May

3

The Good Shepherd of Cleveland

May 3, 2008 |

I was in Cleveland, Ohio yesterday for a meeting.  With the Indians in town, we had made plans to catch the game and stay overnight.

I decided to go for a walk because I had a couple of hours to waste between my meeting and the game.  I found out that I was only several blocks from the Cathedral of St. John, so off I went to have a visit and pray. 

I walked into a very beautiful church and started to walk around.  I wandered over to a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Heart and, realizing it was First Friday, I started to pray a prayer to the Sacred Heart.  In one of those incredible spiritual moments that occur far too rarely, I started to feel my heart beating through my chest.  My simple heart beating with Christ’s Sacred Heart - simply amazing.

Then, I looked to the left of the chapel and saw that a priest was hearing confessions.  I remembered that I hadn’t been to confession since Holy Week and figured I had some failings I needed to get off my soul.

As I walked towards the confessional, I caught sight of the sign for the priest hearing confessions - the sign read “Bishop Richard Lennon.”  I went into the confessional and sure enough it was the good Bishop of Cleveland hearing confessions.  I have to admit, I was incredibly surprised - in a good way.  I didn’t know that bishops still hear regular confessions, especially on a Friday afternoon.

After confession, I realized that Mass was going to start soon and decided to stay.  Sure enough, the celebrant was Bishop Lennon - for a regular weekday Mass on Friday afternoon.

I’m from Cincinnati, so I don’t follow what’s going on in the Diocese of Cleveland.  All I know is that if Bishop Lennon can take the time to hear confessions and say Mass on Friday afternoon, then I would surmise that he is rather good shepherd for his flock.  Other bishops may do the same thing, but I would be rather surprised if many of them did - it is just something that is so unexpected by us laity.

Of course, the game got rained out last night.  But the Cavs were clinching against the Wizards and the bars were abuzz.  It’s hard to have a bad time when a town’s sports team is winning in the playoffs (and yes I was jealous - a Cincinnati pro team hasn’t won any playoff game since 1995).

This morning, I got my butt out of bed and went to 7:15 Mass.  Got back to the hotel for breakfast and then started home.  It was a rather good 20 hours by the Lake - and that’s saying a lot coming from this born and bred Cincinnati boy.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Fr. Kyle Schnippel on May 3, 2008 3:33 pm

    Great story and wonderful illustration of how God is in charge of our lives, eh?

    Archbishop Pilarczyk regularly has Mass and Confessions at St. Louis Church in downtown Cincinnati. Usually it is the 12:10, but sometimes the earlier Mass.

    From others, I’ve heard he is a good confessor, and he celebrates the daily Mass with the reverence it deserves. Stop by your next trip downtown.

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