First Confession, First Communion & Confirmation Prep for 2022 ~ 2023

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Decorative ImageIt’s that time of year to begin registrations for this year’s Sacramental Preparation Programme.  We are accepting registrations for ALL children, in both Public and Catholic schools, wishing to prepare for the celebration of the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation next spring.

 ♦♦First Communion: Children in grade two or older are invited to celebrate the Sacraments of First Confession and First Communion.  Parents interested in enrolling their children in this programme are invited to attend one of the two scheduled meetings – Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 2–3 pm or Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 7-8 pm.  The meeting will take place in the main Church.

 ♦♦Confirmation:  Children in grade seven or older are invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Parents AND their children interested in enrolling in this programme are invited to attend one of the two scheduled meetings – Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 2-3 pm or Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 7-8 pm.  The meeting will take place in the main Church.

♦♦All Sacramental Preparation Classes must be attended by both Catholic and Public school children. Please visit our sacramental preparation page or inquire at the Parish Office, contact Fr. Michael at 416-534-4219, ext. 211 for further details and information about this year’s programme.

Thanksgiving 2022

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Giving thanks to God for surviving a pandemic, while still praying for peace, truth, healing and reconciliation

Decorative ImageThanksgiving is a North American holiday. If I remember my school lessons correctly, it derives from the experience of the first European settlers here in North America and their experience of their first few years here on this continent. The way we were taught about this holiday when I was in elementary school recalled how difficult these first Europeans found the bitter winter to survive on their own and how unprepared they were to make it through this difficult climate. They were so unprepared for the conditions they found on this continent that it was only with the help of the Indigenous Peoples who knew the land and the ways of growing here that they were able to make it through those initial days. Once they had learned to grow crops in this territory and figure out how to survive the conditions on this continent, they were so grateful that they began to have a special feast called “Thanksgiving” at the end of the growing season to celebrate the goods of this land and the great opportunities that they had discovered here. From my school days, I recall a part of those initial Thanksgiving celebrations involved celebrations with the Indigenous People who had helped these first settlers to make their lives possible here. That is why so many of our celebrations still highlight the many vegetables and local products that were handed over to the Europeans by the Indigenous People to help them survive.

Of course the history of our continent also shows us that this cooperative relationship between the first European settlers and the Indigenous People did not continue for very long. After a very short period of time, the European settlers began to take the land for granted and to demand that it all be given to them. What was at first regarded as a privilege to be grateful for, soon began to be regarded as something that was owed to them and the land and the Indigenous People were exploited. The great buffalo that roamed the continent were soon extinct and the Indigenous Peoples lost their lands and were relegated to reserves across both Canada and the United States. We still hear of the tragic circumstances of this history today as we read about the high suicide rates among the young people in the Indigenous communities. The recent revelations about the experience and trauma of many Indigenous persons in the Government mandated Residential School System has kept this tragic situation before our eyes and minds. This is a part of our history that still calls for much truth, healing and reconciliation. Continue reading →

Presentation for Mental Health care workers

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Decorative ImageThis is a presentation of the processes in the therapeutic setting which promote healing, lessen stress, depression and anxiety. It is a presentation of how psychotherapy contributes to the amelioration of unhappiness. This talk, with examples, would be of interest to those practicing psychotherapy and those with a curiosity about, what in the clinical space, facilitates healing.

Dr. Egit is a practicing psychotherapist/psychoanalyst. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and completed his analytic training at the Toronto Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. (he will be happy to entertain questions and initiate a discussion as part of the presentation).

Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 pm – Rectory, Conference room

Exploring our encounter with Christ through the Sacraments

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Decorative ImageBeginning Wednesday, October 5 at 7:15 pm and continuing weekly throughout the Fall

Our faith is often described as a marriage between God and humanity. St. Paul writes that marriage was actually designed by God himself to be a visible and tangible sign of his own love for humankind. So if our relationship with God is like a marriage, and marriage is about a lifelong covenant in which a man and a woman live to give themselves entirely to each other, how do we give ourselves completely to God? A better question still is: how does God give himself fully to us? Is that even possible? What would my life be like if I was totally God’s, and he was totally mine?

The answer can be summed up in two words: The Sacraments. This is how God, our divine spouse, is ever seeking to draw us to himself and to give himself to us.

Over the course of this Fall, we will dive into the staggering realities of the Sacraments, how they are God’s means of coming to be with us, how they are our means of sharing in God’s very life, and how they might radically transform the way we perceive and live out our lives as the Church, the spouse of God.

Beginning October 5th, at 7:15 pm, and continuing weekly throughout the Fall, we’ll gather in the Parish Hall at St. Peter’s. We’re looking forward to gathering with many of you!