When it was determined a parish family name was needed to describe our new Beacons of Light family more, we all wondered... Can we? How will we? Who will dream the name we will all learn to love as a parish family?
 
Well, “yes, we can”, “together we will”, and “our dreamer gave us a name”.

The Process

Confirmation #2 | Fr. Brian, Pastor
Monday following holiday weekend. Sarah spoke with Fr. Brian about the “coincidental” prayer card story. Fr. Brian added that his grandmother attended the apparitions of Our Lady of Light in Cincinnati back in the 90’s.

“My grandmother went to Falmouth, KY multiple times. On the night of the purported apparition, she came back with a picture that she took. I still remember those pictures. They had struck me because I still remember seeing what seemed to look like a form of the Blessed Mother. She would also go to the Holy Spirit Center every year for the annual Mass with those who also went to the purported apparitions.  The last one I remember that she went to was during the first weekend I was in seminary in 2007.  I went with her that time as well.” 

Since the announcement of the parish family name, several parishioners & staff have come forward with their own personal story of previously observing, reading, or hearing of Our Lady of Light. 

Private revelation is not required to be believed.  Pope Francis said, “A prophet, brothers and sisters, is each one of us.  A prophet is he who, by virtue of baptism, helps others read the present under the action of the Holy Spirit," which helps people "understand God's plans and align yourselves" with them.  And clearly the Holy Spirit visited the review team when choosing the name submitted by only one person.  The Holy Spirit’s guidance, through each one of us, pointed us to the most perfect messenger from God…Our Blessed Mother, resulting in a most wonderful parish family name…Our Lady of Light Family of Parishes.

Come, Holy Spirit, and continue to fill the hearts of our family of parishes as we look to Our Mother to guide us and pray for us as the “Our Lady of Light” family of parishes, to forever rejoice in the love of Jesus, our Everlasting Light.  Amen.

And that is ‘what’s in a name’!

It isn't everyday that you find someone with a commitment to the inclusion of persons with disabilities as strong as Noelle Collis-DeVito's. From volunteering with youth programs and assisting students with disabilities to developing an office at the Archdiocesan level dedicated to serving persons with disabilities, Noelle found her passion for this community of believers with disabilities through years of working side-by-side and advocating for all to be included.

Currently in pursuit of her Master's Degree in Pastoral Ministry with a certificate in Disability and Ministry, Noelle fondly remembers the start of her ministry journey as a volunteer for the youth ministry program at St. Francis of Assisi in the early 2000s. At the time, she was working on her Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies, and upon graduation she accepted the position of High School Youth Ministry Coordinator at St. Francis of Assisi. When her second child was born, Noelle made the decision to stay home with her children, but continued to share her gifts with the Church through parish missions, conferences, retreats and volunteering. 

In 2018, after her children were comfortable settled into school, Noelle accepted a position with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in the Respect Life Ministries. There, she worked to establish the Office for Persons with Disabilities. Today, Noelle works for the University of Dayton in the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives where she is developing curriculum for adult learners surrounding catechesis. 

Noelle Collis-DeVito's commitment to including those with disabilities is clearly expressed through her impressive resume of leadership in the field. In addition to her position at the University of Dayton, she serves on the Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. She is also a national speaker and writer on the topics of sensory-friendly Mass, adaptive catechesis, and multi-sensory learning for accessible classroom. 

Noelle is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Pastoral Ministry with a certificate in Disability and Ministry. For her practicum, Noelle  offered an integrative program over the summer for families at Our Lady of Light centered around the Eucharistic Revival. Inspired by those living with disabilities within her own community, Noelle wanted to make a difference for those with disabilities within the Our Lady of Light Family by fulling integrating those with developmental and learning disabilities with the full Body of Christ. She modeled her practicum to allow full families to encounter the Eucharist through integration of diverse considerations, including multiple-intelligence learning theory, sensory-oriented experiences, a family model approach and a Montessori feel, with the hope that the program would be reproducible and offer best practices for parishes who are exploring solutions for new catechetical approaches.

Overseeing this program energized and revitalized Noelle's faith as she witnessed how the Eucharist is seen through the eyes of children learning about Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. How wonderful it would be to understand how deeply and truly Jesus loves you for the first time all over again.

Luckily, we have that opportunity each week at the Mass. Each week we relive the Last Supper together. Just as Jesus gathered with His disciples around the table, told stories and broke bread, we too gather around the altar, tell stories from the old and new testaments and receive Jesus in the Eucharist. If you've felt stuck in a period of repetition and going with the motions at Mass, let this weekend be a fresh start. At Mass this weekend, open your eyes and your heart and understand how deeply our Father in Heaven loves you.

Last week I watched two documentaries.  The first was the documentary on Ulysses S. Grant called Grant.  The second was the documentary on Abraham Lincoln called Lincoln.  They could have been more imaginative about naming them.
 
Grant and Lincoln are polar opposites of each other.  Both came from poor backgrounds but one was an academic and one was a hard worker and confident in his skills and courage.  Lincoln read Shakespeare, the King James Bible, and all the great English literature.  He also read Euclid and Greek philosophers.  He taught himself to read by reading these books. U.S. Grant read what he had to read.
 
Yet, they both learned whatever they could to perfect their craft and their careers.  Lincoln was about politics, and Grant was about war.  Yet, they both knew that they must apply themselves in order to understand their craft and careers.
 
Faith is no different.  We must apply ourselves to learn about our faith. We also must apply ourselves to journey to the heart of God.  
 
St. Anselm of Canterbury said “Fides quarens intellectum.”  This means "Faith seeking understanding.”  This means that faith is the gift given to us by God so that we may come to understand the truth of God.  
 
St. Augustine once said “Credo ut intelligam.”  This means “I believe so that I may understand.”  This means that my belief in God helps me to understand the truth of God and what He has created. 
 
Both St. Anselm and St. Augustine hit at the very center of our struggle of faith.  We struggle to understand because God is greater than what we can ever imagine.  We must learn about our faith and be knowledgeable about our faith.  God gives us the gift of faith not to find the depths of all the dogmas of our faith first, but to know the heart of God first.
 
It is most important to know the heart of God first.  The greatest theologians of the Church were not always the best educated, they were the ones who understood the heart God most personally.  St. Catherine of Siena was the greatest theologian of her time and was not educated.  She knew God so well because of how she prayed, and answered God’s voice.  Popes listened to her and she greatly influenced many because of how well she knew the heart of God.  St. Thomas Aquinas was visited by Jesus towards the end of his life and he said that all his writings were merely straw compared to the love of Jesus Christ standing in front of him.  
 
St. Augustine tried to understand God so much that he gave us the beginning of the teachings on grace, sacraments, mercy, the Trinity to name a few.  Yet, his greatest desire was to know God so well that he said “O Lord, my heart is restless until it rests in you (Confessions of Augustine).”
 
We struggle to understand the dogmas of our faith.  Dogmas are the revealed truth that God has revealed to us to be true.  Yet, we will never know the depths of them fully.  God desires that we know the depth of His love, mercy, and His loving heart.  The pinnacle of this relationship is at Mass receiving the Eucharist due to how Jesus Christ poured his heart out for us on the cross.  Through His heart we come to know the depths of the dogmas of the Church.
 
When we pray the Our Father, we pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is the heart of God.  Our journey is coming to know that heart of God who pours His love and mercy out for us.

​In Christ,
Fr. Brian