Solemnity of the Consecration of St. Elizabeth Church – February 20, 2022

JOINT BULLETIN of Saint Emeric Roman Catholic Church and St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church ON THE OCCASION OF THE 100^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONSECRATION OF ST. ELIZABETH CHURCH

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

ST. ELIZABETH’S MASS SCHEDULE & INTENTIONS FOR THIS WEEK:

FROM THE DESK OF FR. BONA: Warmest welcome to our diocesan bishop, Bp. Edward C. Malesic. We are happy that he is able to be with us today. Welcome to all of you here at St. Elizabeth of Hungary church. What a jam-packed day this is! On this day we commemorate and celebrate three events. (1) We celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the consecration of St. Elizabeth church. On February 19, 1922, this magnificent church was consecrated. Liturgically, the yearly commemoration of this event is a solemnity for the parish. Obviously, because of the major anniversary, this year it is a little bit more special. When seeing the beautiful churches built in the past, often it is rightfully remarked that nowadays we would not be able to build such structures. Thus, these churches are a testament to our predecessors’ faith and how much they put God first. Therefore, as we celebrate this great anniversary and benefit from our predecessors’ accomplishments, let us hear the silent challenge issued to us by our beautiful churches to imitate their builders in faith, sacrifices, and dedication to our Lord Jesus Christ.

(2) In preparation for this anniversary, we decided to refurbish St. Elizabeth church bells that have been ringing in this parish since 1893 and 1895. Traditionally the church bells are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal liturgy or service, and to announce the fixed times of daily Christian prayer (e.g. Angelus). They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service to lend solemnity to those moments. Let us respond positively to the God who is calling us to worship Him communally every week.

(3) Finally, Bp. Malesic, our main celebrant today, will install me as the pastor of St. Elizabeth church. I am honored that Bp. Malesic is entrusting me with a portion of the flock of the Diocese of Cleveland. As I wrote on the occasion of my installation at St. Emeric: “It is with the thoughts of unworthiness that I undertook the call to priesthood and will assume the office of the pastor. I am sorry that you are not receiving a perfect pastor; but you are getting someone who wants to grow in holiness and be that Alter Christus (another Christ) that priests are supposed to be. That is why when I preach, I preach to myself first. Hence, I truly appreciate your prayers offered for this intention.

The primary obligation of a pastor is to lead his people to Heaven (for which he is going to be severely judged by Christ). To be in Heaven means that we are fully united to the only true God who is Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. That union has its beginnings, however, here on earth in baptism. The mold for this union is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ and there is no other path to Heaven except that of Jesus Christ. That is the reason Jesus often said, ‘Follow me.’ My prayer is that we all follow Jesus Christ more and more in all His teachings and through the cross he asked us to pick up and carry.” I keep you all in my prayers every day. God bless, Fr. Bona

THE 2022 CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEAL will take place next weekend in our parishes. This year’s appeal theme is Be the Light.

LAST WEEKEND’S COLLECTION (2/13): Sunday offering: $1,208. Special donation: $202.27. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY in supporting our parish. May God reward your generosity. Thank you for sending in your donations by mail or using our website https://www.stelizabethcleveland.org/donations/

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK, especially, Jay Kovács, Kathy Szabó, Kamilla Szabó and Anna Melega, Dorothy Fromhercz, Alex Szaday.

THIS SUNDAY the 10:00 AM Mass (from St. Emeric church) will be livestreamed from https://www.facebook.com/saint-elizabeth-of-hungary-church-cleveland-oh-384926355393572https://www.facebook.com/saintemeric/ ; https://stemeric.com/

This post is also available in: Hungarian