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Tag: Anniversary

Around the Parish – August 25, 2024

Thank you to all who have signed up to volunteer for the Spaghetti Dinner. A Spaghetti Dinner Planning Meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, August 29, at 6pm in the Parish Conference Room. Please plan on attending if you are able to help us with the planning process. If you haven’t signed up to help yet, it’s not too late! We will need help with the event, so please consider signing up!

Next Weekend, August 31 & September 1, we will be hosting a ministry fair with refreshments in Gallagher Hall. This is an opportunity to see what sorts of ministries we have available in our church and consider participating in some of the great ways we work together as a church family.

Next Sunday, our Sunday Mass Schedule will return to 8am and 11am. Please mark your calendar!

It may seem like a long time off, but already we are thinking about #iGiveCatholic! This year for #iGiveCatholic, we will be bringing some much needed improvements to Gallagher Hall. In a few short weeks, new windows and a new stage curtain will be installed in Gallagher Hall. To cover the costs of these updates, we will be utilizing #iGiveCatholic campaign. Any donation toward these updates will have plaques made in memory of, donated by, or in thanksgiving for and will be put either on/by the windows, or a plaque for the stage curtain by the curtain itself. More information is available on our website, and will become available in the coming weeks.

Although no one wants to think about it, winter is just around the corner…not one of my favorite thoughts…BUT, with winter coming, we are AGAIN in need of some help with the white stuff that comes with winter. We are in need of someone to shovel the sidewalks of church. If you are able and willing to assist us with this task, please contact the parish office as soon as possible! This IS a paying position!

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

Optimism won’t change the situation; but optimism will change how the situation feels. By doing what you love, you awake and inspire the hearts of others. You can be a good person with a kind heart and still say no.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy


The Power and Tradition of Mass Intentions

The Mass is considered the greatest prayer of intercession in the Church. This is because it is the perfect offering of Christ to the Father, making present the Paschal Mystery of His death and resurrection. Traditionally, a Priest may be requested to offer a Mass for a specific intention, even if the requester cannot be physically present.

Offering Masses for the Deceased:

Having a Mass offered for a deceased person is an ancient and commendable practice. A Mass is offered to pray for the departed, that they may find peace in heaven. Since each Mass holds infinite value, requesting one or several Masses is of tremendous benefit to the person prayed for, as well as their family, who can take comfort in knowing that their intention is united with the prayers of the Church.

The Mass: Center of Christian Life:

Every Mass is a precious gift from God. It is the center of the Church’s life, known as “the source and summit of the Christian life,” because in the celebration of the Mass, we are brought back to Jesus’ Last Supper, the first Mass. We consciously recall the love of God poured out for us through the life, death, and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ. At each Mass, all the intentions of God’s people, both living and deceased, are included. As Pope Paul VI noted in his motu proprio “Firma in Traditione,” the faithful, moved by an ecclesial and religious sense, join their own sacrifices to the Eucharistic sacrifice, participating more intensely and supporting the Church’s needs, especially its ministers.

Requesting a Mass Intention:

Anyone may request a Mass Intention for a living person, a deceased person, members of a family, or a special intention appropriate to the celebration of the Eucharist, such as World Peace, Vocations, or Respect for Life. The Church allows only one intention per Mass.

Offering a Mass Stipend:

The normal stipend offering for a Mass is $10. However, a Mass Offering can be more or less than the suggested amount, depending on the financial position of the person requesting the Mass. Envelopes for Mass intention requests are available at the entrances of the church. These envelopes can be placed in the collection basket or returned to the parish office. The requester may also ask for a card to be sent to notify someone that a Mass Intention has been requested (one card per intention). Please note that the name of the person(s) requesting the Mass is not announced.

Around the Parish – August 18, 2024

This Monday and Tuesday, August 19-20, our upper parking lot will undergo milling and resurfacing. As a result, the blacktop will be completely off-limits for the entire week. Please refrain from parking or walking on the lot during this time. If you need to contact the office, kindly do so via phone or email throughout the week. We anticipate reopening the parking lot in time for the weekend Masses, pending the final approval. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Sweet on their 60 wedding anniversary and Mr. & Mrs. Sajewski on their 40 wedding anniversary. They participated in the special Diocesan Wedding Anniversary mass at Beloved Disciple Church.

Next weekend, I will be away for my cousin’s wedding in Buffalo. Father Ray will be with us next weekend for all the masses. Please make him feel welcome!

As I mentioned last weekend at all the masses, we are considering holding a spaghetti dinner on Sunday, October 27. To be able to have this dinner, we will need committed volunteers, especially with the events of the day. Once we collect all the data for volunteers, we will make a determination if we can go forward, and then we will schedule a meeting to make plans. Please consider signing up to help by either signing up at the entrances of church, or by contacting the office as soon as possible.

On Saturday and Sunday, August 31 & September 1, we will be hosting a ministry fair with refreshments in Gallagher Hall. This is an opportunity to see what sorts of ministries we have available in our church and consider participating in some of the great ways we work together as a church family. More information will be shared over the coming weeks, so look for updates soon!

