Welcome Home: A New Life in Christ at Easter
Rev. Charles Strebler • April 25, 2026
“Home is a place you are familiar with, a place where you know people and people know you. These are aspects of what people normally mean when we say ‘welcome home.’ But Catholics mean something different. For Catholics, home is not about where you have been necessarily, but rather about where you really belong.”—Keith Nester, The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism: Your First Year in the Church
Dear Parishioners:
You may have been hearing that this Easter record numbers of people became Catholic, whether through receiving baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, or full reception for those previously baptized, which usually involves the reception of confirmation and Eucharist. For those needing baptism, the Church gives us the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, OCIA (formerly RCIA, the R being Rite), which lays out the path and rites for those seeking baptism.
Here at Holy Spirit, Jen Jaworski was baptized into Christ and his Catholic Church on Holy Saturday. She reflects on that experience:
I officially became part of the Church on Easter Saturday. I had never attended the Easter Vigil before. The experience of entering the dark church following the Paschal candle was breathtaking. The church was beautiful for the Mass. I experienced multiple emotions during the ceremony. Excitement about officially joining the church and being baptized. A bit of nervousness for the process of the ceremony. Everyone was very welcoming and kind. I am excited to join the community and share Catholic traditions and teachings with my family.
Her journey was not one she took alone. The whole parish community walked with her on her path to the font of baptism. You may have been at one of the Masses where she became a catechumen, was sent to the bishop to begin her immediate preparation as a candidate for reception, the three Scrutinies, or when she received the Our Father and/or the Creed.
I would like to thank Holy Spirit Catholic Church for the OCIA process I recently completed. I officially became part of the Church on Easter Saturday. I have attended Mass for years and knew that I would like to officially join the Church when the time felt right. My family moved to Avon Lake in September 2025 and we started attending Holy Spirit. The Church and Father Strebler made my entire family feel welcomed and a part of the community. It felt like the right time and the right Church so I reached out to the program coordinator Chris Hoag. We met shortly after and he explained the program to me and the steps it would take to join the church. Chris Hoag and Father Strebler were extremely kind and helpful on the journey of joining the Catholic Church. My mother-in-law Rose Jaworski was by my side the entire time and agreed to be my sponsor. We met with Chris multiple times and completed an online educational portion of the program separately. There were multiple steps to the program but I never was alone and always had guidance and preparation which made every step very straightforward. I am grateful for everyone that helped me with the process and I’m more than happy to discuss the program with anyone that has interest.
WELCOME TO THE CHURCH, JEN!
This is a moment for the Catholic Church. For many reasons, including having an American pope, Pope Leo XIV, there is an interest in people joining the Catholic Church. Maybe you know someone, maybe it is someone in your family, maybe it is you. I invite anyone interested in becoming Catholic to speak with Dr. Chris Hoag, Holy Spirit’s Parish Catechetical Leader (440-933-3777 x 203; choag@hspal.org
). Chris will meet with you and formulate the path that you will take to the Catholic Church. For those already baptized in another Christian denomination, reception may come sooner than next year’s Easter Vigil. I encourage you ASAP to reach out to Chris or give his contact information to someone who might be interested in joining the Catholic Church.
