Dear Parish Family,

I'd like to focus on our Second Reading from 1 Peter for this Sixth Sunday of Easter. Peter begins with the powerful instruction, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." Think of our heart like a throne room. Who, or what, is enthroned there? Do we enthrone Christ as King in all areas of our life? Perhaps there is one or more areas where we struggle to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts. 

He then instructs us to "always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence." If Christ is sanctified as the Lord of our hearts, this is actually very simple to do. The Lord of life, peace, and mercy will guide our words and actions so that we can give a good account of what we believe and why we believe it. The focus on "apologetics" is more than simply a doctrinal defense of Catholic teaching. It is our testament to how the true teachings of Christ have transformed our hearts, and an invitation for those same teachings to transform the hearts of others with whom we have a relationship.

Finally, Peter reminds us that "it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil." When we give the reason for our belief in Christ, our actions should align with our convictions. When we vocalize our faith and we are hypocritical in our words or actions, we will suffer (rightly) for doing what is evil and being called out on it. But when we suffer for doing what is right in God's eyes, this is actually a great grace that will help us to grow in holiness once we accept sufferings in Jesus' name.

Deacon Sean Neville, our next Parochial Vicar starting here on June 9,  will be ordained to the priesthood this coming Saturday, May 16 at 10 am. Parking and seating will be limited at the Cathedral, so a good option if you'd like to witness the ordination is via livestream at https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/events/2026/05/16/ordination-to-the-priesthood or on the Diocese of Cleveland Facebook page. Pray for Deacon Sean and his classmates as they prepare for priesthood ordination this week!

We also welcome seminarian Ben Baratian this week for Summer employment. Ben will be our seminarian intern starting on August 28, but he will be working at the parish starting this week until mid-June to become acquainted with parish life and ministry. He will go on a 30-day Ignatian silent retreat in July and then start the new academic year at the seminary in early August before coming to live at the parish and ministering with us for his internship. Please welcome Ben when you see him!

We are creating a Tribute Book for Fr. Fabian. This is a chance to share your memories of Fr. Fabian, what he taught you during his time with us, and to send him your best wishes and prayers as he heads back to Korea at the end of June. Please visit our web page for information related to Fr. Fabian's Farewell that we will plan, and for the Tribute book link (https://stpatrickthompson.org/fr-fabian-farewell) or visit https://account.alifeuntold.com/contributor/tribute-for-fr-fabian-han for the direct link to the Tribute Book. Deadline for contributions is Sunday, May 31.

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow