Archives for February 2021

February 19, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

Reverend John “Jack” E. Wessling died on Monday, February 15, 2021, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born on November 23, 1931 in Covington, Kentucky. He did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary, Cincinnati and received an M.A. in philosophy and theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Norwood. He was ordained a priest on August 15, 1958 at Sts. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Cincinnati by Archbishop Karl J. Alter at the end of 3rd year Theology and continued in the Seminary for 4th year Theology.

Father Wessling was appointed to his first assignment on June 8, 1959 to reside at Fenwick Club and supply assistance at Holy Spirit Chapel, Cincinnati, until taking up summer courses in Latin at Ohio State University, Columbus. Upon his return and effective on August 21, 1959, he was appointed Assistant at Holy Angels Parish, Cincinnati and to teach at Purcell High School. From 1960 – 1963, Father Wessling attended the University of Fribourg, Switzerland and earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. On August 29, 1963, he was appointed part-time teacher at St. Gregory Seminary and Assistant with residence at St. Mary Parish, Oxford. On June 17, 1964, he was appointed faculty member and Assistant Procurator at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. In December 1965, Father Wessling was assigned to weekend help at St. Aloysius on-the-Ohio, Cincinnati. On June 1, 1967, Father Wessling was relieved of his duties as Assistant Procurator at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and moved to St. Gregory Seminary to teach philosophy full-time. On August 17, 1976, he was appointed Vicarius Cooperator at St. Michael Parish, Sharonville. On March 10, 1988, Father Wessling was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Visitation Parish, Cincinnati for a term of six years. He was appointed to the College of Consultors for a four-year term from October 28, 1991 to November 3, 1995 and consecutively for another five-year term. On March 19, 1994, he was appointed to another six-year term as pastor of Our Lady of the Visitation Parish. Father Wessling retired from active ministry on July 1, 2002. After retirement, Father Wessling regularly provided assistance at Good Shepherd Parish, Cincinnati; he taught at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and at Ursuline Academy, Cincinnati.

Father Wessling donated his body to science, therefore, there will be no Reception of the Body or burial service.

Memorial Mass for PRIESTS and DEACONS ONLY: Friday, February 26, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at Good Shepherd Parish, 8815 E. Kemper Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249; (513-489-8815). Celebrant: Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr. Homilist: Reverend J. Thomas Fitzsimmons.

February 18, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

Reverend Carl A. Birarelli died on February 12, 2021, in Sarasota, Florida. He was born on October 30, 1926, in Everett, Massachusetts. He was ordained on June 15, 1958 for the Congregation of the Missionary of St. Charles as a member of the Scalibrini Fathers by Archbishop William O’Brien, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1974 – 1975 he was exclaustrated from the Scalibrini Fathers and began his appointments for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

On October 1, 1974, Father Birarelli was first appointed in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as Associate of St. Peter Parish in Dayton. On June 20, 1975, he was appointed Associate of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Cincinnati and part-time at the Marriage Tribunal. On August 8, 1977, he was appointed Associate at St. Bernard and Mother of Christ Parishes, Cincinnati and Chaplain at Children’s and Holmes Hospitals, while continuing on the Marriage Tribunal staff. On December 19, 1977, he was appointed full-time Chaplain at Jewish, Children’s, and Holmes Hospitals with residence at Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati and to continue as Associate at St. Bernard and Mother of Christ Parishes. Father Birarelli fully incardinated into the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on December 31, 1977. On June 28, 1978, he was appointed in-residence and Associate at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, while continuing as Chaplain at Jewish Hospital. On June 24, 1980, he was appointed full-time Associate at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. He was appointed Pastor of St. Clare Parish, Cincinnati on August 1, 1983, but only served there a brief time until February 28, 1984, when he was appointed Associate of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. On January 6, 1987, he was appointed Pastor of St. Matthew Parish, Norwood (Cincinnati). Father Birarelli retired from active ministry on August 31, 1994.

Visitation: Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park, 170 Honroe Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34232; (947-371-4962).

Mass of Christian Burial: Monday, February 22, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Angels Church, 12905 State Road 70 East, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202; (941-752-6770). Celebrant: Bishop R. Daniel Conlon.

Burial: immediately following Mass of Christian Burial, at Palms Memorial Park, 170 Honroe Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34232.

February 16, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, along with Catholics around the world, will observe Ash Wednesday, on February 17, 2021. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent in the Catholic Church in preparation for Easter (that will fall on April 4 this year). Ash Wednesday is an obligatory day of fasting (one full meal and two smaller meals that together do not add up to the one full meal) and abstinence from meat for Catholics.

This year the health situation caused by COVID-19 will have an impact on the means of distribution for ashes on Ash Wednesday. The Rite of the Church allows for the distribution of ashes on the forehead, common place in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, and the sprinkling of ashes over a person’s head. This year guidance was issued in mid-January from the Holy See that the global Catholic Church use the means of sprinkling ashes over the heads of the faithful.

