BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST SUNDAY From the rich Eucharistic themes to be drawn from today’s second reading, one stewardship theme stands out: The Eucharist is Christ’s gift to us. Good stewards are grateful for this gift and realize that no matter their station in life, they are welcome to come to the table and receive the body and blood of Christ. If Jesus could break bread with his betrayer, Judas, his denier, Peter, and the other ten who deserted him, then he will welcome us. Do we truly appreciate what a tremendous gift it is to approach the Lord’s table? Do we accept the transforming power of the gift of Christ’s body and blood? FIRST COMMUNION – NEXT WEEKEND Next weekend a number of Grade 2 children for St. Lawrence Catholic School will join us at the Table of the Eucharist for the first time. Celebrations of First Communion will take place on Sun- day, June 5 at 10:30am. Thank you to the teachers for your dedication and guidance in the prepa- ration of children, and also THANK YOU to parents/guardians for honoring promises you made at your children’s Baptism. St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish 475 Mary Street North, Hamilton, ON L8L 4X3 Phone 905-393-8336 Fax 905-522-9833 Email: [email protected]Website: www.stlawrencehamilton.ca Social Media: facebook.com/stlawrencehamilton Twitter @StLawrHamilton PARISH BULLETIN: Body and Blood of Christ Sunday – May 29, 2016 Pastoral Centre Office Hours: located at 440 King Street East 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Monday to Friday Weekend Mass Schedule: Saturday: 7:00 PM (6:30PM Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament) Sunday: 10:30 AM Weekday Mass Schedule: Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 AM Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday 6:30pm – 6:50pm (or by appointment) Sacrament of Marriage: Please contact the Pastoral Centre Office or go to the parish website: stlawrencehamilton.ca/sacraments Sacrament of Baptism: Please contact the Pastoral Centre Office or go to the parish website: stlawrencehamilton.ca/sacraments
Transcript
BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST SUNDAY From the rich Eucharistic themes to be drawn from today’s second reading, one stewardship theme stands out: The Eucharist is Christ’s gift to us. Good stewards are grateful for this gift and realize that no matter their station in life, they are welcome to come to the table and receive the body and blood of Christ. If Jesus could break bread with his betrayer, Judas, his denier, Peter, and the other ten who deserted him, then he will welcome us. Do we truly appreciate what a tremendous gift it is to approach the Lord’s table? Do we accept the transforming power of the gift of Christ’s body and blood?
FIRST COMMUNION – NEXT WEEKEND Next weekend a number of Grade 2 children for St. Lawrence Catholic School will join us at the Table of the Eucharist for the first time. Celebrations of First Communion will take place on Sun-day, June 5 at 10:30am. Thank you to the teachers for your dedication and guidance in the prepa-ration of children, and also THANK YOU to parents/guardians for honoring promises you made at your children’s Baptism.
PARISH BULLETIN: Body and Blood of Christ Sunday – May 29, 2016
Pastoral Centre Office Hours: located at 440 King Street East
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Monday to Friday
Weekend Mass Schedule:
Saturday: 7:00 PM (6:30PM Exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament) Sunday: 10:30 AM
Weekday Mass Schedule: Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 AM
Sacrament of Reconciliation:
Saturday 6:30pm – 6:50pm
(or by appointment)
Sacrament of Marriage: Please contact the Pastoral Centre Office
or go to the parish website: stlawrencehamilton.ca/sacraments
Sacrament of Baptism:
Please contact the Pastoral Centre Office or go to the parish website:
stlawrencehamilton.ca/sacraments
WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE PARISH THIS MONTH? We are working with Peto MaCallum Engineering to review the condi-tion of our existing foundations in a couple of areas around the church. This includes the old basement coal room on the north side of the church as well as around our bell tower. Over the last 125 years, cracks have developed in the plasterwork and we want to make sure that this is just cosmetic, and that everything is safe and structurally sound. You may have noticed that our church bell has been silent since Easter morning. We have chosen not to ring the bell in order to limit the vibrations in the tower until this investigation is complete. The most visible work took place at the bell tower this week, when excavation equipment was on-site to dig a trench at the tower, to expose the foundations. We now await the engineer’s final re-port and will keep you updated on the results and any maintenance work we need to do. YEAR OF MARCY: YOUTH RALLY What does it mean to be merciful? This was the question that the organizers of the Year of Mercy Youth Rally hoped to help our youth explore this past Saturday May 21st. The Diocese of Hamil-ton, together with the Catholic Youth Organization (C.Y.O.), organized a great day away at Camp Brebeuf in Rockwood, Ontario. This is the first year such an event has been held, and the largest gathering of Catholic youth in Diocesan history. Over 400 participants (grade 7 – 12), rallied to-gether from across the Diocese.
