PASTOR’S VOICE
Dear brothers and sisters, we begin the month of May, the month of mothers and the month of our Patron Saint, Our Lady of Fatima and, with it, new measures to restrict COVID 19 have been implemented in our Province. All of these restrictions require a lot of patience and creativity to continue our work, and especially our life of faith. Our Lady goes ahead of us! Always!
The Bake Sale organized by the Nossa Senhora de Fátima Ministry has been postponed to a later date, yet to be determined. More information coming soon.
Due to the new restrictions, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima will take place exclusively online: selecting 15 people to participate in the Mass is very frustrating, as the Eucharist is lived and celebrated in the Community that meets on Sundays to celebrate the day of the Lord. To limit or select people is to lose that spiritual sense of the Eucharist.
10th, 11th and 12th of May - Triduum (Mass) of Preparation for the Party at 7:30 pm;
May 10th, 11th and 12th - Rosary at 7pm
May 13 - Solemn Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Fatima followed by Goodbye to Our Lady;
All celebrations will be broadcast on our Facebook page.
The First Communion and Confirmation celebrations were also postponed. In a few days, we will let you know the possible dates for the celebration. We remind you that our Archbishop's visit has also been canceled.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton announces that the Holy Cross Mausoleum will be closed for visitation during these 3 weeks of restriction. In honour of mothers, Archbishop Smith will celebrate mass via live broadcast from the Santa Cruz cemetery on Saturday, May 8 at 9:30 am:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yegcemeteries/live/
YouTube: https://youtu.be/GvIjTh4xedM
Since the mausoleum is closed, you are invited to remember your loved ones by adding a specialized Twibbon to your social media profiles here: https://twibbon.com/Support/thinking-of-loved-ones
There is no use complaining or criticizing. It is not a time for divisions, on the contrary, it is a time for us to unite even more so that the Word of God will always live in our community. Yesterday I had a meeting with our Archbishop and the priests of the Archdiocese and I realized that many parishes adopted the same process during this pandemic due to the difficulty they also face in selecting people.
Brothers and sisters, this is the last Sunday before the Solemnities of Ascension and Pentecost, which close Easter. If, during these Sundays, the risen Jesus manifested himself as the Good Shepherd and the vine to whom it is necessary to be united as the branches, today he opens his Heart to us wide.
Of course, in his Heart we only find love. What constitutes the deepest mystery of God is that it is Love. Everything he did from creation to redemption is out of love. All that awaits us in response to his action is love. That is why his words resound today: "Remain in my love". Love asks for reciprocity, it is like a dialogue that makes us correspond with a growing love to your love first.
A fruit of love is joy: "I told you this, so that my joy may be in you". If our lives do not reflect the joy of believing, if we let ourselves be drowned by setbacks without seeing that the Lord is also there and comforting us, it is because we do not know Jesus well enough.
God always takes the initiative. We say this expressly when stating that "it was I who chose you". We are tempted to think we have chosen, but we have done nothing but respond to a call. He chose us free of charge to be friends: «I no longer call you servants, (...); I call you friends ».
In the beginning, God speaks to Adam as a friend speaks to his friend. Christ, the new Adam, recovered not only our previous friendship, but our intimacy with God, since God is Love.
It all comes down to this word: “love”. Reminds us of St. Augustine: «The Good Master recommends charity to us as often as the only possible commandment. Without charity, all other good qualities are useless. Charity, in effect, necessarily leads man to all the other virtues that make him good ». Think about it!
A blessed week for you!
FIRST READING Acts 10.25-26, 34-35, 44-48
On Peter’s arrival, Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian cohort, met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a man.”
Then Peter began to speak, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.
Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
HOLY GOSPEL John 15.9-17
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
