Dear Parish Family,

The Lord looks into the heart. He doesn't judge by appearances. As we continue our "Scrutiny" Sundays, we give the Lord permission to access our heart to help us overcome our sins and areas of moral weakness. Sin blinds us, but the Lord's mercy enables us to be children of light, called to walk in the light and not in the darkness of error. Like the man born blind healed by Jesus, we may encounter people who don't understand our journey from darkness into light, but the Lord sees our struggles and perseverance in a way no other person can. Continue to walk in the light of God's truth this Lenten season!

 

Thank you for all who invested in the Angel Scholarship Fund, Ohio's tax credit scholarship program! As of December 31, 2024 we had over $226,000 invested for tuition assistance for the upcoming school year. In addition, as of March 14 of this year, we had another $99,800 invested! Undoubtedly, we will see this figure continue to rise in the coming weeks as investors take advantage of the tax credit as they file their taxes. If you haven't filed taxes yet for 2024 and wish to claim this tax credit, please visit https://www.catholiccommunity.org/give/catholic-education/angel-scholarship-fund and select "St. Mary School - Chardon" as the designated school. You can also scan the QR code below. You can claim up to $750 off your state income taxes as an individual tax filer or up to $1,500 as a married couple filing jointly. It's never too early to get a head start on taking advantage of the tax credit for the 2025 tax year as well! You can make a one-time or monthly investment. Thanks for your support!

 

We welcome Hanna Fabian to our staff this week as our new Communications Director! You can see Hanna's photo and bio in this weekend's bulletin. Hanna is an alumnus of St. Mary School and she and her family are parishioners at St. Mary's. Welcome, Hanna!

 

Please see the invite in today’s bulletin to attend Dc. Anthony’s “Practice Mass Enactment” on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:15 pm at St. Mary’s in Chardon. Since he’s not a priest yet, it’s not an actual “Mass” with Eucharist, but it provides an opportunity for him to practice celebrating in front of the community, and for the seminary and our parish community to give him feedback. Please come and support Deacon Anthony!

 

Fr. Fabian and Deacon Tom will be celebrating a "Teaching Mass" at the 10 am Mass next Sunday, April 6. They will pause at certain parts of the Mass to explain the "why" behind the "what" of various elements of the Mass. Parishioners of all ages are encouraged to attend to appreciate the beauty and meaning of our Catholic Mass. It will be a great follow-up to our Parish Mission a few weeks ago where Doug and Dave led us through their "Mass Confusion" message!

 

We are looking for some volunteers to clean the church before Palm Sunday. Please see the signup sheet at the back of the church or email me and I can put you in touch with Julie Yedlick who is coordinating this cleaning effort to get our church in tiptop shape for Holy Week! The cleaning will take place on Saturday, April 5 at 9 am in the church. 

 

We still have two more Fish Fry's this Lent! Join us for a fin-tastic dinner April 4 and 11 from 4:30-7:00 pm. All proceeds support our Adopt-a-Student scholarship for tuition assistance at our school. Thanks for your patronage and support! Remember we pray Stations of the Cross at 7 pm in church every Friday of Lent. 

 

Holy Week is coming up soon! We will publish our Holy Week schedules in the bulletin the next two weekends. Be sure to carve out time in your schedule to celebrate the Triduum liturgies with us the week of April 14.

 

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow