The Parish Community of St. Kevin

Ordinary Time

Parish Bulletin for July 2024

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time and A Summer Message

In Mark 5:21-43, we encounter two powerful stories of faith and healing. Jairus, a synagogue leader, approached Jesus with a desperate heart, pleading for his daughter's healing. Despite the urgency, Jesus paused to acknowledge the touch of a woman who believed that merely touching His cloak would heal her. Her faith makes her well, and Jesus acknowledges her, saying, "Daughter, your faith has healed you." Despite the delay, Jesus continues to Jairus' house, where He raises the girl from the dead, telling her parents not to fear but to believe. These stories remind us that faith, even in the face of despair, can lead to profound healing and restoration. As summer graces us with its warmth and light, let us take this time to renew our spirits and deepen our faith. The warmth and vitality of summer mirror the renewal we can experience in our relationship with God. Whether enjoying nature, spending time with loved ones, or simply taking a moment to rest, let us remember Jesus is always ready to respond to our faith, no matter how small, and bring us healing and restoration. May your summer be filled with peace, joy, and a renewed sense of God's presence in your life. 

                
- Father Jinto Mathew, CSC 

 

Canada Day Prayer

Lord Jesus, bring peace to the world. Help all nations to work in harmony.
Bless our country, and help us to work together for peace.
Guide those who govern us, and help them work for the good of all.
Make us generous in sharing our gifts with other people.
Teach us to do your will and to grow in our service to others.
Help us to work towards truth and reconciliation with all Indigenous peoples.
Lord Jesus Christ, look on the people of our land and bless us all.
Help us to be brothers and sisters to all the world and to work for peace and love.
Be with us, Jesus, and bless Canada, for you are our Lord and Saviour for ever. Amen.

 

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

 

 

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: The IV World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated on Sunday, July 28. The theme chosen by the Holy Father – “Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Psalm 71:9) – is meant to call attention to the fact that, sadly, loneliness is the bitter lot in life of many elderly persons, so often the victims of the throw-away culture. By cherishing the charisms of grandparents and the elderly, and the contribution they make to the life of the Church, we seek to forge bonds between the generations and to combat loneliness. As Scripture states – “It is not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18).

 

Congratulations!

This year – 2024 – two of our Holy Cross Fathers who assist us with liturgies and Masses here at St. Kevin’s – are celebrating their 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood! We congratulate Fr. Andrew Morasse, CSC and Fr. John Vickers, CSC! We ask that the Parish keep them in their prayers.

 

Summertime Projects

We continue to work on our summer improvements here at the parish:

• Our lighting upgrades have progressed – both interior and exterior lights have been retrofitted and some additional lights are being installed

• Most of our minor painting projects have been completed and we will be having the Hall painted later in August

• An unexpected sink hole at the entrance of our parking lot was thankfully repaired by the City of Welland

• We will be replacing the front portion of the carpet in the sanctuary area in the coming weeks

• And you just never know what other little tasks we might get up to!

 

Catholic Women’s League News

Attention All Parishioners: The ladies of the CWL across the Diocese are participating in Team Refugee Project. We are collecting specific hygiene items for new teen refugees/immigrants. So, for two weekends there will be boxes in the foyer for the following items: shampoo, conditioner, soap, and deodorant. Collections will occur the weekends of July 6/7 and July 13/14. Please contribute if you are able to help out new teen immigrants in our area.

 

Parish Picnic

St. Kevin Parish Picnic & BBQ Chippawa Park Pavilion Sunday, August 18th at 1:00pm

We have our Parish Picnic coming up on August 18! It is a great social event that allows us to meet and mingle with other parishioners, as well as an opportunity to celebrate being a part of the Parish Community of St Kevin. It will be held at Chippawa Park – (2 mins from the church). Tickets will be on sale for $6-Adults & $3-Children in the foyer at all Masses on the weekends of July 20/21 and July 27/28 or from the Parish Office from July 22-July 26 during office hours. We urge you to get a ticket so that we can have a fairly accurate head count and order the appropriate supplies. An event such as this takes a major effort to organize, so that all goes seamlessly and there is plenty of time for fun and fellowship. In order to do this, we need your help!! We are currently looking for volunteers to:

• Help BBQ the hot dogs and burgers (we will have veggie and gluten-free options)
• Help serve the food (burgers and hot dogs), salads, drinks, ice cream
• Volunteers to take tickets
• Help with clean-up, recycling, and keeping our area of the park clean
• Help run the games for the young kids

There will be a sign-up sheet (name, contact number, and email) for volunteers also on those same two weekends in July in the foyer (20/21 and 27/28). Many thanks to our Holy Name Society for taking the lead on this event! So, let’s all make it a time for us to have fun and enjoy our church community. Please plan to attend and we would be grateful if you would help out!

 

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.

Thank You ALOB

ALOB (Andrew Laubacher) joined us here at St. Kevin’s on Monday. In one session he spoke to a full church of high school students from across the region and in the second he spoke to grade 7s and 8s from two of our parish schools. ALOB covered the effects of technology, our phones, devices, gaming, etc. on our society and mental, spiritual, physical and relational health. He also discussed the path to healing from digital addiction and live a more human experience with God and one another to get our time and lives back. We are grateful that he came to our parish and we thank the Mete Family for helping organize this special day, along with our NCDSB Chaplains and teachers.

For those who are interested, you can watch ALOB’s presentation on our YouTube Channel or use the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjqOpVrnOPM

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