Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

In our Gospel this weekend from Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus will ask his disciples the question "who do you say I am?"  

In 2023, Jesus asks us the same question.  

Who is Jesus Christ for you?  A healer?  A friend?  A consoler?  The Son of God?

Each weekend we gather as a community of believers to break open the Word of God and to be fed by the Body of Christ.  Every time we gather, and every time we open our Bible, something new is revealed to us, as we listen, ponder, reflect, and pray with the living Word of God.  This living Word continues to ask us the question "who do you say I am?"

This fall, God will send us a new group of women and men who desire to learn about our catholic faith on our R.C.I.A. journey, and the same question will be posed to them over time.

May our hearts continue to be open to how Jesus reveals himself to us, and may we never be afraid to profess and share who Jesus Christ is for us.

I look forward to gathering together for mass this weekend, and may God bless each of you and those that you love.  I can already hear the school bells off in the distance.
Fr. Greg

​Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

This past week there has been a great deal of activity here at our parish!  New windows in the vestry and the Divinity Room have been installed, with the door by the kitchen coming soon.  The first of our new wood stands for our statues has been delivered as is now in place in the lower entrance for our Blessed Mother.  I thank Peter Michaud from our parish for taking on this project.  His workmanship is beautiful and I am most grateful that he accepted this request after I saw some of his other work.  An interesting note, the wood for this stand is from an old pew in our church.  Beautiful workwoman and workmanship continues as our pews continue to be re-stained.  I thank Francis Akpotu and Susan Coyne from our parish for taking on this true labour of love.  The Catholic Book of Worship in our pews is getting some repair work, and I thank two ladies by the name of Belinda and Margaret, new to our community, for the giving of their time.  And after four years here at St. Julia, we did a major cleanout of the lower storage room, filling a mini bin.  I thank Rebecca Alfieri, Chris Buckley, Cheryl Wood, Francis Akpotu, and Jim Salmon for assisting with this undertaking.  So very nice to see all of this work taking place - cleaning, preserving, restoring, and beautifying, to care for this church entrusted to us.

God continues to provide for our community.  Your generosity, week in and week out, allows us to take on these window and other substantial projects.  Many volunteers give of their time and talents to care for their spiritual home.  For this I am most grateful.

This weekend we will hear in our Gospel the story of the Canaanite woman.  She put her faith in the Lord, and without fear, asked for help and was heard in her distress.  May we too continue to put our faith in the Lord, as we bring all of our prayers and petitions to mass this weekend.

I pray that you are able to enjoy these last weeks of August, and may God bless each of you and those that you love.
Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

In a 2002 homily, Pope John Paul II said:
 “If Jesus is Life, Mary is the Mother of Life.
If Jesus is Hope, Mary is the Mother of Hope.
If Jesus is Peace, Mary is the Mother of Peace, Mother of the Prince of Peace.”
 
Looking ahead, on Tuesday, August 15th, we celebrate the Assumption of Mary, when Mary was assumed both body and soul into heaven, and that she was spared the corruption of death.  We need Mary in our lives.  That is certain.

Consider joining me for mass this Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. as we turn to our Blessed Mother in prayer.
 
May we seek the intercession of our Blessed Mother, our Mother of life, our Mother of Hope, our Mother of Peace.
 
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Keep safe, and may God bless each of you and those that you love.
Fr. Greg

​Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

Pope Francis arrived in the capital city of Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday and World Youth Day 2023 is now well underway!

"Mary arose and went with haste" (Lk 1:39) is the bible quote chosen by Pope Francis as the motto for WYD 2023.  In exploring the WYD website, below is the theme for this year unpacked for us:
The biblical phrase (a quote from the Gospel of St. Luke) opens the account of the Visitation (Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth), a biblical episode following the Annunciation (the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God, and the theme of the last WYD, in Panama).
During their conversation of the Annunciation, the angel also tells Mary that her older cousin, thought to be sterile, is pregnant. After affirming to the angel ” Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word ” (Lk 1:38), it is then that Mary sets out for Ain Karim, a village near Jerusalem where Elizabeth lived and was awaiting the birth of John, who would become Saint John the Baptist.
Mary of Nazareth is the great figure of the Christian journey. She teaches us to say yes to God. She was the protagonist of the last edition of WYD and will be so once again in Lisbon.
In the biblical episode of the Visitation, the action of standing up presents Mary as both a woman of charity and a missionary woman. Leaving in haste represents the attitude depicted in Pope Francis’ indications for WYD Lisbon 2023: "may young people’s evangelization be active and missionary, for this is how they will recognize and witness the presence of the living Christ."
Addressing young people in particular, and challenging them to be courageous missionaries, the following was written by the Pope in the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit: "Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us everywhere. The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some" (CV 177).

This message is indeed for all of us, for the young and the young at heart.

Below you will find the link to the WYD 2023 website.  Explore it.  Prayer with it.  Embrace it.

Wishing you a grace-filled month of August, and may God bless you and those that you love,

Fr. Greg