Sincerely,
Rev. Charles J. Strebler
Pastor
“Yeah, two yutes.” “What is a yute?”—My Cousin Vinny. Dear Parishioners: Oh, excuse me, your honor: two youths groups. Yes, we have two youth groups in Avon Lake shared between the parishes of Holy Spirit and St. Joseph: sALt and sALt Lite. sALt, the high school group meets on Sundays from 6:15pm until 8:15pm at Holy Spirit in Fr. Mosovsky Hall. You may have seen that room in the hall on southeast corner by the maintenance office that is the youth group space. The group’s activities range from gathering around the fire pit in our parking lot to local diocesan gatherings and even national youth rallies. Holy Spirit Confirmation students can go from the Confirmation sessions to sALt. sALt Lite (grades 6 through 8) meets Sundays from 6pm until 8pm at St. Joseph in their Social Hall. People can use this link to sign up for the youth group newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/0BIFtpm Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard on me because flying the Enterprise for seven years in Star Trek and sitting in Cerebro in X-men has led people to believe that I know what I'm talking about. But I'm still trying to work out how to operate the air conditioning unit on my car.”—Patrick Stewart Dear Parishioners: I don’t think I have to tell you that we have had some issues with the church air-conditioning recently—unless you only attend the Saturday, 5 pm Mass, for some reason the system works on Saturday, but not on Sunday. I expect that this is a concern for you, the parishioners. It is very much a concern for me. I have said that a couple of weeks ago when we had the heavy rains and the A/C was not working well, “The parishioners were getting soaked from the outside, I was getting soaked from the inside, sweating under my vestments.” I am very frustrated with the situation. While the A/C unit is just a couple years old, the control system is much older. However, the real problem with the control system is that we cannot fully access it. Jim Allen took the access codes for the system to his grave. We cannot at this time adjust the times of the system and other issues. This may be one of the issues with the current system. We found out last Sunday that in addition to the A/C, the boiler was running. We have had several experts look at the system and try to figure out how to access it to take control of it. There has been no success. I have instructed Tony Smith, our Multi-Campus Facility Director, that getting these controls sorted out is a priority. This is one of those “what it costs—it costs” situations. We need to get a system that we can set, reset, and control. I ask for your patience—which is ironic since mine is almost gone—as we try to get this situation sorted out. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for severing the unity of the Church.”— Saint Augustine Dear Parishioners: You may have been hearing about the fuss in the Catholic Church in the last couple of weeks and are wondering what it is all about. There is group in the Church called The Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X ( SSPX ). They follow the teachings of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected parts of the Second Vatican Council, including the current formulation of the Mass. The group ordained four men as bishops on July 1 st without a papal mandate—the authorization of the pope. This was after several warnings from the Vatican and Pope Leo not to do so. This is an act of schism, which is defined by the Church as “the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” Because of the seriousness of the act, any bishop ordained without a papal mandate and the bishops ordaining him are automatically excommunicated for doing so. The Vatican declared the excommunication, which makes the situation even more serious because it sets even stricter penalties on the one excommunicated. This is being portrayed as being merely about the old Mass in Latin, the Tridentine Liturgy, but is about much more. If you have seen any social media about the situation, many of the Lefebvrists followers do not acknowledge Pope Leo as a legitimate pope and reject the Second Vatican Council. Somehow, they know better than the popes, the bishops, and the Church. They are right and everyone else—the vast majority of Catholics—are wrong. Lefebvrists made the choice to follow their course. Now they face the consequences. A note about excommunication since the word is bandied about these days with little precision. Excommunication is seen as the Church’s hammer for punishment. This is incorrect. Excommunication is called by the Church a medicinal penalty. It is meant to make it clear to the offender that a line has been crossed that should not be crossed. Excommunication is a call to repentance and return and reconciliation. It is not meant as a punishment but as a corrective. People get it wrong when they ask, “Why were not the priests who abused children excommunicated?” That situation did not call for a medicinal penalty, it called for an expiatory penalty, which is not about reform but are punitive. Such penalties can include being removed from the clerical state, which was done to many of the abusers, or a life of prayer and penance which others received. Another common misconception is that excommunication puts a person “outside” the Church. This is not the case. Though the relationship with the Church is strained, it is never broken. It is like sending a child who disrupted Thanksgiving Dinner to his or her room. That child is not permitted to be with the family but is not considered not to be a part of the family anymore. When the child considers the bad choices and actions made and apologizes, the child is welcomed back to the table. This situation with the Lefebvrists is a wound in the Body of Christ. We pray for the unity of the Church, in all those separated from her that the “High Priestly” of Christ on the night of the last supper, “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
