St. Leonard Catholic Parish
Manotick, Ont
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Monthly E-Newsletter for October 2017

Thank you for subscribing to the St. Leonard's monthly E-Newsletter. The E-Newsletter is arriving  a week early in your mailbox this month. Father Titus will be speaking on the Parish Plan for 2017-18 at this weekend's Masses and he wanted to provide you with the summary and the link to the full plan contained in this edition of the E-Newsletter. 

October is Ministry Recruitment month. Think about volunteering to share your love with your neighbour. "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love!" (John 13:35)

If you know someone who might benefit from this E-Newsletter, please forward it to them. 
Pastor's Message Oct 1st

Discipleship: Charged with Being a Christian

Pastor' Message Oct 1st
The other day I was presented with a question that made me pause and step back. Not only did the question put me on the spot personally but it made me think of our updated Parish Plan for this year and how we are doing in achieving our vision of "growing disciples of Christ".
 
Here is the Question:  "If I ever was to be arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?"
 
I was so enamored with the question I thought I would run it by some of our parishioners and see how they might respond. I turned to the Men's Friday Morning Cursillo group and asked them "What evidence would the judge be looking for that they are disciples of Christ?". Here is their response and the scripture verse to back it up:
 
C- Committed  to Christ and his greatest commandment ("Love God and love neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31)
H-  Helps those in need ("Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers your do unto me;"  Matt 25:40)
R-  Reconciled to God and Neighbours ("Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Col 3:13)
 I-   Imitates the role model of Jesus ("That you love one another, even as I have loved you." John 13:34)
S-  Serves others ("As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good     stewards of God's varied grace." 1 Peter 4:10)
T- Tells the Good News ("Go out and spread the good news." Mark 16:15)
 I-  Identified by Love ("Love is patient, love is kind." 1 Cor 13:4)
A- Adores God ("Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name." Matt 6:9)
N- Needs to LOVE NOW, at this very moment, in this very place! ("Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation." 2 Cor 6:2)
How would you respond if you were asked the question? Would you be convicted as a disciple of Jesus? 
God bless, Father Titus
Parish Plan for 2017-18
Overview
Our plan for this year is to build on the good work that was done last year and reinforce our ongoing vision of "growing disciples". We will place an enhanced focus on love and outreach because this is where our growth in discipleship should be most evident. The Sunday evening Youth Mass will launch Oct 8th. Our Adult Faith Formation programs this year will place emphasis on personal spiritual practices such as prayer, bible study and confession as disciplines that will bring us closer to a Christ centered life. This year both our children's First Communion and Confirmation preparation programs will be using new teaching material from Dynamic Catholic. We will continue to seek an increase in our financial base by encouraging the use of Pre-Authorized Payment. The following are the main focus areas once again this year:

Worship
Enhance the meaningfulness and transformative nature of the weekend Masses so that they are the best possible experience for the maximum number of people.
 
Discipleship (Grow) and Evangelization (Connect)    
Advance the faith and understanding of all parishioners so that they may develop a personal relationship with Christ and empower all to share this faith with others.
 
Fellowship (Love) and Ministry (Serve)
Develop a welcoming community where every person feels affirmed, has an opportunity to be involved and cared for, and implant in all a desire to serve one another and the broader community.
 
Stewardship (Give)
Educate the parish on the meaning of stewardship, and encourage and inspire parishioners to give of their time, talent and treasure so that the Parish can maintain existing services and develop new programs to address emerging needs and opportunities.
 
Growing your Faith: FORMED renewed for 1 year!


FORMED Resources for October

October 2017 marks the 500-year anniversary of when Martin Luther made his 95 Theses known to the world, an event that caused widespread confusion regarding the nature and authority of the Church and led to a fracturing of the Church into thousands of different denominations. As Catholics, we need to know the answers to the question "Why do I need the Church?" and be prepared to boldly share those reasons with others as well as pray for Christian unity.
Watch
 Listen
 Read

If you are new to FORMED, to get ongoing FREE ACCESS to all programs and downloadable PDF guides, movies and e-books please
visit the St. Leonard website for detailed sign-up instructions.   
Access FORMED on the go! 

