Parish Bulletin – 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 16 August 2020

STREAMED MASSES:

TUESDAY:*                  10 AM             In Thanksgiving – A Parishioner

WEDNESDAY:*            10 AM             Edwin Doyle – Janet & Frank Retty

THURSDAY:*               10 AM              Annette Demers – Jason Gagnon

FRIDAY:*                     10 AM             Fr. Murray Tardiff – The Gleason Family

SUNDAY:                        9 AM             Missa Pro Populo

*These Masses will be streamed online, but there will not be any exposition or benediction following as they will be celebrated privately at my cottage.

LIVE MASSES:

Sheenboro:     (Saturday)        5 PM   

Teresa McDonald – Betty Morris

St. Joseph:       (Sunday)          9 AM  

Lillian Smiley – Marcel & Nancy Chaput

Chapeau:         (Sunday)   10:30 AM  

1) Mathis Fortin-Chaput – Annick, Martin & family

2) Marielle Demers – The Family

Please remember to call the Parish Offices to reserve a space at the live Masses for St. Joseph’s and Sheenboro only as attendance is capped below the new government limits due to the constrictions of social distancing and the size of the buildings. We will be able to accommodate 150 people in the Chapeau Church. If you are sick or have a cough, please do not attend. Remember, the Bishop has suspended our obligation to attend a Sunday Mass until further notice so please stay home so as to not make others sick.

DONATIONS:

St. Paul the Hermit:     $2215.00

St. Joseph’s:                     $2585.00

St. Alphonsus:                $1600.00

Total Online Donations to date:  $ 6,618.63

THANK YOU!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1) We have a number of very ill parishioners these days in all three of our parishes. Please remember to pray for:

-Rosemary Ryan who is now recovering at home

-Jerome Sallafranque, Leonard Duff, Leo Beaulieu, and Dan Kelly (cancer treatments)

If you know of someone who is in need of prayers, please call either parish office and we will include them in the weekly bulletin.

2) As I mentioned above, I am taking my vacation during the month of August, but I will be available to celebrate weekend Masses and funerals and will stream my private Mass Tuesday to Friday at 10 am from my cottage. I thank Fr. Tom Fitzpatrick who has stepped in to assist by celebrating the Sheenboro Masses for the next 10 weeks. You can always reach Pauline Monday to Wednesday at the Chapeau office (819-689-5757) and in St. Joseph’s on Thursdays (819-689-5232) if you require something from the parish. The offices will be closed every Friday in August. I will return to work fulltime on Tuesday September 8^th and we will resume our regular office schedules at that time. I appreciate your understanding in letting me rest peacefully, free from parish business during the August weekdays.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR VARIOUS MINISTRIES DURING THESE PANDEMIC TIMES

3) We STILL continue to search for volunteers to help serve in the parishes during these unusual times. In particular, we are looking for people to help distribute communion to those folks who do not feel comfortable yet attending Mass with a group of people. You will be asked to take the Blessed Sacrament to these people in their homes immediately following whichever Mass you attend. Please call the parish office if you are willing. I have also had one couple step forward to help initiate a live stream of either the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. But we need at least two or three more people to get this project off the ground. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have everything in place to begin this spiritual initiative immediately after Labour Day.

4) Please pray for the repose of the soul of Clora Fleury, sister of Meril, Lionel, Maurice, Wilfred, & Jean-Paul, and partner of Mike Romain. The details of her funeral will be posted on the parish blog once they are completed. Our sympathy and prayers go out to her family and friends. Please pray as well for the family of Lucille Vaillancourt whose memorial Mass was celebrated this past Friday. She died earlier during the period of the COVID shut-down and was interred in the Parish Cemetery.

5) “Home at last! Thank you very much to everyone for your prayers, get well wishes, phone calls, flowers, and gifts that I received during my hospital stay. Our health is indeed one of life’s best treasures. Never forget to give thanks to God for it.”                                                                                                                                                   Rosemary Ryan

6) Parishioners of St Paul the Hermit will be greeted by a beautiful Celtic Cross, designed by George Wheeler and Vince Agnesi. The Cross will be surrounded by shamrocks from the donations by parishioners in memory of their loved ones. We hope to fill the wall with loving memories.

Scripture Reflection on this weekend’s Gospel:

The heart of God can be moved, because God is a person, not a force.

This Christian truth shines through in today’s Gospel.

• Jesus had a particular mission to accomplish during his earthly lifetime.
• He was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and lay the foundation of the Catholic Church.
• The parameters of this mission did not include Canaanites (ancestral enemies of the Israelites).

And yet, Jesus makes an exception to these parameters after his encounter with the Canaanite woman.

She touched his heart because she had what Christ’s heart most yearns for: love, faith, and humility.

Her love comes across in her self-forgetfulness.

She was so concerned for her daughter, than she was even willing to make a humiliating spectacle out of herself, tagging along behind a Jewish rabbi in public, screaming to get his attention.

Her faith comes across in how she addresses Jesus.

• She calls him “Lord” and “Son of David.”
• This shows that although she was a Canaanite; she knew about the Jewish religion and accepted God’s promise to send a Messiah.
• And when he finally stops to listen to her, she falls on her knees and does him homage – she knows she is in God’s presence.
• She believed in Jesus, so much so, in fact, that Jesus himself compliments her on her faith!

Her humility comes across in the way she makes her request.

• She didn’t come to him burning with anger at God for allowing her innocent daughter to be tormented by demons.
• She understood that miracles were undeserved gifts from God, just like existence itself.
• This humble attitude strengthened her, enabling her to absorb the Lord’s initial rejection, and then come right back with another petition.

Love, faith, and humility: these are the ingredients for prayer that moves the heart of God – a heart that can be moved, because God is a person, not a force.