The Collar's Corner
St. Patrick and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes
Two Parishes, One Faith
February 2025
REST IN ETERNAL PEACE, DEACON KEN HILL!
Thank you to all who helped to remember and celebrate Deacon Ken Hill who passed away on January 27th. Deacon Ken served so well and so faithfully at St. Vincent de Paul over the past 30 years, all with a heart that truly lived what I dubbed as his life's motto in my homily at his Funeral Mass, "Father, I'm here to serve."
Deacon Ken possessed a true servant's heart, from leading pre-Baptism classes, to Baptizing so many into the faith, to leading our First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart, and our Divine Mercy Sunday devotions. His love of our parish was evident in all that he did and was. If there was anything that needed done and he could do something about it, Deacon Ken was there.
As so many know, Deacon Ken was a retired mail carrier and, after his Funeral Mass, I found out that we had celebrated his Mass on National Thank A Mail Carrier Day! And that's what we truly did and continue to do. Thank you Deacon Ken for all you did and for how much you truly meant to all of us!
On behalf of Deacon Ken's wife Sandy and the entire Hill family, thank you for all those who sent cards, took time to come to the Wake and/or the Funeral Mass, and all who reached out with sympathy and prayers!
May the soul of Deacon Ken Hill and the soul's of all the faithfully departed rest in peace! Amen.
CONFESSION ADJUSTMENT
Just a reminder that on Saturday, February 22nd there will NOT be Confessions at 4:00 pm at St. Vincent de Paul as Fr. Robert will be celebrating both Saturday Vigil Masses that evening. The Blessed Sacrament will still be exposed for prayer, but there will not be a Priest available for Confessions.
Also, on Wednesday, March 19th from 5:00 pm-8:00 pm both St. Vincent de Paul and St. Patrick's, along with pretty much every other parish throughout the Diocese will be open for Confessions as a part of our annual Diocesan wide Evening of Confessions.
END YOUR MONTH WITH THE LORD
Mark your calendar for our end of the month Holy Hour on Monday February 24th from 6:30-7:30 pm at St. Patrick's. As we continue in this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are invited to spend some time in silent prayer with the Lord inviting Him to lead us and guide us. You can find the dates for our other upcoming Holy Hours below as well. Just a note that our March Holy Hour on March 31st will be moved to Our Lady of Angels as a part of our area-wide Lenten Communal Penance Service with Confessions. More details to come on that service as we enter into our Lenten journey.
ASH WEDNESDAY AND STATIONS OF THE CROSS
We’ll begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. That day we’ll have two Masses. Our morning Mass, at 8:30 am, will be celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul Parish. Our evening Mass, at 7:00 pm, will be celebrated at St. Patrick Parish. Come to either Mass, whichever fits best into your schedule.
Stations of the Cross will be prayed starting on Friday, March 7th. Similar to Ash Wednesday, we’ll have two times for the praying of the Stations, one at each Parish. The Stations will be prayed in the morning at 9:00 am (following the 8:30 am Mass) at St. Vincent de Paul Parish and in the evening at 7:00 pm at St. Patrick Parish. Again, come to whichever time fits best in your schedule.
LENTEN PARISH MISSION 2025
As we prepare to enter into Lent, I'm excited to share that my classmate, Fr. Michael Denk will be joining us for a 2 part, split Lenten Parish Mission. One session will be held at each parish, but they are two different sessions and each will cover a different aspect of prayer so please join us for both!
On Sunday, March 2nd, technically before Lent begins, Fr. Michael will be sharing on the call in Bishop Malesic's Pastoral Letter to spend 15 minutes a day in prayer. He'll share with us some ways that we might be able to deepen our prayer lives and grow in mediation and contemplation. The March 2nd session will be held at St. Vincent de Paul
Then on Sunday, March 16th Fr. Michael will join us again. In this session we'll dive more deeply into a form of prayer developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola called the Examination of Consciousness. This prayer is a wonderful way to spend some time each day reflecting on where and how we have or haven't responded to the Lord's call in our lives.
Fr. Michael is a dynamic speaker and I invite you to join us for both sessions. Each session will begin at 1:30 pm to provide time to grab something to eat for lunch and come ready to deepen your prayer life.
FEBRUARY 300 CLUB WINNERS
Congratulations to the February winners of our 2025 300 Club Drawings....
1) Janice Nagy
2) Ann Marie Branagan
3) Linda Nagy
Our next drawing will be held the first weekend of March, March 1st & 2nd. Good luck and we hope that you'll be a winner!
"A FLOURISHING, APOSTOLIC CHURCH"
I included this note in the January "Collar's Corner," but if you haven't gotten the opportunity yet to check out and read Bishop Malesic first Pastoral Letter as Bishop of the Diocese, "A Flourishing Apostolic Church," I would encourage you to do so. Perhaps it may be part of your Lenten prayer. Our Parish Pastoral Councils will be discussing the letter at our next two meetings, both how it impacts us personally and how we might be able to incorporate the Bishop's call into our larger parish life, including through our homilies and in this column. The letter itself is a very easy and inspiring read that focuses on three key areas: worship, evangelization, and service. These areas are, as the Bishop reminds us, should be at the heart of every parish ministry ands the primary reasons why a parish exists.
I would invite and encourage you to check out the letter yourself. This isn’t a letter intended just for Priests or for those in leadership, it is meant for every member of the faithful in the Diocese and lays out the Bishop’s view for our Church and our Diocese going forward. The letter, entitled, “A Flourishing Apostolic Church,” and a video introduction from the Bishop can be found on the Diocesan website….(www.dioceseofcleveland.org/a-flourishing-apostolic-church/overview). We’re also working on putting a link to the letter on each parish website. I also plan on including a link to the letter in my January “Collar’s Corner” Flocknote, and, for those who receive the Northeast Ohio Catholic magazine, the letter will be found in the January/February issue.
You can also watch a video introduction from the Bishop about the Letter here:
"The goal of this letter is to provide you with a resource for reflection, that you might be drawn more deeply into prayer and a more intimate relationship with Jesus. "
Don't forget to check out our websites for more information, ministry schedules, the parish calendar, etc.:
St. Patrick: https://stpatrickwp.org/
St. Vincent de Paul: https://svdpcleveland.org/