Jesus wants us to know who he is:
the Good Shepherd who protects and
cares for the people of God just as a shepherd does his sheep.
i’m sure many of you saw the Glengarry News last week. there was an article on our North Glengarry parishes located on the front page. it took many of us by surprise. many parishioners commented to me about their frustrations and concerns. coupled with three of our Sunday Masses cancelled this coming weekend, we begin to see the urgency of praying for our parishioners in North Glengarry. how do we continue to grow the Catholic Faith?
the statistics shared at our last four town hall meetings also took many by surprise. for example, we’ve had no vocations in the past five+ years. plus, a general Stats Canada poll indicated there are 4710 families in North Glengarry. 63% of this population have indicated that their first language is English, and the surveys indicate that 31.4% of citizens who responded to the census identify as Catholic.
therefore, mathematically, if we had 100% of these families attending our churches, there would be 933 families. our latest Annual Report 2022 show attendance at Sunday Mass to be 385 people versus 560 people in 2019. that is a big difference between 933 families to only 385 people. our Parish Finance Council also calculated that net income last year was $60,926.00, while heating costs rose to above $50,000.00.
please pray for our Parish Renewal Committee which will meet on May 10 to discuss future options. we plan to share these details with all parishioners towards the end of May.
last weekend we celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. God continues to call each of us by name. Christ is the Good Shepherd. This year Fr. Gilles celebrates his 56th anniversary of priesthood, while i’m celebrating my 14th on May 2. Deacon Michael El-Nachef will also be ordained to the priesthood on June 16th. God continues to call us.
This week, let’s reflect on the meaning of God’s call and to pray for vocations. Christ, the Good Shepherd, continues to lead his people through His Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, and calls many to follow Him in this way. Priestly, diaconal, and religious vocations should be a constant concern in the hearts of God’s people. Christ is a good shepherd because he knows the lay of the land. He created us, and so he knows how we ought to live in order to have “life more abundantly.” Let us continue praying for our North Glengarry parish family.
Peace.
Priestly, diaconal, and religious vocations
should be a constant concern in the hearts of God’s people.
