From the desk of Fr. Phil.....

>>click here to view Bulletin May 20, 2012

The Foods of the World Dinner was very well attended this year. I would like to thank all those who prepared the wonderful food from all the different countries. Many thanks to our Social Committee, who organized the event, decorated and prepared the hall and worked tirelessly all day to ensure an enjoyable time for all. Thanks to Joe Vetro, his daughter, Kaitlin and Dylan Prior for the music and videos from all the different countries.  Additional thanks and appreciation to all of our bakers who provided our delectable desserts.  Approximately 175 people were in attendance and I thank all of you for your support of the event and thus, the parish. Our Youth Ministry had a very successful day with their rose campaign for Mother’s Day and I would like to thank you for your support of our Youth Ministry. Please remember the Coffee House on May 26^th after the 5 PM Mass where our Jamaican visitors will be in attendance.

On May 26^th at the 5 PM Mass and on May 27^th at the 10 AM and 12 Noon Masses, we will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Congratulations to all those who will be confirmed.  Please remember my challenge to you is to take an active role in the parish by joining one of our ministries.

For your information, I will be away this coming week on retreat with other priests from the Archdiocese.

I trust that you will have a great week!

Fr. Phil

From the desk of Fr. Phil

 >>click here to view Bulletin May 13, 2012                                                                                                                   

I would like to congratulate all those children who received Holy Communion for the first time last weekend. I am sure your families were very proud of you and celebrated at home later in the day!  It is my hope that you will come back and receive Jesus every Sunday with our community at St. Dominic Parish. I also hope that you enjoyed our First Communion party last Tuesday!

Thanks to our three Principals, Silvina Wolf from St. Dominic Catholic School, Ann Marie Slak from Queen of Heaven Catholic School and Paul Schmidt from St. Paul Catholic Secondary School for addressing us at the beginning of Education Week in Ontario. As they said, we really need to keep the connection solid between home, parish and school. That really means that our families need to have a good relationship with our parish and school communities by virtue of their attendance and involvement.

Happy Mother’s Day to our Mothers in the parish and Mothers where ever they may be! This is a prayer for you all!

Thank you, dear Lord, for our mothers

Who were brave enough to give birth

Who loved through many growing-up years

Who taught about God and love and being good

Who often got no thanks

Whose ears could hear the slightest cry

Whose eyes didn't miss much either

Whose hands held and bathed and picked up

Whose heart was often broken

Who always forgave and forgot

Who encouraged when things went bad

Who always had time to listen

Who worked so hard to make things go

Who make the world so much better

Who deserve our love on Mother's Day

And Every day

Even for eternity. Amen

                                             I wish you all a good week!

Fr. Phil

From the desk of Fr. Phil...

>>click here to view Bulletin May 6, 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our parish cook, Assunta Celeste, our parish catechist, Beverly O’Grady and our Parish Social Ministry co-ordinator, Beverly Carpenter. All three of these staff members received an award from the Archdiocese on April 30, for 10 plus years of service here at St. Dominic. I thank them for their commitment and dedication to the parish.

Please remember to get your tickets for our Foods of the World extravaganza next Saturday evening, May 12. This promises to be a great culinary experience with food from 7 different countries, including our new country, Latin America!

Thank-you to all our Confirmation facilitators who helped with our retreat day, last Saturday.  Our Confirmation class of 2012 will receive the Sacrament on the weekend of May 26-27. We are grateful to our retreat master, Mrs. Debbie Sheldrake, for leading our students in a great day of prayer and reflection.

Let us congratulate all those who have made their First Holy Communion this weekend.  May God continue to bless you through your reception of his Body and Blood!

Fr. Phil

From the desk of Fr. Phil...

