My dear parishioners and friends: hello, how are you? We hope and pray you are all doing well and are safe and sound. Every Holy Mass I celebrate is offered for each one of you. Let me know if there is a way we can help you. I would like to share some news and activities with you all:

CELEBRATION OF HOLY MASS ON SUNDAY
We were given permission by our Bishop to have Sunday Mass to be held in the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church at 10:00 a.m., beginning this Sunday, April 25th

Some important Details:
-all the regulations coming from the Government and the Diocese of Peterborough must be observed; please read carefully and cooperate with us;
-the Mass will be celebrated from the sacristy, at the window facing the parking lot. You will be directed to park facing the large sacristy window; to maximize the space at the parking lot you will be guided to park orderly according to your arrival time (you need to occupy first line first);
-Sound will be transmitted both by a speaker set outside and to your car by a FM radio transmitter. Please tune in to 98.5
-Holy Communion will be distributed to you in your vehicle. Be mindful of the importance and sacredness of the Holy Eucharist so please be as respectful and careful as possible when receiving the Blessed Sacrament in this unusual place; Eucharistic Ministers will approach you in your vehicle and distribute Holy Communion to those who are in the car; receive it in the hands, with your hands inside the vehicle and be careful not to drop the host inside the vehicle; Holy Communion will not be distributed to people inside the Church or people outside the cars;
-To allow space for everyone who wishes to attend Sunday Mass, we encourage you to come with as many people as possible from your social bubble in a single vehicle.
-Please park your vehicle two meters apart from other vehicles and remain in your vehicle during Mass.
-Volunteers are needed to help direct traffic into the parking lot from 9 a.m. Please show yourself to Fr. Salvador for instructions.

WEEKDAY MASS SCHEDULE – please register on-line
8:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist (Monday to Friday)
7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart of Jesus (Monday to Friday)
8:00 a.m. at St John the Baptist (only First Saturday)

We need you to sign up for these Masses as the maximum capacity is 10 people including the celebrant. Please use the following link https: www.picktime.com/bookmass

Each Saturday morning the system will be updated by the sisters so that you may sign up for Masses of that week. Please sign up for only two Masses a week in order to give everyone a chance to participate in Holy Mass. You might be able to sign up for an additional Mass if spots are being freed during the week, so check the link every day.

CHURCHES OPEN FOR PRIVATE PRAYER
Both Sacred Heart and St. John will be open for private prayer; please sign in as you enter the church in the booklet by the door; and if you see more than 10 people at the door please wait until someone leaves before entering. 

The parishes will be open during the following times:
Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  

FEAST DAY OF ST. MARIE OF THE INCARNATION
Friday April 30th, is the feast day of St. Marie of the Incarnation. She is the patroness of the community of the Sisters Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara serving at our parishes. A First Class Relic of St. Marie of the Incarnation will be displayed at St. John the Baptist for veneration on Friday April 30th from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. More information may be found in the bulletin.

ACTIVITIES DURING THE MONTH OF MAY 2021 “Month of Mary”
We would like to invite you to participate in some activities we have organized to honour Mary during this especial month; they can be done from home:

CONSECRATION TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER
We invite you to consecrate yourself and your family to the Blessed Virgin Mary following the method for consecration written by St Louis Maria Grignion de Monfort. The preparation for the consecration takes 33 days; it will begin on the 28th of April and will end on the 30th. The consecration will be on the 31st of May, Feast day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin to her cousin Elizabeth.

Every day you will need to watch a short video to prepare you for the consecration.

We will send the videos every week for you to use: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNFXS5c6vyNO9bz5TDKiVtYdapAFIJAvN this is the link for the first 4 days: April 28 – 1st day / April 29 – 2nd day / April 30 – 3rd day / May 1- 4th day. They can be found also at our websites.

Those who are interested in the consecration need to sign up by emailing me at FrSalvadorCurutchet@peterboroughdiocese.org so we can send you the next set of videos.

COLOURING AND DRAWING COMPETITION (Children, teenagers, adults and older adults… everyone)
Children and older adults are invited to colour an image of the Blessed Mother, we will have this available early May.
Adolescents and adults are invited to draw an image of the Blessed Mother of your free choice.

COSTUME COMPETITION
Young girls and adult women are encouraged to participate by dressing like a known devotion of the Blessed Mother or by creating your own costume of the Blessed Mother.

MOTHER MARY’S ALTAR COMPETITION (For Families or single people)
Everyone is invited to set up an altar for the Blessed Mother at home. An altar is a special place where you place an image or a picture of our blessed Mother, you may want to decorate it with flowers and candles. It is a place to remind you of the Blessed Virgin Mary and encourage you to pray.

If you are interested in any of these competitions, please contact M. Parousia, SSVM at m.parousia@servidoras.org  The deadline for the entries will be on May 28th and the awards will be announced on the 31^st of May, Feast day of the Visitation

Let us pray for each other; let us always try to do as much good we can do for our neighbour.