With the school year on the horizon, our Sunday Mass Schedule will return to 8am and 11am on Sunday September 1. Please mark your calendar!

In this weekend’s bulletin is the Faith Formation Schedule for the year. Please make note of the Family Faith Formation days where the whole parish is invited to participate. I hope to see you there.

Although no one wants to think about it, winter is just around the corner…not one of my favorite thoughts…BUT, with winter coming, we are AGAIN in need of some help with the white stuff that comes with winter. We are in need of someone to shovel the sidewalks of church. If you are able and willing to assist us with this task, please contact the parish office as soon as possible! This IS a paying position!

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

May your home always be too small to hold all of your friends. If you want to fly, give God everything that weighs your heart down.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy


The Power and Tradition of Mass Intentions

The Mass is considered the greatest prayer of intercession in the Church. This is because it is the perfect offering of Christ to the Father, making present the Paschal Mystery of His death and resurrection. Traditionally, a Priest may be requested to offer a Mass for a specific intention, even if the requester cannot be physically present.

Offering Masses for the Deceased:

Having a Mass offered for a deceased person is an ancient and commendable practice. A Mass is offered to pray for the departed, that they may find peace in heaven. Since each Mass holds infinite value, requesting one or several Masses is of tremendous benefit to the person prayed for, as well as their family, who can take comfort in knowing that their intention is united with the prayers of the Church.

The Mass: Center of Christian Life:

Every Mass is a precious gift from God. It is the center of the Church’s life, known as “the source and summit of the Christian life,” because in the celebration of the Mass, we are brought back to Jesus’ Last Supper, the first Mass. We consciously recall the love of God poured out for us through the life, death, and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ. At each Mass, all the intentions of God’s people, both living and deceased, are included. As Pope Paul VI noted in his motu proprio “Firma in Traditione,” the faithful, moved by an ecclesial and religious sense, join their own sacrifices to the Eucharistic sacrifice, participating more intensely and supporting the Church’s needs, especially its ministers.

Requesting a Mass Intention:

Anyone may request a Mass Intention for a living person, a deceased person, members of a family, or a special intention appropriate to the celebration of the Eucharist, such as World Peace, Vocations, or Respect for Life. The Church allows only one intention per Mass.

Offering a Mass Stipend:

The normal stipend offering for a Mass is $10. However, a Mass Offering can be more or less than the suggested amount, depending on the financial position of the person requesting the Mass. Envelopes for Mass intention requests are available at the entrances of the church. These envelopes can be placed in the collection basket or returned to the parish office. The requester may also ask for a card to be sent to notify someone that a Mass Intention has been requested (one card per intention). Please note that the name of the person(s) requesting the Mass is not announced.

Around the Parish – June 16, 2024

Thank you to everyone who participated in or 40 Hours Eucharistic Devotion. The three days were filled with so many graces and blessings. A special thank you goes out to Deacon Michael Scanga who led us in our contemplation of the Eucharist and our relationship with Christ. We eagerly look forward to his priesthood ordination in May of 2025.

A special prayer and blessing goes out to all the Fathers of our parish community. Just like Saint Joseph, all fathers are called to be a witness to God in the way they lead and pray for their families.

In preparation for our Vacation Bible School, we will be taking up a special second collection at all the weekend masses. The monies collected will be used to help defray the costs associated with our VBS. Remember, we do not charge any of the families that participate so that there is no reason to not participate! All are welcome, and you do not need to be a member of our church to join! Please help us spread the word in these last few days before we begin on July 8!

As you will see in this bulletin, there are no masses this week coming up, as all the priests will be away for our annual Emmaus Convocation. All priests of the Diocese will be spending a week in Latrobe, PA at Saint Vincent Archabbey for a week or prayer and fraternity. Please pray for us as we pray for you! I look forward to seeing you all next weekend.

Included in the bulletin this weekend, as well as mailed out to all the homes of our students, a flyer is included for Catholic Youth Summer Olympics. Spearheaded by Father Power, pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Sharon, for the four Thursdays in July, games will be held for our high school students to compete in. I want to encourage all of our high school youth to consider participating! Make a team for IHM and make the parish proud! I look forward to being present at these events, and hope to see our students there.

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

Time has a wonderful way of showing us who and what is truly important. Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make, makes you. Our worst days have an ending and our best days have a beginning. Happy are those who take life day by day and are grateful for the little things. Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody. We can’t cure the world of sorrow, but we can choose to be a source of joy for others.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Around the Parish – June 9, 2024

As announced last weekend, we are delighted to celebrate our parish feast day throughout this weekend, honoring the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Please note that the readings for this special Mass have been carefully selected for the occasion and will not be available in the hymnals. Let us come together in prayer and community to deepen our devotion and celebrate the grace and love bestowed upon us through the honoring of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Thank you to everyone for the Anniversary well wishes and congratulations. I am grateful for your continued support of me and our parish community. I am truly honored and humbled to have been a priest for six years now. It feels like just yesterday I was in seminary, dreaming of what it would be like to be a priest some day. I am truly grateful to God for allowing me to be your priest these past two years. I look forward to many years to come! (And hopefully the Bishop agrees. I’d love to stay here forever!)

