Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

It's been a full week here at St. Julia.  On Monday we had our Visionary Council meeting (minutes below).  On Tuesday we had our R.C.I.A. open house, with seven individuals joining us with a desire to learn about the faith.  Others joined us as well to share in this journey for a total of seventeen people gathered in our Divinity Room.  On Wednesday I welcomed the seven-year-old children from our parish / St. Peter Catholic Elementary School to begin our preparations for the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion.  On Thursday we had the funeral mass of Jane Oschypko who died at the age of 97.  As a seminarian here at St. Julia I fondly remember Jane in the back row everyday praying the rosary with her small yet mighty group of prayer warriors.  Thursday evening and Friday I had the opportunity to attend a conference for Canada's Bishops, Seminary Rectors and Vocations Directors titled "Renewing Priestly Vocations in Canada: Reflections and Dialogue" that was informative and enlightening.  A full week.  Looking ahead to next week, I will be at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School on Wednesday for the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi blessings animals, stuffed animals that is, in our Kindergarten classrooms.  Photos to come in next weeks newsletter!

While we embrace the season of fall and the winding down of the l growing season, we continue to reap the benefits of our beautiful region and the harvest now taking place.  This Sunday we will hear about the "spiritual harvest" that must take place in our lives and within our hearts.  When we live a life in and for Christ, we believe it will yield a bountiful harvest.  That is what our Visionary Council, R.C.I.A.., sacramental preparations, faith studies, bible study groups, St. Vincent de Paul, C.W.L., community outreach, visiting the sick...the list goes on, is all about.  That, my friends, is my prayer for all of us here at St. Julia - that our words, deeds, actions, and witness, will yield a most bountiful harvest!

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,

Who will be happiest in heaven?  Who will be happiest in God's Kingdom?

When presented with this question, St. Therese of Lisieux, the 19th century French Carmelite nun and now Doctor of the Church, liked to think of it like this:  
 
Think of a thimble, a drinking glass and a bucket. 
Fill them all to the brim. 
Which of the three is the fullest? 
All three in fact are completely full. 

In other words, for St. Therese, all who are in heaven will be completely satisfied.  Where they have gone, we hope to follow.  We place our trust in God - trusting that we will be truly fulfilled by God

May this be a springboard as we break open our Scripture passages this weekend.  “Many that are first will be last and the last first.”

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,

It's been a very life-giving week as I had the honour of welcoming the youth of our community to celebrate our faith as we begin the new school year.  The responses were strong and it is a wonderful launchpad for future celebrations in our community.  Our monthly family mass with the liturgies being led by the youth of St. Peter's Catholic Elementary school will soon begin, with our grade 8's getting us up and running on Sunday October 1 at our 9:00 a.m. celebration.  Our director of music David Holler will once again be working with the school community, with the desired commitment of the school choir to lead us in music at both the school masses and our monthly family mass here at St. Julia.  Come Holy Spirit!  

The Holy Spirit is alive in our community!  Each mass is unique and special in its own way.  There are growing opportunities to learn and grow in your faith, and to build up this community that we call our spiritual home of St. Julia.

I wish you a blessed last week of summer, though there are already hints of fall in the air!

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

Fr. Greg

P.S....the picture above is our High School students making their way over for mass with the newly acquired Denis Morris drone!

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

The month of September is off to a wonderful start and it is full steam ahead!  Our C.W.L. had their first meeting this past Wednesday after their summer break (from meetings, but not from their good works).  I continue to be inspired by all they have done in our community and all that is planned for the fall season.  Next week we celebrate our opening school year masses with the St. Peter Catholic Elementary School community on Tuesday and we welcome the Denis Morris Catholic High School Community on Wednesday.  As you will see in this newsletter, there are many outreach opportunities to our youth, those desiring to become catholic, those looking to enrich their faith, and those looking to become more involved in the life of our parish and to share their vision for our parish as we move forward as a parish family.

In our responsorial psalm this weekend, we will hear the refrain "If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts."  God speaks to us far more than we realize.  Yet in a very busy world, with so much noise, how do we hear His voice?  This is where I pray that our students, as they join us here at St. Julia, and experience some quiet, that they hear His voice in the celebration of the mass.  That our R.C.I.A. candidates hear His voice as they learn about the faith.  In our faith studies.  In the preparation of the sacraments for our children.  With the celebration of mass on campus at Brock University.  In the end, everything brings us back to the mass.  The mass is the source and summit of our faith.  It is who we are as Catholics.  As disciples.  As parents and grandparents.  As children.  As students.  As teachers.  As children of God.  It is the ultimate prayer of the church.  It is where we hear His voice.  It is where God speaks to us in the most beautiful of ways.  In the Word of God.  Through music.  Through the prayers offered.  And through the silence.

As we gather this weekend to pause from the busyness and pray, may you hear that gentle voice.  If your heart is hardened because of fear, disbelief, or preoccupation with life's many issues, may you hand that over to God.  Be open to the word, and to where God is calling you in this journey of life.

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,

Here we are.  The beginning of the month of September.  Labour Day weekend.  School buses back out on Tuesday as the children begin a new school year.  The first day of kindergarten.  Teary eyed parents and grandparents.  Young adults off to university and college, some returning, some leaving home for the first time.  Cool nights, and shorter days of daylight.  The fall mums are out in the stores.  The list of changes goes on and on, and the cycle of life continues.

One thing that does not change is God.  God simply is.  God is unchanging.  And God's love for us does not change.  God's Love: Unconditional, unchanging, unending!  How comforting is that!  Seasons may come and go.  Chapters in our lives open and close.  Days, months, and years pass by at an unbelievable pace, and our God is with us every step along the way.

As we embark on this long weekend together and new month, that is what we must remember.  That God is always with us.  In our homes, in our places of work, in our schools, and in our community of St. Julia.  The list goes on.  In a most profound way God is with us in the celebration of the mass, through the gift of His son, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and in Sacred Scripture.  What a gift this is - a gift that will never change.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend, and let's keep one another in prayer, the children and youth in our community, our educators, and the forgotten.

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

Fr. Greg