ASH WEDNESDAY

Holy Mass & Distribution of Ashes Schedule

Ash Wednesday Masses this year will be held on

March 5^th at 7am, 8:30am, 12:15pm and 7pm

LENTEN FASTING & ABSTINENCE

   In preparation for the Solemn Feast of Easter, the faithful do penance through fasting, almsgiving, prayers, works of mercy and abstinence from meat.  All Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, but in Canada, Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.  The law of abstinence binds those who are 14 years of age and up. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are mandatory days of fasting.  On fast days Church discipline permits one to take a main and two lesser meatless meals which do not equal the main meal.  The law of fasting binds those from 18 – 59 years of age.

Feast of St Joseph

… is on Wednesday, March 19. We will celebrate our Patron Saint with a Mass at 7:30 p.m. Following the Mass, there will be a reception in the Parish Hall with the Blessing of St. Joseph’s Table.  Those attending are asked to bring a dessert/appetizer to the Parish Hall before Mass.

   To share our blessings with those in need we will be collecting non-perishable food items for our St Vincent de Paul food bank.

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ST. JOSEPH ANNIVERSARY MASS AND CELEBRATION

To Celebrate our 25^th Anniversary Cardinal Collins will celebrate the 5:30 pm Mass on Saturday March 15^th.

A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

*Sung Mass in the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite Feast of the Chair of St. Peter - Sat. Feb 22, 11am

Through the document Anglicanorum Coetibus in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI announced a new and improved structure to allow groups of Anglicans to become Catholic while preserving elements proper to their tradition.    Responding to the requests of Christ’s faithful from an Anglican background, the Holy See has established the “Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter” in Canada and the United States.

   The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has recently approved a definitive edition of the Book of Divine Worship, according to which the beautiful Anglican-Use liturgy is celebrated.    This Mass for the Ordinariate’s Patronal Feast allows us to give thanks to Almighty God for this new reality in the Church, while also marking the third anniversary of the first Anglican-Use Mass in Canada, which was celebrated at St. Joseph in March 2011.   

   Catholics of any background are welcome to attend, as are all those who are interested in learning more about the Catholic Church. Holy Mass will be followed by coffee in the parish hall

The incarnate Son of God did not remove illness and suffering from human experience but by taking them upon himself he transformed them and gave them new meaning. New meaning because they no longer have the last word which, instead, is new and abundant life; transformed them, because in union with Christ they need no longer be negative but positive. Jesus is the way, and with his Spirit we can follow him. Just as the Father gave us the Son out of love, and the Son gave himself to us out of the same love, so we too can love others as God has loved us, giving our lives for one another. Faith in God becomes goodness, faith in the crucified Christ becomes the strength to love to the end, even our enemies. The proof of authentic faith in Christ is self-giving and the spreading of love for our neighbours, especially for those who do not merit it, for the suffering and for the marginalized.

   By virtue of Baptism and Confirmation we are called to conform ourselves to Christ, who is the Good Samaritan for all who suffer. “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 Jn 3:16). When we draw near with tender love to those in need of care, we bring hope and God’s smile to the contradictions of the world. When generous devotion to others becomes the hallmark of our actions, we give way to the Heart of Christ and bask in its warmth, and thus contribute to the coming of God’s Kingdom.

    From the MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS

    FOR THE 22nd WORLD DAY OF THE SICK 2014