1st Sunday of Lent

St. Monicas Parish

March 8 & 9, 2014

OUR LENTEN JOURNEY: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY

When Bishop Tom met last week with those involved in liturgical ministries, we shared with him the ways in which at St. Monicas we live the call to full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy. We celebrate the Mass every Sunday indeed, every day but we dont often take the opportunity to reflect more fully on how the Eucharist is meant to be the source and summit of our faith-lives. Why? Because the Mass is our participation in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. It is our invitation to share in His divine life. We come to the liturgy neither as spectators waiting to be entertained, nor as isolated individuals looking for a quiet place to perform our devotions. We gather as living members of the Church, to taste Gods mercy and sing his praises, to be formed by Gods Word and to be nourished at the Table of the Eucharist. We bring to the liturgy all that we are our joys and struggles, our concerns about family, work, and the needs of the world around us so that we might be transformed by Christ, sent forth to be His presence in the world. This weekend, as we deepen our understanding of the Eucharistic celebration through our teaching Mass, let us embrace our identity and vocation as Gods beloved: we are the Body of Christ. As we embark on our Lenten journey, we meet Jesus in a place of vulnerability: the desert. It is comforting to know that like us, Jesus also experienced temptation, hunger, weakness, and emptiness. Yet in the midst of this, Jesus, the Incarnate Word, holds fast to Gods life-giving words. His defense is ours: fasting, praying, sharing, keeping company with the Holy Spirit. His journey is our journey. We are not alone! May this prayer of Fr. Henri Nouwen be ours: The Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you, Lord, in a special way: a time to pray, to fast, to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to the final victory over death. I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and listen to other voices that speak about prestige, success, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to tune out these voices and be more attentive to your voice, calling me to choose the road to life. I know that Lent is going to be a hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you. Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life that you have prepared for me. Amen.

ONE HUMAN FAMILY, FOOD FOR ALL

Development and Peace is joining with the international Global Anti-hunger Campaign One Human Family, Food for All. This campaign is a response to the fact that one billion people (which is 1 in 8 individuals) in the world suffer from hunger. Poverty, climate change, armed conflict; and unfair control of land, seeds, and water by multinationals are some of the causes of hunger. One way that Development and Peace works to find long term solutions to this problem is by supporting small-scale farming, which is the single biggest opportunity to reduce hunger and poverty.

MULTICULTURAL EVENT * Sunday, March 30, 2014 Keep this date in mind! More information to come in future bulletins.
WATCH ONE HOUR WITH ME
Do you have an hour or two each week to spend with Jesus in the person of your neighbour? Pastoral Home Care visitors visit those who are sick or homebound, to share the love of God and bring the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The next training session for new volunteers will be held at St. Ignatius Parish beginning this Monday, March 10, and continuing for six Mondays. For more information and to register, please call Cathie Macaulay at 514-925-4345.

Adult Faith Enrichment

4:00 Saturday, March 8 St. John of God In Loving Memory: Micheline Dufresne, David Boyle, Mariette Bisson, Sybyl Murray Denis, Mike Kilbertus, Deceased members of the Charles J. McDonald Family, Alessandro Palladini. Sunday, March 9 First Sunday Of Lent John Caporicci Dominic Supino By Anna Mascia Weekday Mass Rosa & Luigi Salvati Weekday Mass Cara Silvestri Weekday Mass By Louise Forlini Weekday Mass Pietrina Weekday Mass By his Brother Giovanni Masella & Family Lenten Mass By Louise Oke By Franca & Family

Bible Study
Our bible study, with Pastor Brent Walker, concludes this coming Wednesday, March 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the parish hall. We are grateful to Pastor Walker for sharing his knowledge and deep love of scripture with us, and for inviting and inspiring us to continue experiencing the presence of Christ, the living Word of God.

8:30

11:00 Giuseppi DAgostino & Maria Grazia Monday, March 10 8:00 Nazzareno Scartozzi Tuesday, March 11 8:00 Carlton Roy White Wednesday, March 12 8:00 Anna & Lorenzo Forlini 8:00 8:00 Thursday, March 13 Paolo & Emidia Turini Friday, March 14 Francesco Masella Saturday, March 15 Winston & Mariette & son John Oke Aniello DAddio (20th Anniv.) Sunday, March 16

Coffee and Conversation

In this session of Boundaries with Kids, we will explore six steps to implementing boundaries with our children. Join us on Sunday, March 16, from 10 to 10:50 am, in the rectory dining room.

St. Monicas Parish Lenten Mission

Journey to Joy - Richard Boileau, ofs, specialist in Franciscan spirituality, will lead us in a Lenten series of reflections on simplicity, gratitude and generosity as a path to deep spiritual joy. This journey within to the true self, to God and to others in light of the example of St. Francis of Assisi will take place over three evenings from Monday, March 31 to Wednesday, April 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the church. Mr. Boileau will introduce the Mission at all weekend masses of March 29 and 30. All are welcome! Please refer to our brochure, website and the posters at the Church entrances for additional information.

4:00

Second Sunday of Lent 8:30 In Loving Memory: Peter Pare, June Leibling, Burt Hale, Nazzareno Scartozzi, Italo Falcone, Italo & Anna Mariani. 11:00 Margarita De Alonso By her Daughter Your Generosity
Thank you for your on-going support of our parishCollection for the weekend of March 1 / 2, 2014 totalled $2,624.25 and Maintenance collection totalled $1,609.00.

THANK YOU!! Thank you to all the volunteers who baked and prepared food for the Pot Luck & Games Night and for the Bishop Tom Dowds luncheon the weekend of February 22 & 23. Benedict Labre House * Special Appeal
Remember, it is still very cold out there and homeless men need warm clothing. Call Kat Gary at 514-937-5973 for list of items needed. See poster in church for more details.

Pastoral Reflection Group There will be a meeting on Tuesday, March 11, in the rectory after the 8:00 a.m. Mass for the Pastoral Reflection Group.