1st Sunday of Lent - March 6, 2022

​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 9 am-12:00; Wednesday - Friday 10am—12:00 and 1pm-4:30
Office Phone:  306-236-5122 
Cell Phone: 306-304-7271

Parish Email: olpsecretary@sasktel.net Pastor Email: olpmlpastor@sasktel.net
Facebook: Catholic Church Meadow Lake
Website: https://www.meadowlakecatholicchurch.com/
Address: 504-3rd Ave. East, Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1H5  

“Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” Psalm 91 Refrain
 
March 6, 2022 - First Sunday of Lent
 
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:
 
Pastoral Council Chair:
Doris Beaubien
 

SaskHealth reminds us that all citizens age 5 & older are eligible to receive a Covid19 vaccine and that booster doses of the Covid19 vaccine are available. Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Please encourage one another, including your children, to get vaccinated.  Wearing masks, sanitizing, social distancing and limiting the size of our gatherings also help. Despite our fatigue of COVID and restrictions, the virus has not gone away. Our case count and the number of deaths remain very high. Let us be safe and care for one another.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
 

1. Effective March 1, MASKS are NO LONGER REQUIRED when you enter the Church and the Parish Office!

1. The next Songs at Seven will take place March 10, 2022 at 7 p.m.

 

1. Please exercise caution when you come to the Parish Office/Church as our parking area has a lot of ice.

 

1. 40 Cans for Lent:  The Knights of Columbus are once again inviting us to think about our neighbour. Our ‘40 Cans for Lent’ project began Ash Wednesday. Each household is asked to contribute one can for each day of Lent – hence 40 cans for Lent. The contributions from our households will be taken to the Door of Hope at Easter. Please bring cans of fruit, vegetables, soups, beans, chili, fish, or stew or anything else that is non-perishable. Let us be mindful of what we have and let us be mindful of the needs of our brothers and sisters. Let us make this the most generous “40 Cans for Lent” project ever!

 

1. The Gospel of St. Luke – This year each Sunday we will be listening to the Gospel of St. Luke. Beginning Wednesday, March 16th, I will present the first of four one-hour sessions on the Gospel – looking at its structure and themes. If you would like to understand the Gospel of St. Luke a little better, please join me for this presentation which will be on Facebook at 7:30 pm.

 
Mass Intentions

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

Mon., March 7 – No mass - Personal Intention

Tues., March 8 – Funeral Liturgy - Tavin Bear - No parish mass

Wed., March 9 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Beatrice Belanger by Florence Morin

Thurs., March 10 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Wilfred Morin by Florence Morin

Fri., March 11 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Wanda Glasser by Florence Morin

Sat., March 12 – 7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake) - +Vanessa Beaumont by Florence Morin

Sun., March 13 – 10 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - People of God

Sun., March 13 – 12:30 pm (St Jude Parish, Green Lake) - People of God

Sun., March 13 – 3:00 pm (Our Lady of the Smile Parish, Waterhen Lake) - People of God

 
Lifting of Covid-19 Restrictions: On February 22, I received a letter from Bishop Stephen Hero, offering guidance following the lifting of restrictions by the Saskatchewan government on February 28. The letter can be seen on the Diocesan website. I am also aware of the comments made by Dr. Gavin Van de Venter, chief of staff at the Meadow Lake Hospital in the Northern Pride. Dr. Van de Venter reminds us that just over 60% of the people in our area are vaccinated.
We began our implementation of the changes on March 1st, and they will shape how we gather as a community in our Meadow Lake Cluster:

