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St. Paul Roman Catholic Parish Fort McMurray
480 Signal Road, Fort McMurray, AB T9H 4R7
780-791-4305; ; Fax: 587-258-6898 Visit us: Website at www.stpaulparishwb.com
Email: [email protected]
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Parish Staff
Pastor
Fr. Reddy [email protected]
Assistant Pastor
Fr. Jestoni Porras [email protected]
Bro. Jayson [email protected]
Parish Secretary: Janet Alipio [email protected]
Liturgy Schedule Monday-Thursday
Rosary & Mass 8:40 am Friday Mass & Adoration 7pm
Weekend Masses
Saturday 7:00 pm Sunday 9 am & 11 am
RCIA- Every Wednesday at 7pm at St. Paul’s Church
THANK YOU for your donation made to St. Paul Parish. March 3rd and 4th, 2018 General collections
$12,674.
Lent & Easter 2018
All the Lent Fridays there will be Way of the Cross @ 7:00pm followed by Mass
March 15th- Lent Reconciliation @ 7:00 pm
March 25th- Palm Sunday—Lord’s Passion
March 27th- Chrism Mass @ 7:00 pm (St. Paul Cathedral, St. Paul AB)
March 29th– Holy Thursday– Lord’s Supper @ 7:00pm
March 30th– Good Friday ( Day of Fasting) - Outdoor way of the Cross begins
- at Fr. Mercredi High School @ 1pm -Passion of the Lord @ 3:00pm in the Church
March 30th- stay awake with the Crucified Lord at His tomb 11:00pm-6:00am
March 31st- Easter Vigil Mass @ 9:00pm
April 1st– Easter Sunday Mass @ 9:00am & 11:00am
Have a great Holy Season!
Tradi-
tional Latin Mass AD ALTARE DEI
In the Extraordinary Form of the Ro-man Rite
Sunday, March 18th , St John the Baptist Church:
2:30 PM: Holy Rosary 3:00 PM: Holy Mass
Celebrant: Rev. Andrew Schoen-
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Pope Francis has asked the bishops to consult young adults and youth in their diocese about what challenges their faith. Here in St Paul diocese we are following up on the request and asking everyone to participate in this survey. We all know that survey questions and especially the ones about our faith can seem a ‘nuisance’. But, if answers to such questions can help all of us to better witness to our Lord Jesus, then they are worth it. So, let’s remember that replying to these questions, can help our Church and also cooperate with Pope Francis in his mission in the whole world.
A BIG thanks, for helping us! Blessings,
Bishop Paul
Sunday Reflection By Dn. Raymond Fourth Sunday of Lent B March 11, 2018
Few days ago, a good friend of ours share in Facebook the lovely opera singing “Barcarolle” (a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers) from the opera "Les contes d'Hoffmann" by Jacques Offenbach. It brought back a memory, not the opera, but the 1997 Italian film “Life Is Beautiful” where “Barcarolle” is used as the featured song. It is in 1930s Italy, a carefree Jewish book keeper named Guido starts a fairy tale life by courting and marrying a lovely woman Dora, a teacher from a nearby city. Guido and his wife have a son Giosuè and live happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces. He and his son, with Jewish blood were deported to Concen-tration Camp. His wife, though not Jews volunteered to go with them. However, as men and women are separated in the camp, Dora and Guido never see each other during the internment. Guido pulls off stunts, such as using the camp's loudspeaker to send messages—Barcarolle—to Dora to assure her that he and their son are safe. In an at-tempt to help his son survive the horrors of the Concentration Camp, Guido uses his imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in the Camp and tells his son that the Holocaust is a game and that the grand prize for winning is a tank. They avoid the gas chamber. Guido keeps his son happy and maintains this story right until the end when, in the chaos of shutting down the camp as the Allied forces approach, he tells his son to stay in a box with a little hole until everybody has left, this being the final competition before the tank is his. Guido goes to find his wife, but is caught by a German soldier. While he is walking to his death, Guido passes by his son one last time, still in character and playing the game. He winks “joyfully “ at his son Giosuè who winks back as Guido is led away to be shot. The next morning, Giosuè emerges from the box, just as a U.S. Army unit led by a tank arrives and the camp is liberated. The American soldier takes him to the tank. The prisoners travel to safety, accompanied by the Americans. Giosuè soon spots her mom Dora in the procession leaving the camp and are reunited. While his mom is hugging him, Giosuè shouts to his mom: “We won! We won!” Later, as a man, Giosuè said, “This is my story. This is the sacrifice my father made. This was his gift to me.” Giosuè has gone through the Holocaust but his dad tried to light up the utmost darkness to make him feel “Life is Beautiful”.
