Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022, marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. The highest point of the Church’s year is the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday) during which we recount the death and resurrection of Jesus the Lord. We prepare for this three-day period by the season of Lent, and prolong it for the great 50 days of the Easter Season. The celebration of Easter, of being reborn in the Risen Lord to a new life, will only have meaning to the degree that “we die to the old self.” Thus, the Church asks us to live this period of Lent, with Christ in the desert, as a period of forty days devoted to inward renewal through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Let us prayerfully consider before Lent how we might make the best use of this time to imitate the Lord in His dedication to the Father so that His resurrection may take deep root in our thoughts, words and actions throughout Lent and forever.
- Ash Wednesday Masses: 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the parish church.
- Mass and Stations of the Cross: During the Fridays of Lent, the parish will celebrate a 7:00 p.m. Mass followed by the praying of the Stations of the Cross.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting (one meal and two lighter meals with no eating between meals), and abstinence (no eating of meat). The law of abstinence obliges those 14 years of age and older, and the law of fasting obliges all those from 18 through 59 years of age. The Church recommends that we observe not only Good Friday, but the other Fridays of Lent as days of abstinence, or that we perform some act of charity as an alternative—the choice is yours. Lenten penances should be external and social, as well as internal and individual; meaning they should help us grow in our relationship with God and in charity for our brothers and sisters.
Lenten Reconciliation Services:
- Every Saturday from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. or by appointment.
- Saturday, April 2, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Day of Confessions).
- Good Friday, April 15, 2022 following the 3:00 p.m. Good Friday Service.
During the season of Lent, you may also consider attending the parish’s daily 8:00 a.m. Mass or visiting the church during adoration afterward until 9:30 a.m.
After being in the wilderness of Judea for forty days and forty nights, alone, famished, and weak, Jesus was tempted by Satan to make loaves of bread from the stones around him, to prove his power, to alleviate his suffering. The Lord turned to his tempter and answered, “It is written: man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 
The 40 days of Lent are a special time of spiritual renewal in the Church. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The parish will have two Masses on Ash Wednesday with the distribution of Ashes. These will be at 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM in the Church. During Lent the Stations of the Cross will be prayed Friday evenings in the Church after 7:00 PM Mass.
All Kindergarten applications must be submitted online. Registration for the 2022-2023 school year began on January 19, 2022, at 10:00 A.M. EST. Visit soar.tcdsb.org to start your registration.
Tax receipts for 2021 will be mailed out by February 7, 2022. We appreciate your generosity in supporting your spiritual home. Thank you!
The Pre-Authorized Giving Plan, authorized and supported by the Archdiocese of Toronto, is a direct debit program allowing you to support our Parish through an automatic monthly withdrawal from your bank account. Now you can lend us your support in the same manner that you currently pay many of your current financial obligations without writing cheques or searching your wallet for cash every Sunday. PAG brochures and sign-up forms are available 
This week, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation on February 2nd. This feast has traditionally been associated with the blessing of candles. This year, as a result of the pandemic, parishioners may bring their own candles to the Mass at 8:00 am on Wednesday, February 2 and the candles will be blessed at the beginning of Mass.
It is time once again for the Friars’ Student Writing Award. Students aged 13-19 are invited to submit a 450-500-word essay for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated from January 18 to 25, 2022.
As a result of the rising number of COVID cases the music ministers who offer the sung office of Vespers has decided to cancel the celebration of Vespers on Sunday, January 16th, 2022 at 5:00 pm. Sorry for the inconvenient. Please keep safe.