Dear Friends, I want to thank all the generous stewards who prepared our Parish Ministry Fairs at Saint Catherine’s and Transfiguration last weekend! Those who made the time to visit all the ministry tables, thank you. AND thank you to all who expressed an interest in being part of our ministries and signed up to join or receive more information. Our two parishes are blessed by the goodness and involvement of so many making our communities vital to our professed Gospel! Next weekend, Bishop Bonnici will be with us! He asked to preside and preach at our 5:30 mass on Saturday evening at Saint Catherine’s. We hope you will come and worship with him and our brothers and sisters. There will be no 4 PM mass this day. A light reception will follow mass, perhaps outside, weather permitting. Otherwise, we will come together in Legacy Hall. I do hope you will welcome our Bishop and his secretary, Father Aaron Kelly! Bishop Bonnici has asked that our parishes do something very special to recognize the beginning of October. For our Universal Church this is Respect Life Month. Bishop Bonnici will preside at a Diocesan Holy Hour and Rosary for Life at Sacred Heart Cathedral, October 3 , from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Everyone is invited to join him at Sacred Heart. He also asked if our diocesan parishes might offer the same Holy Hour and Rosary for Life in our parishes at the same time. We invite our parishioners and others, you may wish to join us, for this opportunity at Saint Catherine of Siena’s Chapel. It will be October 3rd from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. As of this writing, Ben Cutter and I will lead this special time of prayer. Please join Ben and me in this moment. Hope everyone is doing well and know you are always in my prayers and thoughts! Blessings, Rob 

Dear Friends, Yellow School Buses are on the road reminding me another passage of time is happening. The young people and children I have been fortunate to talk to seem ready for this new school year. On the other hand, some are honestly expressing their hesitation in returning to a new academic year. This month I always recall the “Staples” ad with a woman, jubilant with her cart, going through the aisles with the music in the background ringing out “It’s the most Beautiful Time of the Year!”. I also remember a dear friend who for years always found this month sad. She so enjoyed having her children home for the summer and didn’t want it to end! Everyone has a thought, a memory, and a tug one way or another in their heart. Let’s pray for a safe, peaceful, enjoyable, and blessed year ahead for everyone in this new academic year! Our Parish Staff is getting excited about our welcoming Bishop Bonnici on September 26 ! We hope you and all our parishioners will join in welcoming him to the 5:30 PM mass at Saint Catherine’s. I am sure you’ll enjoy meeting him and praying with him at Mass. Ater the mass, a light reception will follow and give everyone some time to meet, greet, and welcome him to our parishes. Mark your calendars!!! On September 1 we began our new 2026 Season of Creation! I hope you received the great handout in last weeks bulletin offering us ideas on how to celebrate this season and continue to respect and care for the world God has entrusted to us. Pope Francis instilled in us inspiration for this treasured gift, God’s Creation, that has been placed in our hands. A focused theme for our 2026 journey is on “Living Water.” Check out Ezekiel 47:1-12. Water has been a major focus for ourselves and our sisters and brothers throughout the world. Too much water and flooding in so many areas ,and then not enough water in other areas where folks and landscapes are parched. Where can we find ourselves in helping to address this issue? The Season of Creation continues to October 4 , the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha are patron saints for creation and ecology. Let’s ask their intercession in our prayers to be good stewards of this fabulous world we are entrusted to care for ourselves and future generations. On September 12th very generous men/stewards from our parishes and beyond will be heading to Booneville, Kentucky. A week ago some of these wonderful brothers were at Mass. See the photo accompanying this article. We prayed over them and others in absentia, gifted them with a beautiful cross created by Sam Damico, and blessed their response to the Lord’s invitation to go and bring Good News to Booneville. Keep these gentlemen in your thoughts and prayers. May their week be abundant in blessings! I am prejudiced. I believe in a very good way. A man of God I have admired from the time I first met him is having a birthday. Not just a birthday, but his 90th birthday! Who would ever have thought I would be blessed to follow in his footsteps when he retired from Saint Catherine of Siena. I was so honored to be able to do so with the person I looked up to for his ministry, love of the Lord, and his wisdom on how to be bearers of Jesus’s Good News among one another! Father Jim Lawlor will be celebrated October 4th, from 2 – 4 PM, at Saint Anne’s Hall, 1600 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester NY, 14620. Everyone is invited!!! Please come and celebrate Jim if you are able. Please send him a card if you cannot at the address I mentioned above. Wow! We have been blessed with a wonderful friend and disciple of Jesus! Hope you’re doing well. As ever, know I’m remembering each of you in my prayer.  With Blessings & Joy, Father Rob

