From Fr. George
Prayerful greetings from St. Bonaventure Parish.
Life is filled with seasons of waiting. Many of us have experienced numerous waiting times in our life. The season of Advent teaches us the value of waiting. Lewis Smedes writes, “Waiting is our destiny. As creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for, we wait in the darkness for a flame we cannot light. We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write. We wait for a ‘not yet’ that feels like a ‘not ever.’”. We wait, we pray, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, “O Come, Divine Messiah!” Each Advent is a gift of the Lord, to bring us back to what is most important in life, God’s love for us & our response to him in faith & love.
This weekend we celebrate the second Sunday of Advent. The Second Sunday of Advent challenges us to prepare a royal highway in our hearts so that we may receive Jesus as our saving God on Christmas. Each year, the second & the third Sundays in Advent center on John the Baptist, reminding us that if we want to prepare properly for the coming of Jesus we need to listen to the Baptizer’s message.
St. John’s voice is sober & runs counter to the intoxicating voices around us today. He calls for rectitude & social consciousness. We must abandon our selfish thirst for consumption &, instead, be filled with the expectation of Jesus’ coming.
Therefore, following John’s advice, let us celebrate the memory of this first advent, prepare for Jesus’ new advent in our lives. Advent is the time for us to change from our selfishness. Advent is a time to be reconciled with our fellow human beings. Advent is the time for us to make this preparation by repenting of our sins, & renewing our lives through prayer, penance, & sharing our blessings with others.
God bless you all.
CWL Christmas Raffle
December 4 & 5 after all Masses
The Catholic Women’s League of St. Bonaventure are having a Raffle with two prizes – a Nativity Set & a Wine Basket. Tickets are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 & can be purchased in the Narthex. Proceeds will go to Discovery House, Acadia Place & St. Vincent de Paul.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Wednesday Evenings during Advent
During Advent, Fr Colin & Fr George will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday evenings:
- December 8: 6 - 8 pm
- December 15: 6 - 8 pm
- December 22: 7 - 9 pm
For these Wednesday evenings, no registration is required. Kindly wear a mask, enter the church at the main doors, sanitize your hands, & line up. Fr. Colin will be in the prayer room & Fr. George will be in his confessional.
Fr Colin & Fr George continue to be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation before weekday morning mass, Saturdays from 4-4:45 pm, or by appointment.
Knights of Columbus Sale
December 11 & 12
St Bonaventure Knights of Columbus will hold a Grey Cup Polcan Country Sausage Sale following all masses next weekend. The cost will be $10 per vacuum package (about one pound or 450 gm).
To order & arrange delivery of sausage contact: bill.wolff@telus.net. Please provide your contact information & address. The proceeds will go towards the Knights of Columbus various charity activities.
I Am Blessed
The 2021 I am Blessed campaign has started & will conclude on Sunday, January 9, at the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Some action Items highlighted this year are the following:
Mission Mexico Sunday
December 11 & 12
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe falls on a Sunday this year. This feast day is customarily Mission Mexico Day in the Diocese of Calgary. Mission Mexico relies on the support of our Catholic parishes to raise the awareness of the work of the Diocese with our sisters & brothers in Mexico who experience poverty & are in need of support & empowerment.
There will be a second collection at Sunday mass Dec 11 & 12, or donate to Mission Mexico here
Amen is the free Catholic app that brings you beautiful prayers, faithful meditations & nourishing Scripture to draw your mind, body & soul to rest in God. This Advent they have some amazing new listening content to help you experience Advent in a whole new way. Try it today for free
St Albert the Great Parish presents:
Feast of St. Nicholas
December 6
Children tell lots of fun stories about Santa Claus, Pere Noel, or Kris Kringle. All of these stories remind us of how much we’re loved & of how happy we are when we give. The earliest stories we know were told about St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas was so grateful for the life God had given him that he just couldn’t stop giving joy & hope to others—no matter how far he had to travel or how many roofs he had to climb. (Source: Loyola Press)
FORMED IS FREE!
St. Bonaventure offers free subscriptions to FORMED, a wonderful resource for people interested in amazing Catholic videos, audio, books, bible studies, daily reflections, faith formation & MORE.