St. Lawrence was well represented by 6 of our youth including our Altar Servers and Con-firmundi; and they proudly wore their St. Law-rence colours for all to see. Not only were we blessed with beautiful weather, but our youth had the opportunity to hear some very inspiring speakers, including Keynote Speaker, Sister Miriam Heidland (who is like no other Sister you will ever meet) and Musical Guest, Chris Bray. Our group participated in two workshop ses-sions. It was here, that we learned how people show mercy towards others, every single day. We learned about The Working Centre / St.
John’s Kitchen in Kitchener and then explored Youth Homelessness and the resources available through the Good Shepherd’s, Notre Dame House, right here in Hamilton. Before enjoying a delicious BBQ dinner, everyone participated in mass, celebrated by Bishop Douglas Crosby, OMI. Bishop Crosby’s homily reinforced the lessons of the day and his words echoed the need to show forgiveness toward others and to allow ourselves to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit; to be merciful and to practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in our lives.
It was truly a faith-filled day with stories and song. There was time to play and time to fo-cus on our spirituality. There was time for prayer, but also time for fun around the camp-fire. Our youth learned some very valuable les-sons that they would like to share with all of us; • We can all make a difference in the world, no matter how old we are; by simply being merciful like the Father. • Offering forgiveness and being com-passionate to the needs of others are the first steps to living a merciful life. • You don’t have to do “big things” to make a difference. A smile and a hello could bring a sense of dignity and the greatest meaning to someone’s day; • “Pay attention in an age of distraction.” There are so many distractions today. What we need to concentrate on is what really mat-ters in life (here’s a hint….It’s not the latest Facebook post!); • We all need to stop and ask ourselves this question, “who am I supposed to be”? When we answer honestly, we can truly live the life we were meant to live. GIVING CHALLENGE (CANADA HELPS) Have you heard of The Great Canadian Giv-ing Challenge? It’s a new initiative from GIV3 and CanadaHelps, the organizers of Giving-Tuesday Canada. The GCGC encourages Canadians to donate to charities in a typically low giving season, with the ultimate goal to benefit registered Canadian charities. Hap-pening all June, every dollar you donate to our charity qualifies us to win $10,000.
The challenge runs from June 1 to June 30, 2016. Making donation is easy! Just visit our parish website stlawrencehamilton.ca and fol-low “The Great Canadian Giving Challenge” link. Thank you for your support and gener-osity! CHECK US OUT ON-LINE! For information about our Parish, a list of events, and useful resources required in the preparation of sacraments, visit us at www.stlawrencehamilton.ca NIBBLES & BIDS: Loonie Toonie Auction Mark your calendar for Friday November 4th, 2016 We are now accepting donations! We are looking for Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, Gift baskets and prizes for our Auction. We are also accepting monetary donations and those wishing to advertise in our program. All funds raised will go to our Parish Building Fund. For more information or to donate, please contact Alissa at [email protected] or 905-308-1576. Tax receipts are available. GATHER TOGETHER IN ADORATION Join us every Saturday evening at 6:30pm, before our evening mass, for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. In a busy and stressful world, this is a time for you to stop and enjoy some peaceful and prayerful reflec-tion. Let us strengthen our faith with a reli-ance on prayer. PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL THOSE ON OUR PARISH SICK LIST: Richard Burns, Gilberto Pavao, Kootie Outhuston, Mike Antonick, Citalina Peireia, Maria Arruda, Colleen Danyluk, Karla Minnitt, Dan Bradley, Myrtle O’Neill, George Paris, Doug Paul, Evelyn Cartier, Baby Khloe Da-vies, Antonio Frisina
