WELCOME to St. Mary's Parish, Cochrane

The Lenten Season at St. Mary's:

The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, explain how Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. ‘He was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil’ (Mt. 4.1; Mk 1. 12; Lk. 4.1).

Jesus had to face temptations like any of us. But he overcame those temptations and his faith in his Father became ever stronger. When he finished his journey in the wilderness he became a new man, renewed in the Spirit of God ready to proclaim the Good News that the Kingdom of God has come near.

Lent is a precious time for all of us, a spiritual wilderness that we journey together as a faith community. A journey in the wilderness is not a comfortable journey. We may experience hunger, thirst, cold, heat, loneliness, fear and we even have to make sacrifices. But as Jesus showed, we willingly accept those challenges to become a new people of God, renewed and ready to proclaim the Good News that JESUS DIED AND HE WAS RAISED UP AGAIN FOR ALL OF US.

I invite the faithful of St. Mary’s Parish to join in this spiritual journey of Lenten wilderness by participating in the daily and weekend Masses to renew their faith in Jesus and their identity as his disciples.

We, the people, are once more being consulted and invited to comment on a number of questions in preparation for a 2nd Synod on the Family, the 2015 ORDINARY ASSEMBLY of the SYNOD of BISHOPS on "The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World." DEADLINE for input is February 28th. Link HERE to Bishop Henry's Letter of explanation.

Click HERE for a Prayer for the Synod. You can print, fill out and email the QUESTIONAIRE to lifeandfamily@calgarydiocese.ca or you can post-mail your completed questionnaire to Life and Family Resource Centre, 120 17th Ave SW, Calgary T2S 2T2. And if you'd rather fill out the QUESTIONNAIRE online, click HERE.

• Our GROCERY CARD fundraiser continues to be has been a HUGE success! WHO-O-O-O-O's got theirs?? (Grocery cards, that is.) Don't miss 10% TUESDAY on March 3rd. Click HERE for more information.

Remember, St. Mary's is YOUR parish community. Get involved. Sign up in a parish ministry. To volunteer click HERE.

Our LOCATION

St. Mary's Catholic Church
River Heights Drive
Cochrane, Alberta

We are just south of the town
and east off Hwy 22
at James Walker Trail

CONFESSIONS & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
with Benediction:

Saturday 11 am - 12 noon
or Confessions by appointment

In addition to the regular parish schedule, the
sacrament of Reconciliation will be available at
parishes throughout the Diocese of Calgary
all the Wednesdays of Lent from 7:30 - 8:30 pm.
For more information, see
http://Liturgy.CalgaryDiocese.ca

REGULAR MASS TIMES:

REGULAR TIMES (September through June)
TUESDAY evening 7:00 pm

and on the second Tues. of each month when Mass is ALSO celebrated
at Cochrane Bethany Care Center at 1:30 pm in the afternoon

and


REGULAR TIMES — Mornings (September through June)
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday at 9:00 am


and on the fourth Thurs. of each month
when Mass is ALSO celebrated
at Cochrane Big Hill Lodge at 10:30 am

Are You NEW to the PARISH?

• We extend a warm welcome to new parishioners. Please take a moment to print and fill out the New Parishioner's REGISTRATION FORM. It's a sure way to make certain you're included in Parish communications. You can scan and e-mail or FAX the form to our Secretary or drop the hard copy into the collection basket next time you're at Mass. For a brochure explaining Catholic Stewardship click here.



• If you want to become actively involved in our parish community, a MINISTRY is a great way to do so.

• Print a VOLUNTEER / STEWARDSHIP sign-up FORM and place the completed form in the collection basket at Mass or drop it off at the Parish Office.

• Grocery Card FUNDRAISER: Buy St. Mary's Grocery Cards and support this very profitable fundraising endeavour to help pay down our mortgage. CO-OP (10.5%); SAVE ON FOODS (6%); NO FRILLS (5%); SAFEWAY (8%); and SOBEY'S in Calgary (8%). Remember, MARCH 3rd is the next 10% TUESDAY for your cards at these stores! To learn more, click HERE.

  
  
  

• St. Mary's SACRED GARDEN was officially blessed by Bishop Henry on September 7th. The Garden is open 24/7.
  Any time, any season drop by the Garden, walk through its tranquil pathways, and experience for yourself this place of peace and serenity —perfect for quiet contemplation! For more about the Sacred Garden, click here.

  
  

• For more events, visit our CALENDAR and BULLETINS pages (or click on the tabs at the top of this page).
  

STEWARDSHIP of Time, Talent, Treasure

Our STEWARDSHIP is a complete and total way of life. It acknowledges our dependence on God for all we have and all we are. Stewardship of our time, talent and treasure lies at the heart of our Christian life. In short, it’s something we do; it’s the way we live. As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them in loving justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.
See our STEWARDSHIP PRAYER.

Stewardship of TREASURE

Please consider the spiritual and practical benefits of a pre-authorized commitment to the Stewardship of Treasure. Your gifts toward weekly Sunday offerings, the Building Fund, Together in Action, and other Catholic charities can be handled by Direct Debit, MasterCard or Visa simply with your pre-authorization. Click here for the necessary forms. Fill out your preferred method of contribution; then drop your signed pre-authorization into the collection basket next time you're at Mass, or hand-deliver or Fax it to the Parish Office. NOTE: the signed form may be scanned and attached in an email to the Parish Secretary.

• "FUNDING OUR FREEDOM" Campaign 2013-14 is counting on your support.
  
  
• If considering a plan for CHARITABLE GIFTING, we welcome and most graciously accept your generosity. For more information, click here.

Stewardship of TIME and TALENT

One of the greatest gifts God gives us is our TIME. When we hand back a portion of each day to the One who made all our days without thinking about what we get in return, we are living the life of a steward. Please prayerfully ponder the descriptions of the various MINISTRIES that St. Mary's offers and begin your discernment.

Additionally, every one of us has something we can do to help others. The gift of our TALENTS invites us to recognize, cherish and share our God–given abilities. How can YOU enrich your parish’s faith family? See this BROCHURE about Catholic stewardship. Then print a VOLUNTEER/STEWARDSHIP FORM and sign up for the ministry(s) of your choice. Drop the completed form into the collection basket next time you're at Mass or mail it to us.

Parish Mission Statement

We are a community of faith trusting in God's love, open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit working within each member, attempting to model ourselves on Christ, and called to serve Him in others.