My dear friends in Christ, This Sunday we celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost and our Easter season of 50 days will draw to a close. “Come Holy Spirit” is the theme of our celebrations and a reminder to each of us that we need to call upon the Holy Spirit every day. How very true this is. These gifts that we received at our confirmation are precious. The question is, do I call upon these gifts? Really and truly? Do I call upon the gift of wisdom, and value spiritual things over worldly ones? Do I contemplate the things of God? Do I call upon the gift of courage, and stand up for God and His truths? There is no doubt that this is what the world needs, and it starts in my own home. Do I pray for the gift of knowledge? This is the awareness of God’s plan. This can be a challenge and requires trust. Yet this is what we must pray for. Do I pray for the gift of wonder and awe that increases my desire to draw closer to God and depart from sin? The list goes on. Here we have yet another challenge, but opportunity too. When we call upon these gifts it has the power to change – wait – transform our lives, and live a rich and full life in communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here is a reflection from a lady by the name of Marion who I met on a summer assignment in reflecting on the Holy Spirit… If I look upwards, I will find the Spirit of God waiting to be invited into my heart, soul, spirit, life, to raise me to a new level of love, consciousness and intensity. To love as Jesus loves makes me realize that I do not have His patience, tolerance, or depth of forgiveness. This is where His Spirit comes in, and that is why the Spirit is given to us. If I have the Spirit of Jesus living in my heart, then, surely, I can be a channel of His love, patience, and forgiveness in the lives of others. Open your heart, invite the Spirit in. 'Come Spirit, breath, and power of God. Enter my heart, and generate within me the heart of Jesus. Let His love, forgiveness, and service flow through me to others.’ May we call upon the Holy Spirit, the advocate, to make a home in our hearts, and to be an instrument of peace, love, and hope. I look forward to you joining me for Mass this Pentecost Sunday. Wear red! May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg
My dear friends in Christ, This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord – the entry of Jesus’ humanity into divine glory in God’s heavenly domain, forty days after his Resurrection. Immediately after Christ’s ascension to heaven, the first church in Jerusalem was under intense pressure. Their first task was to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot. They prayed that God would guide the casting of lots. There were two candidates, and Matthias was chosen, whose Feast Day we celebrated on Friday. Many times, when we are under pressure or facing a difficult time, we can push others away. Such was not the case with the first church and the apostles. Instead, they let the pressure drive them closer together instead of breaking them apart. When we face the pressures and challenges of life, may we feel the magnetic pull of Christ drawing us home, to our spiritual home of St. Julia. It is here where we are refueled, recharged, and nourished as we come together, lifting one another up in prayer and seek the assistance that only God can provide through the power of the Holy Spirit. As our Easter season quickly comes to a close, we prepare for the celebration of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles. May we be reminded of the spiritual gifts that we received at our Confirmation, and may we pray to the Holy Spirit to help us navigate whatever it is that we are facing, together, united in prayer. May God bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg My dear friends in Christ, Along my journey, God has put a number of wonderful people in my path. While our paths have taken us in different directions, quite often I will think of them and a smile will come to my face. Now here is my weakness. I will think of them, and have every intention to reach out to them. Then I get sidetracked by something, and the moment passes, and then days, weeks, months, and so on passes. And the opportunity and nice thought passes. In our Gospel this weekend from John 15:9-17, Jesus commands his disciples to love one another. Jesus gives us the greatest example of how to love and to serve one another. As disciples of Christ, we are called to be the light of Christ to one another, and to love one another. That love can be, as I learned this past week, something as simple as thinking of someone else, and putting that thinking into action. When we do this, each in our own little way, we bear the fruit that Jesus speaks of as the branches attached to the true vine, Jesus Christ. Here is the opportunity and challenge for us today. Don’t let this opportunity pass by and let another day get away from you. Reach out to someone that you have not spoken with for some time, for whatever reason. It will do you both a world of good. