Dear Parish Family,

Happy Feast of the Epiphany! This solemnity of the Church celebrates the manifestation of God's presence and glory to all the nations, symbolized by the appearance of the Magi from the East who have followed the star to the land of Israel to worship the newborn King. There are many remarkable points to this Biblical story: God revealing His presence through natural signs, Israel's aloofness to the Messiah being born right under their noses, Herod's childish fear of losing power to this newborn King, and of course the star itself which doesn't merely point the Magi to the correct nation or city, but to the very house where Mary and Jesus were staying. All of this is marked by God's providence. God is in our midst, in His Word, in His Sacraments, in our hearts and the hearts of the people around us, and in the natural things of creation. God is always showing Himself to us who open our eyes and ears in faith to see and hear His manifestation. Christ is 'right under our noses' so to speak, nearer to us than we are to ourselves. We need not fear His nearness since He comes with utmost humility and love to restore us to our original goodness and holiness. Only the evil in our hearts will fear Him, the evil He comes to uproot. Can we ask God today to open our hearts in faith to see, hear, and receive Jesus with generosity and gladness?

Now that we are into the New Year, I wanted to offer some amazing faith formation opportunities open to us. I hope you find these recommendations helpful this year.

• Resources Page: I'm putting together a list of my favorite resources for spiritual and faith formation, counseling, and outreach services. Check it out at https://stmarychardon.org/resources. 
• Healing the Whole Person Retreat: This retreat focuses on the integral healing of body, mind, and spirit and is offered by the John Paul II Healing Center. The retreat runs from Feb 2-4 will be held at St. Basil the Great Parish in Brecksville. You can join the waitlist for the in-person retreat, or register for the livestream event at https://jpiihealingcenter.org/event/2-1-22-hwp/. I can't recommend this retreat enough, especially for anyone who may feel 'stuck' spiritually or find forgiveness hard.
• Restore the Glory Podcast: This is my favorite podcast! Dr. Bob Schuchts from the John Paul II Healing Center offers a weekly podcast with his counselor friend, Jake Khym, to help us along the healing journey. I've learned so much from the profound teachings that connect our faith with the healing journey. Listen and learn more at https://www.restoretheglorypodcast.com.
• Catechism in a Year Podcast: If you haven't started listening already, I highly recommend you begin listening and following along with the daily podcast catechism reading and commentary from Fr. Mike Schmitz. Listen and learn more at https://ascensionpress.com/pages/catechisminayear.

Christmas Mailing Apology
My apologies on families receiving their Christmas letters and envelopes the week after Christmas this year. This was due to complications with the company sending out these mailings. We had hoped these would have come out at the beginning of Advent to keep our households informed of all the Sacramental opportunities of the season. You can imagine our frustration with this situation as well. Thank you for your stewardship and generosity to our parish.

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow