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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: [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 “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” - Psalm 80 Refrain December 19, 2021 - 4th Sunday of Advent 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 serve the sick. Our case counts are going down. Let us make whatever efforts we can to keep our brothers and sisters safe. Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. Please encourage one another to get vaccinated and encourage your children 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
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., Dec. 20 – No mass - Personal Intention Tues., Dec. 21 – 6:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Louis Germain Raymond Wilfing by Nick & Elaine Charney Wed., Dec. 22 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Dave Lavallee by Theresa Tourand Thurs., Dec. 23 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - +Louis Germain Raymond Wilfing by Nick & Elaine Charney Fri., Dec. 24 – 5:00 pm (Our Lady of the Smile, Waterhen Lake) - People of God Fri. Dec. 24 – 8:00 pm (St. Jude’s, Green Lake) - People of God Fri. Dec. 24 – 10:00 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - People of God Sat., Dec. 25 – 10:00 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - Anonymous Sun., Dec. 26 – 10 am (Our Lady of Peace Church, Meadow Lake & Facebook) - People of God Sun., Dec 26 – 12:30 pm (St Jude Parish, Green Lake) - People of God Meadow Lake Council Knights of Columbus is sponsoring a “Keep Christ in Christmas” Coloring Contest. The contest is open to children in 3 age categories: ages 5-7, 8-10, and 11-14 with cash prizes in each category. Information sheets will be available at the back of the church for parents or grandparents after Saturday and Sunday Masses on Dec. 11, 12 and 18, 19. Entries are due on January 10th. For more information contact Chris at (306) 240-8872 or Kevin at (306) 240-6661. Coats for Children – The Knights of Columbus have received a request for coats for children. The Knights have purchased some coats and are asking if anyone has clean coats in good repair that could be donated. Please bring them to the Parish. The Knights will give the coats to children from Green Lake on January 10th. Thanks for your help! Christmas to New Year’s Parish Office Hours: Please note that the Parish Office will be closed Dec. 27 to Dec. 31, 2021. There will be no bulletin for Jan. 2, 2022. The office will reopen on January 3, 2022. Have a joyful Christmas season. For emergencies such as serious illness and death, please call Fr. Doug at 306-304-7271 Sunday Collection – Sunday, Dec 12th: Our Lady of Peace Parish: $1,180.85; St. Jude’s Parish: $122.00 Our Lady of Peace Parish Reverse Collection – Not too late to bring your contributions to the Parish! We will be taking our non-perishable food to the Door of Hope on December 19th! Thank you for your generosity! Furnishing a Room in the Northwest Community Lodge. As a Catholic Parish, it is important that we are engaged in the life of the community. Many of our Elders (family and friends) are residents of The Lodge. Our parish, we will donate $12,00.00 to furnish a room which will include new beds with many functions to support each resident’s needs, new mattresses, bed side tables, chairs, built-in desk, private washroom and closets in each suite. Parishioners can donate (cheques made payable to “Our Lady of Peace Parish” indicating it is for “Furnishing a Room at NCL”. To date, we have collected $9,355.00. When we reach $12,000.00, the parish will pass this on to the Northwest Community Lodge Association. Donations will be added to your envelope total. Your donation will be receipted as per usual. Questions - contact Fr. Doug or Pat Bencharski! THE BISHOP’S ANNUAL APPEAL: “To Serve and Give His Life”: The Bishop’s Annual Appeal budgets money in the area of Social Justice to feed the hungry. Your gift goes a long way in this Corporal Work of Mercy. Thank you for your generosity. The Appeal Office would like to have all pledges before Dec. 31, 2021. How are we doing? The goal for Our Lady of Peace Parish is $16,417. As of November 29, 2021, we have received pledges amounting to $13,694.00. The goal for St. Jude’s Parish is $1,228.00, and we have received pledges amounting to $700.00. The Diocesan goal is $450,000, and it has received pledges in the amount of $336,312.19 with 1011 donors. Evangelizing the Parish Through the Season: 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. 