On Tuesday, December 10th, we will have Confessions only from 6- 7PM, no Adoration.
Along with regular Tuesday confession, we will be available on Saturday, December 14th at St. Anne’s from 2-4 PM
The gifts were picked up by Christmas Care volunteers and were delivered successfully to Christmas Care to be distributed to those children in need. Thanks to our generous parishioners!
St. Paul, in dealing with many different communities ... 'parishes,' would often encourage the believers to recognize that there are a variety of gifts, but it is the same Spirit that gives the gifts, for the upbuilding of the body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 is an amazing passage where it illustrates that all the various parts of the body make up the Church. That we do not serve the world, but we serve Christ but serve one another. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what gifts He has given to you and how to use them for the building up of the Church. To bring souls to Jesus.
November is a great month of remembering. We begin with All Saints and All Souls
Days later we of course will celebrate Remembrance Day on November 11th. St.
Ephrem, the Syrian, first mentions the practice of remembering the unknown martyrs at
the beginning of November in a homily in 373. It was Pope Gregory III who first proclaimed
All Saints Day on November 1st when he consecrated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all
the unknown martyrs in Rome. Gregory IV made All Saints Day and All Souls Day a universal feast day in 831.
I mention all this because it has become fashionable to proclaim that Halloween is
some ancient pagan feast that the Church wished to suppress with All Saints Day. This is
simply not true on so many levels. Read more: The Ancient Irish Get Far Too Much Credit
for Halloween | Ancient Origins. Halloween is just a product of empty secular spiritualism.
On the other hand, All Saints Day, All Souls Day and the practice of praying for the dead
are foundational to our faith. We all have a sense that our deceased loved ones still live in
our thoughts and memories, yet we realize this is only partial and fleeting. How much
more does a person live on in the love of God, who knew and loved that person perfectly?
Yet, sin gets in the way of God’s love. The dead, particularly those close to us, need our
prayers to help them receive forgiveness so that they can become more and more open to
God’s love. When we remember someone in our thoughts we bind them to our memories.
More wonderfully, when we remember someone at mass or in our prayers we bind them
to God’s heart.
Those most open to God are the saints who continue to participate in the ministry of
God’s love in the Church. As members of Christ’s Church, our religious remembering binds us together as a grace-filled member of Christ’s Body. I commend you to pray for
all the members of the Church… both living and dead… so that we may all live in Christ.
September 22, 2024 – Welcome Back to Church Event
October 27, 2024 – Autumn/Thanksgiving Event
December 1, 2024 – First Sunday of Advent Event
March 30, 2025 – Lent Event
April 27, 2025 – Second Sunday of Easter Event
June 22, 2025 – Strawberry Social Event
Vacation Bible School at St. Mary's is off to a great start this week! Please keep all the families in your prayers as we continue learning how to better understand the Mass and deepen our love for Jesus in the Eucharist!
Horizons of Hope April 9—30, 2024 7:00 p.m. at the St. Anne’s Centre. Dates: April 9th, 16, 23 and 30th. This FREE 4-week program developed by the Canadian Conference of Bishops seeks to empower and educate parishioners and address questions surrounding palliative care, dying, death, suffering and bereavement holistically. Content includes Catholic moral and pastoral theology, medical expertise and the Compassionate Community model. Designed for those seeking to learn more about palliative care and the Catholic Church's teaching on end-of-life; persons who have recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and family members who need resources and guidance as they journey with a loved one who is seriously or terminally ill.
Holy Angel’s and St. Helen’s CWL hosted Linda Staudt, former director of the LDCSB on March 9th to share her experiences from the Synod in Rome last October.
Save the date! This year's vacation bible school program is set to run during the week of July 22-26, 2024, from 9am-12noon each day at the St. Mary's Parish Hall. The theme of this year's program is, "Marvelous Mystery- The Mass Comes Alive!" The week will be packed with rock-solid songs, unforgettable games, cool crafts, and interactive lessons that will motivate kids ages 4-12 to grow in their faith. More information coming soon!
Even though the new life of spring is in the air, there still the winter debris everywhere. This echoes our spiritual life during lent. The debris that gets covered up with the dark times of our life becomes more evident with the spiritual springtime of Easter Renewal. It is a time to look at the habits and clutter in our lives to make way for the newness of life. It is times to take stock and recognize the things we have been wandering around, or even tripping over that hinder our spiritual progress. Read More
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada: a movement of solidarity Established in 1967, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada is the official international solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada. We address the root causes of poverty, oppression, and inequality by working with partners in the Global South and by mobilizing Canadians in the common struggle for justice and dignity. We champion women and social movements as key agents of lasting change.
The Pastoral Council, Building Committee and Finance Committee invite the parishioners of Holy Angels to gather on March 9, 2024, at 2:00 pm in the parish hall. This will be an information meeting where we hope to hear your concerns, hopes, expectations and priorities.
In 2015, Pope Francis released the encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. He called on us to hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth and respond to their needs. In the 2023 apostolic exhortation, Laudate Deum, Pope Francis wrote of his concerns raised in Laudato Si' and shared: "Yet, with the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate." (LD 2) Over the next year, we are inviting each person, each household, each community to consider what small steps can be taken in response to the cry of the poor and the cry of earth. Get part 1 the action plan, the Lent 2024 plan, at dol.ca/laudato-si.
On behalf of the whole parish team and the parishes, I would like to thank Rob Grossi for his work as Parish Communications at the Elgin Roman Catholic Family of Parishes....
I am excited to announce that the first meeting of our Pastoral Council was very encouraging for me. We have a diversity of people from across our family of parishes. We will meet monthly to pray, discern and plan to coordinate the great work of all our parishes.
St. Anne’s has been a longtime supporter of The Alzheimer Association each Tuesday and Wednesday St. Anne’s Centre hosts The Social. Please consider getting involved. The Social Tuesdays & Wednesdays at St. Anne's Centre The Social offers clients living with dementia an opportunity for social engagement, cognitive stimulation, physical activity and fun, while providing three hours per week of respite time for care partners. Once registered, clients will attend the same session each week. Each session is led by a Therapeutic Recreation Facilitator, with the support of specially trained volunteers.