Our Lady Queen of Peace

With all of the information that is out on the news and social media about COVID-19, we feel it is necessary to detail the steps our church and the diocese are taking to insure the health and well-being of our community. Please go to this LINK to keep up to date on the procedures the Diocese of Cleveland are taking to combat this virus.

As for our parish here is a list of what has been canceled or postponed.

• All Masses have been canceled through Sunday, May 3rd. This includes daily Mass in the Chapel.
  • There will be no adoration until further notice
  • The chapel and church are NOT open for private prayer.
  • We will not be passing out palms this Sunday, April 5th
• RCIA has been canceled.
• GLFF classes are canceled until further notice.
• The parish office is open on a limited basis. Please call before you come up.
• All meetings scheduled at the church, hall or office have been canceled.
  • Scripture Study, Men's Faith Sharing, Joyful Disciples, Compassionate Friends, Adult Confirmation, Festival Meeting, Reverse Raffle Meeting, Scouts, etc.
• Masses are available on EWTN and if you go to the top right of this page you will see a link to Bishop Barron's Word on Fire daily Mass.
• Confirmation and First Communion have been postponed.
• The Pancake breakfast on May 3rd has been canceled.
• The Reverse Raffle has been canceled.
• The HNS Golf Outing has been canceled.
• The Parish Festival has been canceled.

During this difficult time we would appreciate it if you could continue your giving to the church. You can mail your envelopes or you can sign up for E-Giving. Your financial support is very important for the well-being of the parish.

We are also communicating via E-mail and Facebook. We have received a few back with undeliverable addresses and have many parishioners who do not have an email. If you could please contact the parish office to give us your email or to update your existing email that would be great.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call the parish office 440-926-2364 as we are here to assist you any way we can. Please check back here often as we will continually post any new updates.

Finally we ask for your prayers for those affected by COVID-19 and all the healthcare professionals caring for them. 

We are a Roman Catholic family centered in the Eucharist, rooted in our immigrant traditions since the 1800’s and devoted to our Blessed Mother.  Humbly guided by the Holy Spirit, and with the warmth and hospitality that springs from a small community, we seek to share our faith in Jesus Christ through prayer, devotion, education, stewardship, and service to others. 

Information on illness prevention concerning liturgical celebrations

Updated letter to the Faithful regarding current abuse issues 

The updated list of removed clerics

Use this Link to go to the Catholic Charties Website

2020 Appeal Link.

Although the procession with palms has an unforgettable grip on our imagination, the real emphasis of this day’s liturgy is contained in its name: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. Since 1955, the old custom of a blessing of palms with procession of the people has marked the entry of the Church into a time so rich that it is called “Holy Week.” The center of today’s liturgy, however, is the solemn reading of the Passion, this year taken from Mark’s Gospel. Our community is to be transformed by its celebration of Easter, and so this week everything is made new. Soon, the bishop will celebrate the “Chrism Mass” when the holy oils for the sacraments will be completely replenished and blessed, and transported from the cathedral to every parish. Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of springtime. Be on the lookout later this week for this “paschal” moon, rising in the east at the precise moment the sun sets in the west. Imagine: a day when there is not a single moment when the earth is not bathed in light from the heavens. We are on the threshold of the three great days (Triduum): Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, beginning at sunset on Thursday when the parish gathers in response to the Lord’s command: “Do this in memory of me..
—James Field, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Fr. John’s Reflection Palm Sunday, April 5
 

Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

At the beginning of Lent on many occasions I have said to make this Lent different.  On many Palm Sundays I have reiterated the call to make this holy week holy by making it different.  Well, it certainly will be different this year!  Because we are all trapped this year, I encourage you to take advantage of this time to take the cross that you are carrying now and to join it to Jesus’ cross as we recall his passion.  
   
In recalling Jesus’ passion in the gospel for this day we see him in anguish, alone, misunderstood, humiliated, dying and yet we see him with such utter trust in God.  There is not bitterness, loss of patience, or vengeance, but rather forgiveness, patience, gentleness, hope and trust in God.  Throughout Jesus’ ministry he has been revealing the face of the Father through his words and actions.  In his final hours, in his passion, he now reveals the heart of the Father.  In the gospel we hear that at the moment of Jesus’ death the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.  The veil, or curtain, hung before the holy of holies in the temple so that people could not see the holy, could not see God.  With the veil ripped open the inner sanctuary was now exposed.  God’s inner sanctum is revealed. Through Jesus’ death on the cross God’s heart is now exposed. We see a heart that is overflowing with forgiveness, patience, unconditional love, and gentleness.  
   
We began the Season of Lent with the theme of ‘God sees through the windows of our heart.’  These 40 days were an opportunity to see our heart as God sees us, which is good and loving with purpose and value.  Now on Palm Sunday we see the heart of God.  In reflecting upon the heart of God we are to see our heart made in the same image and likeness.  We join our cross, our lives to the passion of Jesus and seek to respond as he did.  Each cross is unique.  Each of us is highly affected by this coronavirus pandemic, and although same, it is different for each person.  For those who are working in the health care profession and those whose jobs are essential, it is different from those working from home.  Different for those with loved ones in nursing facilities, hospitals, rehab centers and prisons.  It is different for those preparing to graduate from High School or college.  There are the lives of those who are unemployed and those whose jobs are at risk.  We join what is going on in our lives to the cross of Jesus and follow with him through this holy week.  As we do so it is seeking to turn our impatience, anger, fear, and isolation, into forgiveness, patience, gentleness, hope and trust in God.  We see the heart of God and respond to our daily environment so that people see our heart, the heart of a child of God.   
   
This holy week is going to be very different.  But that doesn’t mean that we can’t make this holy week holy.  Spend time in prayer with the passion narrative of Matthew.  Read the passion narrative from the Gospel of John (18:1-19:42) which is read on Good Friday and compare it to Matthew’s version.  Take time and reflect upon the cross and upon the heart of God that is revealed.  There are numerous on-line resources to turn to for holy week, especially dioceseofcleveland.org, FORMED.org, and WORDONFIRE.org,to name just a few.  Please continue to pray for one another.  And know that I am praying for you. 

God Bless,
Fr. John