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SPRITUAL DIRECTOR: REV. FR. EDWARD JANOCH GROUP LEADER: CINDY RUSSO

The Humility of Pope Francis: Our Actions & Deeds Make the Difference

ST. PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP NEWSLETTER

Welcome   all   faithful   members   and   thank   you   for  coming   to   pray   at   this   St.   Pio   Prayer   Group  meeting.    Meetings  will  be  the  first  Saturday  of  the  month   at   St.   Barnabas   Church,   9451   Brandywine  Road  in  Northfield  Center,  OH.    The  next  meeting  will   be  May   4th.   The   group   will   begin   with   Holy  Mass  at  8:30  am.    

As  Pope  Francis  has  stated  pray,  pray  and  pray  some  more.    It  is                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  not  a  coincidence  that  this  prayer  group  has  started  at  St.  Barnabas  at  this  time.  More  prayers  are  needed  in  our  world.    What  a  wonderful  gift  we  have  been  given  to  share  our  love  of  Jesus  through  St.  Padre  Pio.  When  two  or  more  are  gathered,  we  are  in  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  sacrifice  in  coming  once  a  month  to  share  in  prayer,  is  a  beautiful  gift  to  God.  We  are  all  on  a  journey.    The  ultimate  goal  is  to  achieve  everlasting  love  with  God  the  Father  in  heaven.  The  other  work  Pope  Francis  has  stated  is  a  need  to  be  charitable,  service  to  others,  giving  love  to  one  another,  walking  the  path  of  Christ,  being  humble  and  sincere  in  our  work  and  having  a  most  tender  heart.    I  thank  all  who  have  helped  in  our  collection  for  the  homeless  living  under  the  bridges  of  Cleveland.      The  month  of  May  we  will  be  honoring  our  Mother  Mary.  We  will  take  up  a  collection  for  Womankind.        They  help  young  expectant  mothers  who  need  help.          In  honor  of  Mother’s  and  Father’s  Day,  we  will  be  distributing  baby  bottles.  Please  fill  with  spare  change,  and  return  at  the  May  or  June  Meetings.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Learning  to  live  simply,  that  is  what  counts.  Sometimes  we  get                                                                                                                                                              caught  up  in  what  others  have.  The  only  thing  that  should  matter  of  what  others  have  is  their  love  for  Jesus.  That  is  what  counts  in  this  world.  I  hope  this  prayer  group  through  the  intersession  of  St.  Pio  brings  you  closer  to  God.  The  goal  of  this  group  is  be  one  family.  We  are  brothers  and  sisters  and  can  share  our  love  for  our  Father  through  prayers  and  actions.    Lets  make  difference!  

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis, in

honor of St. Francis of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican

City last month.