Dear Friends, This weekend leads us into Monday celebrating Labor Day. Mass will be celebrated at 9AM at Transfiguration. This day we acknowledge the dignity of work for all people. Those who still work, may we thank the Lord for what they provide for all of us. Let us also thank those blessed to be retired for their contributions they gave us over the years. May everyone enjoy a safe and enjoyable holiday. Some students have returned to school this past week and others will be returning this week. I pray for all our students at every level of education, teachers, professors, support staffs and everyone involved in the administration and care for our students. May we all keep them in prayer for a blessed year of learning, accomplishments that will enrich their lives, and for the safety of all. God bless these individuals! And to all who are reading this brief message, May God’s blessing be with you! Father Rob

Dear Friends, First of all, thank you to everyone who reached out to me with birthday greetings. I am very appreciative and grateful to the Lord for another day/year to celebrate joys and blessings of my natal life! I lift each of you in my prayers of thanksgiving!!! I was blessed to be with wonderful friends for my birthday and a week following. Some of you know, my “second home” has been in Beverly, Massachusetts. Now, get it right, I’ve never owned a home there, (hello, I do not have that financial realm) but I have been blessed to be part of the North Shore for forty plus years. I won’t bore you, but I met the North Shore of Cape Ann in 1982. The beginning of my journey there was as a Chaplain at Beverly Hospital with a seminary program called Clinical Pastoral Education. It was profound as I was to minister to the pediatric floor and the terminal dying. At this time, I actually lived in the hospital. It will always be a gift to me and my Director, Rev. Don Hunt was a wonderful, instrumental guide in my ministry. Then, a wonderful Pastor, Father Richard Johnson, asked if I would consider coming back the following summer and work with him. The parish was Saint Mary Star of the Sea. Well, it was possible and I did, and my life has never been the same. Many friends/family, I have made over these decades. There have been endless joys. And with love and time, we have had weddings, baptisms, stresses, funerals, and all the life situations we all know as families. I do not own physical property, but I will say, I have in my soul the bounty of family and friends in the most blessed way. I am grateful. As you might have heard and been informed about, Bishop John Bonnici will be with us September 26 for the 5:30 mass at Saint Catherine’s. We invited him to come and he asked if this liturgy would be possible. Well, of course!!! This day we will suspend our 4 PM mass so that we might all come together to meet and welcome our Bishop! I pray you will come and meet Bishop Bonnici. A few times, his presence has been gifted with me to engage in meeting him and having some conversation. After mass, there will be a light reception where you can introduce yourselves and welcome him to our parishes and diocese. If you are in town this weekend, please come and celebrate our mass with Bishop Bonnici and one another!  Holding onto summer, Blessings, Father Rob

