This Sunday we remember in our prayers the victims of the Chardon shooting 10 years ago today. We are hosting an ecumenical prayer service of remembrance here at St. Mary's this Sunday, February 27 at 3:00 p.m. for all in our Chardon community who wish to come together to pray for those affected by the shooting. Please consider joining us in prayerful remembrance.

As we approach the Lenten season beginning this Wednesday, I want to encourage you to start thinking about ways you can fast, pray, and give alms this year. Here are a few recommendations:

• Come to a Daily Mass.
Daily Mass is an awesome way to connect more deeply with our Lord in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist. We have Mass here at St. Mary's Monday through Friday at various times throughout the week - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 a.m., Wednesday 12:00 p.m., and Friday 1:30 p.m.. There are also parishes in our area with multiple times throughout the day to catch a
Mass no matter what your schedule looks like.

• Come to Adoration.
Eucharistic Adoration is a wonderful time of prayerful intimacy with Jesus. You can come to Adoration every Wednesday at St. Mary's from 12:30 p.m. (right after the noon Mass) until 7:00 p.m., or the first Thursday at St. Pat's from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m..

• Participate in a Spiritual Activity.
Come to the St. Mary Parish Mission on March 7-8. St. Mary's is also offering a Lenten series on discipleship called "Into His Likeness" which will meet on Wednesday evenings in Lent. See the bulletin for more information.

• Fast from Negativity.
Take a break from listening to the awful voices around you and within you that seek to complain, demean, and never find gratitude or joy in the things around you. Turn off the news and make some time listening to the voices that matter in your life, the voice of Jesus and those who love you. Ask yourself, "What would the kindness and gentleness of God bring to this moment I'm in?"

• Make a Daily Sacrifice out of Love.
Yes, we can all complain even about the good things we're offering up for ourselves and for others! Instead of playing the script in your mind that no one sees or appreciates the sacrifices you are making, say "Lord, you see this small little sacrifice I'm making, and even if no one else sees it, I am doing this out of love for you, love for others, and love for myself."

• Volunteer at the Fish Fry.
St. Mary's Fish Fry is a great way to serve our parish family and meet tons of incredible disciples of our Lord. Could you and your family spare a few hours to help out this Lent? It will help our parish community and you and your family all grow closer to Jesus together! Visit https://www.cognitoforms.com/TheReserveHouse1/FishFryVolunteerSignup to sign up or contact Mike Boehnlein at mboehnlein@stmarychardon.org.

Scheduling Mass Intentions
We are updating our process for scheduling Mass intentions in order to better fulfill parishioners' requests. Please read the updates in this weekend's bulletin. These guidelines will also be posted on our parish website in the Mass tab.

Synod Sessions and Follow-up
Our Synod Listening Sessions from February 15-16 went well! We had 90 total participants and shared some great time in prayerful reflection and dialogue. Our Synod parish leaders are collecting the comments written down. I will be reviewing comments shared and reflecting on our local experience of the Church with our staff and councils. We will also submit them to the Diocese of Cleveland in the coming weeks. From there, the Diocese of Cleveland will submit collective comments from all our parishes to Rome for the bishops to review for their Synod meeting in 2023. It's awesome to be part of this multi- year process and have a chance to be heard! If you would like to participate in prayerfully reflecting on your experience of the Church and sharing your reflections with our Diocese, you can do so by submitting an individual participation form at https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/synod/individual- participation

St. Mary Parish Mission Invite (March 7-8): To kickstart our Lenten season, we will have a two-day Lenten Mission with renowned Catholic speaker, radio host and author, Jon Leonetti. The Mission theme is "Surge of the Heart". I invite you and your friends and family to be nourished by Jon's faith, joy, and humor on Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8 in the church. Both nights of the Mission start at 6:30 p.m..