Author: St_Monica_Admin

ST. MONICA PARISH
12011 Woodhead Road, Richmond, BC V6V 1G2
Tel. 604.278.0844 Fax. 604.279.0334
Website: stmonicaparish.ca Email: parish.smon@rcav.org

PASTOR: Rev. Robert Wong, SJ
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PARISH OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Friday
9:30 am – 1 pm / 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
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MASS SCHEDULES
WEEKDAYS: 9:00 am
SATURDAYS: 9:30 am & 5:00 pm
SUNDAYS: 9:00 am & 11:00 am
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CONFESSION SCHEDULE
SATURDAYS: 4:30 pm – 4:55 pm
CONFESSIONS: 10 MINUTES BEFORE DAILY
MASS OR BY REQUEST AT OTHER TIMES
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NOVENA TO
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
WEDNESDAYS: 7:00 pm
MASS FOLLOWED BY NOVENA
& BENEDICTION
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BAPTISM COURSE
EVERY 2ND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT 6 pm
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BAPTISMS
4th SATURDAY AFTER 9:30 am MASS
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HOUSE BLESSINGS
PLEASE CALL THE PARISH OFFICE

September 9, 2018
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Today we have been called to open to God’s Word and let it penetrate our hearts. Particularly, it is never a good idea to close our ears or to be silent to the plight of the most vulnerable among us.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
Isaiah tells the people to be strong and not to be afraid, for great things are about to happen. St James tells to show no partiality toward those who enter our lives. In the Gospel, Jesus cures a man and then orders the crowd not to tell anyone.
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Today’s Readings:
1st: Isaiah 35.4-7
Psalm: 146
2nd: James 2.1-5
Gospel: Mark 7.31-37

PARISH UPDATES
PREP and RCIA – Prep starts on Tuesday, 6pm, Sept. 11. RCIA begins on Thursday, Sept. 13, 7pm. You can refer to the notice board for more information or call the parish office.
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Parish Pastoral Council Meeting – Tuesday, 7:30pm, Sept. 11, is our PPC. Representatives of our parish ministries are urged to participate for the good of our parish life. We have some important topics for discussion.
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Mission Appeal - Fr. Gosbert Mgina, from the Diocese of Iringa, Tanzania, has been approved by the Archdiocese to preach and make his appeal at all the weekend Masses on Sept. 15 and 16. We welcome his presence among us. Our next Sunday Collections will be earmarked for the Mission Appeal. May God bless our generosity!
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Parish Ministry Fair - On September 22 and 23, all parish groups and ministries are encouraged to share your talents and time with our community. The Parish Centre will be the venue. Please welcome others to join your ministry.
So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that they who win it have won a treasure.
- St. Andrew of Crete

Parish Anniversary – On September 30, Sunday, 11am MASS, we celebrate our 70th anniversary and the blessing of the art glass windows of the church. Bishop Stephen Jensen of Prince George will preside. Sarah Hall and Amy Kwan, who designed the windows will also join us.
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Pot-luck Luncheon – Please prepare a pot-luck luncheon for our gathering after the Mass on September 30. A sign-up sheet will be made available for your contribution. Thank you in advance.
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PROJECT ADVANCE 2018 – “Support the Faith - Continue the Legacy.” We have met our Archdiocesan commitment of $25,000. THANK YOU for all our pledgers. We need others who have yet to make a gift to respond to the appeal. The rebates will help to recover expenses for the new sound system in the hall and the repairs of the church roof. Our parish total goal is $75,000. Please see one of our Project Advance volunteers. God Bless YOU!
You may also make your pledge online at www.projectadvance.ca anytime.
God created the world, writing into it an order and a dynamism that human beings have no right to ignore.
- Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 221

ARCHDIOCESAN UPDATES
Donate to the Wildfires Relief Fund for Whitehorse Diocese—Please continue to pray for those affected by the wildfires as well as for the firefighters, first responders, and volunteers. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Whitehorse is asking for online donations and for material donations to be dropped off at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Whitehorse. To help financially, please visit https://rcav.org/whitehorse/
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Stewardship Awards 2018—The Archdiocesan Award for Stewardship honours members of the laity who have provided exceptional service toward our Archdiocesan Priorities and Goals in time, talent or treasure to their parishes or the archdiocesan Church as an example of outstanding, Christian stewardship. Awarded every 3 years, recipients exemplify lives of gratitude and generosity and their lives are outstanding examples of “Stewarding God’s Gifts” in our community! Please submit your nominations to http://rcav.org/stewardship-award-nomination/ by October 5, 2018. Awards will be presented at Mass on the Feast of Christ the King, Sunday, Nov. 25, at 2:30 p.m. at the Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver. All faithful are invited to attend. For more info. please contact stewardship@rcav.org

Stewardship Reflection
The good steward must not show favoritism. The rich may have many material gifts to share, but St. James reminds us in the second reading that God has chosen the world’s poor to be rich in faith and inheritors of God’s kingdom.

