The Parish Community of St. Kevin

Served by the Holy Cross Fathers

303 Niagara Street
Welland, Ontario  L3C 1K5
Email
905-735-5885


32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

November 10, 2024

Remembrance Day November 11th

God of love and justice, we remember all men and women
who died in defence of our country and its freedom.
Help us to honour their sacrifice through our prayers and actions for peace.
Send your Spirit to help us to let go of misunderstandings, hatred and prejudice,
so that we may grow together as one family. Amen.

 

Rite of Enrollment for First Reconciliation and First Communion

This weekend we welcome the children who will be enrolled in our Parish as preparing for their First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. The Rite of Enrollment is a ceremony in which the children profess their commitment to receiving the Sacrament, and our parish community and their families commit to supporting them in their journey. Saturday at our 5:00pm Mass the children from Holy Name School will be enrolled; Sunday at 10:00am we welcome the children from Alexander Kuska School; and Sunday at 11:30am Mass we will receive those from St. Kevin School. We ask members of the Parish to please pray for these children and their families as they prepare for the Holy Eucharist.

 

Confirmation Preparation

The meeting with the parents and our Grade 8 students, who will soon begin to prepare for Confirmation in Spring 2025, will take place as follows: Tuesday, November 12th for Alexander Kuska School and Wednesday, November 13th for Holy Name & St. Kevin Schools. Meetings are at 6:30pm each evening beginning in the foyer. If families cannot make the meeting for their child’s school, we ask that they attend the alternate evening.

 

Sunday Missals

  • Sunday Missals for 2024-2025 are on sale from the Parish Office for $5. They will be on sale in the foyer at all Masses beginning this weekend.

  • 2025 Religious Calendars, provided by J.J. Patterson & Sons Funeral Residence are available for a donation of $1. All donations go to our Share Advent Fund to help those in need in our community.

     

Deo Gratias Collection

This weekend, our parish is taking up a special collection for Diocesan priests’ retirement, Deo Gratias. This collection supports the Clergy Aid Society, which provides a monthly benefit and health insurance to Diocesan priests at age 75. Please show your gratitude to those priests who have cared for and ministered in our Diocese. *Our priests here at St. Kevin’s are part of a religious order – Holy Cross – and their retirement is managed differently, through their order. We still encourage you to donate to Deo Gratias but know that it is in support of the Diocesan clergy for the Diocese of St. Catharines.

 

Culture of Life Ministry Baby Diaper Drive for Clarity

The St. Kevin's Parish Culture of Life Ministry is hosting a Diaper Drive. Baby Diapers Sizes 3/4/5/6 and baby wipes are needed. Diapers/Wipes collections will take place in the foyer at all masses, this weekend and November 16th/17th. 
Please place your donation in the playpen located in the church foyer
Donations by cheque or e-transfers will be accepted and used to purchase additional diapers and wipes. Cheques should be made out to St. Kevin's Parish with “DIAPER DRIVE” written in the memo section of the cheque and placed in the collection basket at mass. If you wish to donate through an e-transfer, you can do so using the email: stkevindonation@gmail.com. On the message line we ask that you please include your full name and the collection name in the message as well, "DIAPER DRIVE." All donations collected will be given to Clarity Pregnancy Options in Welland, which is a faith-based non-profit organization in partnership with Elisha House. Clarity provides care for individuals facing an unplanned pregnancy and does not provide, recommend or refer for abortions. Thank you for your generosity and for supporting a Culture for LIFE!!

 

Culture of Life Ministry Christmas Card Sales

Christmas Cards will be sold in the foyer after each of the Masses on the weekend of November 23rd/24th. All funds generated support women and preborn children in need through the parish Culture of Life Ministry.

Packages of 10 elegant cards for only $10. Cash only please. Last year we sold out!! 

Thank you for your generosity and for supporting a Culture for LIFE!!