>>click here to view Bulletin April 29, 2012

Do we know the peace and security of the Good Shepherd who watches over his own? The Old Testament often speaks of God as shepherd of his people, Israel. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! (Psalm 80:1) We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). The Messiah is also pictured as the shepherd of God's people: He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11). Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who will risk his life to seek out and save the stray sheep (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4). He is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). Jesus made three promises to his followers. He promised them everlasting life. If they accept him and follow him, they will have the life of God in them. Jesus also promised them a life that would know no end. Death would not be the end but the beginning; they would know the glory of indestructible life. Jesus promised a life that was secure. Jesus said that nothing would snatch them out of his hand, not even sorrow and death, since he is everlasting life itself. Our lives are safe in his hands. The words which Jesus spoke upset many of the Jewish leaders. How could he speak with the same authority which God spoke and claim to be equal with God? He must either be insane or divine. Unfortunately some thought he was mad even though he cured a man who was blind from birth. We are faced with the same choice. Either Jesus is who he claims to be – the Son of God and Savior of the world – or the world's greatest deluder! We cannot be indifferent to his claim. For those who accept him as Lord and Savior he offers the peace and security of unending life and joy with God.

Please mark on your calendars, May 12 Foods of the World.

Wishing you all a good week!

 Fr. Phil

MASS FOR THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK

   We will celebrate Mass for the Anointing of the Sick on Tuesday, May 1 at 7:00pm.  This is a celebration for all who are weakened by illness of mind, body or spirit. We are reminded that Sacraments are celebrations for the whole Christian community. We encourage you to bring your family to this special Mass. It is a time when those being anointed witness to us that God is present in all of our life, and we give support to them by our presence, our love and our prayers. We ask your help to reach out to seniors and those shut-ins in our community who may not receive this bulletin.  

From the Desk of Fr. Phil....

>>click here to view Bulletin April 22, 2012

One of the dangers of writing a lengthy column, as I did last week, is that someone might be over-looked in the process.  Unfortunately that is exactly what happened. I failed to mention/thank our Youth Group, our webmaster and the members of the Pastoral Council who wash and iron the Altar linens. As you are likely aware, we use countless linens every Sunday but especially during high celebration times. It is so great to have a steady supply of clean linen when they are needed. Thanks to those ladies who are dedicated to this ministry. If you have checked our website lately, you will find that it is extremely informational and always up to date. I would like to thank Mr. Luis Gomes, our webmaster, for his dedication, expertise and creativity. We normally experience over one thousand hits in a month and so it is important to always keep the site current. Thanks again Luis!

Our Youth Group is an integral part of the parish. They meet every Friday evening in the hall and we always welcome new members.  If you were able to attend the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening you would have experienced a very moving and spiritual celebration of prayer and song. It was very obvious to me that a tremendous amount of work went into the preparation of the prayers and the Taize Music. The lighting of the candles after each station was a very beautiful touch too! The music, provided by our folk choir and some past members who came back from University for the event, was also appropriate and moving. So I would like to thank our Youth group and the choir for joining forces to make our Good Friday experience complete. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our past director, Shane Pereira, who has directed the group for several years. Many thank also to Laura and Diane Krajewski for their ongoing leadership!

We are in the preparation process for the celebrations of First Holy Communion on May 5/6 and Confirmation on May 26/27. Let us continue to pray for those receiving these special Sacraments.

The Social Committee is sponsoring our Foods of the World Dinner this year. It will truly be a great food tasting event with dishes from Asia, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, China/Vietnam, India and Latin America.  Tickets are available for 2 more weeks in the vestibule after each Mass.  

Have a great week!

 Fr. Phil

FOODS OF THE WORLD

The Social Committee is proud to announce the return of The Foods of the World. The dinner will be held on Saturday May 12, with reception starting at 6:30 pm and dinner at 7:00 pm. With it being the Mothers Day weekend, what better way to celebrate, but by taking your wife, mother or mother-in-law on a trip around the world?

All proceeds will be going directly to repay the loan from the Archdiocese for the Air Conditioner. Tickets will go on sale April 14/15 after each mass at the back of the church. Adult tickets are $16 and children under 12 are $8. We will also have an international show of music and dance. So bring your family, bring your friends and bring your appetites to be delighted with a range of delicious food from around the world including Portugal, Ireland, India, China/Vietnam, Latin America and Poland

We are asking for baked goods donations, which gives you the opportunity to put your own flare to this international dinner and will be greatly appreciated. We will have a sign-up sheet at the back of the church.