Weekly Update August 30, 2020 ​ Saint André Bessette Parish Fall River - Enfield - Middle Musquodoboit “An Incense Free Parish” 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. Communion to the Homebound/Sick is not permitted at this time.  Requests for viaticum (Communion for the dying) should be made to Fr. Michael. Dear Friends in Christ: As I mentioned last week, the Leadership Team and I wish to announce that we have decided to make Saint André Bessette Parish an incense free parish for all liturgies.  Please make this known to those who cannot tolerate the use of incense but wish to come to our sacred liturgies.  One form of the hospitality displayed by our patron saint is to create a safe environment for as many as possible and we hope people will find an open door in making this change.  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 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. Children’s Catechetics:  This week we will have another 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.  Last week’s meeting was cancelled due to a power outage in Fall River.  Information will be forthcoming when plans are in place. YARD SALE (Please note the date change):  The Knights of Columbus in Fall River are planning a COVID safe yard sale for September 19th in the driveway of St. Rose of Lima Church in Fall River. The sale will take place from 9am to 2pm.   We are accepting donations of general household items and books.  Please no large furniture, electronics or clothing items.  You can drop off your donations at St. Rose of Lima in front of the Glebe House garage on Monday September 14th to Wednesday, September 16th between noon and 2pm.   If you would like to drop off items sooner please contact Francis White at 902-456-2549 to arrange pickup or a drop-off time that is convenient.  Thank you for your support. 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.  I have decided to include a column titled “Ask a Canon Lawyer”. If you have a canon law question you would like answered please submit it to me and I will include a response to one question per newsletter. FIRST CLASS RELIC OF SAINT ANDRE:  At the request of Archbishop Mancini, we have received a first class relic of our patron saint.  It will be kept in the possession of Fr. Michael until a permanent home in our parish is found. 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. COMPUTER OPERATORS:  We are looking volunteers to operate the computer for the planned live streamed mass from St. Rose.  A team  to do this is being assembled and many hands make light work.  Please contact Phil Francis or leave your name at the St. Rose Church Office 902-860-0475. MASKS:  Please be advised that wearing a mask is now required for all indoor gatherings. Only those who are speaking (readers, singers, priest, deacon) may do so without a mask.  An exemption has been given for the minister who distributes communion. 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  21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A The most important points we should take from today’s gospel: 1) It is not the suggestion that those who follow Jesus must suffer and die for their faith as Jesus did, this may be true and it may not be true. 2) It is not the notion that there is a divine quid pro quo, that life is restored to those who sacrifice it, that we can barter with God for salvation. 3) It is not the notion that there is a reward waiting for us at the end of days, meted out according to measurable good and bad behaviour. What is important to note is that the disciples, Peter as chief among them, did not understand the mission of Jesus, they rejected it, the scolded him for his intention to follow it, even at the risk of his own life. Peter and the disciples lived with Jesus, they were closer to him than anyone else, they ate with him, prayed with him, walked with him, slept next to him.   Even they were confused about his mission.   If you find yourself confused about the way of Jesus, do not worry, you are in good company. I was once told by a retreat director that if I was in a state of confusion I should return to the First Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The launching point of Ignatian spirituality is that God loves us fiercely, passionately, and unconditionally. Because of this love, God’s desires and hopes for us are based on who we are: our gifts, talents, preferences, and joys. What God wants for us is the same as our deepest desires. What, then, should our response to God be? In Ignatian spirituality, this response is known as the Principle and Foundation. I want to share a bit about this with you,  using a contemporary interpretation of the First Principle and Foundation by Jesuit David Fleming. First, “The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit.” Read that next to the Scripture that says: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7–8) If God is love, then the goal of our life is to love and be in love. A line from the closing song of the musical Les Misérables says it best: “to love another person is to see the face of God.” The First Principle and Foundation continues: “All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.” Everything in this world—my tablet computer, the slice of pizza that I am about to have, my bank account, my job, my friends and family—is a gift from God, a manifestation of God’s love. It continues: “As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.” Remember, love is our goal. God is love. Then it goes on to say: “In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God.” I’ve spoken with a few people who have found this part disturbing. Why should I not desire to be healthy? Why would I desire failure?  The last part holds the key: “Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening his life in me.” The “deepening of God’s life” referred to here goes back to our goal to love and be in love. God is love. So, we should focus on how we are called to love in our lives and allow ourselves to be open to whatever comes in order to attain that love—whether it be health or sickness, poverty or riches, success or failure. I invite you to think here of what a person vows to his or her beloved in the Sacrament of Matrimony: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” If we have found true love, then we love no matter what happens and always choose the better option for our love to thrive. That’s what the Principle and Foundation calls us to be; that is the mission we hear about in today’s gospel.  That is what the Eucharist strengthens us to do.  Amen. --  Rev. Michael J. P. Walsh