30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 24th

Our Lady of Peace Parish
Also Serving Our Lady of the Smile parish, Waterhen Lake and St. Jude’s Parish, Green Lake
Office Hours For Parish Secretary: Monday - Friday: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Office Hours For Fr. Doug: Tuesday - Friday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

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  

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126 Refrain
 
October 24, 2021 - 30h Sunday in Ordinary Time (World Mission Sunday)
 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:
Lorraine Thibeault
Pastoral Council Chair:
Doris Beaubien
 
In Saskatchewan, the nurses and doctors in our hospitals and Intensive Care Units continue to struggle to accommodate the sick. People we know in our communities continue to fall sick, suffer and, in some cases, die. Our average daily case rate and death rate are among the highest per capita in Canada. Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Please encourage one another to get vaccinated.  Wearing masks, sanitizing, social distancing and limiting the size of gatherings also help. Let us be safe and care for one another. Please be aware that if you HAVE NOT been vaccinated and you choose to join us for liturgy, you are EXPOSING YOURSELF TO SERIOUS RISK because of the COVID-19 virus.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, MASKS ARE REQUIRED WHEN YOU ENTER THE CHURCH and the PARISH OFFICE!
The next Songs at Seven will take place on October 28th at 7:00 pm.
Catholic TRC Healing Response Appeal in English and French  https://www.padiocese.ca/news-articles
Feel free to join us for the Rosary at 11:30, Tuesday-Friday. The Church will be open for an hour. come and pray the rosary together or alone. Please take note of the intentions for the month of October. If you do not feel comfortable gathering with others, you can pray the rosary at home for the intentions listed. Let us ask Mary to intercede for us!
God is doing something mighty among the nations, and we get to be part of it with every Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift we pack. National Collection Week (Nov. 15-21) is coming quickly.  Christmas Shoeboxes:  Contact Pat or Rhys Beaulieu at 306-236-5959 to get your shoebox to fill, or pick one up at the back of the church or come to the Parish Office during office hours (2:00 pm-4:30pm Monday through Friday.)     

Mass Intentions
When there is a funeral, the daily mass will be cancelled.  Check Facebook for the most up-to-date information.  Tuesday to Friday and Sunday the masses will be livestreamed on Facebook.
Mon., Oct. 25 - Personal Intention
Tues., Oct. 26 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Ernie Hofer by Jane & Ed Weber
Wed., Oct. 27 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Flora Lavallee by Theresa Tourand
Thurs., Oct. 28 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook - +John Weber by Jane & Ed Weber
Fri., Oct. 29 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook - +Lena Weber by Jane & Ed Weber
Sat., Oct. 30 – No mass today
Sat., Oct. 30 – 7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, ML)  - +Christopher Tourand by Theresa Tourand
Sun., Oct. 31 – 10 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - People of God
Sun., Oct. 31 - 12:30 pm (St Jude’s Church, Green Lake) - People of God
Sun. Oct. 31 – 3:00 pm (Our Lady of the Smile Church, Waterhen) - People of God
October – Rosary Project:  During October, the Our Lady of Peace Church will be open from 11:30 – 12:30 Tuesday - Friday for people to pray the rosary. Whoever gathers can decide who leads. Sanitizer will be available.  We ask those in attendance to select one person to sanitize after the gathering.  All people are invited to come (masked, social distancing).
October 23 – For educators and all who work in our schools
October 24 – In gratitude for our grandparents
October 25 – For those who suffer because of racism
October 26 – For truth and for reconciliation
October 27 – For all immigrants and refugees
October 28 – For the gifts of faith, hope and love
October 29 – For those who struggle with their mental health
October 30 – In gratitude for the founding families of our parish community
October 31 – For our parish community that we might welcome those who are most in need
 Diocesan Pastoral Council Update:  Join us on Saturday, October 30, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to noon via Zoom to attend the Diocesan Pastoral Council (DPC).  This year’s topic is the worldwide Synod called by Pope Francis to create a new springtime for the Church, a time to dream about the Church we are called to be, to bind up wounds, to weave deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges and restore strength.  Please see the Diocesan website at padiocese.ca and click on the ‘Register for the DPC’ for more information about the Synod or to register to attend the DPC from your home computer.  You may attend in person at Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake (for the Meadow Lake Cluster of Our Lady of the Smile, St. Jude and Our Lady of Peace).  If attending in person, contact the parish office at 306-236-5122  by Wed., Oct.27.    Continue to watch our bulletin for more information. 

THE BISHOP’S ANNUAL APPEAL: “To Serve and Give His Life”:  Doing the little things in life in God’s name can be a great way for us to take the steps necessary to become a better disciple.  St. Therese Lisieux once said, “You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love at which we do them.”  Please give generously to this year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal.
 