Mass Intentions
September 9-15, 2018
Mon, Sep 10— Betty Lau (Intention)
Tue, Sep 11— Vera Decena (TG)
Wed, Sep 12 — 9am, Joseph Mendoza (TG)
7pm, Alice & Lawrence
Fernandes (TG)
Thu, Sep 13— Adoracion Marcelino (TG)
Fri, Sep 14— Marcelino Revita (RIP)
Sat, Sep 15— 9:30am, Porfirio Guevan (RIP)
5pm, Teresa Ira & Family (INT)

Why I’m not leaving the Catholic Church – John Gehring
If there was a time for a demoralized Catholic to pack it up, the most recent round of clergy sexual abuse scandals would seem ample justification.
Questions about my Catholic identity are becoming harder to answer in recent weeks. How could somebody choose to associate with a church where the words predators and cover-up are now commonplace in headlines?
Of course, the abuse crisis isn’t new. The National Catholic Reporter was chasing down the story almost two decades before The Boston Globe broke its bombshell investigations in 2002. No longer is there any doubt about the scale of this systemic evil. While it’s true that most of these abuse cases occurred years ago, this has been a summer of anguish for Catholics.
The church feels at a breaking point.
So why am I still Catholic?
The church has always been a flawed, sinful, human institution filled with darkness and light. In part, I go to church these days to grapple with those contradictions, to find healing in the Eucharist and strength standing next to my fellow weary travellers.
I like to imagine those who became improbable saints – the Christ-denying Peter and the persecuting Saul who found redemption as Paul – looking down and reminding me that Jesus never abandons us, especially in our darkest hours, even when we don’t know the way home. I refuse to let the church I love, still filled with grace, be handed over to men who abused children, abused power and defiled the sacred.
I’m probably writing this as a form of therapy. I’m piecing words together to form some order amid the chaos, trying to remind myself that the best lights that illuminated my path came from the same church that now seems shrouded in darkness. Catholic nuns who taught me about justice and dignity. Jesuit priests who taught me to pray and discern and think. Franciscans who reminded me that the grandeur and glory of God can be reverenced in a forest as much as any cathedral.
I’m grateful to those I never met but are spiritual teachers: Flannery O’Connor, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton. I want to summon all of that goodness and wisdom and spirit. I need it as medicine for healing. Fuel to keep believing. So with all those companions, living and dead, I will keep showing up. Together, we might rebuild our church again.
[John Gehring is Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, and author of The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope’s Challenge to the American Catholic Church.]
p.s. You may find the full article in the National Catholic Reporter, www.ncronline.org

ST. MONICA PARISH
MINISTRIES & ORGANIZATIONS
Altar Servers ………………………………. Jun Lastica
Sonny Magno
Bible Study ……………………………...Teresa Santos
Tel Decena
CWL …………………………...…. Cynthia Diangkinay
Cenacle Prayer Group ……………. Elizabeth Tanase
Choir ……………..……….....…..….M McVicker (5pm)
Neil Macoy (9am)
Michael Goco (11am)
Couples for Christ ……………... John & Anne Ramos
Development & Peace ……………..... Evelyn Victoria
Extraordinary Ministers …………….… Teresa Santos
Michelle Irineo
Funeral Music St. Monica …………...….. M McVicker
Interfaith Alliance …………………....... Edward Wong
Knights of Columbus …………………....Teody Parejo
Lectors ………………………...…….. Marlytel Decena
Legion of Mary ………………….…Elizabeth Taboada
Pat Diamzon
Outreach Ministry ……………….….….…. Edith Perez
P.R.E.P ……………………….…......… Teresa Santos
Parish Pastoral Council ………...….… Pete Capitulo
Project Advance …………....…. Ed & Baby San Jose
Religious Goods …………….….………. Baby Santos
Lala Revita, Linda Zamora
R.C.I.A. ………...…...…...…. Wilbur & Evelyn Victoria
Sacristy …………………….…….……...… Lala Revita
Ushers ………………….……….…..…. Larry Navasca
Robert Sullivan
Youth for Christ …………...………... Adrian Boquiren
Camille Barcita

M E E T I N G S
LEGION OF MARY
Handmaid of the Lord
Sat: 10 am – 12 nn
Mary Mother of the Redeemer
Mon: 10 am – 12 nn
CATHOLIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE
3rd Sat. of the month after 9:30 am mass
MARIAN MOVEMENT OF PRIEST
CENACLE PRAYER GROUP
Thurs: 9:30 am at the Family Room
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Executive: 3rd Sat. of the month,
10:15 am
General: 4th Sat. of the month, 10:15 am
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Bi-Monthly 7:30-9:00 pm
COUPLES FOR CHRIST
General Assembly every 1st Saturday 6 pm
Teaching Night every 3rd Saturday 6 pm
ST. MONICA PARISH YOUTH
MINISTRY
Regular Meeting every 1st Saturday
12 nn – 4 pm
BIBLE STUDY
Monday & Thursday 7 pm – 9 pm
RCIA
Thursday 7pm—9 pm

The Art of Daily Conversations
Is there someone at work, or in your family, who you feel called to befriend or further involve in your life? Whether friendships develop on the bus, by the water cooler or at the dinner table, nurturing a real relationship takes time. As these daily conversations take place, how can we tell when someone is just curious to learn more about Jesus and why we love him, even before getting invited to get to know him better? Join us for wine and cheese and learn practical tips from Amber Zolc and the CCO Impact Team on how to share your personal journey with Christ, one conversation at a time. Friday, May 25, at 7 p.m. at the JPII Pastoral Centre. Cost $10. Register at rcav.org/event/the-art-of-daily-conversations.

The Art of Daily Conversations
Is there someone at work, or in your family, who you feel called to befriend or further involve in your life? Whether friendships develop on the bus, by the water cooler or at the dinner table, nurturing a real relationship takes time. As these daily conversations take place, how can we tell when someone is just curious to learn more about Jesus and why we love him, even before getting invited to get to know him better? Join us for wine and cheese and learn practical tips from Amber Zolc and the CCO Impact Team on how to share your personal journey with Christ, one conversation at a time. Friday, May 25, at 7 p.m. at the JPII Pastoral Centre. Cost $10. Register at rcav.org/event/the-art-of-daily-conversations.