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St. Leonard Catholic Parish
Manotick, Ont
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Monthly E-Newsletter for Feb 2018
Thank you for subscribing to the St. Leonard's monthly E-Newsletter. Lent 2018 will begin on
Wednesday,
February 14th
and ends on
Thursday,
March 29th. Lots of Parish activities this Lent. Check out the Schedule for details. Let's make it our best Lent ever!
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Pastor's Message Feb 1st
Sharing the Good News
Last year we introduced the concept of "7 Steps to Discipleship". Today, as we approach the beginning of Lent, I would like to launch a discussion around the 6th step; "Sharing the Good News".
"Sharing the Good News" is often referred to as evangelizing and according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church evangelization means to fulfill the mandate of Jesus Christ to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), so that all might respond to the Father's love and be saved through communion with Jesus and His body, the Church. Fr. Bob Bedard, founder of the Companions of the Cross used to say it even more simply by stating that evangelization is 'one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread'.
I would like to propose that there are 4 Stages in Sharing the Good News:
- Be a source of attraction
- Know what to say
- Say it!
- Be prepared to accompany people on their journey to faith
Over the next few months I would like to expand on each of these stages but for today I will start with stage # 1. Pope Francis in the Joy of the Gospel (his first Apostolic Exhortation in 2013) made two important points on stage #1; "It is not by proselytizing (preaching) that the Church grows, but by attraction" and "An evangelizing community is filled with joy." People are attracted to our faith by our joy and our love! What kind of witness to your faith to people think you are?
Let me illustrate by way of an example. People often come up to me and ask why I am always laughing and appear so happy. I tell them that it is because I don't worry. 'I do the best I can and turn the rest over to God. My faith assures me that he loves me and I am absolutely confident that He will look after me.' To my surprise some people are taken aback by my response and at the same time, some people are curious and attracted to the idea that it is possible to live a life without worry. This then provides me with an opening to talk about my Christian faith and how it is the basis for the joy and love that I feel and look to share with others. I believe that this love and joy that we display is a powerful source of attraction and is the first step in evangelization.
This means if we are to respond to the call to "share the Good News" with others the initial stage is to let our faith shine on the world around us, radiating the love of Jesus by the everyday way we speak, think, and act. As St. John says "they will know we are disciples by our love". And seeing our love, our family members, our friends and hopefully all we encounter will take note and respond. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but over time our witness to the love of Jesus will bear fruit.
God bless, Father Titus
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Pictures from Father Titus's Trip to Nigeria
Father Titus plans to be back this weekend. In the meantime he has sent us some pictures of his trip home. They include delivering supplies to the orphanage, meeting with the children, meeting with his Bishop and other priests, attending lunch at the orphanage and presiding at the wedding of his niece. As usual, he very much looks to be enjoying himself and sharing his love!
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Evangelization
Tools and Support for Sharing the Good News: 3 Session Course this Lent
Join us in the Parish Hall for three evenings this Lent as we present tools, answers and discussions that will help us in talking about our faith to others. Our focus will include:
- Identifying our call as baptized Catholics
- How to lead with love
- What to say and how to say it; the Gospel story and our faith story
- Overcoming objections
- Encouraging the next step in a person's faith journey
Course will run from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm on three consecutive Wednesday nights; Feb 21st 28th and Mar 7th. To register for the course click here and for further information contact Judy Wood (judyawood4@gmail.com) or Barry Gauthier (barrygauthier@rogers.com).
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If you wait until
you can do everything for everybody
instead of something for somebody
you will end up doing nothing for nobody!
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Daily Kindness Inspiration
One of the best ways for us to show our love is by being kind. The Daily Kind is a short daily email including an Act of the Day, Positive Affirmation, Quote of the Day and Kindness Media.
Click here to sign up to receive a daily dose of inspiration.
