Dear Parish Family,

I want to thank you for all the generosity you’ve displayed in the past few weeks. I realize we have had a number of opportunities to give to a number of causes and needs, and you have truly risen to meet the needs. I know that God cannot be outdone in generosity, and He invites us to open our hearts in our own generous capacity so He can fill us with His grace. May the Lord be very generous to you this week leading up to Christmas!

I want to give a few updates as we enter this last week of Advent and prepare for our Christmas celebrations.

Daily Mass Schedule Changes
Please note the changes to the daily Mass schedule which I outlined in last weekend's bulletin (available for viewing on our website and Mass Times pages). These changes only affect the daily Mass schedule and begin the week of January 3:

• (no Monday Mass)
• Tuesday 8:45 am
• (no Wednesday Mass)
• Thursday 8:45 am

Advent Lessons and Carols at St. Patrick Parish (Sunday Dec 19 at 7:00 pm)
I invite you to a special Advent Lessons and Carols taking place THIS Sunday, December 19 at 7:00 pm at St. Patrick Parish. Parishioners representing various ministries at the parish as well as our clergy will lead us in an evening of song and prayer. This night is sure to raise the hope in our hearts for the coming of our Lord!

Listening Sessions
I am still working with Mary Pat Frey, the facilitator of our November Listening Sessions, to group the comments shared there into major themes we can focus on moving forward. I hope to present those themes to you in the months ahead. Stay tuned!

Synod on Synodality
Did you know there are over 1 billion Catholics in the world? It amazes me that the Church can accompany a billion people at any given time to know and live the same truth of Christ's Gospel. This would be impossible without the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the blessing of our bishops. Pressed with maintaining the unity of the Church amidst so much diversity among times and places, the bishops who lead and guide us throughout the centuries have regularly engaged in a process of listening to the Holy Spirit and engaging in dialogue for communicating the truth of Christ's Gospel to the Church in each age.

This process of listening and dialogue is called the synodal way. Jesus lives the synodal way in every aspect of His being. "Synod" means journeying together, and just as Jesus journeys together with each person and engages with them right where they're at to bring them to a fuller understanding of truth, so do the bishops. The meeting of the bishops in synods has helped the Church spread throughout the world and in every age to truly journey together with Christ, safeguarded by the truth of the Gospel.

The Synod on Synodality which is being undertaken from 2021-2023 seeks to incorporate people from all over the world and from every walk of life. The aim is to open each person through the synodal way to listen to the Holy Spirit's call for them and engage in dialogue with the Church. For some, the experience of Church will be mostly positive, while for others, their experience may note some pain points. As Jesus accompanies each person in their experience of Church, He truly listens and offers the invitation to conversion, healing, and wholeness. He invites you and I to engage with the Holy Spirit and with others in the same way.

This particular Synod will focus on the three themes of communion, participation, and mission. While the Church is growing in some parts of the world, in many other places such as our own we are living through a time of loss of participation in the values, faith, and morals we have come to know, believe in, and live as true, good, beautiful, and holy. The goal of this Synod is to reignite the fire of our faith so that through the renewal of our mission to share the Gospel, we may experience a deeper communion with the Lord and invite others into that communion.

More information is forthcoming about when and how to participate in this Synod here at the parish. Please keep this upcoming Synod in your prayers! For more information, please visit https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/synod.

Advent Confessions
If you need to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession this Advent, Fr. Spisak and I are hearing confessions in the church at St. Mary's in Chardon on Monday, December 20 from 4:00 - 5:00 pm, and on Tuesday, December 21 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm.

Christmas Invite
Finally, I warmly invite you and your family and friends to Mass here at our parish this coming week. Our Christmas Mass times and offerings are listed in today's bulletin and on our website. The 4:00 pm Christmas Eve Mass will be livestreamed from St. Mary Parish in Chardon. Remember there is no Saturday Vigil Mass or Confessions on Christmas Day, December 25. We will celebrate the normal Sunday AM Mass schedule on Sunday, December 26 for the Feast of the Holy Family. I look forward to the celebrations ahead!

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow