I often get asked the question: “How are things going with the youth groups?” or “what exactly do you do in youth ministry” or (my personal favorite) “why so much pizza???”
Youth ministry exists in our church to provide our youth with opportunities for evangelization, discipleship, and community. This takes flesh in many ways; from taking selfies with a cardboard cutout of the Pope, to leading a group of high school students through Eucharistic Adoration, to ordering in enough pizza for 100 youth on a Tuesday night – the Holy Spirit moves in many ways!
We are fast approaching the month of May, wherein we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Apparition of the Blessed Mother to three children – Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. Blessed Francisco and Jacinta may be canonized within this Jubilee Year of Fatima as the Holy Father Pope Francis has accepted and approved the needed miracle for their canonization. We also pray for the beatification of Sr. Lucia also within this blessed jubilee year.
In order to worthily celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Apparitions of Fatima, by the mandate of Pope Francis, a Jubilee Year has been granted, with the inherent plenary indulgence, from November 27th, 2016 to November 26th, 2017.
A plenary indulgence of the jubilee is also granted:
Palm Sunday is the last Sunday of Lent. The liturgy has a peculiar mix of emotions. It begins with the commemoration of the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem in the form of a procession. The people of Jerusalem took what was near at hand, namely palm branches from their local trees. Many countries have splendid customs of creating elaborate "Palms" which are clusters of branches decorated with strings of red berries, ribbons, even coloured eggs, a sign of anticipation of the resurrection. These "Palms" form a wonderful bond between home and church.
After the liturgy, the blessed palms receive a place of honor in our homes, usually by a cross. For the entrance rites on Palm Sunday, the processional cross is also suitably decorated.
Easter is the oldest and most important feast on our church calendar. The Easter cycle, also called Paschal cycle, has three components:
First there is LENT , 40 days of preparation leading to the high point, the THREE HOLY DAYS of the Paschal TRIDUUM. The celebration of Easter continues for 50 days to Pentecost.
A lot of events take place at the Cathedral of the Holy Family. A lot of events.
This always surprises people who come here outside of Sunday Masses for the first time. They are amazed at the steady stream of visitors coming through the doors on their way to meetings, school functions, faith formation activities or other events. Some folks are still surprised that anything at all happens in a church during the week. A handful of these activities are rental events, but the vast majority are functions put on by and for our own parishioners, ranging from weekly Eucharistic Adoration to Moms’ Morning Out sessions to Pancake Breakfasts put on by the Knights of Columbus.
Share the Warmth!
All are invited to come together to make 50 no-sew fleece blankets in the coming week. These blankets will be given to our new refugee neighbours who are crossing the border into Manitoba:
Monday March 6, 9am – 12pm - Queen’s House Retreat & Renewal Centre, 601 Taylor Street West
Tuesday March 7, 7pm – 9pm - St. John’s Anglican Cathedral Hall, 816 Spadina Crescent East
Wednesday March 8, 10am – 12pm - Congregation Agudas Israel* 715 McKinnon Avenue South
*Please do not bring any outside food or drink into the synagogue
Thursday March 9, 7pm – 9pm - Holy Covenant Evangelical Orthodox Church* 1426 Alexandra Avenue
*Sorry, this facility is not wheelchair accessible
Friday March 10, 9am – 12pm - Holy Family Catholic Cathedral 123 Nelson Road
Friday March 10, 6pm – 9pm - Baitur Rahmat Mosque* Hwy 16 & Boychuk Drive
*Please note: this event is for women only
You can help by working, donating money, or both. Everyone is welcome and the locations are wheelchair accessible unless indicated. Parking is free. Coffee & goodies will be provided by your hosts! For more info and to reserve your spot please email: Cecilia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Klaus at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 306-242-5146. Tax receipts will be given for donations $10 or more.
Last week, while I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across this page. Now Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, I am familiar with, but Fat Thursday was totally new to me. I discovered the day is a traditional Catholic Christian feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Being of Polish descent, I had no recollection of ever celebrating this day and decided to investigate a little further. Apparently the day is also called Thusty Czwartek in Poland whereby people purchase their favorite pastries, including paczki, which are large deep-fried pieces of especially rich dough traditionally filled with plum or rose hip jam.
Many people stop coming to Sunday Mass because they find the celebrations boring and dry. They come to Mass with lots of expectations that have not been met. For instance, many of them expect to be entertained. They want the priest to always have jokes, stories and new gimmicks. They demand contemporary and more upbeat music from the choir. They want something new and spectacular every time. No wonder the most attended Masses are Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday – there are added attractions: ashes, palms and Easter eggs.
I remember reading from a children’s bible every night after supper growing up. By the time I was a teenager, I had a pretty decent understanding of the major stories in the bible (whether I wanted to or not). It gave me a great foundation for my faith life.
Jane and I have tried several times to do the same thing with our children. But we failed spectacularly (usually around day number 2 or 3).
Cathedral of the Holy Family
123 Nelson Road
Saskatoon, SK
S7S 1H1
Phone: 306-659-5800
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We acknowledge that we are located on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.
