Dear Parish Family,
We can draw some beautiful connections between King David and Jesus Christ. Both are anointed to lead God's Kingdom, both work to liberate God's people from their enemies, both act with mercy among their kindred who seek their life, and both are faithful to the Father and trust Him completely in their leadership to “do good to those who hate you” and “bless those who curse you."
 
These connections with Christ among Old Testament characters are called "typology". We can see in King David a "type" of Christ. We can draw forth typology with Christ among many Old Testament figures, from Adam, Abraham, Moses, King David, Job, to Isaiah's Suffering Servant. While each "type" of Christ highlights a certain characteristic of Jesus, obviously only Jesus Christ is our divine Lord. All "types" magnify His goodness in a particularly human, albeit fallible, way. As you engage in Scripture study and enter into the Liturgy of the Word at Mass, I invite you to read the Old Testament through the lens of Christ. What about each character is "Christ-like"? These can show us powerful patterns of God's plan of salvation among these precursors of our Savior.
 
Starting next weekend, on the first full weekend of each month, we will incorporate a greeting of those around you prior to the beginning of Mass. This will replace the Parish Prayer or Prayer for Vocations for the weekend. This idea came about after discussion of Bishop Malesic' Pastoral Letter, "A Flourishing Apostolic Church" to foster deeper communion, hospitality, and faith sharing amongst our parish family. We will offer a "prompt" each month to guide the direction of the greeting. For instance, one month we may ask you to share with someone sitting by you not just your name, but also something like how long you've been in the parish, what is your favorite verse from Scripture, or what groups you belong to in the parish. We will keep the conversations centered on faith sharing in a lighthearted manner. This is a new idea, so please be open to it! I realize many of us desire quiet time before Mass to enter deeply into the liturgy, so instead of looking at this as a "distraction" from preparing for Mass, please try to see it as a way to enter into Mass with the Lord AND with our brothers and sisters worshipping the Lord with us. As always, I am open to your feedback on this implementation.
 
If you haven't read the Bishop's Pastoral Letter, it can be found at https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/a-flourishing-apostolic-church/overview. I encourage you all to read it!
 
Please note that the Lent mailer did not include March 7 Stations of the Cross. This was an accidental omission. We WILL have Stations at 7 pm on March 7 and every Friday of Lent! Please visit our Lent page for up to date information.

Lent 2025
 
I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow