Today we celebrate the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This is the last Sunday before the season of Lent, which begins from Ash Wednesday. During Lent we are encouraged to observe the main Lenten works such as prayer, penance, self-denial, fasting and alms giving. Ash Wednesday is a universal day of fasting and abstinence from meat. According to Canon Law (#1252), by abstinence are bound those who have completed their 14th year and the law of fasting binds the faithful who are between 18 and 60 years old (the obligation ceases with the beginning of the 60th year). On the day of fasting we can have only one meal and two small amounts of food. Fasting is not a kind of diet to keep our bodies healthy, but it has a profound 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 striving and to save money to give to the poor. Fasting is a penitential act intended to open our hearts to God and our neighbours, means of purification and spiritual liberation and a witness of the depth of our faith. Abstinence, like fasting, is avoidance of something that is good 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.

The imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday is a visible sign of our call and willingness to repent and do penance during the season of Lent. Lent has a twofold meaning: it prepares catechumens to celebrate the Paschal Mystery by the various stages of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) and also it makes ready the faithful for Easter as they recall their Baptism and do penance in preparation for the greatest Feast of the year. We observe some external signs that express the spirit of the season of Lent. Therefore, during Lent we do not sing Glory to God in the highest (except on feast and solemnities) and we refrain from singing Alleluia. We as well do not decorate with flowers the altar and the area around it except for the Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent), solemnities and feasts. Memorials of Saints are celebrated only as Optional Memorials. Purple is the proper colour of the Lenten liturgy.

On Fridays we are encouraged to be united with Jesus in His passion and death by participation in the Stations of the Cross, which are to be celebrated in our church alternately in the morning and in the evening.

The Catholic Church calling the faithful to penance and repentance reminds them of the Sacrament of Penance, which is usually offered up widely in this season.

During Lent in our church the Grade 2 students from St. Lawrence School will celebrate their First Reconciliation.

God bless,
Father Peter

So the Levites read from the book, from the Law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading

(Nehemiah 8:8)

The first reading of the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time tells us how Israelites listened to the Word of God and how lectors performed their job in the liturgical assembly. This event, which took place when the people of God returned from the Babylonian captivity to the Promised Land, reminds us not only of the great value and importance that the Word of God has but also of how serious duty binds those who proclaim it. Today I would like to say a few words about performing the ministry of the Word. We are happy that we have volunteers who read the liturgical readings during Sunday and weekday Masses. This ministry requires not only a good pronunciation and some skills of the oratorical art but also the awareness of what is the Word of God. The Word of God has in itself power to create, change and act. In the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God created man and the whole world by His word. He said a word and everything was done according to the word. In the Gospels Jesus healed many people from physical and spiritual diseases by His word. The Word of God is holy and it is to be treated respectfully. During the liturgy lectors read the Word of God from the liturgical books that are designated to be used in the liturgy: The Lectionary and Book of the Gospels. Out of the great respect for the Word of God and for the liturgy we are not to read liturgical readings from any other sources such as brochures, pamphlets, loose sheets of paper or binders. They may be more practical but are not suitable for the liturgy. By the same reason we should put The Lectionaries and Book of the Gospels in a proper place.

This Monday, January 28th, we observe a memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church, who was outstanding in his zeal for holiness and his study of sacred doctrine.
On Thursday, January 31st, we celebrate a memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest and Founder of Salesians, who was a father and teacher of the young and whose teaching was motivated by charity and gentleness.
This week we also observe the first Friday and the first Saturday of the month with Masses respectively at 8 and 10 am.
God bless,
Father Peter

Today we celebrate the 2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Each liturgical year is split in seasons of: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time. The highest number of weeks is within Ordinary Time. This season is split in two parts. A shorter one begins on Monday after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and ends on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The longer part runs from the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, which falls on Monday after Pentecost Sunday, to Saturday before the 1^st Sunday of Advent. During Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the fullness of the mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ emphasizing the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day dedicated to the Lord. Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is the original Christian Feast Day, that has been observing since the apostolic times as the day of the Resurrection of the Lord. Sunday is the oldest feast day in the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church (2177). Sunday is also a day of grace and rest from work. The Catechism teaches that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health (2185).

We are truly blessed and privileged that we have this opportunity to have the Eucharist every Sunday. Due to a shortage of priests and other serious circumstances in many regions of the world, even in Canada, the faithful cannot praise the Lord with the Sunday Eucharist on weekly basis.

This Sunday we also observe a World Day of Migrants and Refugees instituted by Pope St. Pius X in 1914.

The annual week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be concluded with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle, which falls this Friday.

God bless,

Father Peter