Bulletin for March 19, 2017 ~ Third Sunday of Lent

Live the Liturgy—Inspiration for the Week:
Today Jesus meets the woman at the well. After her time with Jesus she tells others about this man who is able to see into the depths of a person’s life. Is Jesus that person for you? Have you allowed him into the depths of your life? Do you go out and tell others about this Jesus, as the Samaritan woman does? Do you share the good news by the way you live your life?

Catholic Quotes—Words to Inspire the Faithful:
“All the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly.”
~St. Thomas Aquinas

Upcoming Events:

• RCIA Program, Convert Classes: Sundays, 12:00 noon, at St. James the Apostle Pine Room. Classes are open to all.
• Scripture study classes of the Gospel: on Tuesdays after the 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. James the Apostle church.
• AA Meetings: St. Francis Church, on Tuesday, at 8:00 p.m.
• Food Pantries: Ovid Federated Church on Mondays, 10:00 a.m. The food truck is available to everyone every other Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. (March 21 and April 4). The food pantry is at the Interlaken Reformed Church on Fridays, 3:00 p.m. The Trumansburg food pantry is at the Methodist Church every other Monday 1:00–2:00 p.m. and 5:30–6:00 p.m. (March 27 and April 10).
• Stations of the Cross during Lent: Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Francis Solanus Church
• Irish Music and Coffeehouse Fundraiser: Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, Saturday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m.
• Parish Choir Rehearsal: Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Cross in Ovid, in preparation for the liturgical services of Lent and the Easter Triduum.
• “Tolerance: A Key to Religious Freedom” by Tom Gallagher: Thursday March 23, 7:00 p.m., Immaculate Conception parish hall
• Day of Penance in the Diocese: On March 28 the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available at the Parish Center in Interlaken from12:00 noon until 7:00 p.m.
• Parish Soft Synchronization Explained: Wednesday, March 29, at 10:00 a.m. at the Parish Center with Dan Pohorance from the Diocese as the facilitator.
• Spring Enrollment Open House: Thursday, March 30, at 9:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception School, Ithaca
• Retrouvaille / Recovery for Married Couples: retreat weekend at Notre Dame Retreat House on April 7–9
• Sacrament of Reconciliation with private confession: Monday of Holy Week, April 10, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Francis Solanus.
• Doug’s Fish Fry event to support Covert Bicentennial: on April 12 with a request for donations for the desert table

Catholics Invite Catholics:
“Come to Mass in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day.” A way to remind people of a way to be faithful to the third commandment: Keep holy the Lord’s Day.

First Penance Celebration:
Several of our young parishioners who will be celebrating their First Communion after Easter, celebrated for the first time the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday, March 18, 2017. They were: Abby Arco, Charlotte Masters, Harry Mullins, Claire Olney, Sofia Shaff, Zachary Tingue, Alessa Whitaker, Davin Updike and Sofiya Wright. We thank Helen Arco (the coordinator of the First Communion Program and their teacher) and their parents who practiced with their children on how to go to confession.

Annual Catholic Relief Services Collection:
Next weekend our parish will join the Catholic parishes across the country to take up the annual Catholic Relief Services Collection. This special national collection helps to support the U.S. Catholic community’s international social ministry carried out in our name by U.S. Catholic agencies, including Catholic Migration and Refugee Services, United States Bishops Justice, Peace and Human Development Ministry, and the Holy Father’s Relief Fund. These Catholic agencies touch the lives of more than 100 million people all over the world annually…giving hope to refugees, immigrants, the impoverished, victims of war and natural disasters. Please visit www.usccb.org/catholic-relief to learn how you are making a difference.

Sunday Collection Counters:
Churches are encouraged to have at least four counting teams on a rotating basis. Parishioners who are trustworthy and like to count money, we need you! St. James the Apostle church is in special need. Regarding the commitment, the goal is that a team would count once a month and the time would be about two hours. Could you give your church two hours a month service? If interested please contact the Parish Office to volunteer. Thanks for your kind consideration of this request.

