31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 31, 2021

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  
 
“I love you, O Lord, my strength.” Psalm 18 Refrain
 
October 31, 2021 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
 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 November 4 at 7:00 pm. Catholic TRC Healing Response Appeal in English and French https://www.padiocese.ca/news-articles 


All Saints Day, Monday November 1 – Mass at Our Lady of Peace Parish at 6:30 pm 
All Souls Day, Tuesday, November 2 – Mass at St. Jude’s at 12:30 and at Our Lady of Peace Parish at 6:30 pm. You are invited to write the names of your deceased loved ones on paper and bring them to the parish and place them in the basket before the altar. 
The doors to the Parish Office will be replaced on Wednesday, November 3. The Parish Office will be closed. Please make note of this on your calendars. 
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., Nov. 1 – All Saints’ Day – 6:30 pm – (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Personal Intention
Tues., Nov. 2 – All Souls’ Day – 12:30 pm – (St. Jude’s Parish, Green Lake) and 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Barry Pethick by Jane & Ed Weber
Wed., Nov. 3 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Marlene Boyer by Theresa Tourand
Thurs., Nov. 4 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - Frey Family by Geoff Frey
Fri., Nov. 5 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - Frey Family by Geoff Frey
Sat., Nov. 6 – 7:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, ML)  - Anonymous
Sun., Nov. 7 – 10 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - People of God

2022 Catholic Women’s League Membership Fees of $30 are now due.  Please drop off your payment in the collection basket in an envelope clearly marked with your name and CWL or in-person at the Parish Office Monday to Friday, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.  Note:  the office is closed on Wednesday, Nov.3, 2021.
 
Message from the Finance Council: The Finance Council met on October 20th and reviewed what has been happening in the parish since June. The following are some highlights from the meeting. Fr. Doug will be posting the job of Parish Secretary as soon as possible. The Council has begun to prepare a 5-year plan for the parish regarding maintenance and finances. This is a work in progress and will be brought to the parish for feedback and clarification.
When we reviewed our Financial Statement, we noticed that, not surprisingly, our income is down from previous years. Our expenses are also down from what was budgeted. Due to the vandalism of various Churches across the country our Insurance Premiums have increased significantly (75%). As you may have noticed, we have done a lot of work on our Church yard; work that was needed. We budgeted $3,000.00 but we have spent $10,000.00 – the bulk of the cost was for the gravel mix and the grading needed to build up the slope on the west and east sides of the Church to facilitate drainage away from the Church and for the fencing around the rectory. The costs – soil, gravel, bricks, and edging used inside the rectory yard are paid for by Father Doug.
More specifically, as of October 8, 2021, here is where we are in reference to our budget.
We had budgeted $88,700.00 total income for the year. We had budgeted total expenses of $103,700.00.
As of October 8, our total income is $77,926.50 and our total expenses are $89,350.96. Our major source of income is our Sunday donations. We budgeted income of $80,000.00 from our Sunday Envelopes and we have taken in $63,445.42 as of the beginning of October.
If anyone would like to see a detailed financial statement, please feel free to contact Fr. Doug or Pat Bencharski and make arrangements accordingly.


Regarding a donation to the Northwest Community Lodge for the furnishing of a room. As a Catholic Parish it is important that we are engaged in the life of the Community according to our ability. Many of our Elders (Family and Friends) are residents of The Lodge. As a parish we have decided to donate the money needed to furnish a room at The Lodge. The $12,000.00 we donate will provide the following: new beds with many functions to support each resident’s need, new mattresses, bed side tables, chairs, built in desk and closets in each suite. Each resident will have their own private washroom as well.
Parishioners are invited to make a donation to the parish: Make it payable to “Our Lady of Peace Parish” and indicate it is for “Furnishing a room at NCL”. When we reach $12,000.00 the parish will make a contribution to the Northwest Community Lodge Association. Your donation will be added to your envelope total and your envelope will be receipted as per usual. If you have any questions, please contact Fr. Doug or Pat Bencharski!


THE BISHOP’S ANNUAL APPEAL: “To Serve and Give His Life”:  We sometimes need to remind ourselves that God has given us all the resources, and we are but stewards of what we have been given.  The ability of the Church to be fruitful in today’s world is dependent on the willingness of the faithful to nourish the church with our gifts through such things as the Sunday collection and the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.  Please give generously as you are able.
 
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. 
 
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY:  Thank you for answering your baptismal call to witness for mission on 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).
 
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: The Second Vatican Council took place in (c) the 1960s.  This Council had a major impact on the Church as we know it today.
This week’s question:  Catechists are (a) the underground burial chambers of the early Church (b) those who teach the faith (c) those preparing to be baptized (d) categories of sins.  [p.21 #9]

Scripture Insights – 31st 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. 374.   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.
“Love God and love your neighbour” captures the essence of Jesus’ message.  Today’s First Reading contains a passage known as the Shema Israel (“Hear, O Israel,” Deuteronomy 6:4), the central statement of belief of the Jewish people. A high point in the synagogue service still today is the recitation of these words.  There is only one God, and God alone is Israel’s God.  This belief calls forth a total dedication to God with your heart, your soul, and your strength—God must be loved with our entire being.
 
A scribe (someone well trained in interpreting the Jewish Law) comes to Jesus in today’s Gospel with a question: “Which is the first of all the commandments?”
 
