During the Covid isolation period, Novalis has made their daily Mass text available as a free download. If you enjoy having access to the Missal, we encourage you to subscribe to Living with Christ. Click the links below to view the Mass Text for the day:
The most recent updates from Bishop Crosby’s office have provided further guidance for all churches in the diocese. Specifically:
All Masses are cancelled until further notice, AND churches are to be closed at all times. Churches are not permitted to open even for a few hours each day for prayer. St. Lawrence had been open for private prayer up to yesterday. The church is now closed. The parish office can be contacted between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. by phone or email. Email is the preferred method of contact as this can be responded to easily at any time.
Pastors are encouraged to celebrate Mass privately each day for the intentions of their parishioners, for the medical personnel assisting the sick and for and end to the COVID-19 outbreak. Fr. Peter will be celebrating daily Mass privately as suggested.
In this time of fasting from the Eucharist, parishioners should be encouraged to pray for other parishioners, and for all those whose lives are being affected by the virus. The Rosary, prayerful reading of the Sacred Scripture and other devotions are recommended.
Funeral Masses are not permitted at this time. Private internment at the grave site with immediate family only will be permitted. Funeral Mass can be celebrated once restrictions are lifted.
No scheduled confessions are permitted. The sacrament may be celebrated by appointment provided that social distance can be maintained.
It is recommended that Baptisms be postponed until restrictions are lifted.
The Eucharist is not to be taken to parishioners who are homebound at this time and it is not possible to bring Eucharist to seniors residences or nursing homes.
His Excelency Bishop Douglas Crosby dispenses all the Elect from the celebration of the Scrutinies.
During the current Mass Cancellations, there are a number of televised Masses available for Catholics:
Vision TV
Salt + Light
yesTV
Internet
www.dailytvmass.comwww.youtube.com/dailytvmass
Check your local listings for FaithTV and JoyTV
You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy
The Lord ordered Moses to speak to the Israelites, to instruct them that first of all they were to be holy. This call to holiness is still obligatory for those who want to please the Lord. Jesus in today’s passage of the Gospel confirms that moral rule and expands on it. Holiness is required for all the faithful who take their faith seriously and, we should be reminded, it is achievable for everybody. No matter whether one is married or single, young or aged – everyone is called to holiness. Since we are celebrating the last Sunday before Lent today, the reflection on our own holiness may be a good start for this sacred time of penance and penitence.
This Wednesday, February 26th, we begin the season of Lent observing Ash Wednesday. This is a day of abstinence and fasting. In our church there will be two Masses celebrated: at 9:15 a.m. along with St. Lawrence School and at 7 p.m.
When we are at the threshold of the season of Lent, it is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of what is the penitential discipline that we are to observe as Catholics. Although the rules of the days of penance are described by The Code of Canon Law (Church Law), the obligation to do penance is well rooted in the Gospel. Fasting is not a kind of diet to keep our bodies healthy, but it has a deeper spiritual meaning. We deprive ourselves of food in order to be more open to prayer, to share more in the suffering of those who are struggling, and to save money to give to the poor. Fasting is a penitential act intended to open our hearts to God and our neighbours. It is a means of purification and spiritual liberation and a witness to the depth of our faith. Abstinence, like fasting, is avoidance of something that is desirable in favour of something that is better. It is not a matter of vegetarianism or veganism. Fasting and abstinence are forms of penance in honour the sacrifice that Christ made for our sake on the Cross. What is the difference between fasting and abstinence? Fasting refers to the number and quantity of daily meals we have whereas abstinence refers to refraining from eating a specific kind of food, for example meat. On the day of fasting we can have only one meal and two small amounts of food. The last chapter of the 4th Book of The Code states: “The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent. Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday” (Canons 1250-1251). In Canada, the Conference of Catholic Bishops has declared that Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, but Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day, and the law of ‘abstinence from meat’ binds those who are 14 and older, and the law of ‘fasting’ binds those from 18 to 59 years of age.
God bless,
Fr. Peter
From that time Jesus began to proclaim,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”
In this way, according to St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus began His public ministry. He started proclaiming the good news of salvation with a call to repentance. Later this very first appeal of the Lord became an essential part of His Church’s preaching. The Word of God always calls upon us to repent, which means, to tune our minds and hearts to the Lord’s voice. This happened to Simon, Andrew, James and John when Jesus invited them to follow Him. They at once left everything and followed the Lord. We, as Jesus’ disciples, ought to do the same. The Lord’s call is always urgent because it is inflamed by the fire of His love.
Pope Francis on the liturgical memorial of St. Jerome, which falls on September 30th, declared the third Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday of the Word of God. Therefore, today we celebrate the Biblical Sunday for the very first time as the Universal Church. In his document “Aperuit illis”, the Pope emphasizes that salvation, faith, unity and mercy all depend on knowing Christ and sacred Scripture. In conclusion, the Holy Father expresses his desire for this Sunday: “May the Sunday of the Word of God help his people to grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the sacred Scriptures. For as the sacred author taught of old: “This word is very near to you: it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Dt 30:14).”
This liturgical year we read on Sundays the Gospel of St. Matthew (with some exceptions). Some copies of a study guide to that Gospel are available in the back of the church.
This Tuesday, January 28th, we celebrate the memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church. St. Thomas lived in the 13th century. He was an Italian Dominican friar. He was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. He is also called the Doctor Angelicus. The Catholic Church honours Thomas as a saint and regards him as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood, and indeed the highest expression of both natural reason and speculative theology.
St. John Bosco who’s memorial we celebrate on Friday lived in the 19th century. He was also an Italian priest. He was an outstanding confessor and educator of the youth. Following the examples of St. Francis de Sales, whose memorial we held last week, and the Blessed Virgin under the title of Mary Help of Christians, he developed the teaching methods based on love rather than punishment which was later named the Salesian Preventive System. He founded the Congregation of Salesians and together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians as a congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls. He taught Dominic Savio who’s biography he wrote. The biography eventually helped in Dominic’s canonization. In our church, in the sanctuary, there is a stained glass dedicated to St. Dominic Savio.
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Bosco – pray for us!
God bless,
Fr. Peter
We observed his star at its rising,
and have come to pay homage to the Lord
The Gospel Acclamation clearly explains why the magi wanted to come to Bethlehem. Their visit has become for the Church a sign of her missionary work. Although the Saviour was born among the people of Israel the good news of salvation was to be spread to all nations.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. In the Liturgical Calendar of the Roman Catholic Church this feast is celebrated on January 6th and on the following Sunday the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is observed. Yet, in some countries including Canada, the Epiphany is held on the first Sunday after January 1st. This solemnity had its origins in the Eastern Christian Tradition and was a celebration of the manifestation of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. At the beginning, the birth of Christ, the story of the Magi, Christ’s baptism, His divine manifestation, the miracle at the wedding in Cana, and the feeding of the crowds were celebrated in the one festival of the Epiphany. The Epiphany was celebrated before the Church began celebrating the Nativity. Western Christians have traditionally emphasized the “Revelation to the Gentiles”. For us the main idea of the Epiphany is that Jesus came to our world to be our Redeemer and Saviour. We would like Him to be known by all people, because He is the Light of the world. Let us adore Him!
God bless,
Fr. Peter