Weekly Update August 16th Saint André Bessette Parish Fall River - Enfield - Middle Musquodoboit ​ Mass times: Saturday   4:00 pm - Holy Cross Sunday   9:00 am - St. Bernard 11:00 am - St. Rose of Lima Sacrament of Reconciliation:  Holy Cross:   As needed upon request                                         St. Bernard:   1st Saturday of the month: 9:30 am to 10:30 am.                            (location: outside of present Confessional room) St. Rose: 2nd Saturday of the month: 9:30 am to 10:30 am.                 (location: room outside the bathrooms, i.e. the crying room) Sacrament of the Sick: The Sacrament of the Sick will be made available upon request for individuals, following appropriate safety procedures.  Present restrictions do not permit pastors going into the hospital to anoint sick parishioners. Dear Friends in Christ: Many of you have read of the recent disaster in Beirut, Lebanon.  Here is a message for our Archbishops. Archbishops Mancini and Dunn encourage the faithful to give as they are able to help support the people of Lebanon after the tragic explosion last week. One of the ways they are inviting people to donate is through the Development and Peace Emergency Fund. The situation in Lebanon following last Tuesday’s explosion has been described as “beyond imagination.” People need everything, especially food, medicine, and supports to help those injured and left homeless. Thousands of people have been affected. Over 135 people have died, more than 5,000 are injured, and over 300,000 people have been left homeless.  Development and Peace’s partner, Caritas Lebanon, is providing food, water, medical aid, and psychological and social support to the people impacted by this crisis.  Please join in Pope Francis’ invitation to pray for the victims, for their families, and for all of Lebanon. Please also consider joining the Pope in responding to this desperate cry for help by donating to the emergency relief effort at Development and Peace – Caritas Canada through their website by clicking here or by calling 1 888 234-8533.  Development and Peace is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. First Communion celebrations continue! Children from St. Bernard’s and St. Rose will receive the Eucharist for the first time during Sunday Masses until September 6.   Please remember these children in your prayers: August 16:  Breton MacDonald, Isla MacFarlane, Cassidy Peters,  Aubrey Kickham (in P.E.I.) August 23:  Easton Kristiansen, Chayse MacAloney,         Alex and Zachary Nichol, August 30:  Hunter Miller, Sophie Murphy, William Nolter,                    Kaitlyn Zivkovic September 6:  Ace Wadden, Marah Downey Some space will be saved for family but the regulations from the Nova Scotia Health Authority still apply. Communion to the Homebound/Sick is not permitted at this time.  Requests for viaticum (Communion for the dying) should be made to Fr. Michael. Children’s Catechetics:  Last week we had a meeting with teachers and others involved in religious education from Enfield and Fall River to discuss how we will go forward with the children’s catechetics program.   Information will be forthcoming when plans are in place. YARD SALE:  The Knights of Columbus in Fall River are planning a COVID 19 safe yard sale for September 5th.  More information will be coming soon. ORDINATION: Please keep in prayer Patrick Salah who was ordained a transitional deacon on August 15.  He continues his journey towards ordination to the ministerial priesthood for service to the people of the local church. PARISH NEWSLETTER: Starting in October we will begin publishing a monthly parish newsletter in place of a weekly bulletin.  It will contain a calendar of events for the month and other useful information. MORE ON GOING TO MASS:  We continue to request that at the churches in Enfield and Fall River people register to indicate their wish to attend mass in person. Once you register, your name will remain on the list until you request its removal.  Please indicate how many people you are registering when you contact us.  You will be notified only if there is not room for you the following weekend.  Names will be accepted for the following weekend up until 10:00 am the Thursday before the weekend. If you wish to attend mass at St. Rose please contact Linda at 902-860-0475 or strose@eastlink.ca If you wish to attend mass at St. Bernard please contact Claire at 902-883-2660 or stbernardsenfield@gmail.com. Numbers at Holy Cross are limited to 24 and are sufficient for that church. Our weekly recorded mass is recorded Saturday and made available on Facebook Sunday morning.  To find the broadcast mass look on Facebook for St. André Bessette Parish or go to our parish website strosefallriver.com and click on the live mass link/box.  The mass may be watched anytime after 10:00 am Sunday morning. Livestreaming is very close and we should have an announcement soon.. MASKS:  Please be advised that wearing a mask is now required for all indoor public gatherings. Only those who are speaking (readers, singers, priest, deacon) may do so without a mask.   The following is a reminder of procedures to be observed.  Please arrive 20 minutes before mass to give adequate time for everyone to be seated.  When you arrive you will be greeted, your name checked off on the list  (or recorded at Holy Cross) and asked to use hand sanitizer.  Then you will shown by an usher to a seat for mass. PRACTICES AROUND RECEIVING COMMUNION: The Knights of Columbus will give you direction. Please remain in your pew until directed to move.  It is very important to observe the practices our communion as they are designed to protect people’s health.  When you come forward, you should lower your mask when you reach the marked spot behind the person receiving communion. (Please touch only the strings on the side, not the mask itself.)  