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Christ  is  Risen!  /  Habemus  Papam!     We  celebrate  again   the  Greatest  Holy  Day/Season  of   the  Church  year,  EASTER!    We  who  have  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  know  that  His  Resurrection  is  one  of  hope  that  brings  us  joy,  knowing  that  if  we  remain  faithful  to  Christ,  we  will  share  in  His  Resurrection  by  our  rising  from  the  dead,  when  He  comes  again.    The  world  view  is  that  Christmas  is  the  season  to  celebrate,  not  Easter.    We  know  this  for  did  we  see  or  hear  of  any  commercials  telling  us  how  many  shopping  days  there  was  until  Easter?    Did  we  constantly  have  advertisements,  day  and  night,  telling  us  to  buy  Easter  bonnets,   Easter   bunnies,   Easter   candy,   and   Easter   gifts?     No,   we   did   not.   It   only   happens   for  Christmas;   as   early   as   July.       I   can   understand   this   view  because   we   can   relate   to   babies.     We   have   seen   babies,  held  babies.    We  were  at  one   time  a  baby  ourselves.    We  know  about  babies,  so  Christmas  is  about  the  Birth  of  the  Jesus,  a  baby,  a  child.    When  have  we  ever  experienced  a  resurrection?    When  was  the   last  time  someone  who  had  been  dead  for  more  than  a  day,  come  back  to  life  to  tell  us  what   it   was   like   to   be   resurrected?       Only   one   person,  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  did  not  tell  us  what  it  was  like  or  how  it  happened.    All  we  know  is  that  IT  DID  HAPPEN.  Yet  as  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  we  receive  glimpses  of  Resurrection  in  the  Seven  Sacraments.    Each  Sacrament  shows  us  how  we  can  have  new  life  in  Christ.    Baptism  brings  us  into  the  Faith  by  our  dying  to  our  self  and  rising  to  new  life   in  Christ.    The  Eucharist   increases  our   relationship  with   Jesus  Christ  by   receiving  his  Body  and  Blood.    In  Confirmation,  we  let  the  Holy  Spirit,  received  at  Baptism,  enliven  up  to  His  gifts  and  to  help   us   to   live   our   life   in   Christ.     Holy  Orders   and  Matrimony   causes   one   to  die   to   self   and  become  a  new  creation  whether  as  a  Priest  or  as  a  Husband  or  Wife.    Penance  frees  us  from  sin  bring   life  to  our  severed  relationship  with  God.    The  Anointing  of  the  Sick  prepares  us   in  body,  mind  and/or  spirit  to  accept  the  eventual  time  when  we  will  experience  Resurrection.  Easter   is  Resurrection;  it  is  about  new  Life  in  Christ.    HE  IS  RISEN!       It  has  almost  been  a  month  since  the  election  of  Pope  Francis.    So  many  people  have  been  speculating  on  what  he  plans  to  do  as  Pope.    The  world  seems  to  be  so  interested  in  him  and  yet  they  do  not  care  to  follow  him  in  the  Faith  that  he  holds.    Yet  by  choosing  the  name  of  Francis,  he  is  telling  all  of  us  of  what  he  plans  to  do.    Just  as  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  built  up  a  Church  that  was  falling  into  disrepair,  Pope  Francis  is  being  called  to  “build  up  the  Church.”    He  does  not  plan  to  change  anything  that  involves  matters  of  Faith  and  Morals,  our  Beliefs,  but  to  remind  us  as  to  why  we  do  what  we  do.    Many  Catholics  have  abandoned  the  faith  for  a  more  worldly  view  of   living  life.    Pope  Francis  is  being  called  at  this  time  in  history  to  bring  about  a  renewal  of  not  doing  our  faith,  but  truly  living  our  faith  with  our  whole  being  [body,  mind,  and  spirit  working  together]  in  speech  and  in  action.    God  knows  what  He  is  doing.    Let  us  pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will  help  Pope  Francis  to  do  God’s  Will  for  His  Church  on  earth.    Yours  in  Christ,  Rev. Edward J. Janoch

Spiritual Director’s Reflections

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DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: The Sunday following Easter

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Saint  Maria  Faustina  Kowalska,  an  apostle  of  Divine  Mercy,  belongs  today  to  the  group  of  the  most  popular  and  well-­‐known  saints  of  the  Church.    Through  her,  the  Lord  Jesus  communicates  to  the  world  the  great  message  of  God's  mercy  and  reveals  the  pattern  of  Christian  perfection  based  on  trust  in  God  and  on  the  attitude  of  mercy  toward  one's  neighbors.    

The  Lord  Jesus  chose  Sr.  Maria  Faustina  as  the  Apostle  and  "Secretary"  of  His  Mercy,  so  that  she  could  tell  the  world  about  His  great  message,  which  Sr.  Faustina  recorded  in  a diary  she  titled  Divine  Mercy  in  My  Soul.  In  the  Old  Covenant  He  said  to  her:      "I  sent  prophets  wielding  thunderbolts  to  My  people.  Today  I  am  sending  you  with  My  mercy  to the  people  of  the  whole  world.  I  do  not  want  to  punish  aching  mankind,  but  I  desire  to  heal it,  pressing  it  to  My  Merciful  Heart." (Diary  1588)  

To  observe  Divine  Mercy  Sunday  properly,  one  thing  we  must  do  is  go  to  confession,  preferably  before  that  Sunday.  Think  of  this  confession  as  the  big  annual  "spring  cleaning"  time  for  your  soul.  Once  your  inner  house  is  all  cleaned  up,  you  will  be  ready  to  receive  the  Lord  Himself  in  Holy  Communion  and  enthrone  Him  in  the  center  of  your  heart  as  your  King!  