1. During the pandemic, by a special dispensation from the Bishop, people were not obliged to take part physically in the Sunday Eucharist. Our commitment to the faith community was satisfied by our participation in the virtual celebrations. Going forward, barring any illness or physical impediments we are obliged to gather with the members of our faith community to hear God’s Word, to receive the Body of Christ and to pray together as God’s people – asking God for help and praising God for all that is. Our obligation to take part in the Sunday celebration begins with our celebrations for the First Sunday of Lent. We will continue to live-stream our liturgies not only for our community members who cannot join us, but for all who are unable to physically take part in the Sunday celebration.
2. While we are no longer required to wear masks, the virus has not gone away. The latest numbers released by the Saskatchewan Government indicate that the number of people in hospital remains very high. In addition, February is on track as one of the worst months for deaths due to Covid-19. I encourage you to wear masks if you can, to minimize the spread of the virus and to safeguard the health and well-being of our brothers and sisters in faith.
3. When you come to the Parish Office, wearing a mask is your choice. For the time being I will continue to welcome you while wearing a mask.
4. For our liturgical celebrations:
   1. At Our Lady of Peace, the pews on the west side of the Church will remain as is, for the comfort of those people who are concerned about their health and well-being, and for those with mobility issues. I will take Communion to them. The remainder of the Church is open for people to sit as they would like. At St. Jude’s and at Our Lady of the Smile we will provide space for those who feel a need to continue to social distance.
   2. We will continue with our sanitizing practices – hands, spaces etc.
   3. We will have music/singing throughout the liturgy.
   4. Holy Water will be in the fonts. Feel free to use it or not. I will be adding a teaspoon of bleach to the water to minimize the transmission of bacteria.
   5. We will have processions: at the beginning of mass, at the Gospel, at communion and at the end of mass.
   6. I will wear a mask during the liturgical processions (except the Gospel Procession) and during the Preparation of the Gifts and the proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer.
   7. The Sunday collection will continue as is. The gifts of bread and wine will not be brought up in procession.
   8. At the Sign of Peace, we will greet one another with a word or gesture (a wave or bow).
   9. Both myself and the Extra-Ordinary Minister of Communion will sanitize our hands prior to the distribution of Communion, and we will wear masks during the distribution of Communion.
   10. Only the Body of Christ will be offered during the Communion Rite and only in the hand.
   11. During the Holy Thursday Liturgy, we will not have the Washing of the Feet.
   12. During the Good Friday Liturgy, the faithful are asked to bow or genuflect before the cross. Touching the cross is not encouraged.

 
WINTERFUN DAY Weather permitting (-15 or warmer), we will have our parish winter celebration on Sunday, March 6th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the parking lot of Our Lady of Peace Parish. Bring your kids and grandkids! Connect and re-connect with parishioners you have not seen for a while! Games, music, hot dogs, marshmallows, fire, hot chocolate, lots of snow and wonderful people! The Parish Hall will be open for those who prefer winter indoors!

Synod 2021-2023 Information:  Please return your survey questionnaires by March 6th. The committee will gather the information and prepare a synthesis which will be given out to everyone so that we can ‘hear’ what others are saying. The synthesis will also be forwarded to the Diocese as our contribution. We want to hear from you! Please know that you matter, and we would like to make space for you!  You can follow the diocesan Synod plans here: https://www.padiocese.ca/synod2023.

Other Upcoming Synod Zoom Sessions available at the Diocesan Level:
· Main Synod Questions (Belonging/Listening/Speaking Out) – March 9th REGISTER HERE
· Missionary Disciples (Sharing Responsibility) – March 23rd REGISTER HERE
 
Green Lake News about the Synod: Could you please return your completed forms to Fr. Doug by March 6th at the latest! Thanks!
 
Aid to the Ukraine: Here are two possible ways to assist the people of the Ukraine: Development and Peace -https://www.devp.org/en/campaign/people-planet-first/share-lent/ Open link and click the “Donate” button
 
MAMI (Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate) - Ukrainian Oblates give shelter to people in their houses. In Ukraine there are about 30 Oblates in 9 houses, serving areas such as Kyiv, Rokitne, L’viv, Tyvriv and Chernihiv who have been providing us with regular updates. Thousands of refugees from Ukraine have fled to Poland where the Oblates there have opened their houses and churches to shelter the people. Parishioners and others who were not able to evacuate have also taken refuge in the basements of Oblate parishes in Ukraine.
See short video of the reality in an Oblate house sheltering families - Published on Wednesday 2 March 2022
https://www.omiworld.org/2022/03/02/ukrainian-oblates-give-shelter-to-people-in-their-houses/
If you want to support Ukraine through the Oblates send through MAMI. 
You can donate on-line through our website: www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations; 
E-transfer to lacombemami@sasktel.net;
Call our office directly 1-866-432-6264; or 
Send cheque payable to AMMI Lacombe Canada MAMI and mail to 601 Taylor Street West, Saskatoon, SK S7M 0C9. Income tax receipts are available for all donations.
 
Let us keep the Ukrainian Nation in our hearts and prayers as they undergo this cruel oppression. Fr. Ken OMI

Sunday Collection – Feb. 27:  Our Lady of Peace:  $3,151.53; St. Jude Parish: $41.00

