We will hear proclaimed this weekend the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” as recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy (chapter 6, verse 5). Long before the coming of Christ as man, taking on our human flesh, God gave this commandment to the people, through Moses.
Centuries later, when a scribe approached Jesus, asking him which is the first or greatest of all the commandments, Jesus answered with the very words from Deuteronomy, well known to the scribe, or any devout Jew for that matter. Jesus would go on to add “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” which Jesus would have known well as coming from the Book of Leviticus (chapter 19, verse 18). Each Sunday when we gather for Mass, either in person, or virtually, we are reminded of these two great commandments on our banners adorning our sanctuary here at St. Julia. Love God. Love people. They truly are inseparable. Each and every day we have numerous opportunities to show this love: in our homes, places of work, our schools, to the poor and marginalized – everywhere. May we call upon the Holy Spirit to ignite that fire within each of us, that fire of love that can change our lives, our community, and our world. May God bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg Every year, something special happens on the next-to-last Sunday of October. World Mission Sunday joins all Catholics of the world into one community of faith. At Mass that Sunday, we recommit ourselves to our common vocation, through Baptism to be missionaries, through prayer, participation in the Eucharist, and by giving generously to the collection for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Pope Francis’ message for World Mission Sunday this year reflects on the theme: “We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). He reminds us that, “as Christians, we cannot keep the Lord to ourselves,” as we “recall with gratitude all those men and women who by their testimony of life help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel.” On World Mission Sunday, we join our Holy Father in supporting his missions. As we pray and respond here at home, we share in those celebrations taking place in every parish throughout the world. Together, through our prayers and financial support, we bring the Lord’s mercy and concrete help to the most vulnerable communities in the Pope’s missions. In a world where so much divides us, World Mission Sunday rejoices in our unity as missionaries by our Baptism, as it offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,111 mission dioceses. Please do consider making a donation for World Mission Sunday. It can be dropped off in the regular collection at the end of Mass. Simply place your offering in a separate envelope, marked “World Mission Sunday,” your name and envelope number. Thank you in advance for your generosity. May God bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg Message from Pope Francis – World Mission Sunday This weekend we embark on a journey with the entire Church. Pope Francis has called us to join in a journey of "Communion, Participation and Mission," where we seek to understand where God is calling the Church today. Entitled “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” Pope Francis solemnly opened the preparations for the journey to the synod on synodality last weekend, October 9-10, 2021 in Rome. Now we, St. Julia Church (the particular church), and all churches in our Diocese, and in fact throughout the world, unite together in prayer, praying for the Holy Spirit to guide us.
All of this will lead to the synod itself to be held in Rome in 2023. One fundamental stage will be the celebration of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in October 2023, which will be followed by the implementation phase that will again involve the particular churches. Click here to read Bishop Bergie’s Pastoral Letter on the Synod on Synodality Click here to read the Preparatory Document Together, may we unite all of our prayers together, calling upon the Holy Spirit, for the success of the Synod as we once again seek to understand where God is calling the Church today, and how we can embrace and integrate the themes of “communion, participation, and mission” into our evangelization efforts here at St. Julia. May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I thank God for each of you, my spiritual family, and this community of St. Julia. Fr. Greg Another Thanksgiving is upon us. Do we have more to be thankful for this year than in years past? As we continue to navigate through these times together, we remember that it is only with God that all things are possible. Indeed, Christ has been our guide, leading us and providing us with hope. As we gather this weekend for Mass at our parish of St. Julia, either in person or virtually, we are reminded of the tremendous blessings God continues to pour out upon our community. And as we gather with our families this weekend, again either in person or virtually, we thank God for the gift of our families, friends, and loved ones.