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“Jesus was loyal to his apostles, with full knowledge of their cowardice.”— Mother Angelica Dear Parishioners: I was asked to share the “letter” I used to start my homily last weekend. From : Jordan Management Consultants Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fee. It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely, Jordan Management Consultants Eating Problems for Breakfast by Tim Hansel, Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 194-195 Remember the point of the homily: If God can choose these people, He can choose us! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“The council now beginning rises in the Church like the daybreak, a forerunner of most splendid light.”—Pope John XXIII Dear Parishioners: After several sessions of prayerful discernment, there is a new Parish Pastoral Council at Holy Spirit! The members are: Larry Maloney, Chairman Todd Sabath, Vice-Chairman Andrew Renacci, Secretary Mike Breton Dave Fritzman Ray Frank Susie Graehling Jen Luca Mark Seidel And from the Parish Staff: Chris Hoag Nathan Hetrick As I said before, the members of the HSPPC are more akin to a president’s cabinet than they are to elected representatives in a legislature. While they do express the tenor of the parishioners, their role is not to be the speaking voice of a single parishioner or a small group of parishioners. If a parishioner brings a concern to a member of the HSPPC, the member will pass along the concern but will share with me the name of the person asking. As Christians and mature adults, we take responsibility for our words and do not hide behind anonymity. I have said several times before: If you have a concern about something in the parish, talking to your friends and neighbors will not accomplish anything because they have no ability to effect change; it then is just gossip and is not productive. If you have a question, concern, or complaint about the parish or an aspect of it, please bring it to me . I would be happy to sit down with you for some conversation. You can reach me via the parish office 440-933-3777 or email at cstrebler@hspal.org . Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
“And since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart – an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.”—Pope Leo XIII, from the encyclical Annum Sacrum (1899) Dear Parishioners: To mark the 250 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, celebrated as the birthday of this nation, the bishops of the United States are consecrating The United States to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the image and symbol of God’s love for us incarnate in Jesus Christ. Devotion to Jesus’ Heart has deep roots in the faith of the Church. It was to Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) that Christ appeared showing her His heart and asking for devotion be given and reparation be paid to His Heart. In these appearances, Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary, "Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify its love.” Archbishop Alexander Sample says that the reason for the consecration of the United States, “would be to place our nation under the kingship of Christ.” He also said, “Yes, we are a democratic republic; we are a civil society — but no civil society can long endure without being under the kingship of Christ himself; to place ourselves under God’s providence and care.” He adds, “So at this time, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s to remind all of us that — whatever civil government we might have — we are all under, ultimately, the kingship of Christ.” This consecration will take place on Thursday, June 11 while the bishops have their summer meeting in Orlando, FL. That day is the eve of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You are welcome to come and join in prayer at Mass on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, June 12, at 8:30 am in the chapel. As the bishops consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart, let each of us as individuals and families do so as well. I share the USCCB’s prayer: O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: You know the longings of our hearts, and you desire that we enjoy friendship with you. From your pierced side, you have poured out the wellspring of life, for which we thirst. Your heart burns with a love for all people to return to a right relationship with you. We celebrate the abundant gifts you have given this nation, founded on the self-evident truths that our Creator has endowed all people with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We make reparation for the offenses against you and against human dignity that have taken place in this nation. May our hearts be united to yours, so that our families and communities enjoy peace and happiness; may broken relationships be reconciled, injustices repaired, and the wounds of our land be healed. May your holy Catholic Church serve as a sign, pointing all people to your infinite love. O Desire of Nations and Center of History, we ask you to bless these United States of America. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
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“The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector…to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.”—St. Cyril of Jerusalem Dear Parishioners: Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on something when we pray Eucharistic Prayer III at Mass on Sundays. When we come to the lines, May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs ( with Saint N.: the Saint of the day or Patron Saint ) and with all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help, we don’t have a patron saint to include. For many years, I was used to mentioning St. John the Evangelist during the time I lived at the Cathedral. If you hear me mentioning a saint at this point in the prayer, it is acknowledging the saint or saints celebrated on that date, though it is the Mass of Sunday. A parish’s patron saint’s day is celebrated as a Solemnity, regardless of its liturgical rank. It can also be moved in Ordinary Time from a weekday to a Sunday for a special celebration. For Holy Spirit Parish, today, Pentecost, is our patronal feast. It is always on Sunday and is already a solemnity. I would argue that our patronal feast day is the second most important day of the Church year, after Easter Sunday. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. The sending of the Holy Spirit changed the many disciples into the one Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit was sent to enliven and invigorate the Church. It keeps the Church in Truth. What a great patron! The many people: men and women; young and old; working and retired; single and married and families; Democrat and Republican; are all part of this one parish. The Holy Spirit enlivens our parish and invigorates us for the spreading of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God in our part of Avon Lake and into the world. In this parish we encounter Jesus Christ, The Truth, and from here proclaim Him to the world. The Holy Spirit is not a saint but the sanctifier. Not a human person, but the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit might not be mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer with saints, but is active in the same prayer, doing the work of the prayer, making the bread and wine in the Body and Blood of Jesus. As far as patrons go, The Holy Spirit is a pretty good one. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor
