“O most Holy Trinity, undivided unity;
Holy God, mighty God, God immortal be adored.”

This traditional hymn reminds us of the very mystery of our faith: the belief in the Holy Trinity. Everyday we begin our prayers with the sign of the cross saying the Holy names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The church prays to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

St. Lawrence School’s graduation ceremony will be held this Thursday, June 20th at our church. The graduates will thank the Lord and their teachers for all the good they have received during their 8 years at St. Lawrence School. We wish them an abundance of God’s blessing in their future endeavours.

The installation of the air conditioning system and the renovation of the men’s washroom have been mostly completed. We hope that they will serve the parishioners and visitors well in years to come. We will be informed about the final costs of the projects at a later date. We appreciate all the donations to the projects we have already received. May the Lord, through the intersession of St. Lawrence the Martyr, bless our benefactors abundantly.

This Friday, June 21st we observe the memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga who is a patron saint of young men and of alter servers. He served the sick and the dying when the plague broke out in Rome in 1591. He became infected with the plagues and died at the age of 23. He was canonized in 1726.

On this feast day let us keep our altar servers in our prayers!

God Bless,

Father Peter

“O God, who by the mystery of today’s great feast sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gift of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth.”

The Collect of Pentecost Sunday reminds us of the mystery of the day. We ask our Heavenly Father to fill the face of the earth, and His Church as well, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that the faithful may continue Jesus’ mission. On the day of Pentecost the Apostles, along with Mary, were gathered together in prayer at the same place that Jesus had His last supper with them. After receiving the Holy Spirit, the scared Apostles became courageous heralds of the Gospel. They not only started speaking various languages but they began their mission to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. On Pentecost the Church began its public mission and this mission is still continued by the disciples of Jesus with the power of the Holy Spirit. The key idea of experiencing miracles is to remain faithful to the Gospel. Fear always appears when we want to change the Gospel even of a small amount.

This Sunday concludes the joyful Easter season in the Church. The paschal candle will be back to its place near the baptismal font and the liturgical colour will be again green as we enter Ordinary Time. We begin this new liturgical season on Monday with celebration of the memorial of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church that was established a year ago by Pope Francis as a feast day for the Universal Church.

On Tuesday, June 11th, we observe a memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle, who introduced St. Paul to the community of the Church as we can read in the Acts of the Apostles.

On Thursday, June 13th, we celebrate a memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church, who was known as an outstanding preacher and protector of the poor.

We continue the renovation of the men’s washroom in the basement and the installation of the air conditioning system in the church. We hope they will be completed soon.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!

God bless,
Fr. Peter

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”. In today’s first reading the two men in white robes warned the apostles against idleness. For sure, it was nice to look at the ascending Lord and the heavens, but their responsibility was different. They received a mission, given them by the Lord, to go to the whole world and to make disciples of all the nations. The Lord did not want His disciples to contemplate his celestial glory and doing nothing else, but rather to draw strength from the contemplation, so that they could continue Jesus’ mission.

Today, when we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we need to hear that warning again. As Jesus’ disciples, we ought to recognize our mission in the world and a proper time both for the action that is required by the kingdom of heaven and the contemplation of the celestial glory, which sharers we are to come. Each real community of the faithful exists due to its members’ prayer life and activity. A true prayer urges one to work not only for their good but first of all for the good of their community. On the other hand, an effective action needs to be rooted in prayer; otherwise it is deprived of God’s blessing.

May the Lord, who ascended to heaven to prepare dwelling places for us, increase our faith, so that we may do the will of the Father and revive the hope for eternal life.

This week the Universal Church remains in the Novena to the Holy Spirit before Pentecost Sunday. We pray that the Paraclete may guide the faithful through the sea of earthly adversities into the celestial harbour of God’s kingdom.

The renovation of the men’s washroom continues this week. Last Wednesday we began the installation of the air conditioning system in our church. The project was submitted to the diocese last July and in May was approved. Hopefully, it will be ready to use before summer heat.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

God bless,

Fr. Peter

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid”

Jesus does not want us to be worried and afraid. He promises to be with us always. His victory over death and sin confirms His words of encouragement. As His disciples, we are called to trust in the Lord and then His peace will be granted to our hearts.

On Friday, May 31st, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast recalls to us the following great truths and events: The visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth shortly after the Annunciation; The cleansing of John the Baptist from original sin in the womb of his mother at the words of Our Lady’s greeting; Elizabeth’s proclaiming of Mary – under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – as Mother of God and “blessed among women”; Mary’s singing of the sublime hymn, Magnificat (“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”) which has become a part of the daily official evening prayer of the Church. The Visitation is frequently depicted in art, and was the central mystery of St. Francis de Sales’ devotions.

This Saturday, June 1st, we observe the first Saturday of the month with a Mass dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at 10 am. Let us participate in this Marian devotion!

The month of June is dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Pope Francis asks the faithful throughout the world to pray during June for the following intention: “That priests, through the modesty and humility of their lives, commit themselves actively to a solidarity with those who are most poor”.

God bless,
Fr. Peter