Before you move forward, the communion minister will show you the host and say: “The Body of Christ.”  You reply: “Amen.”  Then you put your hands together, extend them and move forward to receive communion.  After receiving you return to your seat by a designated route.  You may be seated after returning to your seat. You will be given directions about how to leave the church.  When you leave at the end of mass you are invited to place your offering in the basket by the door marked for receiving it.  Please observe all the provincial health guidelines when leaving the church. Last week we started a series on the Jewish roots of the Eucharist.  I have decided to save the rest of the articles for publication in the parish newsletter we will start in the fall.  Deacon Dan’s homily follows this week’s letter. During this time of pandemic let us continue to pray for one another, find ways to care for one another, and do the best we can during the current COVID-19 pandemic.   Yours in Christ, Fr. Michael J. P. Walsh, Pastor  20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A Deacon Dan Bowden In today's gospel there is a Canaanite woman, who was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to get the attention of Jesus.  Here too is an example of going through extraordinary lengths in our day.  As a man was going to bed, his wife informed him that he had left the light on in the shed. He replied, I haven’t been in the shed all day! He peered out the window and saw that there were people in his shed, stealing things. The man called the police who told him there was nobody available to respond. The man said okay, hung up and counted out 30 seconds or so; and he rang the police again. He said: hello I just called a minute ago because people were in my shed. Well you don't have to worry about them anymore, Ive just shot them all! Within 3 minutes there were half a dozen police cars and a SWAT team at his home.They caught the burglars red handed. One of the policeman stopped and spoke to the home owner; I thought you said you’d shot them. To which the home owner responded; “I thought you said there were no units available. Like the Canaanite woman in today’s scriptures sometimes we just really need to get someone’s attention and are prepared to go through extra-ordinary lengths to get it. Today’s text is really multi-layered and it might be helpful to discern some of the underlying layers. * When the 12 were sent on mission ,Jesus directed them to “the lost sheep of Israel” and urged them to steer clear of the gentiles and Samaritans (Matt: 10: 5-6) Jesus is heading in a direction; toward Tyre and Sidon,met by a pagan (Canaanite woman) Will He contradict Himself and the earlier charge that He gave to the twelve? Likely not; as the public dimension of the people in the Middle East of this time period was such that they would judge whether there was honour or shame in what was done as compared to what was said. ( sound vaguely familiar? In todays society everyone has a cell phone with a camera in their hands.) The woman in today’s gospel uses the crowd to her advantage and challenges Jesus. He is not obliged to answer her challenge ; she’s a Canaanite (a pagan) and He, an Israelite. The honour game really only works with equals. So Jesus properly ignores her,however she is not put off; she continues to follow and beckon Jesus and His disciples. She attracts a large crowd and the disciples urge Jesus to turn her away! He continues to refuse her audience by citing His commitment “Only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she will not be denied. She kneels in front of Jesus and honours Him with the respectful term “Lord” This time simply saying “Help Me.” Jesus responds harshly and says: why would I throw the children’s food to the dogs. Gentiles were commonly referred to as dogs! However to everyone’s amazement she responds with cleverness: Lord: even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters table. Jesus then grants her request and her daughter is healed immediately. We all know that mothers are bound to do whatever it takes and go to any lengths necessary to help their children. I would like to turn this from mothers to you and I as servants, missionary disciples, that are met with these injustices each and every day of our lives. Let each of us love with the intensity of a mother helping their child to get through in a somewhat cruel world. Quick true story: A man by the name of Ernie Holland ,a local man put away for armed robbery and shooting of a Halifax police officer. He would be imprisoned for a long time, without eligibility for parole. Ernie from prison, met a Christian man who owned many stores throughout Canada and the US. He also had a fly tying business in prison and he wanted this man in his corner, so he could sell his flies in all of his stores. However the man came and saw Ernie at least twice a week and gave him some Christian literature, Ernie took it all hoping to benefit by having his flies sold in the man’s many stores… dollar signs before his eyes. But one day the man told Ernie something that Ernie had never before in his life heard, not even from his parents. He said Ernie I love you and there will be a place for you in my home when you get out of here. Ernie claimed to have seen Jesus in his prison cell that night and though he was imprisoned he became a free man. To make a long story short Ernie got out of prison and worked in one of the many stores owned by his Christian friend. The newspaper took a photo of Ernie’s 1st day on the job, the caption read “Putting money in the till instead of taking it out! The emphasis of today's gospel is about an enduring love of a mother. Let each of us own this story of love and spread it to those who are considered the dogs of society! The poor, the imprisoned, the attics, and the marginalized .Amen -- Rev. Michael J. P. Walsh