St. Leonard Catholic Parish
M anotick, Ont

"Celebrating 50 Years as a Catholic Community "
E-Newsletter for Sunday, April 26th
This weekend marks the 3rd Sunday of Easter and the 7th Sunday where we are unable to join in the celebration of the Mass at our Parish. Oh, how our hearts yearn for the Eucharist! Let's pray that we join in Communion soon. Be sure to watch Father Gerard's video reflection for this Sunday.
Pastor's Message
Jesus Meets Us on the Road to Emmaus 

Today we celebrate the start of the third week of the season of Easter. As a Church we continue to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection throughout April into May. The Apostles and early followers of Jesus did not wake up on Easter morning filled with confidence and hope for the future. Instead they were filled with fear, doubt and uncertainty. Their world had been rocked by Jesus’ death on the cross. Their hopes and dreams for the future were sealed with Jesus in the tomb. So, they were very unsettled and disquieted much as we are today. They didn’t know what the future held. They were without hope. Sound familiar?

In today’s gospel we hear of the events that occurred on “the road to Emmaus”. While some of Jesus’ disciples hid out in Jerusalem, two of them did not stay in town. Jesus was dead, or so they thought. They had seen him die, had seen his lifeless body taken down from the cross and put in a grave. Discouraged, disillusioned and defeated, they started walking to Emmaus, a village about seven miles away from Jerusalem. When the risen Jesus encounters his disciples on the road to Emmaus, it’s quite clear that their journey away from Jerusalem is, in fact, a journey away from hope. They have witnessed their friend, their hoped-for savior die. They have seen their community scattered. They think their trust in God was misplaced. What is left for them now?

Jesus, of course, turns them around—quite literally. Their encounter with the risen Christ through prayer, scripture and the breaking of bread, means a renewed encounter with hope. God is not done yet, and darkness and suffering do not have the final word. The disciples reverse direction, heading back to Jerusalem to proclaim the good news of the risen Christ.

Yet, this is the story of the Resurrection. We encounter Christ daily in the faces of our neighbors, of those we meet in our work, our home and on our street. These encounters need not be enormous acts of philanthropy or world-saving initiatives—sometimes all it takes is a kind word or a small gesture to affirm our common humanity.

Today’s Gospel tells us that we will meet and experience the risen Jesus in unexpected places and persons. As we continue in this Easter season, let us commit ourselves to sharing Easter hope and joy with all those we encounter.

To illustrate all of this I would like to conclude with a story. A young boy was walking home through the park after attending Mass one day. Somehow, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Priest’s lesson for that day about Jesus’ teaching on the Last Judgment. What impressed him most was what the teacher said, “When you give something to another person, you’re really giving it to Jesus, and you will find the risen Jesus in everyone you meet.” As he continued through the park, he noticed an old woman sitting on a bench. She looked lonely and hungry. So, he sat down next to her, took a chocolate bar he had saved and offered some to her. She accepted it with a beautiful smile, and he watched her smiles as she chewed the chocolate. Then they sat together in silence, just smiling at each other. Finally, the boy got up to leave. As he began to walk away, he turned, ran back to the bench, and gave the woman a big hug. When he arrived home, his mother saw a big smile on his face and asked, “What made you so happy today?” He said, “I shared my chocolate bar with Jesus.” Before his mother could ask more questions, he added, “You know, she has the most beautiful smile in the world.” Meanwhile, the old woman returned to her little apartment where she lived with her sister. “You’re all smiles,” said her sister. “What made you so happy today?” She replied, “I was sitting in the park, eating a chocolate bar with Jesus. And, you know, he looks a lot younger than I expected.”

God Bless you all folks, your always in my prayers.
Fr. Gerard Plant
What Can We Do to Help?

Is there someone you know that would appreciate a kind word or a small gesture of love this Easter Season? Please consider reaching out with a helping hand or a simple phone call or e-mail. It is a great way to "be Jesus" in our world and to stay united as a parish.

Any requests for prayers or any other help that myself or the parish can provide can be sent to me at pastorstleonard@gmail.com. Stay well and Stay Connected!
Worship
Weekday and Sunday Masses Online

You are encouraged to join online for Masses during this period of social distancing.

On Sundays we would recommend the Mass from Notre Dame Basilca in Ottawa with Archbishop Prendergast or the Mass from Bishop Barron's Chapel in Santa Clara, California with Bishop Robert Barron. The Mass with Archbishop Prendergast is available any time on Sunday and the Mass with Bishop Barron starts at 8:15 am and is available in recorded format for the rest of the day.

Locally, Father Lukose from Holy Cross Parish has an excellent Sunday Mass available online on their website anytime on Sunday.