LENT – The Meaning of the Season: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with two possible abjurations: to “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return,” or to “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” These are the formulas that may be used during the reception of ashes as the minister places the ash on the forehead of the penitent. It is crucial to understand this aspect of Lent: no meaning can be derived from the season of conversion without a true understanding and confrontation of the nature of the participants, a people embarked on a journey toward holiness, but a people, nonetheless, marked by sin and failure. The placing of the ashes on the forehead is an enactment of our fallen reality. (This was more literally an enactment in the early Church in certain regions of the world when, after receiving their ashes, penitents were ejected from the church for the duration of Lent, as Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden.) You are dust; the solution to your state is to repent and believe in the Gospel.
The Lectionary readings reiterate this. During this phase—until Sunday of week 3—the readings speak of temptation and faithfulness, gluttony and fasting; of transfiguration, repentance, and punishment; of cultivating good fruit and cutting out the barren; of thirst and longings that are not slaked by water. Within each of us resides that longing. Like the people in these Gospels, we are restless, seekers, longing for something we struggle to identify. The self-examination and disciplines of Lent encourage us to track that restlessness to its source. This feeling of desire and searching has been poignantly characterized by St. Augustine in his Confessions: “My heart is restless until it rests in you, O God.” The point of our Lenten practices is not to congratulate ourselves on how holy we are becoming; rather, they are to help us see that true peace resides not in us but in God. Taken from Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2022:  The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2020, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 110
 
First Sunday of Lent:  Taken from Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2022:  The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2020, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 118
At Jesus’ baptism, God declared him “beloved Son” (Lk 3:22), filled with the Holy Spirit. In today’s Gospel, that same Spirit tests Jesus, subjecting the divine Son to a completely human experience: temptation. Like Israel, repeatedly called “God’s son” in the Old Testament, Jesus is led into the desert. For Jesus’ contemporaries, the wilderness served a dual purpose; there one might encounter temptation; there one might encounter God.
            The first reading demonstrates both realities. Moses recalls the testing that Israel experienced in the long desert trek, but also God’s abiding presence, revealed in “signs and wonders’ (Dt 26:8). Moses then makes a fitting response to the God who guarded Israel in the wilderness: he offers grateful praise and adoration.
            In his desert experience, Jesus too undergoes testing, facing subtle but repeated temptation. He has been assured of divine approval, favor and presence. Should he use his status as “beloved Son” to his own advantage? Go ahead, the tempter seems to say; use the divine power within you to turn stones to bread, never hunger again, and amaze others with your abilities!
When Jesus relies on the One who truly feeds him, the tempter tries again: if you won’t use your exalted position to your own advantage, then turn your allegiance away from God, toward me! Like Moses, Jesus knows the better way: I serve and worship God alone, the one power greater than evil. In a third attempt, the tempter tests God’s own Word and Jesus’ identity as Son of God. In reply, Jesus banishes the tempter and amply proves himself to be “Son” by obedient reliance on God. The evil one “departed…for a time” (Lk 4:13); Luke notes that even the Son of God will endure continued testing.
 
DIOCESAN NEWS & BEYOND
 
Living the Lord’s Prayer – a Lenten Retreat offered by Bishop Stephen Hero at St. James’ Parish, Albertville, SK on March 8 & 9. Mass is celebrated at 7:00 pm with Bishop’s talk to follow. Livestreaming is available at the Diocesan Facebook page.
 
Journey through Lent Virtual Opportunities for Adults and Families
This year’s Virtual Lenten Bible Study will focus on the Passion reading from Palm Sunday, Apr 10, 2022 (Luke 22.14-23.56). The reading will be reflected on over the six Thursdays from Mar 3 until Apr 7 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. each week.

The evening will begin with Lectio Divina, followed by small group sharing on the reading. These are stand-alone sessions, so if you cannot attend them all but would like to attend a few of them, that would be fine.

Lectio Divina (Latin for “Divine Reading”) is a traditional monastic practice of reading Scripture to promote communion with God and increase knowledge of God’s word. The chosen reading is listened to four times from four different stances: Lectio (Read), Meditatio (Reflect - Think), Oratio (Respond - Pray), and Contemplatio (Rest - Remain in God’s presence).

Family Faith Formation at Home – Video’s will appear on Facebook : A ten-part video series based on the book, Benjamin’s Box, follows Jesus’ way of the cross through a little boy’s eyes. Each clip in this series, created by local catechists, offers a 15–30-minute session, which contains a short reading from the story Benjamin’s Box followed by a Scripture reading, a craft, a challenge, and a prayer. The series can be viewed on Sundays beginning Feb 27 and concluding during the Easter weekend on the  RC Diocese of Prince Albert: Evangelization and Catechesis Facebook page and later on Mondays on the Evangelization and Catechesis webpage on the RC Diocese of PA website. By the end of the series, children with their families will have heard the Easter story and collected items symbolizing key moments of Jesus’ experience during his last days:
If you would like to purchase a copy of the book Benjamin’s Box, contact our Resource Centre at 306-922-4747 extension 229. For the craft supply list go to https://www.padiocese.ca/family-lenten-resources

Here is the video schedule:
Sundays during Lent - March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 3 and 10. Holy Thursday - Apr 14; Good Friday - Apr 15; Easter Sunday - Apr 17
These events are possible due to the generosity of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal supporters. A heartfelt thank you to all who donate.