Parish Soft:
Parish Soft is a computer program that synchronizes parish census information and eliminates duplicate data entries. The churches (including our parish) have been using the program for many years and have found it most helpful. In February the parish census information of the three churches were merged into one. To understand how this merger has affected this synchronization, a training session has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, at 10:00 a.m. at the Parish Center. Dan Pohorance from the diocese will be the facilitator. The more people who know about the Parish Soft program and the many benefits it offers will be a blessing to the parish. Parishioners who have used the Parish Soft program in the past are most encouraged to attend the training. If interested in attending the training, please phone the parish office.

2016–2017 Catholic Ministries Appeal:
Thank you to everyone who has responded with a gift or pledge. We need all parishioners to help reach our parish given goal of $29,855. A report issued on March 10 stated that our parish has pledged $24,685. We are presently $5,170 shy of our given goal. If you have not made a pledge, please do so as soon as possible. If our parish dos not reach our given goal, the difference will be billed to the parish. Pledge envelopes are located in the vestibules of the church. Please respond as soon as possible.

Stations of the Cross:
Thursdays, 7:00 PM with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Parish Center in St. Francis Solanus Church.

Parish Choir Rehearsal:
All parishioners are welcome to be part of the parish choir. The next rehearsal date is this Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Cross, Ovid in preparation for the Liturgical services of Lent and the Easter Triduum.

Diocesan Day of Penance and Mercy:
The diocesan-wide day of penance and mercy will be Tuesday, March 28, from 12:00 noon until 7:00 p.m. Throughout the Diocese of Rochester, priests will be available at the parishes for Confession. A priest will be available during these times at the Parish Center in St. Francis Solanus Church, Interlaken.

Communal Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
A Communal Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Private Confession will be held on Monday of Holy Week: April 10, at the Parish Center in St. Francis Solanus Church, Interlaken.

Rice Bowls:
Rice bowls are a Lenten program sponsored by the Catholic Relief Services to help support the hungry and neglected throughout the world. Everyone is invited to pick up the CRS Rice Bowl and throughout Lent place the bowl in a prominent place in the home where family members can add coins saved from a self-indulgent sacrifice. At the end of Lent the money accumulated will go to Catholic Relief Services to help the hungry of the world. Learn more at: crsricebowl.org/families

Retrouvaille / Recovery for Married Couples:
Retrouvaille (pronounced retro-vi = recovery) is a program is for married couples who feel disillusioned, frustrated or angry in their marriage. It is a world-wide Catholic program that has helped tens of thousands of couples experiencing difficulties in their marriage. For confidential information about this program or to register for the Spring program that begins with a weekend at Notre Dame Retreat House on April 7–9, 2017, please phone 585 293 1552 or visit the web site at www.HelpOurMarriage.com

Town of Covert 1817 – 2017:
The Town of Covert has planned bicentennial events beginning in March. For a listing of the events please watch the newspaper and TOC2017 Facebook page for details. The planning committee is asking for volunteers to help with the Doug’s Fish Fry event on April 12—they are requesting donations for the desert table.

Presentation on Tolerance: A Key to Religious Freedom:
As part of Catholic Charities twentieth anniversary commemoration, the agency is proud to welcome Tom Gallagher, a National Catholic Reporter journalist and former administrator of the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center. Tom spent two years as a full-time volunteer with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity and is now the CEO of the Religion News Foundation. Drawing on experiences (including a visit to a displaced persons camp in Iraq with Cardinal Timothy Dolan), he’ll be speaking on the timely theme of “Tolerance: A Key to Religious Freedom.” The evening will also include an update on Catholic Charities’ new refugee resettlement program. Please join us Thursday March 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Immaculate Conception parish hall in downtown Ithaca.

Notre Dame High School’s Open Enrollment:
The school is currently accepting applications for the 2017–2018 academic year for grades 7–12. An application may be found on the home page of the school’s web site. To download an application please visit: www.notredamehighschool.com. All applications are date stamped upon receipt and considered in the order in which they are received. If you would like to schedule a tour and/or shadowing experience or if you have questions regarding the application process, please contact Michelle Barkley at 607 734 2267 ext. 326. The school is located at 1400 Maple Ave, Elmira, NY 14904.

Ministry Schedules for St. Francis Solanus Church

Lector Schedule

through March 2017

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

through March 2017

REMEMBER: to take Communion to Richard Suchocki before giving to congregation.

12/29/16-cmh