Happy Easter to all!


  

An ancient Easter tradition has Catholics greeting each other with the words of Luke 24:34, "The Lord is truly risen!" The person so greeted responds, "And has appeared unto Simon!" Simon, named Peter by Jesus, continues to proclaim the resurrection of Christ through the person of his successor, the Roman Pontiff. 
Happy Easter to all!                      Fr. Marc-André Campbell






Holy Father’s Intentions for April 2013

General: That the public, prayerful celebration of faith may give life to the faithful.
Missionary: That mission churches may be signs and instruments of hope and resurrection.




THE HOPE THAT JESUS GIVES US
Jesus’ heart looks to all of us, to our sicknesses, to our sins. The love of Jesus is great. And thus he enters Jerusalem, with this love, and looks at us. It is a beautiful scene, full of light - the light of the love of Jesus, the love of his heart - of joy, of celebration. Jesus is God, but he lowered himself to walk with us. He is our friend, our brother. He illumines our path here: a Christian cannot be sad! Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy born of having many possessions, but from having encountered Jesus in our midst; it is born from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them! In these moments our enemy, the devil, comes... Do not listen to him! Let us follow Jesus! We accompany Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is the hope that we must bring to this world. Please do not let yourselves be robbed of hope! Do not let hope be stolen!
Jesus takes upon himself the evil, the filth, the sin of the world, including the sin of all of us, and he cleanses it, he cleanses it with his blood, with the mercy and the love of God. Let us look around: how many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil: wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money that you can’t take with you and have to leave behind (when we were small, our grandmother used to say: a shroud has no pockets), love of power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation! And – as each one of us knows and is aware - our personal sins: our failures in love and respect towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the whole of creation. Jesus on the Cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love he conquers it, he defeats it with his resurrection. This is the good that Jesus does for us on the throne of the Cross. Christ’s Cross embraced with love never leads to sadness, but to joy, to the joy of having been saved and of doing a little what Jesus did on the day of his death.
   gPope Francis, Homily of Palm Sunday

Holy Week Schedule 2013





EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 30TH
The Resurrection of the Lord
8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:00 am
and 1:00 pm (note change in Mass time)
NO 6:00 PM MASS

TODAY IS PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, which joins the foretelling of Christ’s regal triumph and proclamation of the Passion.

THE SACRED LITURGY DURING HOLY WEEK
During Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ Our Lord in the last days of His life on earth, beginning with His messianic entrance into Jerusalem.

The Lenten season lasts until Thursday of this week.  The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, is continued through Good Friday with the celebration of the Passion of our Lord and Holy Saturday, to reach its summit in the Easter Vigil, and concludes with Easter Sunday.

THE PASCHAL FAST:  GOOD FRIDAY, MARCH 29
The faithful are reminded that Good Friday is to be observed as a day of fast and abstinence.  This means having only one full meatless meal on this day.  The law of abstinence from meat binds those aged 14 and older; the law of fasting binds those aged 18-59.  The Fast is obligatory on Good Friday and recommended on Holy Saturday.

PARKING DURING HOLY WEEK
Please be aware of parking in our parking lot or on the street especially during this week. Respect the signs and use only the designated/marked spots – as a courtesy to others attending Mass.  Please keep the fire routes clear. Those in violation may receive a ticket from the City’s parking authority.

HAPPY FEAST!


  As we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph this week, we are keenly aware of the needs of the Universal Church. We have earnestly prayed for the election of the Holy Father and welcome him as our Spiritual Father. This event should remind us that our Patron is the Patron and protector of the Universal Church. Just like St. Joseph watched over the Holy Family, so he continues to watch over the family of the Church. Pastors, Bishops and the Pope invoke the intercession of St. Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, in a special way. Like him, they are entrusted with the care of a family that is not their own – it is God’s Family! Like Joseph, they offer everything that they have and are to care for God’s people. May they always know the support of our prayers. Through the intercession of St. Joseph, may the Lord bless our new Pope and all those who in communion with him look after the Church, God’s Holy Family. Blessings to all. 
 Fr. Marc-André Campbell

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SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MARCH 19, 2013



Tuesday, March 19, 2013 is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Bishop Boissonneau will be here to celebrate a Solemn Mass at 7:30 pm.  Following Mass, there will be a reception in the Parish Hall with the Blessing of St. Joseph’s Table.  This tradition recalls St. Joseph’s special care for the poor.  To help with this Feast, parishioners are asked to bring a dessert to the Parish Hall before Mass.  And in keeping with St. Joseph’s tradition, we will also be collecting non-perishable food items to assist those in need in our Parish community via our St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Pantry. 

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LENTEN RECONCILIATION SERVICE
On Monday, March 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm, we will have several confessors (11- 13) available here at St. Joseph Parish for confessions in preparation for Holy Week.



ADDITIONAL LENTEN RECONCILIATION SERVICES

Confessions will be heard in our neighbouring parishes on the following dates:

St. Ignatius of Loyola:  Wed., Mar. 13, 2013 at 7:00 pm
St. Francis of Assisi:     Tues., Mar. 19, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Merciful Redeemer:     Wed., Mar. 20, 2013 at 7:00 pm
St. Francis Xavier:        Thurs., Mar. 21, 2013 at 7:00 pm

We urge you to take advantage of these various opportunities, as there will be no special times for Reconciliation during Holy Week.