Contacts in the Parish: Pastor Father Dean Henderson

Cell: 250-882-2151 dhenderson@rcdvictoria.org

Assistant Priest Father Michael Tran Cell: 250-415-3877 mtinhtran@gmail.com Deacon Deacon Dion Pomponio Parish Secretary Cynthia Santos Parish Council Chair Roland Wauthy Ministry of the Sick Sandy Rix 250 478-9139 Diocesan Safe Environment 250.479.1331 ext. 223 CWL Info: Contact: Odette Huculak: 250 474 4915 Knights of Columbus: Kevin Stafford: gk8394@outlook.com St. Vincent de Paul: Louise 250-658-1932 Joanne 250.478.9478

Sacraments: Baptism: Contact the parish office or Fr. Dean Reconciliation: Saturday 5:15 p.m. or by appointment. Marriage: Contact Father Dean 6 months in advance of the planned wedding date. Anointing of the sick: If you or a family member are admitted to a hospital or other care facility and you wish to have a priest visit, please be sure to have someone call the parish office to make this request. Roman Catholic Hospital Chaplain for VGH & RJH - Fr. Thomas - 250-889-3761

First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2019

798 Goldstream Ave. Victoria, B.C. V9B 2X6

Ph:250-478-3482 E-mail: olor@shaw.ca

Website: www. olorchurch.ca Office Hours:

Tuesday to Friday 9:30 am-2:30 pm Child Care: 250-590-6095

If you have recently moved into the Langford area

Welcome to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and invite you to pick up a Parish Registration form at the Church entrance or parish office and return the

completed form to the office. If we may assist you, please just tell us.

Every Wednesday, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:30 am and Benediction at noon with church open to pray until 3:00 pm.

Brunch with Bishop St Nicholas. On December 8th, Sunday after the 11:00am mass. Saint Nicolas is com-ing and will have a present for every child, so please come. Desserts are very much appreciated. Hamburg-ers and hot dogs are provided by the Knights of Co-lumbus .

The OLOR Social Team has decided it will no longer be holding the Annual Book Sale

in our parish. Therefore, we are no longer accepting any books. “Thanks be to God for

the team that has laboured for years for the book sale. Well done” Fr. Dean

The Social team is inviting all couples who will be celebrating their wedding anniversaries in December to join us on

Sunday, December 1st following the 11:00 am mass in the hall for coffee and cake. We look forward to celebrating with

you.

From the Pastor’s Desk

The first Sunday of Advent we’ll bless the wreath and light the first candle for the virtue of HOPE. Hope is easi-ly taken for granted and even undetected in the practical events of daily life; but becomes acutely noticeable by virtue of its absence; sort of like the air we breathe. Last weekend’s Times Colonist had an article by one of the Kielburger brothers about the depressing shadow side of climate change awareness and activism. If young people only hear a message of climate calamity and never cele-brate environmental successes they are prone to bear an untenable burden and sense of doom about their future. In every way, we Christians are a people of HOPE but the virtue is fundamentally rooted in faith in the God who is eternal love and can bring good out of all things including evil. I am so heartened by people finding their way into our Catholic communities and converting from despair to hope as we walk alongside them in their darkness. That is our task this Monday as we offer a memorial at OLOR for a 36 year old that died suddenly and unintentionally leav-ing behind a family who now carry a very heavy burden of grief.

December 1, 2019 Advent 1 HOPE We’ll gather and pray as they take the hand of the Lord who enters our suffering and promises his burden is easy and yoke is light. I regret that this weekend I will have missed the SRL Christmas Bazaar (which I commended to the Sooke community in the local paper). Fr. Michael will be present while I spend the day in Vancouver and partici-pate in a marriage mentorship workshop. I’ve served as a Diocesan family life promoter for years and with a fabu-lous team have, amongst other things, developed and maintained a great thrice annual marriage preparation course and initiated an inspiring annual Family Camp. But we have never quite been able to cultivate a system for marriage mentorship after the wedding has taken place. Maybe in the ‘Kairos’ (Greek for ‘time’) of God we are ready to takes initial steps. St. Rose has its Advent Penitential Service this Tuesday at 7:00, and in Langford I’ll attend the Westshore ministerial and greet my ecu-menical colleagues for the first time Wednesday morning. I sure hope people will turn out in droves to help the bottle sorting at OLOR next Saturday at 4 p.m. and happily an-ticipate a couple of baptisms following at the 6:00 p.m. Mass. “Light one candle for HOPE”.

For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Mon, Dec 9th instead of the 8th, since it falls on Advent

Sunday this year). St. Andrew’s Cathedral will have a sung Mass at 6pm. Incense will be used. We have a Mass at OLOR at 10:00am .

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is desperately needing your financial help. We are overwhelmed with the needs of families in our community. Please remember us with your donation. Thank you and God bless.

A film event called ‘Fatal Flaws’ will talk about Euthanasia. It will be on Thursday, Dec 5 in North Douglas Church at 675 Jolly Place at 7:00pm. For questions, please call Glenda Wilmot at 250-661-2613.