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY:  Today is World Mission Sunday and every Catholic community and parish throughout the world is involved in this special event.  It is a day when we demonstrate that we are missionaries with a role to play in spreading the message of the Gospel.  We are sent to be witnesses to the world of what we have seen and heard, through our prayer and personal sacrifices. The financial assistance you offer on World Mission Sunday, will support mission priests, religious sisters and brothers, and catechists who are Christ’s witnesses to a world in need of His love, healing and peace.  As always, your prayers are your most treasured gift to the missions.  Thank you for your prayers and donations on this World Mission Sunday.

What Are We Waiting For? Finding Meaning in Advent and Christmas. Wednesday, November 17, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.  Fr. Richard Leonard, SJ will be joining us via Zoom to help us prepare for the holy seasons of Advent and Christmas. Through a series of stories and reflections, we will be invited to reflect anew on the gospel stories heard during these days. If you want to take part in this presentation from the comfort of your own home you can do so by using the following link to REGISTER or you can join us here in the Church to watch the presentation. In this case, please contact the parish office (306-236-5122).
 
5-Week Advent Virtual Bible Study – Wednesdays - Nov. 24, Dec. 1, 8, 15, & 22 at 7:00 p.m. This bible study will begin the week following Fr. Richard Leonard’s presentation. The bible study content will be the Advent Sunday and Christmas Eve Gospels and our method will be Lectio Divina and small group sharing. Lectio Divina (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. To take part in this program from the comfort of your home, please click on the following link to REGISTER or contact the parish office (306-236-5122) if you would like to join us in the Church.
 If you have difficulty registering, please contact the Parish Office. Fr. Doug will register those who choose to gather in the Church, and he will be here for all the presentations.
 
What’s your Catholic IQ?   Last bulletin’s question and answer: Our Pope’s name is: (b) Francis.  From Wikipedia on October 19, 2021, we learn:  Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Dec.17, 1936, is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 2013. Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since Gregory III, a Syrian who reigned in the 8th century.  Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor as a young man before training to be a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe illness, he was inspired to join the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 28,  2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on  March 13. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor and commitment to interreligious dialogue. He is credited with having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors….
This week’s question:  The Second Vatican Council took place in (a) the 1760s (b) the 1860s (c) the 1960s (d) the early 2000s.

Scripture Insights – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Source Book for Sundays, Seasons and Weekdays 2021:  The Almanac for Pastoral Liturgy, LTP Liturgy Training Publications Copyright 2020, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, pg. 368.   Jesus’ departure from Jericho signals the beginning of the final journey to Jerusalem and the passion that awaits him there.  Mark takes a break from his terse writing style to describe the healing of the blind Bartimaeus in detail.
In both Old and New Testaments, blindness is often a symbol of ignorance, particularly the ignorance of unbelief and lack of insight (see Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 15:14; Romans 2:19).  The servant of the Lord was to open the eyes of the blind (see Isaiah 42:7).  Thus, healing blindness became a mark of the Messiah.
 
The story of Bartimaeus (the name in Hebrew or Aramaic means “son of Timaeus”; it is translated for the Greek-speaking audience) is the story of a simple healing by Jesus, another example of his election by God and his compassion for others.  A deeper interpretation focuses on the beggar’s shout to the “Son of David” and on his identification of Jesus as “my teacher” (Rabboni, the same word used by Mary Magdalene in John 20:16).  This suggests that the one who is blind sees more clearly than those who are sighted.  Still another emphasis can be placed on the closing line, “Immediately he received his sight and followed [Jesus] on the way.”  Coming just before the entry into Jerusalem and the passion, the story of Bartimaeus provides a sterling example of Christian discipleship. Particularly after the difficult teachings on divorce, ambition, and riches.  Finally, note the question Jesus asks: “What do you want me to do for you?”  It is the same question he asked James and John when they wanted to be placed at his right and left hand.  In both cases, the availability and vulnerability of Jesus as he awaits the answer gives some indication of the openness we must have toward others who call on us.  The faith of Bartimaeus, his willingness to speak the deepest desire of his heart, and his immediate response of following Jesus remains a constant source of inspiration for the Church.
 
