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Decree from Bishop Crosby regarding Easter Duty During the Pandemic
“[D]uring the present pandemic it may not be possible for people to receive Holy Communion either because they cannot attend church or because of a delicate conscience relative to receiving Communion on the hand; I hereby dispense the faithful of the Diocese of Hamilton from the Easter Duty this year, 2021.”
Click Here to Read the Full Decree from Bishop Crosby, OMI
A Letter from Bishop Crosby: Conscience Rights in Ontario
Over the last several years, doctors and healthcare professionals have been fighting to have their individual conscience rights recognized by both the Federal and Provincial governments. An Angus Reid poll last year found that 80% of Ontarians favour conscience rights legislation to protect healthcare providers from having to violate their conscience when caring for a patient.
We are at a crucial moment in history when it comes to conscience rights and MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying)
Please click below for a letter from Bishop Crosby on Conscience Rights in Ontario.
Read Bishop Crosby’s Letter to the Diocese on Conscience Rights
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross will take place each Friday during Lent at 11:00 AM., with the 30% capacity limit in place. A face mask or covering must be worn.
CWL Membership Due
Calling all CWL Members! Your 2021 Membership dues are now due! Our yearly membership is $30.00 and you will find an envelope for this in your yearly box of donation envelopes.
Please drop off your membership dues to the parish office as soon as possible so that your membership can be recorded for the current year.
A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Crosby – FOR THE COMMON GOOD
FOR THE COMMON GOOD
On the Pandemic Sacrifices
My dear friends,
The decision to close our churches and suspend public celebrations of the Mass has been a painful one for our clergy, religious, and all the lay faithful in the Diocese. While the sadness of our inability to gather to celebrate the Eucharist is profound, some of the responses to this closure – in addition to falling short of the demands of charity – betray a fundamental lack of understanding not only of why this great sacrifice is being made, but also whose example we follow in so doing.
We know that Holy Communion is the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, the source and summit of the Christian life. His death is the ultimate sacrifice of love for us – to which we are joined when we participate in the Mass and receive Communion. When we eat His Body and drink His Blood, we say that “we become what we eat”, the Body of Christ.
During these pandemic days we are uniting ourselves closely to Christ by making serious sacrifice for the health and well-being of others. This is not a matter of weakness. In fact, during these days of sacrifice, we live selflessly, as we profess – much as Jesus Christ urges us to live – for the common good. By definition, sacrifice is never easy – and during these days and weeks and months of sacrifice we come closer to Him – we are more like Him – because our sacrifice emulates His! Our children are learning a very important lesson during these difficult days: sometimes we have to give up our freedoms, privileges and pleasures in order care for others – so they might live!
Over the past 22 years, I have been blessed to have served three Dioceses as Bishop: the Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville, St. George’s Diocese, (the boundaries of which were extended prior to being renamed the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador,) and the Diocese of Hamilton. In the first two Dioceses there were remote communities of Catholic faithful who rarely had the opportunity to celebrate Mass, because there were few Priests. The people longed for Holy Communion and gathered and rejoiced when a Priest visited and celebrated Mass with them so they were able to receive the Body of the Lord. This experience of a long wait between Masses will continue for them into an unknown future.
The fact that they cannot receive Holy Communion, however, does not stop them from praying and nurturing a relationship of love with the Lord: the Rosary is still a staple for prayer, reading the Sacred Scriptures prescribed for the day or for the coming Sunday, sharing reflections and praying with neighbours, saying familiar prayers with family and friends. The faithful in these communities will continue to make this sacrifice for months and years to come. In contrast, in Southern Ontario, where we are privileged to have many parishes and priests to serve them, our pandemic sacrifice will last for a few more months, or for as long as it takes to curb the high numbers of citizens – our brothers and sisters – who contract the dreaded virus.
Since the Ontario Government declared a lockdown in the Province of Ontario effective December 26, 2020, the decision was made, once again, to close our Parish churches in the Diocese of Hamilton. While the current government and public health regulations permit gatherings of no more than ten people for worship (including funerals and scheduled weddings), we are asked to limit all gatherings outside of our homes in order to limit the spread of COVID in the community. In compliance with government and public health directives and out of an abundance of charity, gatherings for Masses in our churches, with the exception of funerals and weddings (up to ten people), even in small numbers are suspended for the period of the lockdown.