The guidance issued from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to distribute ashes this year:

“The Priest says the prayer for blessing the ashes. He sprinkles the ashes with holy water, without saying anything. Then he addresses all those present and only once says the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal, applying it to all in general: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”, or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

The Priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places. The Priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything.

In addition, again this year the Archdiocese has launched a digital initiative to assist the faithful in their Lenten observance. We are inviting local Catholics to download The Ultimate Guide to Lent – an inspirational and helpful digital guide to having a life-changing Lent. The Guide was produced by The Catholic Telegraph, the media arm of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It includes information on traditional Lenten observances, local Lenten traditions, details about Holy Week, ways to observe Lent as a family, vegetarian recipes and even a playlist of songs for Lent.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 440,000 Catholics, and has the sixth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 110 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

February 9, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

Reverend Edward G. Trippel passed away on February 7, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born in Cincinnati on March 4, 1928. He did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary and studied theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West, Norwood, Ohio. He was ordained on May 28, 1955 at St. Monica Cathedral, Cincinnati, by Archbishop Karl J. Alter.

Father Trippel received his first assignment on June 16, 1955 as Assistant Chaplain of St. Joseph Orphanage, Cincinnati, and on August 23 of the same year, he was also appointed to teach at Elder High School, Cincinnati. On October 15, 1955, he was appointed Chaplain of St. George Hospital, Cincinnati and Assistant at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Cincinnati, with residence there, and to continue at Elder High School. On August 31, 1960, Father Trippel was appointed Assistant at Holy Name Parish and to teach full time at Purcell High School, Cincinnati. On August 28, 1962, he was appointed Assistant at St. Clare Parish and to teach at McAuley High School, Cincinnati. On August 25, 1964, he was appointed Assistant at St. Monica Parish, Cincinnati, and relieved of his duties at McAuley High School. On June 16, 1967, he was appointed Assistant at St. James of the Valley Parish, Wyoming (Cincinnati). On August 22, 1973, he was appointed Assistant at Guardian Angels Parish, Cincinnati. On August 27, 1975, Father Trippel was appointed Administrator (Vicarius Substitutus) at Holy Redeemer Parish, New Bremen. On January 7, 1976, he was appointed Pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Hamilton. On June 1, 1990, he was appointed Administrator of Sacred Heart Parish, Dayton and appointed Pastor on January 30, 1991. Father Trippel retired from active ministry on July 1, 1996.

Reception of the Body: Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. at Annunciation Church, 3547 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220; (513-861-1295.) Celebrant and Homilist: Reverend Todd O. Grogan. Visitation until 7:00 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial: Friday, February 12, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at Annunciation Church. Celebrant: Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr. Homilist: Reverend William J. Dorrmann.

Burial: immediately following the Mass of Christian Burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 11000 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249. Celebrant: Reverend William J. Dorrmann.

February 1, 2021 by Jennifer Schack

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art,” St. Pope John Paul II writes in his Letter to Artists, issued on Easter Sunday, 1999. As you will read in this issue of The Catholic Telegraph, art and beauty have a unique power to evangelize.

An actor, playwright and poet, St. John Paul II takes a broad view of what he calls “the divine spark which is the artistic vocation.” He remarkably says that “all men and women are entrusted with the task of creating their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.”

In the earliest days of the Church, artists evoked Christ with symbolic images of fish, loaves, bread and the lamb. Art became more representational in the catacombs of Rome, often illustrating Jesus the Good Shepherd, as well as scenes from the Old and New Testaments. In the centuries since, St. John Paul II writes, “the biblical text has fired the imagination of painters, poets, musicians, playwrights and film-makers.”

The Bible itself is a literary masterwork, an entire library representing a whole panoply of literary genres – including poetry, songs, history and letters – in one volume. While that library was closed to all but the most educated for many centuries, visual art was not. As St. John Paul II notes, “in times when few could read or write, [artistic] representations of the Bible were a concrete mode of catechesis.”

Catechesis-by-art took place primarily in churches. Not only do stained-glass windows, statues and stations of the cross tell stories of our faith, now as then, so does the magnificent architecture of churches built from the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century onward. The striking architecture of many of our churches draws worshippers closer to God through its beauty.

Sacred music also draws us closer to God. Hymns have always been a part of Christian worship. “The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers,” writes St. John Paul II, “either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship. In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God.”

Together, music, architecture and representational art (paintings, statues, stained glass) help immerse and evangelize the faithful who are present in a church for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

And thanks to technology, those who are unable to fully participate in Mass in person can watch it from home. Now many of our parishes livestream services, providing the opportunity for spiritual communion. We were blessed to have this option when our parishes were closed because of the pandemic.

However, watching the Eucharistic celebration online or on television is not the same as participating in what Vatican II calls “the source and summit of the whole Christian life” (LG 11). Now that our churches have reopened with strong health safety protocols in place, I urge all Catholics who are not at particular risk for the coronavirus to return to weekly participation in Mass during the upcoming season of Lent – if you have not already done so.

May the 40 days of Lenten penitential waiting remind us that Christ is always with us in our suffering and prepare us for the joy of Easter.