Palm Sunday March 29, 2015 Pastor's Corner It is hard to believe that we are ending the season of Lent and beginning Holy Week, with Easter just seven days away. As a parish we have been offered many opportunities during the Lenten season to reflect on our journey of faith. The church no longer treats us as children but rather asks us to be adults in our faith. As Saint Paul writes, when we were children we drank milk, but now as adults we have to eat solid food. Faith is a value or it is not a value. It is a part of our life that allows us to develop a persona; relationship with Jesus Christ, which demands time or it is just the routine of doing the minimum. Growth takes discipline and discipline is needed if we are to deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ. Lent was a special time given to us by the Church to help us reflect on our journey of faith and to ask ourselves, how our journey is developing. Here were daily masses or Eucharistic Services, special prayers on Wednesday evening, share groups, days of reflection at the Villa, opportunities to deepen our understanding of what it means to be an adult Catholic and so on. How did we do? Are we ending Lent in a more meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ or has we been so busy and so involved in so many things that another opportunity has been lost to be still and know that I am God". An adult church is so different! We are not only being fed but we are feeding on another with our change of heart and attitude. We are kinder with our children and our spouse, we are more forgiving of others, we are less selfish and more concerned about others than we are of our own agenda, we are becoming more and more involved in sharing our talents and gifts with those who are in need and who can benefit from our kindness and our service. Christians have to be givers and not just takers. We have to give of the gifts that the Lord has shared with us so that the kingdom will continue to grow. The H.O.P.E. Centre is a sign of a giving parish, where a few decided to bring all these services in to this community. So many take the services but refuse to give anything back A church becomes a Christian church when it shows its gratitude through involvement. As a parish we are growing in this direction. My prayer that Holy week is that all of us will realize that we gave something to offer and be willing to share it for the good of God s people. Question of the week for Easter Sunday, April 4 Reading I Acts 10:34, 37-43 Reading II Colossians 3:1-4 Gospel John 20:1-9 Key Passage: Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. Adult: How can you show this week that you truly believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Child: To whom could you tell the story of Jesus' rising from the dead?
Week at a Glance Saturday, March 28 4 pm Sister Zetta Whelley Sunday, March 29 10 am Betty Douglas Monday, March 30 noon Liturgy of the Word with Communion Rite 7 pm Quigley Share Group CWL Meeting Tuesday, March 31 9 am Soup Day for A.I.D.S. SJ 9:30 am Moms & Tots Program Seniors' Exercises noon Liturgy of the Word with Communion Rite 1 pm Seniors' Cards 6:30 pm Chrism Mass at Cathedral Wednesday, April 1 7 pm Evening Prayer McGrath Share Group Holy Thursday 7 pm Mass of the Last Supper Good Friday 3 pm The Passion of our Lord 7 pm Way of the Cross Holy Saturday 4 pm Easter Mass Easter Sunday 10 am The Resurrection of the Lord Monday, April 6 Office Closed For April 4 & 5 Lectors: 4 pm Esther McQuade & Marlene Savoie 10 am George & Wanda Quigley Eucharistic Ministers: 4 pm Vaunda Loughery & Ann Wisted 10 am Patty Davis, Carol Hussey Pauline Hughes Parish Finances Last Sunday's Collection $1980 Direct Deposit $80. Development & Peace $170. Thank you!! A Special Thanks For nearly a month I have been laid up and in the hospital. During that time I felt the prayers and the love of this parish in a deeply moving manner. There were days when I knew that this sickness would not win the battle because so many good people were asking the Lord for my health. I am deeply grateful for all you have done for me over this last month. When I was informed that I could come home, I was told that several people had volunteered to spend an evening with me and to prepare some meals. Your love and kindness brought tears to my eyes. I felt deeply loved and it brought great peace to my soul. I want you to know how grateful I am for all you have done and continue to do get be well and active once again. I have missed your smiles and your hugs; have missed standing in front of you and celebrating our very meaningful liturgies. I know that our leaders have done a wonderful job and that the Bishop has shared three weeks with you. It was special and very meaningful for him to give all this time to our parish. Maybe a card of thanks from some of you addressed to him at the Cathedral would show him how grateful the parish was for his kindness. Please know that I love all of you and am looking forward to being back with you in a few weeks.may God s love and peace be with you. Father. Bill
Soup Pot Day for AIDS SJ March 31st Please gather with us at 9 am on Tuesday March 31st in the H.O.P.E. Center. It is Team A s turn to prepare and package the soup and cookies. New members always welcome. Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Special Collection for the New Lay Leaders Course As Bishop Harris has stated - he has brought a lot of storms to our parish and as a result, the special collection to support this process of training our new leaders has been extremely low. We are hoping to raise a couple a of thousand of the six it takes to pay for these studies. We are no where near that total. Please, if you feel that these leaders are worth supporting, could you make a contribution to this process. Just add it to your envelope or write a special cheque. It would be nice to receive at least a couple of thousand dollars for this worth while cause. These men and women will support our efforts to grow for years to come. Thank you for your generosity. The Arts & Environment Committee will be working very hard this week to prepare the church for the various Easter Services. The colours need to be changed daily during the Triduum. We thank them for their time and dedication. We