger many may have faced, we were free from the obligation to attend Mass, the 4:30pm Mass on Saturday just hours before the storm hit saw the church packed! It almost looked like Christmas. Fr. Marcelli was commenting about how proud he was of this parish that so many of her people came to Mass early instead of taking the advantage of the “freebee” and simply staying at home. The two Sunday Masses were pretty sparse, but Monday had a more typical attendance. It was nice to be able to pray with all of you (and those of you who were online - about double our average for a Sunday) despite the weather.

To be clear, as the Bishop mentioned, missing Mass this past weekend during what became a State of Emergency is not something that one needs to bring to confession before being able to receive Communion. If you are ever in a situation in which attending Mass is not possible, (illness, storm, exploring the North Pole) Sunday can be best observed by avoiding unnecessary work, taking time to rest and recreate, spending part of the day in prayer and perhaps watching a Mass online as well as spending time with family and friends.

IN OTHER NEWS:

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: The International Festival, a wintery highlight, will be next Saturday, February 7! Held in Zwisler Hall, this evening of food, games and entertainment has been a staple of the parish and community for over half a century. See pg. 6 in the bulletin for more details.

CONCERT: The Kellor Consort is returning to St. Sebastian Parish by popular demand on Sunday, February 8th at 4pm. The concert is free and open to the public.

SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Due to the storm, last weekend’s Parish School Open House and Ignatian Book Fair were postponed to this weekend. All are invited to come over to the school this Sunday from 10am - Noon to see the school.

PRE-CANA DAY: Our parish will be providing a Pre-Cana Day Retreat on Saturday, February 14 for all couples being married. Registration is required. Today is the last day to register! If interested, visit our website under “Marriage Prep” for more information and the link to sign-up. Please call Ryan or Tricia Rothkopf at 330-221-4977 for details or to sign up.

GOOD NEWS: For years there were a couple of concerning trends in northeast Ohio. One was that our population was decreasing and the other was that the Catholic population was decreasing more quickly than the rest of the population. However, more recently that trend has turned. It is not so much that Catholics are moving back, but that the number of those who are becoming Catholic is increasing so much that our Catholic population in the Diocese of Cleveland has shot back up over 600,000!

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in recent years of persons in our Order of Catholic Initiation for Adults (OCIA, previously referred to as RCIA). As it turns out, this is a trend in many parts of the diocese. There are record numbers of particularly younger folk entering our doors. Please keep our catechumens, those of the whole diocese and those still discerning joining the Church in your prayers.

God bless,
Fr. Valencheck