Trusting in the will of the Father and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the community of Holy Family Catholic Parish is striving to become active disciples of Christ by reaching out to all through love, understanding, care, and sharing in faith and prayer.
DIOCESE OF SAULT STE. MARIE |
DIOCÈSE DE SAULT STE-MARIE |
Christmas Eve, 2020
Dear members of the diocesan family, Dear friends of all faith traditions,
It gives me great pleasure to address this letter to you just a week after the inauguration of my ministry as bishop for the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. With Christmas arriving just around the corner, one joyous occasion follows another!
There is something special about this time of year. Even as we struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic, hope bursts forth. We will have the chance to celebrate Christmas itself, for which I am grateful, and the new year carries with it the promise of a vaccine which will help us return to a more normal way of life.
To help combat this virus, residents of Ontario are being asked to enter another lockdown. Looking on the bright side, it will be a chance for us to slow down and spend time with our families and loved ones. Let us not forget that the reason for this “pause” is to protect the most vulnerable.
Many of us have experienced a loss this year, myself included. Christmas will feel different, no question about it. I invite all of us, therefore, to also remember those who may be feeling sad or alone at this time. Christmas is a chance for us to renew community, and this spirit of mutual communion is one of the great gifts Jesus gave to the world over 2000 years ago. Let’s open that gift, and our hearts!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a most blessed and happy New Year!
Yours in Christ,
+Thomas Dowd
Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie
Diocesan Centre / Centre diocésain 30 Ste Anne, Sudbury, ON P3C 5E1
Tel: 705-674-2727 Fax/Télécopieur : 705-674-9889
A daily Bible study based on the theme of the 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Jan. 18-25, 2021. Online Events are Free.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
DAILY MASS ATTENDANCE
REMINDER: If you plan to attend a daily Mass, you are reminded of the following requirements:
Covid-19 is still a threat to public health. It is imparative that you read and follow the guidelines mentioned in the document before coming to Mass.
Here are links to access daily Masses and Prayer Sites from our Diocese Website. offered for those who are currently experiencing difficulties and unable to attend mass.
Effective today, January 16th, 2021, until the end of the Stay at Home order, the Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste-Marie, Thomas Dowd, has asked that all public celebrations of the Mass in the churches of the Diocese be suspended until Feb. 11, in order to permit all diocesan parishioners to comply with the provincial Stay at Home directives. “I know this is a huge sacrifice for our people. This difficult decision was made after consulting with the public health authorities as well as our diocesan College of consultors and regional leaders,” Bishop Dowd explained. “We want to do our part to help protect the public.” Bishop Dowd noted that the government decree does allow for church gatherings in limited circumstances. With regard to other worship services: celebrations of baptism, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, viaticum, marriage (outside of mass), blessings, and funeral services (outside of mass) are still permitted, provided that the limit of 10 people is respected along with all other health protocols. “The priests are also still encouraged to celebrate masses for broadcast from within their churches, whether online or via FM radio,” said Bishop Dowd. “The pastoral care of the people of our diocese must continue despite the stay at home order. Parishes are exhorted to continue to provide, via telephone or online means, services such as pastoral counselling, catechism, times of fellowship and faith sharing, pastoral visits and outreach, opportunities to pray together, and so on.” These directives are subject to modification as the public health situation evolves. The full text of the decree of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie can be found attached to this press release, as well as on the diocesan website.
My Lord Jesus Christ, You who are the Doctor of doctors, the one who restores all that we think is lost. Who heals the most hardened hearts and who has all the power to deliver from evil. There is no disease that does not bow to your presence, that resists your creator power. That is why we ask you, to come with strength and help us free ourselves from this terrible evil of the coronavirus.
continue prayer here
CALENDAR FOR PARISH HALL EVENTS (bookings and meetings are cancelled until further direction from the Diocese )
New! On-line small group program! "Dear Heart Come Home"
Midlife … is a summons to grow and a challenge to change. Midlife beckons one inward. It is a move to interiority, a passage to the deeper places where we discover our authenticity, where we realize both our limitations and our grandeur. It is here that we come home to our truest Self. We take our external experiences with us to the inside and look at our life. We evaluate our goals, hopes, dreams, beliefs, behaviours, experiences – all that has marked us and contributed to the person we have become – and we ask ourselves: “Is this the person I want to be in the future?”
We will use Joyce Rupp’s book as the source of input, private journaling and group sharing during our sessions. More information will be provided at the first session.