will be accepting donations of Easter Flowers for the Altar, please drop your plants or flowers off to the church Thursday or Friday. The collection taken on Good Friday will be will be a Pontifical collection for the Holy Land in support of Christian communities, the work of the Holy Land, the upkeep of the Holy Sites and the formation of future priests. Let us give generously and show solidarity to respond to the needs of the Church in the Land of Jesus. Thank you. Men's Club Lotto For those of you who paid for the first six months of the draw your second payment is due the end of March. This draw is a wonderful fundraiser for the H.O.P.E. Centre and it's not so bad to be the winner either. There are approximately 50 numbers available so if you haven't got a number yet you still have a chance. If you have your number maybe you know someone that might like to have one, see Fred or Rusty. CWL Congratulations, to Andrew Kirkpatrick, the recipient of this year's CWL $300.00 bursary. Best wishes in your new field of study. -CWL meeting for April will be on March 30th at the H.O.P.E. Center. Please bring in any ticket money for the Mother's Day Basket that you may have and anything for Coverdale. Breakfast in support of HOPE Centre 12 April, 9 am to 12 noon at the H.O.P.E. Centre Adults $8.00, Children $5.00 and Family of four $23.00 Holy Week Schedule Holy Thursday, April 2 7 pm Mass of the Last Supper Good Friday, April 3 3 pm Celebration of the Lord's Passion 7 m Way of the Cross Holy Saturday, April 4 4 pm Easter Mass Easter Sunday, April 5 10 am The Resurrection of the Lord Easter Monday, April 6 Office Closed
We are in serious need for Eucharistic Ministers. The goal is to have enough ministers so that they are scheduled once a month. This is a wonderful Ministry that will not require much of your time. There will be training before you are expected take part. Please think about it, the more members we have on the team the better. We are particularly short on Saturday Mass. H.O.P.E. Pledge We are looking for 100 members to pledge $25.00 a month for four years. If you could pledge more that would be wonderful. If you can afford less that also would be tremendous and wonderful. We want as many people as possible involved in the reduction of our debt. The Centre is a tremendous success meeting the needs of hundreds and hundreds of people. Please, if you wish to renew or make a pledge give Tracie a call at the office.653-6856. May your generosity bring God s blessings in a special way to your life. The National Catholic Mission 2015 "Beware the Holy Spirit" will be broadcast on VSIONTV on Monday, March 30 and Tuesday March 31 at 7 pm and repeated at 11 pm. The Monday session is entitled "God and the 6 o'clock news". The Tuesday session is "God does not count birthdays". It will be hosted by Father Patrick Fitzpatrick and feature Spiritan Father Anthony Gittins. Ecclesiastes III...Under every season there is a time...a time to heal...we remember these people in need of our prayers: Father Bill, Carol McNally, Bob Donovan, Ann Roy, Gerry Shannon, Kathleen Folkins, Fred Savoie, Mary Naves, Kiley Clements, Bernie Dallon, Jim Cannon, Muriel Richard, Walter Smith, Brian Naves, Joe Duplisea, Gladys McGrath, Lorraine McNulty, Steve Horne, Judy Henry, Carolyn Bertin, George Douglas, Ian Walker, Harvey Beck, Hilma Tracey, Terry MacNeill, Doug McFarlane, Mary Bishop, Gail Scott, Percy Leslie. If there is someone in the community whom you wish to go on our Prayer List, please let us know. School Happenings Preschool This week at Preschool we celebrated the arrival of Spring, whether it looked like it outside or note. We have started to decorate the classroom with Easter crafts along with having a countdown of "sleeps til Easter". We now have a great Easter egg hunt sensory table where the children have to dig through all the Easter grass to find the matching plastic eggs. The children tell us that by the end of the weekend, the snow will be gone adn we will see grass! (We sure hope so) Afterschool We are always so proud of the kindness we observe here at the Afterschool Program. This week we observed two acts of kindness that deserve mention. This past week, two girls from our program got haircuts, a pretty regular accurance. What stands out here is that both of these girls had been growing their hair or a very long time for an amazing cause. Cadence (7 years old, Grade 2 student) and Amelia (7 years old, Grade 1 student) donated their hair to be used to make wigs for cancer patients in need. Way to go Cadence and Amelia!! We are all so proud of your kind act!! Palm Sunday Concerts (March 29) will take place in the Cathedral, which is a wonderful way to begin Holy Week. The first will be Meditation an afternoon of Classical Sacred Music at 2:30 pm, featuring Elizabeth Cormier, Tom Goud, Christopher Lane, Marilyn Williams and the Catholic Youth Orchestra. Free will offering in support of St. Joseph s Hospital Auxiliary and St. Vincent de Paul Society. That evening Arioso Ensemble returns to perform a pre-easter concert at 7:00 pm. Works will include Stabat Mater and will feature Maureen Stackhouse and Deantha Edwards. A free will offering in support of the Cathedral Restoration Project and is being sponsored by the Cathedral Parish.
Your wedding day was a beautiful beginning. Continue to strengthen your forever love on a Marriage Encounter weekend. The next weekend in NB will be held at the Oromocto Days Inn & Conference Centre April 17-19. Space is limited. For more information or to apply, contact Ron& Joanne Arsenault at (506) 451-8489 or email arsenault.joanneron@gmail.com. The monthly meeting of the Rocmaura Nursing Home Auxiliary will be on Thursday, April 2, in the Boardroom at Rocmaura at 2:00 pm. All are welcome. Alternative Ecumenical Way of the Cross: King's Square, Saint John, Friday, April 3, 2015, Good Friday, 10 a.m. The Passion Play Re-Enactment "In Memory of Jesus" will be performed this year on Good Friday April 3rd at the Stone Church, 87 Carleton Street, in uptown Saint John. The choir begins at 7:00 pm and the play will start at 7:30 pm. We invite you to come and enjoy this wonderful performance. There will be no admission. A good will offering will be taken after the performance. Everyone is welcome.