“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  – St. Luke quoting the Prophet Isaiah introduces to us Saint John the Baptist. He was the only one of the prophets who pointed out the Saviour. He was privileged to be a forerunner of Jesus. He was sent to prepare the way to the Lord, so he appeared in the wilderness to proclaim a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins according to the words spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. This great prophet is called an evangelist of The Old Testament because he wrote a lot about the coming Saviour. The both prophecies of St. John the Baptist and of the Prophet Isaiah are not out-of-date but encourage us to come back to the Lord and make room for Him in our hearts. 

This week we celebrate one of the greatest Marian celebrations:

Wednesday, December 8^th, the Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1854 Pope Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin”. Only two people were without any sin: our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother. This feast refers to Mary’s sinlessness not to Jesus’ as some mistakenly may think.

What is the Hour of Grace held on December 8^th?

According to several private apparitions given to Sister Pierina, Italian nun and mystic, in 1946 and 1947, the Blessed Virgin, under the title the Mystical Rose, has requested that an hour of grace should be kept at noon on December 8^th. During this Hour of Grace many spiritual graces would be granted. The Blessed Virgin promised that whatever a person asked Her for during this Hour of Grace (even in impossible cases) would be granted to them, if it was in accordance with the will of the Eternal Father. The Hour of Grace should be kept in this way: Put away all distractions; begin the Hour of Grace by praying three times the 51^st Psalm with outstretched arms; the rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God, adoring the Sacred Host, meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, praising God in your own way or by using favourite prayers, singing hymns, etc.

God bless,

Fr. Peter

“The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and bear their iniquities” thus the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah. He is called an Evangelist of the Old Testament because he foretold a lot about the Saviour. This last line of today’s first reading tells us about the core of Jesus’ mission: to bear our iniquities. Why is
that so important? Because we cannot get rid of our sins on our own. We are unable to live a holy life without the Lord. Jesus, Son of God, came to this world to take upon the cross our iniquities so that we may have eternal life. By this reason, the Church cannot cease to call the faithful to repentance and discontinue administrating the Sacrament of Penance.

This week I would like to highlight two celebrations:

Monday, Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist. According to the ancient Christian tradition, the author of the third Gospel and the Act of the Apostles was a physician. He was a nonJewish Christian, probably of Greek background. His writing style confirms that he was well educated with significant literary skills. From his Gospel we mostly learn of Jesus’ birth and childhood. He is a patron saint of medical professionals.

Wednesday, Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Religious. She was a French nun and mystic of The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, who promoted the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In her convent at ParayleMonial, she received several private revelations of Jesus. During one of them Jesus let her rest her head upon His heart and disclosed to her the wonders of His love telling her that He desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work. The form of the devotion that
Jesus requested contains reparations for sins on the first Friday of the month by participation in Mass and reception of Holy Communion (now known as First Friday Devotion), Eucharistic Adoration during a holy hour on Thursday (to commemorate Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane) and celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in forms presented by Margaret was officially approved 75 years later after her death. When her tomb was canonically opened in July 1830, two instantaneous cures were recorded to have taken place. Her incorrupt body rests above the side altar in the Chapel of the Apparitions, located at the Visitation Monastery in ParayleMonial, and many striking blessings have been claimed by pilgrims who have journeyed there from all parts of the world. Her memorial falls on October 16th but in Canada we hold it on October 20th due to the
celebration of the first Canadianborn saint Marguerite d’ Youville.

God bless,
Fr. Peter