December 25th, 2014
Merry Christmas
On behalf of the Parish Staff – Sr.
Michaela, Jean Hopley, the parish secretary, Jim
Phillippe, our janitor – I would like to extend to
you and your families a very happy and holy
Christmas and all God’s blessings throughout
the New Year.
I would like to encourage all of us to
deepen our faith by setting aside Sundays to
come worship and give thanks to the God who
created us and gives us all that we have. It is so
easy in our affluent culture to take for granted all
that we have without giving thought to God.
I know life can be busy and it is not
always convenient to attend Sunday Mass, but
try to make time in your schedules to keep holy
the Sabbath by attending Mass in a spirit of
thanksgiving as much as you can.
Sincerely
Fr. Chris Lynch
Pastor
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM POPE FRANCIS
Christmas is often a noisy holiday:
"It would be good to have a bit of silence to
listen to the voice of love.”
You are Christmas when each day you decide
to be born again and allow God to enter your soul.
You are the Christmas tree when you resist
strong winds and life’s difficulties.
You are the Christmas ornaments when your
virtues are the colours that adorn your life.
You are the Christmas bell when you call and
seek to gather and unite.
You are also the Christmas light when your
life lights the path of others with kindness, patience,
happiness and generosity.
You are the angels of Christmas when you
sing a message of peace, justice and love.
You are the star of Christmas when you guide
someone to meet the Lord.
You are also the Three Wise Men when you
give the best you have without thinking who this
someone is.
You are the music of Christmas when you
conquer the harmony within you.
You are the Christmas gift when you truly are
a friend and brother to all human beings.
You are the Christmas card when kindness is
written on your hands.
You are the Christmas greeting when you
forgive and re-establish peace even though you are
suffering.
You are the Christmas dinner when you
replenish with bread and hope the poor person who
sits next to you.
You are Christmas Eve when you humbly and
consciously receive the Saviour of the world without
noisy celebrations in the silence of the night.
You are the smile of confidence and
tenderness that brings inner peace to the permanent
Christmas within you.
A Merry Christmas to all those who look like
Christmas.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM BISHOP JENSEN
Dear Friends:
In Advent we heard the prophet Isaiah’s invitation:
“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the
house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in
His ways, and we may walk in His path” (2:3).
As Christmas dawns, we recognize Jesus as the true
dwelling place of God, “the rock” (1 Corinthians
10:4). It is to Him that we come in faith and hope, to
be formed by His word and strengthened by the
sacramental life to walk in His paths, for our own
salvation and for the benefit of all who are touched
by our witness.
May God bless you and your families in these holy
days of the Christmas season and fill you with His
gifts for the New Year!
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Most Rev. Stephen Jensen
Bishop of Prince George
Sincere Gratitude: So many people give of their
time and talent to ensure the smooth operation of our
parish and school and are never more than a phone
call away to help when needed.
To Dan Paxton, chair of the Parish Council
and all parish council members; to Gary Samis, chair
of the Finance Council and all members of the
finance council; to Dr. Neil Hanlon and school
council members; to Marie O’Callaghan our
catechist; to Elisa Camargo and Linda Boudreau who
look after all the decorating and environment; to the
Knights of Columbus; to Pat Hauck, Harold Beliveau
and Ron Walsh who oversee the maintenance; to our
youth ministry team, Chantal Girard and Boyd
Marchand; to those who make the soup and
sandwiches for the St. Vincent de Paul Drop-In
centre; to all those who count the collection; to those
who minister at the Masses; all the altar servers;
Shirley Delaney and her helpers with Children’s
liturgy; all the singers and musicians leading us at
Eucharistic celebrations; those involved in the
hospitality ministry, and so many others; we want to
extend our sincere gratitude to you and know that you
are greatly appreciated.
Feast of Mary Mother of God
New Year’s Eve, Wed. Dec. 31st Mass 7 pm
New Year’s Day Thurs. Mass 10 am
Diocesan Annual Appeal: If you have received a
letter from Bishop Jensen asking to contribute to
supporting the many initiatives in our diocese, and
have not had an opportunity as yet, please prayerfully
consider doing so. Please make cheque payable to the
Diocesan Annual Appeal and drop it off in the
church. You will not miss this money and you will be
richly blessed as it is “in giving that we receive.”
The Joy of the Gospel - Pope Francis A Little Taste
“The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of
all who encounter Jesus”; thus begins the Apostolic
Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”, by which Pope Francis
develops the theme of the proclamation of the Gospel in
the contemporary world….
The Pope invites the reader to “recover the original
freshness of the Gospel”, finding “new avenues” and “new
paths of creativity”, without enclosing Jesus in our “dull
categories”. There is a need for a “pastoral and missionary
conversion, which cannot leave things as they presently
are” and a “renewal” of ecclesiastical structures to enable
them to become “more mission-oriented”.
A sign of God’s openness is “that our church doors
should always be open” so that those who seek God “will
not find a closed door”; “nor should the doors of the
sacraments be closed for simply any reason”. The
Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful
medicine and nourishment for the weak”. These convictions
have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider
with prudence and boldness”. He repeats that he prefers “a
Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has
been out on the streets, rather than a Church … concerned
with being at the center and then ends by being caught up
in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something
should rightly disturb us … it is the fact that many of our
brothers and sisters are living without … the friendship of
Jesus Christ”.
The greatest threat of all is “the grey pragmatism of
the daily life of the Church, in which all appears to proceed
normally, which in reality faith is wearing down”. He warns
against “defeatism”, urging Christians to be signs of hope,
bringing about a “revolution of tenderness”. It is necessary
to seek refuge from the “spirituality of well-being …
detached from responsibility for our brothers and sisters”
and to vanquish the “spiritual worldliness” that consists of
“seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and wellbeing”. The Pope speaks of the many who “feel superior to
others” because “they remain intransigently faithful to a
particular Catholic style from the past” whereby “instead of
evangelizing, one analyses and classifies others” and those
who have “an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy, for
doctrine and for the Church’s prestige, but without any
concern that the Gospel have a real impact” on the needs
of the people. This is “a tremendous corruption disguised
as a good … God save us from a worldly Church with
superficial spiritual and pastoral trappings!”