On Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., we will be holding a Liturgy of the Word service live over Zoom. While the current provincial restrictions do not make it possible for us to gather on weekends, we look forward to seeing you each Sunday during this period on Zoom. Please register here to receive the Zoom link. We are also offering weekday noon Mass on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a reduced capacity of 10 people. If you would like to attend, please register here.
Andrew Pump offers the reflection for this weekend, exploring the concept of the good shepherd. He references Fratelli Tutti, where Pope Francis reminds us that we are called to meet people wherever they are; to be with them in their lives, no questions asked. Francis notes that our communities still have a problem with Pharisees, yet as members of the Church, we are always called to seek out the lost and injured.
Liturgical Resources
Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 25 2021 – Liturgy of the Word for use at home
READINGS FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – 2021
READINGS FOR CHILDREN – Fourth Sunday of Easter
Fourth Sunday of Easter – 2021 – Prayers of the Faithful
Parish Update
News from the Supper Table
The St. Joe’s Supper Table received $21,000 in funding from Employment and Social Development Canada to hire five university students this summer, as part of the Canada Summer Jobs program. The Supper Table has also been awarded a $37,000 grant from Food Banks Canada’s 2021 Emergency Food Security Fund. These funds will go a long way in helping to sustain the St. Joe’s existing food bank operations, both on-site at 151 Laurier East and in Strathcona Heights. Also this week, the Supper Table was informed that it is the recipient of a Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) grant from the City of Ottawa, in the amount of $57,000. We are grateful for this support of our program. The Supper Table has continued to offer take-away meals and food bank hampers throughout the pandemic.
You may also be interested to read the Supper Table’s “Theology Thursday” posts. Delivered in a spoken word style, we look at biblical teachings, stories, and routines to help create a positive weekly attitude for all who read these brief posts.
Sunday Offerings:
- April 11, 2021: $5,120
- April 18, 2021: $5,472
Thank you for your generosity. We are grateful for your support during the pandemic, especially as our expenses continue. If you would like to continue giving in this period, you can mail in your offering envelopes/cheques to the parish front office, donate through Canada Helps or call us at 613-233-4095, ext. 251 to donate through credit card.
Vocation Reflection: “Good Shepherd Sunday”
By Richard Beaudette, OMI – Vocation Team
“Jesus invites us to be his communal sheep; our first call as disciples is to be in community. For most of us, that is lived out in various ways – in family, parish, friendship and professional groupings. In all of these communities, we are challenged to grow in our relationship with Christ and with one another. Secondly, our baptismal priesthood calls us to serve, to give our lives to one another, to respond in love and compassion to the needs we recognize in members of our various communities.”
Read the full reflection here (published on Friday April 23): https://omilacombe.ca/become-an-oblate/
Virtual Children’s Liturgy of the Word over Zoom:
Each Sunday at 9:30AM we are hosting a Liturgy of the Word for families and children virtually over Zoom. If you would like to join us be sure to send an email to Andrew (apump@st-josephs.ca) and he will send you the Zoom information. Although a Children’s Liturgy with accompanying children’s readings, it is also a great chance to connect for everyone in our community that hasn’t been able to come back to Church yet. So don’t be shy: All Are Welcome.
Lectio Divina over Zoom each Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Lectio Divina is a reflective exercise centered around the reading of scripture. We will be meeting virtually over Zoom to reflect on the Sunday’s Gospel and share with each other our insights and what the scriptures are calling us to look at in our lives and where they are leading us. Please join us by using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2906781332?pwd=VWUvMUtXVlFzUjlSME9velZHRWcrZz09
Friday evening meditation continues
During this latest lockdown join us each Friday evening at 7PM on Zoom. Use this link.
Some Thoughts on the Derek Chauvin verdict and the murder of George Floyd
Fr. Bryan N. Massingale is a theology professor at Fordham University in New York and he offers the following in a commentary appearing in The National Catholic Reporter:
“The verdict is a wake-up call and summons to the Catholic Church to address its complicity in the country’s racism. A complicity evidenced in February’s Pew Research study showing that less than one third of white congregations heard a sermon or homily about Black Lives Matter as a moral issue this past summer. A complicity manifested by priests who denounced Black Lives Matter protestors as “thugs” and “maggots and parasites.” A complicity demonstrated in the often-repeated assertion that the Black Lives Matter movement cannot be supported by Catholics because it “opposes the nuclear family” — overlooking the reality that Black Lives Matter calls for supporting ALL families, not only nuclear ones, for family life in America includes grandparents raising grandchildren and even gay uncles raising their sibling’s children. In sum, a complicity demonstrated by the tendency of too many Catholic leaders to privilege the comfort of its white members over the pain and terror of its brothers and sisters of color. This jury verdict is a summons to the Catholic community to embrace the teaching of Pope Francis, who in discussing George Floyd’s killing declared, “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of human life.” The challenge for American Catholics is to profess a commitment to anti-racism as an essential dimension of being pro-life.”
To read Fr. Massingale’s complete commentary, visit NCR here.