Prepare  Yourself  Properly  Going  to  Confession  is  not  the  only  way  we  should  prepare  ourselves  for  Divine  Mercy  Sunday.  As  Cardinal  Francis  Macharski,  then  Archbishop  of  Cracow,  Poland,  explains  in  a  1985  pastoral  letter,  we  are  not  simply  called  to  ask  for  God's  mercy  with  trust.  We  are  also  called  to  be  merciful.    Our  own  merciful  attitude  is  likewise  a  preparation.  Without  deeds  of  mercy,  our  devotion  would  not  be  real.  For  Christ  does  not  only  reveal  the  mercy  of  God,  but  at  the  same  time  He  places  before  people  the  demand  that  they  conduct  themselves  in  life  with  love  and  mercy.  Pope  John  Paul  II  states  that  this  requirement  constitutes  the  very  heart  of  the  Gospel  ethos  (Rich  in  Mercy,  3)  —  it  is  the  commandment  of  love  and  the  promise:  'Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy' (Mt  5:7).  Let  it  be  a  mercy  that  is  forgiving  and  true,  and  universal,  with  good  words,  deeds,  and  prayer  for  others!"  Our  Lord's  words  to  St.  Faustina  about  this  requirement  to  be  merciful  are  very  strong  and  leave  no  room  for  misinterpretation:      Yes,  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter  is  the  Feast  of  Mercy,  but  there  must  also  be  acts  of  mercy.  …  I  demand  from  you  deeds  of  mercy,  which  are  to  arise  out  of  love  for  Me.  You  are  to  show mercy  to  your  neighbors  always  and  everywhere.  You  must  not  shrink  from  this  or  try  to  excuse  or  absolve  yourself  from  it  (Diary  of  St.  Faustina,  742).          

To  fittingly  observe  the  Feast  of  Mercy,  we  should:  

1. Celebrate  the  Feast  on  the  Sunday  after  Easter;  2. Sincerely  repent  of  all  our  sins;  3. Place  our  complete  trust  in  Jesus;  4. Go  to  confession,  preferably  before  that  Sunday;  5. Receive  Holy  Communion  on  the  day  of  the  Feast;  6. Venerate  the  Image  of  The  Divine  Mercy;  7. Be  merciful  to  others,  through  our  actions,  words,  &                                            

prayers  on  their  behalf.  

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Please Pray for Our Sick Brothers and Sisters Abbot  Christpoher  Schwatz,    Marti  Lewis,  Carmie  Persnickey,  Peggy  Arnosk,  Mark  Luboski,  Roger  Reardon,  Ann  Lorek,  Mario  &  Elaine  Fitica,  Marge  Dodig,  Rose  Chuma,  John  D’Amico,  Gregg  Danicic,    Rita  Welling,  

Dorothy  Koncazl,  Bernice  Jisa,    Elena  Winzel,  Tom  Jansen,  Michelle  Urbancic,  Frank  Dvorak,  Dolores  DiLeone,  Delores  Dean,  Loretta  Zawislan,  Grace  Veccio,  Ruth  Halpin,  Barbara  Weisinger,  Eleanore  Gresko,  Marie  Uhlik,  

Lydia  Baker,  June  Feldtz,  Beverly  Marenchek,  Alice  Yanoscik,  Therese  Gregg,  Anna  McCullough,  Frank  Bublinec,  Carole  Bertoni,  Denise  Voss,  Jo  Perz  and  James  Greene  

Let Us Pray for the Souls of Our Recently Deceased Family Members

Call  Helen  Husky  440-­‐232-­‐3462  (Sunshine  chairman)  to  add  a  member  to  the  list.

Beloved Padre Pio, today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to you every day by those who love and venerate you. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of your friendship with the Lord, he heals those you ask to be healed, and forgives those you forgive. Through your visible wounds of the Cross, which you bore for 50 years, you were chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us to bring it back in our midst, for we acknowledge it is the only true sign of salvation. As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced your hands, feet and side, we not only remember the blood you shed in pain, but your smile, and the invisible halo of sweet smelling flowers that surrounded your presence, the perfume of sanctity. Padre Pio, may the healings of the sick become the testimony that the Lord has invited you to join the holy company of Saints. In your kindness, please help me with my own special request: (mention here your petition, and make the sign of the Cross). Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Virginia  Klimkowski,  mother  of  Cindy  Russo  Cindy  Zilner,  sister-­‐in-­‐law  of  Cathleen  Zilner  

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