May we be a sign of God’s goodness and hope for one another as we offer our prayers of thanks, not only on this Thanksgiving Day, but each and every day. May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I thank God for each of you, my spiritual family, and this community of St. Julia. Fr. Greg As we begin this new month, there is no shortage of people and things to pray for. In a special way, in this month dedicated to our Blessed Mother Mary and the Rosary, we have a most powerful tool at our fingertips and an intercessor we can turn to who will take our prayers and petitions to her son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Sacramental wise, it has been busy at our parish. Since reopening after the most current shutdown, Deacon Brian, Deacon George and myself have had the honour of celebrating multiple baptisms each month. In the Rite of Baptism, I always pause when I ask the parents, “Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?” This means raising this beautiful child entrusted them in the faith. We need to pray for the parents of these children, the first formators of the faith, and these precious little ones. This weekend we welcome our Confirmation candidates and their families from our parish to our 5:00 p.m. Mass. I met with these youth from our parish and their parents a week ago, discussing the beauty of this Sacrament and the power of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit they will receive this November. We need to pray for these youth, as this is an important year for them in their faith journey. This past week I met with the seven-year-old children from our parish family and their parents as they prepare to encounter Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation this fall and First Communion next April at Easter. May the joy in the eyes of these children and the excitement of receiving Jesus for the first time – and we pray 1000’s of times after, set the faith of their parents on fire – or reignite the faith if that may be the case. We need to pray for these children and their families. This weekend in our Gospel the spotlight is on the Sacrament of Marriage. I will say, we have had a steady flow of marriages at our parish this year. I remind every couple that I have the honour of witnessing their marriage that I am here to ensure that they have a beautiful wedding day, though I am more interested in preparing them for a lifetime together. As I am reminded, a wedding is just a day – a marriage is a lifetime. We need to pray that more couples long to get married, in the church, and to have their union – a covenant – blessed by God. This is what they need, a solid foundation to build their lives upon, with God at the center. We need to pray for those who are sick. May their encounter with Christ in the Sacrament of the Anointing of Sick bring them comfort, strength, help, healing, and peace. And last but not least, we need to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and diaconate, and that more young men desire to encounter Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. All of the above is only possible with their “yes.” Come Holy Spirit! Blessed Mother, please intercede for us. Loving God, hear these our prayers. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg God knows each one of us –– our joys, strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures, our faith, our needs, hopes and dreams. Not only does God know us; He loves us.
But how much do we know God? How much do we love God? We know and love God through prayer, through our ministries, and in our relationships with other people. We know and love God through our participation in the sacraments, through Scripture and meditation, and through our gathering together as a parish family here at St. Julia. We know God through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. But how about knowing and loving God with the help of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, whose feast we celebrate this upcoming Wednesday, September 29? Well, they all point us to God, through Jesus Christ, who is our protector, our strength, our hero and our healer. But we, too, have these responsibilities –– of protecting each other, of strengthening each other, of healing each other. Loving and supporting one another –– this is our vocation; this is our commitment to each other. We can ask for St. Michael’s prayers for spiritual protection and to help us to protect each other. We can ask for St. Gabriel’s prayers for strength, for courage and to help us to strengthen one other and announce one others goodness and gifts. We can also ask for the prayers of St. Raphael to help us to heal each other and comfort each other in times of difficulty and distress. These are some of the ways in which we can truly know and love God. Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, please continue to pray for us. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg A very human trait is to compare ourselves to others. The disciples in the Gospel passage from Mark 9:30-37 did exactly this, arguing amongst themselves as they walked along. Jesus would eventually ask them what they were discussing: who among us is the greatest.
The answer is quite simple. Jesus. As we continue to strive to put Christ at the center of our lives, the very core of our being will, little my little, mirror that of Christ. This imitation of Christ, to serve, will inspire others, and over time we will bring the good out of others, so that they too will imitate our saviour. This is what the saints did, and we are all saints in the making. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg Well, just like that, it is full steam ahead! The summer break is behind us, and the youth from our parish and community are back in school. Amen! This is where they need to be for their mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. We pray for their ongoing safety in the midst of the pandemic. I’ve already been in Denis Morris Catholic High School and very soon will be being celebrating weekly Mass for each class at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School on a rotation. There is no substitute for in person visits and being in the classrooms. I pray that these be very special and memorable times for both the students, the youth of our parish, and myself.
In our Gospel from Mark this weekend we will hear Jesus ask the question to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus goes on to tell his friends that He must suffer. Then we have this scene where Peter takes Jesus aside rebuking him for speaking like that. His closest followers found it difficult to accept that Jesus would suffer – and die. Jesus makes it clear that we must follow Him in suffering and death, and that we must deny ourselves. Here is yet another one of those opportunities and challenges that I always speak of. We are in when it comes to the happy stuff, praying to Jesus and gathering to worship Him. But to suffer and die… Everyday God puts remarkable people in our lives. We all know them, and I have had the honour and privilege of visiting them and bringing the sacraments to them. These people, these members of our parish family and friends, are suffering. What so many times amazes me is how grounded they are in their faith, some so inspiring that I leave my visit in absolute awe. “Who do you say that I am?” For these women and men of faith, they would say “My Lord and My Saviour,” and that they place their complete trust in their Lord and God. May we pray for all those who suffer as they unite their suffering with that of Christ, and may we as disciples, be instruments of hope and of Christ’s love. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg This weekend we will hear proclaimed in our First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (35:4-7a), “Thus says the Lord: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.” Perhaps you or a child, grandchild, niece or nephew, are getting ready to return to school and are a bit scared. Perhaps you are preparing to return to work after working from home. Perhaps you are still uneasy leaving you home, going out, or returning to Mass. Perhaps what you see going on around you in our world troubles you. The list goes on. So where do we place our trust? That is in God, and for that reason we have nothing to fear. That being said, we must use common sense, make use of sound information to guide us in making decisions, and remember that we are not in this alone. We are part of a bigger community, and are called to love God and our neighbour. And to be there for our neighbour, to be Christ for our neighbour. So, when we are scared, worried, or frightened, we can be assured that we are united in prayer. When we are perhaps too weak to pray, well that is when we lift up one another in prayer, our sister or brother in Christ.
Being part of a faith community like this of St. Julia is a beautiful thing. Many generations gather each and every week, whether that be in person or virtually, to listen to the Word of God, to be fed by the Eucharist, and to be recharged and refueled. And when our hearts are perhaps frightened, we are reminded to “Be strong, fear not. Here is your God!” As we begin this new month, we pray in a special way for the youth and young adults of our parish family. We pray for those who long to be one in person with us at Mass and may still feel uncomfortable gathering together. And we pray for an end to this pandemic, that we may all do our part, because we are in this together, united as one Body of Christ. I had a very pleasant time away from the parish in Montreal and have returned refreshed and ready to serve you, my parish family. I thank the priests who assisted in my absence, and pray that God will continue to bless them in their ministry and good works. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg On one of my recent visits to a parishioner in a long-term care facility, I smile in thinking that I learned more from this faith-filled lady in our time together than any words I may have offered to comfort her. She said, “Fr. Greg, remember that the doors of the church open outward, not inward.”
In our second reading from James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 we will hear the words, “Welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” James does not mince words, for this is a loud and clear summary how we are to live, by being doers of the word and not hearers only. Here is the gift that we have been given – we are blessed to be able to gather together as a community to listen to the Word of God and to see how God speaks to us through His living Word. We must listen to Scripture, always taking in the Word of God in the light of all Scripture, in the light of the early church teachers of the Christian faith, and in the light of the teachings of the Church, the Church magisterium. We are not simply called to hear this Word and to simply be on our way, or that it does not apply to us. This can be a challenge, I must admit. As with every challenge, I believe that there is an opportunity. We are called to take the Word, meditate with the Word, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, allow it to guide us in our actions. That is when we are living out our faith. This is where we put our faith into action. When the priest or deacon proclaims at the end of Mass, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your lives,” these are our marching orders, by Christ himself. To care for the basic needs of those in our community. To restore dignity to those in need. To bring hope to those who are suffering. To lend a helping hand. To help guide and educate the young around us, and the young at heart. To care for the sick, and to be a friend to the homebound. This is who we are as a Church, as disciples of Christ. When we push the doors of the church open and outward, we exit, refueled and recharged to do exactly that, having been fed by the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ. This weekend I thank you for warmly welcoming Msgr. Leo Clutterbuck back to celebrate Mass with you. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you next weekend upon my return from some summer holidays. Fr. Greg |
AuthorFrom Our Pastor Archives
July 2024
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