4. If Lent is often boiled down to a season of “emptying,” then Advent, in contrast, is a season of “filling up.” Every year, candle by candle, we get excited for the end of the season and the coming of our Saviour in that all too familiar manger in Bethlehem, but by fixing our eyes merely on the end of the season and the fulfilment that will come as had been told by prophets of old, we miss the filling that can happen in the weeks that lead to the baby in the manger. Take the time during Advent to fill yourself and your community. In this season of “hurry up and wait,” fill the waiting with growth, relationships, and readiness and be formed by the season. Advent is about waiting and getting comfortable in that feeling—it isn’t about rushing it by. Treat yourself and your community by taking an Advent “chill pill” and slip into the ebb and flow of this short and powerful season. As Christian disciples, it’s our mission and our responsibility to rediscover the joy, love, hope, and peace of Advent. Like John the Baptist, we have to see how God is already in our midst. Advent reminds us that God never abandons his people. He is with us in our struggles. He is there to give us the strength and courage to persevere. Scripture reveals many prophets and witnesses to God’s salvation this season. Isaiah testifies to this truth of God’s enduring presence. He saw the power of God leading his people out of captivity to rebuild their nation. Mary is a witness to the truth of God’s presence as she watched her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, work miracles and all sorts of wonders for the poor and lowly. Paul is a witness to this as he went about the Mediterranean world evangelizing others about the power of Christ to set people free from their sins. John the Baptist is a witness to this as he cried out in the desert to prepare the way of the Lord. And so, can we add our names, or the name of our parish, to this list of witnesses? Are you willing to testify to what God has done in your life and share your story of discipleship rooted in joy, peace, hope, and love? We must add our voices to theirs by proclaiming the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ to others. And the best way to do that is by sharing with other people the wonderful things God has done for us. John admitted he was just a voice crying in the wilderness; his message was simply that the people should make straight the way of the Lord. As Isaiah tells us, we have been anointed and appointed for a special mission, and the spirit of the Lord fills this holy place. We are called to be like John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord. Paul says we must “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). Rejoice always, for the Lord is coming! Are you ready? Have you prepared the path to your heart? Are you willing to praise him without ceasing? Like Isaiah, do you believe that God can set us free and make things new? Like Mary, can you see God at work in every moment of your life? Like Paul, do you know that God can do the impossible? And like John the Baptist, are you ready to prepare a way for the Lord in this world? Rejoice and be glad; rejoice and be glad, for our Saviour is coming—and he’s coming soon! Take the time this Advent to fill up! Scripture Insights – Fourth Sunday of Advent – 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. 26. As the Church’s celebration of Christ’s coming in history draws near, our Scriptures once again speak in the voice of a prophet, who speaks God’s Word. The prophet and his message are especially appropriate in relation to Luke, whose account of the Good News we read this liturgical year. Luke, a Greek, wrote for a Gentile Christian community from the nations, a group the Old Testament commonly assumed to lie outside the realm of God’s saving activity. This Gentile evangelist therefore presents Christ as Saviour for all people, especially those normally viewed and treated as marginalized or outcast, including the poor and the sick, women, sinners, and Gentiles. It is appropriate, then, that the first reading comes from Micah, described as one of the minor prophets. Micah looks forward to a future king who will be true to the Israelite ideal of leadership: one who rules like God, in the power of God. Further, Micah envisions this true shepherd’s work as bringing peace to all, reaching “to the ends of the earth” (5:3). Strangely, this great ruler’s origin will lie in a tiny town and insignificant clan. Micah, well aware that Israelite tradition considered Bethlehem the home of King David, offers a theme common in the Old Testament: God can, and often does, use the smallest, even the most despised, to fulfill the divine plan for salvation. Luke presents a similar motif: his two major figures are women, who enjoyed little power or status in the patriarchal culture of the first century. Even more unlikely, a young woman pregnant by far-from-normal means meets an old woman pregnant in similarly “impossible” fashion (Lk 1:37). Yet both rejoice in God’s Spirit at work in them for the salvation of all.
