Dear Parish Family,
This Fourth Sunday of Lent teaches us the importance of seeing as God sees. We all have narrow vision due to being finite human beings with a limited perspective. The Lord reminds Samuel of this when He tells him, "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart." This perspective of the heart is the journey of faith of humble trust in God, that He may help us to see as He sees. We can pray this way if we so choose: "Lord, I don't yet see your plan or purposes in this circumstance, but I trust You! Lord, give me the faith to see this person or situation from Your eyes!"

On a totally different level, we have blind spots due to our fallen nature prone to sin. Sin blinds us. Sin is an obstinate refusal to trust that God could possibly help us or have a good plan in the midst of our confusion and suffering. The hardness of heart manifested by the Pharisees in today's Gospel denotes precisely this refusal to see as God sees. How different are the Pharisees from the man healed of his blindness! In the end, their lack of faith in the transforming and healing power of Christ blinds them from seeing the Savior in their midst.

God wants us to see through the eyes of faith. We must trust in Him if we want our vision transformed. It will mean purifying the unloving ways we look at others. We will have to give up opinions and beliefs that run contrary to the teaching of Christ and His Church. Perhaps most pressing, we will need to entrust our whole lives, our present, past and future, to God's providence and goodness. If sin is blindness, then faith is sight.

9 Nights of Night Prayer at St. Pat's
Our 9 Nights of Night Prayer continues this week at St. Pat's! I encourage you to participate in this diocesan-wide event by coming to St. Pat's for Night Prayer each night this week at 8:15 pm for Night Prayer, a traditional and scriptural devotion from the Liturgy of the Hours said by the lay faithful, clergy and religious throughout the world each night. This would be a great way to incorporate the discipline of prayer into your Lenten journey. The last night, Saturday, March 25 will have Night Prayer begin as planned at 8:15 followed by an ice cream social in the St. Pat's lower hall. The Cleveland-based Country Parlor ice cream has been made uniquely for this 9 Nights of Night Prayer event, so come enjoy some great prayer and a sweet treat this week!

Catholic Charities Appeal THANK YOU
Thank you to all who participated in Catholic Charities In-Pew weekend last month on February 18-19! Because of your support, over 425,000 individuals will receive help and hope through the programs and services made possible by people like you. If you have not had a chance to make a gift, please visit https://www.catholiccommunity.org/ways-to-give/donate, mail your donation to the Catholic Community Foundation at 1404 E. 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44114, or text CCHOPE to 41444. Please remember if we do not reach out goal by this Spring, we will need to conduct a mailing campaign and follow-up appeal weekend, so please encourage your fellow parishioners to submit their pledges as soon as possible so we can fulfill our responsibility toward this diocesan priority and focus our efforts on other priorities at the parish. 

Parent Educational Freedom Act
Please see the Support School Choice column in this weekend's bulletin and take action by contacting your state senator to support Senate Bill 11. If passed, this legislation will give parents scholarship money to send each of their K-12 children to the school of their choice. The bill will keep taxes with the local school district so our public schools stay strong, and will increase the homeschool tax credit from $250 to $2,000 per year. The Parent Educational Freedom Act, along with the Angel Scholarship Fund tax credit scholarship, is another win-win for all to keep our schools healthy and affordable. Please take the time to contact your senator at https://www.votervoice.net/OHCATHOLIC/Campaigns/101143/Respond. Please encourage your family and friends residing in Ohio to do the same. 

Keeping the Faith Strategic Plan for Catholic Elementary Schools
We shared the Keeping the Faith Summary Plan in last weekend's bulletin. Thank you for taking the time to verse yourselves in this strategic plan. You will be hearing about this from our diocese and here at the parish over the coming months as we work on local assessment and implementation strategies. The Lake Geauga parishes and schools are one of the pilot groups in the diocese working with the consulting firm, Meitler, who is leading us forward with the strategic plan. Meitler visited St. Mary School the first week of March for a tour and had a discussion with our school leadership team about where we're at to address our strengths, needs and goals. I was floored with Meitler's breadth of experience and wisdom regarding Catholic schools. We are in very good hands going forward, and I am proud to be pastor both at a parish with a school (St. Mary's) and a parish without a school (St. Patrick's) to lead this initiative forward. I encourage you to read the Keeping the Faith strategic plan materials at the following link: https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/offices/formation-education/catholic-schools/keeping-the-faith.

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow