M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R

RaphaelSaint

June 2012

As Catholics, trusting in the love of God and

the saving power of Christ’s death and resurrection, we are a people of prayer.

A ministry at St. Raphael called the Guardian Angels exists to band together pa-rishioners in praying for each other’s needs.

“In 2003, our pastor, Fr. Tim Gareau, asked me to go and interview the person in charge of the healing min-istry at St. John Neumann to see how it works,” says Sussy Hidalgo, Guardian Angels coordinator. “So my husband and I did, and we went to a healing retreat there as well.”

Over the next three years, the Hidalgos and a small group of others interested in the budding min-istry went to workshops, watched videos and prayed together before the Blessed Sacrament. In 2006, Fr. Tim decided the group was ready, and encouraged its members to start actively serving the parish.

Since then, following the 9:30 and 11 a.m. Mass-es on the third Sunday of each month, Sussy and the

other Guardian Angels are available at the sanctuary next to the altar to pray with anyone with a need.

“We’re not just there for those needing heal-ing,” Sussy says. “Every-one needs prayers. People come forward for prayers for all sorts of things: a job, reconciliation in a marriage, problems in family. Healing prayers aren’t just physical either; they can be for spiri-tual, mental or emotional healing as well.”

Before the group prays with the parishioners, its members always spend some time together praying in preparation.

“We pray beforehand that the Holy Spirit would guide us so that we might pray through Him and abandon ourselves,” Sussy says. “We aren’t the ones healing. We don’t merit the grace that God gives through our prayers, but we do become a channel of God’s love.”

Like the other members of the ministry, Sussy has been dedicated to prayer for many years. Being

Guardian Angels Provide Parishioner Prayer Support

continued on back cover

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Jn 14:13-14

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The Christian Steward

Each day, we strive to live stew-ardship in our lives, recognizing

our roles as “God’s co-workers” in His creative, redemptive, and sanc-tifying work. But in our quest to live as disciples of Christ, many obsta-cles often arise.

One of the most prevalent road-blocks in living stewardship is un-derstanding the traits that make up a good Christian steward. Surely, it would be much more convenient if we had some sort of “stewardship profiler” who could lay out the nec-essary steps to becoming a good steward, like on one of those televi-sion crime dramas. Unfortunately, it more often feels like living stew-ardship is a lifelong journey that we will never fully comprehend.

Fortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pas-toral letter on stewardship, Steward-ship: A Disciple’s Response, gives some insight into the characteristics that make up a good Christian steward.

The Christian steward should display some of the following traits:

Insight – Before the disciples could live what we know as the stewardship way of life, they need-ed a flash of insight, or a certain way of viewing the world and their re-lationship to it in a fresh light. This “divine grandeur,” more than any-thing else, is often what sets people on the path to Christian steward-ship (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Re-sponse, 39).

Conscientiousness – Stewards are fully conscious of their account-ability in sharing of their time, talent and treasure. As caretakers of the gifts that God has given them, they

have the opportunity and responsi-bility to use them to their fullest po-tential to spread God’s kingdom on Earth (40).

Generosity – Christian stew-ards are generous out of love as well as duty. They should display a de-sire to share with and care for oth-ers based on the sacramental graces they have received. And they are also cognizant of the many warn-ings that the New Testament pres-ents to those who fail in charity and authentic love (40).

Joy – Christian stewards are often presented with difficult ob-stacles, but they should remain joy-ful in the face of challenges to their lives of stewardship. Like Paul, the good steward is able to say, “I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy all the more because of all our affliction” (2 Cor 7:4). Only by serving with a joyful spirit will stewards fully reap the rewards of their service, both in this life and the next.

Indeed, living as a Christian steward is a lifelong journey with many ups and downs along the way. But if we strive to consciously incorporate each of these character-istics into our giving of time, talent and treasure, we will find that the profile of a good Christian steward will become much clearer with each experience of service.

This Issue:23

46

The Christian Steward

Take Vacations from Work or School, Not from God

A Big Year for our Parish School

Dr. Scott Hahn and Kimberly Hahn

7Making a Joyful Noise Unto the LordJohn and Margaret Hnat

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Take Vacations from Work or School, Not from God

Regardless of whether we have school-aged

children at home or not, most Americans mentally operate on a school-year calendar. As the calendar turns to June, school is out, and the spirit of sum-mertime fun takes over. The pools are open, ham-mocks are hung in shady backyards, and family va-cations have many of us teeming with excitement.

The arrival of summer means life slows down a bit and gives most of us a time to relax. But even as we unwind during our vacation time, we need to remember that summer is no time to take a va-cation from God. In fact, summer can serve as the perfect opportunity to grow our respective rela-tionships with God, espe-cially since most of us have considerably more free time.

Whether or not we’re involved with schools — as stu-dents, teachers, or parents — we find that the school year calendar impacts our lives at work, at church, and in our leisure time. Many of our groups have fewer meetings during the summer, or none at all. And although some people are on vacation at any time of year, summer re-tains its place in our minds as the vacation season.

Vacations, no matter when we take them, provide us with an opportunity to refresh our lives by following a totally different daily pattern. Whether it’s a trip to the

beach or to the mountains, an excursion to a big city or to a dude ranch, a visit to relatives, or a cruise, a va-cation offers a break from our daily routines. We get to spend our time the way we choose, not the way some-one tells us to.

A vacation also provides a good opportunity for us to make some permanent changes in our use of time. When we’re free from the demands of everyday life, this is a perfect opportunity to try something that is not part of our regular routine, such as spending a few minutes a day in prayer or meditation. “Try it; you’ll like it!” as the old commer-cial said. It may have some lasting results in a stronger spiritual life.

Remember — we may take a vacation from work,

but we don’t have a vacation from God. Be sure to wor-ship at Mass wherever you are each Sunday. You’ll come back from vacation refreshed both emotionally and spiri-tually.

May God bless you and keep you,

Fr. Tim Gareau,Pastor

St.Raphael

Remember — we may take a vacation from work, but we don’t have a vacation from God. Be sure to worship at Mass wherever you are each Sunday. You’ll come back from vacation

refreshed both emotionally and spiritually.

A Letter from Our Pastor

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Catholic education is truly a gift, and in our parish, it is a gift that

we are proud to be able to give our children at St. Raphael School.

“I think every parish should have a school, because that’s where we re-ally form our students,” says Princi-pal Ann Miller. “When they’re with you all day, they really get to fully understand what we are trying to develop in them, to really form that foundation. When they are here the whole day, they really get what re-ligion is all about. It’s not just going to Mass one hour a week; it should be more encompassing and embrace your entire life.”

With the end of the school year, we take time to reflect on what this year has meant for the students and teachers of our parish.

“It was a very rewarding year,” Mrs. Miller says. “People worked well together. We have a great staff. When the teachers all really care and have a deep commitment to the faith growth and the education of the stu-dents and we’re all on the same page, it just makes for a good place. And the parents are all basically on the same page as the school. It just makes it a great experience. People are up-beat and they like being here, so that makes it a fun school.”

Over the last year, the students have participated in many differ-ent service programs and activities, including food drives, collections for the needy, Penny Wars for the Lymphoma Society, visiting nursing

A Big Year for our Parish School

Fourth-graders participate in Catholic Schools Week activities.

Eighth-grade Christmas carol trip

Mrs. Carla Licastro with fourth-graders

Fourth- and first-graders participate in the Paschal Pals activity during Catholic

Schools Week.

Boys in grades six and three participate in Paschal Pals.

“We teach what Jesus taught us, and we try to live that, and to live it you have to practice it. We talk a lot about service and about caring for people,

but if we don’t practice it, then it does us no good.”– Mrs. Ann Miller

St. Raphael School Principal

St.Raphael

5

A Big Year for our Parish Schoolhomes, and more. In this way, the students have been learning what it means to live out stewardship in their lives.

“We teach what Jesus taught us, and we try to live that, and to live it you have to practice it,” Mrs. Miller says. “We talk a lot about service and about caring for peo-ple, but if we don’t practice it, then it does us no good.”

As the year came to an end, there were several more events and activities that rounded out the school year on a positive note, such as the Prayer Walk, Jesus Day, First Communion, the May Crowning, and a Talent Show.

“You want to end on high notes so that when they look back, they remember the good things,” Mrs. Miller says. “You want to make the end of the year memo-rable, because that’s what they’re going to remember. So you try to make things fun and do some spe-cial things.”

At the end of it all, the students of St. Raphael School go into their summer vacation with a well-rounded educational experience.

“We educate the child spiritu-ally, intellectually, and socially,” Mrs. Miller says. “We’re educating the whole child; we don’t just look at one part. And we consider our-selves a family.”

For more information, call the school at 440-871-6760.

Rosary-making by second-graders, led by Legion of Mary. Rosaries were to be used by

the students during Mary’s month of May.

Seventh-grade Science Fair projects

Mrs. Andrea Ruda, Science Fair Moderator and sixth-grade Science teacher

Lincoln Electric field trip: Eighth-grade Science Fair winners met with Ohio

Governor John Kasick.

Science Fair project

“We teach what Jesus taught us, and we try to live that, and to live it you have to practice it. We talk a lot about service and about caring for people,

but if we don’t practice it, then it does us no good.”– Mrs. Ann Miller

St. Raphael School Principal

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St.Raphael

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For parishioners John and Margaret Hnat,

who met through their mutual love of theater, their courtship and even-tual marriage certainly has the storybook feel of a Shakespearean roman-tic comedy.

“We met through community theater,” Margaret recalls. “He was directing a produc-tion of Blithe Spirit, a Noël Coward play, and he cast me. Our first impressions of each other weren’t too great, but we got to know each other, and probably about a week before the show opened we started dating. A few weeks later he proposed, so it was pretty quick.”

John and Margaret were married at St. Ra-phael Church in 2000, and since that time, they’ve shared their tal-ents as performing art-ists with our parish community by singing in the parish choir.

“I have been singing ever since I can remember, and I grew up in a choir,” John says. “I’ve also done musi-cal theater in my past, and that’s kind of like singing for yourself or singing for the audience, which is fun and I love doing that. But I believe that in a choir, you really can’t sing for yourself – you sing to God and for God, and you help lead others in musical worship. It feels great, and it’s just a wonderful way to praise God.”

In addition to the joy and increased appreciation for the Liturgy that the Hnats experience as a result of their

participation in the choir, they say that it has also helped them to develop great friendships and establish a sense of com-munity at St. Raphael.

“It enhances our ex-perience when we’re in church, and it also brings a feeling of community to what we’re doing when-ever, no matter what you’re a part of, you be-come a part of that little community,” John says. “We have people of like minds who come togeth-er to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. And with Bill Toler as our choir-master, I think we’re very, very fortunate. He’s someone who loves mu-sic and also gives us les-sons from scripture, even during our rehearsals.”

For the Hnats, min-istering through song is simply an expression of stewardship, and an act

of thanksgiving for the many blessings the couple has received from Christ and His Church.

“When my dad was growing up, he went to Nativ-ity Parish in Cleveland, which is closed now,” Margaret says. “There was this priest there, Fr. Vaclav Chaloupka, who always said, ‘Ask not what your parish can do for you, but what you can do for your parish.’ And that’s what I think of in terms of time, talent and treasure. The Church gives you so much, with the Mass and the spiri-tual blessings, and it’s just up to us to give something back.”

Making a Joyful Noise Unto the LordJohn and Margaret Hnat

525 Dover Center RoadBay Village, OH 44140

St.Raphael

Liturgy ScheduleSaturday Vigil: 4:30 and 7 p.m. │ Sunday: 7:30, 9:30, 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

Weekday Mass: M, T, W, F, 7:45 a.m. │ M, T, Th, F, 9:15 a.m. │ Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Confessions: Saturdays 3-4 p.m. │ Eucharistic Adoration: Friday 10 a.m. - Saturday 4 p.m.

NON-PROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCleveland, OH

44101Permit No. 703

C H U R C H

Guardian Angels continued from front cover

Would you like to stay connected to the parish using e-mail? Then please share it with us. Just go to our parish website,www.saintraphaelparish.com, and enter the information under “Staying Connected Thru E-Mail.” Information will not be shared

and you can remove it at any time. Contact Joyce Wager in the parish office with questions at 440-871-1100.

a Guardian Angel provides her the opportunity to share that passion in a powerful way with others in the parish.

“We have to trust the Lord,” Sussy says. “I would strongly encourage the people of the parish to come. God loves us and wants us to come to Him. We pray knowing that the love of God will heal us, perhaps not exactly in the way we are asking, but He always heals in the way that is most needed.”

Each member of the Guardian Angels Ministry re-ceives training in healing prayer, and every prayer re-quest is held in strict confidentiality.

If there is a special need in your life that you would like to receive prayers for, the Guardian Angels strongly encourage you to allow your brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ to lift you up in prayer.

“Believe in the healing power of the Lord,” Sussy says, “and don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid to come – there is nothing like the love of God and letting it come to us through prayer. So many people say, ‘I feel so good after I’ve been prayed over; I feel the presence of the Lord.’ I want everyone to be able to know that feeling!”