Oct 24, 2024

Greetings,

Today we welcome Mr. Stephen Vavro to St. Sebastian Parish. Stephen is a seminarian studying for the Diocese of Cleveland and his home parish is St. Francis de Sales in Parma. He is visiting for Priesthood Sunday to give a little talk on vocations at the end of the Masses.

In your bulletin you will find a poster of the seminarians studying at our Cleveland seminaries. Please consider holding on to this poster and maybe even putting it up somewhere in your home and praying for the men studying for the priesthood over the next year, particularly Stephen, Christopher and John, seminarians in formation from our parish and those who are considering a priestly or religious vocation.

IN OTHER NEWS:

HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION: November 1 is All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation. On this day we get to celebrate all the saints which include far more than the few that are officially recognized by the Church and ask for their intercession. Masses on All Saints Day will be:

• Thursday, October 31
  • 7:00pm Vigil
• Friday, November 1
  • 9:00am
  • 7:00pm

There will still be confessions on Friday at 4:00pm

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME NEXT WEEK: Next weekend, November 3, we fall back one hour and gain an extra hour of sleep. Keep this in mind for the Sunday Mass schedule.

GROUNDS: As the summer season officially comes to an end, we owe a huge thank you and some prayers to our award winning parish volunteers who kept up all our grounds and gardens over the summer. We have received so many compliments. Now most of the flowers and pots have been removed and the grounds are readied for winter except for the east side of the Church. Those flowers remain because we appear to be heading for a warmer stretch and the men of the grounds crew volunteered to remove them later so we could keep them a little longer!

PRAYER BEFORE AN ELECTION: Election Day is November 5. As you strive to be formed in the faith and informed in the matters of state, here is a prayer recommended by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.
We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters, one and equal in dignity, especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.
We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned,
Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender.
We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.
We pray for discernment so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word, live your love, and keep in the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck