Gratitude, Charity and Prayer

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Those who know the kind of suffering and pain that Job endured might think that I am being a little overly dramatic to relate the sufferings experienced during the COVID 19 pandemic to the kind of tribulations and trials experienced by Job. However, as I hear Job state, “I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned me,” I cannot help but think of the way that many people have described the experience of the last few months.

It seems like a kind of general depression has overcome so many of us. People are worried about their jobs and how they will continue to provide for their families as this goes on. Many elderly people are alone and isolated. Even the young people that I speak to talk of how bored and tired they are with this whole situation. There is a kind of malaise that is overtaking everyone, and while we may not actually have suffered the really tragic losses that Job suffered, there is a sense of tiredness and depression that we know all too well as this pandemic drags on. Continue reading →

The Liturgical Season of Lent During a Pandemic

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LENT IS HERE

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. 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 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.

  • Lenten Confessions: Fr. Michael is in the church Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 9:00 A.M., Saturday from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M., and Sunday from 8:30 to 11:30 A.M. Confession can be celebrated at those times by simply asking him to hear your confession.
  • Stations of the Cross: A great Lenten spiritual exercise that can be prayed privately in the church. The church is open every Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.—maximum 10 persons at a time.
    Helpful Resources for Stations of the Cross

    1. Stations from St. Alphonsus Liguorihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEIvGC1WsbM(traditional)
    2. Stations of Cross – prayers- Catholic online www.catholic.org prayers – stations (video presentation -taken in Holy Land)

    This spiritual exercise is encouraged especially on Fridays during Lent but can be prayed daily as desired.

  • Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast (one full meal, and two lighter meals a day 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 fast obliges all those from ages 18 through 59 years of age.
  • Lenten Retreat: This year, due to the pandemic, there is no parish retreat in the church. You may find many excellent virtual retreats online. Sister Gabriel is recommending A Lenten Retreat called Journey into the Wilderness by the Irish Jesuits– an 8-session audio presentation of 15 minutes each, with time for personal prayer and reflection. It can be found at:  www.pathwaystogod.org/resources/wilderness-lent-retreat. The following schedule is suggested: start first session on Ash Wed; 2nd session on First Sunday of Lent; 3rd session on Second Sunday of Lent and continue each Sunday of Lent and then conclude on Good Friday. (If you start late then adjust to your own pace.) Sister Gabriel will make herself available to discuss the sessions with those interested on parish phone on Mondays – leave message at 416-534-4219 ext. 231 or by email: gabrielriddle66@gmail.com.
  • 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 penance should be external and social, as well as internal and individual.

The highest point in the Church’s year of prayer is the Easter Triduum of the dying and rising of the Lord Jesus. We prepare for this three-day period by the season of Lent, and prolong it for the great 50 days of the Easter season. Arrangements for the celebration of the Easter Triduum will be announced closer to the date according to the Provincial Pandemic Protocols.

LENTEN RECONCILIATION SERVICES

  • Fr. Michael is in the church every day to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and distribute the Eucharist (Monday to Friday from 7:30 to 9:00 A.M., Saturday from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. and Sunday from 8:30 to 11:30 A.M.). To celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation any day, simply ask to celebrate it. The Parish will have additional confessions as part of the Archdiocesan Day of Confessions on Saturday, March 20th and Saturday, March 27th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts.”

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In this Sunday’s Gospel, as we begin to journey with Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus went to the synagogue in Capernaum with His disciples as He began His public ministry. In the synagogue, Jesus astounds those who have gathered with His teaching. However, what is perhaps the most surprising feature of His visit to the synagogue in Capernaum is the fact that it is an evil spirit that is the first to acknowledge who Jesus is. We hear this unclean spirit crying out as it is encountered by Jesus: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24).  Immediately, after the unclean spirit acknowledges who Jesus is, Jesus says to the unclean spirit: “Be quiet, and come out of him.” Mark tells us that in response to what Jesus says to the unclean spirit, immediately “the unclean spirit, convulsing the man and crying with a loud voice, came out of him” (Mark 1: 26). Continue reading →

Thank you Mr. Albert Wills for your constant generosity to our parish community, may you Rest in Peace

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For many years, Mr. Albert Wills (Steven Albert Wills) served our parish community as a volunteer sacristan. He volunteered countless hours over the decades to make our liturgical celebrations beautiful and to assist at many other parish celebrations. I am extremely grateful to him for all that he did for our parish community.

Albert died on the morning of Sunday, January 24th, 2021, surrounded by his family. A Funeral Mass, which only his immediate family and friends may attend due to capacity limits, will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Church on Saturday, January 30th at 11:30 a.m.

Visitation for a limited number of persons will take place in the church on Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:15 am. Due to capacity limits of a maximum of ten at this time, visitation must be booked in advance through Ward Funeral Homes. A visitation time may be booked by visiting:  www.wardfuneralhomes.com/memorials/stephen-wills/4507513/index.php

May Albert Wills rest in peace.

Introduction to the Gospel of Mark. “The Kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the Good News.”

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We begin reading today at Sunday Mass the Gospel of Mark. The Sunday readings are divided into three different annual cycles of readings. These have the names: “Year A”, Year B”, and “Year C.” In each of these years, the Church has us listen to one of the three Synoptic Gospels, which are Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Gospel of John, because it is dramatically different from these Synoptic Gospels, is read in portions in each of these three liturgical years. The Gospel of Mark is read in Year B, which is the liturgical year that we begin now. In the early Church, people thought that the Gospel of Matthew was the first to have been written. This is why the Gospels are ordered Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible. However, today, Bible scholars think that the Gospel of Mark was written first and that it was used by both Matthew and Luke indirectly to write their Gospels. Because the three seem to have similar sources, they are called the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of John is so different that it is believed to have been based upon an entirely different set of traditions. For this reason it is not one of the Synoptic Gospels and is read each year in small portions. In fact because the Gospel of Mark is the shortest, this year, during Year B of the Lectionary, in the summer there are six weeks in which we read from chapter six, the bread of life discourse, from the Gospel of John. Continue reading →