Nov 13, 2026

Greetings,

I was remiss last week, not looking far enough forward in my calendar to realize that last week should have been the bulletin that I wished our veterans a Happy Veterans Day. Please accept this late greeting, and thanks for all you did to serve our nation that allows us to celebrate our faith so freely. Many blessings to you.

IN OTHER NEWS:

COMINGS AND GOINGS: Fr. Joseph returned from his time away from the parish this past Wednesday. We had time enough to say hello and I grabbed my bags and was headed out to perform a wedding out of state. So, as last weekend I had all of the Masses, this weekend Fr. Joseph has that honor. I plan to be back on Monday.

VOCATION NEWS: Mr. Johannes Benninghoff, a seminarian with the Diocese of Cleveland who did his internship with us this past summer, is having his evaluation before ordination to the transitional diaconate this coming Tuesday. Please keep him and his classmates in your prayers.

There are two more men of the parish who have advanced far enough in their discernment of a priestly vocation that they are making contact with the diocesan vocations director. Two family men had made inquiries about the diaconate and one further woman who is applying to the (new) formation program to be a professed virgin in our diocese. Add this to the three men who are in our seminary and that is an incredible amount of hope. (That’s not even to mention the number of couples we have preparing for the vocation of Holy Matrimony.)

Consecrated Virginity is a long-standing tradition in the universal Church, although there has not been a program for it in our diocese for a long time. Efforts (agonizingly slow) have been in the works for some time to design a formation program for this unique way of living in the faith.

In the Catholic Church, both a religious sister (or nun) and a consecrated virgin belong to the consecrated life, meaning they are brides of Christ who have dedicated themselves to God, prayer, and the service of the Church. However, consecrated virgins differ significantly in their structure, way of life, and vows. Rather than vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, consecrated virgins make a promise of perpetual virginity and Christian living. Rather than live in a convent and wear a habit and answer to a religious superior, a consecrated virgin lives “in the world,” wears ordinary (modest) clothing and answers directly to the local bishop. She may, however, wear a wedding ring to show her mystical marriage to Christ. It is a vocation exclusive to women who have never been married nor lived in public violation of the call to chastity.

The purpose of professed or consecrated virginity in the Catholic Church is to serve as a radical, total gift of self to Jesus Christ, embodying a spousal relationship with Him while acting as a visible sign of the future Kingdom of Heaven, the final destination for us all. Please keep all of our St. Sebastianites contemplating vocations in the Church in your prayers.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck