St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish – Hamilton

Where faith builds community | 125 Picton St. E., Hamilton, ON L8L 0C5

Category: From the Pastor’s Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk : Third Week of Advent

Published December 15, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Rejoice in the Lord always;
again, I say, rejoice.
Indeed, the Lord is near

These words serve as the Entrance Antiphon on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday (Sunday of joy), and its name is taken from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon in Latin (Gaudete = Rejoice). During the season of Advent, we use the colour purple for liturgical vestments, but this Sunday pink (rose) colour may be used. Similarly, on our Advent wreath one candle may be pink. This colour symbolizes joy. The liturgy of the 3rd Sunday of Advent emphasizes doubled joy. We should be joyful because the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord is near and additionally, we ought to remember the joyous anticipation of the Lord’s second coming.

This Tuesday, December 17th, we begin the second part of Advent that is dedicated directly to the mystery of the Nativity of the Lord. The last eight days of Advent are to prepare us for Christmas. The liturgical texts present to us the events described in Scripture that foretold and preceded the birth of the Saviour. We wish to mark the beginning of that part of Advent with a Mass celebrated at 7 pm and a special celebration to follow. Everyone is welcome!

The word ‘antiphon’ comes from Greek and means ‘sounding against, responsive sound, singing opposite, alternate chant’. An antiphon consists of one or more psalm verses or sentences from Holy Scripture and gives the key to the liturgical and mystical meaning of the feast on which it occurs. During each Mass there are two antiphons: one for the Entrance and one for Communion. They can be sung or simply recited. Usually we do not hear them because they are replaced by Entrance and Communion hymns. During weekday Masses we can hear an antiphon especially before the Communion.

Let us rejoice because our Lord is near!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In From the Pastor's Desk | Liturgical Celebrations

From the Pastor’s Desk: Second Week of Advent

Published December 10, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight

Thus John the Baptist quoting the Prophet Isaiah called upon the people of God to repent and return to the Lord. On our Advent paths in today’s liturgy we meet two forerunners of the Lord who in a special way prepared the way for the Saviour: the Prophet Isaiah and Saint John the Baptist. They both tell us that the way of the Lord leads through personal repentance.

On December 8th every year the Universal Church observes 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”. This solemnity refers to Mary’s sinlessness, not to Jesus’ as some mistakenly think. Since this year December 8th falls on Sunday this Solemnity of Immaculate Conception is transferred to Monday, December 9th. In our church there will be Mass celebrated at 7 pm.

This Thursday, December 12th, we hold the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. There is a beautiful story about Juan Diego to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared in 1531 in Mexico. He was a simple farmer and labourer. While he was making his way to Mass in the early morning of December 9th Our Lady became visible to him as a native princess and her words sounded more beautiful than the sweetest music ever made. She wanted him to bring a message to the local bishop, so that a church dedicated to her might be built. A miraculous sign was given to the bishop: on Juan Diego’s tilma (outer garment) appeared an exquisite image of Our Lady. This picture is still venerated in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The image to this date cannot be explained by science. It contains many miraculous details. In 1945, Pope Pius XII decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the Patroness of the Americas.

Immaculate Mary – pray for us!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In Feasts and Celebrations | From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk : First Week of Advent

Published December 01, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

Today, the First Sunday of Advent, marks the beginning of the new liturgical year. The season of Advent has twofold character: It prepares us for Christmas, when we recall Christ’s nativity in Bethlehem; and it is a time when we look forward to Christ’s second coming at the end of the ages that is called Parousia. Usually we remember the first meaning of Advent because we are surrounded by Christmas decorations almost everywhere in spite of having just entered Advent. In fact, the major part of the Liturgy of Advent is dedicated to Christ’s second coming and only the last 8 days refer to the mystery of the Nativity. During each Mass just after the consecration we profess our faith and expectation for the second coming of the Lord saying:

“We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again”.

In many churches and households throughout the world the faithful a beautiful tradition of having the Advent wreath with four candles. The wreath is a part of our long-standing Catholic tradition; yet its origins are uncertain. It has an interesting and profound meaning. The wreath is made of various evergreens that depict the immortality of our soul and the new everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. Some tradition says that each candle stands for a thousand years to sum to four thousand years, which are said to pass from Adam and Eve to the Birth of the Saviour.

Pope Francis asks us to pray in the month of December for the future of the very young: “That every country take the measures necessary to prioritize the future of the very young, especially those who are suffering”.

This Tuesday, December 3rd, we observe the memorial of St. Francis Xavier. He was a missionary priest, a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and apostolic service according to the directions of the pope in Paris in 1534. He sailed to India, the islands of Malaysia and to Japan. Whenever he went, Francis lived with the poorest people sharing their food and rough accommodations. He intended to go from Japan to China but this plan
was never realized. Before reaching the mainland, he died. His remains are enshrined in the Church of Good Jesus in Goa, India.

