In this weekend’s reflection, our Pastor, Fr. Jim Bleackley OMI shares:
“When we hear today’s Gospel story, we are to look into the mirror of the Word and allow it to reveal the authenticity, or not, of our own goodness. If we welcome the truth, we see God’s word has the power to transform us from within, where all goodness and holiness begins. Believers are then responsible for translating their inner goodness into good deeds and good words that serve the needs of others.
Each time the community gathers to encounter Christ and one another in the Eucharist, their commitment to truth and goodness is renewed. As we hear the words “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and one another,” it becomes our responsibility to mirror to the world all that we have experienced. Loved, we are to love; forgiven, we are to forgive; fed, we are to feed; clothed with grace and security, we are to clothe and shelter the needy. To do otherwise is to distort the one whose image we are to reflect.”
Paolo and Renée Siraco on Cursillo and Music Ministry at St. Joe’s
Long-time parishioners Paolo and Renée Siraco speak with Terry Byrne in Part 19 of the Parish History Video Series
Liturgical Resources
- Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 29 2021 – Liturgy of the Word for use at home
- READINGS FOR THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 2021
- READINGS FOR CHILDREN – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2021
- Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 – Prayers of the Faithful
Parish Update
Parish Staff News
After nearly four years, serving first as Manager of the St. Joe’s Supper Table and presently as Coordinator of Young Adult Ministry and Faith Formation, Andrew Pump will be leaving the Parish staff team to begin a new career. We wish you all the best as you transition to a new workplace, Andrew, and thank you for your collegiality, knowledge and passion over the past years in the Parish. Andrew’s last work day is Sunday, September 5th.
Dinner Under the Stars
Please join the St. Joe’s Women’s Centre for a dinner under the stars! We are excited to share this fundraising event with you. Take an evening to enjoy a dinner for two in a beautiful rooftop setting. Dinner includes appetizers, a choice of a delicious main course (steak, salmon or vegetarian option), and dessert. The evening includes live entertainment and a special gift for each table. You are invited to join us either September 24th or 25th, 2021. For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
University Mass resumes Sunday, September 12, 2021
University Mass at St. Joseph’s Parish resumes Sunday, September 12, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. This evening Mass, which is an outreach to university students, recent graduates and young adults, warmly welcomes all who would like to attend.
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
September 1 is celebrated by the Christian family as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and the beginning of the Season of Creation, which concludes on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4. During this period, Christians worldwide renew their faith in the God of Creation and join in prayer and work for the care of our common home. On September 1, we invite you to pray the following in your own special place within God’s Creation:
Season of Creation 2021 Prayer
Creator of All, We are grateful that from your communion of love you created our planet to be a home for all. By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of living beings that filled the soil, water and air. Each part of creation praises you in their being, and cares for one another from our place in the web of life. With the Psalmist, we sing your praise that in your house “even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.” We remember that you call human beings to keep your garden in ways that honor the dignity of each creature and conserve their place in the abundance of life on Earth. But we know that our will to power pushes the planet beyond her limits. Our consumption is out of harmony and rhythm with Earth’s capacity to heal herself. Habitats are left barren or lost. Species are lost and systems fail. Where reefs and burrows, mountaintops and ocean deeps once teemed with life and relationships, wet and dry deserts lie empty, as if uncreated. Human families are displaced by insecurity and conflict, migrating in search of peace. Animals flee fires, deforestation and famine, wandering in search of a new place to find a home to lay their young and live. In this Season of Creation, we pray that the breath of your creative Word would move our hearts, as in the waters of our birth and baptism. Give us faith to follow Christ to our just place in the beloved community. Enlighten us with the grace to respond to your covenant and call to care for our common home. In our tilling and keeping, gladden our hearts to know that we participate with your Holy Spirit to renew the face of your Earth, and safeguard a home for all. In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ.
Vocation Reflection: “What Gives Life?”
By Richard Beaudette, OMI – Vocation Team – East
“As we listen to Jesus today, we are challenged to reflect on our understanding of vocation and discipleship. Vocation is our call to respond to Jesus invitation to live as his disciples, grow in our relationship with God and with one another, guided by the Spirit. The Spirit is constantly doing something new, if we can perceive it, if we can trust it, if we can move with it. If we can let go of what holds us back and move with the Spirit, our vocation, our lives, might look much different that what we have perceived until now.” Read the reflection here (published on Friday August 27): https://omilacombe.ca/become-an-oblate/
Kind reminder… Please personally invite any young men you know who might be open to the discernment journey to our new Facebook Group for Discerners. It’s a safe and private digital space for a conversation in discovering one’s vocation. More info here: https://omilacombe.ca/how-to-google-your-vocation/
