Staying Connected

Staying Connected

For those of you wanting to stay connected visit the Good Shepherd Parish website for weekly Mass. 

As well,  Fr. Michael Bechard, Director of Liturgy for Diocese of London, posted the following for the faithful of our diocese.

I pray that this time is one of grace and that, despite all that is happening around us, you are finding signs of hope.

For decades, Liturgical Press and St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota have provided exceptional resources for Catholics across the globe.

On Friday, they released a simple pastoral resource that I ask you to circulate through your parish communities.

These prayers are not intended to replace the liturgies of Holy Week. Rather, they are intended to assist families, as the Domestic Church, to honour the cycle of the Triduum from their homes while public celebration is not possible.

The attached text is neither approved or mandated by any particular body. Consequently, members of your assembly are free to adapt as they see fit.

In our hunger for the sacraments, I am confident that many will find strength in the food provided here.

I am grateful for all that you are doing to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, in ways big and small.

In peace, 

Rev. Michael Bechard

Director of Liturgy ~ Diocese of London 

Holy Week Resources

Our New Normal

Good Morning, Please stand for our opening exercises. All those still in the hallways please stop and stand respectfully.
Let us begin with the sign of our faith.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Well, that was the old normal...
         But what is the new normal???

Life has certainly changed a lot in the last couple of weeks, more than most of us could ever imagine. What many thought would just be an extended March Break has now become a new normal with new rules and some pretty big new challenges.

We would be crazy to say that not actually going in to school, physical distancing and the closure of all non-essentials didn't create some stress and anxiety. 
It does... let's just acknowledge that right off the bat. 
But is that it?? We just live with the unsettled, stressed out feelings??  NO!!

What we can do is work to establish a "new normal", as they say, and root ourselves again in the rituals of daily life just like we did when we were at school. Set up a routine that you follow during the week that helps to combat that aimless feeling. 

"We can feel mentally better if we are as physically well as possible," Aiysha Malik, a psychologist with the World Health Organization, told the news conference.

Malik's tips for self-care include:

• §  Eat healthy foods
• §  Stay physically active
• §  Get regular sleep and rest
• §  Create a sense of structure and routine in daily life
• §  Connect socially with friends and family, while maintaining physical distance 

These are awesome tips to help us regain some of our rootedness and help us to feel like we have some control of our lives. Each one of these activities listed is important and I would add one more.

Take time to PRAY. 

Yep, I said it. PRAY.

Talk to God... 

Give over your fears and anxieties, 

Ask for patience and peace, 

Ask for strength in these times, 

Ask for help for others and 

Give thanks for what blessings we do have.

In John 14:27, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."

Well... we will work on it with help from above,
We can do this. 

Peace.