Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
This weekend our scripture readings will send us a message loud and clear: "Seek the Lord."  We must give our whole being to God.  We must follow Jesus with all our strength.  This also means reaching out to our poor and marginalized sisters and brothers.

One of the takeaways from our first Town Hall Meeting held on November 14th was the desire for greater outreach to the poor in our community.  Some ideas were shared, and I will admit that I struggled to bite my teeth into this one and to wrap my mind around what was proposed.  Admittedly, gearing up for the Advent and Christmas season and the preparations and celebrations in our parish was my focus.  You will see below that I have set our next Town Hall meeting date, and in the back of my mind, I was saddened to think that no action has taken place with respect to this proposal.  I will also admit that I need greater assistance to implement the ideas presented.

Come Holy Spirit.  God has put remarkable people in my path here at St. Julia these past 3 plus years to get so many of our projects and initiatives done or up and running.  This past Tuesday, I had a funeral director come in to see me to update their records on the celebration of funerals here at St. Julia and more.  I then asked this gentlemen about his family, and our conversation took a remarkable turn.

This man has no family.  His parents are deceased.  No siblings.  No one.  He is connected to Southridge and New Hope Churches.  Some years ago, he began to deliver food to the homeless in St. Catharines.  That evolved to renting a storage unit for clothing to be distributed.  The storage unit is now empty because the need is so great in our community.  He and his now team deliverd some 800 meals on New Year's Day, ending at 11:30 p.m., to shelters and those on the streets and in encampments.  Then he told me about the encampment behind Cats Caboose.  Some 60 people live in there.  I was taken back by all this.  We talked about the downtown, and other locations throughout the city.  In his outreach, he said there are probably around 150 people sleeping outside on any given night.  He never gives cash.  Nor does he himself ever take cash for his ministry.

So, here is where we can help in his outreach efforts.  Here is what is needed for men and women for immediate distribution:

- sleeping bags
- socks
- mittens and gloves
- jackets
- prepackaged cutlery

I invite you to bring these items to our church and continue to do so.  He will pick them up / we will deliver to him. He will get these items to those in need as he and his team are out several times a week.  He calls himself and his team "Matthew 25 Ministries."

This is just the start of this conversation, and assistance and outreach to the poor, quite litterally right in our backyard.  As I learned firsthand, homelessness, and unfortunately the other problems that led to this, is a major problem in our community.  As "a caring community" this is our opportunity to yet again put our faith into action.

May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend.  We welcome a number of our grade 6/7 students from St. Peter Catholic Elementary School to our 9:00 a.m. mass who will lead us in our ministries.
Fr. Greg

 
Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
On September 30, 2019, Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, motu proprio “Aperuit Illis”, established that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God.” 

The title of the document, “Aperuit illis”, is equally important. They are its opening words, taken from St Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”.

Pope Francis writes “that the life of our people be constantly marked by this decisive relationship with the living word that the Lord never tires of speaking to his Bride” (Aperuit Illis, 2).  

The Bible is not meant for a privileged few, continues Pope Francis. It belongs “to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words”. The Bible cannot be monopolized or restricted to select groups either, he writes, because it is “the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity”.

Pope Francis invites us never to take God’s Word for granted, “but instead to let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters”.

The Letter closes with a reference to Our Lady, who accompanies us "on the journey of welcoming the Word of God", teaching us the joy of those who listen to that Word – and keep it.

This weekend I will have the honour of extending a blessing to our Ministers of the Word with the blessing found below.  We thank these women and men from our parish, of all ages, for proclaiming the Word of God and making it alive for our community.

May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend.
Fr. Greg

 Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,
We are creatures of habit, and sometimes we can go into autopilot mode.  This is a danger for a priest as well.

We hear proclaimed these words at the mass before we receive communion:
"Behold the Lamb of God.  Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. 
Blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb."

Before we perhaps go into autopilot mode with our response this weekend at mass, let's stop and pause for a brief moment in our hearts.  Let's say our response as if it were the first - and last time - that we would say it.


"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."
This may just have the power to transform our hearts, to realize that we are about to receive the real presence of Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity.  The power to heal, restore, reignite, and refresh our very being.  Something only the Lamb of God can do.

This is our faith.  This is what we believe.

May God bless each of you and those that you love,

Fr. Greg

 
Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

Today, a Light has shone.  We no longer are to walk in darkness.  The name of this day “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word “epiphainō” which literally means “to shine upon”.  God wants all the nations of the world to know who Jesus is, why He came, and what His coming means for us today.

Who were they? Kings, Magi, Star-gazers, Wise Men, Astrologers… They have been called all these names. Regardless, they represent the fact that Jesus came as King of All Nations, King of the Whole World, King of the Entire Universe, King of All Creation: “Christ the King.".

The Kings bring us with them to the manger.  Ponder that for a moment.  The Kings bring each and every one of us with me.

So, what does this all mean?  God wants all people to be saved and no one to be lost.  No one is excluded.  Ultimately, this is the meaning of today’s celebration.

May the Light of Christ shine ever brighter in 2023 one each of you and those that you love, on our diocese, and in our world.
Fr. Greg