 

Tours of The Hope Centre

The St. Kevin Parish Social Justice Committee is organizing tours of The Hope Centre for our parishioners. There will be three options to visit the centre: Tuesday, November 26th at 9:45am; Wednesday, November 27th at 3:00pm; and Thursday, November 28th at 9:45am. If you have always wanted to walk through The Hope Centre and get a better sense of all that they do for our community, please consider signing up to take a tour. The Social Justice Committee will be at a table in the foyer on the weekends of November 16th/17th and November 23rd/24th for you to sign-up. We hope you will join us!

 

Holy Name Society - Stations of the Cross

The Holy Name Society invites parishioners to join them in praying the Stations of the Cross for the Holy Souls in Purgatory on Friday, November 22nd at 7:00pm in the Church. All are welcome.

 

Catholic Womens League News

APPLE STRUDEL: Start your Christmas baking! The CWL will be taking orders for frozen APPLE strudels (baking instructions included) before and after masses on the weekends of November 16th/17th and November 23rd/24th. They are $20 each (cash please) and you can bake them either from frozen or thawed. Pick ups will be on Saturday, December 7th from 4:30-6:00pm OR Sunday, December 8th from 8:00am to 1:00pm in the foyer of the church. As Mrs. Claus says, “Good things come to those who bake.”

 

 
 

Please remember the Poor Box as you leave the Church.

 

Worth Repeating

The items below you may have seen before but remain here if seasonally important information

or

General information that people need to review from time to time.

 

Housekeeping Reminders

  • Please place hymn books neatly back in their spots. Please be sure to dispose of tissues, wrappers, or other debris when leaving. And don’t forget your bulletin. Please do not leave behind daily Missalettes at the end of the month – simply recycle them.

  • When entering the parking lot please do so from Niagara Street and exit via Northcote. Please drive slowly in our parking lot as well. If you are parking on the side streets for Mass, please be respectful of road signs and driveways. Please be sure to lock your car doors when you come for Mass or any other function.

  • Please also be very careful with perfumes and colognes. Some parishioners tend to go very heavy with these and it can be difficult for fellow parishioners with allergies or breathing troubles. We have had many parishioners come to us about this requesting that we ask people to not wear scents. Please refrain or use the tiniest amount possible.

  • For those who place loose bills or coins in the collection – we would like to give you proper credit for income tax purposes. Please consider using our Visitor envelopes or asking Father/our Staff for a box of envelopes.

 

The Vineyard, the Diocese of St. Catharines journal has gone digital.

It can be viewed at http://saintcd.com/diocesan-directory/the-vineyard

 

Safety Reminder

We wish to remind Parishioners to please lock car doors when attending Mass and please do not leave valuables in vehicles, in the parking lot or on the street. Thank you.

 

Catholic Marriage Tribunal

If you are considering remarriage in the Catholic Church at some point, or hoping to enter a marriage with someone previously married, please speak to a priest, or contact the Diocesan Catholic Marriage Tribunal in St. Catharines at 905-687-8817. Information Pamphlets are available through the parish.

 

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Due to the privacy laws, the hospital does not list our parishioners by address or parish unless you state your religion as ST. KEVIN PARISH when you are admitted. It would help the parish visiting team if when the hospital asks religion – you respond ST. KEVIN'S PARISH. If you or a family member enter a hospital for several days please be sure to call the parish office to let us know if you wish a visit. If you wish the Anointing of the Sick before an operation, either at home or while in the hospital, be sure to inform the parish office. A priest will come as soon as possible to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. We also have a group of lay people from our parish who each week visit or bring communion to Catholic parishioners in the hospital. Please, we need to know that you are there!

 

A Review of Some Parish Policies

  1. Requests: We often receive requests for baptism or marriage, or Pastoral References for teachers, who are not members of St. Kevin's Parish. Examples would be: They might like our church and so want to get married here although they live elsewhere. Or: they were baptized here and so they would like their child to be baptized here although they live elsewhere. Or: I went to Notre Dame College School. The main point here is "they live elsewhere". Now – wherever elsewhere might be, there is a Catholic parish there. Our policy is to minister to the parishioners of St. Kevin's. We have more than 3400 families; there is a lot of ministry work for us to do here. Our focus and attention is first and foremost on our own parishioners.

