Tag: May

Around the Parish – May 10, 2026

Written by Very Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Boyd, V.F. on May 9, 2026. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Ascension Thursday – Holy Day of Obligation

Please note that Thursday, May 14, is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Ascension Thursday), a Holy Day of Obligation, and all the faithful are required to attend Mass. We will celebrate Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, and at St. Columbkille at 12:00 Noon.

Basket Raffle Planning Meeting

All who would like to assist with the Basket Raffle for our upcoming Spaghetti Dinner are invited to a planning meeting on Thursday, May 21 at 6:00 PM in the parish conference room. Your help plays an important role in making this event a success, and all are welcome to participate.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School is just around the corner, and we are excited to once again offer this wonderful opportunity for our children to grow in faith, friendship, and fun! VBS is a great way for kids to encounter the love of Jesus in a joyful and engaging environment, with activities, music, crafts, and lessons that help bring our faith to life. We warmly invite all families to consider registering their children to take part in this special week.

Registration forms are available at the doors of the church, or you may register online at ihmercer.org/vbs. This year, there is a $10 registration fee per child to help cover the cost of materials and supplies. Please note that the registration deadline is June 25, 2026. We encourage you to sign up soon so we can prepare for all who plan to attend. We look forward to welcoming your children for a week filled with faith, joy, and community!

300 Club Tickets Available

Our 300 Club fundraiser is underway, and we need your help to make it a success! At this point, we have sold 168 tickets, but we need to reach all 300 in order for the fundraiser to be fully effective for our parish. This is a wonderful opportunity to support the mission of our parish while also having the chance to win throughout the duration of the club.

If you have not yet purchased your ticket, I encourage you to consider doing so soon. Your participation truly makes a difference and helps support the many needs of our parish community. Tickets are limited, and we would love to see all 300 filled. Thank you for your continued generosity and support of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish!

Here’s a few thoughts for your week ahead:

A peaceful life isn’t found in having everything under control, but in knowing what truly matters and giving your energy there. If something has been weighing on your mind, take one small step this week to address it. Progress, even slow, brings peace. Pay attention to the little things: a good conversation, a quiet moment, a simple act of kindness. These are often the best parts of our days.

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.

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Around the Parish – May 3, 2026

Written by Very Rev. Fr. Andrew M. Boyd, V.F. on May 2, 2026. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Deacon Edgar’s Anniversary Mass

At all the masses last weekend, I mentioned that this year, our Deacon Edgar Gonzalez is celebrating 20 years as a deacon. Originally from the Cleveland Diocese, he will be honored at their ordination anniversary mass this Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The mass will take place at Saint Basil the Great Parish, 8700 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, Ohio at 6:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. As always, please congratulate our deacon on his anniversary! We are truly blessed to have him here in our parish!

Basket Raffle Planning Meeting

Life in the Spirit Seminar

This Thursday night begins our Life in the Spirit Seminar. Even if you were unable to attend the informational meeting this past Thursday, you are still more than welcome to participate! Please make sure to register ASAP so that we can adequately prepare for all those attending.

300 Club Tickets Available

Our 300 Club fundraiser is underway, and we need your help to make it a success! At this point, we have sold about 100 tickets, but we need to reach all 300 in order for the fundraiser to be fully effective for our parish. This is a wonderful opportunity to support the mission of our parish while also having the chance to win throughout the duration of the club.

Sharing Shed

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued participation in our parish Sharing Shed, from the volunteers who maintain the shed, to those who donate food, thank you! We are in need of some food items in the immediate future. Any help you might be able to give, I would greatly appreciate it!.

Here’s a few thoughts for your week ahead:

You can’t make a cloudy day sunny, but you can decide to make it a good day after all. You can’t go back and start a new beginning, but you can start today and make a new ending. Learn to stand by and observe. Not everything needs a reaction. Don’t be afraid to start over; you might live the new chapter ever more.

Pax et Bonum,
Fr. Andy

The Power and Tradition of Mass Intentions

Offering Masses for the Deceased:

The Mass: Center of Christian Life:

Requesting a Mass Intention:

Offering a Mass Stipend:

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Around the Parish – June 4, 2023

Written by on June 3, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Today, we celebrate a Mystery of our Faith: the Holy Trinity. Part of the reason we consider this a mystery is the fact that, even if we begin to try to comprehend this idea, we fail in making comparisons. Today we celebrate the fact that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our God is Three in One. Simple mathematics tells us that 3 cannot equal 1, yet that is exactly what we are saying when we talk about the Trinity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us an analogy wherein we can see the reasonableness of the Trinity by helping us to see the possibility of distinct persons who possess the same nature. CCC 2205 provides:

The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.
CCC 2205

When we think of a family, we can see how a father, mother, and child can be distinct persons and yet possess the same nature (human), just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons who each possess the same nature (divine). The weakness, of course, is that in God each person possesses the one infinite and immutable divine nature, and is therefore, one being. Our analogous family consists of three beings. Again, no analogy is perfect.

Our team for Vacation Bible School is beginning the process of making all the preparations for a successful and fun-filled week in July for our grade schoolers! What we need now is students to participate! The dates for VBS is July 17-21 from 5:30-8pm. We are trying an evening time slot this year so as to help our volunteers and parents participate. Registration is necessary, and can be done online on our website, or paper copies are available in the main vestibule under the pictures of the former pastors. Volunteers are still needed, so please contact Mrs. Oliver or the parish office ASAP!

Next week is Corpus Christi Sunday, and the beginning of our Forty Hours celebration, as well as the deanery Eucharistic Procession. We are still in need of volunteers to sign up for adoration slots as of writing this bulletin column. We need at least two adorers each hour during the times that the Eucharist is exposed each day. If you are able to take an hour, sign up sheets are taped to the window in the main vestibule.

Last weekend at all the masses, I announced the work that needs to be completed on the rectory garage roof. The roof over the second floor and living room was replaced within the past 15-20 years, and is in fair condition. The garage roof, on the other hand, is original to the building from 1955. The current rubber has deteriorated so much that it is not doing its job. The estimated cost of the roof repair and replacement is between $26,000 and $30,000. Any help that you might be able to offer vis-a-vi donations or prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Here’s a thought for your week: Say something positive, and you’ll see something positive. Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

The IHM 300 Club will be a special 6 month raffle, and more information about this can be found in today’s bulletin, as well as on our website. Tickets will begin being sold after all the masses. Tickets can also always be purchased through the parish office.

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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Around the Parish – May 28, 2023

Written by on May 27, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

This past Tuesday, May 23, big news came from the Vatican. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis announced that Monsignor Edward M. Lohse had been appointed as the fifth bishop of Kalamazoo, MI. Bishop-Elect Lohse has been a priest of the Diocese of Erie since his ordination to the presbyterate on April 21, 1989. Since his ordination, he has held many roles and responsibilities in the Diocese of Erie, as well as working for the Congregation of the Clergy in Rome from 2010-2015. Most recently, he has served as Vicar General for the Diocese of Erie. We wish him well, and promise him our continued prayers as he transitions into his new role as Shepherd of Kalamazoo. Ad multos annos!

A big congratulations to Henry Hazi, son of Matt and Hannah Hazi, upon the reception of his First Holy Communion at last weekend’s 10am Mass. This is a special moment for not only the Hazi family, but for our entire parish family. Let us continue to pray for each other, especially for our young people.

Here’s a thought for your week: Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive good things and good people will be drawn to you. With the eye of faith, look for the positive, even in negative events.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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Around the Parish – May 21, 2023

Written by on May 20, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

We have just about 120 tickets left for the 300 Club! Please make sure to purchase your ticket. Each ticket is $100 and enters you in for a chance to win weekly beginning July 12! Please help us spread the word, and encourage people from outside the parish to get a ticket too! You do not have to belong to the parish to purchase a ticket! All monies raised that are not raffled off stay in our parish to help alleviate the cost of maintenance repairs as well as pay for our normal bills. For more information, check our website or call the parish office. https://ihmercer.org/300-Club

A reminder that we will celebrate 40 Hours in just a few weeks time. Our preacher for our celebration will be Father Joseph Petrone. He will be preaching on the Hearts of the Holy Family. We are in need of volunteers to sign up for an hour of adoration during the entire time that the Eucharist is exposed. A minimum of two volunteers are needed for each hour that the Eucharist is exposed. In the back vestibule of church, and on our website, you can sign up to volunteer for an hour. Please help us spread the word!

Click here for more information on Forty Hours

VBS registration is open! Forms can be found in the back vestibule of church under the pictures of the former pastors as well as on our website. Registration is due back ASAP so that we can purchase T-Shirts for all participants! If you wish to volunteer, please contact the parish office as soon as possible so that we can schedule a meeting to begin preparations. For more information, please visit our website.

Click here to register for VBS

We will have a VBS planning meeting on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 6pm in the parish Conference Room. All who are willing to volunteer, please plan on coming to the meeting that night! Bring your creative ideas to help us make this the best VBS our parish has ever had!

Here’s a thought for your week: Be strong now because things will get better; it can’t storm forever. Good things come to those who are willing to hustle. Don’t just be busy; be productive.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Click here for more information about the Eucharistic Procession

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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Around the Parish – May 14, 2023

Written by on May 13, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

A very happy and blessed Mother’s Day to all of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and anyone to whom has shown us motherly love. Know of my prayers, love, and admiration for all of you!

Last weekend, I mentioned two events that our parish will host. In the recent past, Father Matt held a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi Sunday. Eucharistic Processions will be occurring all over the Diocese of Erie on this special Sunday. This year, our parish will host the Deanery Eucharistic Procession, which invites parishioners from all over our area to participate.

Click here for more information about the Eucharistic Procession

The second event will begin also on Corpus Christi Sunday and will continue through the following Tuesday, June 13. Each day, following the last mass of the day, the Eucharist will be exposed for adoration until 7pm each night. At 7pm, we will celebrate evening prayer, and within evening prayer, a special homily will be given. Our preacher for our celebration will be Father Joseph Petrone. He will be preaching on the Hearts of the Holy Family. We are in need of volunteers to sign up for an hour of adoration during the entire time that the Eucharist is exposed. A minimum of two volunteers are needed for each hour that the Eucharist is exposed. In the back vestibule of church, and on our website, you can sign up to volunteer for an hour. Please help us spread the word!

Click here for more information on Forty Hours

Click here to register for VBS

Thank you goes out to all the amazing volunteers who came to help with the first Plant and Garden Sale. The sale raised $1,424 for our parish. Between the sale and other generous donations, we were able to raise enough money to cover the cost of the replacement refrigerator for Gallagher Hall.

Here’s a thought for your week: Never take someone’s feeling for granted because you never know how much courage it took for him or her to express them to you. Life is too short to be constantly worrying. Let go of the stress and realize you’re blessed.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Thank you to our amazing crew who helped work the First Annual Plant and Garden Sale!

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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Around the Parish – May 7, 2023

Written by on May 6, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day, and so to honor our Blessed Mother, we will crown her during the weekend masses at the beginning of mass. Flower vases will be placed around the statue of Mary that is placed in front of the altar. If you want to add any flowers before mass to these vases in honor of the Blessed Mother, feel free! All are invited to participate!

As mentioned at all the masses last weekend, this year we will host Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School is open for all children registered for Preschool through Eighth Grade for the 2023-24 school year. All high school students looking for volunteer/service hours can come as well to help out! The more the merrier! We have chosen to schedule our VBS in the evenings from 5:30-8p to accommodate parents and volunteers who have to work during the day. Many of those who wish to volunteer cannot take a week off work to help, and so we are trying an evening time to assist with others’ schedules. The theme for this year is Splash Canyon: God’s Promise on Life’s Wild Ride. Thank you to Mrs. Linda Oliver and her crew for organizing this opportunity for our parish and community! For more information, please visit our website at https://ihmercer.org/vbs.

Thank you to everyone who came out to help at the Plant and Garden Sale. More information will be given in the coming weeks about the success of the event.

Reminder for Parish Council that we have a meeting scheduled for this Thursday at 6pm in the parish office conference room.

We are still selling tickets for the 300 club! As of writing this article, we have sold 130 tickets, nearing the half-way mark! Please help us spread the word to sell the remaining tickets. More information on the 300 club can be found on the website at https://ihmercer.org/300-club.

Here’s a thought for your week: Family is that place where love begins and never ends. Family provides the anchor when life storms rage around us. Family extends beyond our biology, and into our relationships that fill our day.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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Around the Parish – April 30, 2023

Written by on April 29, 2023. Posted in News, Around the Parish.

Starting Sunday, May 7, we will begin our Summer Mass Schedule. After polling the parish, we overwhelmingly received feedback that the preferred time for Sunday Mass during the Summer months (May-August) should be 8am and 10am. Therefore, starting next Sunday we will have mass at 8am and 10am. Please help us spread the word so that the entire community knows!

As a reminder, adoration will resume in our parish on First Fridays from 6:00pm-7:00pm. Adoration is scheduled for this Friday, May 5.

It’s a Catholic tradition to honor Mary during the month of May by setting up May altars or by crowning her statue with flowers. The reason why we crown Mary is best summed up by Pope Paul VI who wrote that May is an occasion for a “moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world pay to the Queen of Heaven.” The crown symbol is attributed to Mary because she is the Mother of the Son of God, who is our Heavenly King.” Before the 5pm Mass on Saturday Nights, we pray the rosary. Please make an effort to be with us. We will offer our prayers for the sick of the parish, vocations to the priesthood and religious life and for peace and harmony in families and in the world.

Next Saturday, we will gather to clean our church properties from the winter. Many hands will make light work! I appreciate all your help! There are signup sheets at the doors as well as the different tasks that need to be accomplished on Saturday May 6.

On that same day is our plant sale. Any help that you might be able to give for this event as well would be greatly appreciated! Any question can be addressed to Junior Bissett at 724-662-4597. Here’s a quick update from the “plant manager:”

Just a reminder that the first annual plant and garden sale is on for THIS SATURDAY, MAY 6! All plant and garden items need to be dropped off at Gallagher Hall by noon on Friday. Gallagher Hall will be open Thursday all day and Friday morning. If you need to schedule another time before Friday to drop off you items/plants, please call the parish office! Here’s to prayers for a beautiful spring day next Saturday! God Bless!

Here’s a few thoughts for your week: Life is so much easier when we don’t hoard the past. Healing doesn’t mean hurtful things have not happened; it just means that the disappointment no longer controls our life. Accept what is; let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.

Pax et Bonum, Fr. Andy

Click here for more info on the 300 Club

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