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to bring comfort, strength, peace, and hope to that other person. Be the light of Christ to that other person, who just may need it at this very moment in time. The result will be that it will do you both a world of good – and feel cared for, remembered, and loved. This is putting our faith into action. I too am a work in progress. Amen. May God bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg My dear friends in Christ, Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” In our Gospel this weekend from John 15:1-8, we are taught that we must cling to Jesus the way that a vine is attached to a branch. How important this is. We must cling to our Lord, and our lives must grow from our Saviour. I think that is what carries me through - by clinging to this vine, Jesus, through prayer and being nourished by the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ. When you reflect, I pray that you can say the same – that your faith and being fed, for many spiritually, has provided you with the strength, comfort, and hope that only Jesus and our Father can provide. On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we are reminded once again that we are an Easter people – a people of hope. We begin the month of May next Wednesday, the Month of Mary, dedicated to our Blessed Mother. We too cling to her, asking for her intercession, to protect us and our loved ones. As a community of believers here at St. Julia, may we cling to the true vine, Jesus Christ, our Blessed Mother Mary, and cling to our rosaries as we pray for peace in the world. May God continue to bless and keep safe each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg My dear friends in Christ, On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, I find great comfort in our Gospel from John 10:11-18 when Jesus says “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” As sheep, as disciples of Christ, we place our hope in one God, made up of three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Gospel passage continues “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” This passage demonstrates that Jesus cares for us as a shepherd cares for his flock. We are his flock. Jesus knows us inside and out and will do anything to save us. This is the beauty of our relationship with Jesus. This Sunday and this upcoming week, may we focus on our relationship with Jesus, for He loves each of us and has given His life for us. This is what the season of Easter is all about - renewing our relationship with Jesus, a personal relationship at that. May we dive deeper into all that Jesus did for us, and continues to do for us as our shepherd and friend. May we continue to be an Easter people, people of hope. Please know of my continued prayers for each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish, This Sunday's Gospel from Luke recounts the events as the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus return to the upper room to tell their story. In many ways, this Gospel sounds almost the same as last week’s Gospel from John when Jesus appears to his frightened disciples in the Upper Room to reassure them and bring them “Peace.” Jesus likely was using the Hebrew greeting: “Shalom” which means much more than peace and quiet. Its meaning includes peace harmony wholeness completeness prosperity welfare tranquility This is what I want for each and every one of us. Where does this gift of peace come from? The Prince of Peace himself, Jesus Christ. It begins with His Word, and is fed and nourished by His presence in the sacraments. Pay attention to how many times the word Peace is spoken in the mass. It is the gift that Jesus wants to give us this day. Peace be with you. May God continue to bless and protect each of you and those that you love, and may the peace of Christ be with you always. Fr. Greg Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish, Easter blessings to each of you! As an Easter people we continue to celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Paschal candle continues to burn brightly in our sanctuary and represents Christ, the Light of the World. In fact, it will continue to burn for the entire fifty days of the Easter Season, concluding on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. The candle is made of pure beeswax and represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of this His Mother, Mary. The wick signifies His humanity, and the flame His Divine nature, both soul and body. At our Easter Vigil I had the honour of lighting this candle with the new Easter fire, symbolizing our eternal life in Christ. We then processed into our dark church, and with tapers, that light spread throughout the congregation to those both in person and our virtual congregation. That light was then given to seven new Catholics through the Sacrament of Baptism and seven others who entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, with twelve confirmations. It is that light that is so very special for this truly is the light of Christ – thanks be to God. This weekend we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. In the Divine Mercy image, we see the risen Christ whose hands and feet bear the marks of the crucifixion. The two rays coming forth from Jesus signify the sacraments of mercy (Baptism and Penance), and the Eucharist. For me, this is an invitation to encounter Christ and for us to place our complete trust in our Lord. Jesus, I trust in you. Fr. Greg Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish, This weekend we gather together as a parish family to