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March 24, 2020
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish,
In order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus and so as to comply with the Government of Ontario’s new regulations requiring that all non-essential workplaces be closed, we are sorry to inform you that the church and parish office must remain closed until further notice.
This is a deeply painful, but necessary, decision for our faith community.
However, we are still here for you during this difficult time. You can still leave a voicemail at the parish office: 416-924-6257. Or you can email us at: info@lourdes.to. We will return your message as soon as possible. Visit www.archtoronto.org/covid19 for updated information from the Archdiocese of Toronto and for links to view the Daily Mass online. You may also visit our Parish website at www.lourdes.to. If it is an emergency, you may also call or text me (Fr John) at 416-417-1513.
Please continue to pray for those sick and those caring for them. Be assured of our daily prayers for you.
God Bless and Take Care,
Fr John
Fr John Sullivan, SJ
Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
To the members of the Our Lady of Lourdes community,
Out of care for our parishioners and members of the community, we regret to inform you that we have postponed the Volunteer Tax Clinic on March 14th.
Should you still be interested in attending a re-scheduled Clinic, please contact the office in 2 weeks (416-924-6257 or info@lourdes.to) and we will update you as to whether we have been able to reschedule and, if so, for when.
We are grateful for your patience and prayers as we seek to respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the best way possible.
We will also continue to keep you updated as and when other events in the Parish are postponed or cancelled. We are expecting to receive an additional memo from the Archdiocese today which may contain further guidance.
Thank you and God bless,
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Office
416-924-6257 info@lourdes.to
On March 10th, the Archdiocese of Toronto issued another memo to update parishes on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, accessible online at: https://www.archtoronto.org/media-centre/news-archive/chancery-news/coronavirus-update--march-10-2020
The Archdiocese of Toronto continues to work with health officials to monitor the local situation regarding active cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19). At this time, Cardinal Collins has asked all parishes to refrain from shaking hands at the Sign of Peace – a simple bow, nod or “peace be with you” to your neighbour is appropriate.
Our Lady of Lourdes will also continue to ensure that those distributing communion wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before and after the distribution of communion.
We also encourage everyone to continue to practice healthy hygiene – wash your hands with soap or use hand sanitizer regularly, remain home if you are sick, sneeze/cough into your sleeve and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
For those who are unable to attend Mass, Daily TV Mass broadcasts a Mass every day on both TV and YouTube (www.dailytvmass.com).
In addition to the Archdiocese’s guidance, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish wishes to encourage you to prayerfully consider receiving communion in the hand instead of on the tongue during this time.
Regarding event cancellations/postponements, please note the following thus far (as of March 13th):
-The Volunteer Tax Clinic (Saturday, March 14th) is postponed. See separate post for details.
-The monthly Seniors Day Program is canceled for March and April (March 20th and April 17th).
Please continue to pray for all those impacted by the coronavirus. We will continue to keep you updated.
Update on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
On Tuesday, March 3rd, the Archdiocese of Toronto issued a memo to all parishes regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
As of the time of this post, the Archdiocese is neither requiring nor recommending any liturgical changes, based on the guidance of City of Toronto Public Health, with whom they are working closely with the goal of acting responsibly based on credible information from reliable sources.
Parishioners are encouraged to practice healthy hygiene, such as frequent hand-washing, avoiding touching eyes/nose/mouth, and sneezing/coughing into your sleeve. We also recommend staying home if you are sick; illness is a valid reason for missing Mass. More information is available from the provincial website (Ontario.ca/COVID-19) and the Archdiocese at https://www.archtoronto.org/media-centre/news-archive/chancery-news/update-on-coronavirus
However, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish wishes to encourage all parishioners to prayerfully consider, for the common good during this time:
-Receiving communion in the hand instead of on the tongue; and
-Exchanging the sign of peace during Mass without physical contact.
Also, as a precautionary measure we will be leaving empty the holy water fonts at the entrances of the church.
Please continue to pray for all those impacted by the coronavirus. We will continue to keep you updated.
There are a few occasions every year when I attend a fancy banquet. As I sit down I then nervously look at my table setting. There are big and small plates, soup and salad bowls, innumerable pieces of cutlery and a water glass placed in the perfect spot to make me uncertain whose glass it is. My nervousness is a result of my anxiety - I want to appear as if I know the proper etiquette and rules to such fancy eating. And so, I wait until someone else dives in and then I just do what they do. We are often concerned about doing what everyone expects. We follow the rules of proper decorum in an effort not to stand out, not to have fingers pointed in our direction. We want to appear as if fit in, as if we know the “secret handshake.” In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are presented with just such a situation, of what we think is proper in our relationship with God, and how the Lord reconfigures it through his Transfiguration.
