Welcome to the parish of Mary, Mother of Mercy!

“We do not want … a Church that moves with the world.
We want a Church that will move the world.” ~G. K. Chesterton

A Message from Our Pastor:

August 6, 2020
Feast day – The Transfiguration of the Lord

Dear Parishioner, the followers of Jesus,

The peace of the Lord be with you.

Jesus finally gets time to pray. This is the message from Matthew’s Gospel this Sunday (19th Sunday in Ordinary Time). Jesus was burdened with sorrow, anger and anxiety at the report of the death of John the Baptist. The alone time he desired was not to be. Five thousand people (not counting women and children) met him at the deserted place he chose to go to be alone. He put his desire aside. He taught and healed many and fed them. After he dismissed the crowd, we are told, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. It was evening. He finally got the time to pray.

To be alone with one’s Creator and Maker (the One who love’s us and is ready to be our servant) is rarely easy. Jesus is the model. He leaves us an example that despite the difficulty, one takes advantage of time available. Like Jesus, it could be late at night or early in the morning or anytime of the day. Jesus always found time to pray.

As the professed followers of Jesus, we strive to imitate Jesus in all things – to be like him. In this regard, we are encouraged, through the example of Jesus, to take time to pray, even as difficult as that might be. We are invited to take time to lift our minds to God. We are encouraged to speak to God from our heart about the truth of what we are experiencing be it sorrow or joy. From Jesus’ example, praying is done regularly, that is, daily, be it morning, afternoon or evening and even between those times. His inspiration is, pray.

With love for you all,
Fr. Bernard

P.S. During this time of social distancing, “Thank you” for your continued and needed financial support of your parish.

You may find useful information about the parish in the Sunday bulletin for August 9. Please share the above note and the bulletin with your family and friends.

Sunday Mass:

The parish Mass for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is now available for viewing through this link.

Register Now for the Family Faith Formation Program!

The Family Faith Formation program in our parish will begin on September 20 and is open to children in grades K-7. Please complete the registration form by August 25 so that book orders may be placed. Contact Susan Guydosh at susan.guydosh@dor.org or 607-280-3884 with any questions or if you wish to obtain a hard copy of the registration form. Thank you!

Gospel Meditation—Encourage Deeper Understanding of Scripture

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 9, 2020

Be still and know that I am God. Silence is sacred. Silence speaks the language of the soul and is the foundation of all life and eternity itself. Silence takes us beyond the limits of our minds and allows us to seek and to love the essence of all love, perfect love, and being. In silence, we can be non-verbally present to things and to God in ways that words cannot accomplish. We can discover, encounter, and be present to truths that our minds struggle to conceive and then set aside the boxes we put around things when comprehending them is challenging. We can know the unknowable and touch eternity when we encounter the core silence in our souls.

We can do this even on a noisy street and in the midst of the greatest distraction. Once we have made friends with silence, the rambling noise of the world no longer seems to matter, and we can carry a deep forgiving peace within us, even when physical silence cannot be found. We know that we are loved, cared for, sustained, nourished, embraced, and carried. There is nothing to fear in silence, and I can be present to myself in the same way that God is present to me. I can see myself as God sees me. All of my faults, weaknesses, imperfections, failings, and sinfulness melt away in the abundance of God’s mercy. All of the worldly things we see as being important no longer are.

It is in silence that all of the barriers that divide us disappear. There is no more “yours” and “mine” but only the oneness of “ours.” There is no longer a need to “figure things out,” and we tap into our desire to simply let things be. Silence is creative and powerful and gives us hope. Silence is God’s greatest blessing. God became one with humanity in silence. It allows us to be one with all of creation, with the moon and the stars and all of the creatures God has made. The smallest particle of creation radiates with beauty. Silence allows us to soar beyond ourselves and connect in ways that the mind can only imagine. When all is quiet, we begin to see that it is only our fear that keeps us from the Lord. It is our fear that causes us to sink and to fail. We can hear the gentle whisper that tells us to reach for God’s hand. We discover that we yearn for the salvation and wholeness that only God can give to us. Be still my soul and be at peace.

© Liturgical Publications Inc.

For Families:

The Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, continues to discover and develop new ways to reach out to families in these unprecedented times. The latest issue of their weekly newsletter, called Family Zone, is now available, continuing the “Summer Journey of Faith.” This week’s issue looks at how it takes courage to calm our worries and it also takes refreshment of our spirit. This week might be the perfect week for your family to explore the whole topic of worry, courage, and inner peace as we move forward on this journey of faith.

The Family Zone is an interactive newsletter that has live links to YouTube videos and webpages. “It takes parents directly to online sites they can use, themselves, to be the primary formators of their children’s faith.” With this latest issue they have added a new column just for the parent’s own inspiration and spiritual nurturing.

Welcome to the web page for the parish of Mary, Mother of Mercy. This parish has three churches:

• Holy Cross in Ovid, New York;
• St. Francis Solanus in Interlaken, New York; and
• St. James the Apostle in Trumansburg, New York.

The parish office is located at the Parish Center: 3660 Orchard St., Interlaken, New York.

The title Mother of Mercy is thought to have been first given to Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Odo (d.942), Abbot of Cluny. It is a fitting title of Our Lady both because she brought forth for us Jesus, the Christ, the visible manifestation of the mercy of the invisible God, and because she is the spiritual mother of the faithful, full of grace and mercy. Please join us in faith and in prayer at any of our three churches which are open each day for private devotions.

To join the parish community or to celebrate the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, or marriage, please phone the parish office (607 294–0064) or email: immmercy@dor.org to make arrangements.

Father is available for confessions at St. Francis church in Interlaken every Friday from 6:30–7:00 p.m. (social distancing will be respected). You may also phone the parish office (607 294–0064) to make an appointment to receive the sacrament of reconciliation with a priest.

Mass Intentions at St. James the Apostle in Trumansburg, Holy Cross in Ovid, and St. Francis Solanus in Interlaken for the week of August 8–August 16, 2020

Those wishing to have someone remembered at a Mass on a particular day and time and place may phone the parish office (607-294-0064) expressing their request. You may also print out the Mass Intentions Request form, fill it out, and mail it to the parish office. All of the Mass intentions presently scheduled can be seen on the parish calendar.

Prayer to Mary, Mother of Mercy
Blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay you with praise and  thanks for having rescued a fallen world by your generous consent! Receive our gratitude, and by your prayers obtain the pardon of our sins. Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven and enable them to make our peace with God.