St. Leonard Catholic Church
Manotick, Ont
Monthly E-Newsletter for Nov 2015 
A new way to stay in touch
 
Thanks for subscribing to our newest communication vehicle for St. Leonard parishioners. We now have over 240 parishioners subscribing to our E-Newsletter and very much appreciate all of the feedback that you have given us. If you know someone who might benefit from this E-Newsletter, please forward it to them.  

Pastor's Message
God loves us!
Pope Francis has often said that we are "missionary" to the extent that we have encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus. Have you personally encountered the love of God? Do you feel his love for you today? " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)  Only when we fully comprehend and allow ourselves to surrender to his love can we reach our full potential as courageous Catholics and missionary disciples.
 
One of the ways that we feel the love of God is through the love of others. This love should be present and visible at St. Leonard for all that come here, regulars and visitors. Pope Francis's vision for every parish is that "it should be a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey and a centre of constant missionary outreach."
 
Being and presenting this type of loving community is critical today as many people, especially young adults, are seeking a sense of belonging. A generation or two ago if you behaved properly and believed correctly, you could belong. In the post-modern culture that exists today most people join, stay and leave churches not because of belief, but because of a sense of belonging, because of community. As we approach the start of the Year of Mercy on Dec 8th, I ask that all of us redouble our efforts to make St. Leonard a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.   God Bless! Father Titus   
Growing your Faith 
Becoming Catholic

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults): If you are interested in becoming a Catholic or completing your initiation by celebrating Confirmation and/or First Communion as an adult, we'd love to hear from you! Please introduce yourself to Father Titus; he'd be happy to tell you more about the process or contact barrygauthier@rogers.com. 

Introducing FORMED: Catholic Faith Formation On-line
 
 
Every parishioner now has 24/7 access to the best Catholic content on any device; personal computer, tablet, or smart phone. This includes the Symbolon series, Fr, Robert Barron's Catholicism series, a new series called Beloved for couples and a whole lot more. To register now for FORMED go to   formed.org and use our parish code d274f7. Since our Parish is an early adopter of this new program, at this present time, for Address please use State: Colorado and Zip: 00000. This feature will be updated soon and you will not need to re-register. New content is continuing to be added, so return as often as you wish to discover more.

Cursillo and Challenge Retreats in November

A reminder that we have Men's and Women's Cursillo retreats coming up this month as well as a Challenge weekend for our younger people (16 to 25 yrs)

Fall Cursillo weekends:
Men's....November 26-29   Woman's....November 12-15     Fall Challenge weekend.... Nov 6-8 
For more info and to register go to ottawacursillo.ca and ottawachallenge.ca or contact   johnvilleneuve@magma.ca 
   

    Community News
40 Days for Life and St. Leonard's Prayer Vigil

Many thanks to our parishioners who came to pray for the conversion of hardened hearts across from the abortion clinic on October 23rd, the day assigned to St. Leonard's Parish. As prayerful witnesses, we call attention to the need to respect the inherent dignity of all human life. If you can make it, please join others in silent prayer for one hour or so. This campaign ends on November 3rd.  
 
Catholic Women's League Mats for Africa  
 
Perhaps many of you have noticed this colourful mat under construction in the Parish Hall. At the end of September children from St. Leonard's grade 5 and 6 were taught by CWL's Carroll Woods and Cynthia Laforty to make the strands of milk bags to construct a mat. Two weeks later the children had supplied enough strands to make ¾ of a mat! Many thanks to the children who collect milk bags for these mats headed to Ethiopia.
 
 
What's on in November 

All Souls' Memorial Mass and Remembrance Day Services

November is a month of remembering our loved ones who have gone on before us and the members of the Canadian Armed Services who have died while on active service for our country.  

Our annual Mass to remember those from our Parish who have died during this past year will take place on All Souls Day, Monday, November 2nd at 7:00 pm.   We invite all of you to join us for our very special evening of thanks and remembrance.

At the weekend Masses on Nov 7th and 8th the Knights of Columbus will be hosting our brief Remem brance Day service to honour the members of the Canadian Forces that have die d defending our peace and freedom.

Development and Peace's Action Card on Climate Change

In November you will have an opportunity to sign Development and Peace's Action Card on Climate Change which will be distributed at Sunday Mass. It will ask the Prime Minister to sign on to an agreement at Paris that sets the target to keep the rise in temperature below 2 degrees Celsius. Visit the St. Leonard's website Bulletin Board for more info. 
 
Chili Dinner and Trivia Night 
 
Saturday, November 21 @ 5:30pm in the Church Basement. Co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Women's League. All proceeds will go to the Multi-faith Housing Initiative for construction of the new affordable housing community in Barrhaven. 
 
Come one and come all to a fun night for a very good cause! 
Tickets are $20 and will be sold after Masses and are also available from Susan at the office. 
  
            
Nov. 2        All Souls Day Mass 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 4        Pastoral Council Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 7/8     Remembrance Day Service and C.W.L. Bake Sale  
Nov. 10      Development and Peace Presentation 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 11      Knights of Columbus Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 12      Baptismal Preparation Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 15      CWL Advent Candle Sale 
Nov. 21      Chili and Trivia Night
Nov. 22      CWL Advent Candle Sale 
Nov. 24      Confirmation Session # 2  6:30 p.m.  
Nov. 25      C.W.L. Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 28      Confirmation Session  # 2 10:00 a.m.
Nov. 29      First Sunday of Advent
 
 

After the 9 am and 11 am Sunday masses in November coffee will be served in the Parish Hall. Click on the Parish Calendar for a full listing of upcoming meetings and events.
 
Update on the St. Leonard Website
Timely information and resources

Here are some of the new capabilities that are available on our website:
 
Online Bulletins: Every weekend the Bulletin is posted to the Website. You can check out this weekend's bulletin or any of the bulletins from the last few months.

Automatic Monthly Donations: This service allows you to donate your parish support contribution by way of a monthly pre-authorized bank debit from your chequing account.  To set it up, simply fill out the form and submit a picture of your void cheque. You may change the amount or cancel at any time by contacting the parish office.

Meet our Sponsors: A chance to find out who those companies and individuals are that support the production of our bulletin.    

Link of the Month
 
Each month we will highlight a link to online sources that can help us better understand and live our Christian faith. If you are looking for a great spiritual way to start your day, this month we encourage you to visit Daily Hope with Rick Warren and sign up for their daily devotional.  
 
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