“We will be like him, for we will see him as he is.”1 Jn 3,2

Dear parishioners, 

On the last day, we will be transfigured by our mere presence to the Father. We will see the Son and the Father and the Holy Spirit, and all their work. What a day.

In the meantime, a few things to share with you.

First, a word about our drive-through communions. We had thought this would be the most appealing of options for the parishioners, but thus far, demand is strangely low. Perhaps the message isn’t quite out there yet. We will continue to try to make this work. If it fails, we will try a final option, which is to set up our wifi outdoors, so that people can access the mass in their cars without having to use their own data. But I continue to believe that watching the mass at home and coming to church after mass for communion is the preferable option, so we’ll just keep on trying. If you can’t make it to the parish in 30 minutes because you live too far away, I have two suggestions. Leave your home a  bit early, say, at the end of the eucharistic prayer, just before the Our Father. That would give you an extra ten minutes or so to get here. Second suggestion, make an appointment with Fr. Gabriel or myself to come to the parish office for communion. Our extension numbers are in the parish bulletin. Finally, a reminder: drive-through communion immediately after mass is available at the two Sunday mass times, and after the 7:00 p.m. mass on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Pre-registration is required.

In other news, Ave Maria Garden is at it again, this time in collaboration with our CWL. They would like to help you celebrate Mothers’ Day in a special way. They are preparing beautiful flower arrangements for sale. All after-cost proceeds from the sale will go to providing lunch for the homeless at “The Door is Open”. You can choose an arrangement and place your order before April 30 through the Ave Maria site that has been set up for this purpose at http://bit.ly/stmarycharityflowers . You can also contact Jane at [email protected] or Teresa at [email protected] for any questions. 

Mission Ablaze has organised a second talk to which all are welcome. Angelyn Dee, a theologian, will be giving an online talk at Mission Ablaze’s prayer gathering on “St. Joseph, the Royal Worker”. This talk will take place on Tuesday May 4th from 7:30 pm to 9 pm, concluding with a prayer of consecration to St. Joseph. Pre-registration is required since the number of participants is limited. Send an email to [email protected] to pre-register. Deadline for pre-registration is Sunday, May 2nd.

Today’s second collection is for the archdiocesan vocations office. I thank Fr. Goo for having been with us today at the 11:15 mass. He and his associates are doing an incredibly good job at promoting and processing vocations, but it’s a challenge. The financial situation at the archdiocesan level is just as precarious as it is at the parish level, so please consider making a donation to the vocations office, either online, or by dropping off your envelope at the parish office. You can also make a donation by clicking on this link: www.vocationsvancouver.ca/give 

Finslly, for those who perhaps haven’t heard, our current shut-down is set to last till May 24th. That’s another four weeks. Now is the time to live our life as Church at the level of the domestic Church, the home Church. Now is the time to develop the habit of praying together as a family. There are lots of resources out there. The monthly edition of Living with Christ always has a morning prayer and an evening prayer for prayer at home. It can be accessed online. You might also simply enter “family prayers” or “Catholic family prayers” in your search engine, and you’ll find a multitude of prayers that you can use. Just pick what works for you.

God bless us and keep us all safe and well.

 

Fr. Guy