Church of SS. Cosmas and Damian
From the Pastor's Desk

     Today we celebrate the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time we learn the “how to pray” prayer in today’s Gospel, but we also learn that there is more to prayer than just the words Jesus teaches us. With prayer comes the challenge to serve, as the second half of the Gospel continues with the story of the friend in need. Prayer AND service are the path of the good disciple, the good steward, and the good follower of Jesus. We have heard that message loud and clear from the Gospels of the past few weeks and like Jesus to the scholar, “Go and do the same!” Have a great week!
     This past week, Mrs. Smith’s Junior High Camp took place on the property and a number of our students participated in various spiritual, social and service projects in their faith development and formation. Thanks Mrs. Smith for a job well done and “junior high campers keep up the good work and spread the good news!”
     This past week the Cluster Staffs of the Solon-Twinsburg Cluster; Church of the Resurrection, St. Rita and Ss. Cosmas & Damian, met in continued conversation and dialogue about the time-line of our implementation plan for the Vibrant Parish Life effort. There will be more information coming.
     Also, I am STILL working on the “What I did in Rome 2010 Sabbatical” for a presentation. Editing the photos and material takes a lot longer than I thought! I’ll keep you posted!
     I attended my last Presbyteral Council Meeting (I sat on the council for 6 years) and congratulate my replacement, Fr. Steve Flynn; Parochial Vicar of St. Rita’s as representative to the Presbyteral Council for the Suburban Southeast District. Congratulations, Fr. Steve! Here’s to a great three years!
     If I haven’t already mentioned it, congratulations to our Pastoral Minister, Darlene Bednarz for taking on the added role as District Chairperson for the Suburban Southeast District. Monthly meetings with the parish staffs of the District and monthly meetings with all the 13 District Chairpersons and the Bishop will now be on her calendar! Here’s to a great three years!
     Enjoy the summer days, friends, and don’t forget to be faithful in your kindness and support of the parish. Be blessed!

Father John

Greetings from above the Tiber River, ROME, Italy

     On this Easter Sunday Celebration of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection, I wish you the richest of blessings!
     This past Holy Week was an INCREDIBLE opportunity for me and it began on Palm Sunday celebrating Mass with the Holy Father at St. Peter’s Basilica. Because of the number of people, the Mass is celebrated outside in St. Peter’s Square. 250,000 people gathered for the celebration of the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem and about 250 of us were part of the Holy Father’s procession. Now, we walked in procession carrying huge olive branches and palms, while the Holy Father was being driven in the open air pope-mobile. The celebration was in English, Spanish and Italian and the chanting of the Passion of St. Luke was so inspirational!

     We will celebrate the Chrism Mass with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Basilica on Holy Thursday morning and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening with the seminarians and faculty of the Pontifical North American College.
     On Good Friday I will be privileged to celebrate at a parish Church, St. Alphonso Liguori, in Italian, but the prayer is universal.
     Holy Saturday Easter Vigil will be once again at St. Peter’s Basilica and Easter Sunday will be in St. Peter’s Square!
     I have and will continue to join my prayers with yours as we are so closely joined in prayer during this Easter Season! May you and your families and friends be abundantly blessed in this Season of Feasting!
     See you soon – April 18th!
Padre Giovanni

From the desk of Father Bill Padavick

UPS & DOWNS

     As we have all experienced, sickness gets you down; note the metaphor, it is important. Things are mostly up or down. It’s just the way we see things and express ourselves. We are either up or down. Even out spiritual thoughts lead us in this direction: hell is down, heaven is up. We feel ten feet after the celebration of a sacrament; we are back on our fee (vertical), ready to conquer the world and to go up to heaven besides.
     We could probably make a good argument for the space in between; even keel means good sailing, but most of us would admit that for some reason or another the balance is hard to keep. “There are tears of things,” as the Roman poet Virgil announces so adroitly a couple thousand years ago. In this life, we are usually crying over something…Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. Each day brings us a certain amount of each. There is both good news and bad news. One minute we hear that a son or daughter has got their degree and the next that Uncle Jerry has cancer. The news media tells us that a humble Albanian nun has won the Nobel Peace Prize and then reports in the next breath that five of our beautiful, hope filled youngsters have been blown to pieces in the most Holy City of Baghdad. As we say, we see the world for the most part through the magnification of tears.
     God’s plan made a hopeful beginning, but we spoiled our chances by sinning. We hope that the story will end in God’s Glory but at present the other side’s winning.
     Well, that’s how we feel often enough. It seems that right at this very moment our tired old world is limping badly: Iraq, Iran, the whole Mideast poverty at home and everywhere in the world, global warming, aids, abortion…name your poison…plenty to go around. We would probably have to admit that we are feeling a bit down these days.
     The answer, of course, is neither distraction nor neglect. Rather there is the answer of faith…which always includes the corollaries of hope and love. Faith readily admits the troubles, but sees them with special eyes…not rose-tinted glasses – but with the special sight that sees through the surface of things to the purpose of things and the hidden essences of things. And faith is just the heads side of the coin; flip it and there is hope…it might even land on the edge of love. The goal of sorrow is joy…even the main goal of our little joys is the big joy. As John Paul 2 once put it; whatever our troubles or our lack of joy, the Lord is simply preparing us for the real joy that is to come.

     The resurrection of Jesus is our contract with final outcomes. It is only three days from the horrible flatness of the Crucifixion to the triumphant verticality of the Resurrection.
     RISE HEART, THEY LORD IS RISEN