Abide In Me

Fifth Sunday of Easter. The Gospel reading this weekend was also the very Gospel I chose for my ordination, May 2, 2009. Our vocation to abide in God, to remain in God’s love is our lifelong journey. I started as a babypriest, then went through the terrible-two‘s. Finally as a toddler I started growing up. Now, after twelve years, I am about to become a teenager! Each year I continue to experience God’s love in my life. I have experienced His joy, and continue to be open to His Grace in order to share this same joy with each and everyone of you. Let us continue to pray for one another. Here is the link to my talk with Fr. Pierre, Director of Vocations, on my vocation.

As the Gospel reminds us, those who remain in God bear much fruit! Thank you once again to our leaders of our parishes who continue to share their gifts, time, and talents! These past two weeks I continued with online meetings both with our NGP Pastoral & Finance Councils. We spoke about the new Pastoral Calendar. We are now looking to plan into September 2022. We are trying to be proactive in our pastoral initiatives! We continued the discussion regarding the final steps for the closure of St. Michael’s Chapel, Monkland. Also, we are now discerning what is means for us, and for St. Finnan’s to be a Basilica! It is a great honour which comes with new responsibilities. Finally, I look forward in sharing the good news about our new partnership with the Archdiocese working at Shalom House. Our North Glengarry Parishes new office location will now be at Shalom House. Thanks again to Sr. Sue who is helping us with this transition. We are now revising the Parish Manager job position to include the tasks that Sr. Sue has as Director of Shalom House.

The Pastoral Calendar is being worked on by many teams, and there are many areas to focus on. However, our main three points for the next few months will be to focus on 1) our ministries involved in Sacramental Preparation – Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. 2) Our new Parish Office & Welcome centre. This includes the discussion on staffing, office hours, responsibilities. We were also ready to start the discussion around some minor renovations and painting, but the current restrictions make it difficult. Nonetheless, we are trying to plan so to be ready to welcome new families this Fall. Finally, 3) our third priority is being proactive! For example, we are already getting ready for new ALPHA sessions this Fall, both for adults and our youth!

Finally, this past Friday morning I logged on for a Zoom Conference for Volunteer Appreciation Day at Maxville Manor! I look forward in returning to my ministry at all our residences on a regular basis. Our Pastoral Teams, including my sisters with CWL, have often discussed what to do post-pandemic for outreach! I encourage you to share the parish emails, and to encourage our brothers and sisters to sign-up via our website. However, not everyone has access to this technology. How do we share our Good News? We all need community, and we are continuing to discern new ways to help others experience God’s love and joy.

Maxville Manor is also discussing this same question. The call shared stories, volunteer awards, and a more details and introduction to Amy Porteous, the new CEO. Here is what she shared with all of us:

• married, with 3 children, currently living in Orleans. However, they are planning to move closer to Maxville soon.
• she plays all sports! maybe we can start an Ultimate Frisbee league this summer? who would be interested? (please email me)
• born and raised in Ottawa, has an undergrad in Business;
• her vocation to enter health care was thanks to her grandmother. she lived with the family, and Amy saw her go through dementia, and the difficulties encountered through the Health Care system. She decided then to help, to support seniors, and therefore changed her career plans! She has a Masters in Health and Administration, and worked at Bruyere for 16 years.
• her sector has seen challenging times due to the pandemic, and Amy is ready to serve with new zeal our community
• she decided to work with us due to Maxville Manor’s compelling vision, and mission! they are going through a major redevelopment, and expansion! in fact, there are 150 people on the waiting list.
• Finally, Amy mentioned the necessary outreach was for the residents, but to all in the community as well. How can we help?

Thank you to all who volunteer their time, talents, and treasure – with our parishes, in your families, and the greater community, like Maxville Manor and other residences. Thank you to the generous parishioner who donated money to buy our new FM Transmitter to help with Drive By Communion Services. The machine is currently on order, and we hope to have it soon.

This weekend, let us continue to pray for one another, open to the gifts God sends us. Let us continue to discern together how to share the fruits Our Lord gives us. If you cannot make it to mass this weekend, again I invite you to watch and pray the mass, and to come to the parking lot at St. Finnan’s or St. Anthony’s, between 11:30am and 12pm. Mass is livestreamed every Saturday night at 5pm. I invite you to spend time with the readings of the day, especially the Gospel. If you cannot make it this Sunday, let us pray with hope and confidence, using the Spiritual Communion Prayer.

Have a great week! Peace.