St. Mary of the Falls

Letter from Bishop Perez (Oct. 26, 2018)

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

Eternal rest grant unto them:

Parishioner, David Carrick, husband of Kathleen.  

Friends, please watch and share my most recent video with your family and friends.  

In light of the recent scandals, I know many people are wondering whether they should remain in the Catholic Church. And I totally get that; the outrage is warranted.

But in this time of crisis, I beg you not to flee, but to fight--not violently, with the weapons of the world, but with the weapons of the Spirit. We need you.

Watch and share the video here:http://bit.ly/2wADHHo

http://stmaryofthefalls.com/parish-calendar

HERE ARE A FEW DATES
YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAVE!

Fri., Dec. 7 ~ Family Movie Night, 
"Polar Express"
7PM in the Community Room

Sat., Dec. 8 ~ Holy Day of Obligation
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Masses at 8AM and 10AM

Mon., Dec. 10 ~ Taize Prayer Service
7PM in the Church

Fri., Dec. 21 ~  Music Ministry Concert
7PM in the Church

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

Did you know that, here at St. Mary of the Falls, 581 parishioners have pledged $94,542 toward our parish goal of $78,368.  That is 120.64% of our overall goal. 

Your support makes a difference and transforms lives. 

Visit www.catholiccommunity.org/2018appeal to see the faces of those impacted by your generosity! 

Thank you to all who have donated to the 2018 appeal. 

In this season of Advent, we are preparing ourselves for the celebration of Christ's birth. 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 this holiday season. 

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

Already using Faith Direct? Log in to add your Christmas or end-of-year contributions to your account! 

Thank you for your continued support of our parish family. 

One more day, God’s way! 

Considering the latest sexual abuse scandals, we thought you would enjoy reading an article taken from the Plain Dealer Forum section on November 28, written by one of our parishioners, Jim Walters.  It is nice to see something positive and we wanted to share it with you.  Our thanks to the Plain Dealer for including this view of the Catholic Church. 

When I was around 17, a priest transferred into our parish and was assigned the duties of youth minister.  He corralled many of us teens together to form a tight-knit social group and began to teach us Christ's greatest lesson — love.  Love ourselves, each other and our fellow man.  He arranged outings to venues of all kinds, and for a time we enjoyed a Camelot-like existence. 

As we grew, he celebrated our birthdays, graduations, married us and, later, even helped us bury our dead.  Today, I am married 43 years to the same girl whose hand I first held back then.  We have two wonderful, adult children and five grandchildren, and all are a byproduct of the Rev. Neil O'Connor's priceless influence in our lives during those formative years. 

The Catholic Church is under siege at present and all we see illuminated are its comparatively small percentage of failures.  Tragic though they are, they pale in comparison to all the good that has been done by many more just like Father O'Connor.  Our brand of faith remains one of the most original, spiritual, intellectual and charitable forms of worship to this day.  Adherence to its concepts of love and forgiveness yields the kinds of blessings that span a lifetime.

Jim Walters, Olmsted Township

I was standing in the middle of town a few days ago, waiting to cross Columbia Rd., headed for a dinner “meeting” when I heard the sound of some lovely church bells in the air!  And they were coming from my spiritual home!  That’s right, St. Mary of the Falls!  There’s just something about the sound of church bells ringing that really enhances the ambiance of our wonderful community.  Have YOU noticed the new bells, perhaps while waiting for Mass to begin, or perhaps just on the hour as you’re driving or walking through town?  Actually, they are not new bells.  The wonderful new bell tones are the result of a new carillon recently installed here at the parish.  For those who don’t know, a carillon is a fancy piece of equipment that electronically simulates the sound of bells, that are then played through speakers placed in the steeple. 

We have had a carillon for many years (decades, actually), but for the last half-dozen years or so, our old carillon has slowly lost functionality and reliability.  It was no longer able to play music, and was hit-or-miss when it came to announcing the hour, or to being used for tolling or pealing at funerals and other celebrations.  We’ve known about this for some time, but the cost of replacing the carillon just wasn’t in our budget.  When a concerned parishioner inquired about why the bells weren’t working, they generously, but anonymously, stepped forward and purchased for us a new state-of-the-art carillon, which was just recently installed.  The final system tweaks should be completed by the time you read this.  As we move through Advent into the Christmas season, you can expect to be periodically greeted by wonderful bell tones being played for not only our parishioners, but for the entire community to hear and enjoy. 

Thank you to our anonymous donor, who joins a long line of other dedicated parishioners that we are grateful for (you know who you are!) who are working to make the words of our parish Mission Statement “ring” true.  St. Mary of the Falls is definitely “a place we can truly call home.”  Now you know!

If you see an unmet need in our parish, and want to be part of the solution, talk to someone on the staff.  We’re all ears!