Good intentions require follow through. Out of respect for our freedom, desiring to do God's will is a necessary precondition to actually carrying out His will. But desire alone is not enough. We need to act on our good intentions to bring the presence and peace of Christ to our world.

I am eager to speak this weekend about the Angel Scholarship Fund (ASF) and the opportunity to turn tax dollars into tuition assistance. Simply put, ASF turns tax dollars into tuition assistance by taking advantage of a tax credit scholarship program established by the State of Ohio.

We celebrated our parish feast day on September 8 with the Feast of the Birth of Mary, the Mother of God. Last Saturday, we held a Eucharistic Procession through Chardon Square where Fr. Fabian and I carried the monstrance with the Holy Eucharist through our streets with over 60 parishioners following. It was quite a witness to our faith and love for Jesus!

Today we hear a reprisal of Jesus' words said to Simon Peter from the Gospel two weeks ago, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

I want to wish you all a very Happy Labor Day. As disciples of Christ, we are entrusted with the indispensable work of leading our families into a deeper relationship with Christ and His Church. May this Labor Day refresh us and help us to recommit to this privilege of co-laboring with Christ and His Church.

I am so thankful for the gift of Christ and the Church in my life! We know that by trusting God and the Church He gave us, we always have truthful, merciful, and secure guidance for our daily decisions.

A warm welcome back to all of our school children who start the new school year this Monday! We are so blessed as a parish family to be able to support our school families both prayerfully and financially.

Our readings this weekend remind us that God is always present to us amidst the storms and noise of this life. Elijah hears the Lord in a tiny whispering sound after the winds, earthquakes, and fires have passed. Peter sees Jesus and walks on water in the storm when he is totally focused on Christ.

I am excited to share with you the extensive expansion of the EdChoice state scholarship program. All K-12 students now qualify to receive a state-funded EdChoice scholarship that could cover a portion of, in some cases, the full cost of their Catholic school tuition. Catholic education just became more affordable than ever for families!

In last weekend's bulletin, I shared some fundamental principles of the Church's participation in political life, and shared that we cannot bypass political conversations because they may be difficult or uncomfortable. Our Catholic Christian faith offers an invaluable contribution to our society in the social-political arena.

As we prepare for the upcoming special election on August 8 regarding Issue 1, I want to draw your attention to the Church's role in political life, and offer my own reflections on the issue. I will do this as part of a two-part series. the first part this weekend will focuses on political participation in general, and next weekend I will focus on aspects of Issue 1 itself.

This past Lent, I gave a Parish Mission focused on the acronym RIM (Relationship, Identity, Mission). The logic is that a foundational relationship with Christ secures us in a godly identity which frees us for fruitfully fulfilling our mission that God has entrusted to us. The logic of RIM couldn't be more apparent than it is in today's readings. 

We are hosting voter registrations again this weekend to encourage people to participate in the upcoming elections. I want to encourage you to register to vote for the August 8 Special Election where Ohio citizens can vote on Issue 1 to "Require that any proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio receive the approval of at least 60 percent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment."

Happy Independence Day! As we celebrate our freedom this weekend, choose to be grateful to God for entrusting you with the responsibility to love sacrificially. Freedom is such a wonderful gift of God.

This week we welcome our new parochial vicar, Fr. Fabian Han, to our parish! Fr. Fabian is a newly ordained priest from the Archdiocese of Daegu, South Korea. He has studied in our seminary the past four years and was ordained a priest on May 20.

Happy Father's Day! A warm blessing to all of our dads as we thank them for the gift of their fatherhood this Sunday. Just like the title "Mother", the title "Father" has profound relational and spiritual meaning.

I am excited to celebrate with you this weekend Corpus Christi, or the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ! Not only do we get to honor Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence with us, we also kickoff our Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity that we celebrate this weekend helps us appreciate the personal way that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Catechism writes, "God communicates Himself to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ" (CCC 53).

Blessings to all of you this Memorial Day Weekend. This week we honor those who gave their lives in service to our country to preserve our God-given freedoms that promote human dignity and development.

The Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord which we celebrate this weekend draws us deeper into our Lord's mystical and Eucharistic presence with us. Matthew's Gospel concludes with Jesus' parting words to His disciples: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."