23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time September 8, 2024

 
        
       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: [email protected] Pastor Email: [email protected]
Facebook: Catholic Church Meadow Lake
Website: https://www.meadowlakecatholicchurch.com/
Address: 504-3rd Ave. East, Meadow Lake, SK S9X 1H5  
 
  Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 146 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. Uche Umechikelu, MSP
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., Sept. 9 – No mass
 
Tues., Sept. 10 – 10:00 am Liturgy with Communion at the Lodge
 
Tues., Sept. 10 – 1:00 pm  Mass at Elders Lodge on Flying Dust
 
Tues., Sept. 10 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Thanksgiving by Swapna Abraham & Bijo Augustine

Wed., Sept. 11 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Wayne Bettcher by Ken & Margaret Alger

Thurs., Sept. 12 – 8:30 am  Adoration before mass
 
Thurs., Sept. 12 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Hana Johnson by Troy & Rita Johnson & Family

Fri., Sept. 13 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Don Sinclair by Wilfred Sinclair

Sat., Sept. 14 – 7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church) - People of God

Sun., Sept. 15 – 10:00 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - People of God

Sun., Sept. 15 – 12:30 pm (St. Jude’s Green Lake) - People of God

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

1. Adult catechism will be on Saturdays before mass  at 6:00 pm.
2. Mass at Elders Lodge on Flying Dust this Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 1:00 pm.

 
Sunday Collection – September 1:  Meadow Lake $1953.50  Green Lake $383.00  Children’s Collection $2.00
                                                 August CAFT  $2375.00
 
Sunday Church Attendance – September 1 – Adults  111   Children  13   Total  124
                                                 
The Pope’s Prayer Intention for September – for the cry of the earth – We pray that each one of us will hear and take to heart the cry of the Earth and of victims of natural disasters and climactic change, and that all will undertake to personally care for the world in which we live.
 
Please pray for Robert Chaillee whose funeral took place September 7 at 11:00 am in our church. Please remember Robert and his family in your prayers.
 
Parish Garage Sale – Our parish will be holding a garage sale on Saturday, September 21 in the Parish Hall. Donated items for the sale can be dropped off at the hall on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 19th and 20th.
 
Parish Secretary – We are still looking for a new parish secretary. The current secretary will be retiring by the end of the year at the latest. The secretary is willing to work with/train anyone interested. Please contact the office for any further information.
 
Scripture Insights – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Taken from Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2024:  The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2023, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 320.
 
 In the Gospel reading, people marvel when Jesus heals a man who can neither hear nor speak, opening his ears and loosing his tongue. Their astonishment is appropriate, since Jesus is fulfilling what the prophet Isaiah foretold: “Then will . . . the ears of the deaf be cleared . . . then the tongue of the mute will sing” (Isaiah 35:5, 6). The key to understanding the amazement in the Gospel is in Isaiah’s word then. When will these things happen? When God comes with vindication and divine recompense to save his people Israel. When they see those signs – the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak – they will know, “Here is your God!”
 Mark’s Gospel shows Jesus performing these signs and declares, “Here is your God!” Mark places Jesus in the role of Yahweh, the Savior if Israel. But there’s more. The healing occurs in the region known as the Decapolis – ten Roman cities originally settled by Greeks. It’s unclear whether the man that Jesus healed is a Jew or a Greek, but Jesus’ healing ministry in the Decapolis region hints at his mission to save not only Israel but the world.
 

• For people who have lived through trauma, who have had to survive their circumstance, it can be easy to constantly feel the need to brace for the worst, to be your own best advocate and protector. These words today from the prophet Isaiah are directed to a people who have long learned this pull to expect the worst. But with God on our side, we need only a message of reassurance: that we are not alone. Fear not.

·         Especially with increasing focus on social media, and the carefully curated outward presentation of our lives, we can get too focused on appearances. St. James reminds us that God does not judge us on our differences, but rather declares that it is the poor who will inherit the kingdom. Where does our focus lie?
Take care to not equate physical limitations with sin, or with a need to be “cured”. Those who navigate the world with differently-abled bodies are no less loved by God, and are certainly no more sinful than any one of us. Rather, focus on the need for all of us to be spiritually opened, freed from all that gets in the way of the flow of communication between God and his people. What limits our access to spirituality?