We are in the process of planning a budget for the 2020 year. Those involved in various ministries of OLOR are invit-ed to submit proposal for budget needs for consideration by Fr. Dean and the Parish Council by December 13th 2019.

OLOR is in need of cleaning vacuum in good condition. Please call the office if you can donate. Thank you for your generosity.

The Prayer Group will be serving coffee after the 11:00 am mass.

We are grateful to the Westshore Community Band for offering a terrific concert in support of our ‘settler’ family and helping generate $1685.00 for their support. Thanks too, to those who organized the event and over a hundred people

who bought tickets and enjoyed a musical evening. Bless the Lord! Fr. Dean

We rely on the generosity of your contributions to provide light, heat, and staff to this very special house of God and his peo-ple.

Last Week’s Offering: Sunday: $ 3083.00

Building Fund: $ 325.00 Debt Reduction: $ 85.00

Catholic Missions: $215.00 Refugee: $70.00

Friday, Dec 6th

Masses Nov 30—Dec 8 Moms and Tots every Fridays at 9:30am. If you have any questions or would like to be added to our email list, please call Allison Menzies at 250-710-5023 or email olormomsandtots@gmail.com.

Let us pray for the sick from our families, especially Julian Griffin, Camron Lagadyn, David Anderson, Bernadette & William Plewman, Ben Jarrett, Luisa Cordon for their healing and union with Christ.

Mass Intentions: If you would like to have a Mass said for a special intention, please contact the parish office.

Let us pray for all who have died especially, George Ar-nold, Rupert Smith, Marion Bulger, Helena Rego, Al Huculak, John & Mary, Jeffrey Boettger that they may live in the light and peace of God’s presence forever.

Please don’t forget to get your 2020 Sunday

Offering Envelopes at the back of the church.

If there’s any changes with your personal infor-mation. Please call the parish office. Thank you!

2019—2020 Sunday Missals On sale now. Available at the back of the church before / after Masses. Sunday Mis-sals: $5, We will begin to use this new missal at the start of Advent: Sat, Nov 30 & Sun, Dec 1

Parish Office Hours: Temporary Change for the month of December. Parish office will be open from 9:30am to 12:30pm starting Thursday, Dec 5 – Friday, Dec 20. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, Dec 31. Parish office will be closed on the week of Dec 24–

Dec 27. Thank you!

PAD Donations. If you are interested in making your do-nations to our Parish through a Pre-Authorized Debit Pro-gram, please take an envelope with all the information needed. These envelopes are on the table at the entrance of the Church.

Parish Advent Reconciliation. In preparation during Advent, a few priests will be available in our parishes for reconciliation at 7:00pm. St. Rose of Lima – Dec 3, Tuesday at 7pm St Patrick’s along with Holy Cross Parish —Dec 5, Thursday—To be held in Holy Cross at 7pm St Joseph’s along with Sacred Heart – Dec 10, Tuesday – To be held in Sacred Heart at 7pm OLOR – Dec 12, Thursday at 7pm

We appreciate your support for these businesses!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! The Music Ministry of St . Andrews’s Cathedral is once again presenting Advent

Carols, Reading and Prayers on Friday, Dec 6th from 7:30-8:30 pm in the Cathedral. We look forward to sharing

the Advent Season with you. A free will offering will be taken at the door for the 9-10 Club which serves breakfast to those in need. Please bring your family and invite your friends to experience this joyful & peaceful celebration of the Advent season. All are welcome!

2019 Journey of Hearts & Hands Appeal. Thank you to all who were able to support the 2019 Appeal. There is still time to participate as we have reached 54% of our goal with 64 donations. Additional pledge brochures are available on the table in the church foyer or from the parish office. All donations received by December 31st will generate income tax receipts for 2019. We sincerely thanks all those who have contributed over the last few weeks,

those who made a commitment and those who prayed for the success of our Journey of Hearts & Hands Appeal .

It is Camp Homewood Time!! All Youth (Gr 7-12) are invited to attend “Great Things” from Jan 31- Feb 2, 2020. This is a ‘can’t miss’ weekend of faith, fun and friendship. Bring a friend! Face to Face Ministries will lead meaningful talks, games, praise and worship AND there is all the fun of Camp Homewood- archery, sailing, riding and more! Register before January 15th at the cost of $160.00 (This is a great Christmas gift for children and grand-children!). See your youth coordinator or parish office for a registration package. Transportation can also be ar-ranged. Contact Bonni Roset (broset@telus.net) 250-203-1518 OR Terri Ann Wynans (wynans@shaw.ca) 250-731-7134 for more information

There will be a once a month Sport Night at OLOR Parish Hall. Please come on Friday, December 13, from 6:30pm until 8:00pm. We will rotate through different kinds of games. Capture the Flag, Dodge Ball and Soccer. All are welcome. If you have questions you can contact Dave de Bree at elmodave@yahoo.com