From the Desk of Fr. Phil

I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the celebration of my 25^th Anniversary of Ordination last weekend. So many people came on board to make the entire weekend a joyous occasion! Thanks to the Knights of Columbus and their wives for hosting the weekend along with Laura Cordavado and several ladies on the Coffee Sunday Team. Many thanks to Pat Hyland for arranging for the cakes and the delivery of the food for the 12 noon Mass. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard for coming to the 12 O’clock Mass. Your presence really enhanced the celebration! To all the con-celebrating Priests, Fr. Noel Whelan, Fr. Ernest Ezeogu, Fr. Rudy Volk, Fr. Charbel Bousamra and Fr. Ted Smith, I thank you for celebrating this milestone with me. Several of my friends were able to be present, six of whom were at my ordination and first Mass and it was very special to me to have them here. Many thanks to the members of my family who came from Brooklin, Whitby, Ajax and Churchill, Manitoba to be with me. My younger brother from Brooklin, Mike Jones, spoke on behalf of the family and, after listening to him, it was easy to see that we both have the gift of the gab.  Thanks Mike!  Thanks to my long-time friend, Nicole Sicotte, for presenting me with a Papal Blessing from Pope Francis. I will cherish that gift for the rest of my life! I was totally surprised when the choir began singing their beautiful tribute, The Irish Blessing. It was very touching and so beautifully done. Thank-you!

Many thanks to all of you who participated in the celebration both in the church and downstairs. Thank-you for your congratulatory words, birthday wishes and ‘welcome back’, in the receiving line. The number of cards and gifts is, in itself, overwhelming and I thank you all for your generosity! Last, but not least, I thank God for all of you, knowing that He will be with us in the joyous times and in the challenging ones as we continue to build up the Kingdom of God here in Mississauga!

Thank-you and God bless you all!!

Fr. Phil

CELEBRATION OF FR. PHIL’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION

There will be a meet and greet for Fr. Phil after all Masses on the weekend of September 21^st and 22^nd in the church hall. Come join your fellow parishioners in wishing our Pastor congratulations on this happy occasion and enjoy refreshments and anniversary cake.

From the Desk of Fr. Phil

First of all, I would like to thank you, in writing, for your prayers, cards, emails, gifts and hospital visits while I was at Trillium Mississauga. All of these vehicles of support made my lengthy stay so much easier to bear. I spoke about this on Labor Day weekend at all Masses but I thought I should put it in writing for those who may have been away enjoying the last long weekend of Summer. In any case, thanks to all of you!!

I know that I missed many functions like parish dinners, meetings, concerts and graduations during my illness. One of the things I missed, in particular, was the departure of our Principals and Vice-Principals. Although it might seem a little late, I would like to thank Mrs. Silvina Wolf, (St. Dominic), Mrs. Ann Marie Slak, (Queen of Heaven), Mr. Paul Schmid, Principal and Mrs.Lina Iacabucci, Vice-Principal at St. Paul.  I would like to thank them for their friendship and constant support of parish-school relations. I wish them well in their new schools and in their retirements.

Now I would like to welcome all our teachers, students and chaplains, both former and new. A special welcome to our new Principals, Vice-Principals and Chaplain: Caroline Athaide, (Principal, St. Dominic), Michelle McCann, (Principal, Queen of Heaven), Cathy Sforza, (Vice-Principal, Queen of Heaven), Carmel Murphy, (Principal, St. Paul), Mr. Annibale Larossi, (Vice-Principal, St. Paul) and Margie Gillis, (Chaplain, St. Paul).  I look forward to working with you all and continuing the wonderful relationship that we enjoy with all of our parish schools. May God bless your great work in Catholic education!! We continue to pray for Brian Finamore’s health and hope he is back with us soon!

Our first fundraiser is quickly approaching on the weekend of October 5 and 6.  This year, instead of a Harvest Bazaar, I would like to have a Mammoth Harvest Bake Sale and Raffle in time for Thanksgiving Weekend.  I am asking you to help me so that we can have as many baked goods and raffle prizes as possible. Please drop off baked good on Friday October 4^th so that they can be re-packaged and priced. If you wish to donate a prize to be raffled, please bring it to the office during office hours.  We need your help, both on that weekend, and for baking, if this event is to be successful. Please use the sign-up sheets at any of the exits to let us know what you can bake and/or volunteer to help on the day. The success of this event depends on you!

Trusting that all of our students and teachers have enjoyed being back at school.

Fr. Phil