Bartimaeus, blind since birth, was healed by Jesus.  After Jesus healed him, he began to follow Jesus.  Like Bartimaeus, we are called to respond to the healing Jesus offers us in our lives. When we read that Jesus healed the blind, we understand that he could control nature and change the biology of a person.  Those who were healed could go forth and live a regular life in the communities. Some blindness references a spiritual blindness or being unaware of something.  How can Jesus heal our blindness? The priesthood vocation is meant to be a life of ministry and sacrifice for Christ and for others.  
The following excerpt is taken from the documents produced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is taken from the History (pp 14-15) of the document entitled “What We Have Learned” and accessed at the following website: https://nctr.ca/records/reports/#trc-reports
 
“Students’ hearts were hardened. Rick Gilbert remembered the Williams Lake, British Columbia, school as a loveless place. “That was one thing about this school was that when you got hurt or got beat up or something, and you started crying, nobody comforted you. You just sat in the corner and cried and cried till you got tired of crying then you got up and carried on with life.”36 Nick Sibbeston, who was placed in the Fort Providence school in the Northwest Territories at the age of five, recalled it as a place where children hid their emotions. “In residential school you quickly learn that you should not cry. If you cry you’re teased, you’re shamed out, you’re even punished.”37 One former student said that during her time at the Sturgeon Landing school in Saskatchewan, she could not recall a staff member ever smiling at a child.38 Jack Anawak recalled of his time at Chesterfield Inlet, in what is now Nunavut, in the 1950s that “there was no love, there was no feelings, it was just supervisory.”39 Lydia Ross, who attended the Cross Lake school in Manitoba, said, “If you cried, if you got hurt and cried, there was no, nobody to, nobody to comfort, comfort you, nobody to put their arms.”40 Stephen Kakfwi, who attended Grollier Hall in Inuvik and Grandin College in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, said this lack of compassion affected the way students treated one another. “No hugs, nothing, no comfort. Everything that, I think, happened in the residential schools, we picked it up: we didn’t get any hugs; you ain’t going to get one out of me I’ll tell you that.”41 Victoria McIntosh said that life at the Fort Alexander, Manitoba, school taught her not to trust anyone. “You learn not to cry anymore. You just get harder. And yeah, you learn to shut down.”42
These accounts all come from statements made by former residential school students to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. These events all took place in Canada within the realm of living memory. Like previous generations of residential school children, these children were sent to what were, in most cases, badly constructed, poorly maintained, overcrowded, unsanitary fire traps. Many children were fed a substandard diet and given a substandard education and worked too hard. For far too long, they died in tragically high numbers. Discipline was harsh and unregulated; abuse was rife and unreported. It was, at best, institutionalized child neglect.
The people who built, funded, and operated the schools offered varying justifications for this destructive intrusion into the lives of Aboriginal families. Through it, they wished to turn the children into farmers and farmers’ wives. They wanted the children to abandon their Aboriginal identity and come to know the Christian god. They feared that if the children were not educated, they would be a menace to the social order of the country. Canadian politicians wished to find a cheap way out of their long-term commitments to Aboriginal people. Christian churches sought government support for their missionary efforts. The schools were part of the colonization and conversion of Aboriginal people and were intended to bring civilization and salvation to their children. These were the rationales that were used to justify making the lives of so many children so unhappy.”

DIOCESAN NEWS & BEYOND
 Synod 2021-2023 For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission: This will be a regular feature in our parish bulletin going forward. Information regarding the Synod and our involvement in it will be found here. Excerpt taken from Paragraph 5 on pp7-8 https://www.synod.va/en/documents/english-version-of-the-preparatory-document.html .   “5. A global tragedy such as the COVID-19 pandemic “momentarily revived the sense that we are a global community, all in the same boat, where one person’s problems are the problems of all. Once more we realized that no one is saved alone; we can only be saved together” (FT, no. 32). At the same time, the pandemic has also made the already existing inequalities and inequities explode: humanity seems increasingly shaken by processes of massification and fragmentation; the tragic condition faced by migrants in all regions of the world shows how high and strong the barriers dividing the single human family still are. The Encyclicals Laudato si’ and Fratelli Tutti document the depth of the fault lines that run through humanity, and we can refer to these analyses to start listening to the cry of the poor and of the earth and to recognize the seeds of hope and of the future that the Spirit continues to sow even in our time: “The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home” (LS, no. 13)”
 
Partnering with Parents for Sacramental Formation:  We often hear that parents are the first educators of the faith for their children. What does this mean? How does this change how we offer the sacramental formation sessions in our parishes? When the parents come to the sessions we offer, do we treat them like they are the first educators? What would that look like? How do I as a catechist partner with parents to support them in their role as the first educators of the faith for their children?  If these questions interest you or raise more questions that you would like to discuss, please join me on... Thursday, October 28 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Partnering with Parents for Sacramental Formation will look at some of the challenges and opportunities when journeying with parents who desire to initiate their children into the Catholic Church. This session would be of interest to those who facilitate baptism and confirmation-first Eucharist sacramental formation.  Contact Christin Taylor at the Diocesan Office 306-922-4747 Ext.227.