15th Sunday of Ordinary Time July 16, 2023

         
       Our Lady of Peace Parish
Also Serving Our Lady of the Smile parish, Waterhen Lake and
St. Jude’s Parish, Green Lake

Office Hours: Closed Monday
Tuesday - Friday 1-4:00 pm
Office Phone:  306-236-5122 
Cell Phone: 306-304-7271

Parish Email: olpsecretary2023@gmail.com Pastor Email: olpmlpastor@gmail.com
Facebook: Catholic Church Meadow Lake
Website: https://www.meadowlakecatholicchurch.com/
Address: 504-3rd Ave. East, Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1H5  
 
  The seed that fell on good soil produced a hundredfold.
Psalm 65 Refrain
 
Our Vision:
A Community of Disciples
Our Mission
We commit to form disciples
who joyfully and faithfully
live out the mission of
Jesus Christ
by enriching our relationship
with God and neighbour
through the intercession of
Our Lady of Peace.
Pastor: 
Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI
Parish Secretary:
Pat Bencharski
 
Masses
Intentions

When there is a funeral, the daily mass will normally be cancelled.  Check Facebook for the most up-to-date information.  On Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday, Our Lady of Peace masses will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Mon., July 17 – No mass
 
Tues., July 18 – 10:00 am Liturgy with Communion at the Lodge
 
Tues., July 18 – No mass    
 
Wed., July 19 – No mass  
 
Thurs., July 20 – No mass   
 
Fri., July 21 – 9:30 am  (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook)  -Anonymous

Sat., July 22 – 5:00 pm - (St. Jude’s, Green Lake) - People of God

Sun., July 23 – 10:00 am – (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - People of God

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

1. We will have prayers for Edward Michel this Sunday evening at 7:00 PM and the funeral will be held Monday, July 17 at 1:00 PM. Please remember Edward and his family in your prayers.
2.  Join us next Sunday after mass for a farewell brunch for Father Doug in the Parish Hall.  The Knights will provide hamburgers, hot dogs and buns. Parishioners are asked to bring potluck salads and desserts.

 Sunday Collection – July 9:  Meadow Lake $1555.50      Green Lake – $77.05
                                                 Children’s Collection $7.50              
                                               
The Pope’s Prayer Intention for July – For a Eucharistic life – We pray that Catholics may place the celebration of the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, transforming human relationships in a very deep way and opening to the encounter with God and all their brothers and sisters.
 
Purchase of Our Lady of Peace Statue – If you would like to make a donation to help cover the cost of the purchase of the Statue of Our Lady of Peace, please drop your donation into an envelope with the word STATUE on the envelope or on the memo line of your cheque. Please note your name and/or envelope number so you can receive credit for your donation. Thanks in advance for your generosity. The Statue was ordered and should arrive in approximately 10-12 weeks! So far, $2650.00 has been donated to cover the cost of the Statue.
 
THE THIRD WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY 
The third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated this year on Sunday, 23 July 2023. Pope Francis inaugurated this World Day to be celebrated by the universal Church each July, either on or near the liturgical Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus, to help “treasure the spiritual and human wealth that has been handed down from generation to generation”.
 
Pope Francis’ chosen theme for this year’s World Day is “His mercy is from age to age” (Lk 1:50), raising the relational interconnection between the old and the young. The theme is especially fitting in light of the upcoming World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, which will take place from 1-6 August 2023.
 
Scripture Insights – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Taken from Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2023:  The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2022, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 274.
 
            Today’s readings use farming images to teach about God’s powerful Word and about our receptiveness to that Word.
             The first reading is part of an oracle, a prophetic message of consolation intended for the people of Judah as they suffered in the Babylonian exile. God’s Word is gentle like the rain, the prophet says, and as effective as the watered earth, which gives life to seeds and produces food for the hungry.
            In the second reading, Paul uses creation and birthing imagery to talk about the glory that awaits us in the life to come. His argument is difficult to follow, in part because of some grammatical problems with the text, but also because he is referring to the Adam and Eve story from Genesis. Paul is saying that God’s cursing of the ground as a result of Adam’s sin (see Gn 3:17) is a reason for hope, not despair. Creation as we know it is like a woman in labor who is about to give birth, and the baptized are the first fruits of the harvest offered to God as a pledge that all of creation will one day be redeemed.
            The Gospel reminds us that the fruitfulness of the earth and our own lives should not be taken for granted. Matthew describes Jesus as teaching a parable about planting seeds. A parable is a true-to-life symbolic story that surprises its hearers with its message. Everyone in Jesus’ time would have known about the challenges of farming. But the surprising thing is that the good soil – those who hear God’s Word and act on it – produces a harvest so abundant that it would have been impossible in the ancient world and still today.
                         

• God’s Word bears fruit in abundance all around us. Signs of life abound. Let us go forth this week with open eyes, ears, and hearts to the many places in our lives, in the Church, and in the world where God’s Word is taking root and already bearing the fruit of hope to be fully realized in the future.
• What do I need to do to become fertile soil for God’s Word as I enter this week? Consider a small change so your ears and hearts might be more fertile ground for the seed of God’s Word.
• Jesus id the fulfillment of God’s Word. He lived God’s will in his life. He himself is God’s Word made flesh. God plants his Word inside each of us and calls us to live out his will for the Word in our lives. Through us, God’s Word nourishes and sustains others and brings hope to all of creation.

 
DIOCESAN NEWS & BEYOND
Fr. Doug’s Contact Information Effective July 24th and following:
Phone:            (306) 480 2536                        Email:             2014dougswork@gmail.com
Address:          Doug Jeffrey, OMI
                        c/o St. Philip Neri Parish
                        1902 Monroe Ave
                        Saskatoon, SK S7J 1R8
 
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SHRINE
Plan to attend the August Pilgrimage at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, St. Laurent,
SK (northeast of Duck Lake) which will be held on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven – Tuesday, August 15th.
Adoration, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reconciliation: 6:30 pm, Marian Prayer and Rosary 7:00 pm, Celebration of Eucharist and Candlelight Procession 8:00 pm.