​Entrance Antiphon
The Good Shepherd has risen,
who laid down his life for his sheep 
and willingly died for his flock, alleluia.





Great crowds followed Jesus as he preached the Good News, (w/c on paper), Wang, Elizabeth (Contemporary Artist) / Private Collection

In the Gospel today we see the crowds continue to look for and follow Jesus. It seems they just want to see again something spectacular. Perhaps some of them hope that Jesus would look at them and help them. As we know Jesus would do that, he could see every need, but in this case, today, he gives them an important lesson. "Do not work for the food that cannot last, but work for the food that endures for eternal life." In other words, Jesus tells them not to follow him because of the miracles he does but accept in him the Savior first. "You must believe."

​Perhaps it is not a coincidence that we receive this message on the first day of the closed church. Jesus turned to you today, and you, why you are following me? What is it that I am going to miss the most while the church door is closed and there is no access to the Sacraments?

On Feb. 22, Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Peter. “A feast for a chair?” you ask.
Yep. You see, Peter wasn’t just any old apostle. Oh, sure, he made a lot of mistakes. (Pretending not to know Jesus, when approached by that woman at the fire after Jesus’ arrest, was a big mistake!) He was impulsive and blustering and given to bouts of cowardice—at least, before the Holy Spirit got hold of him at Pentecost and set him on fire for the gospel  ... 
                                                        read more here or clik on the photo below

       - Curatesy of National Catholic Register, www.ncregister.com​

​Prayer after Communion

Renewed now with heavenly bread,
by which faith is nourished, hope increased,
and charity strengthened,
we pray, O Lord,
that we may learn to hunger for Christ,
the true and living Bread,
and strive to live by every word
which proceeds from your mouth.
Through Christ our Lord.
​

One of the most beautiful tunes of Lent are composed to commemorate the suffering of Mary who had to witness the crucifixion and death of her own Son.

“The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.[1][2][3] The title comes from its first line, "Stabat Mater dolorosa", which means "the sorrowful mother was standing". The hymn is sung at the liturgy on the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Stabat Mater has been set to music by many Western composers.”
​   (Wikipedia) 
​

There are many special prayers and traditions designed for Lent. One of them is related to Jesus’ Passion, and is called the Stations of the Cross. We usually celebrate the Stations together in our church, but I do not know if this will be the case this year. You can always pray them at home, favorably on Fridays during Lent or any other day of your choice. 

"Crucified Savior, accept this short meditation on Your passion and death as a sign of my love and gratitude. You sent Your Holy Spirit as Your first gift to those who believe. Help me to welcome the Spirit into my life so that I may follow in Your footsteps and the victory of Your resurrection may grow in me. Together with my fellow believers, let me come frequently to the table of the Lord and receive Your most holy Body and Blood. I ask You to bless the good resolutions I have made. Jesus, for You I live. Jesus, for You I die. Jesus, I am Yours in life and in death. Amen."
​   (Archdiocese of Cincinnati, YouTube channel)
​

You should receive by now your Tax Receipt and Letter that we mailed to everyone a few weeks ago. Just in case I copy it below. 
----------------------------------------------------

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

I sent you a letter at the beginning of this Pandemic in 2020 and I never thought that one year later I would be doing the same. This is the best way to reach out to all of our parishioners and friends who attend our church and make contributions and whose addresses we have on file. The first aim of this letter is to let you know that I am always concerned about your wellbeing and I pray for each one of you daily. I am receiving calls and emails from persons who are having difficulty coping with the Pandemic and the situation it creates. You are not alone in your struggles because as the sign in front of our church says, we stand for one another and “please pray for each other”.
Our prayer is very much like the prayer from Psalm 63, “My body longs for you in a dry, parched land where there is no water.” We are all exhausted and long to return to normal. As we embark on our Lenten journey we will be led by Jesus Christ in our prayer through the desert, abandonments, and the darkness of sin and cross to the new beginnings, to the new life that is stronger than evil and death. “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness” [Easter Vigil]
I am sending you some blessed ashes. Keep them in your Bible or prayer book as a reminder of this Lent that will make us new people of God. At this time, we don’t know if Ash Wednesday will be possible.
Your tax receipt for your 2020 donations is attached. I want to thank you for your continuous support, especially in these uncertain times. I am always touched to see offertory envelopes arriving, even when the church is closed. We use our funds wisely. We have limited our expenses as much as possible. I was very happy to see our stained-glass window project finalized. We used our savings to pay it off, but it will be reimbursed from the One Heart One Soul Campaign fund.  A special thank you to those who keep their pledges coming in.
Please note that One Heart One Soul Campaign and Canada Helps provide their own tax receipts for all donations made. Thank you for your generosity and please keep supporting your church! “God loves a cheerful giver” [2 Corinthians 9]. There are many ways you can submit donations, by mail, on-line via Canada Helps or in person through the mail slot on the rectory door from Murray Street, (Father’s house door located between the hall and the church.  Please do NOT leave anything in the office mailbox). You can always justify it as essential exercise if asked what you are doing there. :)
What lies ahead is unknown to us but not to God. We trust him and we believe that as much as we cling to him, we are safe. “The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer.” [Psalm 18] May our relationship with God become even stronger this Lent and Easter. “The best is yet to come.”
May God bless you!
 
Fr. Luke
Your Pastor 

Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French, and it is the celebratory carnival that leads up to the beginning of Lent. ... Meat is traditionally abstained from during Lent which is where the word "carnival" is originally derived from, meaning "the removal of meat."

Let us take look on how people cheered up before entering Lenten fast … There was no chance for the carnival this year.
​