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The Federal government is asking religious Canadians to betray their religious conscience to apply for funding under the Student Summer Job Program. Read Archbishop Terrance Prendergast's response as published on the
Archdiocese's website or in the
Ottawa Sun. What can you do? Call or email your member of Parliament to express your concern. Hon. Pierre Poilievre
(613) 692-3331 or email pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca
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FORMED Resources for February
"And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry" (Matthew 4:2). The devil perceived Jesus' hunger as weakness and tried to tempt him in the desert; however, Jesus' fasting armed him with a clarity of mind that strengthened his refusal of worldly things. This month, we have the opportunity to make ourselves hungry, to remove distractions and pleasures, that we may clearly understand that only God can truly fulfill us.
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If you are new to FORMED, to get ongoing FREE ACCESS to all programs and downloadable PDF guides, movies and e-books please
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This Lent, get daily reflections from FORMED, delivered right to your email, every day. Watch, Read & Reflect for 10 Minutes a Day.
- Watch a beautiful video reflection from Bishop Hying's ECHO series
- Read an inspiring passage from the Catechism
- Reflect on how God's truth applies to your daily life
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The Sacrament of Baptism: Welcome to the Church!
We continue to be blessed with a large number of Baptisms in our Parish. Pictured at right is Father Titus with baby Lena while the proud parents,
Kate and Alain Bellemare, look on. Welcome to the Church Lena!
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Lenten Soup Supper
Following the Saturday 4:30 PM Mass on the 17th of February our annual Lenten Supper of homemade soups and bread will be served in the church hall. Our guest speaker will be Garth Pereira the Associate Director of NET (National Evangelization Team) Canada. Tickets for the Lenten Supper will be available after the weekend Masses of February 3rd , 4th, 10th, and 11th. Individual:$5. So come and spend an evening with fellow Parishioners and learn how we may help our youth - our next generation- to find a place within the Catholic Faith.
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Join a Seniors Drum Circle this Winter!
Seniors Drumming Circle (Ottawa West) for seniors of all abilities and all drumming levels. Hosted by L'Arche Ottawa Seniors. Come work with a professional drum instructor and be part of the fun. Coffee and Tea for early arrivals. Twice monthly @
10-11:30 am on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. L'Arche Ottawa offers a seniors social club which provides activities and supports seniors with developmental disabilities, as they continue to be active contributing community aging with dignity and grace.This program is free to all but must register to reserve a spot. To reserve your spot contact:Rebecca Happy 613 228-7136 ex 28 or
rebeccahappy@larcheottawa.org
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CWL and the Coldest Night of the Year Walk
Homelessness is the major focus in 2018 for all levels of the CWL (Catholic Women's League) - from National to parish.
Coldest night of the year
walk (cnoy.org) is a 2,5 or 10k walk the evening of Saturday February 24th to bring awareness to and raise money for the organizations in our city that help the homeless.
-Through the below links you can register or donate to the walks in our own city..
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Feb. 7 Pastoral Council Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 10 Chili and Trivia Night sponsored by Knights of Columbus 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 14 Ash Wednesday Mass at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 Lenten Soup Supper after the 4:30 p.m. Mass featuring guest speaker Garth Pereira, NET Canada
Feb 21 "Sharing the Good News" Course 7:00 pm
Feb. 24 CWL meeting 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 Youth Mass 7:00 pm Guest speaker Holly Leonard- "How can I be real with God this Lent?"
Feb 28 "Sharing the Good News" Course 7:00 pm
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After the 9 am and 11 am Sunday masses in February coffee will be served in the Parish Hall. Click on the Parish Calendar for a full listing of upcoming meetings and events.
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Parishioner Feedback: We Love Your Input!
Dear Parishioners we are very interested in your feedback. If have any comments and/or suggestions as it relates to any of our Parish activities, including the E-Newsletter, please click here.
If you would like a direct response to your suggestion, please include your email address.
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Update on St. Leonard Communications
Stay Connected!
Stay up to date on what is going on at St. Leonard through the St. Leonard Facebook page or through the St. Leonard Parish app.
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Facebook
Don't have a smart phone or tablet? Like us on Facebook. Special events and reminders are posted continually on the
St.Leonard Facebook
page
BUT you have to LIKE the page. Do it now - go to
the St.Leonard Facebook page
and LIKE the page. SHARE with your friends!
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