The decision to close our churches has not been taken lightly and in no way should it be understood as undermining the central place which the celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments hold for us as Catholics. Our need to gather to give thanks to God remains “our duty and our salvation”; our need for true nourishment, which the Eucharist alone provides, continues. Now, however, we unite ourselves spiritually with our priests who are celebrating Mass daily and we rely on the infinite fruits of the Mass to sustain us.
We continue to pray for one another, for those who are suffering in any way during this pandemic and for those who have died. Let us pray with confidence in God’s mercy, that the promise of an effective vaccine will be realized and we will soon be able to return to gather again in our churches to give God thanks, to worship with the sacred assembly, and to be nourished with the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Sincerely in Christ and Mary Immaculate,
+Douglas Crosby, OMI
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton
January 18, 2021
Knights of Columbus: Fraternal Benefit Seminar on February 6, 2021
The Knights of Columbus Sacred Heart of Jesus Council 15922 and District 109 are inviting all Catholic men and their families to attend a Fraternal Benefit Seminar and the awarding of the Heritage Award for Councils 1454 and 5860 for their combined total of 167 years of service to their parishes, faith community, and fellow brother knights.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2021, on a Zoom platform at 2:00 PM. The Zoom link is provided below.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81806735859?pwd=UEx4RWw2c2tFZXBFcitIeVhkS1dwUT09
Meeting ID: 818 0673 5859
Passcode: 336953
Mass Cancellations
Effective at midnight Monday, December 21, 2020, please note that ALL public Masses are cancelled in Hamilton Region beginning on Tuesday, December 22nd until January 23rd, 2021 (or until further notice). Father Charlie will be praying for those intentions listed in the bulletin when he celebrates mass each day.
Christmas Message from Bishop Douglas Crosby, OMI
Christmas 2020
Dear friends,
As the Christmas feasts begin, I am pleased to send you greetings in the form of an excerpt from the 2019 Christmas homily of Pope Francis:
“A charming legend relates that at the birth of Jesus the shepherds hurried to the stable with different gifts. Each brought what he had; some brought the fruits of their labour, others some precious item. But as they were all presenting their gifts, there was one shepherd who had nothing to give. He was extremely poor; he had no gift to present. As the others were competing to offer their gifts, he stood apart, embarrassed. At a certain point, Saint Joseph and Our Lady found it hard to receive all those gifts, especially Mary, who had to hold the baby. Seeing the shepherd with empty hands, she asked him to draw near, and she put the baby Jesus in his arms. That shepherd, in accepting him, became aware of having received what he did not deserve, of holding in his arms the greatest gift of all time. He looked at his hands, those hands that seemed to him always empty. They had become the cradle of God. He felt himself loved and, overcoming his embarrassment, began to show Jesus to the others, for he could not keep for himself the Gift of gifts. … Dear brother, dear sister, if your hands seem empty, if you think your heart is poor in love, this night is for you. The grace of God has appeared, to shine forth in your life. Accept it and the light of Christmas will shine forth in you!“
Christmas is God who comes to us! Christmas saves us, lifts us up, fills us, and frees us! During this time of profound fear and suffering, I wish you the experience of light, life and love!
Merry Christmas!
+ Douglas Crosby, OMI
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton
Christmas “Pageant” 2020
Due to Covid-19 Safety Precautions, we are adapting our Christmas Pageant this year.
Families of all ages are invited to participate our Parish Pre-Recorded Sing-A-Long, that will play prior to the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass.
The video will compile voices of our parish families singing Christmas Carols in the comfort of their own home. Everyone is invited to participate; the entire family or just the children: we accept all levels of talent!
Those families who are interested in participating, please email Rachel McNamara by November 29th. An email will be sent to you with the song and lyrics.
If you have any questions, please contact Rachel @ blessedsacramentyouth@hotmail.com.
*The video will also be posted on our Social Media Networks after the Christmas Masses.