St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church

    My Jesus, I believe that You
    are in the Blessed Sacrament. 
    I love You above all things,
    and I long for You in my soul.  
    Since I cannot now receive You
    sacramentally, come at least
    spiritually into my heart. 
    As though You have already come,
    I embrace You and unite myself entirely to You;
    never permit me to be separated from You.  Amen.

With the extension of school closures until May 1st in Ohio, and, with the extended suspension of public Masses and Liturgies through May 3rd, our Monday PSR Sessions and Sacramental Preparation Sessions are concluded for this year. 

The scheduled Confirmation Mass (April 25) has been rescheduled.  If public Masses have resumed, Abbot Gary Hoover, OSB, will be here on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 7:00pm to celebrate Confirmation for our prepared candidates.  Please inform your sponsors of this potential date.   The scheduled First Communion Mass (May 2) will be rescheduled once public Masses have resumed.   

Please continue to make your home a Domestic Church with your family: read, study, pray, reflect, and talk with your children about God's care at this time.  Pray for those who are ill and all who suffer from this pandemic.  Be safe and well.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES:  During this COVID-19 Pandemic we have our faith that God will bring us through this health emergency that faces the world.  Here are some spiritual practices for yourself or with your family at this time or any time:

1) Keep holy the Lord's Day - watch a Mass on TV or live streaming on your tech device.
2) Check our website below for the Daily and Sunday Scripture Readings.  Read them alone or with family.
3) Gather and pray the Rosary with family asking our Blessed Mother to pray for us. (or another devotional)
4) Check on family members and neighbors, especially the elderly.
5) Send us your prayer requests via our website.
6) And from one of our parishioners:  Slowly pray the Hail Mary as you wash your hands; it's 20 seconds.

flocknote is a texting service to keep our parishioners and friends Up-to-Date.  We can send a text to your cell phone to remind you of things that are upcoming, a change or cancellation of an event, an urgent message, or a notice that didn't make it in our weekly bulletin or this website.  The only fees to join flocknote are the fees your cell phone provider/plan charges for text messages.

To Join flocknote:  On your cell phone send a text to 84576 with the capital letters VCSTMS in the body of the text.  You will be prompted to join our parish flocknote service.  If you are unfamiliar with a TTJ process (Text To Join), then contact Terri Yohman for assistance at our parish office (330-483-3808 or email her at [email protected]).

Over 300 people are using this service in our parish and it has been very effective in keeping people informed.  Stay up-to-date with the St. Martin FLOCK with flocknote.

Thank you, Parishioners, who continue to support your parish in these unsettling times.  Many are struggling to make ends meet, but if you can assist thank you.  You can mail your weekly Offering to the parish office.  Mail is received daily; do not mail cash.  You can also sign up at WeShare Online Giving (at the left) or call them for assistance.  WeShare Support Teams are available at 800-950-9952 (then press #3 and then press #2) to get you connected, or, by email at: [email protected] (that is @4 LPi.com).  Without your Offering parish funds will evaporate quickly but bills, like the mortgage and utilities, will continue.  God bless you for what you are able to do.

Know what Christ has revealed and the Catholic Church has faithfully taught.

Formed.org offers hundreds of movies, video programs, audios and ebooks.  These opportunities are FREE and available 24/7 online or on your mobile app.  They have helped people (Catholics and non-Catholics) to know Christ and His Church better.  Register HERE:  https://stmartinvc.formed.org  Just enter our parish name and your email.  It's easy!  God bless.

Did you know?
The word often heard these days comes from the Italian words: quaranta giorni that means 'forty days'.  In the mid-1300s in Europe ships and people were contained for 30 days in a restricted place to prevent the spread of the plague.   Then, according to Wikipedia, "In 1448 the Venetian Senate prolonged the waiting period to 40 days, thus giving birth to the term 'quarantine'. The forty-day quarantine proved to be an effective formula for handling outbreaks of the plague. According to current estimates, the bubonic plague had a 37-day period from infection to death; therefore, the European quarantines would have been highly successful in determining the health of crews from potential trading and supply ships.   Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/

Traveling out of town or looking for information on neighboring parishes, check out catholicmasstime.org or Click HERE for schedules by States and Cities

Please pray for us when attending Mass while away from home.

Like St. Martin of Tours may you encounter Christ on the road!