Heart to Heart: Issue #572
JUBILEE YEAR HEROES OF HOPE FOR MARCH are “Those Who Care for the Poor”! There are many groups in the Diocese of Hamilton doing just that! In the Heroes of Hope Newsletter, available in all parishes and on our Diocesan Website, the many groups caring for the poor are listed and their ministries explained. These include: De Mazenod Door Outreach and Tiny Homes Takeout; the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Catholic Women’s League and Knights of Columbus present in many of our parishes; the Good Shepherd Ministries in Hamilton, and the Working Centre in Kitchener; Development and Peace, and Planting Seeds International; our Refugee Sponsorship Program, Indigenous Reconciliation Fund; and the St. Joseph’s Healthcare System! Considering the large numbers of people who reach out for support from these organizations every day, we are blessed to celebrate the generosity of staff and volunteers – a number impossible to count – who are this month’s Heroes of Hope!
JOURNEYING THROUGH LENT is a series offered by the CCCB weekly during Lent 2025. The video for the Second Sunday of Lent is available here.
“LECTURES IN CATHOLIC EXPERIENCE” presents Canadian Theologian, Dr. Catherine Clifford, whose presentation is titled “From Vatican II to a Synodal Church.” On March 20th, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Dr. Clifford will reflect on her experience as a voting delegate at both sessions of the recent “Synod on Synodality” (Fall 2023 and 2024). She will explore how the seeds of synodality planted sixty years ago by the Second Vatican Council are yielding positive results for the Church as it responds to the needs of the 21st century! Registration is required. Check St. Jerome’s website!
MEN’S CURSILLO WEEKEND – May 22 to May 25 (Thursday evening – to Sunday evening). I wrote a letter of support for the weekend which can be found on their website or available here. Nourish your faith. You will not regret it!
THE SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH is on Wednesday, MARCH 19th. A feast day Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Agatha. The Carmelite Nuns warmly welcome visitors to pray with them on this special feast. The Sisters of St. Joseph at Tansley Woods celebrate a feast day Mass in the afternoon. It is an opportunity to pray with and for the St. Joseph’s Health System which serves several communities in the Diocese. May those who serve the community as workers at each of the sites, be specially blessed on the Feast! I look forward to both events.
I WILL VISIT ST. PIUS X PARISH IN BRANTFORD for the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass this weekend. The visit was planned for earlier in the year, but a winter storm caused it to be postponed. I look forward to praying with parishioners and to seeing structural improvements that have been made to the Church, and those still needed. In the evening I will celebrate Mass with students at the John Paul II Student Centre in Waterloo and parishioners at St. Michael Parish. A blessed weekend indeed!
THE ANNUAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR VICTIMS OF ABUSE is this Sunday. Remembrance in the prayers of the faithful at Sunday Masses is an important part of our commitment to pray. It is an opportunity to pray for healing and hope, for freedom and peace for those who have suffered and those who suffer still!
ST. JOSEPH, pray for us!
Ex corde, +Douglas, OMI