All are most welcome to join us this week as we celebrate the holiest days of the Church calendar. Our schedule is:
Holy Thursday, March 28
Mass of the Lord's Supper, 7 p.m.
Good Friday, March 29
Stations of the Cross, 12 p.m.
Solemn Service, 3 p.m.
Holy Saturday, March 30
Church Cleaning and Decorating, 9 a.m.
Easter Food Blessing, 1 p.m.
Easter Vigil Mass, 8 p.m.
Easter Sunday, March 31
Masses at 9 and 11:30 a.m.
Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m.
Please note that the Parish Office will be closed on Monday, April 1. On that day, daily Mass will take place at 9 a.m., rather than 5:30 p.m. Many thanks for your consideration.
Catholic Relief Services is counting on our Rice Bowl alms to help our brothers and sisters in need, here and around the world. In fact, 25 percent of our Rice Bowl alms remain in our diocese to help support local hunger efforts. Please convert the coins from your Rice Bowl into a check made out to St. Catherine's, with "CRS Rice Bowl" in the memo line, and return it next weekend, April 6/7. You can bring your check to Mass and put it in the collection basket, or mail it or drop it off at the Parish Office. Thank you for your generosity!
We will hold a catered luncheon here at St. Catherine's on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. for those who are grieving. The event will include a guest speaker from Hospicare. If you have suffered the loss of a loved one, especially during the past year, you are warmly invited to attend. Please RSVP to Lisa Hens in the Parish Office at lisa.hens@dor.org or 607-257-2493 by Tuesday, April 2.
Bible study, as part of Adult Faith Enrichment, continues its work on the Gospel According to Mark on Sundays, April 7 and 21, from 10:15–11:15 a.m. in the Parish Center conference room. Parishioner Elizabeth Johnston is our facilitator. All are welcome at any time. Please bring a Bible or borrow one of ours.
A death binder is a tool to help organize and keep all your important documents, financial records, and personal wishes in one place to make things easier for your loved ones in the event of your death. Sara Worden from Hospicare will lead a workshop here on Sunday, April 14, from 12:30–2 p.m. in Mahler Hall to give us an overview of important documents to include and how to organize them. Lunch will be provided.
Join us for a dinner and a viewing of the documentary Common Ground on Monday, April 22, from 6–8 p.m. The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, Black, and Indigenous farmers who are using alternative regenerative models of agriculture that could help fight climate change and stabilize America's health and economy. Please bring your own drinks and a few dollars to contribute to pizza, as well as any other movie snacks you'd like. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at 6:15 p.m. The evening will end with a short discussion.
During this year of Eucharistic Revival, we are planning for more opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. We will have Adoration every Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. We would love to have all hours covered each Wednesday. You can sign up for an hour at the Parish Office or online: click here for April 3. Please note that there will not be Adoration on Wednesday of Holy Week (March 27). If this practice is new to you or you would like to learn more about Adoration, this article is a good introduction to this lovely practice.
It's time once again for the Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA). The CMA helps those in need throughout the diocese. The money raised in the appeal allows the diocese to take care of the poor, the troubled, the battered, and the addicted through 10 regional Catholic Charities organizations, including our own in Tompkins County. It supports chaplains for colleges, hospitals, and jails; provides Catholic school tuition assistance and youth retreats; trains catechists; and prepares our seminarians for ordination. The CMA also makes our parish ministries here at St. Catherine's possible. Please prayerfully consider making a gift. If you haven't received an envelope in the mail, you can get one at the Parish Office, or you can donate online at donate.dor.org. Thank you in advance for your generosity!
It's time for the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal. The CMA helps those in need throughout the diocese, and also helps to make our parish ministries possible here at St. Catherine's. This video tells you more about the importance of the appeal. We hope you will prayerfully consider making a gift. If you have not received an envelope from the diocese, you can pick one up in the Parish Office. You can also donate online at donate.dor.org. Many thanks for your consideration!
The Parish Office has new hours! Beginning Monday, September 19, our hours are: Mondays from 1–4 p.m.; Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; and Fridays from 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Thank you for your cooperation—we really appreciate it.
A huge thank you to all who helped us answer questions from the synod. Whether you answered in writing after Mass or in person at the synod gatherings, we truly appreciate your feedback! The Adult Faith Committee has taken great care to compile the responses and put together reports for the diocese. Please visit our synod page to see an explanation of how the reports were written, as well as a summary for each gathering.
The Tompkins County Health Department has suspended the local mask advisory as the spread of COVID has slowed. Therefore, masks are no longer required at St. Catherine's, but we encourage you to continue wearing a mask for the safety of your neighbors. Choir members will continue to wear masks and the plexiglass around the cantor stand and ambo will remain in place, since aspirants from singing can travel more than 20 feet. We continue to pray for healing for all those who are sick and for an end to this long pandemic.
Some parishioners have received emails purporting to be from Fr. Joe, usually asking for gift cards. Please know that these emails are all scams. Fr. Joe will never ask you for gift cards or any gift over the internet. These emails do not originate from Fr. Joe's official email address (
fr.joseph.marcoux@dor.org). Please discard and block these emails from your inbox.
Due to the prevalence of the Covid-19 Delta variant, we respectfully require that everyone attending Mass or meeting in the Parish Center wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. We pray for the health of the community and for an end to the pandemic.
The Online Learning Playlist for the second half of March centers our attention on Holy Week. You will learn about each of the days that make up Holy Week, have opportunities to celebrate these days at home and at church, and deepen your understanding of how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of all that we believe. Sign up
here to receive the playlist. We encourage everyone to give it a look!
St. Catherine's financial report for Fiscal Year 2020 is available
here. We apologize that it is not legible in the online version of the bulletin from November 22.
A blue Mutual Aid Food Sharing Cabinet is now at St. Catherine’s! Located in front of the church, this cabinet functions as a small food pantry that is available for all community members. If you can donate nonperishable food or other essential items, please put them in the cabinet. If the cabinet is full, you can drop them off in the Parish Center. If you need food or other items, please feel free to take them at any time. Please click
here for a list of suggested food and non-food items to donate. Also, a new "allergy box" has been added to the cabinet. Please add items to this clear plastic box that are options for those with dietary restrictions—gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or nut-free. Thank you!
Local clergy here in Ithaca made a video in response to recent acts of anti-Semitic and anti-Black vandalism. You can watch the video
here. Hate has no home here.
Our annual diocesan Catholic Ministries Appeal has begun. Please help us meet our parish goal of $56,250 by contributing to the appeal. You can send a check when you receive your CMA envelope, or you can donate online
here. The CMA enables our diocese to help the most vulnerable among us, as well as to help our parishes offer programs, services, and ministries we would not be able to provide on our own. For more information about the CMA, see the
diocesan website. You can view the video illustrating this year's appeal
here.