Merry Christmas! St. Theresa Parish - Christmas Mass Video with Fr. Vincent and New Pictures from the Church

 

December 24, 2020

Merry Christmas! Dear Parishioners and Friends We all wish you a Blessed Christmas and realize this may be a difficult time for some due to the pandemic but remember we have hope in the Christ Child! 

The Archdiocese is only allowed to have 10 people at Masses in Churches of Ottawa-Cornwall during the province wide 28 day lock-down that starts on December 26, 2020 - They encourage the faithful to watch Holy Mass online.St. Theresa Parish offers Mass online via Youtube, Facebook, Website and this Blog. Fr. Vincent will allow private prayer by individuals in the Church by appointment. Please Email Our Secretary Sheila for appointments for prayer, confession, or sacrament of the sick: sttheresa@rogers.com

Christmas Eve Mass Video Below with Fr. Vincent and Deacon Guy DacQuay. (New Messages from the Archdiocese at bottom of post)

 Always Remember that We Pray for You!

Prayers requested for Carlo Chiarelli and his family  

PARISH & OTHER NEWS

► If you desire to receive the Sacrament of Confession or the Sacrament of the Sick, please contact Fr. Vincent at sttheresa@rogers.com or call the office at 613-235-5119 .


Please Remember to Donate Securely via Credit Card or PayPal to our Ottawa St. Theresa Parish Via Canada Helps:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/128967353RR0028-st-theresa-of-the-child-jesus-parish/

OR Interac e-Transfer®.. You can also send a donation to the church’s e-mail address sttheresa@rogers.com as mentioned on the website

Thank you for your donations and God Bless you!
FREE Kid's Bulletin Print out - https://thekidsbulletin.com/

Prayer to make Spiritual Communion:

People who cannot communicate make spiritual communion:

At your feet, O my Jesus I bow down and offer you the repentance of my contrite heart, which abysses itself into its nothingness and Your holy presence. I adore you in the Sacrament of Your love, the ineffable Eucharist. I wish to receive you in the poor home that my heart offers you. In anticipation of the happiness of sacramental communion, I want to possess you in spirit. Come to me, oh my Jesus, that I may come to you. May Your love inflame my whole being, for life and death. I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you. So be it. Amen

Perpetual NOVENA Prayer to St. Theresa Little Flower:

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, Please pick for me a rose, from the heavenly garden and send it to me, as a message of love. O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God to grant the favors I now place with confidence in you hands ( mention your special prayer request here ) St. Therese, help me to always believe, as you did, in God's great love for me, so that I may imitate your "Little Way" each day. Amen ( Say 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory Be each day)

Some interior pictures of the Church decorated for Christmas and some of our parishioners:

 

We are grateful to Al and his team of volunteers who decorated the Church so beautifully!

 

The Archdiocese is only allowed to have 10 people at Masses in Churches of Ottawa-Cornwall during the province wide 28 day lock-down that starts on December 26, 2020 - They encourage the faithful to watch Holy Mass online.
FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE

Archbishop’s Christmas Message: Now available online at https://en.archoc.ca/ or https://youtu.be/ypCvIoX3csM.

Archbishop’s Homily at Inaugural Mass of Dec. 8: Now available online at https://en.archoc.ca/current-messages.

CANCELLATION - Clergy Gathering on December 28, 2020: The virtual clergy gathering that was planned for Dec. 28 has been cancelled. In its place Archbishop Damphousse is hoping to meet with each of the deaneries individually early in the new year.

Thank you from Archbishop Prendergast SJ: To see the Archbishop’s thank you, please visit https://en.archoc.ca/.

Apostolic Letter ‘Patris Corde’ on the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. Pope Francis has decreed a special year dedicated to Saint Joseph on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. It began December 8 and will end on December 8, 2021. Full text of letter: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters.

Penitential Services/Confession Times for Advent in Parishes: List by date is available here and list by location is available here (on https://en.archoc.ca/ under Advent).

Christmas & Solemnity of Mary Mass Times: List by city/town is available here (on https://en.archoc.ca/).

Email Scam Targeting Pastors and Parishioners: Please be aware that there is a scam asking parishioners for money transfers, gift cards or other personal financial assistance. The scam uses either the hacked email address of a priest, or a phoney email address that looks like the priest's genuine email account, and asks parishioners for financial assistance of some kind. Often the email asks for immediate assistance and indicates that there is an emergency. Please be aware that no priest will ever ask a parishioner for money, gift cards or personal financial assistance by email or other means. Contact your pastor if you receive a suspicious message and you have concerns or if you have any doubt as to the validity of the content of a message. At this time of year, there are many scams in operation, preying on people's good nature and the busyness of this season.

Diocesan Offices in Ottawa: The diocesan offices in Ottawa will be closed for Christmas beginning Mon., Dec. 21 to Fri., Jan 1, inclusive. The offices will re-open on Mon., Jan. 4. Merry Christmas to all!

VOCATIONS

Prayers for Vocations: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - January 1, 2021. That through our Blessed Mother’s intercession, all those called to holiness as priests, deacons and in the consecrated life will find joy and fulfillment in their vocations, we pray to the Lord. The Epiphany - January 3, 2021. That our young people will be opened to their unique vocation through prayer and will adore Christ the King by their faithfulness to His call, we pray to the Lord. The Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2021. That all those initiated by baptism to be followers of Christ may discern and live out the vocation to which Christ is calling them, we pray to the Lord.

FROM THE CCCB

Journey through Advent – Video Series for Advent 2020: Includes an introduction to the liturgical Season and reflections on the Gospel readings of each Sunday in Advent. Each Monday, the link for the upcoming Sunday celebration will be released on the CCCB website. Video series in English; Video series in French.

