God in His great wisdom, through Bishop Matano, has called Fr. Jorge Ramirez (Fr. George) to become the pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Webster, NY. He was serving in this community as a seminarian when he first came to the United States. Now, he will return as a Pastor to serve this community. But, he is not leaving tomorrow. I will be continuing to work at N.E.T. Catholic until June 27th, 2023. That day, Fr. John Gagnier will come as your new Parochial Administrator.
Fr. John Gagnier is the Parochial Administrator of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hamlin, NY. He was born on January 14th, 1952, and was ordained as a priest on April 28th, 1978. He will celebrate very soon his 45th anniversary as a priest for our Diocese of Rochester. He will travel to Vatican City to celebrate his priestly anniversary and to have an audience with Pope Francis. He, from the Vatican, will pray in company of his holiness Pope Francis for each one of us, especially the members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish, and of course, N.E.T. Catholic. Fr. Gagnier is a good priest and an excellent administrator. He will work hard for All Saints, Holy Cross, and St. Anthony’s Church. He will join N.E.T. Catholic on June 27th, 2023. Let us welcome Fr. Gagnier!
Let us renew our faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist through this Eucharist Revival that our Diocese of Rochester is introducing to us. If you want to know more about the Eucharist Revival, please click here.
What is happening at N.E.T. Catholic
This last week, 15 children received Jesus for the first time in their First Communion. All the three parishes of N.E.T. had wonderful celebrations. I could see how excited our children were and there was a big smile on their faces. Personally, I want to congratulate and express all my gratitude to Andra Benson, Mary Ann Kozak, and each one of the catechists (Religious Education teachers) from All Saints, Holy Cross, and Saint Anthony’s Church for the wonderful and extraordinary work they did to prepare our children to celebrate their First Communion and for sharing their faith with our children during Religious Education.
First Communion is not the only sacrament that N.E.T. Catholic is celebrating in addition to the Eucharist and Confessions. First, this coming Wednesday, May 24th, N.E.T. Catholic will celebrate the wonderful Sacrament of Confirmation at All Saints Church at 7:00 p.m. Usually, the Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated at Immaculate Conception in Ithaca, but because the church is under construction, the Diocese of Rochester decided to have the Confirmations at All Saints. Youth from All Saints Church, St. Catherine of Siena, Immaculate Conception, St. Mary our Mother, St. Mary, Auburn, Holy Name of Jesus, and Blessed Trinity will be receiving this sacrament. There will be 23 youths in total, and 2 of them are from All Saints Church. This year we do not have any youth from Saint Anthony or Holy Cross Church, but we will next year. Bishop Matano will be the presider of this sacrament, and priests from the other parishes will be concelebrating, including myself. This Sacrament of Confirmation is a great opportunity to live the Solemnity of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for these youths so that the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and that they receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Second, N.E.T. Catholic during these days is also celebrating several baptisms. It is always great to see an increase in the community of believers in Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. Parents and godparents have the responsibility to educate their children in faith, Christian values, and teach them how to be a good person who helps in society. Also, we, as Christian community, have the responsibility to teach our children, with our good example, how to be a real Catholic, a person who believes in Jesus Christ. Let us also pray for these parents and godparents who are baptizing their children in the faith of the Church, and of course, let us pray for these children so that they become people who always give testimony to the truth in Jesus Christ.
May God continue to bless our mothers always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez.
Confirmation Prayer
Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people,
so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation
as they listen to Your voice.
Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfillment
the good work that You have begun in them.
As we prepare these children for Confirmation,
make each of us an instrument of Your love.
Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others,
and to be patient with what we do not understand.
Deepen our faith in the Gospel
and help us to pass it on by our example.
We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life
and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right.
All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son,
forever and ever.
Amen.
This is a letter from Bishop Matano regarding the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
To read the letter please click here
St. Anthony Church has a great collection of religious books. Please, come and borrow one of these books. Once you finish, give them back. The library is opened after Mass.
You can find the list of the books clicking here
Please call Catholic Charities directly at
(607) 288-2350
Please text or call and leave a
voice mail
Main Parish Office Phone Number
(607) 533-0145
347 Ridge Road, Lansing, NY 14882
Monday-Thursday
9:00 am-3:00 pm
Parish Office Hours
Holy Cross
Wednesday 9:55 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
375 George Road, Freeville, NY 13068
Saint Anthony
Tuesday 9:55 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
312 Locke Road, Groton, NY 13073
All Saints
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
347 Ridge Road, Lansing, NY 14882
Report financial fraud and suspicious activity.
Anonymously call the Hotline at
585-328-3228, ext. 1266
(or toll-free to 800-388-7177, ext. 1266)
or file written reports to
Internal Audit Department
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
1150 Buffalo Road
Rochester, New York 14624
Victims of sexual abuse should always report to the civil authorities.
To report a case of possible sexual abuse and to receive help and guidance from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, victims are encouraged to contact the Victim Assistance Coordinator:
Deborah Housel
585-328-3228, ext. 1555
1-800-388-7177, ext. 1555
[email protected]
For more information on the protection of children:
N.E.T. Catholic Safe Environment and response to the crisis:
Follow this link https://www.netcatholic.org/safe
DOR Safe Environment
Follow this link https://www.dor.org/safe/ to the many resources in the Protecting Our Children portion of the diocesan website.
Creating A Safe Environment Newsletter
USCCB Safe Environment
Follow this link https://www.usccbprevention.org/ to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Prevention Website.