Our Lady of Victory / St-Malachy

	PENTECOST SUNDAY

CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST
Our Lady of Victory		St. Malachy
Sunday - 9:00 A.M.		Saturday - 7:00 P.M.

F O O D F O R T H E W E E K
Reading I	Acts 2:11 descent of the Holy Spirit)
Reading II	Corinthians 12:-7, 12-13 (many gifts, one Spirit, and the analogy of the body)
Gospel	John 20:19-23 (appearance to the disciples)
Key Passage	Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22)

"As the Father has sent me, so I send you. "This is what Jesus says not to a few, but to each one of us and to all of us. If we consider what Jesus was sent for, what is he sending me/us for?

Pastor	William Marrevee s.c.j.
Email	w.marrevee@sympatico.ca
Rectory	490 Charles Street Gatineau, Québec J8L 2K5
Secretary	Monday and Thursday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Telephone	(819) 986-3763
Fax	(819) 986-9889

A sincere welcome to those who are new among us. We hope you find a warm and welcoming faith-home with us. Please introduce yourself after Mass and call the Rectory to register.

PENTECOST (A) MAY 15, 2005

WED.	18 - 9:00 a.m.	Martin Cullen by Barbara Weir
SAT.	21 - 7:00 p.m.	James Miller by Doris & Andre Prevost
SUN.	22 - 9:00 a.m.	Nell McGurn by Gerry Lonergan Marvin Green by Phil & Dot Casey

SANCTUARY LAMP - O.L.V.:
May 8-21 for the intentions of Veronica Smith.

40-3-50 HAS RUN ITS COURSE:
The 40-3-50 that has marked our Sunday bulletin since the beginning of Lent will no longer appear until next year, What do the numbers refer to? The numbers together make up the church's Paschal or Easter Season. The 3 is at the heart of it and stands for the Three Great Days starting on Holy Thursday evening, including Good Friday and Easter Saturday. For the last 50 days, we have observed the Easter season concluding on this Pentecost Sunday. We have prepared for it in the 40-day Lenten period starting on Ash Wednesday.

Now we are getting back to - what in church language is called - Ordinary Time. There is where the changing power of what we celebrate in the high season is being tested. That applies to many other aspects of life.....

DISCOVERING JESUS CHRIST...IT IS ONE YEAR OLD:
Last year on Pentecost Sunday a good number of us had gathered at Moussette park in Hull. It was a beautiful day. That was the occasion the Bishop Ebacher launched the diocesan catechetical document " Discovering Jesus Christ: The Path to Freedom." Where have we gone with it? It all depends on what the document is to us. It certainly does not give and easily implementable program on how to teach catechism today.

What stands out for me in the document are two points(which does not mean that it does not make other important points):

It gives a realistic assessment of the condition of the christian faith in today's context. This is what it has to say about the topic: The Gospel no longer seems pertinent in today's social, cultural and religious context."(p.5). Is that too harsh and negative an assessment? Unless I am reading the scene wrong, I tend to think that that assessment is quite accurate.

The second point is made up of a series of questions that start with the basic one:

How can we become communities that are schools of catechesis?

How can we share this responsibility in the community?

What is the role of he pastor?

The role of church wardens, of the Parish Pastoral Council?

The role of families?

The role of the liturgy committee, of the social-pastoral committee, the elderly? Other services?

Who will oversee this vision and manage this project in our communities?

How can we integrate catechesis into the pastoral projects for the whole community?

What training, what help and what kind of support network do we need?

This document is quite challenging. It is unfortunate that the English version has the misleading subtitle "A Christian education program." The original French subtitle speaks of "Formation to the Christian life project. " That is more in line with the vision of the document. Whatever the subtitle, there is work to be done....

GETTING READY FOR BAPTISM TO BE CELEBRATED IN JUNE:
It is not that long ago that all you needed to do for the baptism of infants was to show up and "get it done". Perhaps it is not fair to put it that way. It is simply meant to draw the attention to the different way of doing things.

It varies a bit from parish to parish, but in our parish after the parents have let us know that they would like to have their son/daughter baptized we arrange for three sessions with other parents who have made a similar request. At those sessions we reflect on the significance of what the parents have asked for both for themselves and for their children. It is not a course that they have to follow, but rather three evenings of reflection during which they prepare for the baptism-event. Part of that preparation is for the parents to join in with their child in one of our Sunday Masses so that the parish community has the opportunity to welcome the children to be baptised.

Is it all a bit complicated? Not really, but it is certainly indicative of the fact that we can no longer take baptism for granted. Do we achieve 'The hoped for goal with this preparation'? It is hard to say. To be honest, tangible results are quite meager, at least to the extent that we can measure them...

WE NEED A NEW WARDEN:
Now that Alma Miller has become the new secretary she must let go of the position of Warden she has held since January of this year. Anyone interested? The Wardens (or Fabrique) look after the financial and administrative features of parish life. That is different from the Parish Pastoral Council; which together with the Pastor looks after the pastoral side of Parish life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Veronica Belter whose 90th birthday is on Saturday, May 20.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO COUNT THE COLLECTION (O.L.V.):
This is not a big job, but it is a job where confidentiality, accuracy and reliability are most important. It would be ideal if we could get two or three teams of two or three persons to look after this. May we hear from you?

OLV WARDENS MEETING:
Thursday May 19, 7:00 pm.

Weekly Receipts O.L.V. St. Malachy

Regular

$ 920

$ 310
THANK YOU!