Mass with Bishop Barron is also available on weekdays.

For a full listing of Mass on TV or the Internet click here .

1st Reading: ACTS 2:14, 22-33
2nd Reading: 1 PT 1:17-21
Gospel: LK 24:13-35
The road to Emmaus: Jesus meets you along the journey, and you may not even know it.
Prayer for the Week: St. Teresa's Bookmark
One of St. Teresa of Avila's most famous teachings is a poem known as “Teresa’s Bookmark” that was found in her own prayer book after her death:

May Teresa’s words bring you some comfort in these challenging times.
"Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing upset you.
Everything changes.
God alone is unchanging.
With patience all things are possible.
Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone is enough."
Stewardship
Financial Update: Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The cancellation of all public Masses and services has had a negative impact on the finances of the Parish. For the three months ending on March 31, 2020 we posted a deficit of $7,078 ( see detailed financial report). Masses were cancelled on the last three weekends of March resulting in the complete absence of basket collections for those weekends. Thankfully these losses were somewhat offset by the continuing offerings from Pre-Authorized Deposits and Canada Helps and our new online giving system from Tithe.ly.

Looking forward we continue to see challenges to our Parish finances. Assuming that the provincial guidelines on social distancing stay in place (Church remains closed to the public) until the end of May and based on our revenue results in April along with projections through to the end of May, we forecast a $34,000 shortfall against our 2020 revenue budget and 2019 revenue actuals. To address this projected revenue shortfall, we have taken measures to reduce our operating expenses and defer capital expenses. In addition, the Archdiocese is clarifying the potential for the subsidizing of wages through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.

Rest assured that Parish remains in a relatively strong financial position. We have liquidity to meet our short-term requirements and have access to significant capital reserves.

To continue to provide financial support during this period that our Church is closed, please just click here. Alternatively, you can download the Tithe.ly mobile app and locate St. Leonard Parish to give through your mobile phone.

If you are a regular envelope giver, you can always mail your envelope (s) to the Parish Office:
St. Leonard Roman Catholic Parish
5332 Long Island Road
Manotick, Ontario
K4M 1E8

We acknowledge that many individuals and families have suffered negative financial consequences as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown and thus we are extremely grateful for your ongoing commitment and generosity. Thank you for supporting St Leonard. Together we will get through this!

Giving is an act of love.
We give because God first loved us and he freely offers us salvation.
Your donation to St. Leonard Parish helps spread the message of God’s love.
Faith Formation
For Children: The Jesus Stories
Created to help children apply the lessons found in the parables of Jesus, each 10 minute episode includes a story situation that children today can relate to,
a parable, and a thought-provoking way to apply it. Watch on Formed.org
Tragedy, Contingency, and a Deeper Sense of God: Bishop Barron
I have lived in Santa Barbara, California for the past four years. In that brief time, my neighbors and I have experienced a number of real tragedies. Just over two years ago, the terrible Thomas Fire broke out in my pastoral region, in the vicinity of Thomas Aquinas College (hence the name). For a frightening month it made its devastating way from Santa Paula through Ventura, Carpenteria, Montecito, and eventually commenced to devour the foliage on the hills just north of my home. As I was standing one Saturday morning on my front lawn, staring uneasily at the flames, a retired fire captain stopped his car and yelled out the window, “Bishop, what are you still doing here? Embers are flying everywhere; this whole neighborhood could go up.” More...
Media Worth Sharing
For those who missed Andrea Boccelli's Easter Sunday concert from the duomo in Milan, here's another chance to listen. We hope you enjoy!

Is it weak to be merciful?  | Fr. Chris Alar, MIC at Ascension Presents
  When practicing the Faith, you may say you’re not into prayer, or service, or witnessing about Jesus, but all these things are essential to growing in holiness.
These tips can be useful during the COVID-19 quarantine, but also for any time when you find yourself with little or nothing you need to do.
Faith, Trust, Hope, Confidence, Love........Attitude

Once all villagers decided to pray for rain.
On the day of prayer all the people gathered,
but only one boy came with an umbrella.
That's FAITH .

When you throw babies in the air,
they laugh because they know you will catch them.
That's TRUST.

Every night we go to bed
without any assurance of being alive the next morning,
but still we set the alarms to wake up.
That's HOPE.

We plan big things for tomorrow
in spite of zero knowledge of the future.
That's CONFIDENCE.

We see the world suffering,
but still we get married and have children.
That's LOVE.

On an old man's shirt was written a sentence
'I am not 80 years old;
I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.'
That's ATTITUDE.
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.
St. Leonard Parish
office@stleonardsparish.ca
www.stleonardsparish.ca