St. Mary of the Falls

T6PM Mass AND Lifeteen for Sunday January 20 HAVE BEEN CANCELED.
Stay safe and warm!

The Parish Office will be closed
Monday, January 21
In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Eternal rest grant unto them:

Raymond Yanuck

Parishioner, Gladys Mendez

Barbara Kovacik, mother of parishioner, Mary Denihan

Virginia Moore, mother of parishioner, Joan Fenrich

Patricia Schramke

Parishioner, Phil Smith,
husband of Maria

Parishioner, Justina “Jessie” Colombo

http://stmaryofthefalls.com/parish-calendar

HERE ARE A FEW DATES
YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAVE!

Sat. Jan. 19 ~ Knights of Columbus Reverse Raffle, 6PM in the Parish Hall

Sun. Jan. 27 ~ Catholic Schools Week Pancake Breakfast, 9AM-1:30PM in the Parish Hall

Sun. Jan. 27 ~ St. Mary of the Falls School Open House, 11AM-2PM, in the school  

Wed., March 6 ~ Ash Wednesday

Sat. Mar. 9 ~ Knights of Columbus Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner, 6PM in the Parish Hall.  

Letter from Bishop Perez (Oct. 26, 2018)

Diocese of Cleveland Questions and Answers regarding the clergy sexual abuse scandal (November 2018)

Watch and share Bishop Robert Barron's  video here: http://bit.ly/2wADHHo

Normal Office Hours

Directions
25615 Bagley Road
Olmsted Falls, OH 44138
(440) 235-2222

Oremus is the invitation to pray. 
To join the Oremus prayer team or to submit prayer requests, contact Gretchen Ratcliff at 440.655.2385 or gratcliff35@gmail.com, or drop your intention in the box on the table in the parking lot vestibule! 

No intention is too small or great for our God!

 

We, St. Mary of the Falls, are a spirit-led people who pledge themselves to continued growth as a Eucharistic community centered in Word and Worship.  

We dedicate ourselves to witness and openness to the unknown of God's will, to molding ourselves into a family of God - a parish all can truly call home.  
 

One more day, God's way!

Fr. Wally

The weekend of February 26/27 we will take up a collection for the Church in Latin America.  For many in Latin America and the Caribbean, a rising secular culture, difficult rural terrain, and a shortage of ministers present obstacles to practicing the faith. 

Your support to the collection provides lay leadership training, catechesis, priestly and religion formation, and other programs to share our faith with those who long to hear the Good News of Christ. 

To learn more about how you can make a difference please visit www.usccb.org/latin-america. 

Please place your donation in the envelope provided in your monthly packet, or any envelope clearly labeled “The Church in Latin America” and drop it in the regular collection basket on or before January 27. 

To view the insert that appears in the February 20 bulletin, click here.  

Thank you for your generosity.

Recently, an email that appeared to be from Fr. Wally was sent out by hackers.

If you receive an email from Fr. Wally (or any friend), asking for help, think twice before you reply. Well-meaning church congregations are being duped out of money after receiving an email from their pastor requesting help. If you reply, you'll be asked to buy iTunes Gift Cards for a parishioner with cancer. Some parishioners, because they are very generous people, might think the email asking for money really is from Fr. Wally (or other friend).

Unfortunately, the iTunes Gift Card scam is a common ruse. Once the scammers get the code on the back of the card they’re gone. The FBI reportedly receives more than 800 complaints a day about this scam — and people lost more than $1.3 billion in 2016 to the iTunes Gift Card scam. The reason scammers ask for iTunes Gift Cards rather than cash is the codes are hard to trace — and once they have the code they can resell the card to get money.

Until they find a way to stop the iTunes Gift Card scam, we just need to use caution when dealing with people online. Never take someone at their word - before you act on the request, call your friend to see if they really are in need.

There were three very important clues in the scam email that went out last week:

1. Neither Fr. Wally nor any member of the parish staff will ever reach out to you personally via email to ask for money. 
2. Fr. Wally’s correct email addresses are FrWally@stmaryofthefalls.com or frwallysmof@hotmail.com.  Any other email address using his name is bogus. 
3. Fr. Wally’s sign-off is “One more day, God’s way!” — the scammer used “peace & blessings.” 

While we're on the subject, phishing emails are one of the most common online threats, so it is important to be aware of the tell-tale signs and know what to do when you encounter them. Here are five ways to spot phishing attacks:

1. The email asks you to confirm personal information. When an authentic-looking email makes requests that you wouldn’t normally expect, like personal information or banking credentials, it’s often a strong giveaway that it’s not from a trusted source after all. Do not reply or click any links. Instead, contact the sender or organization directly. Do not use any communication method provided in the suspicious email.                                                           
2. The web and email addresses do not look genuine. Take a moment to examine the email address. You may find that it’s a bogus variation intended to appear authentic ‒ for example: @mail.airbnb.work as opposed to @Airbnb.com. Malicious links can also be concealed with the body of email text, often alongside genuine ones. Before clicking on links, hover over and inspect each one first.                                                                                
3. It’s poorly written. It is amazing how often you can spot a phishing email simply by the poor language or spelling used in the body of the message. Check for spelling and grammatical mistakes, as well as strange turns of phrase. An email that is riddled with mistakes is likely a phish.                                                                                                                                      
4. There’s a suspicious attachment. Attachments can contain a malicious URL or trojan, leading to the installation of a virus or malware on your PC or network. Even if you think an attachment is genuine, it’s good practice to always scan it first using antivirus software.           
5. The message is designed to make you panic. An email may claim that your account may have been compromised and the only way to verify it is to enter your login details. Alternatively, the email might state that your account will be closed if you do not act immediately. Ensure that you take the time to really think about whether an email is asking something reasonable of you. If you’re unsure, contact the company through other methods.

Being cautious with emails is your best defense. When in doubt, throw it out! Even if you know the source, if something looks suspicious, delete it.

And finally, it's a good idea to regularly change your email password.

We hope this email is helpful ~ be safe and remember . . .

One more day, God's way!

Why not help our own parish prepare for the coming new year by signing up with Faith Direct?  By supporting St. Mary of the Falls, both you and our parish can save some time and peace of mind in the year ahead. 

Signing up is easy! To enroll or make changes in your contribution plan, visit www.faithdirect.net and use our church code: OH445. 

Thank you for your continued support of our parish family. 

One more day, God’s way!