There is often a time in our long life journey when we find the going hard. The enthusiasm with which we set out has faded, and there is still a long way to go. In the disappointment with our lives, the darkness seems so real and overwhelming. The first reading (2 Chronicles 36:14-23), telling the story of old Israel – a story of unfaithfulness, selfishness, destruction and exile – reminds us how often human history has been filled with darkness, right down to our own day.
But our God is a merciful God. He always brings us up from the deepest abyss when we think hopeless. In the midst of the deepest darkness, when they wept and memorized Zion (Psalm 137), the true Light shines! Old Israel finds that though things are turning upside down by their foolishness and selfishness, God’s plan is always positive - the conqueror of the Babylonians sends them back to rebuild the temple. In the second reading from the letter to the Ephesians (2:4-10), St. Paul also confidently confronts this darkness: “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, ... raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
At this stage in our Lenten journey if we are inclined to feel demoralized, we are invited by today’s readings to find again the source of new purpose, energy and encouragement, new hope and new light. And the climax of to-day’s readings is the words spoken to Nichodemus by Jesus - the Light of the World - in the Gospel (John 3:14-21) that all our darkness is dispelled! These words are perhaps the most quoted of the Gospels. Let’s not take them for granted, but take them to heart and rejoice in the new life they bring: “God loved the world so much that he gave his own Son, so that everyone who believes in him … may have eternal life”. A world weighed down by the darkness of failure and selfishness must know, Jesus says, that he came from the Father, not ‘to condemn’ but to bring reconciliation and life. It is time for us to reflect at this point in our journey of Lent, on the burdens (cross) we carry, the essential truth of our Christian faith, the great truth we celebrate at the end of our journey, Jesus’s death and resurrection. “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalms 36:9). With God, life is always beautiful; and the world we live in is always wonderful: full of light, mercy, joy, love.
“I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue and clouds of white. Bright blessed day, dark sacred night. And I think
to myself, what a wonderful world. The colours of the rainbow so pretty in the sky. Are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, saying, "How do you do?" They're really saying, "I love you". I hear babies crying, I watch them grow. They'll learn much more than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”
Dear Parishioners, You are most cordially invited to attend Chrism Mass, Tuesday, March 27, 2018.
This diocesan celebration will be held at 7:00 pm at the Cathedral in St. Paul. Chrism Mass is
concelebrated by the Bishop and the priests from all parts of the diocese. It is a sign of unity
and communion between the priests and their Bishop. But, it is also a celebration that fos-
ters the relationship between the Bishop and all members of his diocese: Priests, Deacons,
Religious and the Faithful. All are welcome and most especially the representatives of the
parishes, the parish and mission council members, the pastoral agents. the care workers, the
parish visitors to the sick and shut-ins, the readers, the lectors, the ministers of communion,
the members of the RCIA, the catechists, the youth and youth ministers, altar servers (who
are requested to bring their albs and to participate in the procession) and those who minis-
ter to the altar servers. It is during this celebration that the Oil of the Catechumens and the
Oil of the Sick are blessed and the Holy Chrism (the oil for ordinations and confirmations) is
consecrated (hence the name of Chrism Mass). It is the celebration of the Risen Lord’s pow-
er of life active in the Church.
I am well aware that many are geographically far from St. Paul. Distance is a challenge
here. But this is a once a year event. The diocesan family needs to gather once in a while.
Cordial invitation to all! Hope to see you there!
A light lunch will be served immediately after the celebration at the St. Paul Senior
Citizen Centre (4809-47 Street).
Paul Terrio
Bishop of St. Paul
St. Paul Parish Reconciliation/ First Communion/ Confirmation 2018- 2019
* If your child was not baptized in Fort McMurray please provide a copy of their baptism certificate. .
Reconciliation Celebration March 12th at 7:00 pm March 13th at 7:00 pm
Joy Sunday April 21 at 7pm
April 22 at 9:00 am