There are two ways to get FORMED right at your fingertips:

1. Apple users can   download the iOS app.

  2. Android users can use FORMED on the go with  these easy instructions. 

Parish Mission: Sunday Nov 18 to Wednesday Nov 22 (Evenings)
Plan to attend our Fall  Mission. Once again  Redemptorist Fr Eugene O'Reilly will lead us in an inspiring and engaging retreat that will run for four consecutive evenings on the topics of God's Love and the Call to Discipleship. Join us and allow Jesus Christ through the richness of His Word, to love you into fullness of life and a deep sense of personal well-being.
Personal Spiritual Practices: Prayer

Personal spiritual practices are the building blocks for a Christ-centered life. This year the Adult Faith Formation Team will focus on these practices (prayer, Confession, scripture reading and meditation, etc) that individuals do on their own to grow in their relationship with Christ. We begin with prayer. Prayer isn't just another good thing to do; it's absolutely necessary if we want to know God's will in our lives and draw closer to him. "Prayer is to the Spirit what food is to the body." Eamon Tobin 
Watch this short video from  Fr. Mike Schmitz to pick up some quick tips on prayer.
Forgiven: God's Love Revealed

Come and join us in our study of the sacrament of Confession. Pope Francis reminds us that this sacrament reveals the always forgiving love of God yet the number of Catholics going to receive this sacrament has greatly declined. Using videos from Formed and discussion, we'll examine why we have this sacrament, where we can find the biblical foundations for it, and why we should return to receiving it more frequently. 
The talks will be offered both daytime and in the evening. Please mark your calendars.
Session 1- 'An Encounter with Mercy'- Tuesday, October 10-7:30 pm  and Thursday, Oct. 12- after 9 am mass
Session 2- 'The Rite Explained'- Tuesday, October 17-7:30 pm  and Thursday, Oct. 19- after 9 am mass
Session 3- 'Biblical Foundations' - Tuesday, November 7-7:30 pm  and Thursday, Nov. 9- after 9 am mass
Session 4- 'Common Questions about Confession'- Tuesday, November 14-7:30 pm  and Thursday, Nov. 16- after 9 am mass
Update on Giving

As of the end of the summer our total offerings for 2017 are running $8,236.42 over our 2016 offerings at the same point of the year. This still leaves as behind our goal of a 20% increase for the full year but the increase in Pre-Authorized Payment givers does bode for well for the future. If you are not a part of this group, we encourage you to consider it as a way to simplify your regular offering. We will continue to focus on increasing our pre-authorized giving to 100 families by the end of this year so if you are not part of this group please click here to find out how to enroll.
J ourney to the Holy Land Israel with Father Titus: June 3-14, 2018

Follow the footsteps of Jesus in an amazing journey to the Holy Land. Trace the roots of Christian tradition as we cross desert and mountains to the cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. Yesterday and today come together in this unique opportunity to deeply connect with the teachings of Christ through the land where he lived. Every Catholic should make this journey once in a lifetime!   Learn More

What's on in October
Sun. Oct. 1     9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Mass - Enrolment Masses for children celebrating First Communion
Tues. Oct. 3    7:00 p.m.  "Pilgrimage with Father Titus to the Holy Land"  Information Meeting
Wed. Oct. 4    7:00 p.m.  Pastoral Council Meeting
Wed. Oct. 11    7:00 p. m. Knights of Columbus Meeting
Fri. Oct. 13      7:00 p.m.  Mass in celebration of Our Lady of Fatima
Sat. Oct. 14     4:30 p.m.  Enrolment Mass for Confirmation Candidates
Sun.  Oct. 15   9 a.m. and 11 a.m.  Enrolment Masses for Confirmation Candidates
Fri.  Oct. 20    7:00 p.m.  "Night With The Saints"
Tues. Oct. 24  6:30 p.m.  Confirmation Program Session 1
  Wed. Oct. 25   7:00 p.m.  CWL Meeting

 

After the 9 am and 11 am Sunday masses in October coffee will be served in the Parish Hall. Click on the Parish Calendar for a full listing of upcoming meetings and events.
 
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