Welcome to the St. Maximilian Kolbe question and answer page, "Ask Max".  Click on any blue "Ask Max" text to submit a question.  All questions must be of an informative nature and have a valid name or signature.  No anonymous e-mails or questions containing vulgar or demeaning language of a personal nature will be tolerated. 

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What are the parish boundaries?

On July 6th, 1989, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati established the territory of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish with these boundaries:

West
Beginning at the point where Liberty Fairfield Rd intersects Ohio Route 4, then south along Liberty Fairfield Road and the Fairfield-Union (Now West Chester) Township Line to Port Union Road.

South
East along Port Union Road to Ohio 747, then from the intersection of these two roads northeast along an airline to the intersection of Tylersville and Lesourdsville-West Chester Roads, said airline passing through Smith Road at the point where it turns due south toward Mills Road* and through Beckett Ridge Blvd at a point between Rollingwood Way and St. Andrews Drive, then east along Tylerville Road to Interstate Highway 75.

East
North along Interstate Highway 75 to Bethany Road

North
West along Bethany Road to Cincinnati-Dayton Road, then north along Cincinnati-Dayton Road to Princeton Road, then west along Princeton Road to Yankee Road, then north along Yankee Road to Millikin Road, then west along Millikin Road to Mauds-Hughes Road, then north along Mauds-Hughes Road to Kyles Station Road, then west along Kyles Station Road to Lesourdsville-West Chester Road, then north along Lesourdsville-West Chester Road to Ohio Route 4, then southwest along Ohio Route 4 to Liberty-Fairfield Road.

*Mills Road no longer exists; now a combination of Beckett Road, Union Centre Blvd and Lakota Drive

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish has many registered members who live outside of these boundaries. Please scroll down this page for a short commentary explaining why registering at a parish is important. For one example, our Ministry of Care is purposefully structured to include all registered parishioners regardless of geography. Please note that our St. Vincent de Paul Society does use these ‘official’ boundaries for their ministry’s work.

In previous years, parish boundaries were used to signify “feeder parishes” for Archdiocesan Catholic High Schools. The feeder parish designation has been eliminated; families are free to send their high school aged students to any parochial school without a financial penalty. Most Catholic elementary schools require parish registration as a prerequisite for admission. Since St. Maximilian Kolbe does not have an elementary school physically on our property, St. Gabriel Consolidated School serves the following parishes: St. Maximilian Kolbe (Liberty Township), St. John (West Chester), St. Matthias (Forest Park), St. Gabriel (Glendale), and St. Martin dePorres (Lincoln Heights).

My child is making their first holy communion this spring.  At the time my child was baptized, my husband and I chose two individuals who we thought would make good Godparents.  At this point, we were wondering if it is possible to change our child's godparents?  Both of my child's Godparents live out of state and we would like to select two individuals who have a strong catholic faith in their lives and who can share my child's religious experiences( reconciliation, confirmation etc..) with them.

Godparents cannot be changed. You can certainly name two individuals to be official Christian witnesses for your son (although it will not be recorded on his records). When he is confirmed he will choose a sponsor who will be recorded in sacramental records. That sponsor can be someone who you have chosen to be a Christian witness through First Reconciliation and First Communion. You may even want to invite these persons over for a special dinner and family prayer service affirming they are the special witnesses of the Catholic faith for your son.   Reprinted with permission, Colleen Gerke, Director of Faith Formation

I have often wondered why at St. Max hand bells are not rung during the Consecration.  This was common practice in my church when I was a child, and still is used in other churches today. 

This common practice of ringing bells at the time of elevation during the Eucharistic Prayer was introduced out of need in the 13th century since the language used for mass was Latin and not the language of the assembly.  Also, the priest’s back was to the people and they could not see the elevation to know that the consecration had occurred. Since the ringing of bells no longer serves the purpose for which it was intended, it is purely optional.  For a more detailed answer see the following article: http://www.rpinet.com/ml/2502bi1.html .

I have recently been asked to be a Godparent but am not considered a member a certain Catholic church. I attend church but I like to go to different churches in the community. Is that a problem?

So you want to be a Godparent!!!  To be a Godparent one must be a practicing Catholic. Practicing Catholic in this sense means:

1. One who attends Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days
2. Believes and upholds all the teachings of the Church - not just the one he/she personally likes
3. Has been Confirmed
4. Is at least 16 years old

So, the question: Does someone have to attend a specific parish to be eligible to be a Godparent?  The answer is no.  A person does not have to belong to a particular parish, as long as the person attends Mass every Sunday!  However, attending non-Catholic services as a substitute for Mass contradicts both 1 and 2 from the list above.  The requirements for Godparents are set for the well-being of the child. A Godparent is one who can teach the child the Catholic faith through words and example.  Reprinted with permission, Father Tom McCarthy

