Last year in the United States, the Catholic Church launched a National Eucharistic Revival. This revival is meant to reawaken in Catholics a sense of wonder, gratitude, love, and devotion towards our Lord present to us in the Eucharist. One of the phases of this revival – and the one that will likely have the greatest impact on Catholics nationwide – is the parish revival, and I am so grateful that in our parish this revival has already been well underway for some time. For many years now the parishes have all been offering Eucharistic Adoration, and now we are prepared to come together and offer nearly twice as many hours of adoration in our parish family, beginning on Monday at 8am and continuing day and night until Friday at 5pm. Praise God! And I am even more grateful for the very generous response on the part of our parishioners that is making this growth possible. Because so many people have said yes, we have at least two people scheduled for every single hour of adoration during the week, and many hours with three or even four people committed to spending that time with Jesus in the Eucharist. That means every week we will have several hundred of our own parishioners (and some from other parishes, too!) taking time to sit before the Eucharistic Face of the Lord, praying for so many needs, giving Him love and thanksgiving, calling down graces from Heaven, and simply being with Him, which is all He wants from any of us in the end. We cannot begin to comprehend what fruits this will bear in our parish, and if this isn’t a sign of revival, I don’t know what is! In a parish where the Eucharist is truly the heart of everything – which means the Eucharist is the heart of each of our lives – the mission of the Church will be that much more effective. If we want our parishes to be strong – even amid our challenges – the Eucharist is the answer. Though we have filled all those spots for adoration, there can never be too many people adoring Jesus, and no soul can be fully alive if they don’t spend some time with Him in that way, so please consider signing up. Even if you can’t sign up, don’t hesitate to make many visits to Saint Wendelin to be with Jesus when we begin adoration there on September 11th.
I want to make a clarification regarding the letter from the Ohio Bishops’ Conference about the November amendment seeking to enshrine abortion in Ohio’s Constitution. In the letter published in our July 9th bulletin, the bishops state that all Catholics are called to work against this amendment. There have been reports of confusion from that letter, however, and some parishioners thought the bishops were saying we should vote “no” on issue 1 on August’s special ballot. The bishops have not directed Catholics to vote “no” on Issue 1 in August – they have not said one way or another how Catholics should vote on Issue 1. Their letter refers only to the November amendment, and not the special ballot in August. The official statement on Issue 1 from the Ohio Conference of Catholic Bishops is as follows:
The Bishops of Ohio do not have a position on Issue 1 as it does not have moral content. However, as "responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation" (Faithful Citizenship, No. 13), the bishops urge Catholics in Ohio to register and vote in the special election (posted on the Ohio Catholic Conference website on May 31st, 2023).
Because Issue 1 is not a directly moral issue, the bishops are not instructing the Faithful as to how they should cast their vote in August. However, as responsible citizens concerned with the protection of all human life, Catholics must understand how the August amendment, if passed, will contribute to the effort to defend life in Ohio and defeat Ohio’s proposed abortion amendment in November. In other words, though Issue 1 in August does not have moral content, it is an amendment that will have ramifications in November and at any other time that abortion or anti-life amendments are proposed in our state. Please be sure you are considering these ramifications when casting your vote on Issue 1 in August, as the bishops do urge us to cast our votes on this very important issue. The battle for the right to life is still being waged in our state and in our country, and we must not miss any chance to achieve further civil protections for every human life, especially the unborn and those most vulnerable and in need.
May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
