We are still available in case of emergency.
Call the parish office:
440-943-2133

Visit our website: www.smmwillowick.org
May our Lord grant us the grace never to forget that even when the storms rage, He is with us in the boat!
Calming the Storm

Hi everyone! Today is the last day to register for your BBQ Chicken Dinner. So far we have had a tremendous response. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly appreciate your support, and if you ordered a dinner, I hope you enjoy your meal.
You may recall back on September 23, 2018, we did a Walk-a-Thon to raise money to help fund the completion of the Kaminiski Room. We had a beautiful day for our Walk-a-Thon. We are going to do another Walk-a-Thon on Sunday, August 9, so I am hoping we are blessed with beautiful weather again. Once again, Marcy Andrews is our Chairperson for this event. Stay tuned for more information. With all the restrictions due to COVID-19, a Walk-a-Thon is an event where you can easily maintain social distancing and it is outdoors. Plus, we can all get some exercise. Speaking of the outdoors, I sure hope we have good weather this Saturday evening, for our outdoor parking lot Mass at 4:30pm.

Speaking of weather, in our Gospel for today, Matthew 8:23-27 , we hear about Jesus calming the storm. If Jesus wanted to get some solid “z’s” why didn’t our Lord prevent the storm from happening at all? He could have slept without being awakened. He didn’t have to let that storm come up as they were making their way across the sea. Jesus shows very clearly in this passage that He has power over the forces of nature. Why didn’t he exercise that power ahead of time? Maybe Jesus permitted this storm so that through the experience, and through what He would show the Apostles in that moment, they would come to know our Lord better. They were pretty amazed at what they saw. They’re like, “who is this guy?” Maybe that’s why Jesus allows storms in our life. Through the experience we come to know our Lord better and love Him more deeply. It's interesting too, that Jesus must have known the storm was coming and still got into the boat. So when we see those storms in our life coming, guess who is getting into the boat with us? This Gospel passage is a nice reminder of Jesus’ divinity and His desire to stay close to us, even when storms of life come our way. Our Lord says, “I’m in the same boat with you!” God bless and stay safe!

In Christ,

Fr. Steve Breck
Pastor, St. Mary Magdalene