“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:
July 2, 2020
Dear Parishioners: Jesus’s listeners,
The peace of the Lord be with you.
In the gospel this Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mt. 11:25-30), Jesus invites a crowd of people to accept that he is the Son of God and the only one to rely on for knowing God, his Father. Jesus further revealed himself as meek (truthful) and humble (obedient and totally reliant on his Father’s love).
Jesus next invited the people to come to him, listen to what he teaches (the yoke) and be a life-long learner (the burden). He told them, my yoke (his teaching) is easy and my burden(learning) is light.”
Jesus then promises those who accept him the Son of God and his revelation of God, that those who come to him and listen and learn from his teachings that, would find comfort and rest through their knowledge of God’s love.
After the crowd heard Jesus, we can only imagine how they talked about Jesus and what he said. The crowd teaches us to talk about all that Jesus said, with our family, neighbors, people we work with, etc. How else will they come to know the comfort and rest Jesus promises?
With love for you all,
Fr. Bernard, OFM Cap.
P.S. A videotape of the parish Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is now available here. Special thanks to Tom Duff for the videotaping.
P.S. You may find useful information about the parish in the Sunday bulletin for July 5. Please share the above note and the bulletin with your family and friends.
Mass with the Bishop:
Click here to join Bishop Salvatore R. Matano in celebrating Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 5, at 11:00 a.m.
Gospel Meditation—Encourage Deeper Understanding of Scripture
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ July 5, 2020
We are all familiar with the refrain, “You have put on Christ. In him you have been baptized. Alleluia, alleluia!” In Baptism, we “put on” Christ. In putting on Christ, we put on all that Christ is and represents: hope, faith, and love. We are no longer bound to the sins and failures of the flesh, that part of us that resists God and relies exclusively on human means. It also means that we are not in debt to our past, complete with its sins, failures, regrets, fears, and unfulfilled dreams. There is always hope. In putting on Christ, we put on God’s vision for the world, for all of His children and for us. We have been given a road map to guide our paths and a blueprint to follow for our life’s journey.
There is no need for regret, and we are not tethered to our past. Is there anything in your past that you regret? Any decision or memory that continues to haunt you? We have all made mistakes, and we have this uncanny ability to continue beating ourselves up over things we can no longer do anything about, except learn from them. To put on Christ means that I can now bring God’s unconditional love to my hurtful memories and sinful choices. With each new moment and every new choice, I can start clean and live in freedom.
Imagine adults when the disciples were preaching and baptizing. They came to baptism not really knowing who they were, with pasts that were broken, seeking to live the joy of the Gospel they heard spoken to them and wanting the love they saw witnessed in the lives of those who believed. What tremendous celebrations their baptisms must have been! They could now have the support of a community, full participation in the sacraments of the church, focus for their disordered lives, consolation, healing, and an understanding of what life is really all about.
Our lives are meant to be celebrations of the Spirit we have received in Baptism. How does that joy get expressed in and through you? When we truly understand that we have put on Christ, our burdens can become much lighter. It is odd that so many Christians look like they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those weights could be lifted and joy experienced!
© 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 and discusses week two of the “Summer 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.
Our Church’s Responses to COVID-19:
In response to information provided by the diocese, along with guidelines provided by local and state government and health officials concerning COVID-19, daily Masses have resumed in St. Francis church, Monday through Friday at 8:30 a.m. Weekend Masses have also resumed, with an added 4:00 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass at St. James the Apostle church. All Masses have limited occupancy, based on civil and church guidelines. For those who cannot attend in person, the parish Mass is taped and linked above.
The diocese provides a variety of virtual events for “prayer, worship, and faith sharing.” This includes the bishop’s Sunday Mass which is available as a live feed from the cathedral on Sunday mornings. For updated and additional information, please visit the diocese’s web page related to the Covid-19 response.
“It is Bishop Matano’s fervent prayer that the Sacraments will soon be able to be celebrated with a reasonable number of faithful present, always mindful of our genuine concern that the People of God may receive the Sacraments, and that the necessary safety precautions are in place for the protection of all.”
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.
A list of our Mass intentions for the week are listed below. Other Mass intentions are available on our parish calendar page. Our Mass schedule is presently on hold but hope you will join us through the resources and prayers available on these pages.
Mass Intentions at St. James the Apostle in Trumansburg, Holy Cross in Ovid, and St. Francis Solanus in Interlaken for the week of July 4–July 12, 2020
| Saturday, July 4 | St. James, 4:00 p.m. Limited assembly (54) |
NO MASS |
| St. Francis, 5:00 p.m. Limited assembly (35) |
NO MASS | |
| Sunday, July 5 | St. James, 9:00 a.m. Limited assembly (54) |
Ellen Rider from Kathleen Rourke |
| Holy Cross, 10:30 a.m. Limited assembly (80) |
Boo and Tom Obert from Ray and Lee Anne Fox |
|
| Monday, July 6 | St. Francis, 8:30 a.m. | Parishioners and benefactors |
| Tuesday, July 7 | St. Francis, 8:30 a.m. | Special intention |
| Wednesday, July 8 | St. Francis, 8:30 a.m. | Intentions of Brenda Fox from Gerry Todi |
| Thursday, July 9 | St. Francis, 8:30 a.m. | Special intention |
| Friday, July 10 | St. Francis, 8:30 a.m. | Special intention |
| Saturday, July 11 | St. James, 4:00 p.m. Limited assembly (54) |
John Rourke from Kathleen Rourke |
| St. Francis, 5:00 p.m. Limited assembly (35) |
Special intention | |
| Sunday, July 12 | St. James, 9:00 a.m. Limited assembly (54) |
Parishioners and benefactors |
| Holy Cross, 10:30 a.m. Limited assembly (80) |
Special intention |
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.
Holy Mary, help the miserable, strengthen the discouraged, comfort the sorrowful, pray for your people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God. May all who venerate you feel now your help and protection. Be ready to help us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it your continual concern to pray for the people of God, for you were blessed by God and were made worthy to bear the Redeemer of the world, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.
