“But we have to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found” (Luke 15 32).
The Sisters of Life, who have their Centre for Life in the rectory of St. Peter’s Church, run a ministry for those who have had an abortion called “Hope and Healing.” This ministry is intended to help bring Christ’s “light into the midst of darkness.” Through this ministry, the Sisters of Life invite those who have had an abortion, or helped an individual to receive one, to “step into His mercy and receive a new beginning.”
This ministry, called “Hope and Healing,” is so important because it is central to the kind of healing which Christ came into the world to bring to all people. Continue reading
As we look around the world today, and see the many troubling signs, I think most people who believe in God would be grateful if He were to just come down and let us know that everything will be okay. In the readings this weekend, you and I are reminded that He has.
The church building that our community presently worships in is the third building that our parish community has occupied. Its construction was begun in 1925 and completed in December of 1926, when our church was dedicated on December 12, 1926. That means that we are beginning the 100th anniversary of our church building. Although we were established as a parish in 1896, a hundred and thirty years ago, this church that we are now in has been our parish home for 100 years.
For many people, when they hear of the baptism of Jesus as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, they ask the question: “why?” Why was Jesus, the sinless Son of God, baptized? The simple answer to this question is to show us the way. Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, we Christians are to follow Him and His example. Had He not been baptized, there would have been some Christians, who, attempting to model their lives on Christ’s, would have said, “as Jesus was not baptized, neither will we be baptized.” By being baptized Himself, Christ shows us the great hope that is ours through baptism. As the Holy Spirit is shown to come down on Jesus at His baptism, and He is declared Son of God at His baptism; so too in baptism we receive the Holy Spirit in baptism and become God’s children who are taught that we are to call God “Our Father” in prayer. 
I have often recounted at New Year that one of the things about being here at St. Peter’s Parish that I find a little funny at times, is that often I will be walking along Bathurst, in front of the Church, and as I do so someone will roll down their car window, and stop me on Bathurst Street, to demand that I give them a blessing as they are driving by on the street. My first inclination is to try to have a conversation with them to find out what they think that a blessing signifies. However, as the traffic is often heavy and they are in a hurry, they frequently get a little angry with me and demand that I stop my small talk and quickly give them the blessing that they are seeking before they drive off. These experiences have helped me to realize that many people may not even know what a “blessing” signifies or be aware of what is required for a blessing to really be of any value. 
In the coming year of 2025, Pope Francis has asked that the Church observe a Holy Year with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” The purpose of this year is to emphasize the hope which Christ brings to humanity by being born into our midst. In a world, which for so many reasons has lost hope, we are to be reminded this coming year of the hope that Christ came to bring to all persons.
On this Second Sunday of Advent, the first reading from the book of the prophet Baruch speaks of the dignity that is about to be restored to the city of Jerusalem as those who had been exiled are about to return to the city. The prophet had witnessed the humiliation of Jerusalem, as it had been captured by the Babylonians, and its people were carried off into the Babylonian exile in the years 587-588 B.C.. For the Jewish people, to lose the city of Jerusalem and to be carried away from it was to lose that holy place where they were to encounter and live with God in their midst. God had given them this city and land as a place for them to be His people and live in His presence. The exile from Jerusalem was not unlike the exile from the Garden of Eden experienced by Adam and Eve when they turned away from God through sin. Carried away from Jerusalem, the Jewish people were carried away from the city in which they encountered God in the His Temple. As the prophet speaks about this longed for return to God’s Holy City for the Jewish people, Baruch also speaks about the manner in which God will fill in the valleys of hardship that the people have experienced and make everything as though it had been a smooth plain. This is to state that God’s love will fill up all the voids and hardships that His people had suffered through this time of exile. With God’s love and mercy, all will be well. 
Have you ever had a bright light shone in your eyes? When this happens, it can become impossible to see or notice anything else as a result of the light’s intensity. Many people who perform on stage say that the light can be so bright that even if the theatre is full, all they are able to see in the assembly is the bright light shining in their face. This is an image that I would like to come back to in a few minutes.
There is a man, by the name of Winston, whom you will often find sitting on the rock in front of St. Peter’s Church. Much like the man in the famous statue called ‘The Thinker,” Winston does a lot of thinking. Winston is a person who has been homeless and lived for many years on the streets of our city. Often Winston transports all of his belongings in two or three different grocery carts. He frequently attends the parish’s Winter Welcome Table Program in the Winter. I think Winston reads all of the newspapers that are published in the city and knows about the political situation around the world. Although I do not think that Winston is Catholic, I like to think of Winston as the parish philosopher. He is keenly concerned for justice and desires a solution to many of the world’s problems. When Archbishop Leo visited the parish, he and Winston discussed at length many of the problems and challenges in the world today. Winston, as I believe most of us do, would love to see a world without poverty, war, suffering and injustice.