Local Mass Schedules

Good Shepherd Parish
      

Holy Thursday - March 29,  7pm Mass of the Lord's Supper

 Good Friday - March 30, 

     11am Children's Stations of the Cross

     3pm Passion of Our Lord Solemn Service

Easter Vigil Saturday, March 31    8pm

Easter Sunday April 1       9am & 11am  

St. Simon & St. Jude Parish

Holy Thursday

Thursday, March 29:             7:00 pm
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until 10:00 pm

Good Friday

Friday, March 30:                  3:00 pm

Easter Vigil

Saturday, March 31               8:00 pm

Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 1                       9:00 am & 11:00 am         

St. Anne’s Parish Tecumseh

HOLY THURSDAY –

 March 29, 7:00 pm – Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper

8:30 pm - 12:00 am (Midnight): Reposition in the Parish Hall

GOOD FRIDAY - March 30, 2018

11:00 am - Children's Service

3:00 pm - Passion of Our Lord (Bilingual)

EASTER VIGIL - Saturday, March 31, 2018

8:30 pm – Mass of New Life, Light & Water

 EASTER SUNDAY –  April 1. 2018 7:00 am, 8:30 am (Fr.), 10:00 am, 12:00 Noon

St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary’s

HOLY THURSDAY –  Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper

March 29, 2018 7:00 pm – St. Mary’s

GOOD FRIDAY –  Passion of Our Lord

March 30, 2018 3:00 pm – St. Mary’s

EASTER VIGIL – Mass of New Life, Light & Water

Saturday, March 31, 2018 7:00 pm – St. John’s

 EASTER SUNDAY –  April 1. 2018

9:00 am – St. Mary’s

11:00 am – St. John’s

Visitation Parish - Comber

Holy Thursday - March 29,  7pm Mass of the Lord's Supper

Good Friday - March 30, 

           3pm Passion of Our Lord Solemn Service

Easter Vigil Saturday, March 31    8pm

Easter Sunday April 1       9am(francais) & 11am  

Holy Week 2018 is here!

As was said today at our Holy Week Prayer Service, this is the holiest week in our Church year.  This is the culmination of a lifetime of work, Jesus' work... His ministry. 

He knew…

      He knew from the time he could think rationally that the cross was his destination.  He knew he was the sacrifice, that he was the one who would willingly travel that road to Calvary, reach out his arms and give his life … for us.

What kind of courage does that take…

what kind of strength …

      what kind of Love…

It was and is…  an all encompassing, you are my person, you are my people, I give my life for you, I love you beyond compare, I know your secrets and I don’t care I love you anyway ...kind of love

In Scripture John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Bloody, beaten, and bruised he looked out onto all the world, those who mocked him, beat him, and hated him.

Yes even those who hated him.

He looked out on all those people and He...loved them.

He came and walked on this earth knowing...

...Knowing that his purpose was to love.

He spoke of love when he said

“No one has greater love than this,

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

He made a promise, and that’s what he did.

He climbed on that cross…

stretched out his arms...

and willingly laid down his life for us.

He knew…  He was Love.      He is Love.

Epiphany Sunday!

This past Sunday we celebrated Epiphany, the arrival of the three wise men to the stable in Bethlehem.  

We recognize this day and this NEW YEAR with our own Epiphany Blessing. 

This is a traditional Catholic blessing for your home and all you need is the prayer and some chalk.

We ask God’s blessing on this home and on those who come here. It is an invitation for Jesus to be a daily guest, part of our comings and goings, our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.

A traditional way of doing this is to use chalk to write above the entrance  

20 + C + M + B + 18.

The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 2018 is the year.

Let us begin with the sign of our faith.  In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Blessing the Chalk

Let us pray.
Loving God, bless this chalk which you have created, that it may be helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name that we who use it in faith to write upon the door of our home the names of your holy ones Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit our home; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Instructions for Blessing the Home

Using the blessed chalk mark the lintel of your front door (or front porch step) as follows  20 + C + M + B + 18 while saying:

Prayer:

The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and sisteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year.

Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here with the gift of your love; and grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. May we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen us in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen

Good St. Anne, Pray for Us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Chalking the door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home. With time the chalk will fade. As it does we let the meaning of the symbols written sink into the depths of our heart and be manifest in our words and actions the Latin words, Christus Mansionem Benedictat, “May Christ bless the house.”

 

Have a safe, healthy, prosperous and faith-filled new year.

New in Campus Ministry!!!

New in Campus Ministry!!!

I always love highlighting students and their AMAZING TALENTS!!  
Today I was blessed  to receive this truly beautiful painting for my office from 
Gr11 student, Daniel Golovenko.  

Daniel is a terrific and talented young man with a passion for the arts and for faith!

Thanks Daniel, I love it!

Earth Day

We continue to recognize Earth Day this week with our actions and our prayers.

A gift from God and the common home of humanity, the earth is threatened by man's abuse of his freedom. In his encyclical Praise Be to You (Laudato Si'), Pope Francis challenges all people to praise and thank God for his glorious creation and to work together to safeguard her.

Other popes have addressed key themes regarding stewardship of God's creation, but Pope Francis is the first to devote an entire encyclical to the subject. The encyclical takes its name from Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures, which depicts cre­ation as "a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us". Pope Francis declares, "This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her."

And so we pray…

O GOD,
we thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, and rejoice in the feel of snow, and smell the breath of spring flowers.

GRANT US a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aflame with your glory.

For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.  Amen.


Good St. Anne Pray For Us.

ASH WEDNESDAY - Welcome to Lent

On Ash Wednesday we hear a call to reorder our priorities. Isaiah tells us, "Rend your hearts...and return to the Lord." St. Paul speaks as an ambassador for Christ, "Be reconciled to God...Now is the day of salvation." And Jesus gives us some practical means to get our priorities straight.

We are living in a world that overwhelms us with all of the nastiness of life.  We only need to turn on the TV to see hate and greed, injustice and abuse. We see people being treated with absolute disrespect and we see people that think it’s their right to do so.  We are persuaded into thinking that if you don’t want to be the victim, you better be the aggressor or if you don’t agree with me the best way to solve that problem is to lash out with violence.  

If our only priority is “I, me and my” then that is all that we will be left with.  If we can’t see beyond just me and mine, to those around us in the school or country or the world and recognize the needs of others then we are missing an essential aspect of who and what we are as human beings.  We are at our core supposed to be in good, positive, loving relationships with people.  but “How do we do that?”

Looking to the words of W.A.Ward, American author, teacher and pastor and our own Pope Francis  -- 

We can FAST which means give up something that is negative…  

…but we can also FEAST on what is positive and real!

We can …

Fast from judging others And feast on Christ that dwells in them.

Fast from the large double double And feast on giving to charity

Fast from discontent And feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger And feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism And feast on optimism.

Fast from complaining And feast on appreciation.

Fast from the Cafeteria’s awesome supreme 

And feast on meatless Fridays

Fast from bitterness And feast on forgiveness.

Fast from thinking only about ourselve

And feast on compassion for others.

Fast from discouragement And feast on hope.

Fast from laziness And feast on enthusiasm

Fast from idle gossip And feast on purposeful silence.

And we ask God to help us with all of this during our Lenten Season.

You may have already decided that you are going to give up or do something for Lent but we will, as part of Morning prayer, focus on a different fast and feast each day during Lent.  We can give up something different each day. And by the end of this Lenten season we will all be reconciled to God. ...Or at least a little closer.   

May God Bless us and give us moments of grace over the next 40 days.

Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season
It's seems like just a couple of months ago we were participating in the Lenten season of last year. But in looking back, it really has been a whole year with lots of activity!
Ash Wednesday on March 1, 2017 marks the beginning of Lent this year.

Here is a great video produced by "Busted Halo" that might help with any questions!!

 And since today seems to be a technology day, you might enjoy one or both of these reflection videos found online!