Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

Some Hoped-for Lasting Effects of the Holy Father's Visit

   What an honor it is for the Catholic Church in America as well as for many other Americans for our land to host the historic visit of Pope Francis! In a unique way, the office for which he has been chosen embodies the worldwide Catholic Church.

   Whenever the Holy Father makes a visit anywhere, his role is that of sowing seeds in a unique way for the Kingdom of God in this world. Hopefully, his presence will inspire each of us to appreciate that we share in the role of sowing seeds for the Kingdom in the ways in which we are equipped to do this.

   One of the hoped-for effects of the visit of Pope Francis is to affirm the efforts that many are already making to live out the Faith of the Church. A hallmark expression of living the Catholic Faith is the practice of participating at Mass each weekend. 40 to 50 years ago, participating at Masses each weekend was one of the “in things” to do in our society. Coming to church every weekend characterized the life of many non-Catholic Christians as well. Sad to say, over the years, the number of persons who come to Mass weekly has been significantly shrinking. For many Catholics, coming to Mass once or twice a month or even less frequently has become the norm. This suggests that for many persons, Catholic identity is only one of a number of irons that persons have in their fire of their devotion. As difficult as it may be to come to Mass weekly, many persons do make the effort to do this. Hopefully, the visit of the Holy Father both affirms this practice and invites many others to embrace it.  

   As one highlight of the Holy Father’s visit is his presence and celebration of Mass at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. The Frizzell family will be representing our Deanery at this gathering and will be working with Dr. John Wood to make a presentation on it to all in our Deanery at St. Mary Parish, Mansfield, on Wed., Oct. 14th, at 7:00 p.m. The family is the most basic unit of the Church and of society as a whole. As goes the quality of life in our families, so goes the quality of life in the Church and in the world.

   The Lord has instituted the marriage of a man and a woman as the heart and nucleus of family life. In many marriages, from the love of a husband and wife for each other comes the gift of children. In the Lord’s design, if we are to develop as He intends, we need the love of both our mother and of our father. In a unique way, the love of a husband and wife for each other is intended to express the great love that our Lord has for His Spouse, the Church. The most genuine way that parents can love their children and serve them is by making every effort to relate to each other in the manner in which Christ and the Church relate to each other.  

   Not every person is presently in a situation in which she/he can participate in family life as this has been designed by the Lord. For those who are not equipped for marriage, the Church strongly encourages persons in this situation to proactively embrace the single life with the distinctive opportunities that this life style offers for extending the Lord’s redeeming work in this world.

   As results of the Holy Father’s visit, I hope that we will experience affirmation in our on-going effort, with God’s help, to live as the Lord wants us to do this. I hope that we will also be challenged to grow in the determination to relate the Faith that we gather faithfully to celebrate to all aspects of our lives. In these ways, we will be doing our part to extend the Lord’s redeeming work in the world as we are each equipped to do this.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor

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