Good Bye Holy Family

To Holy Family Parish:
Words are inadequate to capture my emotions from last Sunday. Thank you for your kind words and generous cards and gifts. I am feeling overwhelmed by your generosity! Thank you to all who made the party possible, including Lydia, Catherine Baldassare, Sylvia Stapleton, Anna Monaco, Denyse Hinca, the Knights of Columbus, and Garden Foods for the Sausages and Hamburgers. Special shout-out to the Steko Family for the Roasted Lamb and Piglet! (mmmm)

By the grace of God, we have been able to do great things here at Holy Family. Caring for Everyone: Young and Elderly, Rich and Poor, Strong and Weak, Educated and Illiterate, Confident and Timid, has been possible because I have desired from day one to Know you, Love you and Serve you. I trust you will welcome Fr. Andrew in the way you welcomed me, and thus great things will continue to happen here at Holy Family! Until we meet again, I will see you at the (very crowded) Table of the Lord!

Peace.

Fr. Larry Leger, Former Pastor

Major Talk this Weekend!

Dr. Massimo Faggioli

The Second Vatican Council

Saturday, May 25, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish

17955 Leslie Street, Newmarket, Ont.

•    The History and Context of Vatican ll

•    The Spirituality and Theology of Vatican ll

&

Sunday, May 26, 2019

7:00 pm Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Followed by Keynote Address:

“Becoming One Body in Christ”

Dr. Massimo Faggioli, PhD is a leading authority on the history and administrative inner workings of the Catholic Church with specific expertise in the papacy, Vatican II, the Roman Curia, liturgical reform, new Catholic movements and on Catholicism and global politics. Dr. Faggioli is currently a professor at Villanova University in Philadelphia. He has worked for the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies in Bologna, Italy between 1996 and 2008.

Resurrection

RESURRECTION HOMILY 

by St. John Chrysostom

Come all lovers of God, rejoice in the splendor of this feast: 

enter into the joy of your Lord. 

You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; 

you rich and you poor, dance together; 

you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; 

you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet… 

let no one go away hungry. 

All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; 

all of you receive the riches of his goodness.

Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. 

Christ is risen and life is freed. 

Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: 

for Christ, being risen from the dead, 

has become the Leader and Reviver 

of those who had fallen asleep.

To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. 

Amen

Good Friday

Good Friday

Gather at the parish for the Good Friday liturgy at noon or 3:00 p.m. As you enter be aware of your surroundings and refrain from unnecessary conversation. At this liturgy we begin in silence. We proclaim the passion from the Gospel of St. John and we pray for the needs of the world. We adore the cross of Christ.

Throughout Jesus’ life he loved those who were cast out from the society, showing mercy and forgiveness to those who betrayed, judged and persecuted him. Jesus has shown us the path to love. The path to love involves the cross. On this day may we be aware of who God is calling us to love and what cross we are carrying. Will we allow Jesus to carry the cross with us?

Fridays in Lent

During the Fridays of Lent we usually abstain from meat - because Jesus' flesh was sacrificed on Good Friday.

We also speak of fasting through Lent - and yet Pope Francis continually reminds us that fasting need not simply be considered from food or drink - but in our words and actions:

Peace

Pray - Fast - Give

As we embark upon our Lenten journey - we embrace the 3 practices of lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

Bishop Robert Barron had a neat reflection on Prayer this morning:

Well, how should we pray? What does it look like? You have to pray with faith, and according to Jesus’ model, you have to pray with forgiveness. The efficacy of prayer seems to depend on the reconciliation of differences.You also have to pray with persistence. One reason that we don’t receive what we want through prayer is that we give up too easily. Augustine said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because he wants our hearts to expand.Finally, we have to pray in Jesus’ name. In doing so we are relying on his influence with the Father, trusting that the Father will listen to him.

To Fast is not only connected to food or drink. We can fast from criticism, from technology, - especially from gossip, Pope Francis suggests. In our fasting - we are reminded that we depend completely upon God -for everything.

To Give is to be a person of gratitude and at the same time imitate God who is the authour of life, and has given us all that we have. To give not simply from our abundance - but from our essence - is to be a truly sacrificial giver.

Peace!

Count Down to Lent - 2019

Lent is the yearly celebration by the Church of its corporate conversion in Jesus Christ. During Lent, the liturgy prepares catechumens to celebrate the Paschal Mystery by the various stages of Christian initiation. It also prepares the faithful for Easter as they recall their baptism and do penance in preparation for the greatest Feast of the year.

Lent has two major purposes : I recalls or prepares for baptism, and emphasizes a spirit of penance. Through forty days of closer attention to God's Word and of more fervent prayer, believers are prepared to celebrate the Paschal Mystery.

We will continue our practice of tying ribbons onto the bare branches in the church - each time we Pray, Fast, or Give. In this way our Lenten disciplines will be connected to our Sunday Worship - and our celebration of the great feast of Easter.

Keeping Up Electronically

With the addition of the Electronic Bulletin Board in the Gathering Space - I feel I have been focusing on keeping that board up to date for the last little while - and neglecting my Blog.

Exciting things have been happening the past few weeks! We are starting our first ever March Break - Mini Holydays camp this year - Registration is Saturday Morning - February 9th at 10 AM.

We are also working on our Tax receipts and should have them mailed out shortly.

Coming up: A Care Giver Retreat!

“Jesus said to them, come away to a deserted place and rest awhile.” Mark 6:31

You are Invited to 

a Retreat for Caregivers 

If you are an at-home caregiver or you care for others in various settings including visiting the sick and elderly in our parish, you will know the challenges and fatigue that can set in.  
Supporting others can be exhausting.  You are invited to care for yourself and attend a brief retreat for caregivers. 
Please join us on Tuesday February 19th for a time of self-care.  We will gather at 10:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:00 p.m.  A simple lunch will be provided. To assist with preparations registration is requested. Please call the parish office or email caecker@archtoronto.org

Peace