Sunday Liturgy
Saturday: 5:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am
Mission Statement
We are a welcoming Christian community called to embrace and respect the uniqueness of each individual as we join together in our faith and worship. Our ongoing mission is to engage our youth, promote renewal, out reach, evangelization and ecumenical cooperation.
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Monday, April 14th – 9:00 am Romeo & Yvonne St. Cyr
Tuesday, April 15th – 9:00 am No Mass
Tuesday, April 15th – 6:30 pm Chrism Mass in the Cathedral
Wednesday, April 16th – 9:00 am Theresa Duguay (Anniv)
Thursday, April 17th – 10:30 am Alice Ouellette (Carleton Kirk)
Thursday, April 17th – 7:00 pm Holy Thursday
Friday, April 18th – 3:00 pm Good Friday
Saturday, April 19th – 5:00 pm No Mass
Saturday, April 19th – 7:00 pm Easter Vigil
Sunday, April 20th – 9:00 am Dr. D. Brian O’Brien
Sunday, April 20th – 11:00 am Deceased Member of Doherty
and Loughery Families
Weekly Reflections (Homily) from Msgr. Sheehan (Updated April 11, 2025)
PASSION (PALM) SUNDAY
My Dear friends;
This evening we begin the solemn celebration of Holy Week.
It begins with a blessing of palms and a hearing of the Gospel which proclaims the events which lead up to the unfolding of our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection.
We take up the cry of the Jerusalem crowds – “All glory and laud and honour to thee redeemer King.” The Church would have us one with the crowds on this day – waving our branches… not simply to re-create the scene – but to make us conscious that we indeed belong to the crowd which at once cheers the Messiah and next calls for his crucifixion.
Palm Sunday has many lessons… it celebrates, to our shame, our fickleness! It spotlights among other things our waywardness… we are those crowds, my dear people.
Because, as always, the men and women of the testaments are more than the characters involved in a re-telling of an account – they are a general picture of humanity’s response to God’s initiative – they are a sad picture of what humanity does to God’s prophets, to God’s messengers – and especially to his great prophet – and his final messenger – the Messiah – the one who is sent.
Do we think of that dimension when we hear God’s word? I suppose there are some texts in which we can readily see ourselves… Wherein we can at once recognize ourselves. We can see ourselves like Peter… so human; he is at once bold and zealous – but then again cowardly and afraid… quick and enthusiastic, but reticent and weak.
We can see ourselves as Pilate… trying to be honest… trying to be fair… but weary… of the crowds, afraid to be unpopular. – We can see ourselves as Thomas… doubters, arrogantly defying the evidence and the word of friends. We can see ourselves as Judas – the traitor – who for some reason has been slighted or maligned and commits his betrayal.
Hopefully we can see in ourselves something of the more noble of the characters which come into view on this Palm Sunday. Hopefully we can see in ourselves something of Simon of Cyrene… Jesus’s helper… who lends a helping hand.
Hopefully, too, we can see in ourselves something of the fidelity and steadfastness of the women who remained with Jesus – while Judas betrays Jesus, and Peter denies him… these women, whom all four evangelists take great care to mention – are present to him, and weep for him – all four evangelists mention the presence of women near the cross as Jesus dies.
But more than all of these characters in which we see something of ourselves, my dear friends… There is another who does not wait for us to come to him. He comes to us. He takes on our flesh – our mankind. And it is in him above all else that we must try to see ourselves.
And we can only see something of ourselves in him, if like him, we have learned to lay down our lives in love. That is the meaning of the cross… of his cross – before suffering – it is a sign of the extent of his love for us.
Wherever the innocent suffer, wherever good is opposed, wherever and whenever love is rejected – in Christ Jesus those who experience these things can recognize in him the most perfect embodiment of all that they are undergoing.
They can recognize themselves in him only if they keep on loving, keep on hoping, keep on stuggling to the end – with every assurance of overcoming, of victory.
These are days, my dear friends when we are called to look at the cross – to Christ crucified and to recommit ourselves to be united to him in his giving of self – in his offering of himself to the Father – that we may pass over with him to the joy, and peace, hope of the resurrection promised to all who follow him.