"Making Hope More Real This Advent" - Join us for a Retreat Day, Saturday, December 6 - 10:00am - 2pm at Sacred Heart Community Center. Sister Joan Sobala, S.S.J. will be our guest speaker. Chili and sandwich luncheon provided.
SHARE THE WARMTH. MAKE AN IMPACT.
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A Joyful Celebration: Welcoming Our Shepherd Bishop Matano
Dear Parishioners,
I am honored to announce that the Most Reverend Bishop Salvatore Matano, Our Bishop will be visiting our parish to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on Saturday, December 27th, 4.00 PM at St, Mary’s Church, Dansville. This will be the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph—OUR PARISH PATRON SAINTS This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and pray with our shepherd. All are invited to join us for this special Mass. The Bishop, as the shepherd of our diocese, plays a vital role in our faith community, and his visit is a sign of our unity with the wider Church. This Mass is a special occasion for us to experience his ministry firsthand and receive his pontifical blessing. I encourage all parishioners, their families, and friends to attend this significant event. Let us show our warm hospitality and join together in prayer and worship.
From the Desk of Father John
Dear Parishioner,
It’s hard to believe that this Thursday is Thanksgiving. Yet, as we approach this national holiday, we are offered an opportunity to look at our lives- where we’ve been, and where we’re going. I think it’s important not just to simply get caught up in the planning of the “event” itself, but rather to really give thanks. Sometimes our sights can be set on what we don’t have or on what we think we need – what we want! Thanksgiving asks us to look at what we already have – the things we can take for granted. And so, as we prepare for the “big dinner” and find ourselves running around with grocery lists in our hands, adventurously maneuvering shopping carts in over-crowded supermarkets, remind ourselves that the frantic pace isn’t necessarily “what it’s all about.” Try to take some time in the quiet to offer thanks: for family, friends, life, love – most especially for our Faith that sees us through so many of life’s challenges. Always remember that Jesus gives us what we need, although it might not be what we want. But somewhere, amidst the confusion of it all, Jesus is trying to make us ever more aware of his presence: calling us to a greater dependence on Him. On this thanksgiving, l am grateful to be your pastor and each day in the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, l thank God that you are our parishioners. I know that you care and work hard to make HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC COMMUNITY our HOME amidst joys and challenges.
It is my hope that this Thanksgiving we can say “Thank You” to those people who always seems to be just around when we need them. Those people who do so much for us and never seem to want anything in return. I hope to express our gratitude to those people who mean so much to us. Please allow me to offer a word of thanks to all of you for your love and dedication to Holy Family Community. We, as a parish family, certainly have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! In the last 4 years you have taught me so much in the ways of Faith through your good example, loving support, and love of Christ. I am strengthened in my priesthood because of you. This parish truly is a piece of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
The delicious turkey dinners and scrumptious pumpkin pies are superb memorial dishes that we share during the Thanksgiving holiday. The memories that we make are something we will treasure for many years to come. But how blessed are we as Catholics to recognize that no Thanksgiving is greater than by giving thanks to God by going to Mass regularly and receiving devoutly the Holy Eucharist. It is hard to fathom how Catholics who have lost their practice of giving thanks to God by going to Mass and yet religiously celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday every year. No matter how delicious the turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes taste, they can never be a substitute for giving thanks to God without giving him his due worship. If you know of Catholics who have wandered away from the Mass and the sacraments, explain to them the beauty of the Mass and the Eucharist as the eternal Thanksgiving that our souls yearn for. Invite them to return to the Catholic Church, their spiritual home. The church’s New Year, Advent, is one week away. This is a great time for those who have wandered away from God to return HOME. One good confession is all it takes for them to be fully back in the church. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to see you at Mass on Thanksgiving Day.
While it is not a holy day of obligation, it would be a great way of giving thanks to God for all the blessings we have received. And I believe that by starting our day with God as a big part of our Thanksgiving celebration, we will enjoy an even bigger Thursday feast once we begin to ‘gobble gobble’ our meal! Let us all consecrate a special moment and express our gratitude to God for his goodness, care, compassion, generosity and love. Our Holy Family Catholic Community Thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, 9.00 AM, Nov. 27th, 2025, at St. Mary’s Church, Dansville.
I do pray that Thanksgiving will be enjoyed with family and friends. I hope you take the time to give each person an opportunity to express their gratitude for life and love. Members of our families are treasures to us, are blessings to us. So, this Thanksgiving is a good time to remember and cherish them in our lives who, in need and indeed, in sickness and in health, are always with us in kindness and let us know that we count. “Life goes so quickly. You have no promise of what your future holds, so live for today, and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember. Make your “Life” a gift to all you meet. Make it a fantastic one. Remember it is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Throw out your lists that are impossibly long and dance a few steps to a favorite song. Let yourself float like a leaf on a stream, relax with your memories and let yourself dream. Do things that will hold the most meaning for you and yours. Turn off the news and find someone who will listen and talk to you. Affirm what you feel. It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.” Our Staff, Pastoral and Finance Councils, and l wish you a blessed, holy and Happy Thanksgiving! I love you all and God bless Fr. John