Third Sunday of Lent March 3, 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  
 
 Lord, you have the words of eternal life.
Psalm 19 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., Mar. 4 – No mass
 
Tues., Mar. 5 – 10:00 am  Liturgy with Communion at the Lodge
 
Tues., Mar 5 – 1:00 pm Mass at Elders Lodge Flying Dust
 
Tues., Mar. 5 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Anonymous

Wed., Mar. 6 – 6:30 pm (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Anonymous

Thurs., Mar. 7 – 8:30 – 9:30 am Exposition/Adoration before mass
Thurs., Mar. 7 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Anonymous

Fri., Mar. 8 – 9:30 am (Our Lady of Peace Church & Facebook) - Anonymous

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

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

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

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH

1. The secretary will be back in the office Tuesday, March 5.
2. The Way of the Cross  this Friday, Mar. 8 at 6:30 pm

Sunday Collection – Feb. 25:  Meadow Lake $1834.00   Green Lake $102.35    Children’s Collection $8.55
                                               
The Pope’s Prayer Intention for March – for the new martyrs – We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.
 
40 Cans for Lent – The Meadow Lake Knights of Columbus are sponsoring 40 Cans for Lent for food to be donated to the Door of Hope. Unfortunately there are still families and individuals in Meadow Lake and surrounding area that depend on the Door of Hope to supplement their food requirements. To help meet this need, the Knights of Columbus are asking the members of the parish to once again support 40 Cans for Lent. Each day of Lent, one can will be placed in the cross. We are asking families to bring nonperishable food each week of Lent. Thank you.
 
The Way of the Cross – Please join us on Friday evenings for the Way of the Cross. We will gather at 6:30 pm in the Church to pray with Jesus as he makes his way to Calvary.
 
Lent/Easter Retreat – Mark your calendars for a retreat by Fr. Uche. The dates are Thursday and Friday,  March 14 and 15 starting with mass at 6:30 pm each evening.  A spiritual retreat for Spiritual Growth and Healing focusing on the Seven Sacraments.
 
Easter Reconciliation – There will be opportunity for confession on Thursday, March 21 at 6:30 (Penitential Service) with additional priests available. Fr. Uche will also be available March 22 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. He is also available to anyone by appointment.
 
Scripture Insights – Third Sunday of Lent
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. 114.
 
 Even people who have little familiarity with Judeo-Christian beliefs are well acquainted with the reading from Exodus of the giving of the Ten Commandments, also called the Decalogue. While these commands may be quite familiar to us, it is essential to recognize that they were delivered within the context of God entering into a covenant relationship with Israel. To be God’s treasured possession, Israel must follow the behaviors specified in the words of the Commandments. To be in close relationship with God requires that Israel assume responsibilities toward its neighbor.
            Psalm 19 is a song of praise for God’s Torah, or “instruction.” Far different from the North American mentality that views Torah as “law” in a restrictive sense, today’s psalm expresses quite clearly how Israel understood God’s instruction as a guide for living well. Thus, the psalmist can speak of God’s Torah as being sweeter than “honey from a comb.”
            Within the first two chapters of John’s Gospel, readers learn Jesus’ identity, see him perform his first sign at the wedding celebration in Cana, and hear him confront the religious authorities in the temple in Jerusalem. The most obvious focus in today’s reading is Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, followed by reference to his impending  death and resurrection. Looking carefully at the passage, though, we see that the last verses turn attention to the people who had begun “to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all.” The reading is clear that a reciprocal relationship between Jesus and true believers exists. It is implied that some people were beginning to follow Jesus because they were interested in seeing great works, not because they trusted in him.
                    
·         Sometimes reading a list of rules and regulations can make us wonder what events might have created need for the rule in the first place. “Do not steal.” Was there a lot of theft? Did this commandment help curb theft? Rather than imagining a list of demands to create a cookie-cutter society, these rules are about relationships with God and with God’s people. What is getting in the way of good relationship? How might these commandments be worded were they created in the context of today?
·         What a mystery it is that God came to us as a human – to suffer as we suffer, to taste mortality. And yet this is perhaps the most powerful of God’s gifts of self: to show us, as humans, how to live well, how to die well, how to place our hope in that which we cannot see. Do we believe this?
·         Being fully human means knowing the fullness of human emotion. In today’s Gospel, Christ is angry. His encounter with such a display of commercialism in the holiest of places frustrates and offends this man who is preparing to give over his life for these people. Righteous anger is holy. It is a fully human, fully sacred expression when we encounter that which keeps us from God. What are we using our righteous anger for now? Who are the voices carrying holy rage in our midst? Who suffers when we hide the emotions that might displease some people?