January 18, 2026

Dear Friends, Thanks to Father Rob for lending us his bulletin article this week! We were recently blessed to accompany fifteen of our parish teens to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, where we spent three days with 16,000 other Catholic teens and an hour in conversation with Pope Leo! If you were blessed to attend Mass at our parishes this weekend, you got to hear the witness of some of our amazing youth and catch their contagious spirit. In case you missed it, please check out the livestream recording of their Mass talks on our website. And if you’d like to hear even more from our NCYC teens, this week’s episode of our Faith Break podcast is devoted to interviews with our group. They have many beautiful stories to share about how they saw God during our pilgrimage and deeply desire to make the love of God they felt at NCYC real to everyone back home. NCYC can make a huge impact on the faith life of young people, as our parishes have seen over the many years we have participated. Thank you so much for supporting our teens and providing the opportunity for them to have this life-changing experience. It’s not only an investment in the future of our church, but it is bearing great fruit in our parish family today. In Gratitude for Many Blessings, Karen Luke and Anne Gallagher

Dear Friends, Well last Saturday, even with some sunshine, cold wind and snow these moments did not drive out the hearty Western New Yorkers to Mass. What drives folks out to Mass? Priorities??? The 4 PM Mass was so much lighter in attendance than usual. The 5:30 PM Mass which is not always heavy in attendance had 30 people coming together in worship. Note the photograph of these faithful 30 individuals. SO, I understand the drive of the loyal fans for the Buffalo Bills. I also understand that we hoped they be the winners of this high altitude game. They weren’t. I have said over and over again when you play these games, any game, there is a winner and, yes, a loser. No one wants to be the loser. But that is the reality. My friends who are more versed on football rules and such have made endless comments about the loss for the Bills. I wish they won but they didn’t. This past Sunday a parishioner wore a shirt that said continue to “BILLIEVE in the Bills.” I shared at the end of Mass, pointing out this shirt, let us, the faithful of Jesus, put as much energy and faith in continuing to believe in our Lord. There’s a place around the corner from our church, that I often refer to as the new mega church. It’s not a church but a sports arena. I refer to it as a new “church” because that’s where many folks now “worship.” Yep, the times are different. SO, I thank all of you who come to worship alongside me, our Parish Staff and fellow parishioners. We always refer to our faith as a mystery. It is for sure. I do believe, and yes, BILLIEVE, that miracles can happen. But please join me in believing in the miracles of being present to Jesus Christ, our brother. You may desire to always win. That’s understandable, but know when Jesus is your “quarterback” , you will be winning in the glory of your baptism! Blessings and Joys, Father Rob