Two opposite ends of the diocese received visits from Bishop Nelson Perez last weekend.
On Feb. 24, he celebrated the vigil Mass at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish in Lorain. The following day, he headed east to St. Gabriel Parish in Concord Township, where he confirmed more than 150.
?I am delighted to be here,? he told the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini congregation. Bishop Perez did a little research and learned that the parish, which was established in 2010 during the diocesan reconfiguration, was created from the merger of three Lorain parishes: St. John the Baptist, founded in 1900; SS. Cyril & Methodius, founded in 1905; and St. Vitus, founded in 1922. The worship site is the 1951-era church built by St. John Parish.
?You came together to form a new community. That?s not always easy to do, but you?ve done it,? the bishop said, congratulating the parishioners and pastor, Father John Retar.
During his homily, he reflected on the season of Lent, during which the Church called the faithful to a deeper time of prayer and reflection. He said that meant people had to ?let go of what was in their lives that was without Christ.? It is a time of spiritual preparation for those who will be joining the Church at the Easter Vigil, a time for baptized Christians to prepare to renew their baptismal promises and a time of conversion and repentance.
?We need to realize that part of our hearts may be going in the wrong direction,? Bishop Perez said, explaining that Lent is the time to ?change one?s heart.?
?What the Lord really wants is a contrite heart,? he said.
Bishop Perez shared a story about a time he went to get a haircut on a Friday in Lent.
?There was a pepperoni and sausage pizza there and it smelled so good,? he said. The stylist apologized for having it there on a Friday in Lent and admitted she had eaten some before she realized it was Lent.
?I asked her where she went to church and she told me she hadn?t gone in about 20 years. ?And you?re worried about eating a meat pizza on a Friday in Lent??? he asked her.
The bishop joked that he?s had ?56 Lents. I was born in 1985,? he said drawing a laugh from the congregation. ?What? You don?t believe me??
He said he has been in three different places in the past six Lents: as a parish priest in Philadelphia, then as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York and now in Cleveland. The bishop connected that to the Gospel, noting that the disciples weren?t always where Jesus wanted them to be.
He shared another riddle, telling the congregation that a woman had two sons born the same hour, same day and same year, but they weren?t twins. ?How can that be?? he asked, adding that the solution was obvious, but people might miss it.
?They were part of triplets,? he said. ?And you?re wondering, ?How did I miss that???
It?s similar to metamorphosis, a process in which something undergoes a change. ?It goes beyond what you see
