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The Saint Ignatius High School Band Program has been named a recipient of the John J. Adams Scholarship, a grant that will provide $10,000 for new instruments to support our student musicians.

The scholarship honors the late John J. Adams (1952–2023), a Cleveland legend best known as the devoted baseball fan who brought his bass drum to Cleveland Stadium and Progressive Field for nearly five decades. From 1973 until his passing, Adams became the heartbeat of Cleveland baseball—his steady rhythm echoing through thousands of games and generations of fans.

But as the scholarship’s name reminds us, John’s legacy is more than a drum.

The John J. Adams Scholarship Fund provides financial support to students, individuals, and organizations in the arts—including music, dance, and visual and industrial art. Through this fund, Adams’ lifelong dedication to creativity, community, and service continues to make a meaningful impact across Northeast Ohio.

Saint Ignatius Director of Instrumental Music Dan Hamlin shared that the Band Program plans to use some of this funding to purchase new percussion equipment—a fitting tribute to Adams’ legacy as a drummer and lifelong supporter of the arts.

The new instruments will enhance the musical experience for current and future Wildcats, ensuring that students have the tools they need to perform and grow as musicians.

John Adams’ beat may have filled Cleveland’s ballparks, but his rhythm lives on in the hearts of those who continue to make music and bring people together through the arts.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-6

Second Reading: St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 5:5-11 or 6:3-9

Gospel: According to St. John 6:37-40

Every few years the second of November falls on a Sunday and thus the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed – All Souls Day – gets the due it deserves. Coming a day after the Solemnity of All Saints, which is among the handful of holy days of obligation for Catholics in the United States, the celebration of All Souls Day doesn’t get much attention. And when it does, it tends to confuse rather than console.

The Solemnity of All Saints celebrates all of those who are now among the blessed in Heaven, and especially those who have not been officially declared as saints by the Church. Because of the non-specific nature of the feast, it is natural for us to place those we love on the list of those commemorated on All Saints Day.

That is all well and good, but then who are we commemorating on All Souls Day?

Officially, we are taking time out at the beginning of the month dedicated to those who have traditionally been called “our beloved dead” to remember those souls who are not yet in Heaven as they are in the process of cleansing known commonly as Purgatory. 

Over the past fifty years or so Purgatory has fallen on hard times. Many (if not most) Catholics believe that Vatican II “got rid of Purgatory” and that belief is fostered at many (if not most) funeral Masses where the deceased is eulogized with such vigor that it seems blasphemous to suggest that she or he is in Purgatory rather than Heaven.

Well, the tough truth is that Purgatory was, is, and always will be a dogmatic belief held by the Catholic Faith. Those who die in a state of grace are cleansed (purged) of the remaining effects of sin on their souls. The use of fire as the cleanser of choice is referenced by both St. Peter and St. Paul, and so traditionally theologians, following St. Peter, have spoken of the soul as akin to gold that’s tested in fire – “testing” being the process of applying high heat to gold to remove its impurities.

Those who are undergoing the process know that their testing will end with their entrance into the Kingdom of God, but while they are “in” Purgatory they desire and are in need of our prayers. Thus, the Catholic tradition of praying for those in Purgatory and also the liturgical feast of All Souls Day.

We are given this year a great gift by God in the fact that All Soulss Day is on a Sunday and therefore we are obliged to attend Mass to celebrate all of the faithful departed. This celebration offers us the opportunity to continue or to begin prayers for all of our beloved dead, especially those who we have mistakenly commemorated on Saturday at the All Saints Day Mass.

A.M.D.G.