St. Leonard Catholic Church
Manotick, Ont
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Monthly E-Newsletter for Dec 2015 
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 
 
This Christmas may you be blessed with a heart that only knows to love. May baby Jesus teach you to pass your blessings along to all of those around you. May you have a truly blessed Christmas!  If you know someone who might benefit from this E-Newsletter, please forward it to them.  

Pastor's Message
The Jubilee of Mercy and Christmas
On Dec 8 th we launch an Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its centre the mercy of God. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy. Pope Francis asks us, in a special way in this upcoming year, to live in the light of the word of the Lord: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36). Mercy is a way of bringing hope to people. Mercy is what God so dramatically displayed when he sent His only son, Jesus, to be with us on Christmas Eve. " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
 
In order to have a personal relationship with God, we must first seek His mercy and then show mercy to others. How can we show mercy in our daily lives? Offer help to anyone that is hurting. Reach out with love to everyone we meet, even those that are unpopular and those that do not treat us well. Give everyone a second chance. Be patient with all of those that we encounter. And, most importantly, be quick to forgive and never stop forgiving. For when we are in a right relationship with God, we will give mercy to others.
 
Throughout the remainder of Advent I would ask that you make an intentional effort to show great mercy to those that you encounter and, by so doing, draw them closer to the great gifts of hope, joy, love and peace that we experience with the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
God bless! Father Titus

Growing your Faith 
Adult Faith Formation Survey

In order to better tailor our adult faith training and formation programs we are conducting a brief parishioner survey to ascertain what kind of programs you might like to see us offer in the Parish this year. Please take a minute and complete the Adult Faith Formation Survey. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Holy Year of Mercy
On the second anniversary of the election of Pope Frances, March 13, 2015, the Pope announced the celebration of an "extraordinary Holy Year". This "Jubilee of Mercy" will commence with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Dec 8, 2015, and will conclude on November 20, 2016 with the Feast of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
With the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis focuses attention upon the merciful God who invites all men and women to return to Him. The encounter with God inspires in one the virtue of mercy. In his Holiness's letter announcing the Jubilee, he hoped that it would provide "a living experience of the closeness of the Father, whose tenderness is almost tangible, so that the faith of every believer may be strengthened and thus testimony to it be ever more effective." For a full background and a description of the activities to take place throughout this Holy Year visit the Vatican's Jubilee of Mercy website at http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en.htm 
 
Becoming Catholic

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA): If you know someone who might be interested in becoming a Catholic or completing their initiation by celebrating Confirmation and/or First Communion as an adult, please encourage them to introduce themselves to Father Titus; he'd be happy to tell you more about the process or have them contact [email protected].  

CWL presents a Bible Study focused on the Holy Mother

New this year the CWL is hosting a bible study focused on the Holy Mother on Monday evenings in the Church on Jan. 11 th, 18 th and 25 th. All parishioners are invited to attend and the sessions are open to all Catholics in the area.

New Content on FORMED: Catholic Faith Formation On-line
 
 
Every parishioner has 24/7 access to the best Catholic faith formation content on any device; personal computer, tablet, or smart phone. This month three new programs have been added;
1) Reborn: A 5 part series on "You, Your Child and the Heart of Baptism"
2) Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A 10 part "do it yourself" Spiritual Retreat inspired by the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius
3) The One Thing is Three: A 10 part series that provides a summary of Church teaching and Catholic wisdom as well as suggestion for various works of mercy and apostolate programs.
If you have not already registered please do so by visiting the St. Leonard's website FORMED page.  New content is continuing to be added, so return as often as you wish to discover more.   
 

    Community News
Remembrance Day Services Honour our Veterans   
 
At the weekend Masses on the weekend of Nov 7th and 8th the Knights of Columbus honoured our veterans for their service in defence of our nation's freedom and liberty. At the 11:00 Mass the participants were Stephane Lessard, Father Titus, Col. Jim Kile and Barry Gauthier.  
 
 
Successful Chili Dinner and Trivia Night
On November 21st, the Knights and CWL held a Chili Dinner and Trivia Night. It was an evening of great food (nine different chili recipes on offer), and great fellowship among the 80 parishioners and friends, and of course Father Titus. An amazing $2,239 was raised for a new 98-unit affordable housing community being built in Barrhaven by the Multifaith Housing Initiative (of which our Parish is a member). This community will house over 300 homeless and very poor families and individuals, as well as some refugees from Syria and other places of conflict. 
 
During the evening's activities, Emma McNicholl was presented a certificate of recognition for an outstanding personal donation of $400 to the program from Stephane Lessard, our Parish's co-ordinator for the Multifaith Housing Initiative. 



Catholic Women's League (CWL) Update 
 
CWL ran a very successful bake sale and sold out their Advent Candles in one weekend due to the generosity of our parishioners. They will be using these funds for their projects in the Church, local and international community. Father Titus will take $400 to the Nigerian Orphanage from the Advent Candle sale this Christmas. Pictured are just some of our super bakers from the CWL; Carol Daily, Heather Anne Wilde, Suzie Gnoaro and Agatha Thissen. 

The milk bag drive continues. To date, CWL has made and delivered 6 milk bag mats (over 500 bags per mat) to Africa. Carroll Woods and Cynthia Laforty are currently working on mat #7 using the milk bag chains from the children at St. Leonard's school, and bags from the children of St. Jerome's school and parishioners. 
 
What's on in December

Upcoming Events 
               
Dec. 1    7:00 p.m.  First Reconciliation Celebration (St. Leonard School Children)
Dec. 2    7:00 p.m.   Pastoral Council Meeting
Dec. 5    Victorian Tea and Penny Sale
Dec. 8    9:30 a.m.   Mass (Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Dec. 8    7:30 p.m. Launch of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and Opening of the Holy Door of Mercy in Rome - Mass at  Notre Dame Cathedral 
Dec. 8    7:00 p.m.   First Reconciliation Celebration (St. Jerome School Children)
Dec. 9    7:00 p.m.  Knights of Columbus Meeting
Dec. 10  7:00 p.m.   Baptismal Preparation Meeting
Dec. 15  7:00 p.m.  Advent Reconciliation Service
Dec. 16  6:00 p.m.  C.W.L Dinner
Dec. 17/Dec. 18     Preparation and Distribution of Christmas Hampers
Dec. 18  12:30 p.m.  Mass at St. Jerome Catholic Elementary School
Dec. 24   Christmas Eve Masses -  4 p.m. (one in church and one in St. Leonard School)  6 p.m.   8 p.m.   11:30 p.m.
Dec. 25   Christmas Day Mass - 10 a.m.
Dec. 31   New Year's Eve Mass - 4:30 p.m.
Jan.  1      Mass 10:00 a.m. (Feast Day of Mary, Mother of God ) 
 

After the 9 am and 11 am Sunday masses in December coffee will be served in the Parish Hall. Click on the Parish Calendar for a full listing of upcoming meetings and events.
 
Update on the St. Leonard Website
Timely information and resources

Here are some of the capabilities that are available on our website:
 
Friday Facts: Every Friday the Archdiocese sends out a newsletter (it used to be a fax!) providing an update on what is going on at the Archdiocese and highlights important community and faith formation events that are taking place in the Parishes.

Find a Church or Mass in the Ottawa area: If you are looking to find other Mass times in the area, the Archdiocese provides a directory of all the Parishes with their Mass times.     

Link of the Month
 
Each month we will highlight a link to online sources that can help us better understand and live our Christian faith. If you would like to better understand the Mass, this month we encourage you to visit Elements of the Catholic Mass and sign up to receive their videos in your email.  
 
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