Hi everyone, it’s Angel again! As we come to the close of this month I asked my dad if I could write to you about something serious. This month of September is National Suicide Prevention Month. I did some reading and I found out that suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, claiming, in 2020, the lives of roughly 45,000 people. Those are some high numbers!

Over the next few weeks we will be rolling out a new opportunity for you to be able to do everything from share your thoughts & suggestions, to getting information about various ministries & ways to be involved around the parish, (for when someone new visits us) to begin the process of joining our parish family. These boxes will be found, starting with the first weekend of October, October 1st & 2nd, at the doors of the Church.

What is a Ministry Fair you might ask? Well, downstairs at the Ministry Fair you’ll find tables with information about each of the groups/ministries/organizations that we have here at St. Pat’s along with a representative from each ministry who will be happy to share information about their ministry & answer any questions you might have. 

St. Theresa of Calcutta once said, “There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in that we do it to God, to Christ, and that’s why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.”

Want to get a little more active in the Parish? Then join us come on down to the Ministry Fair following all of the Masses next weekend, September 10-11, in the lower church. Please consider stopping by after Mass and check out the multiply ways you can support the parish. If you are unable to attend you can contact Denise @ (216) 233-1093 of email dlq035@yahoo.com and I will pass your contact information to the leader of the ministry you are interested in.

Hi, everyone! It’s Angel again. My dad asked me to thank you for reading our bulletin series on prayer. He says that he wants to thank you & that he hopes & prays that you’ve gotten something out of it that has helped you on your spiritual journey. He also wants to thank you because our last form of the 5 forms of Catholic prayer is prayers of thanksgiving.

When we engage in prayers of praise we are praising God for who & what He is. The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph #2639 says that praise, "lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory.”

Prayers of petition are very similar to the prayers of intercession that we looked at last week, with one difference, their focus. While in prayers of intercession we are interceding for the needs of others, when we pray prayers of petition, we are bringing, not the needs of others, but our own needs before God. We intercede for others, we petition for ourselves, I guess that you could say.

This weekend, we continue our look at the different forms of prayer by looking at prayers of intercession. My guess that this is one of the most familiar prayers that many of us pray. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that, “Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did,” (2634). Praying for the living and the dead is also a spiritual work of mercy. We offer prayers of intercession every day and every week at Mass. 

In last week’s column, we talked about what the point of prayer was and why we pray. This week, I wanted to start looking at the 5 basic “forms” of prayer in the Catholic Tradition: praise, adoration, thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Rather than looking at all of them at one time in one column, we will look at them one at a time over the next 5 columns.

HI everyone, it’s Angel again! My dad says that this weekend’s gospel talks about something called prayer. I wonder if prayer is like when I’m begging dad for treats? Maybe, maybe not? Dad says that we should all be engaging in on a daily basis as a part of our faith journey, prayer. He says that prayer isn’t just a part of our relationship with God, prayer IS our relationship with God. But, why do we pray? What is the point of prayer? I asked my dad to explain it all to me, here’s what he told me.

The St. Pat’s Cruise-In & Ice Cream Social is Wednesday August 3rd 5-8 pm at St. Pat’s parking lot (4427 Rocky River dr. Cleveland). It’s $10 a car; any make, model, or year. There will be dash plaques, door prizes, and trophies for the drivers. We will also have a DJ, basket raffles, 50/50, and much more. Hotdogs, hamburgers, baked goods, and of course ice cream will be available for purchase. Spectators are welcome and FREE! Come spend a hot summer night with some cool cars and ice cream.

Come one and all to our Parish Picnic!  The Parish Picnic ill take place on Sunday, August 7th, 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM. The event include our popular gift basket raffle. We are asking for contributions of gift cards (any type and denomination) to place in the gift baskets.

Hi everyone! It’s Angel here again with another episode of “ Angel’s Angle’s!” My dad has been busy over the past few days packing, so I’m giving him a paw again. He tells me that this Thursday he leaves for something called vacation. Dad says that while he’s on vacation, I’ll be on vacation as well at grandma’s. We’ll both leave this Thursday and we will see you again on July 11th.

All-too-often we are confronted in our country, but also in our world, with terrible acts of hatred and violence. In recent weeks that list has grown to include places like Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas. When tragedy and violence strike, one of our natural reactions is to offer our thoughts and prayers to those whose lives have been impacted. Certainly, as people of faith, that is what we’re called to do, bringing before our God the needs of people throughout our world. We must keep praying!

St. Medardus is a Saint who is popular in the northern regions of France, so chances are pretty good that here in the northern regions of Ohio, we’ve never heard of him. Medardus was born into a noble French family around the year 456 & from his youngest years, he displayed a deep care for the poor. He was ordained a priest when he was 33 & was known for the conviction with which he preached God’s Word & the influence of his example.

The Holy Name Summer Cookout and (short) Meeting will be held this Monday, June 13th at 6:30 PM in Thorpe Hall. We will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and beverages. Please bring a side dish to share. The meeting is open to all parish members. For more information, email us at stpatshns@gmail.com.

Our country & society seem to be becoming more divided & more hostile by the day, if not by the hour. As we see all this taking place, we certainly want to stand firm in the truths of our faith & what God has revealed to us, but how do we do that in the face of a society that in so many ways doesn’t want to hear what we have to say? How do we enter into these dialogues & conversations?

Certainly any & every death is a significant one. No matter the details, the size of the family, or anything else, losing someone we love is a very hard experience to endure. Every single member of our parish family is valued & important & when any one of us passes on, it leaves a void in both a biological family & our parish family.

Sometimes we all find someone or something in life that causes us stress and anxiety. Sometimes there are things that other people do or say that drive us crazy or that leave us shaking our heads, wondering what’s going on. Sometimes there are things that other people do or say that we look at and wonder why. And, if we’re honest, sometimes there are times where others wonder or say those things about us.