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.

• 2020 Presbyteral Council Meetings:  (2:00 – 5:00 pm, Pastoral Centre):  March 9, October 5, and November 16.
• 2020 Clergy Conferences:  (10:00 am – 4:00 pm):  March 10 (Holy Eucharist Parish, Edmonton), October 9, and November 17.
• 2020 Annual Clergy Retreat:  May 25-29, 2020 (Sanctum Retreat Centre). Retreat Master – Very Rev. Gabriel Haber, osbm, Provincial Superior, Order of Saint Bastil the Great.
• 2021 Annual Clergy Retreat:  May 17-21, 2021 (Sanctum Retreat Centre).
• 2020 Annual Clergy Study Days:  October 5-8 (Providence Renewal Centre, Edmonton).
  
  
• The National Week for Life and the Family will be celebrated May 10-17, with the theme, “Children: The Crowning Glory of Marriage.”       Material to help celebrate the Life and Family has been prepared by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF).  The material, which can be freely downloaded and reproduced, includes: 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 Richard Gagnon; proposals for homily notes and Prayers of the Faithful; and suggestions for related events and activities.

         The material is available on COLF:  https://www.colf.ca/en/events/item/301-national-week-for-life-and-the-family-2020

• The 11^th Annual “Bishop’s Prayer Breakfast” will take place 7:30 – 9:00 am, Wednesday, June 3, 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 focuses on Image to Likeness, Our Call to Holiness, based on the Book of Genesis, which writes, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (1:27).

        Our guest speakers are Very Rev. Stephen Wojcichowsky, Protosyncellus/Vicar General and Hanya Fialka, Teacher, Saint Matthew Elementary Catholic School.

       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.

• HOLY LAND PILGRIAMGE POSTPONED UNTIL FEBRUARY 2021.  Please note that the planned October 2020 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land has been postponed until February 2021, owing to a huge increase in airfare (some 65%).
  Rev. Peter Babej, Pastor, Saint Josaphat Cathedral, will lead an Eparchy of Edmonton-wide Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Februray 2021.  Open to all faithful.  Itinerary and costs attached. For further information, contact Father Peter at (780) 422-3181 or :  fr.babej@eeparchy.com.  The Pilgrimage will be an incredible conclusion to our Vision 2020:  Vibrant Parishes, Places to Encounter the Living Christ.  Prepare to walk in the footsteps of Our Lord!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Pope Francis issued his Message for Lent, entitled “We implore you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

       In his Message for Lent 2020, Pope Francis points to the paschal mystery – the mystery of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection – as the basis of conversion.

• Pope Francis published his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia, Beloved Amazon, the final document of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region held in Rome from October 6-27, 2019.

         The Holy Father states that while the Amazon region spreads over nine specific countries, the document is equally intended for the whole world, as we all share in the responsibility for this land, and he calls on all of us to recognize that “the Church’s concern for the problems of this area obliges us to discuss, however briefly, a number of other important issues that can assist other areas of our world in confronting their own challenges” (no. 5).

         The document outlines the Pope’s reflections on four key wishes or dreams for the region and its people: a social dream (nos. 8-27), a cultural dream (nos. 28-40), an ecological dream (nos. 41-60), and an ecclesial dream (nos. 61-110).

   

• Pope Francis revised number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the death penalty.

         The new revised paragraph reads:

         The death penalty

         “2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

         “Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

         “Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”,[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”

• The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a response to the tabling of Bill C-7, “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)” which was tabled on February 24, 2020.

         In the response, the Bishops of Canada express their concerns with Bill C-7, which seeks to expand the eligibility criteria for euthanasia and assisted suicide by removing the “reasonable foreseeability of natural death” criterion currently in the Criminal Code, and by loosening some of the existing “safeguards” allowing patients whose death is “reasonably foreseeable” to waive final consent to receiving euthanasia by making an advance directive.

         In addition to voicing their strong opposition to the proposed legislation, the Bishops call upon all Canadians who also oppose the new Bill to make their voices heard. They likewise urge members of Parliament to acknowledge the giftedness of life as an inalienable right not to be taken away by others, the importance of compassion for the ill and the dying, as well as the responsibility to protect the most vulnerable.

  Response to the tabling of Bill C-7: “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)”

• The Order of Saint Basil the Great, Sacred Heart Province, Canada, recently held its Provincial Chapter, at which time the following were elected to office:
  • Very Rev. Gabriel Haber, osbm, Protohegumen (Provincial Superior) (re-elected for a third term)
  • Rev. Joseph Pidskalny, osbm, Protoconsultor
  • Brother Damian Dutka, osbm, Consultor
• A Lenten Prayer – The Prayer of Saint Ephrem

   O Lord and Master of my life,

   keep me from the spirit of indifference and discouragement,

    lust of power and idle chatter.

   

  Instead, grant to me, your servant.

    the spirit of wholeness of being,

    humble-mindedness, patience and love.

   

  O Lord and King,

    grant me the grace to be aware of my sins

    and not to judge my sisters and brothers,

    for You are blessed, now and for ever 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