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Nocturnal Adoration Society
The Nocturnal Adoration Society is an
association for Catholic men and women. It has a threefold purpose:
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To provide a fervent response to Christ’s invitation to
keep prayerful vigil with Him,
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To deepen the experience of communion with Christ Eucharistic, as He
continues His self-offering and saving influence,
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To live more consciously and actively the full significance of the
Eucharist as the Sacrament of charity and unity for the Church and the
world.
It is the only parish
sponsored Chapter of the Society in the Diocese of Ogdensburg. Every
Thursday, before the First Friday of the month, members of the Society
pray before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, on a rotating hourly basis,
from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on First Friday. Membership is always open
to all who are interested.
Our Mission Statement:
“As members of the Body of Christ throughout the world,
we are aware that we are called to be responsive to the
Christian calling to seek and find the forgotten, the
suffering, or the deprived, so that we may bring them
comfort and aid. We pledge ourselves to be generous with
our time, our possessions and ourselves, and to be
charitable and cognizant of the needs of God’s people.”
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international
Catholic organization of lay persons, founded in 1833 by
Frederick Ozanam and his companions. Placed under the
patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, the Society derives
its inspiration from his thinking and work. It seeks, in
a spirit of justice and charity, and by person-to-person
involvement of its members, to help those who are
suffering and in need.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mary’s Cathedral
is dedicated to addressing individual circumstances that
call for help, and to seeking answers to the larger
social justice issues that underlie local needs. We
accomplish these tasks through various ways: running a
second-hand store (operated by the Ladies of Charity),
meeting weekly, providing travel aid and food aid,
serving for funeral Masses, visiting and delivering
flowers to hospitals and nursing homes, visiting
shut-ins, assembling and delivering Christmas baskets
with a complete dinner to families in need, and granting
monetary assistance if possible. Many other works are
provided according to individual needs and requests.
If you are interested in serving the poor and
suffering in our community by joining the St. Vincent de
Paul Society, please contact Deacon Francis "Spike"
Bateman at 393-3930.
“For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good
News into all the strata of humanity, and through its
influence transforming humanity from within and making
it new” (Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi).
Evangelization has several ingredients:
1. Love of God, love of others, and love of self;
2. Invitation to an ongoing personal relationship with
Christ;
3. Ongoing conversion;
4. Conscious, active, extension of ourselves within the
community;
5. Nurturing the spiritual growth within the context of
a worshiping faith community; and
6. The ministry of loving service to others
Evangelization is an ongoing process. Its is a
person-centered ministry, and its core is the person of
Jesus Christ. The message of evangelization always
remains the same: dedication to conversion of self and
others in the power of Him who was crucified, died, and
rose again. This dedication leads to a renewed parish,
which in turn will become an evangelizing parish,
reaching out and welcoming strangers.
The Evangelization Committee for St. Mary’s Cathedral
meets at 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.
Its purpose is to initiate processes and programs to the
rector which will assist him with the spiritual growth
of the parishioners, to reach out to fallen away
Catholics and assist with their return to the Church,
and to inspire and encourage those who may wish to join
the Catholic Church.
If interested in joining the Evangelization Committee,
please contact the Cathedral Rectory at 393-3930.
When a loved one dies, there are a number of details
that must be worked out in preparation for the wake,
funeral, and burial. This can be extremely difficult
when grieving the death of a loved one. The bereavement
committee seeks to make the preparations for the wake
and funeral mass as easy as possible. A committee member
will meet with the family member or friend to help with
the selection of songs and readings, or to help answer
questions about the preparation process. In addition,
the committee members present a gift of food to the
grieving family, and send a card of remembrance the
following year. Each year for All Souls Day, the
Bereavement Committee is responsible for planning and
organizing the remembrance ceremony, in which all the
deceased of the parish are remembered and prayed for.
The committee members are dedicated to helping the
family or friends of a deceased person in any way
possible.
To join the Bereavement Committee, or if you need their
help, call Fr. Terry LaValley at 393-3930.
In process of being formed
The Parish Council at St. Mary’s Cathedral provides
leadership and direction in formulating and carrying out
the goals and objectives of the pastoral activity in the
parish. The Council assists in developing a spiritual
unity in the local parish through enhancing
participation in the life of the parish on the part of
the faithful. The Council also participates in
identifying and organizing the apostolic activities by
which the parish meets the specific needs of the people.
In short, the Council helps the Rector set policies,
establish goals and priorities, plan the means of
achieving the goals, and produce a plan of action. Three
main committees have been established by the Council to
meet the needs of the parish community. They are:
Liturgy Committee, Evangelization Committee, and
Socialization Committee. Ultimately, the Parish Council
is a ministry of service to the greater Church
community.
Non-elected Members:
The Rector - Fr. Terry LaValley
One Deacon Assistant chosen by the Rector - Deacon
Spike Bateman
The Parish Trustees - David Rishe,
Joanna Hollis
Pastoral Associate - Sr. Mary Teresa LaBrake, GNSH
Elected Members:
Barbara
Burns
Barbara Rogers
Barbara Wood
Joseph
Cosentino
James Crowley, SMDA liaison
Joseph Tebo
Judith Pearson
Michael Peo
William Herzog
The Legion of Mary is an
Association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the
Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary
immaculate, have formed themselves into a Legion for
service of the Church through prayer and action. They
offer their time and service to the Rector to aid him in
performing spiritual works in the parish.
The main activities of
the Legion of Mary at St. Mary’s Parish include: weekly
meetings; visitations to the sick, shut-ins, and nursing
homes (where they lead the recitation of the Rosary);
daily individual recitation of the Rosary; monthly curia
meetings; yearly correspondence to Legion representative
in the Bronx; and Acies ceremonies at which members
renew their promises.
Membership in the
Legion of Mary is open to all men and women, married or
single. If you are interested in joining us in our
mission to pray for the Church through the intercession
of Mary, please call the Cathedral Rectory at 393-3930.
This group is made up of
women dedicated to saying the Rosary and who are
committed to praying for the promises from Our Lady of
Fatima. Members of the Apostolate meet once a week for
an hour in the St. Mary’s Chapel for prayer. Our Lady of
Fatima asked that we pray often and make sacrifices to
God. We try to make everything we do a sacrifice and
offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which
God is offended, and in supplication for the conversion
of sinners. We pray also to bring peace to our country
and, above all, to accept and bear with submission the
sufferings that our Lord has sent.
Other prayers include:
consecration to Mary, meditation on the Rosary,
intentions of the Pope, reparation for sin and offences
against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart
of Mary.
Every first Saturday,
the members meet for devotions after the noon Mass to
make five first Saturdays. They offer their confession,
communion, five decades of the Rosary, and fifteen
minutes of meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary
during the first Saturday devotions.
If you would like to
join the World Apostolate of Mary, please call the
Cathedral rectory at 393-3930.
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