St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish
648 JAY ST., UTICA, NY 13501 – 315-735-1482
Michelle Commisso, above, has been a Faith Formation catechist in the parish for 22 years. She said her volunteering led to a professional career. “I absolutely fell in love with teaching,” she said. “… I went back to college to earn a bachelor’s degree in education and have been an elementary school teacher in the […]
Above: After meeting with King Balak, Balaam and his entourage left for Moab, but God sent an angel to block his way. The donkey that the prophet was riding could see the angel, even if his master could not, and refused to move forward — three times! By A.J. VALENTINI Chapter 3 in a series […]
Most of us live our lives within the wider and blessed life of a Catholic parish. Even if there was not the experience of Catholic school days, the sacraments and special moments such as baptisms, weddings, funerals and saints’ days — as well as seasonal celebrations and feast days — fashion our identity in faith, […]
By FATHER JIM Through so many generations and times passed, the Catholic priesthood has served the people of God — the faithful, the Church — in essentially two ways. The most significant of these is for the priest to represent Christ in the grace and blessings that flow from our sacramental life. The priest stands […]
“More Good News” begins a series of stories on volunteers, who are the lifeblood of our parish. This issue features Mario and Carmelann Scalzo, who have served Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament in many capacities. They answered our questions together. In December, you received the Immaculata Award from the Syracuse diocese given to people who […]
Chapter 2 in a series on our parish history and its artwork. Today, meet Booz (aka Boaz). By A.J. VALENTINI Continuing our series on our parish history and art, we return to the arch over the altar of sacrifice. In Chapter 1 in the last issue of “More Good News,” we learned about the first […]
ABOVE: Vito Valenzi working the livestream equipment in church. Vito Valenzi, 24, was featured in the 2013 winter edition of “More Good News” when he was 15 years old. He’s learned over the last decade that life doesn’t always go according to plan, but you make the best of the hand you’re dealt. How has your […]
Above: Father Scott VanDerveer, a former parishioner, is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Glens Falls. “I do think it’s interesting that Jesus said in the scriptures that the church would always find a way to survive, that the church would always prevail. I think that’s beautiful, and I think it means that we need […]
Chapter 1 in a series on our parish history and its artwork. Today, meet Isaiah. Coming this spring, Booz. Once the eyes have been drawn to the apse of our church above the sanctuary, where the magnificent reproduction of the upper half of Raphael’s “Dispute of the Holy Sacrament” resides, they wander over other artistic […]
By THE REV. LUIS OLGUIN What is the “right” way to worship God so that we can be sure that we will get into heaven? People perpetually ask some version of this question. The Bible give us more than one example: “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:36) “What must I do […]