The CCCB – Canadian Rabbinic Caucus bilateral dialogue releases new resource “The Psalms: A Doorway to Jewish-Catholic Dialogue.” The resource is intended for the faithful of the Catholic and Jewish communities in Canada. Available on the CCCB website in English https://www.cccb.ca/announcement/the-psalms-a-doorway-to-jewish-catholic-dialogue/ and French https://www.cccb.ca/fr/announcement/les-psaumes-porte-dentree-du-dialogue-juif-catholique/.

FROM THE HOLY SEE

Message from Pope Francis for the 54th World Day of Peace, January 1: The message can be found at the following link: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-12/pope-francis-peace-day-message-2021-culture-care-social-doctrine.html.

FAITH FORMATION

Women's Morning of Reflection: Mass, Confession, breakfast, a talk and the rosary. The guest speaker, Marilyn Bergeron, will speak on "Is Jesus Really Present in the Eucharist". Sat., Jan. 2, 9:00 am. – 12:00 noon at the Agora Centre, 301 McConnell Ave., Cornwall. Info: Heidi Krol (613-347-7561) or Marilynn Light (613-537-2021). A free will offering of $5 is appreciated.

"I Believe in Love" - Personal Retreat based on Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux: Deepen your spiritual life and help you on the way to the Father by learning how to focus on Him amid your troubles. Online via Zoom, Biweekly Tuesday's 7:00-8:30 p.m. starting Jan. 12 for 10 sessions. Registrants must purchase book and study guide (approx $35) before 1st session (available at https://sisterhood.live/product/). Hosted by Sister+Hood. Info: Karen (livesisterhood@gmail.com); 613-806-0377; https://sisterhood.live/workshops/support-groups/.

CARE FOR CREATION

How to Green Your Church: Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), an ecumenical organization, is an affiliate member of the Canadian Council of Churches. Among its priorities is the promotion of ecological justice. CPJ has recently published a helpful concise guide on “How to Green your Church”. The guide provides a checklist of the many things we can do to make our parishes more environmentally friendly. Link to the guide (corrected): https://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/11122020/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1633467&app=false#articleId1633467.

Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti – From Prayer and Reflection to Action: St. Basil Parish in partnership with Canadian Martyrs Parish has initiated a project to support parishioners in living out the teachings of the encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. Fr. Augusto Zampini-Davies, adjunct Secretary in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in Rome, recently made a webinar presentation to parishioners in support of this project. Link to presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOLIqhijkB4&feature=youtu.be. Further info: https://stbasilsparish.ca/missions-and-social-justice .

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Connecting in a Covid Christmas: Seniors Ministry is reminding all parishes to encourage parishioners to call isolated parishioners (seniors, the handicapped and caregivers) to wish them a good Christmas with information on Christmas Mass times and the need to pre-register. Info: pmarsdendole@archottawa.ca.

The Ottawa Pastoral Care Training Program: An inter-denominational program affiliated with the Christian Council of the Capital Area. For information on the winter & spring sessions of the 10-week Basic Training Course, the 4-week Advanced Course in October 2021, and the April 2021 Continuing Education Event, please visit www.ottawapastoralcare.com or email ottawapastoralcare@gmail.com.

PRAYER & WORSHIP

Heart of Worship at Holy Redeemer Parish: Everyone is invited to adore Jesus through praise and worship music and silent Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Guest speaker Josephene Kealey, member of our HOW team, will give a spiritual reflection on A Christian Experience of Christmas: the Marriage of Joy and Sorrow. Visit the parish website for the registration link. Note: also live-steamed on www.Facebook.com/HolyRedeemerKanata. Holy Redeemer Parish, 44 Rothesay Dr., Kanata, Tues., Dec. 29. Info: reception@holyrdeemer.ca.

OTHER CATHOLIC EVENTS

Christmas Day Concert on EWTN: A Christmas Concert from Ottawa, 8:00-9:30PM on Christmas Day. The Thirteen Strings Candlelight Orchestra and the Seventeen Voyces Choir perform Fantasia on Christmas Carols and the Christmas Oratorio; French Noëls sung by the Children’s Choir from the École secondaire De La Salle. Info: https://www.ewtn.com/tv/schedule/canada/2020-12-25.

Beyond the Tinsel - Unwrapping the Meaning of Advent and the Season of Christmas: An On-line Mission by Archbishop Emeritus Sylvain Lavoie OMI. This mission is an opportunity to take a breather, look back over Advent to deepen our appreciation of this special time, and look ahead to a more profound understanding and meaningful celebration of the Christmas season which begins, rather than ends, on Christmas day. Keynote presentations, prayer, music, biblical art and virtual rituals will help deepen our understanding of Advent and empower us to celebrate the Incarnation with greater meaning and joy in a difficult time. Three evenings, 7 pm MST, Sun., Dec. 20 to Tues., Dec. 22. There is no charge or need to register. To participate, click on link before the start time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85195332694?pwd=TXBGMzNCQlI5R1o0VkxNYXJoMUd1dz09. Meeting ID: 851 9533 2694, Passcode: 329692.

Silent Auction: The Knights of Columbus, Council 11271, St. Patrick’s Fallowfield are hosting an online Silent Auction on their Facebook page starting on Dec. 18 – Dec. 31. For complete details and a chance to bid on some items, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Council11271. Info: Pierre Chartier, 613-599-6589.

EMPLOYMENT & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Blessed Sacrament Parish, Ottawa is looking for a Parish Custodian: Position would commence as of 22 December. Employment is for 24hrs per week. Salary is negotiable. Please submit resumé with references to Fr. Tim Nelligan at: pastortpvn@blessedsacrament.ca.