My dear friends,
To all named Matthew today, a Happy Name Day as we celebrate the Feast of this amazing Saint, Apostle and Evangelist (once of the authors of the Gospels)!
The Scripture verse above comes from the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is trying to prepare the Twelve Apostles for His Paschal Mystery - the name we use to describe Jesus' suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. Sometimes when we enter a share in this Passion of Jesus, a share we all received at Baptism, we are afraid to engage the Lord about what were are going through, expressing what we are struggling with and receiving His presence into our lives so that it can be His power that works through us and in the situation we are being allowed to endure.
Thank you so much to Camille Roche for all she did to organize and coordinate yet another wonderful parish picnic! Even though it had to be in the South Lot, it was a great day for all who participated.
Thank you to Mary Rausch, who assisted Camille, and to all the other members of the Parish Council who volunteered. To Eileen Tobin, a number of the parents of Confirmation (and pre-Confirmation) candidates and to their children who served, to a number of our IHM college-aged parishioners for their strength, to our Troop 2 Boys of Scouting for the children's games and to the Scarsdale Fire Department - thank you! To our caterer, Manny, who graciously sets us up the same weekend he is cooking for the Greek Festival, thank you for a delicious cookout!
September is always an intense beginning to the new school year and church year. This Monday and Wednesday, Religious Education welcomes students and families of grades 1 and Kindergarten! There will also be meetings with the families of those receiving Holy Communion May 2025 (Tuesday at 7pm) and the May 2025 Confirmation candidates and their parents (Wednesday 7:30pm in the upper and lower church).
HSOR (IHM's High School Program for parishioners) returns this Wednesday, September 25th at 7:30pm in the school auditorium with Nancy Vericker assisted by Elise, Ray and Mike! (Parents of 9th graders, please encourage your new high school students to bring a few friends and join in a great experience!)
Thursday evening in the Marian (Adoration) Chapel at 6:45 a young adult organized hour of Eucharistic Adoration will take place. This time is reserved for Young Adults only and Confession will be offered. The lights and music will provide a unique environment to encounter the Eucharistic Christ this Thursday evening.
This weekend we will hear briefly from a member of the Knights of Columbus Council that serves the Parishes of IHM, Immaculate Conception-Assumption of Tuckahoe and St. Joseph's of Bronxville. Perhaps a number of the men of IHM will consider becoming a Knight of Columbus in next weekend's exemplification (induction ceremony) September 29th at 1:30pm.
Next Sunday, September 29th we also have a lot going on!
- The Parish Council will host a welcome back Coffee and Donuts after all the Sunday Masses. I encourage anyone who would like to volunteer for this great parish social to call the rectory (914-723-0276) and assist the council members.
- The 10:30am Mass will have a Blessing of all our Anniversary Couples celebrated 25, 50 and more years, followed by a toast!
- IHM's second Sensory Friendly Mass will be at 3:00pm - please know all families are welcome, even those not IHM parishioners!
Thank you to all who joined our IHM School in raising money for Tunnel to Towers Foundation - it was a great Color Run, over $30k has been raised, and this week some students will have a chance to visit the mobile 9/11 museum in Eastchester!
Apologies that since the carpet work has been finished, our livestream is down. After two passes to fix it, we expect the issue to be resolved sometime Monday.
This weekend, I look forward to celebrating the 5:30pm Saturday Vigil Mass (and to welcome my cousin Hank Benedetto and his wife, Dana, from Michigan who are passing through the area) and the 10:30am and 12noon Sunday Masses.
Fr. Thumma will have the 7:30am and the 9:00am and I will take the Children's Liturgy in the lower church.
Please note the message from our Music Director below -
A blessed Sunday to all!
From our IHM Music Director, Dr. Laurie Adamo:
I would like to extend an invitation to join the adult choir at IHM. It is a wonderful group of people that serve the parish by their dedication and talents by leading the
congregation in songs of praise at the 10:30m Masses as well as many holidays throughout the year. Practices are held on Tuesdays at 7pm in the church (the door by the chapel will be unlocked) and usually last one hour. Please feel free to talk to me after any of the Masses if you are interested in joining this ministry.
On December 13 we will once again welcome back the Modus Operandi Orchestra and soloists, under the baton of Dr. Justin Bischof, for a sing-a-long performance of Handel’s Messiah. For those of you that have attended in the past, you know just how wonderful an evening this is, and the caliber of the performance is simply magnificent. Ticket information will be announced shortly, but I would like to take the opportunity to ask for your help with sponsoring this event. The price of the tickets does not cover the costs of having an event like this, so we would like to ask for your help in sponsoring part of the concert, whether it be on a corporate level or in memory of a loved one. Any help would be greatly appreciated and would allow us to continue to hold events like this at IHM.
Please see Monsignor Sweeney if you are interested in supporting this wonderful event.
Thank you,
Laurie Adamo