This Thursday January 23rd, at 7:30 p.m. at the church following 7:00 p.m. Mass, there will be a meeting for grade 7 students and who will be preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation and their parents. The meeting will explain the expectations of the students, the parents’ role in confirmation, and will be an opportunity to ask any questions you have regarding the sacrament.
Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today
Jesus wanted to be a guest at the chief tax collector’s house. Listening to today’s passage of the Gospel we may be sure that the Lord would like to come to our hearts today and to be accepted with a great love. Each Eucharist is an opportunity for such a special visit of the Lord.
In the month of November, the Church calls upon the faithful throughout the world to remember in a special way the deceased. We know that during each Mass the priest prays in the Eucharistic prayer for our departed brothers and sisters using these or similar words: Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy (Second Eucharistic Prayer). Also Masses in our churches are often offered for them. This prayer for the departed expresses our faith in the resurrection, our hope for eternal life and our love for those who have completed their earthly pilgrimage. In our church we are providing a Book of Life where we may write down the names of our deceased loved ones for whom we wish to pray. On Saturday, November 16th, at 10 am there will be celebrated a special Mass for those whose names are written in the Book. Please, use the book to commend your deceased relatives and friends to the prayer of the Church.
This Saturday, November 9th, we observe the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica that is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. Let us keep the Holy Father in our prayers so that he may shepherd the people of God as the Good Shepherd commended.
This week our RCIA course shall begin and the adult candidates for the Sacraments of Christian Initiation will start their faith journey and receive the Sacraments at the proper time. We surround them with our prayers.
God bless,
Fr. Peter
Our CWL Parish Council will be preparing a collection box in the church, available for parishioners to donate new store-bought or hand made winter hats, mittens, gloves, scarfs and socks. All sizes are welcome. We will distribute Infant, Youth and Adult sized clothing to those in need in our community, through St. Lawrence School and other local charitable organizations. The drive will run from Thanksgiving (Sunday October 13th) to Sunday December 1st.
Please remember this drive when you’re out shopping (or knitting)
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right – thus the Entrance Antiphon reminds us of the Lord’s righteousness. We walk in a new pastoral year with confidence in the Lord and with refreshed eagerness. During last 14 months in our parish many good things have been accomplished and initiatives undertaken both material and spiritual: new liturgical books, vestments and vessels, new lights in the church, air conditioning, new sidewalks, the children’s liturgy, preparation for First Communion, a series of talks about our faith, the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Thursdays, First Friday and Saturday devotions, and the annual celebration of our patron saint. Also five adults received the Sacraments of Christian Initiation at the Easter Vigil.
Each year brings new challenges and opportunities. This year I would like to continue the good initiatives we have already begun and to undertake new ones. First of all, I wish us to live the course of the liturgical year and in that way to experience and treasure the beauty of the liturgical celebrations (memorials, feasts and solemnities of the Blessed Virgin and Saints) . Secondly, in 2020 we will hold the 130th anniversary of our parish.
I would like to invite everyone to get involved in making our parish flourish. To get preparations for the next year underway, I invite parishioners to attend a parish pastoral meeting on Thursday, September 19th at 7:30 pm in the parish hall. Before we begin discussing what we may do this year we are invited to pray during the Adoration and Mass on that evening. It is truly important to entrust to the Lord what we are going to do so that the Holy Spirit may guide us.
This Thursday, September 12th, we will observe the memorial of The Most Holy Name of Mary. On Saturday, September 14th, we will hold the feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Both of the celebrations are connected with interesting events: The Battle of Vienna in 1683 and the finding of the Holy Cross in the 4th century.
Mary, Holy Mother of God – pray for us!
God bless,
Fr. Peter
The mandate of the Mission Co-operative Program is to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ in developing countries by:
Each year, Missionary Organizations are invited to participate in the program and those that are chosen are invited to speak in parishes in the Diocese of Hamilton to share the work they are doing in different parts of the world. This Sunday the Missionaries of the Poor from Kingston Jamaica will be joining us in our parish to tell us about the good works they are doing in Jamaica and to receive our support.
If you have a box of church envelopes, please look in the back of the box for the Blue “Missionary Co-op” envelope and bring it to mass on Sunday with your contribution to the Missionaries of the Poor. If you don’t have a church envelope, we will have additional envelopes at the back of the church for this special collection.
Sister Joanna Belmonte of the Missionaries of the Poor Sisters will be our Guest on Sunday. Sister Joanna was born in Italy, but soon moved to Toronto with her family where she grew up. She has been a nurse, and worked at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto and in public health before she was called to Jamaica….but come on Sunday to hear the rest of her story and the story of the work of the Missionaries of the poor (and don’t forget your much needed monetary support)
Today we celebrate the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. St. Paul in his Letter to the Galatians reminds us that the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. May we act according to the love Jesus taught us!
On Canada Day we pray for the prosperity of our home and native land!
Pope Francis asks the faithful throughout the world to pray for the following intention in the month of July: “That those who administer justice may work with integrity, and that the injustice which prevails in the world may not have the last word”.
This Tuesday July 2nd after Mass at 7pm we will have a talk by Sister Consolata. Sister Consolata is a Polish Pallottine nun who is visiting our Parish to share with us her life story and to tell us how God has been working in her life. She was born together with her twin sister in 1946 in a German camp. However, they were separated as infants and it wasn’t until 50 years later that she discovered that she was a twin. This is an amazing story. Now Sister Consolata is overseeing the construction of a senior residence in Cracow near the Shrine of Divine Mercy; a project of the Pallottine Sisters. Everyone is invited to come hear her amazing story.
This week we celebrate the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the month with Masses respectively at 7 pm, 9 am and 10 am to honour Jesus – The Eternal High Priest, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Happy Canada Day and summer holidays!
God bless,
Fr. Peter