Dear Friends, Fr. Rob is on a well-deserved vacation! Margie Benza has written this week’s column. Parish Ministry Fair September 12 and 13, 2026 It has been quite a while since we brought our faith communities together to offer a hands-on and visual opportunity to see where God is working through us in ministry. It’s also a moment of discernment where God may be calling you to serve. Our Ministry Fair will be held at both parishes after Masses on the weekend of September 12th and 13th . Each parish will offer information on their respective ministries with a chance to speak with someone, or take a flyer and sign up if you’re so moved. Think of the Ministry Fair as an opportunity to meet other parishioners, and share our time and talent with each other and for each other. From greeting or serving as a lector at Mass, helping with our faith formation ministry, serving those in need, to working in our Community Garden, there are so many ways for you to spread the good news of our faith through your actions. Our gospel continues to call us to serve one another in small ways ang large ways in our parishes, our city, in Kentucky or globally to name a few. A small example that I have seen personally is parishioners serving the homeless and hopeless. A small kindness filled their hunger and offered them hope and dignity. Join us, won’t you, for this opportunity to be the hands and hearts of Jesus in someone’s life? See you after Masses in the Parish Life Center at Transfiguration and in the Schnacky Center at St. Catherine’s. Margie Benza Pastoral Associate

Dear Friends, Fr. Rob is on a well-deserved vacation! Anne Gallagher and Karen Luke have written this week’s column. Parents, this is a special message just for you! (And everyone else, please share this message with a busy parent you know.) If you are anything like us, when the calendar flips to August, those "September scaries" start creeping up, and the anxiety about the fall family schedule begins. Everything can get overwhelming very quickly! Our prayer for you this month is that each of you can STOP, take a DEEP BREATH, and open a quiet space in your heart to listen to what God is speaking to you. As parents, we focus so much on our kids, but God desires to spend time with YOU too! Here are some opportunities coming up this year to help adults grow in faith. Please take a moment to prayerfully consider God's invitation to you. Adult Fellowship Nights: On Wednesday nights in October, join us for a free dinner and small group conversation at St. Catherine's, beginning at 6PM. Our topic is "Four Weeks to Fruitfulness", and we will be looking at the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and reflecting on how they speak to our daily lives. If you are looking for a fun way to jumpstart your prayer life and connect to our faith community, this short-term commitment is a great place to start! Childcare will be provided. Please RSVP to Anne by Oct. 1. Order of Christian Initiation for Adults: If you have never been baptized, been baptized Christian in another denomination, or been baptized Roman Catholic but never received First Eucharist or Confirmation, you are a candidate for the OCIA program. AND, if you are already a fully initiated Catholic but would like the chance to explore our Catholic beliefs more deeply alongside those who are preparing to be initiated, you are welcome to participate too! Sessions begin in the fall, and candidates are received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. Contact Karen for more info. Other great opportunities for adults coming up this fall include: ·Women’s Bible Study ·The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises ·Silent Directed Retreat Parent Survey: It's now been three years since St. Catherine and Transfiguration combined our lifelong faith formation offerings into a shared program. In that time, we've been blessed to get to know families from both parishes, to watch our ministries thrive, and to accompany so many people of all ages as they grow closer to God and the Church. THANK YOU for all you have done to support us and our faith community through these changes! Looking ahead, we know that there will always be more changes in store. While we are NOT planning any major changes to our program offerings in the 2026-2027 formation year, we need to use this time to intentionally and prayerfully plan for the future. Your voice matters to us. Please take the time to thoughtfully give us your feedback on some of the questions we are asking as we look to the future. Click HERE to take the survey. We are also convening a Faith Formation/Youth Ministry planning team to advise us as we set goals for the coming years. Please prayerfully consider joining us! We will be praying for all of you as we enjoy these last weeks of summer and gear up for the year ahead. Please hold us in your prayers as well! Peace in Christ, Anne and Karen

