My dear friends in Christ,
This weekend, I will have the joy of welcoming many of you home to St. Julia for the celebration of Mass. Before entering the lower entrance, you will notice our beautiful gardens, many of the flowers just on the brink of entering into bloom. I was told by our volunteer gardener who so lovingly cares for our grounds that the first year will be good, the second year even better, and the third year will be quite spectacular. Some of the plants, the lilies in particular, will be five to six feet in height, with as many as 50 blooms on them! This however takes time. The vast majority of these plants came from a mail order catalog, and when they arrived did not look like much. Everything was carefully planted, staked, and watered. This Sunday in our Gospel from Mark 4:26-34, we will hear Jesus tell us the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard seed, “when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” The mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds, and yet has the potential to become the largest of plants. This takes time. The same can be said of our gardens. With each passing year the roots get more and more established, and the results, well, we will see in the coming weeks, months, and years. This too takes time. And the same too can be said about out spiritual lives and building up the kingdom of God in our homes, schools, places of work, our community, and our world. Each of us have the potential deep within. The seeds of faith were planted many years ago. We need to care for those seeds lovingly and nurture them – with the Word of God and the finest food – the Body and Blood of Christ. There is simply nothing better, with proven results. Those results are abundant fruit, a richness in our spiritual lives, and peace, an inner peace that can be found no where else. Once again, all this takes time. It is my prayer that as you join me for Mass this weekend, for many of you, I pray, in person, or virtually, that you will be nourished – that the seeds of faith will be fed, and that you will be renewed in mind, body, and spirit. Will this weekend be the right time to join your fellow sisters and brothers for Mass? Perhaps. If not, the time is coming very soon as we begin to emerge and see the light ahead. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg My dear friends in Christ,
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI remarked at Mass for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ that “the Eucharist has the power to unite people, strengthen them and remind them that only God is worthy of worship.” He would go on to say "to adore the body of Christ means to believe that there, in that piece of bread, there really is Christ who gives meaning to our lives, to the immense universe as well as to the smallest creature and to all of human history as well as to the briefest existence." It was on this feast last year, June 14, that the doors of our church reopened after the first twelve-week lockdown. Here we are, one year later, and still we have not been able to gather together, all of us, as one parish family to worship, and to physically partake in the bread of life, the body and blood, soul and divinity of our saviour Jesus Christ. What is it that brings us together? That is what this Sunday is all about. The Eucharist. It is what unites us, and with the Word of God, is the spiritual food that we need. We are all hungry, overdue to be fed by the real presence. Once again, we are reminded that we are an Easter people, not just for the fifty days of Easter, but always. We are people of hope. We seek out that which unites us, brings us together. With all that is going on around us, and what appears to be pulling us apart, what we need is that which unites and strengthens us all the more. And that is the Eucharist. To be present and still in a sacred place. To sit and adore our saviour on our beautiful crucifix. To come together, and know from the very depths of our soul that we are all loved. We see glimmers of hope, and please know that I am ready to welcome everyone home, very soon, to your spiritual home of St. Julia. Until that time, whether in person or virtually, I look forward to you joining me for Mass this Corpus Christi Sunday. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg Our Trinity
How have you defined God as Trinity? God for us, we call You Father, God alongside us, we call You Jesus, God within us, we call You Holy Spirit. You are the Eternal Mystery that enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things, even us and even me. Every name falls short of your goodness and greatness. We can only see who You are in what is. We ask for such perfect seeing. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen. The above prayer comes from author Richard Rohr, Simplicity. Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14) Sometimes less is more. That is my prayer for each of you as we continue to navigate through these times together. Now, we begin to see light at the end. Amen. Whether in person or virtually, I look forward to you joining me for Mass this Trinity Sunday. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg 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 at this time and living through a pandemic. 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. Whether in person or virtually, I look forward to you joining me for Mass this Pentecost Sunday. May God continue to bless and keep safe 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. It is my prayer that when we emerge from this pandemic, we will be a closer, stronger faith community. May we feel the magnetic pull of Christ drawing us home, to our spiritual home of St. Julia. 