celebrate the most important event in human history: the resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. What is interesting about this event is that it is recorded in history, verified by eyewitnesses, confirmed by revelation and testified to by God Himself. It is a fact. This is what we celebrate. Prior to Jesus’ resurrection, death was final, it was the last word, and there was no hope. That all changed on that first Easter morning. This is what we celebrate. We celebrate that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and that death no longer has the last and final words on our lives. It is our Saviour who conquered death, having come back from the dead, and to never die again. This is what we celebrate. Jesus has also made a promise to us. That what happened to him will also happen to us. Like Jesus, we will rise to a new life, a journey from life here on earth to life in heaven. This is what we celebrate. We are here to help one another as a community of believers here at St. Julia. We are on this journey together, united in prayer, serving and supporting one another, and helping one another as sisters and brothers to get to our ultimate home of heaven. This is what we celebrate. This is the promise God has made to us, made anew each Easter. This is where we place our hope. This is where we place our trust. This is our source of joy. Christ is truly risen from the dead. This is what we celebrate. I warmly welcome you and your family, friends and neighbours too, to join us for our Easter celebrations this weekend here at St. Julia. Whether in person or virtually, just being able to gather is a reason to celebrate in itself. On behalf of your parish family of St. Julia, I wish each one of you and those that you love a most blessed and grace-filled Easter. Christ has truly risen from the dead. Alleluia! Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, On this Good Friday, we purposefully slow down as we relive the events leading up to Jesus' death and Resurrection. Today we will hear proclaimed the Passion narrative from John. These are incredibly difficult passages to read, let alone to have been alive to witness these events. So why would we call Good Friday “good” when Jesus experienced such horrible pain and agony? According to Christianity.com, some Christians do call Good Friday "Sorrowful Friday" as a somber reminder of the events. But what about the rest of the church? BibleStudyTools.com teaches us that we call Good Friday good for a number of reasons. First, we remember that Good Friday did not end on that Friday. We had Resurrection Sunday a few days later to look forward to. It is good in the sense that we anticipate what would come to pass days later. Secondly, we call Good Friday good because we cannot have the Good News of the Gospel without the bad news of sin first. Good Friday helps us to realize the gravity of our sinful nature and how much we need a Saviour. People don’t need good news unless they’ve endured something bad before. Slow down. Bishop Robert Barron notes that this day is "Good" because Jesus completes his mission, atoning for the sin of the world and, in doing so, reforming our capacity for relationship with the Father. The earth sits in silence on Saturday for Jesus is dead. There is a coldness, and emptiness in the church. "He descended into hell," we recite in the Creed. It is a day of mystery and fascination and unnerving stillness, for God, the second person of the trinity, is dead. But, we know the end of the story. Let us share in the story together as we gather this day as a parish family and community of believers. Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, We are about to enter into the most beautiful and sacred weeks in the liturgical life of our church. We begin this weekend with Palm Sunday. We will encounter Jesus when we wave our palms as He descends from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem and we cry out “Hosanna.” On Holy Thursday, we will gather around the table as He celebrates the Last Supper with his apostles and we listen to Jesus’ command to each of us to “take this all of you and eat of it” and to love one another. On Good Friday we will stand at the foot of the cross as Jesus takes his last breath. Then at our Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, we will encounter the resurrected Jesus, having conquered sin and death. This week, I invite you to listen to the words of Sacred Scripture as if you are hearing them for the very first time. Be still. Be in the moment. Just be. Immerse yourself in these liturgies and make the very most of this week as we journey with Jesus through His passion, death, and resurrection. ONCE AGAIN THIS YEAR ON PALM SUNDAY Join us this Palm Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. as we reflect on the "Seven Last Words of Jesus." Sacred Scripture and music from our choir will make for what I pray will be a rich and meaningful experience for all present. This will also be livestreamed. I wish to sincerely thank our parishioner Alf McGrath for sharing this gift with our parish. I look forward to us being united together this week as a parish family, and I wish you a truly blessed and grace-filled Holy Week. God bless, Fr. Greg |
AuthorFrom Our Pastor Archives
May 2024
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