Skip to main content

Tag: Creed

Around the Parish – February 8, 2026

Written by Very Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Boyd, V.F. on . Posted in Around the Parish, News.

Lent is Upon Us

With Ash Wednesday falling on February 18, Lent is fast approaching. Included in this weekend’s bulletin you will find our 2026 Lenten Schedule, outlining many opportunities for prayer, reflection, and spiritual growth. I encourage everyone to take advantage of these offerings as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

Palms for Ash Wednesday

As Ash Wednesday draws near, we invite you to return your palms from last year’s Palm Sunday. Each year these palms are burned to create the ashes that are placed on our foreheads as a sign of repentance and renewal. Containers are located at the doors of the church for your convenience.

Easter Lilly Orders

Also included in this weekend’s bulletin is the Easter Lily order form. These lilies help beautify our church for Easter Sunday and may be given in memory or honor of loved ones. Please return your completed forms to the parish office by the date listed. Thank you for your generosity.

Catholic Services Appeal

This weekend is Commitment Sunday for the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). Funds raised through the CSA support vital ministries throughout the Diocese of Erie. I ask you to prayerfully consider making a commitment to this important appeal, which helps strengthen the Church far beyond our own parish.

Candlemas Candles

This past Monday we celebrated the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas, reminding us of Christ as the Light of the World. On this feast day, candles used in our liturgies throughout the year are blessed. Blessed candles are available for purchase near the statue of St. Joseph in church.

St. Patrick Day Bingo & Bake Sale

Please mark your calendars for our annual St. Patrick’s Day Bingo and Bake Sale on Friday, March 20, 2026. Doors open at 5:00 PM, with the first game beginning at 6:00 PM. We are also bringing back our spring bake sale and are gratefully accepting baked goods for this event. Sign-up sheets are available at the church entrances. Baked goods should be returned by Friday, March 20 at 12:00 NOON.

A few thoughts for your week:

Lent begins next week, and now is a great time to do a little planning. A few small decisions made ahead of time can make a big difference.

  • Decide one simple thing you’ll give up and one simple thing you’ll add. (Adding prayer or kindness often matters more than giving up chocolate.)
  • Set a realistic goal—something you can actually keep for forty days.
  • Pick a regular time for prayer, even if it’s just five minutes. Consistency beats perfection.
  • Look for one person you can encourage this week with a call, text, or note.
  • Bring back your old palms and think about what you’d like to leave behind this Lent.

Remember: Lent isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about taking intentional steps toward God and toward one another. Start small. Stay faithful. Let God do the rest.

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.

Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Email
0 Shares

Around the Parish – February 1, 2026

Written by Very Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Boyd, V.F. on . Posted in Around the Parish, News.

Why Do We Strike Our Breast During the Confiteor?

At the beginning of Mass, we enter into a sacred moment called the Penitential Act. This is when we pause to acknowledge our sins and ask God for mercy, preparing our hearts to worthily celebrate the Eucharist.

One form of the Penitential Act is the Confiteor, which begins:

“I confess to almighty God…”

The word Confiteor comes from Latin and simply means “I confess.” In this prayer, we openly acknowledge before God and one another that we have sinned “in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” It is not meant to shame us, but to free us — to remind us that we come before God not because we are perfect, but because we need His mercy.

During the Confiteor, we say the words:

“through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault,”

and at those words we strike our breast.

This gesture is ancient and deeply biblical. In Scripture, striking the breast is a sign of repentance and humility. In the Gospel, the tax collector “beat his breast” as he prayed, recognizing his sin and trusting in God’s mercy (Luke 18:13). The gesture expresses something words alone cannot: this comes from my heart.

By striking our breast, we are not blaming others or circumstances. We are taking personal responsibility for our sin. It is a physical way of saying, I own this. I need God’s mercy.

Our Catholic faith understands that we worship not only with our minds and voices, but with our bodies. Standing, kneeling, bowing, making the Sign of the Cross, and striking the breast all help us pray with our whole selves. The Confiteor invites us into honesty, humility, and trust — reminding us that every Mass begins with mercy.

And that is good news. Because once we acknowledge our need for God, we are ready to receive everything He longs to give us.

Bring out your Palms

As we prepare for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, parishioners are invited to bring back last year’s blessed palms to be reverently disposed of and used in the preparation of this year’s ashes. Collection boxes will be located at the entrances of the church. Returning your palms is a meaningful way to take part in the Church’s cycle of prayer, reminding us that what once proclaimed Christ’s triumph now calls us to repentance and renewal of heart.

A few thoughts for your week:

The art of Christian living lies in learning both how to let go and how to hold on. There is an important difference between giving up and letting go. We cannot become who God calls us to be if we remain who we once were. Letting go is not merely about releasing the past; it is about having the wisdom to embrace the future. It is not whether we get knocked down that matters, but whether we rise again. We may be shaped by our past, but we do not have to be prisoners of it.

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.

Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Email
0 Shares

Around the Parish – January 25, 2026

Written by Very Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Boyd, V.F. on . Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Why We Bow (and Sometimes Genuflect) During the Creed

Someone recently asked me a great question: “Father, why do we bow our heads during the Nicene Creed?” It’s one of those little gestures that many Catholics do automatically, but not everyone knows why we do it. And once you know the meaning, it becomes much more than a habit: it becomes a beautiful moment of prayer.

During the Nicene Creed, we bow our heads at these words:

“and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

This is not simply a “pause” in the prayer, it is a deliberate sign of reverence. At that moment, the Church is proclaiming one of the most astounding truths of our faith: the Son of God took on human flesh. God did not remain distant. He entered into our world. He took on our human nature through the Blessed Virgin Mary. He became one of us.

So when we bow, we are doing with our bodies what our souls believe:
we honor the mystery of the Incarnation, the humility of Christ who lowered Himself to raise us up.

Twice a Year: We Genuflect

You may also notice something even more striking: twice each year, instead of bowing, we genuflect at the same line of the Creed.

That happens on:

· The Solemnity of the Annunciation (March 25)

· Christmas (Masses of the Nativity of the Lord)

On these days, the Church asks us to make an even deeper gesture because we are celebrating that mystery in a particularly focused way. Christmas celebrates the Word made flesh; the Annunciation celebrates the moment Mary said “yes” and Christ took flesh in her womb. The Creed is the same prayer but the Church invites an even deeper reverence on these feasts.

Faith Isn’t Only Spoken, It’s Lived

Sometimes we think of worship as mostly words: prayers, responses, hymns. But Catholic worship also speaks through gesture: bowing, kneeling, standing, the sign of the cross. These actions are not empty tradition. They are reminders that our faith is not just an idea in our mind, but something we live with our whole self.

That’s especially important today. We live in a noisy world full of distraction. Even at Mass, our minds can wander. But a simple gesture like a bow can serve as a spiritual “anchor,” pulling us back into what we’re saying and what we believe.

A Simple Invitation

So I want to encourage you: try practicing this intentionally. When you reach that line of the Creed, don’t rush through it. Bow deliberately, prayerfully, with gratitude. Let it become your quiet way of saying:

“Lord, I believe You really came for us… and You came for me.”

And when Christmas and the Annunciation come around, we will genuflect together, offering that deeper sign of reverence for the mystery that changed the world forever: God became man.

A few thoughts for your week:

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming what you thought you couldn’t do. There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. Someday is not a day of the week.

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.

Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Email
0 Shares