Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish and St. Patrick's Parish

Saturday Mass at St. Pat's at 5PM - Sunday Masses at OMPH at 9AM & 11AM

Sunday, September 19th and 26th, 2021
Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Sundays in Ordinary Time

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Reflection Questions:
Adults: What proof is there in the world that people don’t accept Jesus’ teaching
on power and ambition?
Children: Why is the wanting the things that belong to others wrong?
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COLLECTION DETAILS:
Monthly Budgeted Income: $10,835.00
Collection for September 2021: $ 4,979.00
SANCTUARY CANDLE FOR BOTH SAINT PATRICK’S AND OMPH: Each week we invite you to light the sanctuary lamp in memory of a loved one or for a special intention. The cost is $20.00 and you may drop the donation off at the rectory during office hours or place it in the collection with the information closed.

FOOD BANK COLLECTION: OMPH & St. Pat’s are collecting school snacks and peanut butter for the month of September. As always, all food items are gratefully appreciated.

SUNDAY OFFERINGS: The Parish is able to accept your Sunday offering via e-transfer. For those who wish to donate to the Parish in this manner, use the email “omphoffice@gmail.com” and the security password “OMPH81”

COMMUNION AND SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Fr. Wayne is available to give out Communion and hear confessions by appointment. Please call the office to make arrangements.

FIRST COMMUNION: We welcome Faith Hearn, Tiffany Julien, Allyson Mackey, Kael Bigelow and Elizabeth Heaslip to the Table of the Lord to receive their First Communion at a special 2:00 P.M. Mass at OMPH on Sunday, September 19th. Please note that this Mass is only for the First Communion candidates and their families.

TIMMINS DIOCESAN CWL ANNUAL RETREAT (Online with Zoom), will take place on Saturday, September 25th at 10:00 A.M. until Noon. They will be journaling with Carole Roy. You will need: your bible, paper/journal, pen. To register, please email Marie Black at marieyvetteblack@hotmail.com. Deadline to register is September 18th 2021.

LIFE CHAIN takes place across the country on Sunday, October 3rd from 2:00-3:00 P.M.. Once again this year, it will be virtual – so we are asking you to set aside that hour and pray either alone or with family members or friends. You can borrow one of the placards by calling Kathie at 647-6390. Thank you.

HALL USAGE: All of our groups are once again able to use the hall. Social distancing, contact tracing protocols and mask wearing are required.

BUILDING FUND: September is one of two months set aside for a special collection toward our building fund. A green envelope can be found in your offering box for this purpose or you can use a white envelope and mark “Building Fund” along with your name. We know that we can count on your generosity.

OFFICE HOURS: Until further notice, the office will continue to only be open on Wednesdays, 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.. Bulletins will also continue to be bi-weekly.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING CATHOLIC. . . KNOW OF SOMEONE WHO IS? Anyone who is interested in joining the Catholic Faith this year can call Paulette at 705-647-5116 by September 30th. R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a process for those who have never been baptized or who have been baptized in another Church and wish to become Catholic and for those Catholics who wish to deepen their faith.

EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT: The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Friday, September 24th. We are in need of at least two people per hour to be in the Church at all times. Come and spend an hour in prayer with our Lord.

FIRST RECONCILIATION: There will be a parents’ meeting for parents of children who wish to receive their First Reconciliation and First Communion, on Thursday, October 14th at 7:00 P.M. in the parish hall. At the parents’ meeting we will require your child’s baptism certificate and parents will be given the home workbook (cost of $15.00). This year, the children will simply complete the workbook with their parents. There will be no retreat. If you have any questions, please contact Paulette at 705-647-5116.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC HEALTH CARE WEEK 2021: From October 3 to 9, we celebrate National Catholic Health Care Week across Canada. The Week recognizes the inspiring work of Catholic health care organizations in our province and across Canada. At the heart of Catholic health care is a deep respect for the intrinsic value and dignity of every human being and an unwavering commitment to serving all people, from all backgrounds and faiths—especially society’s most vulnerable. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed our health care landscape and society. In Canada, the pandemic has shone a public light on many important social and ethical issues calling us all to reflect on the importance of human connection, quality of life, and the meaning of well being—body, mind and spirit. The pandemic has also highlighted the timeless relevance of Catholic social teaching and our collective role in building a Canadian society that reaches out to every person who is suffering from illness, stigma, poverty, or loneliness. During National Catholic Health Care Week, we give thanks for the courageous gift of Catholic health care during these challenging times—in hospitals, community health centres, or seniors care homes. The pandemic calls us all to live the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Holding all those impacted by COVID-19 in our hearts, we ask God to bless the work of Catholic health care and we offer our prayers, support, and encouragement for the people of our Catholic health organizations who care for all in need with compassion and courage. For more information about Catholic health care in Canada or the week, please visit the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada website at www.chac.ca.

Sunday, September 19, 2021
 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
by The Faithful Disciple 

GROW AS A DISCIPLE | PRAY, STUDY, ENGAGE, SERVE

GROW: I have a competitive nature. As an older runner, I strive to place high in my age group (maybe even pick off runners older than I one at a time as we near the finish of a race – of course, I can neither confirm nor deny that). Oh, to be first! There is nothing inherently wrong with healthy competition. However, constantly striving to be the “best” or the “first” in other areas of life – career, parenting, even holiness – can quickly lead to frustration and burnout. As the disciples jostled for “first place,” Jesus gently but directly corrected them: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Like the Apostles, we tend to focus on our achievements as a measure of our worth, forgetting why we are here: to serve others. We can ask Jesus to help us gain the “wisdom from above” and the characteristics so beautifully described by Saint James: pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits.

GO EVANGELIZE | PRAYER, INVITATION, WITNESS, ACCOMPANIMENT

GO: Reading today’s Gospel from Mark, I am struck by the image of Jesus embracing a child: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” Most of us picture our own children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, or nephews. Of course we would embrace them! However, Scripture scholars point out that for Jesus, the child symbolized the anawim, a Hebrew word for the poor, the lowly, the vulnerable, the oppressed. Picture, then, not just children but those we might be less eager to immediately embrace, not just children: ragged men on the corner, immigrants at the border, the neighbor’s son with schizophrenia, prisoners or ex-convicts. Jesus challenges us not to avert our eyes but to “embrace” them – whether that means offering a cup of coffee, becoming a pen pal, stopping to chat, or finding another way to accompany them. Scholars tell us that the anawim share a total dependence upon God, something we all have in common regardless of our life’s circumstances.

ACTIONS: Seek “wisdom from above” at the beginning of each day. In the evening, reflect on the ways God has held you in his loving embrace through the kindness of others, moments in nature, simple pleasures. Say thank you.