Celebration Weekend!

Today is the Feast of Christ the King. One year ago on this Feast, we presented the idea of a Place for Everyone! This weekend, with the Dedication of our Parish Centre by Bishop Bergie, that Place for Everyone is a reality! As we gather, first and foremost we rejoice and give thanks to Almighty God who has made this all possible!

I am immensely grateful to all who have been a part of making this a reality. To all at Schiedel Construction for their diligent work. To our Finance Council and Fundraising Committee members, project team and parishioners who helped with demolition and helped move out last Spring and move in last week. To so many of the subtrades and construction workers who have all laboured to bring this project to this day. All gave of their time and talent to do the little extras we marvel at today.

Yet, my hardiest thank you goes to you, the parish family of St. Mary of the Visitation. With the favourable support of 93% of our parish, we undertook this journey - and due to your faithfulness, spiritual and temporal, because of your patience, daily and weekly, and as a result of your goodness ... we truly today have a Place for Everyone - accessible, ample and accommodating for our growing community. Today is a day of Abundant Joy! May Our Lady of the Visitation continue to be our inspiration, model and guide.

Only 6 more sleeps !

We are in the final days before the Dedication of Our Parish Centre on November 21st at 5:00 p.m. by Bishop Bergie - please join us. Until then; the pictures will do the talking

Only Two Weeks Away

The excitement is building and here are the details for our awesome celebration weekend on November 21/22, 2009 - Feast of Christ the King

PARISH CENTRE DEDICATION WEEKEND
November 21/22, 2009
A Time to Celebrate - Abundantly!

Mass of Dedication - November 21, 2009,
at the 5:00 p.m. Mass with Bishop Bergie.
Reception to follow in the Parish Centre.

Parish Breakfast - November 22, 2009
after the 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Masses
at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

- JOIN US! -

★ 9:30 a.m. Mass - Kids Klub Members will be doing the readings and our Kids Khior will lead us in song.
★ 11:00 a.m. Mass - We will formally welcome 11 adults who wish to be members of the Catholic faith and who are participating in the R.C.I.A. process.
★ After each Mass - Members of our High School Youth Group - Da Crew - will be selling handmade Advent Wreaths which they made last weekend during Da Nerve to Serve Weekend

IT WILL BE AN ABUNDANT WEEKEND OF CELEBRATING !

All Saints Day

The Gospel for the Solemnity of All Saints is the Beatitudes from Matthew’s narrative. In eight great statements, Jesus declares blessed the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the merciful – so many of those whom the world holds in contempt. Each of them will receive the kingdom, expressed in a wonderful variety of ways: they will be comforted, satisfied, shown mercy; they will inherit the land, they will see God, they will be children of God. The Beatitudes show us the way to holiness in an incredibly simple yet challenging way. The last of the Beatitudes is perhaps the most challenging of all. “Blessed are you,” Jesus says at last, when you are persecuted and falsely accused. Rejoice and be glad. For then, you most closely resemble the saints. Today’s solemnity reminds us that the saints are beyond all counting: God is generous. Among them are surely members of our families and friends who have helped us on our way to faith. Let us remember them today and always. Saints of God, pray for us.

On Monday, November 2, the Church celebrates the Commemoration of all the faithful departed. This feast, as we know it, can be traced to Abbot Odo of Cluny (France) in the tenth century, but prayer for the dead has been our custom from the earliest days of the Church. The belief that our prayers can be of assistance to the dead is a treasured tenet of our Catholic faith. All Souls Day commemorates all those who have died, who, we pray, may one day join the saints in the heavenly kingdom. These are the faithful departed who, we pray to God, in his great love and mercy, takes to himself. On this day we pray for all the dead. We pray that they be admitted to the banquet of heaven with all the saints in glory.

Our annual Parish Memorial Mass will be offered at 7:00p.m. on Monday, November 2 - all are welcome to join us.

Now for a few pictures of our Parish Centre