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
We welcome Fr. Sam Samuel V.C., a Vincentian Missionary Priest from India, to our parish this weekend to participate in our Annual Missionary Cooperation Plan. He will share his missionary experience at all the Masses this weekend and will make an appeal on behalf of the Vincentian Missions. The Vincentian Missionaries need our help to carry out their many missionary, educational and charitable activities in their missions. They also request our special financial support for the training of young men studying for priesthood. There will be special collection this weekend to help the Missionary work of the Vincentian Missionaries. We urge you to be very generous in your mission offering since these Missionaries need our help. If you did not have an opportunity to make an offering this weekend or would like to make an additional offering, you may make your offering through the general parish collection next weekend in a specially marked envelope. Thank you very much for your prayers and generous financial support .The Vincentian Missionaries keep you and our parish in their prayers and Masses. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to you joining me for the celebration of Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, This Sunday we celebrate the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis’ chosen theme for this year’s World Day is “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50). This World Day that we are celebrating today can help us to understand that all of us, young and old, grandparents and grandchildren, whether or not we belong to the same family, are “one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call”. This awareness comforts us and shapes us as a people as we gather around the altar on which the Lord multiplies the bread of life and the Word of our salvation. The elderly (or the young at heart) − like the young − are important. Without them the body of the Church lacks something. That is why it is necessary for them to have their rightful place within each of our communities. It is crucial that we share in the lives of older people in the same way that the Lord, in giving us his Body and Blood, has made us sharers in his own. To showcase this theme, the CCCB Standing Committee for Family and Life, in tandem with its Office, produced a 30 second video which captures a group of high school students visiting the elderly at a retirement home. The heartwarming interaction of old and young wonderfully represents this year’s World Day theme and inspires us to find concrete and creative ways to draw near to the elderly. As the themes of “Love of God” and “Love of Neighbour” continue to resonate in the back of our minds, consider calling that grandparent or “young at heart” person in your life, to let them know that they are loved. Reassure them that we are united together at the celebration of the Mass, and that in a special way they will be prayed for at our Masses this weekend at St. Julia. And if that someone special has gone before us, remember that they continue to hear our prayers, and that they are praying for us. Click here to read Pope Francis’ Message May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to you joining me for the celebration of Mass this weekend. Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, The parable of the sower has been lived out many times over my years of involvement with the RCIA. It is a rewarding and blessed experience. We have had Mothers and Fathers wanting to journey with their children who are receiving the sacraments in the school. Couples wanting to marry in the church. Those wanting to complete the sacraments of initiation. Yet many come seeking baptism and initiation into a life with Christ, but despite our efforts, not all stay connected to their newfound faith or our community. Some become distracted once the newness wears off. Some become discouraged when tragedy overwhelms them. Yet many continue to be models of faith for the body of Christ. As a priest, that is most rewarding to witness, all with the help of the Holy Spirit. I will say, thanks be to God, the vast majority of our new Catholics here at St. Julia are rooted in this community. Amen. As a community, we are called to till the soil and to nurture the seeds of faith by our fellowship and example, and those seeking a life of faith must remain open to the light and life that Christ offers. Our RCIA journey will begin once again in October. The time is now to plant those seeds, asking the question "Have you ever considered becoming Catholic?" Read Matthew 13:1-23 before joining us for mass this weekend. Let the seed be planted in your heart, and may that seed be nurtured by the Word of God and the Eucharist at mass as we continue to cultivate those seeds as a family of believers. May God bless each of you and those that you love, Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, Are you tired, weary or perhaps carrying a burden? During times of stress and conflict, God beckons us to take a time-out. To stop. To breathe. To pray. During trying times and seasons, draw close to God and bask in His faithfulness and affection. Whether the stress of a situation remains or is removed, our souls can rest in Him. As we gather for mass this weekend, listen closely and reflect upon our Gospel from Matthew 11:25-30. May God bless each of you and those that you love, Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, This weekend we will hear Psalm 89 sung as part of our responsorial psalm: "For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord." The Psalms, found in the Old Testament are a collection of prayers assembled over several centuries, composed of sacred songs, or sacred poems, meant to be sung. The psalms have been used since Jesus' time as the public prayer of the Church. , With the end of school year masses now complete, diplomas handed out at graduations, and teachers turning off the lights in their classrooms for another school year, we give thanks for the goodness that the Lord has showered upon our children and their families, administrators, teachers, and support staff too. As we begin this new month and enter into the summer months together as a parish family, my prayers of thanksgiving continue as I sing and give thanks for the goodness that the Lord has poured out upon our community. I also pray that the goodness of the Lord will shower upon each of you and those that you love, not only this day, but always. While many from our parish will travel over the summer months, please know of my prayers and be assured that we will be united in prayer at the celebration of the mass here at our spiritual home of St. Julia. Enjoy the long weekend and see you at mass, Fr. Greg Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia, Count our Blessings. Our community of St. Julia has been blessed in endless ways. The gift of our children first comes to mind. The children, and in a special way the Kindergarten children of St. Peter Catholic Elementary School first come to mind. Last Sunday, they so beautifully led us in our ministries at our 9:00 a.m. mass, and again at our end of school year mass this past Wednesday. These children are a gift to our community. Graduations take place next week, with St. Peter on Monday and Denis Morris Catholic High School on Tuesday. For the blessings of these young people, our graduates, we count our blessings. For the gift of our families, and the love we share, we count our blessings. For the opportunity to gather as a parish family for our BBQ this Sunday, we count our blessings. For the gift of this community that we call home, we count our blessings. For the freedom we enjoy to practice and live out our faith, we count our blessings. For the wonderful things taking place in our parish, as we continue to care for this church dedicated to St. Julia, we count our blessings, and for your continued generosity to our parish. The endless list of things to count our blessings for, we give thanks. And for the most precious gift of all, the gift of our faith, we count our blessings. All of these blessings we count come from God. And for each of you, my parish family, a blessing in my life, I count my blessings. May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love, and I wish you a safe and blessed summer season. I look forward to us gathering for mass this weekend. Fr. Greg |
AuthorFrom Our Pastor Archives
May 2024
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