May 18, 2023

Greetings,

Last weekend we had a couple of unexpected blessings. Deacon Ian Kelly was on hand to help celebrate and preach at the 4:30pm Mass. As I write this letter to you, I am with Deacon Kelly along with the rest of his class at the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma. This is their canonical retreat for priesthood at the end of which, six of the eight men who are on this retreat will be ordained to the priesthood for service in the Diocese of Cleveland. The other two men will be ordained a little later for service to the Diocese of Youngstown.

You are, of course, invited to the ordination at our Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland this Saturday, May 20. The Mass begins at 10:00am but I recommend showing up much earlier. If you are unable to make the trek north but are still interested in seeing the ordination Mass, it will be live-streamed over the diocesan website (dioceseofcleveland.org.)

This past weekend, Deacon Michael Garvin came to help celebrate Mass at 11:00am. Deacon Garvin was ordained into the transitional diaconate just about a month ago and this time next year will be ordained a priest for our diocese.

We also had Mr. Ryan Arto this past weekend, who joins us here at St. Sebastian as a seminarian intern for the next year. If you did not get a chance to hear his introduction or meet him, make sure to greet him after Mass this weekend or catch him as you see him around the parish. At the end of his time with us, he will be ordained into the transitional diaconate with an eye on being ordained into the priesthood two springs from now.

Please keep these men and all of our seminarians, especially those from our parish, in your prayers.

IN OTHER NEWS:

NO CONFESSIONS SATURDAY: Due to ordination on Saturday morning, there will not be scheduled confessions on Saturday, May 20 at 9:30am.

GROUNDS: Thank you to everybody who turned up for MULCH DAY! The grounds are really starting to shape up for spring. If you like to work outside and are looking for a way to be more involved and volunteer, here is your opportunity!

CONCERT THIS WEEKEND: Singers Companye presents ILLUMINA – Lighting our Path, Sunday, May 21 at 5:00pm in St. Sebastian church.

WISH THAT YOU LIVED CLOSER TO THE PARISH? Some of your fellow parishioners are looking to the new homes that are being built on the Perkins property. One spoke of the difficulty of getting information but figured out the maze of inquiry and are now looking forward to designing their new home along Good Park. If you are seriously thinking of looking into a new home at Perkins and would like some insight as to how to navigate these waters, I can put you into contact with a parishioner who might be able to give you some advice.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck