Dear Parish Family,
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Apostles Saints Peter & Paul. Both Apostles faced trials, persecution, and martyrdom in the early Church. Both on earth and in heaven, they are brothers who pray for each other in the Lord.
Moreover, Peter & Paul labored to spread the Gospel to the world, sometimes even disagreeing with one another in their unique approaches. Peter's focus on leadership sought to bring unity and peace to the Church, while Paul's focus on evangelization challenged the early Church to aspire to great holiness. These two approaches are not in conflict. We need the Church to express both the firmness of faith and the outreach of evangelization. Peter and Paul represent our Holy Church as a home for all people, giving us true doctrines to restore us and make us united as one Body in Christ.
I am excited to share with you that St. Mary School in Chardon received the most contributions to the Angel Scholarship Fund this year throughout the entire Diocese of Cleveland! We raised $324,262 from April 16, 2024 through April 15, 2025. This is over and above the $254,000 that we raised in the same timeframe the prior year. These tax credit scholarships will go a long way to making St. Mary School an affordable reality for all of our families, helping us to grow as Christ's disciples. Thank you for your participation in this year's Angel Scholarship Fund!
As we move into the heart of Summer, I want to encourage you to fill your days with prayer. Come to daily Mass more often, spend time doing rosary walks outside, visit a few different Jubilee sites for this Year of Hope, come to confession, spend an hour with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, and commit to doing some small act of kindness each day.
I wish you all a Happy Fourth of July this week! May the day of our country's independence teach us the value of freedom in Christ and fellowship with our Church and with our families.
I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow