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John Rietschlin’s Reflection and a Parish Update on the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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John Rietschlin offers the reflection at our Masses this weekend. John shares:

“Many of us will know that Julian was a 15th century mystic who spent some fifty years, most of her adult life, living in a single room during the Bubonic plague. Julian experienced a series of visions from God as a young woman and then spent many decades praying and reflecting on these visions and writing about them. When she died, she left a single book written over a lifetime—the first book by a woman in the English language. This book is the source of our knowledge about her and her visions. What did she see? In the midst of the darkness and death from the plague, Julian saw God’s total goodness. She saw that every human being is totally “oned” with God. In the midst of fear, she saw that God is fully present in every aspect of creation. The beauty shining through a flower, a sunset, a smile is the beauty of God. She saw that sin causes us to lose sight of God, but that God never loses sight of us—God continues to love every one of us.”

The full-text version of the reflection is available as a pdf file here: 20210627 -13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Liturgical Resources

Parish Update

Registration for weekend Masses

Please register to attend a weekend Mass on June 26/27, 2021 here.  The maximum capacity at each Mass is 50 people.

Online Sunday Liturgy of the Word

To attend Sunday Liturgy of the Word via Zoom at 10:30 a.m., hosted by Andrew Pump, please register here.

Second Dose Vaccine Appointments & Transportation

Have you not been able to book your  2nd vaccine appointment, or who would like to advance the date of your existing appointment? Do you require a ride to and from the appointment, and/or assistance while getting the vaccine? Please complete the online form at www.vaxaide.ca or call 613-869-8221. A volunteer will be thrilled to help you.

Sunday Offerings for June 20, 2021 

  • St. Joe’s Refugee Outreach Committee: $3,970
  • Other Parish ministries: $1,220

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.

Joint Statement of Commitment from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on Document Transparency

We are two Catholic religious communities of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (commonly known as the Oblates) and were involved in operating many of the residential schools throughout Canada.  The Oblates operated 48 schools, including the Marieval Indian Residential School and the Kamloops Indian Residential School.  We remain deeply sorry for our involvement in residential schools and the harms they brought to Indigenous peoples and communities.

We want to reiterate our commitment and intent to disclose all historical documents maintained by us and in our possession, in accordance with all legislation, about our involvement.

With today’s disclosure of the 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School on the lands of the Cowessess First Nation, and the recent disclosure of the remains of 215 children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on the lands of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, we offer this formal commitment statement.

Consistent with the Oblate Apology, given in 1991, our two Oblate religious communities (OMI Lacombe Canada and Notre-Dame-du-Cap) have worked to make our historical documents available through partnerships with universities, archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  While some progress has been made, this disclosure is not complete, and has been complicated by issues of provincial and national privacy laws.

We are not experts in the management and analysis of these historical documents or the complex privacy laws which apply.  However, we must address these issues, as without a full review of the existing historical documentation from our order’s involvement, the truth of residential schools will not be fully known.  Recognising that we are not the appropriate organisations to determine which documents can be released within the law, we are seeking guidance and instruction from expert organisations. And we further acknowledge that delays can cause ongoing distrust, distress, and trauma to Indigenous peoples across British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the rest of the country.

For this reason, we declare that our commitment to transparency involves the following:

  • We will disclose and not block access to the historical documents maintained by us and in our possession, as is possible within the law, to establish the truth of what happened in residential schools;
  • We will seek guidance from and work with First Nations and federal and provincial governments on these matters;
  • We will work with bishops and other leaders in the Catholic church to support full truth in these matters.

Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI
Provincial – OMI Lacombe Canada

Père Luc Tardif, OMI
Provincial – Notre-Dame-du-Cap

-June 24, 2021

Archbishop Marcel Damphousse’s video message on National Indigeneous People’s Day

Archbishop Marcel shares:

“As a Church, we failed not only to be authentic witnesses to the goodness of Jesus Christ, we sinned against our brothers and sisters in our care. Words cannot undo the hurt or return the deceased children to their families. We know the lingering, generational effects of the trauma on the residential school students and their families. As a member of the Catholic Church and as a Bishop, I am so sorry. I know I am not alone in my sorrow and contrition. I add my voice to those who are asking the Holy Father for an apology to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada.”

Vocation Reflection: “Your Faith Has Made You Well”
By Serena Shaw – Vocation Team – Oblate Associate

“And so, through knowing community and having faith in Jesus, He will always make himself available to us. Even when we think he isn’t paying attention to us, when if it feels like it is too late; or when we feel we have tried everything. And isn’t that the whole point? Everything will not be ok, until we turn our lives over to Jesus. We can consult all of the doctors, and experts we like. And even though it may help for a while, even if we feel that we are healed; the need for faith is eventual. We need to have faith and trust in God. We can come to Him at any time. Jesus and our belief in him can make the impossible possible. And only then, through our faith will we be made well.”
Read the reflection here (published on Friday June 25)

Monthly Walk at the Galilee Centre

An invitation to join a walk of awareness at the Galilee Centre in Arnprior on Friday, July 2, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.  The walk fosters awareness of:

  • The beauty and rich history of Galilee;
  • The numerous ways, and the many years Galilee has welcomed “everyone”, offering diverse programs and spiritual support;
  • Our ability to contemplate how we may plant seeds of hope and foster creative new beginnings in 2021;
  • How we may help support the ministry of Galilee in consideration of the immense challenges during this time of pandemic.

For more information, please contact us @ 613-623-4242 ext 21 or info@galileecentre.com

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