Synod 2021 - 2023 – Please pray for the success of our Synod. The Synod Committee of Our Lady of Peace Parish is continuing to meet and develop a plan as to how the Synod will unfold in our parish. On Sunday, January 9th Fr. Doug will give a presentation at mass on the Synod. Please mark your calendars. You can follow the diocesan Synod plans at https://www.padiocese.ca/synod2023 where you can view Bishop Hero's presentation about the Synod given on October 30 and the opening Mass for the diocesan synodal journey on November 8, 2020. This page will be updated as more of the diocesan plans unfold. Advent/Christmas Schedule (This schedule is subject to change depending on Covid-19 regulations.) Reconciliation: Opportunities for confessions as follows: December 21 - from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm in Meadow Lake December 22 - from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm in Meadow Lake This year during the Christmas Season, the Eucharist will be celebrated in our faith communities as follows: Friday, December 24 - at 5:00 pm in Waterhen Lake Friday, December 24 - at 8:00 pm in Green Lake Friday, December 24 - at 10:00 pm in Meadow Lake (Live-streamed Facebook) Saturday, December 25 - at 10:00 am in Meadow Lake (Live-streamed Facebook) During the week after Christmas Tuesday, December 28, 6:30 pm in Meadow Lake Church (Live-streamed Facebook) Wednesday, December 29, 6:30 pm in Meadow Lake Church (Live-streamed Facebook) Thursday, December 30, 6:30 pm in Meadow Lake Church (Live-streamed Facebook) Friday, December 31, 6:30 pm in Meadow Lake Church with Holy Hour (Live-streamed Facebook) Saturday, January 1, 10:00 am in Meadow Lake Church (Live-streamed Facebook) DIOCESAN NEWS & BEYOND Canadian Bishops, Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Council, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami provide an update on Delegation to Rome – Dec. 7, 2021 English - Joint Statement - Delegation Update Advent Resources for Adults: There are many options for adults who wish to enter more deeply into their Advent journey. Our challenge is making the time. Some of the suggestions on the Advent Resources for Adults page will take as little as 15 minutes a day to read and reflect upon; whereas others like the Pray More Advent Retreat will take a bit more time. Have a look and make choices that will help you! Advent Resources for Young Adults: Though the message is the same, all the generations speak a different language and have a different way of understanding things. The resources on the Advent Resources for Young Adults page have been selected to speak to those of the millennial and Gen Z generations ... those between the ages of 19 and 39. The video at the top of our page is from Fr. Mike Schmitz. Clicking and watching this video on YouTube will lead you to many more by Fr. Mike. Other items on the page include an Advent calendar and articles drawn from Busted Halo and a retreat by Mike Patin. Advent Resources for Families: There are many resources available to families to support them in bringing the Advent journey to life in their home. This 8-minute presentation, Great Family Activities for Advent, from Ascension Presents offers parents the best advice. Pick one or two. There are numerous resources for families from calendars, to videos, to activities, and Catholic traditions such as the Jesse Tree. We have also reposted last year`s weekly Advent activities done by catechists throughout our Diocese because of the many positive comments we had received. To find links to these resources, go to the Advent Resources for Families page. What’s your Catholic IQ? Last bulletin’s question and answer: Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because (c) there was no room in the inn. Bethlehem was crowded because the emperor had ordered people to register in their hometowns. There wasn’t any room in the inn, so Mary and Joseph stayed in a stable and laid Jesus in a manger, a food box for animals. That’s how humble the birthplace o0f Jesus was. This week’s question: Jesus was born in (a) Bethlehem (b) Jerusalem (c) Damascus (d) Corinth. [pg. 5; #11]
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Parish BulletinThis bulletin is prepared by the Parish Secretary and the Pastor Archives
September 2024
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