This week we also celebrate First Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the month with special Masses and prayers respectively at 6:15 pm, 9 am and 10 am.

St. Francis Xavier – pray for us!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In Feasts and Celebrations | From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk: Christ the King

Published November 25, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

One of the criminals that were hung along with the Lord asked: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. This Gospel account reminds us that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world: Jesus and the two criminals were about to leave this world at that moment. This fundamental truth tunes us to the hope of eternal life. Today when we celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the liturgy emphasizes that all creation is to be restored in Christ the King. This solemnity was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1921 in the midst of the rise of European secularism when even many Christians began questioning Christ’s existence and the Church’s power to continue Christ’s authority and mission. This denial of Christ and Christian faith has been continued for many years under various names and masks but its purpose remains the same: to remove the Lord from people’s hearts and minds and to make them ashamed to speak of their faith.

This Saturday, November 30th, we observe the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle with a Mass celebrated at 10 am. He was a brother of Simon whom Jesus called Peter. According to the Gospel of St. John, Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened to bring his brother Simon to Jesus. The Byzantine Church honours St. Andrew with the name Protokletos, which means ‘the first called’. St. Andrew is said to preach the Gospel in the territories that now belong to Greece and Turkey and to be martyred on the X-shaped cross at the city of Patras. That cross is now commonly known as St. Andrew’s Cross and we can see it in many places, for example, on the Scottish flag and at the intersections where a railway line crosses a road as a warning sign.
St. Andrew, the Apostle – pray for us!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk : Testify

Published November 18, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

“This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict”

Luke 21

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of terrifying trials to come and He instructs His disciples to let God guide them so that they may be true witnesses to the Lord and the Gospel. When we look back on the history of the Church, every epoch has had its challenges. Proclaiming the Gospel always met adversities. This should not surprise anyone because Jesus foretold that His true disciples would be facing persecution, misunderstanding, ridicule, mockery, derision, betrayal and treachery. These trials are certainly a challenge to those faithful to the Lord and His Gospel but, paradoxically, facing these challenges gives the true disciple such eloquence and wisdom that none of their opponents might withstand or contradict them. This is the prize of authentic discipleship. In the present, we are also called to witness to the Lord and His Gospel despite all circumstances and this is our joy and happiness.

Today we observe a World Day of the Poor which was established by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Misera issued on November 20th, 2016 celebrating the close of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy. We pray for the poor and those who care for them. The Bishops of Canada also recognise this Sunday as a Day of Prayer for Canadian Home Missions.

This Monday, November 18th we celebrate the memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul. St. Peter’s is probably the most famous church in Christendom. It was built on the Vatican Hill where the faithful gathered to pray at St. Peter’s tomb and St. Paul’s Basilica Outside-the-Walls where St. Paul is believed to have been beheaded.

On Thursday, November 21st, we observe the memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation only in apocryphal literature. Although it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

On Friday, November 22nd, we hold the memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, Patroness of musicians. Let us pray for those who serve our parish in music ministry.

St. Cecilia – pray for us!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In Feasts and Celebrations | From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk : They cannot die any more

Published November 10, 2019 / by St. Lawrence Hamilton

In today’s passage of the Gospel Jesus tells us whom we shall be after accomplishing this earthly pilgrimage: “Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like Angels and are sons and daughters of God, being children of the resurrection”. This term ‘children of the resurrection’ tunes us to our final destination that is heaven. It takes on greater importance in the month of November when traditionally we pray with a higher commitment for our deceased brothers and sisters. This prayer for the dead in the Church has been kept alive since Early Christianity. The Church, as a good mother, remembers her departed sons and daughters during each Mass. Every Eucharistic Prayer contains a prayer for the dead, for example – in the Third Eucharistic Prayer the priest says: “To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your Kingdom”. Why should we pray for the dead and why is this prayer so important? The answer is pretty simple: while being on this world we may pray for ourselves, for the living and for the dead; yet, when our earthly pilgrimage is over we cannot help ourselves anymore and we need to rely on the prayers offered by our living brothers and sisters. Prayer for the dead helps our loved ones and expresses our spiritual charity and mercy for them and also confirms our faith in the resurrection and life eternal.

On Monday, November 11th, we observe the memorial of St. Martin of Tour and simultaneously Remembrance Day that is a memorial of the members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. There will be an additional Mass in our church at 9 am.

On Saturday, November 16th, there will be a memorial Mass celebrated at 10 am for the deceased whose names are written in our Book of Life. Please, write down the names of your loved ones and come for the Mass to pray for them.

As you might see, the renovation of the confessional has been completed so that we may use it for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In our church Confessions are heard on Sundays from 10:30 am, on Thursdays during the Adoration from 6:15 pm and anytime upon request. I would like to express my special appreciation for having done this renovation.

May the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Posted In Feasts and Celebrations | From the Pastor's Desk | Liturgical Celebrations | Mass Time Updates | Pastoral Notes