A special congratulations to my Brother Knights this weekend as we also celebrate their 65th Anniversary. I am grateful for their presence in our parish, our community, and our families. As a knight, I know of the dedication and support intimately that they give to the church. Please make sure to thank the knights for all they do for our church and beyond. Also, if any man is interested in joining the Knights, please contact Mr. Rich Lipinski, the Grand Knight of the Mercer Knights of Columbus. (13rlipinsk@gmail.com) We are always hoping to have more brothers join!

As you know, our 40 Hours Eucharistic Devotion begins this Sunday following our 10a mass. Over the next three days, Adoration will be in church each day following mass, and will conclude with Benediction each night beginning at 7pm with Evening Prayer and a Homily by Deacon Michael Scanga. Many priests from all over the Diocese of Erie will be visiting our parish for this special time. Please do greet them and welcome them to our parish! The flyer of times is available in our bulletin this weekend. Please make sure to take a copy home!

Next weekend, we will be taking up a second collection for our Vacation Bible School. We run our VBS solely on donations as we do not charge any of the participants so that there is no barrier for the families to participate. In your charity, please help us to spread the news about our VBS for children to participate. Thank you for your continued generosity.

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

Friendships are flowers in the garden of life: you need to water them and care for them if you want them to grow. Be a person who solves problems, not one who creates them. Be stronger than your strongest excuse.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Around the Parish – June 2, 2024

This weekend, our church celebrates the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or as more commonly known, Corpus Christi Sunday. In a special way, we give thanks to God on this Corpus Christi Sunday for the gift of His Body and Blood as our food and medicine here on this earth. By this great gift, we are given the remedy out of this life of sin and a way back into His Love. By this sacrament, we participate in His eternal sacrifice upon the cross, bringing our unworthiness to the foot of the Holy Cross from which we receive every grace and heavenly blessing.

On this Corpus Christi weekend, we also recognize a new gift that we have been given by God: the gift of a newly recognized Saint in Heaven. This saint is Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint. Although his Canonization Mass has not yet been celebrated, the Holy Father has recognized another miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession, paving the way for his sainthood. Let us give thanks to God for this holy young man who was so dedicated to the Holy Eucharist; let us proclaim this great saint to the ends of the earth for his desire to proclaim Jesus in the Eucharist to all!

A common practice for Corpus Christi Sunday is to celebrate with Eucharistic Processions. Last year, if you remember, we held the deanery Eucharistic Procession. This year, Saint Joseph Church in Sharon is hosting the deanery Eucharistic Procession. Rev. Mr. Michael Scanga will be giving a reflection at the conclusion of the procession. Deacon Michael will then be with us for our Forty Hours Celebration the next weekend. All are invited to participate in the procession beginning at 2pm at Saint Joseph Church. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Forty Hours Eucharistic Adoration sign-ups remain available in the main vestibule of church as well as on our parish website. At least one person is needed for each hour the Eucharist is exposed for Adoration.  I ask that you consider signing up for an hour or two of Adoration during the three days of prayer. More information is available on our website.

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

The happiest people are those who make the effort to make other happy. Remember, your day will go the way the corners of your mouth turn.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Around the Parish – May 26, 2024

This weekend, we celebrate the profound Mystery of the Holy Trinity, encompassing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While we strive to comprehend God in His Three Persons, He remains an unfathomable mystery. Despite our growing understanding, there is always more to discover. Although studying the Trinity may seem daunting or even futile, we are called to a life of continuous conversion and exploration of our faith. I encourage you to deepen your relationship with God through daily prayer and study.

This Weekend, we are officially kicking off our Walking with Moms in Need ministry! Thanks to massive donations and contributions already, we have tons of clothing items available for our moms in need! With that being said, we are not in need of clothing, but rather with items such as diapers, wipes, and toiletry items, both for mom and baby. With all of the amazing donations, we are now desperately in need of clothing racks, baby hangers, and shelving for our storage room. If you feel called to donate any of these items, please contact Barb Dumais, our Director of Outreach Ministry. More information can be found on the Outreach Ministry webpage.

Forty Hours Eucharistic Adoration sign-ups remain available in the main vestibule of church as well as on our website. I ask that you consider signing up for an hour or two of Eucharistic Adoration during the three days of prayer. More information is available on our website.

Registration forms for our VBS are available at the doors of church as well as on our parish website. Please register as soon as possible so that we can prepare!

Here are a few thoughts for the week ahead:

Don’t put people down, unless it is on your prayer list. Let’s turn our cant’s into cans and our dreams into a plan. Remember, a negative attitude never gives us a positive life or healthy relationships. Trust that when God’s answer seems to be no, there is a better yes just around the corner.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy