“We do not want a Church that moves with the world.
We want a Church that will move the world.” ~G. K. Chesterton
A Letter from Our Parish:
Dear Parishioners,
The bulletin for this Sunday, February 5, is available on our bulletin page. Father Bernard will return on February 25. Please note the following announcements regarding collections for next weekend, February 12:
The Catholic Courier—Please Support the Parish:
Each parish in the Diocese of Rochester is required to financially support the publication of The Catholic Courier. Our parish bill amounts to $4,908, and every year we ask for help in paying this bill.
Next weekend, February 12, baskets will be placed in the back of the church for your donation. The offertory envelope boxes have a recommended donation of $11.00, and you can also donate with our online giving, WeShare. Whatever help you can give will be appreciated greatly. Thank you.
“Souper Bowl” Sunday—February 12:
Next Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. When you come to Mass next week, if you are able, please bring non-perishable food staples for our local food pantries. Super Bowl Sunday is one day when the awareness of food insecurity is being brought to the forefront in many communities across this country.
After Mass there will be a basket where monetary donation can be made; any checks should be made out to our parish, Mary, Mother of Mercy, with the notation Food Pantry in the memo line. Financial gifts may also be made online with WeShare. All food and monetary donations will go to our local food pantries in Interlaken, Ovid, and Trumansburg. Thank you from the Witness Committee.
Warm regards,
Susan Guydosh
Secretary
P.S.
- There are no confessions from January 20 through February 24 at St. Francis Solanus while Father is away. Friday confessions will resume on March 3, 2023.
- This weekend’s bulletin is available here.
- Thank you for visiting the parish web site where there are many helpful links here and on our weekly bulletin page. We are also increasing our activity on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Visiting and “liking” the parish’s posts on these social media platforms helps us to engage and reach new parishioners.
Gospel Meditation—Encourage Deeper Understanding of Scripture
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ February 5, 2023
I recently decided to learn to cook. As I sit at the feet of various YouTube cooking masters, I notice how much of cooking is adding ingredients that don’t provide any more nourishment, like herbs and other seasonings. But man! They make all the difference because they make the meal delightful to eat and share.
Jesus calls his disciples “salt of the world.” No one eats just salt. So, Christians are not meant to replace or do away with the world. They are meant to be agents of preservation and glorification. Notice how often these days the Church seeks to preserve what is threatened: the goodness of marital and family love, the desires of young people for greatness, the value of honest work, healthy economics, and altruistic political engagement, the dignity of the poor and vulnerable. Over and over, we say to a world who wants to throw things out, “It’s worth saving! We’ll preserve it! We’ll show you it’s wonderful.” If we can’t engage the world like that, Jesus says we are the ones who get thrown out, because salt alone is worthless.
Jesus only asks us to do for others what he does for us. He is the “salt” of everything in our lives. Is there something in your life starting to rot a bit? Something tasting bland and boring? Let Jesus salt it and see if you like it better.
~Father John Muir
©LPi
Welcome Our Return to Ordinary Time:
Ordinary time is a great time to recognize the extraordinary power of God! This edition of the Family Zone focuses on transformation and miracles large and small, placed before us by God and helping us to grow deeper in faith and possibly changing the trajectory of our lives!
Live the Eucharist: “Transubstantiation” is defined by the Catechism as “the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of his Blood. This change is brought about in the Eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit. However, the outward characteristics of bread and wine, that is the “eucharistic species,” remain unaltered” (CCC 283).
Similarly, when we participate in the Eucharist, we are transformed! Our outward characteristics might remain the same, but our substance is changed by the love of Christ and we become more like Christ at work in the world! Live the Eucharist this week by being his hands and feet in all settings!

Lourdes: Pilgrimage of Healing
Be Well: An average of 25,000 people gather daily in the tiny town of Lourdes, France to be healed. The once quiet village is the place where St. Bernadette saw visions of the Virgin Mary and the site, now surrounded by churches and chapels, remains there for people to seek healing from the waters of Lourdes. Each day, a procession in honor of Mary takes place at 9 PM. Thousands, many ill, walk 90 minutes praying and singing by candlelight to receive a blessing from a priest, hoping to be its 71st miracle to date. Prayer can be a strong force against our suffering and an important part of living well: physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Teachable Moment to Help Your Child Transform Negative Behavior: “Your child’s feelings are separate from you, so allow them to have those feelings without futurizing and personalizing and getting entangled with your child. Don’t let your own anxiety about your child interfere with your child. Listen without criticism. Stand next to your child, not joined to them. Only then will they stop being compelled to use their energy to fight you or defend themselves from your criticism. With your acceptance, your child will be free to begin thinking about how they want to change and grow.” Read the full article on how to deal with a complaining child or teen through a link on the Family Zone webpage.
Play: The Family Zone page has a link to a game that will get the entire family involved in reading about the miracles Jesus performed. Make it fun by inviting the participant (or team) who draws the card to read the scripture passage quietly and then act out what is happening through charades (no words allowed)! The cards could also be used to play a Draw and Guess game! You will need a Bible or can search the passages on the web!
Wonder: Here are some questions to get kids talking about transformation:
- Who does God want me to be?
- Could my attitude about something use changing?
- Am I happy with the way I respond to my friends? my parents? my siblings?
- What do I like best about new parts of my personality?
- How am I growing and changing?
- Am I sad about any changes in me or my life?
Go visit the Family Zone web page where you will find more about the above and other items of interest for you and your family. There are numerous links to lessons to help you talk about the miracles of Jesus or to help children better understand the nature of a miracle. There is a link to a beautiful prayer about personal and worldly transformation from Catholic Relief Services. There are links to some videos about the miracles connected to some of our saints: St. Bernadette of Soubirous, St. Dominic, and St. Philomena.
You can also follow a link to the readings that you will hear at the Sunday Mass for the coming two weeks. This will give you a chance to prepare your heart and mind for full and active participation in Mass this weekend! All this and more are available for you on the Zone web page.
The Family Zone is a newsletter for families to bring the faith alive at home and is brought to you by the Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. It is an online newsletter designed to help you prepare for full and active participation in the liturgy as well as formation within your families. It is an interactive newsletter that “takes parents directly to online sites they can use, themselves, to be the primary formators of their children’s faith.” To stay up to date with opportunities around the diocese, sign up for the Family Zone newsletter on their web page.