UPCOMING EVENT

• During Great Lent, the Eparchy of Edmonton conducts its annual collection for “Aid to the Missionary Church in Canada.” The purpose of this collection is to support the needs of the Church in Canada. Three charitable institutions are the recipients of the collection: the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Alberta, Catholic Missions in Canada, and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.     The Ukrainian Catholic Church in Alberta responds to the call of Christ to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19-20). The Eparchy of Edmonton supports local priests in their travel, health care, pension, and clergy substitution, thus ensuring that they can respond to the pastoral needs of the faithful, especially the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and funerals in rural Alberta. Visit www.edmontoneparchy.com to see how the Church is working for you.

       Catholic Missions in Canada supports over 600 missionaries – priests, deacons, sisters, brothers and lay ministers – throughout 27 eparchies and dioceses right here in Canada, including the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Catholic Missions supports the local churches in our call to proclaim the Gospel among Firsts Nations communities, missionary support, religious education programs, building and repairs, lay pastoral leadership programs, and education of seminarians. To learn more about the work of Catholic Missions in Canada visit (www.cmic.info) and sign up for a free subscription to its quarterly magazine by calling toll free 1-866-937-2642.

       Each year the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is asked to speak out, give leadership, and provide guidelines for the faithful on a wide variety of topics in our daily lives.  For our bishops to do so, they must have the benefit of research and expert advice. Research and gathering information requires staff, time and money.  Through the yearly bishops’ collection, an appeal is made to all Catholics to be generous towards the work of their bishops. To learn more about the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, visit www.cccb.ca.

• Holy Thursday and Institution of the Eucharist – Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with Bishop David and concelebrating clergy, consecration of Holy Chrism, and Rite of Washing of the Feet of the Disciples will take place at 11:00 am, Thursday, April 18 at Saint Josaphat Cathedral. followed by a 1:00 pm dinner at Saint Josaphat Parish Hall in honour of the gift of priesthood.

         All parishioners are welcome!  Tickets for the dinner may be purchased through Saint Josaphat Cathedral (780 422-3181) or the Eparchial Pastoral Centre (780 424-5496). $15.00/adult; youth 12 and under free.

• A “Moleben for Life” will be celebrated at 7:00 pm, May 6, at Saint Josaphat Cathedral, to coincide with the annual National Week of Life and Family and the annual Alberta March for Life.

         This year’s Alberta March for Life takes place on May 9, starting with a 10:00 am Pro-Life Divine Liturgy at Saint Joseph Basilica, followed by program and speeches beginning at 12:30 pm at the Alberta Legislature (albertamarchforlife.com).

  This year’s Week for Life and the Family will be observed from May 12-19, with the theme, “Listening to the Gospel as a Family.” The material for the 2019 National Week of Life and Family is now available on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’s (CCCB) website: www.cccb.ca
  

         This material has been prepared by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF). The material, which can be freely downloaded and reproduced by parishes, includes: a poster; a prayer card; a proposed plan for pastors and lay pastoral workers on how they might organize the Week; a message from the CCCB President, the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S.; proposals for homily notes and Prayers of the Faithful; and suggestions for related events and activities
  

• 2019 Presbyteral Council Meetings:  (2:00 – 5:00 pm, Pastoral Centre):  May 13, October 28.
• Clergy Conferences:  (10:00 am – 4:00 pm):  May 14, November 1.
•  Annual Clergy Retreat – June 10-14 (Sanctum Retreat Centre, Caroline). Retreat Master Rev. Roman Dusanowskyj, Pastor, Descent of the Holy Spirit Parish, Sydney, Nova Scotia (Eparchy of Toronto).

• The 10^th Annual “Bishop’s Prayer Breakfast” will take place 7:30 – 9:00 am, Wednesday, May 29, at Saint Josaphat’s Cathedral Hall – Verkhovyna (9637 – 108 Avenue), Edmonton.     The event supports, through prayer, our clergy, religious, monastics and laity in their leadership roles in continuing the mission of Christ in sharing the Good News among the people of God.

       This year’s theme introduces us to Pope Francis’ invocation of an Extraordinary Missionary Month – October 2019. The Holy Father invites us to live out each day Jesus’ The Commissioning of the Disciples, where he says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28: 19-20).

       Tickets $25.00 per person. $200 for a table of 8 persons. For tickets and more information, contact the Chancery Office at (780) 424-5496; chancery@edmontoneparchy.com.

• Annual Clergy Study Days:  October 28-31 (Providence Renewal Centre, Edmonton). Led by Dr. Stéphane Saulnier, Newman Theological College (Professor, Head of Scripture, History, Foundations Department, Director of Undergraduate Programs).
  
• Pope Francis proclaimed an Extraordinary Missionary Month to be celebrated October 2019:  Baptized and Sent, the Church of Christ on Mission in the World.

         The Holy Father invites us to live out each day Jesus’ The Commissioning of the Disciples, where he says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28: 19-20).

         Pope Francis writes:  “May the Extraordinary Missionar Month prove an intense and fruitful occasion of grace, and promote initiatives and above all prayer, the soul of all missionary activity.  May it likewise advance the preaching of the Gospel, works of Christian charity, and practical works of cooperation and solidarity between Churches, so that missionary zeal may revive and never be wanting among us.”

         The Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019

         In 2019, to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, Pope Francis announced the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019. 

         The Theme of the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019

         For the Extraordinary Missionary Month, the Holy Father has chosen the theme “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on a Mission in the World.” Awakening the awareness of the missio ad gentes, and reinvigorating the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel with new enthusiasm, are themes that combine the pastoral concern of Pope Benedict XV in Maximum Illud with the missionary vitality expressed by Pope Francis in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “Missionary action is the paradigm of every work of the Church” (EG 15).

         How to Live the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019

         There are four dimensions, specified by the Pope, to live more intensely the journey of preparation for the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019:

  1. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ living in His Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and communal prayer;
  2. Testimony: missionary saints, martyrs and confessors of the faith, as an expression of the Church scattered throughout the world;
  3. Missionary formation: biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological;
  4. Missionary charity.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bishop David appointed Rev. Pio Pavlyk, osbm, as Assistant Pastor of Saint Basil Parish, Edmonton. Father Pio was born in 1993, entered the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat in 2010, and professed Solemn Vows in 2017. He was ordained to the priesthood on August 28, 2018 by Bishop Irynej Bilyk, osbm.

His Excellency Bishop David and the entire Chancery staff and volunteers extend to the clergy, religious, monastic, and faithful of the Eparchy of Edmonton a blessed and holy celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord.

           Христос Воскрес!  Воістину Воскрес!

          Christ is Risen!   Indeed He is Risen!

Prayer proposed by Pope Francis for the Extraordinary Missionary Month  October 2019

Heavenly Father, when your only begotten Son Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he commissioned his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” and you remind us that through our Baptism we are made sharers in the mission of the Church.

Empower us by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel, so that the mission entrusted to the Church, which is still very far from completion, may find new and efficacious expressions that bring life and light to the world.

Help us make it possible for all peoples to experience the saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.

Amen.

© 2019 Eparchy of Edmonton
9645 – 108 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5H 1A3
Tel: (780) 424-5496 Fax: (780) 425-2330
www.edmontoneparchy.com