Prepare for the Coming of the Messiah with free Advent/Christmas resources from Formed here
Brother Francis The Days of Advent
NOW PLAYING
(Sign into Formed)
Each day during Advent, Brother Francis leads us on a daily journey in this special seasonal celebration of the coming of the Lord! Featuring meditations, prayers, & suggested activities to keep our focus on Christ this Christmas.
Year of St. Joseph
On December 8, the Church will conclude the Year of Saint Joseph.
We invite you to end this special Year of Saint Joseph with this webinar:
Devotion & Consecration to
St Joseph
Dec 8, 2021 at 5 pm MT with speaker Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. Register here
Prayers & devotions
to St. Joseph are still available here
Sunday Readings & Reflections
Mass Readings
Preparing the Way. In announcing the first coming of the Messiah, John the Baptist urges all people to be right with one another & the world. In awaiting the coming, prophet Baruch tells us how to dress for that day - clad in justice, peace & mercy.
In praying for us, as we await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Saint Paul confidently urges us to do good work, to love more & more, & to be filled with what is right.
- In these troubled times, how can I make things right with ________?
- What good work of justice & peace can I do this week?
- What mercy work is Jesus urging me to do?
Diocese of Springfield
Bishops of Canada
Advent Reflections
Reflections & Information Resources for the Bishops of Canada Reflections
Faithfully
A diocesan faith letter with a new shorter format - emailed every Monday.
Subscribe here to start your week with these nuggets of faith & inspiration.
Livestream Masses
Livestream of masses from our diocese (scroll to the bottom of the page), around the world & on TELUS Optik TV Ch. 877 (choose Diocese of Calgary tile logo).
Our Sunday Mass Times
Saturdays at 5 pm
Sundays at 7:30 am, 9 am, 10:30 am,
12 noon & 7 pm
- You do not need to register to attend mass.
- The dispensation of the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues.
- The sign of peace is to be exchanged with a bow, not by a handshake.
- Collection baskets are in the Narthex to drop off your donations.
- Holy Communion will be distributed by the priest (center aisle)
- There is a limit of 50 attendees for funerals, weddings & baptisms.
- Tuesday & Thursday evening masses at 7 pm.
The dispensation of the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues at this
this time.
Parish Guidelines
- Masks are mandatory at all times.
- Hand sanitizers are located throughout the building for your convenience. We ask that you maintain proper hand hygiene.
- Please exercise charity & kindness in respecting peoples level of comfort regarding physical distancing, physical contact, cohorts.
- There is a limited capacity of 1/3 of fire code capacity.
Anyone who has even the slightest symptoms or feelings of illness must remain at home.
Covid 19 General Directives from the Diocese of Calgary here
Adoration Chapel Hours
Monday - 9:30 am to Midnight
Tuesday - 7:00 am to Midnight
Wednesday - 7:00 am to
Tuesday - 7:00 am to Midnight
Wednesday - 7:00 am to
Thursday at Midnight
Friday - 9:30 am to Midnight
Friday - 9:30 am to Midnight
The Adoration Chapel is still in need of adorers. Current openings here.
If you can spare one hour a week, please contact Heather Burdeyney at heather.burdeyney@outlook.com or 403-278-0394. Thank you.
CCCB Justice, Healing & Reconciliation Initiatives
Pope Francis will meet with residential school survivors, elders, knowledge keepers & youth at the Vatican from December 17-20, 2021.
"With this delegation, we hope to walk together in a new way, to listen with humility, & to discern the next steps that the Church can take to support residential school survivors, their families & their communities." Full CCCB news release here
Residential Schools
Apology from the Canadian Bishops, & links to much more information about Residential Schools, including the $30M pledge to support healing initiatives.
Pope Francis' message on the Kamloops Residential Schools.
Bishop William McGrattan's message on Kamloops Residential Schools.
A Catholic Response
Call to Action 48 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Delegation to the Holy See: diverse group of Indigenous people to meet with Pope Francis
Crisis line for Indian Residential School survivors & family:
1-866-925-4419
Catholics for Truth & Reconciliation (Facebook group)
Parish Office Hours
Monday - Friday: 9 am - noon
Parish Office: 403-278-7556 or info@stbonaventureparish.ca
Please know that our parish community is here for you.
If you or your family need spiritual or emotional support, or if you would like a priest or parishioner to call you, please contact the parish at 403-278-7556 or reply to this email. If you require assistance with food hampers from St. Vincent de Paul, you can contact the parish office to connect to the SVDP Society.