The fifth Friday of Lent – March 15 – found Bishop Edward Malesic traveling to St. Bede the Venerable Parish in Mentor for a homemade pierogi dinner, music and Stations of the Cross. Entertainment at the sold-out dinner was provided by Body and Soul, the band organized by Father Tim Plavac, St. Bede pastor.
“Thank you for a great meal,” the bishop told parishioners. “The homemade pierogi were wonderful and it is a blessing to me that they were made by parishioners to help support their parish.”
Cindy Cole, coordinator of parish ministries, said members of the parish’s DoughRaiser$ group met beginning in January to make and freeze potato and sauerkraut pierogi for the annual Lenten dinner. About 250 dinners were served or taken home. Dinners included pierogi, green beans and applesauce. Dessert and beverages were available.
(See photo gallery above.)
After enjoying his dinner and greeting parishioners, families and friends, Bishop Malesic went to the church where he prayed Stations of the Cross.
During his reflection afterward, he told the faithful a fish fry – or in this case, pierogi – dinner and stations have been one of his longest Lenten traditions.
As a teenager, he recalled his older brother purchasing the album “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which attracted his attention. It was about a man dying for others in a brutal way, he said, adding, “it was mysterious but I was drawn to it.”
After beginning college, he said loneliness set in since he was away from home. He was gifted a Bible by the Gideons and for the first time he began reading the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
“I knew the stories, but never read the whole thing,” he said. After reading them, “I realized Jesus was a real person and he loved me.” As he continued in college with plans to become a medical technologist, he realized God had another plan for him.
“His role for me was to be a priest. It wasn’t my role, but his. Jesus loves me. He loved me into the Church,” he added.
After his Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus returned to the people who betrayed and brutally killed him. “Jesus always comes back,” the bishop said. “The way he sets for all of us is from death to life.”
Each of us has a story. We all have sins and things that cause us pain, Bishop Malesic said. “When we walk the Way of the Cross, we think we are walking with Jesus. But really, it’s Jesus who is walking with us. It is better to be linked to Jesus. He makes the burden lighter.”
If we let our story, our crosses and our faith become part of the story, we might someday become part of Jesus’ story, the bishop explained.
“At almost age 64, I finally am old enough to learn that I wasn’t meant to stand still but to walk forward with Jesus. Deepen your relationship with Jesus, your parish, yourself and God who leads us to Jesus, our savior. We need him,” the bishop said.
“We walked (tonight) to hold a bit of Jesus’ cross and he held a bit of ours.”