First Sunday of Advent December 3, 2023

 
        
       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  
 
  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Psalm 80 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., Dec. 4 – No mass
 
Tues., Dec. 5 – 10:00 am  Liturgy with Communion at the Lodge
 
Tues., Dec. 5 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - John Erick Soria by Soria Family

Wed., Dec. 6 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - +Louis & Germaine Wilfing and +Ray Wilfing by Nick & Eileen Charney

Thurs., Dec. 7 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Christine Mae Perez by Soria Family

Fri., Dec. 8 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Four Gonzales by Soria Family

Sat., Dec. 9 – 5:00 pm - (St. Jude’s, Green Lake) - People of God

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

Sun., Dec. 10 – 3:00 pm – (Our Lady of the Smile, Waterhen) - People of God

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

1.  Liturgy at the Lodge will resume December 5.
2. Advent Adult Faith Study on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 5:15 pm in the crying room.

Sunday Collection – Nov. 26:  Meadow Lake $1380.00   Green Lake – $331.00   Children’s Collection $4.00
                                               
The Pope’s Prayer Intention for December – For persons with disabilities – We pray that people living with disabilities may be at the center of attention in society, and that institutions may offer inclusive programs which value their active participation.
 
Reverse Collection – We will once again have the Reverse Collection. As you leave Mass this Sunday, pick up a few slips of paper, purchase the items on your paper and bring the items to the Church. The food will be taken to the Door of Hope just before Christmas! Thank you for your participation in this project for the needy.

​Season of Advent – Advent has a twofold nature: It prepares us for Christmas, when we recall Christ’s first coming among us, and it is also a time when we look forward to his second coming at the end of the ages. Advent is a season of joyful expectation. During Advent, each Sunday’s Gospel reading has a specific focus. The Old Testament readings, especially those taken from Isaiah, are prophecies about the Messiah and messianic times. The selections from the writings of the Apostles present exhortations and instructions on different themes of this season.             Taken from Ordo 2023 – 2024  page 13
 
A Gift of Love – All parishioners are invited to prepare Christmas cards for our shut-ins, seniors, the sick and the residents of the Lodge. Please complete 5 – 10 cards which will be distributed randomly. You can sign your name or from Our Lady of Peace Parish. Please place them in the collection basket or drop off at the office on or before Tuesday, December 19.  Thank you!
 
Simbang Gabi – Simbang Gabi originated in the early days of Spanish rule over the Philippines.  The Simbang Gabi is a unique practice of the Filipino culture. Simbang Gabi means “Night Mass”. To acknowledge the many Filipino parishioners in Our Lady of Peace, we will adjust our mass times and try to welcome a little change into our parish practice. Please note that from December 16 – 23 our daily mass schedule will be altered. Be sure to check the mass schedule for mass times. Join us this advent for Simbang Gabi and get to know a little of the Filipino culture. Everyone is welcome.
 
Bishop’s Annual Appeal
“Believe Love Share. . . In Jesus”
October 15, 2023 – December 31, 2023
Every gift is greatly appreciated!

Bishop’s Annual Appeal – If you have already sent in your pledge for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, thank you for your generosity. If you haven’t done so yet and are planning to, the Appeal Office would like to receive all pledges on or before December 31, 2023. If you have lost or misplaced your Appeal information, additional pledge cards are available from your Parish Office. Please continue to pray for the success of the 2023 Bishop’s Annual Appeal.  As of Nov. 27 our parish has 20 pledges for $5240.00. Green Lake has 1 pledge for $600.00. To date the diocese has received 780 pledges for $254,460.00.
 
Scripture Insights – First Sunday of Advent
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. 6.
 
            This First Sunday of Advent opens with a selection from the Book of Isaiah. More specifically, within these verses, we hear the plea of community members shortly after their return from exile. The rousing words of an earlier prophet who had proclaimed incredible words of hope must have seemed like false promises to the Jews, whose homeland was far from what they had envisioned it would be. In a verse that is not part of the lectionary reading, God is asked: “Why have our enemies trampled your sanctuary?” (Is 63:18).
            The brief selection from Mark reminds us that we are indeed in the season of Advent. We are told to be watchful and alert while we await the coming of Christ. Although Mark’s message was first addressed to Christians of the first century, we too are invited to actively await the kingdom of God.
                     
·         Isaiah does not mince words! “Rend”: to rip, rupture, sever. Tear apart the heavens, God. Remove anything that keeps distance between God and God’s people. What powerful imagery to convey the urgency with which we need God’s love to be close and ever closer to us. Who is calling out to us, begging us to love them with the same urgency? Who demands we remember our covenantal promises of our baptism, to carry God’s unconditional love to the ends of the earth?
·         In St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we are reminded that God is faithful. We have heard this line so many times, perhaps we take for granted what it means. In the midst of life’s constant change, our God is unchanging. But we have the gifts we need to communicate God’s unconditional love in and through each manifestation of God’s image and likeness. Where have we fallen short here? What gifts do we need to hone to better trust in God’s faithfulness and acknowledge our own need for conversion?

• Even the closest followers of Jesus could not keep this command to be watchful. Think ahead to the agony in the garden – in this most crucial hour, the disciples are found sleeping. We too are in a crucial hour: a time of cultural and socio-political shifts; a time when there are children of God brutalized, abandoned, neglected; a time when equity and equality demand that privileged people relinquish control and stature. Are we asleep? Are we apathetic to the call? Do we assume that someone else will prepare for the second coming on our behalf, or are we actively engaged in discerning what role God is asking us to play in the meantime?