SCCR Parish Blog

  The U.B. Bishops' Conference has designated this week (July 22-29) as Religious Freedom Week -- a special time to pray and act to preserve our own religious freedom.  It's also a good time to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who don't enjoy the same measure of freedoms that we do in the U.S.  Check out their resources on their  religious freedom week webpage .

  We live in interesting times. In response to the decision by the U.S. Bishops at a recent virtual meeting to discuss questions including the reception of Communion by those who promote grave evils such as abortion, some 60 baptized Catholic U.S. Congressmen and -women (all of whom publicly support abortion) have written an open letter demanding that they be able to receive Holy Communion despite (and even in some cases, astonishingly, because of ) their positions which contradict those of the Church.   One of these Congressmen even dared his bishop not to allow him to receive Communion.  That in itself shows that he has no understanding of the  Eucharist as a gift, or the authority of the Church, but that's a post for another day. In the First Things magazine, a national magazine devoted to discussing issues of religion and culture, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has written an open letter response .    It is quite long, but well wor...

  Today is a solemn feast day remembering the birth of St. John the Baptist, the saint the Lord calls "the greatest man born of woman."  (The only other saint whose birthday we observe on the calendar is the Blessed Virgin herself).  He is the voice announcing  the coming of Christ and our need to prepare our hearts through conversion,  as we remember in the Advent season. Here is a homily on this topic (below) from the great teacher St. Augustine. His feast day fits in nicely into these weeks of observing religious liberty, since he was martyred and beheaded for defending the dignity of marriage in speaking out to a powerful king (cf. Mark 6:14-29 ). Very important to turn to him in our own times when those who defend the dignity of marriage often bring down the wrath of powerful people and institutions -- government agencies, "human rights" commissions, universities, large corporations and employers, and more. St. John the Baptist, pray for us.  From a se...

  Today the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a Catholic adoption agency in Philadelphia did not have to violate its Catholic beliefs by adopting children out to homosexual couples.  (The Church teaches that a child has a right to the love of a mother and father whenever possible).    This is a significant win for religious liberty. 

  This Saturday, June 19th, Archbishop Schnurr will be celebrating a solemn Mass on the occasion of the Bicentennial of the founding of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati at the Cathedral downtown.  It will air livestream at 11:00 a.m. that day.    A reminder that more information and resources for our bicentennial are available here . 

  The regular Saturday evening Massgoers will certainly remember Mr. Jee Han Park, who has served as organist there for some time. He was killed by a drunk driver recently, so we pray for the repose of his soul and for all those who mourn his loss. Here is the memorial notice from St. Anthony of Padua Parish. In your prayers please remember Jee Han PARK Who entered Eternal Life on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. At age 57 Jee Han PARK, entered Eternal Life on June 9, 2021, on the eve of his birthday. His tragic passing was due to the actions of a DUI driver. Born and raised in South Korea, he came to the United States in pursuit of musical perfection. He settled in Cincinnati over 20 years ago and quickly became a beloved member of Saint Anthony of Padua Maronite Church and Madison Ave Christian Church. He followed his dreams, progressing through the prestigious UC CCM graduate program, one formality away from completing his Ph.D. He is survived by his beloved mother, ...

  Some of the Catholic feasts day are on different days each year (depending on when Easter falls). This year, we celebrated two of the great feast of the Church in June: Corpus Christ (the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) and the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacred Heart was on June 11th this year, but it is a good devotion for families to pray together any time. The memorial for the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is always celebrated the day after the feast of the Sacred Heart.  Catholic homes should have some kind of image of both of these, to remind us visually that we come to Heaven through the love of the hearts of Jesus and Mary. I have a couple images of the sacred heart and immaculate heart from a donor to give away at St. Peter's if anyone is interested.  Here is a traditional prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, called the Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus . In an increasingly secular world, it is important to keep your families focused...

  In anticipation of Fathers' Day next weekend, I am encouraging all of the fathers of the parish to read this book:  Because of Our Fathers: 23 Catholics Tell How Their Fathers Led Them to Christ . It's an easy read.  It has 23 very short stories (about 3 to 5 pages) of people from various walks of life explaining how critically important it was for their father to pass the faith on to them and how they did it. I'll try to get a copy or two for our parish libraries. Please pray for our fathers through the intercession of St. Joseph!