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. Interesting to note, lots are not mentioned again in the New Testament once the Holy Spirit came as the Church’s guide. Below you will find not one, not two, but three prayers to prepare for Pentecost. May we be reminded of the spiritual gifts that we received at our Confirmation, and may we pray to the Holy Spirit to give us the courage we need to navigate these times together as a community of believers, united in prayer. May God continue to bless and keep safe 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. During this most recent lockdown (sidenote, I am ready for this to end so that we can safely return to the things that we love and are life-giving, and being with those that we love), I wrote down a number of names of those people that I have not reached out to for some time. Like many other things, if I don’t do something first thing in the day, the day gets away from me. I’ve had the good intention to reach out to a number of people, and literally, not just days but years have passed by. So, this week I made good on my intention, and reached out to one of my sales reps who I dealt with when I was working in retail, before I heard that gentle whisper and answered that call to a vocation to religious life. So, I looked up this individual’s email address, and yikes, we had last corresponded in 2013! So, I used my Fr. Greg email, and off I sent my note with all my contact information at the bottom. The next day I was delighted to come into the office to have a voicemail message from this individual, and it was an absolutely beautiful message. That afternoon I reached out again, this time via phone, and we caught up, spoke about the pandemic of course, but other things, life-giving things as well. At that moment our paths once again merged together, and two people felt comforted, remembered, and in the most beautiful and pure sense - loved. 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. Don’t just talk about the pandemic. 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 continue to bless and keep safe 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 during the time of a pandemic. We must cling to our Lord, and our lives must grow from our Saviour. I think what has carried me though this past year is 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, the Month of Mary, dedicated to our Blessed Mother. We too cling to her, asking her intercession, to protect us, our loved ones, and for an end to this pandemic. As found on the Vatican website, “Pope Francis is requesting that during this month of May the entire Church invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the end of the pandemic and, in a special way, he is inviting all of us to pray fervently for those most closely affected by it. During each day of May, guided by a calendar with specific intentions, all the Shrines around the world, united in a communion of supplication, will lift up their prayers, which, like the fragrance of incense, will rise up to heaven. Thirty Marian Shrines will take turns leading this prayer throughout the Church and offering the faithful a series of prayer moments for them to participate throughout the entire day.” Click here to view the full press release Click here to pray the Rosary each day in May at 12:00 p.m. 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 an end to this pandemic and the safety of all. We also pray for all the lives lost, and for those who mourn the loss of a loved one or friend. 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.” In the midst of this pandemic that has gone on far longer than anyone could have ever imagined, I am reminded yet again that we are not alone. Jesus continues to watch over us, his sheep. It is not just during these times but at all times that we need to be affirmed of this, and to listen to His voice. It is so easy for us to stray, perhaps placing our hope in the things of this world. 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, and I look forward to the day when we can all be reunited together – safely – in our church dedicated to St. Julia. I wish you all a blessed week and keep safe. Fr. Greg My dear friends,
Last Sunday I had the blessed opportunity to celebrate First Communion with eighteen of the children from our parish. I must say I am grateful we did as these celebrations are postponed indefinitely in our diocese. This is what these families needed. To gather together, in their church, as a family, in a service that was simple yet still beautiful. The focus was on one thing, or I should say one being, and that is Jesus. Communion. One. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote to the parents / guardians: At your child’s baptism, you gave your child the greatest gift that you will ever give them – the gift of faith. You continue to nurture and feed that faith. Now the time has come to do exactly that – feed your child with the Body of Christ in the beautiful Sacrament of Communion. Over this past year I have witnessed far too many special occasions in the life of the church that were either postponed or cancelled due to the church being closed or with limited capacity…I am blessed to care for the spiritual needs of this community – your spiritual home of St. Julia. And now is the time to care for your child, by bringing Christ to these young people who are excited and ready to receive Jesus for the first time. They have prepared extensively in their classroom at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School. I have practiced virtually with them and have assured them that I will guide them every step of the way! And that is exactly what we did. They encountered Christ, the real presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul and divinity. And it was beautiful. In the midst of these challenging, and perhaps dark times, the light of Christ guided these children and their families to come and be one with us. The Easter candle burned brightly, reminding us again of the light of Christ in our midst. Everyone left with a smile, under their mask of course, for this was a moment of joy for all of these families. It was a sign of hope. As the parish community of St. Julia, let us pray for these families. May they hunger to return and be fed by the Body of Christ. May they feel welcomed, and loved. May the happiness the children experienced on the day of their First Communion be one they desire in their hearts every week. May the gift of faith given to them at baptism be reignited. May each of too be guided by the light of Christ. May we too be people of hope, reminding ourselves that God has seen us through difficult times in the past, and that God too will see us through these times as well. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Once again, this weekend in our Gospel we will hear Jesus speak the words “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 My dear friends,
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. 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. As we continue to navigate through these times together with Christ as our guide, may we seek strength in our faith and in the one who defeated death. It is the light of the risen Christ who continues to lead us in times of darkness. May we not lose hope, for we are an Easter people. Jesus, I trust in you. May God continue to bless and protect each of you and those that you love. Fr. Greg |
AuthorFrom Our Pastor Archives
July 2024
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