  2. Parishioners should be registered: And here it is important to remember – that all of our parishioners should be registered in the parish, that is, on our books with names and phone numbers and addresses.

  3. Young Adults: There is a point when the young person must register in our Parish. It does not suffice to say my parents are members of St. Kevin's and I was confirmed at St. Kevin's when that person has been living on his or her own. The young adult should not depend on the faith and loyalty of parents or grandparents but must take ownership of his or her own faith. That means, as well, the young person should be engaged in the financial support of the Parish.

  4. Support of the Church: One of the precepts of the church – parishioners should be generous in supporting the material needs of the church. Today, we do this best by regularly using envelopes to help with the expenses of administering a very large parish such as St. Kevin's.

  5. Needing a Letter of Permission: Hospitality is a wonderful characteristic of St. Kevin's Parish. And we do want to be open and hospitable to folks who are not registered members in the parish. Yet – we must be careful to observe church laws and regulations. We will consider doing a marriage or a baptism of those folks from elsewhere. But – we must ask that the person or persons making this request of us have a "letter of permission" from elsewhere, that is, from the parish in which they are actually living - a letter from the Pastor of that parish giving us permission to do the baptism or marriage. Without such a letter of permission our policy must be to refuse to do such baptisms or marriages.

  6. Weddings: To be married in St. Kevin's, one should be registered in the parish. Please call at least six months in advance to make arrangements. If not a registered member of our parish, we must have a Letter of Permission from the Pastor in which the person(s) is registered. (See above.)

  7. Baptisms: To be baptized in St. Kevin's, one should be registered in the Parish. Please call as early as possible to arrange a baptism. If one is not registered, we must have a Letter of Permission from the Pastor in which the family is registered. (See above.)

  8. Pastoral References for Teachers: Pastoral references for teachers are given for those persons who are registered in St. Kevin's Parish. The Pastoral Reference for teachers testifies that the person practices his or her faith regularly. Sunday Eucharist is the great Christian norm for the practice of the faith. The Pastoral Reference for teachers inquires as to how active the person is in participating in different dimensions of parish or civic life.

  9. Godparents / Christian Witness for Baptism: At baptism, a Roman Catholic sponsor is called a Godparent. All Godparents for Baptism should be practicing Catholics. One of the sponsors at baptism must be a Roman Catholic, 16 years of age and already confirmed. A non-Catholic sponsor is called a "Christian Witness". (This presumes that the non- Catholic is indeed a practicing Christian and baptized in a Christian church). In choosing a Godparent for baptism, parents should keep in mind that a Godparent at baptism should also be the person's sponsor at Confirmation.

  10. Confirmation Sponsors: A Confirmation sponsor must be a practicing Roman Catholic, already confirmed and 16 years of age. We ask the sponsor at Confirmation to have a brief meeting with the Pastor of his/her Parish. Simply inform the Pastor of your desire to act as a Confirmation sponsor at St. Kevin's and kindly ask the Pastor to sign the Sponsor Form. The Sponsor Form itself presents in a clear way the expectations for a Confirmation Sponsor.

  11. Parish Pastoral Practice.
    •   If someone is seriously sick at home or in the hospital, please call the office. One of the priests will be happy to visit.
    •   If one is unable to come to Sunday Eucharist over a long period of time, please call the office and arrange for a communion visit on the part of our Eucharist Ministers.
    •   When spending time in the hospital, please indicate that you are Roman Catholic and a member of St. Kevin's.

     

REMINDER:

Are You Registered in Our Parish?

Please do not take for granted that you are registered in the parish just because you attend Mass here. If we have no record of your parish membership, it could be quite embarrassing to us, or to you or your family, when someone wishes to make wedding plans, have a baby baptized, or if you have been asked to act as a sponsor for baptism or confirmation. Please fill out a registration form. This form is on the shelf in the book stand in the foyer of the church. When you have completed the form, place in the collection basket or return it to the Parish Office