One of the oldest parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland, St. Teresa of Avila in Sheffield Village, welcomed Bishop Edward Malesic on Oct. 18 as he helped celebrate the parish’s 180th anniversary and its patron saint’s feast day, which was Oct. 15.
It was the bishop’s first pastoral visit to the parish, which has a German heritage. He noted the beautiful stained-glass windows in the church, which Father Edward Smith, pastor, said were refurbished recently.
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“The most important thing we do as Christians is to worship our God,” the bishop said, urging the faithful to celebrate the Lord’s Day, and then to be people of service.
In the first reading, he said when Moses held his hands up in prayer, the Israelites were winning the battle. But, when he lowered his hands, the tide turned, so he needed help to continue his prayers until the battle was won.
“God came through for them,” the bishop said. “God answers every prayer, but sometimes, the answer is ‘no.’”
He said St. Teresa, a Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun and doctor of the Church, considered prayer to be a friendship with God. Prayer is a statement that God exists, hears and answers us, he added.
“The Lord is thirsting for our love, and he wants to love us back. That’s what’s happening here (at Mass), so we can go on and be fueled by love. We owe God for our lives … This sacred place should be a powerhouse of prayer,” the bishop said.
The parish feast day dinner took place in the parish center after Mass.
“Every parish is a family of faith,” Bishop Malesic told parishioners. “We were fed at the altar of faith earlier and now we are nourishing our bodies.”
The feast day dinner, a longtime parish tradition, was presented by the Altar and Rosary Society. In earlier years, society members prepared a chicken dinner and made homemade pies using apples from parishioners’ trees. Society members said some parishioners provided apples for the pies served at this year’s dinner, also.
St. Teresa of Avila Parish was established in 1845, two years before the diocese was founded. The current church was dedicated in 1908 to replace an earlier building that was destroyed by fire. Father Smith has served as pastor since 2009. He also is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Lorain.