From a pastoral perspective, only you can truly answer your question, “Can I be a godparent and not a member of a specific Catholic Church?” We are all called to be on a mission, the mission of Jesus Christ to make the Kingdom of God a reality here and now and in the future. Participation in mass is our coming together as a community, recognizing that we are not there yet and need God’s as well as each other's support in bringing the Kingdom of God to a full reality in our daily lives. We admit our short comings together, we listen and strive to gain insight and understanding from God’s words in sacred scripture together, we recommit ourselves for another week as we bring the offering of bread, wine, money and ourselves forward to be changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. We do all this weekly so that we can be sent out again, renewed weekly, into the mission field to bring about the Kingdom of God. Can you do that by attending several different Catholic Churches? I personally need to be surrounded by friends and neighbors who share some of the same disappoints and struggles that I have and persons that I on occasion toil with to bring about the Kingdom of God, as well as friends who challenge me to live my commitment. In addition, some parishes require a letter from the parish you are registered at stating that you are an active member of the Church community enabling you to be a strong witness of the faith as a godparent.  Reprinted with permission, Colleen Gerke

Please read below to learn more about the benefits of registering in a specific parish.

Why do we need to be registered in the parish?

Aside from the "dreaded" contribution envelopes, parish registration is a vital tool for communication with parishioners.  In order to keep the members of the parish informed, the Pastor often uses this database to send out letters and correspondence of importance regarding the parish and local diocese.  The database is often used by parish staff for planning programs, or for follow-up to specific groups with particular interests and/or needs.  Confidentiality is also very important.  Only the pastor (or designated person) will have access to the most sensitive information regarding members and/or their families.  Also, some parishes require verification that a person who has been asked to be a Godparent or Confirmation sponsor is a participating member in good standing at a Catholic Church.  Some Catholic schools require active membership in a parish to be a condition of enrollment.  Registration with a specific Catholic parish can easily accommodate those requests.  - Walk Humbly with God, September 2006, Volume 1, Issue 1

With the discussion of promoting religious vocations during this week, I was wondering if the parish has a prayer that we could utilize for our family regarding prayer for vocations especially religious.

Beginning today, a new section of our parish library will be devoted to prayers.  Our online Monsignor Whalen Library now has a comprehensive listing of audio and printed prayers and homilies for the use of our parishioners.  Look and listen for our upcoming addition of audio recordings of the Stations of the Cross.

I was wondering if the god parents that we pick for our child's baptism must be of Roman Catholic faith or can they be of another Christian faith?

Thank you for your question. It is a common one that has a reasonable answer.

The first step to having your child baptized is to register at the parish.  Next, you would want to contact our pastoral associate, Carol Heuser. She can be reached at our parish office, 777-4322. Carol will discuss the process of baptismal preparation here at St. Max and how the scheduling of dates.

Now for your specific question: Must godparents be of the Catholic faith?  Godparents are to be firm believers, ready, willing and able to assist the newly baptized on their journey of Christian faith. Only one godparent is needed and they must be a Catholic who is sixteen years old, has received the Sacrament of Confirmation and lives a life in harmony with the faith.  If two sponsors are desired, one must be a man and the other a woman.  A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic, Christian faith may be admitted as a Christian witness together with a Catholic who would be the godparent.

Short answer, you would need to choose one person who is a Catholic and has been confirmed to be a godparent. You may then choose another person, if you wish, of another Christian faith tradition (of the opposite sex from the godparent) to be a Christian witness to the baptism. Or you can simply choose two Catholic godparents.  Reprinted with permission, Father Paul Ruwe

Why don't the priests move to other sections of the church when distributing communion?

The important part of the flow of the Communion procession is that it always be directed toward the altar. In smaller churches with smaller congregations, all would come forward down the center aisle to receive from the priest in the same location (receiving at the communion rail being operative before the liturgical reforms of Vatican II).

The change of church configurations and the increase in the size of congregations linked with a reduction in the number of priests available to distribute the Eucharist has necessitated the use of Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist to insure a timely flow of distribution to all assembled.

Is it absolutely necessary for the priest to be in the same location?  No.
Yet it makes sense for us here, liturgically and logistically, for the presiding priest to assume one of two front center locations. Liturgically, the ritual flow toward to altar in it nearest proximity is held in tact.
Logistically, it means we do not have to think about where we are going every week, and more importantly, the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist do not have to worry about where we are heading, and for that reason where they are supposed to go. This is especially important with the large number of extraordinary ministers in use here at St. Max and the frequency with which substitutes are utilized.

Fr. Terry and Fr. Tom both attempt to switch sides of the center aisle from time to time. They make this known to the Mass captain. And this still causes confusion.

At that point of the celebration, what is most important is our unity, not who receives from whom, and the way in which we as a parish strive to allow the communion procession to flow in a timely fashion with due reverence in line with the liturgical norms of the Church.

Can another priest at another parish do it another way? Sure. But the decision would be based on the space, the flow, and the way he interprets the best pastoral sense liturgically for the parish.  Reprinted with permission, Father Paul Ruwe