From the Rector’s Desk… 


On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we hear the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Apart from Jesus’ own rising from the tomb, this is probably the most dramatic miracle in the Bible. We learn that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. The number four was significant because some rabbinic teaching understood that the soul hovered around the body for three days before going to the realm of the dead. The point is that Lazarus is clearly dead and not simply comatose. There are many fascinating and perplexing aspects of this Gospel account. I find it always perplexing that Jesus waited two days before returning to Bethany after He heard the news that Lazarus was ill. This surprises us. We would think that Jesus would come immediately because we believe Him to be compassionate and merciful. Not only this, but, Jesus would have counted Martha, Mary and Lazarus as His closest friends outside the Twelve. For me, I am reminded of the story in Genesis in which God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. We are perplexed by this. There is a lesson to be learned, however. God moves in His own time and according to His purposes. We remember that Jesus always acted in concord with His Father. Both were one. We sometimes wonder why Jesus does not immediately answer our prayers. Perhaps Jesus is trying to build our faith in Him and put our trust in God’s providence. The favors that God bestows upon us in this life are met for our good but also to show forth His glory and love. They are also only shadows of the life the Lord has in store for us in the next life. Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead prepares us for believing in Jesus’ Resurrection and eventually our own. It is also reminds us of our need to be resurrected from spiritual death as a result of sin, both personal and original sin, which keeps us from the joys of eternal life. This is the greatest miracle in our life for which we should always give thanks to God. In this bulletin, is our Holy Week and Easter liturgy schedule. Note that we are also hearing Confessions on Monday of Holy Week from 4:00-7:00 p.m. The Chrism Mass is at St. Paul church this year. I want to also remind you that we have two parking lots for the Cathedral. The second lot is at the corner of Long and Fifth Streets. You can park there if the lot behind the Cathedral is full. Have a blessed week. Fr. Kitsmiller Summary of the Town Hall meeting, March 19, 2023 Members of the Transition team include: Fr. Kitsmiller, Fr. David Schalk, regional vicar, Mike Pirik, facilities manager for Cathedral Square and Holy Cross church, Mike Agriesti, business manager, St. Joseph Cathedral and Holy Cross Church, Cathedral parishioners: Ed Hueckel, Laura Battocletti, Lisa Emrich, and Holy Cross parishioners: Ronda Kelly, Susan Sloan and Andrea Morbitzer. Fr. Kitsmiller explained that this is to be a merger of Holy Cross parish with St. Joseph Cathedral parish, one parish with two sites. Holy Cross parish is to be suppressed and its geographical territory is to be subsumed into the Cathedral parish. An exact timeline for this reality has not been determined but it is hoped that it will be done by July. The church building of Holy Cross parish is to be maintained as a site of worship in the newly configurated parish. A new parish is not coming into being. Both buildings, St. Joseph Cathedral and Holy Cross, will keep their names. There is to be one parish, one pastor, one staff, one finance council and one pastoral council. Also, there is to be one bulletin and one website. The office will be at St. Joseph Cathedral. Sacramental preparation will be done at St. Joseph Cathedral. The transition team will be producing a mission statement and new moniker or branding that will capture the essence of the combined churches in the downtown area and the historical nature of each church. There was a desire to maintain some of the customs unique to each church and use them as a way to bring both communities together. These would include liturgies, social and community outreach. There was a reminder to remember the homebound and elderly parishioners of both parishes. People at the meeting also saw a great need to bring more people into the Church who are gravitating to downtown Columbus to live. A more sophisticated social media outreach was seen as a great need. Additionally, volunteers would be needed to welcome new people and to introduce them to the Catholic faith. This, of course, means more faith formation, discipleship formation for current parishioners, and training in prayer or the spiritual life. Approximately forty people attended the meeting