Jesus was transfigured before three of the Apostles, namely, Peter, James and John. In his Transfiguration, the Lord revealed to them his full person, that is, perfectly human and perfectly divine. He showed them that he is not merely a carpenter, not merely a wise teacher but he is God. As the fulfillment of the law and Prophets, Moses and Elijah appear with him. We know that Peter offers to build three dwellings, one for Christ and two for Moses and Elijah. In mid-sentence, however, a cloud descended and overshadowed them. From within the cloud, they heard the voice of God the Father proclaim, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” At this, they were overcome by fear and “fell to the ground.” The Lord then touched them and said, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
The reaction of the three Apostles was correct, it was proper decorum. The presence of the cloud is meant to show that God is present. And when God is present in God’s power and majesty, it is not business as usual. God told Moses to remove Moses’ shoes when in his presence. The Shepherds were terrified when God was present in the plain outside Bethlehem. As creatures, it seems that we must not look upon the Creator, that we must retain a necessary and respectful distance, and that we must only pay homage and offer worship. The result of our proper decorum, of doing what we think is expected, is that, if you will, God remains there and we remain here. The Lord, however, touches the Apostles, and tells them to stand up and not to be afraid.
When he touches the Apostles, and tells them to stand up and not to be afraid, the Lord reconfigures our relationship with him, that is, with God. We want to show that we fit in, that we know what we’re supposed to do. We retain a distance between ourselves and God. It seems only “fitting and proper.” And yet, it isn’t God’s priority, it isn’t God’s will or desire. The Lord touched the Apostles, and told them to stand and not to be afraid. He has shown us God’s will and desire – not that we keep our distance, but rather that we open ourselves up to him, that we simply allow ourselves to be loved by God. We are overwhelmed by the anxiety of fitting in, gnawed by the doubt of its impossibility. God, however, is overwhelmed by love of his children, of us. In the Transfiguration, God is showing us that we fit in because God has made it so. God has made us his beloved children in whom God delights. Indeed, as Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”
God Bless and Take Care! - Fr John
Image - The Transfiguration, 1603, painted by Franz Fallenter
By Fr John Sullivan, SJ
For most of my life, I understood God’s plan of salvation, especially the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection in a more impersonal way. God did what God had to do in order that humanity might be redeemed and saved. And I could see my place in God’s plan as being a member of the flock or herd. I was just one head among many, utterly indistinguishable from the others. If we understand the will and action of God in this way, it makes it so difficult for our hearts to be touched and moved. Our faith and the practice of our Catholic Christianity can become mechanical, without feeling and superficial. When such a faith confronts the world, the temptations of the world will most likely overwhelm it. Most tragically, we will not receive the “free gift” of Jesus Christ, as St. Paul writes, that the “free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.” Perhaps this Sunday, we can begin to see and receive the free gift of Christ in a more personal way.
Some years ago, when I was on a retreat and was praying the three temptations that Christ faced in the desert, through the Holy Spirit I imagined myself seeing Christ enduring his suffering of the forty days. I saw him feeling great hunger and being tempted to eat. I saw him poor and being tempted to force the Father to send the Angels to serve him. I saw him alone and being tempted to receive the world’s adulation. As he suffered and struggled, I imagined him finding the strength to say “No!” to the Devil’s promptings. When the Devil spoke his lies, I saw the Lord looking at me. In a way, I was the cause of his strength. It is the depth of his love for me and you that that gave him the strength to refuse expose the temptations as mere straw. It is the depth of his love for you that the Lord said to the tempter, “Away with you, Satan!”
During our forty days of Lent, we have this most precious opportunity to receive the “free gift” of Christ more deeply within our hearts. To realize that each one of us is not an indistinguishable member of the herd. Rather, we are the reason for every word Jesus speaks. We are the reason for every action Jesus takes. The depth of his personal love frees us to understand the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection in a new way. A way that is personal; a way that is formed by love; and, a way in which his gift of himself becomes our own. And our penance, prayer and almsgiving are done in response to what he has done – he has loved with a love beyond all telling. As we see him struggle beneath the weight of the Cross, we see a love that we do not fully comprehend but we know he is giving us life. And so, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”
God Bless and Take Care - Fr John
Photo by Lesly Derksen on Unsplash