More information on the poster
Dear Heart Come Home Poster
REGISTER: shalomssm@shaw.ca or 705-254-4690 or complete the contact form on this website
Saint of the Day for January 22(d. c. 304)Click here to listenMost of what we know about this saint comes from the poet Prudentius. His Acts have been rather freely colored by the imagination of their compiler. But Saint Augustine, in one of his sermons on Saint Vincent, speaks of having the Acts of his martyrdom before him. We are at least sure of his name, his being a deacon, the place of his death and burial. According to the story we have, the unusual devotion he inspired must have had a basis in a very heroic life. Vincent was ordained deacon by his friend Saint Valerius of Zaragossa in Spain. The Roman emperors had published their edicts against the clergy in 303, and the following year against the laity. Vincent and his bishop were imprisoned in Valencia. Hunger and torture failed to break them. Like the youths in the fiery furnace, they seemed to thrive on suffering. Valerius was sent into exile, and Dacian, the Roman governor, now turned the full force of his fury on Vincent. Tortures that sound very modern were tried. But their main effect was the progressive disintegration of Dacian himself. He had the torturers beaten because they failed. Finally he suggested a compromise: Would Vincent at least give up the sacred books to be burned according to the emperor’s edict? He would not. Torture on the gridiron continued, the prisoner remaining courageous, the torturer losing control of himself. Vincent was thrown into a filthy prison cell—and converted the jailer. Dacian wept with rage, but strangely enough, ordered the prisoner to be given some rest. Friends among the faithful came to visit him, but he was to have no earthly rest. When they finally settled him on a comfortable bed, he went to his eternal rest.
Reflection The martyrs are heroic examples of what God’s power can do. It is humanly impossible, we realize, for someone to go through tortures such as Vincent had and remain faithful. But it is equally true that by human power alone no one can remain faithful even without torture or suffering. God does not come to our rescue at isolated, “special” moments. God is supporting the super-cruisers as well as children’s toy boats. Start the new year prayerfully! Subscribe to our new Pause+Pray! |
"...Say the Rosary every day Pray, pray a lot and offer the sacrifices for sinners.
I'm the Lady of the Rosary, Only I will be able to help you.
In the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
- Our Lady of Fatima
Come and pray the rosary live around the world.
The 15 Promises to those who pray the Holy Rosary
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The practice of the Rosary dates back to the 11th century, when the illiterate religious recited Pater Nosters and Ave Marias in the place of the office in choir. These monks who could not read recited 150 Ave Marias, in lieu of the 150 psalms: this was called the Psalter of Mary. The Dominican Alain de la Roche spread the recitation of the Rosary in the 15th century. The Catholic rosary, made up of beads grouped in five decades, is the material object used for reciting the Rosary which includes joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious sets of mysteries.
… The word “rosary” means a crown of flowers …and comes from courtly love. A "rosarium," meaning "field of roses," denoted a collection of poems that a knight dedicated to his lady. To greet Mary with Ave Marias is like offering her roses by meditating with her on the gospel.
Pope Francis is very devoted to the Rosary. His secretary shared on Vatican Radio on March 10, 2014, that "the Pope does not waste a minute, he works tirelessly. When he feels the need for a short pause, he sits down and recites the Rosary. He prays three of them a day. He says: ‘It helps me relax.’ "
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a relatively recent but very popular devotion revealed by Our Lord to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun. On Good Friday 1937, Christ appeared to Saint Faustina and asked her to recite this chaplet for nine days, starting on Good Friday and ending on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday), now known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Click Here for instruction as to how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Divine Mercy Chaplet sung and prayed by Donna Cori Gibson.
Start each day off right! Join tens of thousands of Catholics receiving brief, daily reflections from the Diary of St. Faustina every morning.
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God’s hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o’erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.
Heavenly Father,In every age, you have been our refuge.Yet again and still, we stand before you asking for your protection on your holy Church.For the victims of abuse and their families,pour out your healing and your peace.For the Bishops of this country,continue to inspire their decisions,and guide them with your Spirit.For the thousands of good and faithful priests,who have followed yourcall to serve you and your people in holiness,sustain them by your grace.For the faithful who are angry, confused, and searching for answers,embrace them with your love,restore their trust,console them with your clear Gospel message,and renew them with your sacraments.We place our Church in your hands,for without you we can do nothing.May Jesus, our High Priest and true compass,continue to lead her in every thought and action –to be an instrument of justice,a source of consolation,a sacrament of unity,and a manifestation of your faithful covenant.Grant this through that same Jesus Christ, our Lord,who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Credit:Rita Thiron,Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commission