Dear Friends, I appreciate every season for what it brings before us from our God of Creation! Though, I’ll admit I have been particularly fond of summer for personal reasons since I was a child. As I grow older it takes more effort to appreciate summer with life, vocation, responsibilities, because of the demands of daily life. Nonetheless, I cherish these days. Did you see the “Buck Full Moon” last week? It was gorgeous and I marvel how God shares the gift of creation constantly with us! This was a gift to a beautiful summer evening. I’m going to take a break and vacation with lifelong friends in the coming days. Deacon Eric is always bringing to my attention to take some “Tomb Time” and refresh my heart and soul. So, that is my plan. I would like to share summer prayer with you. It was written by Father Austin Fleming who blogs at “A Concord Pastor Comments.” May you find it comforting as I do. “Come Summer With Me” Come summer with me, Lord; summer deep down in my soul; restore my faith in summer’s time, in rest, in joy, in play in you… Summer in my heart, Lord, and dwell there as if time would never end, as if all time were children’s time, eternal time when school is always out and joy is ever in… And let others summer in my shade, Lord, and share whatever summer’s peace is mine to give, whatever summer’s light is mine to shed, whatever summer’s warmth is mine to share… Good God of every season and every day this week, come summer with me, Lord, and let the child in my heart spend summer in your love… AMEN. Blessings to all, Father Rob

Dear Friends, One of the most wonderful things about our parishes are the many opportunities offered to bless our spiritual journeys. Morning mass and weekend mass are certainly at the top of our opportunities to enrich and enliven our growth as Catholic Christians. This summer we had a phenomenal Vacation Bible School that was exuberant with the voices of our young people, echoed by our enthusiastic volunteers and led by, I am prejudiced, by the greatest Parish Leaders, Karen Luke and Anne Gallagher. This past week, Anne gathered some of our best youth for a week of generous stewardship volunteering with our Sisters of Saint Joseph. The group spent the week residing on Gregory Street and going out to various missions each day! I had the honor of joining them for dinner on Tuesday evening. What a joy to be in their company, hear their stories, and to witness the love of Jesus working through their lives. September will come all too, too, quickly but spiritual journeys will come forth with the Annual Men’s Kentucky Retreat, the Women’s Bible Study, and a Directed Silent Retreat. Do check our website and parish email for all the important information addressing these great offerings. I would like to mention something dear to my heart and soul. Are you aware of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises? I am almost positive if you are not, you may know someone who has been part of this most blessed gift. OK, I am one of them. If you know anyone who has participated, then you know someone whose spiritual life has never been the same! Ask the person you know. Ask them if their time was well spent in growing as a fully engaged Christian. This experience is one of the most wonderful decisions I made. At first, many firsts, could I make the commitment. Well let me tell you, when it was coming to ending, I could not believe how quick it went by and how sad I was to say it was ending. But of course, when you experience this gift, it never ends! I hope you have been following the bulletin and emails about this experience. If not, check out the information by contacting Bob Muhlnickle at rlmuhlnickel@gmail.com or me. I hope you will prayerfully pray about being part of this years, Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. You will not be disappointed. Nor will the Lord, who will be pleased you are giving Him this time! Blessings, Father Rob

Dear Friends, Really? This is the last weekend of July? The days are going by quickly and I keep reminding myself, when I am blessed to wake up to another morning, to be grateful for the present moment. Our Sacred Scriptures have been sharing several parables lately. This weekend Matthew tells us the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in the field. Where is your field? On the Fourth of July weekend we were asked where is our allegiance, to the kingdom of this earthly world, or the kingdom of God? Ultimately, though I won’t speak for everyone, where is our allegiance? Are we committed to the life of Jesus Christ, his call to being responsible to the least of our sister and brothers, proclaiming His kingdom, and loving God, and our neighbors, as ourselves? And so, in conclusion from reflecting on this weekend’s Gospel, I share: By using a variety of images, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what the kingdom of heaven will be. Its discovery is a sudden joy; it takes a person by surprise; it happens in secret. But simply discovering the kingdom is not enough: the treasure buried in the field and the pearl of great price must be possessed at any cost. And it costs everything one has to obtain the pearl. Do we understand? Are we ready for the discovery of the kingdom? More importantly, once we have found it, are we willing to make everything we own on it? Everything??? I am praying on this. What about you? Blessings and Joys, Father Rob