The Fifth Sunday of Lent | March 17, 2024

Announcements

THINKfast MOVING VIRTUALLY: Campus Ministry is holding an intergenerational 25-hour THINKfast. Join us as we learn about our role as global citizens. Everywhere on Earth, and especially in the Global South, impoverished populations are facing growing challenges due to climate change, land grabbing, resource theft, soil contamination and armed conflict. Discover the valiant work of many people in the Global South with the support of Development and Peace. Fast for 25 hours (or as you are able) and participate in this Share Lent campaign 2024. 

We are moving THINKfast to a non-gathered online event that you can participate in, in the comfort of your own home.

To discover more about development and peace’s campaign this year please watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqwSH0eM3XE&t=11s

For your personal reflection please see:

https://devp.org/en/weekly-reflection-for-march-17-2024-5th-sunday-of-lent/

Please note the Development and Peace mini-magazine will be available at Church on Sunday, March 17, 2024.

Any donations (online or at Church) to Development and Peace are appreciated.

To learn more about the impacts of environmental degradation on those around the world please watch the movie “The Letter.” This is a full length movie developed by Pope Francis gathering indigenous voices, scientists, young activists and those directly impacted. This movie is available for free on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rps9bs85BII. Enjoy!

We will still be gathering for our Solidary Sunday Meal of soup and bread (if you can bring soup to share please contact Annette Donovan at in the parish hall following the 10:00 AM Mass on Sunday March 17, 2024.

CONGRATULATIONS are extended to Ivy Stirrat, daughter of Luke Stirrat and Christine Hlady MacDonald-Stirrat, as she receives the Sacrament of Baptism on March 17, 2024. We pray that Ivy grows in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord and that her family provide her with a witness of God’s love throughout her life.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR KING'S CHAMBER CHOIR SPRING CONCERT NOW: King's University College Chamber Choir, along with special guest musicians, will present "Celtic Voyage," a concert of Celtic and East Coast choral music -- from poignant ballads to rollicking toe-tappers. This will take place on Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 PM in The Chapel at Windermere on the Mount. Admission is by freewill donation, with proceeds going toward the Health & Homelessness Movement for Change. To reserve your seats, click here or call 519-518-0250 (indicate your full name, email address, and number of seats you would like reserved). Book now - 75% of seats are currently reserved! Interested in volunteering at the concert? Please email Janet if interested in helping out with hospitality tasks.

HORIZONS OF HOPE is a program of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) Committee on Palliative Care that addresses the increasing complexities regarding end-of-life issues in Canada. It is designed to help caregivers, the sick and dying, and family members to find support and concrete assistance Our parish will present a series of sessions, based on the tools provided by the program, to address questions surrounding palliative care, dying, death, suffering, accompaniment, and bereavement in a holistic fashion. They will be held on the third Saturday of each month from March to June (March 16, April 20, May 18 and June 15) in the Parish Hall at 2:00 PM. If interested in taking part, please register with Lisa Caeiro.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PARISH? We value the work of volunteers at our parish. It is a great way to enrich the ministry of our parish and to build community. Whether it’s volunteering for a liturgical ministry, helping with children’s program, or helping serve at a community meal, there is an opportunity that awaits you. All you need to do is to fill out this brief online form or fill out the form on the orange-coloured paper found at the back of The Chapel at Windermere On the Mount. Better yet, you can always chat with any of the Campus Ministry team members. 

ADMISSION TO PERMANENT DIACONATE FORMATION: The Diocese of London is seeking men who are being called to lives of service. Are you one of them? Are you being called to consider becoming a Permanent Deacon in our Diocese? The admission cycle for entry into the Permanent Diaconate Formation and Study program is open until June 10, 2024. For more information and to register as an inquirer, please visit: www.deacons.space/admissions. In-person inquiry sessions will occur in May. Locations will be based upon inquirer registration responses. All registrations will be responded to with more information.

Lenten & Easter Events

STATIONS OF THE CROSS & CHANGES TO TUESDAY SCHEDULE DURING LENT: Our parish will offer the Lenten tradition of Stations of the Cross, a prayer reflecting on Jesus's passion and death on the cross, on a weekly basis on Tuesday evenings until March 26 prior to Mass. As a result, confessions will be moved earlier in the evening. Here is what the schedule will look like during these weeks: Confessions at 6:00 PM, Stations of the Cross at 6:25 PM, Mass at 7:00 PM.

DAY OF CONFESSIONS: During Lent, we focus on our call to return to God with all our hearts and we are provided opportunities, such as the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to act on our hunger for personal change and spiritual renewal. Wednesday, March 20 will be dedicated as a Lenten Day of Confessions in parishes throughout the diocese. Here is the schedule for our parish:

The Chapel at Windermere on the Mount

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Father Paul Baillargeon)

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (Father Peter Amszej)

2:00 PM - 6:30 PM (Father Paul Baillargeon)

University Community Centre, Room 38B (Western)

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM (Father Peter Amszej)

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (Father Peter Amszej)

Christ the King Chapel (Wemple Hall at King's)

11:00 AM - 12 noon (Father Peter Amszej)

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Father Peter Amszej)

Note: Confessions will still be offered on Tuesdays starting at 6:00 pm before Mass and by appointment, as usual, throughout Lent. 

