Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish,

This Sunday we celebrate the great Solemnity of Pentecost and our Easter season of 50 days will draw to a close.  “Come Holy Spirit” is the theme of our celebrations and a reminder to each of us that we need to call upon the Holy Spirit every day.  How very true this is.  These gifts that we received at our confirmation are precious.  The question is, do I call upon these gifts?  Really and truly?  Do I call upon the gift of wisdom, and value spiritual things over worldly ones?  Do I contemplate the things of God?  Do I call upon the gift of courage, and stand up for God and His truths?  There is no doubt that this is what the world needs, and it starts in my own home.  Do I pray for the gift of knowledge?  This is the awareness of God’s plan.  This can be a challenge at this time and living through a pandemic.  Yet this is what we must pray for.  Do I pray for the gift of wonder and awe that increases my desire to draw closer to God and depart from sin?  The list goes on.  Here we have yet another challenge, but opportunity too.  When we call upon these gifts it has the power to change – wait – transform our lives, and live a rich and full life in communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
May we call upon the Holy Spirit, the advocate, to make a home in our hearts, and to be an instrument of peace, love, and hope.
 
I look forward to you joining me for Mass this Pentecost Sunday.

May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love.
 
Fr. Greg

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish,

This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord – the entry of Jesus’ humanity into divine glory in God’s heavenly domain, forty days after his Resurrection.
 
Immediately after Christ’s ascension to heaven, the first church in Jerusalem was under intense pressure.  Their first task was to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot.  They prayed that God would guide the casting of lots.  There were two candidates, and Matthias was chosen, whose Feast Day we celebrated on Friday.  
Many times, when we are under pressure or facing a difficult time, we can push others away.  Such was not the case with the first church and the apostles.  Instead, they let the pressure drive them closer together instead of breaking them apart.  As we continue to “welcome home” our parish family, may all feel the magnetic pull of Christ drawing us to our spiritual home of St. Julia.
As our Easter season quickly comes to a close, we prepare for the celebration of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles.  May we be reminded of the spiritual gifts that we received at our Confirmation, and may we pray to the Holy Spirit to give us the courage we need to navigate these times together as a community of believers, united in prayer. 

May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love.
 
Fr. Greg

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish,

While I was in the seminary, we would be asked to complete theological reflections.  Here is part of my reflection on love from 2013.  How very appropriate this Mother's Day weekend.

According to 1 John 4:8, the very nature of God is Love, and love is present in Scripture as one of the central themes in describing the relationship between God and humanity. Indeed, love is the basis of creation. Because of his superabundant love, God willingly gave his own Son to bring salvation to the fallen world (John 3:16; Romans 5:5-9; 1 John 4:9). The task for all of us, then, is above all to love God with our entire heart (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37). We are also called to love our neighbours (Lev 19:18, 1 John 4:11-21).

Jesus loved his friends so deeply that he was willing to lay down his life for them (John 13:1; 1 John 3:16) in order for them and us to be adopted daughters and sons of the Father. In return, the disciples were required to show their love by imitating the unifying love of the Son and the Father (John 17:21-23). Such a love had to be more than mere words; it had to manifested by deeds: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18), including keeping the commandments of Jesus (John 14:15, 21, 23; 1 John 5:3). Christians should also love one another (John 13:34; 15:17) with the same love that Christ showed to them (John 15:12).

Jesus’ actions reveal that he truly loves us. Jesus took care of those around him. He fed them. He looked after their physical needs and issues. He attended to their spiritual needs. And he ultimately died on the cross for us. These were all deeds and actions. He showed his love by serving God and his people. We too are called to live our lives by serving others, all out of love.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical God Is Love: “The consciousness that, in Christ, God has given himself for us, even unto death, must inspire us to live no longer for ourselves but for him, and, with him, for others. Whoever loves Christ loves the Church, and desires the Church to be increasingly the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ.” As ministers in the church, and in fact as baptized Christians, we are called to be instruments of love here on earth, through our deeds and actions, which are often unspoken.

On this Mother's Day weekend, may we give thanks for all the ways we have been loved by our Mother's, for this love is a reflection of the love that Christ has for each of us.  

May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love.
 
Fr. Greg

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Julia Parish,

This weekend at our 11:00 a.m. mass we celebrate with the Grade 2 children from our parish attending St. Peter Catholic Elementary School as they encounter Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  For some, this will be their First Communion.  For a few, they accepted the invitation to receive their First Communion with their families on Easter Sunday.  Please pray for these children, their families, and all the children in our schools.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life."  We will hear these words of Jesus come alive in our Gospel from John 14:1-12.  These powerful words are not just words.  They are a guiding force for us on how we are to live our lives.  Mother Teresa's description of Jesus speaks of this beautifully.  I'll let Saint Mother Teresa take it from here.

May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love.
 
Fr. Greg