This weekend, our nation celebrates its Independence. While the 4th of July falls on a Saturday, the entire weekend offers us an opportunity to reflect on the gift of freedom. From a Catholic perspective, true freedom allows us to do that which is right. Liberty can often be misunderstood for license. We are not free to do whatever we want. Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles that presumed that there is objective right and wrong.

Dear Parish Family, this Sunday is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.   St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (6:3-4, 8-11), states, Brothers and sisters:  Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

A blood drive is scheduled at St. Marys on Sunday July 12 from 8:00am until 2:00pm. The American Red Cross is now testing for COVID-19 antibodies. Appointments are required. To make an appointment, go to RedCrossBlood.org. On the home page, top left corner, enter our sponsor code: stmarychardon.

Dear Parish Family, in the Gospel for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 10: 26-33), Jesus says, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Corpus Christi). As Catholics, we believe that when unleavened bread is consecrated by the Priest in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the substance of the bread becomes the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The theological term is Transubstantiation. In effect, what takes place is the conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements (i.e. bread and wine) into the Body and Blood of Christ at consecration, with only the appearances of bread and wine still remaining.

This Sunday the Church celebrates The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This central doctrine of our Catholic faith affirms our belief in one God, Three Divine Persons. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one and the same God. The divine Persons are distinct from one another. The purpose of the divine missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit is to bring us to share in the life, light and love of the Trinity (CCC #’s 238-260).

Firehouse Grille and Pub, based in Willoughby Hills, will be offering curbside pickup in the rear parking lot of St. Mary's. Please see their website or this article for complete ordering and pickup information. A porton of the proceeds to benefit the St. Mary PTU.

I have missed seeing you during this Coronavirus pandemic. As we have been unable to celebrate Mass together in person, we have had to resort to live streaming Mass via the internet. While this will continue into the foreseeable future (i.e the 8:00 a.m. Mass), I am happy to say that Masses will resume at St. Mary’s on Monday, May 25th at 9:00 a.m. On the weekend of May 30/31, we will celebrate Mass publicly on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon. Weekday Masses will resume their normal schedule (7:30 a.m.) on Tuesday, May 26th .

The pandemic, quarantines, and lose of income have all made us frustrated and anxious. Perhaps your St. Vincent de Paul Counsel can help with material needs. Drop by the Parish Office between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. OR, call the office at 285-7051 to speak to someone or leave a message.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the coronavirus pandemic has brought us together in solidarity as we respond with careful focus and deep resolve to take care of one another during these troubled times that challenge us, our families, our communities and the world. As we endure this serious situation, we take comfort in the words of Jesus as he reminds us: “and behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Ohio bishops announce plans for resuming celebration of public Masses and liturgies later this month.

All moms are invited to St. Mary's on Mother's Day, May 10th. I will be handing out carnations and special, Mother's Day blessings from 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon at the West Entrance (back parking lot) to the Church...

The St. Mary Messenger Newsletter for May 2020 has been released, but will only be available in digital format.

The Catholic Bishops of Ohio extend the temporary suspension of all publicly celebrated Masses/liturgies ending on May 29th, with the hope of publicly celebrating together the Solemnity of Pentecost on the weekend of May 30/31. Each of the bishops of Ohio, once again, dispense the Catholic faithful who reside in their respective dioceses and all other Catholics currently in their territories from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass during this time. We ask for the cooperation and adherence of all the faithful to the governor’s directives during this period.

We are pleased to let you know that we are already accepting registrations for next year. The registration forms are available in the PSR Office, Parish Office, or online at https://stmarychardon.org/psr. We will be offering the Homeschool option again this year which may be helpful for those families with extremely busy school year schedules. Details are listed in the form. We are still in the process of finalizing the PSR calendars, but will publish and upload them to the website as soon as we have confirmed all of the dates. Please respect our registration due date, so that we may properly prepare for the PSR school year.

Guarino’s is now accepting donation meals to be distributed to TriPoint hospital. They will deliver them on Thursdays to different departments. You may call and leave a message at 216-650-4582, and a return call to get their credit card info will be received

The following article is a Letter from our pastor, Fr. Dan Redmond, on the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday. April 19, 2020.

The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be here at St. Mary Parish on Sunday, May 10th. Entrance will be by the side cafeteria door and donations will be by appointment only.

Join our pastor, Fr. Dan Redmond, as he will be celebrating Mass, LIVE on Facebook, this Sunday, April 19th at 9:00 AM. Please recall that this is a private celebration in line with government and church directives, and watch only on-line. We all look forward to a time in the near future when we can join together to celebrate the liturgy in person. Our Facebook site is www.fb.com/stmarychurchchardon.

I have been talking and emailing with our VBS catechists and parish staff concerning VBS during the coronavirus crisis. Our registration was planned to start at the beginning of April, so I want to give an update. St. Mary’s has decided to cancel our Vacation Bible School for the week of June 22-26, 2020.