A few special intentions have been on my heart and I would ask you to join me in lifting them up in prayer.
First of all, may we continue to pray for peace, especially in light of the tragic loss of life at the Trump rally last weekend. May the death of an innocent bystander and those others who were injured along with former President Trump not be in vain but bring our discourse and rhetoric back to reason. Like President Biden stated in response to the tragedy, “there is no place in America for this kind of violence – for any violence…we can’t allow this violence to be normalized.” The president is correct and we Catholics, as faithful citizens, have an opportunity to lead by example over the next few months as we participate in the political discourse and as we discern the best candidate to reflect our values as a people called to follow Jesus in all things. May we do so by using our well-formed intellectual and spiritual faculties with peaceful hearts.
Second, I ask you to remember the nearly 250 Catholics from our diocese (four from our parishes) who are attending the National Eucharistic Congress in Indiana. As our ambassadors, they represent all of us and we look forward to their safe return to share their experiences with us. May this truly be an opportunity for all to grow closer together through the grace of our Eucharistic Lord!
Finally, as you know, our Collaboration Initiative continues. These past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the many recommendations each of the Working Groups offered for consideration. Over the next few weeks, I will turn to our parishes’ leadership for their input and consultation. My hope is to make some decisions by the end of August as to what ways we can work together and what next steps are required. I thank everyone who has participated in our Working Groups and those who have offered valuable input.
Please continue to pray for the success of this work as we strengthen our mission on Cleveland’s near west side.
Prayerfully yours,
Fr. Gurnick