PARISH LENTEN BOOK CLUB: Our parish book club has returned for the Lenten season and, this time around, we are looking at the book The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly. It will be a great opportunity for us to look at four important areas of our lives during this Lent. You can easily buy your own copy of the book. Once again, we will have two sections of our book club with the following remaining days:

• Tuesday evenings starting at around 7:45 PM in the parish hall on March 19 & 26
• Saturday afternoons starting at 2:00 PM in Dante Lenardon Hall Room 112 on King’s campus on March 23 & 30

Please contact Fr. Peter (by email at pamszej@hotmail.com or call the office at 519-963-1477) to let him know that you’re interested in participating in the book club, so that he can include you on the mailing list.

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE — CARITAS CANADA:

This Lent, please give generously

This Solidarity Sunday, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s Reaping our Rights campaign invites you to give generously and thanks you warmly for your generosity.

Your donation transforms the lives of some of our most vulnerable sisters and brothers across the world.

“Development and Peace — Caritas Canada accompanies, supports and respects our institutional autonomy. It creates a climate of trust. I thank our sisters and brothers in Canada for their solidarity, a solidarity that generates life opportunities, that accompanies the dreams of women and men, of families, of communities and territories. Thank you!” ― Eva Colque, Executive Director, Fundación NUNA, a partner in Bolivia.

Help create hope and dreams of the communities we support in the Global South by giving to your Share Lent parish collection or at devp.org/give. Thank you for your solidarity!

Join us following Mass today for a simple meal of bread and soup as a sign of our solidarity with those around the world.

CCCB LENTEN VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES: The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) presents this year's series of videos for Lent, entitled 'Journey Through Lent.' This series is meant to offer spiritual inspiration and guidance on how to prepare well for the Easter season. This year’s English language presenters are the Most Reverend Stephen Hero, Bishop of Prince Albert, and the Most Reverend Mark Hagemoen, Bishop of Saskatoon. Click here to view the videos in this series. 

FLOWER DONATIONS FOR EASTER: If you would like to make a donation toward the purchase of flowers for our Easter celebrations in memory of your loved ones and/or for the needs and intentions of friends and family, please use an envelope marked "Easter flowers" with your name and the name(s) of those you would like remembered. Alternatively, you can email Lisa Caeiro in the Parish Office or call at (519) 963-1477 by March 18, 2024. Your name and the name of the individuals you would like to remember will be published in the Easter week bulletin. Thank you for your generosity and support.

Paschal Triduum 2024

The three days of the sacred Easter Triduum are celebrated as one great feast, allowing us to re-present the mystery of our salvation in word, sacrament, symbol and song. We are reminded that His death and resurrection have given us the humble confidence that we who live in Christ and we who die with Christ will reign with Him forever. If you have not made a point of celebrating these liturgies in the past, we encourage you to do so and to be transformed by their beauty and solemnity.

Please note that there will be incense used on Holy Thursday and at the Easter Vigil (Holy Saturday).

Outreach & Justice

FOOD DONATIONS FOR KING'S STUDENTS: Campus Ministry, in collaboration with the Student Affairs department and King's Student Council, stocks a pantry on King's campus with food items and hygiene products for students in need. Donations of non-perishable food items are appreciated. We are in particular need of canned fruit, pasta (regular and gluten-free), crackers (including gluten-free), and pasta sauce at this time. Items can be dropped off in the Chapel at Windermere on the Mount by the St. Joseph’s statue (near the piano) or at the back of the chapel in Wemple Hall. The Campus Ministry team and our student body are grateful for your generosity.

ST. JOE’S CAFÉ has expanded their schedule to help meet the demands of the growing food insecure community in London. The King’s community will be sending 10 people on a number of Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. If you are able to volunteer one or more Saturdays over the next couple of months please sign up at here and just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do. To drop off baked goods or sign up to play music please email annette.donovan@kings.uwo.ca .

Your Support is Appreciated

FASTING – Keeping Life in Perspective. We share the discipline of fasting with other faith traditions but not in a way that separates spiritual and bodily needs. Jesus reveals the mystery of the incarnate God who asks us also to hold in tension – in our bodies – the way of love. On Solidarity Sunday and on days of abstinence we intentionally join our small suffering – our chosen hunger – to those who daily go without adequate food or other privileges we enjoy. Even as we know that we “do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” (Matt. 4:4) we recognize that God’s Word calls us to do something about that hunger; and not just metaphorically! St. Augustine referred to “Christ, the bread seeking hunger.” How are we called to embody Christ’s presence? How does our faith make a difference right where we are?  

Food insecurity is an unfortunate reality for many of our university students as well as contract faculty, staff, and others. As a member of our university parish, if you are in a position to help, please consider directing funds to the Campus Ministry Social Action Fund (click on designation dropdown menu and select "Social Action") which is helping to provide food and other supports to those who need your help. Also consider donating food items directly to the King’s Cupboard food pantry.

As always, we are grateful for your donations to support the work of Campus Ministry. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our donation page or contact Lisa Caeiro. 

Deacon Jim

Jim Panchaud

Director of Campus Ministry (Deacon)

jim.panchaud@kings.uwo.ca

Lisa Caeiro

Administrative Assistant

lisa.caeiro@kings.uwo.ca

Annette Donovan Panchaud

Liturgical/Outreach

annette.donovan@kings.uwo.ca

Janet Loo

Music/Taizé

janet.loo@kings.uwo.ca

Father Peter Amszej

Pastor/Chaplain

peter.amszej@kings.uwo.ca

Maija Wilson

Sacramental/Youth

maija.wilson@kings.uwo.ca

campusministry@kings.uwo.ca

General Contact

Alice Corneil

Mickey Doyley

Aimee Paradis

Afzal Shafaq

Rachael Wright

Campus Ministry Student Ambassadors