St. Casimir Parish Welcomes Our Newly Confirmed And Our New Bishop
St.Casmir Confirmation with Bishop Perez, Sept. 20, 2017
Photo by Vidas Pliodzinskas
On Wednesday September 20th, St. Casimir Parish was blessed in a very special way. Not only were we gathered to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation of four young ladies in the parish, but we were honored to have the new bishop of Cleveland, Nelson J. Perez, celebrate the Mass and his first Confirmation as 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland on September 5th. Confirmation is the third and final Sacrament of Initiation in the Catholic Church.
Audrele Bielinis, Mary Sinead Robertson, Elizabeth Tarasevich, and Faith Thompson, after a year of education, spiritual preparation and reflection, chose to stand before the congregation and the bishop to profess their faith and be sealed in the Holy Sprit in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Bishop Perez used his homily to share two thoughts with the girls as final preparation. First, he told the girls, know that most of what your parents do and did for you, you will never know. He called on them to be humble and have gratitude for the gifts of their upbringing. Second, he said, in a call-and-response with the congregation, “Never, never, ever underestimate the power of God to work in you and with you, through you, and in spite of you.”
He shared the story of an ordinary moment, many years ago when he was a new priest, that had far-reaching consequences he only learned of years later, as an example of how God works through us in our everyday lives of faith, oftentimes without our ever knowing. Then, one at a time, presented by their sponsors, the girls received the Sacrament of Confirmation by anointing with holy oil and called by the saint’s name they had chosen.
After the Mass, everyone was welcomed to celebrate with Bishop Perez at a reception in the parish hall that featured treats from many of the ethnic groups of the parish prepared for the occasion.
We feel so blessed to have a joyful shepherd in Bishop Perez, and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead. We celebrate Mass in English weekday mornings at 7:30 am, at 5:30 pm on Saturdays, and at 8 am and 12 noon on Sundays. Mass is also celebrated every Sunday at morning at 10 am in Lithuanian. Everyone is welcome here.
Resident of neighborhood since 1956. Worked on East 185th street since 1970.