It’s All About the Mystery

When celebrating the Eucharist, we are in the midst of “ancient rituals of an ancient faith” and this is not to be toyed with. So began Fr. Bill Burke on the first night of It’s All About the Mystery, the English Deanery Lenten Mission which took place from March 7th – 9th in the Greater Moncton area. Fr. Burke spoke about the profound mystery of the Eucharist – a place where the Church teaches we find the real presence of Christ not only in the Sacred Species of bread and wine, but in the assembly, the priest and the Word proclaimed Human words are really at a loss to explain this mystery. Fr. Burke compared trying to explain the mystery of the Eucharist to trying to explain grief. We can know a lot about grief he said, but until “we stand next to the coffin of a loved one, we will not know grief.” Using the ordinary life experiences we all share, Fr. Burke talked about the celebration of the Eucharist as something that is far more significant than following the rubrics. He reminded us that this gathering, which was given to us by “a young Jew” to do in remembrance of him has been lived and experienced by countless generations of people in countless experiences throughout every nation of the world. When we gather on Sunday to celebrate Eucharist, we are a people of God who come from many and varied polarities of situations – all gathered to do as Jesus asked.

THANK YOU:

Our campaign raised $250,000 for Haiti

click here to follow the emergency relief work being done:

http://www.devp.org/devpme/eng/international/haiti-eng.html

The Archdiocese of Moncton has raised more than $250,000 during a financial campaign held in each of its 57 parishes and missions of the diocese to help the people of Haiti, hit by a deadly and devastating earthquake in January.

The funds will be sent to Development and Peace, the official international development organization of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada, and, to respect the wishes of some parishes, to the Redemptorist Fathers for their work in Haiti.

These funds will be used for rescue operations and humanitarian assistance.

It should be noted that the Federal Government has committed itself to a contribution of dollar for dollar.

Feed My Lambs continues with Fr. Phil Mulligan

On Wednesday, February 10th the second session of Feed My Lambs took place at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church with Fr. Phil Mulligan, priest moderator of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. Fr. Phil talked about his call to the vocation of the priesthood and acknowledged that such a call has to be both internal and external – without both, he says, he is not certain that it is a true call. Throughout his life, Fr. Phil has been influenced by many people who do not linger for long - he says they are like the trolls who come out from under the bridge – but have been a necessary part of his life, sent to him to impart some profound wisdom. The next session takes place at St. Michael’s Church, Moncton on March 10th when we will hear from Fr. Yvon Arsenault. It will begin with mass at 7:00 p.m.

Diocesan Newsletter Now Available

The February edition of the Diocesan newsletter is now available in parishes and electronically on this site by clicking here: Pastoral Action February 2010 Vol. 1, no. 3

Seasonal and H1N1 Flus

The Diocese recently published a document, Diocesan Preventive Health Measures, that suggests a number of measures in the event of an outbreak of a seasonal flu or the H1N1 flu. To access the document, click here: Preventive Health Measures