This was a much discussed question in Israel at that time, with two main schools of thought:  Rabbi Shammai was very strict, while Rabbi Hillel was more pastoral and taught that the whole law is summed up in the words “What you hate for yourself, do not do to your neighbour.”  Against this background the scribe wishes to see where Jesus stands.  Jesus quotes the words of the Shema Israel but goes even farther by adding a second part: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (from Leviticus 19:19).  By bringing together these two commandments, Jesus makes an important point.  While he upholds the Old Testament, he also offers a clear way of interpreting the numerous laws—through the lens of love:  love God and love your neighbour as yourself.  Jesus offers us today a path to follow in life:  love of God and love of neighbour should direct every action.  When faced with decisions in life, our first question must always be:  How does the law of love of God and neighbour influence this situation?
 
The Ten Commandments, at their core, boil down to love.  When a person loves God, he will keep the Sabbath holy and will not take the Lor4d’s name in vain.  When a person loves her neighbours, she will not steal from them or lie to them.  Each of the Ten Commandments falls under loving God and/or loving others. The Shema is a basic understanding of God that is explained in today’s reading from Deuteronomy.  The children of Israel passed down this teaching to each generation. Jesus is the one sacrifice whose salvific act is our saving.  He is both priest and lamb. When the Sadducees tried to trick Jesus into blasphemy about the most important of the commandments, he gave an answer that is the sum of the commandments and one that we still call on today; both are a prioritization of love.  


Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The following excerpt is taken from the documents produced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is taken from the History (pp 15-16) of the document entitled “What We Have Learned” and accessed at the following website: https://nctr.ca/records/reports/#trc-reports. 
​The Imperial Context:  The whole part of the residential school was a part of a bigger scheme of colonization. There was intent; the schools were there with the intent to change people, to make them like others and to make them not fit. And today, you know, we have to learn to decolonize. — Shirley Flowers, Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada43
The mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada requires it to report on “the history, purpose, operation and supervision” of Canada’s residential schools. These schools were part of a process that brought European states and Christian churches together in a complex and powerful manner. The history of the schools can be best understood in the context of this relationship between the growth of global, European-based empires and the Christian churches. Starting in the sixteenth century, European states gained control of Indigenous peoples’ lands throughout the world. It was an era of mass migration. Millions of Europeans arrived as colonial settlers in nearly every part of the world. Millions of Africans were transported in the European-led slave trade, in which coastal Africans collaborated. Traders from India and China spread throughout the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, bringing with them indentured servants whose lives were little different from those of slaves.44 The activities of explorers, farmers, prospectors, trading companies, or missionaries often set the stage for expansionary wars, the negotiation and the breaking of Treaties, attempts at cultural assimilation, and the exploitation and marginalization of the original inhabitants of the colonized lands.45 Over time, Indigenous children in places as distant from one another as East Africa, Australia, and Siberia would be separated from their parents and sent to residential schools.46
The spread of European-based empires was set in motion in the fifteenth century when the voyages of maritime explorers revealed potential sources of new wealth to the monarchs of Europe. The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and the Incas gave Spain, and ultimately all of Europe, access to the resources of North and South America. This not only enriched the Old World, but it also unleashed an unceasing wave of migration, trade, conquest, and colonization.47 It marked the beginning of the creation of a European dominated global economy. Although it was led initially by Spain and Portugal, this era of imperial expansion came to be directed by Holland, France, and, in the end, most stunningly by Britain.48
 
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 6 on pp 8-9 https://www.synod.va/en/documents/english-version-of-the-preparatory-document.html .   “6. This situation, which, despite great differences, unites the entire human family, challenges the Church’s ability to accompany individuals and communities to reread experiences of mourning and suffering that have unmasked many false certainties, and to cultivate hope and faith in the goodness of the Creator and his creation. However, we cannot hide from the fact that the Church herself must face the lack of faith and the corruption even within herself. In particular, we cannot forget the suffering experienced by minors and vulnerable people “due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.”4 We are continually challenged “as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit.”5 For too long the cry of the victims has been a cry that the Church has not been able to hear sufficiently. These are deep wounds that are difficult to heal, for which forgiveness can never be asked for enough and which constitute obstacles, sometimes imposing ones, to advancing in the direction of “journeying together.” The whole Church is called to deal with the weight of a culture imbued with clericalism that she inherits from her history, and with those forms of exercising authority on which the different types of abuse (power, economic, conscience, sexual) are grafted. It is impossible to think of “a conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active participation of all the members of God’s People:”6 Together let us ask the Lord for “the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat them.”7”
 
32nd ANNUAL MICHAEL KEENAN LECTURE, St. Thomas More College:  Save the date for the 32nd Annual Michael Keenan Lecture at St. Thomas More College with Saskatchewan author and naturalist Trevor Herriot, Thursday, November 4th, 7:30 pm. Register for in-person and live-stream options at https://bit.ly/Keenan2021STM. The topic of the lecture is “Hunger at the Banquet: A Faith and Justice Lens on Food, Land, and Colonialism on the Prairie”. 

Gift Card Scam:  The Bishop and Diocese have been targeted in a scam. The scam uses the Bishop’s name to scam gift cards.  This is not the Bishop’s email address and the Diocese does not have project going on of obtaining gift cards for persons in need. Someone is using the Bishop’s name to fraudulently gain money. Please do not respond to the email, just delete.   This is what the scam email looks like: 
 
From: Stephen Hero md@wittinglegals.org         
Date: Mon, Oct 25, 2021 at 2:31 AM
Subject: ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PRINCE ALBERT                
To:
How are you doing? Are you available at the moment? I need your assistance to handle a little project. Can you please handle this for me on behalf of the Organization?  The ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PRINCE ALBERT is requesting gift card donations to assist Veterans at hospice care welfare with patients who have been negatively impacted by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every gift helps provide resources that will stabilize a Veteran and ensure a positive upward trajectory during this critical time. I have decided to make it a personal duty and I'll be responsible for the reimbursement of cards bought. Kindly confirm if you can help out.