Church of St. Mary, Mother of God (Sylva, North Carolina)

Welcome to our parish!

Reverend H. Alejandro Ayala, Pastor

SAINT MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
22 Bartlett Street
Sylva, North Carolina 28779

Our parish is situated in Jackson county, in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We are about 45 minutes west of Asheville. Nearby towns are Cherokee and Bryson City to the west, and Waynesville to the east. Come visit us!
<Click here for a map to our parish.>

(828) 586-9496
stmarys@dnet.net

The office is staffed on Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

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Parish Bulletins

(click on a date to view)

Weekday Masses

Usually celebrated Tuesdays through Fridays at 9:00 a.m. in English. Click on the date of the most recent parish bulletin, listed above, to be sure.

Saturday Masses

8:00 p.m. in Spanish

Sunday Masses

9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., both in English

7:30 p.m. in English on most Sundays at the Western Carolina University Catholic Student Center, 197 Forest Hills Road in Cullowhee, NC. Check the WCU Catholic Campus Ministry's web site (click) to be sure. The mass is preceded by a Rosary at 7 p.m.; also, confessions are heard both before and after the mass.

Confession (Rite of Penance)

Father Alex hears confessions after each weekday Mass. He also will be happy to hear your confession after other Masses; just ask him personally before or after the Mass.

New on the Web Site

Religion and Politics
by Matthew Newsome
Read the latest issue in the new Catholic Matters! series, published by THE MEN, a group of men in our parish.

Excerpt:

All of our laws are rooted in morality, or at least they ought to be. Morality deals with human conduct. Politics deal with the relationships of human beings living in a society. Of course we cannot separate the two. And of course religion will play a part in both, as religion has a great deal to do with both human conduct and human relationships.
Separation of Church and State
by Bill Hollands
Excerpt:

The idea of Separation of Church and State gets a lot of news coverage today. The basic understanding of this phrase seems to be that a religion should not get involved in the matters of the state. It goes on to say that the state enacts laws for the well being of the people of the state, the church deals with the spiritual well-being of the people of a particular church. The two should never be mixed. A few questions need to be asked first, and the answers to these questions will provide an answer to the bigger question: should the church be separated from the state?
Singing the Mass
by Matthew Newsome
Excerpt:

The Roman Gradual and Simple Gradual may be the official music books of the Church, but they are not very accessible. The music is not written in modern notation. The text is in Latin, including the instructions and the table of contents! It takes real skill and determination to become familiar with them. In the years following Vatican II, a few dedicated people worked to create English translations of these official liturgical chants and set them to music. They worked largely in isolation, and their labors met with little success. The tide was against them. People liked the contemporary praise and worship songs, and those that did not were satisfied with traditional hymns. The sung antiphons of the Mass were largely forgotten. Today, however, there is a very different story unfolding.
The Resurrection
by Rick Beauchemin
Excerpt:

The only thing that fully explains all of the data is that the Resurrection actually happened as described in the Gospels. Why this is so hard for some to accept is that it requires a miracle and today many people simply don’t believe in miracles. The problem is that if you don't accept that miracles are even possible then you really don’t believe in God. If you don't believe that this miracle happened then no amount of evidence would ever convince you.
From the Editor's Desk
by Rick Beauchemin
Excerpt:

On these pages we will attempt to provide information, arguments and references in defense of the Church and our faith through several different styles of writing. You will see "apologetics" (from the Greek word "apologia" which means, "speaking in defense") as well as other forms of catechesis. You may even see a crossword puzzle or two. We will attempt to defend the Church from both external and internal attacks. In the course of this effort we will look at church doctrine and Church history. We will discuss the role of church authority through the Magisterium, what it is and how it works. We will look at many topics such as where the Bible came from, how does God expect us to worship Him, what went so wrong with the Protestant "Reformation" and how to defend against Fundamentalist attacks. We will also look at the Church's position on the moral issues of today.
Divine Mercy, a Powerful New Devotion
by George A. Knauer
Excerpt:

On Sunday April 7, the Universal Church will celebrate one of its newest devotions to the mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been celebrating this devotion at St. Mary's for at least 10 years now and we hope as many parishioners as possible can join us this year. To that end, we felt it appropriate to relate a bit of history of the Divine Mercy devotion in view of encouraging your participation.
Papal Infallibility -- When is a Pope Infallible?
by Thomas J. Krizek, M.D.
Excerpt:

The word "infallible" means to be without error. When we speak of Church teaching regarding faith and morals, infallible means to be without even the possibility of error. This short paper tries to explain the doctrine of the infallibility of both the Church and the pope.
Why a Pope?
by Bill Hollands
Excerpt:

Many of our Protestant and Evangelical friends hold with the idea that the Catholic Church is not biblical, that the papacy is not biblical. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Some use the term "Bible church" to claim some kind of authority, as if other churches are not biblical and therefore are not authentic. The Holy Catholic Church as well as our Orthodox brothers and sisters are the MOST biblically-based churches in the world. As you read this discussion on the Papacy, note all the references are from the Holy Bible.
Answering Some Challenges About the Papacy
by Matthew Newsome
Excerpt:

I was once challenged by an anti-Catholic fundamentalist to 'prove from Scripture' certain Catholic beliefs about the papacy. I don’t know if my answers satisfied him, but I certainly surprised him by not being as 'stumped' as he expected me to be. Here, edited for brevity, are his questions and my replies.
Habemus Papam -- We Have a Pope!
by Thomas J. Krizek, M.D.
Excerpt:

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the Senior Cardinal Deacon of the College of Cardinals will announce, in Latin, from the papal balcony in the Vatican, Habemus papam ("We have a pope"). This new pope will be the 266th pope in "Apostolic Succession" from the first pope, the Apostle Peter . . . This announcement, followed by the appearance of the new pope on the balcony is the end of an interesting process. How are popes elected?