Mass Times: Saturdays at 5:00 pm;
Sundays at 8:00 am and 10:30 am.
Mon, Tues, Wed* (*Communion service),
and Fri at 8:15 am;
Thurs at 6:00 pm.
St. Rita Roman Catholic Church
1008 Maple Dr., Webster, NY 14580
585-671-1100
 

The Parish Office is open from 9 am to noon, Monday through Friday.  Stop by or give us a call at 671-1100.

Pastoral Messages

Together We Bring Hope

As Francis of Assisi grew in his faith but was not yet fully converted, he suffered from an extreme disgust of those who suffered from the disease of leprosy. Even seeing a leper at a distance would cause him to double over with nausea.

He would go well out of his way to avoid the places where they lived.

One day, while riding home on his horse, there was suddenly a leper in his path. The leper stood there with his hand out and with pleading in his eyes, begging for alms. Francis, made stronger than himself, got down from his horse and not only gave the man alms, but also kissed the open sores on his hands.

Francis turned and got back on his horse and when he turned back to the path, the leper had vanished.

This is my favorite story of my favorite saint. I have always loved how the Grace of God transformed Francis’ heart and made him “stronger than himself”.

Another way that God helps us to be stronger than ourselves is when we come together as a faith community.

Joyfully living the Gospel of Jesus, we can do so much more when we journey through life together. We do this as St. Rita Parish and as the Diocese of Rochester. When we realize our unity as a diocese, we are literally made stronger than ourselves. The work and love extend so much further and bear so much more fruit than we could ever hope to accomplish on our own.

Please support our parish and our diocese. Please give generously and early to the Catholic Ministries Appeal.

For six straight years, we have finished before Christmas. The CMA is important and deserves our attention and energy. But we also have other important things that God is calling us to do. So, let’s do the CMA well, complete our responsibility before Christmas, and move into the new year able to devote ourselves to other ministries.

And also, if at all possible, please increase your ongoing regular contributions to St. Rita. In your envelopes, or even better, online, support all the ministries that St. Rita is involved in. There is so much more happening and being accomplished than any of us could hope to do on our own. But it all does happen. It happens by the grace of God and because together we are made stronger than we are on our own.

Thank you for all that you do. I am so proud of the people of our parish.

Yours in Christ,
~Fr. Tim


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Scripture

An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings - January 18, 2026

“Behold, The Lamb Of God, Who Takes Away The Sin Of The World”

This Sunday begins the liturgical period of Ordinary Time. It is the period between the high seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. Our Readings today point to yet another manifestation of Jesus, this time as “the Lamb of God”, the sacrificial lamb who will save God’s people from the exile of sin.

Our first reading (Isaiah 49:3,5-6) is an excerpt from the second of four “Servant Songs” of Isaiah. Together, these four poems paint a complete picture of a suffering servant, anointed by God, who will deliver Israel and the nations from sin and darkness. The term “nations”, which we have been hearing about these past few Sundays, refers to all the people of the world, but more specifically to the Gentile, non-Jewish world. Isaiah’s writings make clear that God’s plan is to call all people to himself, using Israel as the “light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth”.

In our Epistle reading (1 Corinthians 1:1-3), we hear from the opening of St. Paul’s letter to the Church in Corinth. Paul identifies himself as one called by God “to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Paul converted many Gentiles while living in Corinth and gave life and meaning to the term “light to the nations.”

Our Gospel reading (John 1:29-34) adds to the multifaceted portrait of Jesus that we have been reading since Christmas. This Sunday’s passage describes Jesus as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. He is not the cute, cuddly little lamb we often see depicted, but the sacrificial lamb of the Passover, that gave its life so that its blood would be a sign on their doorposts to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. Jesus, the new Paschal Lamb, will shed His blood on the cross for a new Exodus, the delivery from sin. This Lamb is the very Son of God, in whom the Spirit remains.

We are reminded today that throughout salvation history, God has called upon His children to be beacons of hope and light, leading others to the one true God. We too are called and sent by God. May it be we who become the “light to the nations”.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011826.cfm


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© 2014 St. Rita Roman Catholic Church - Last updated 2022-09-13 21:11:10
Mass Times: Saturdays at 5:00 pm;
Sundays at 8:00 am and 10:30 am.
Mon, Tues, Wed* (*Communion service),
and Fri at 8:15 am;
Thurs at 6:00 pm.