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On the second Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “the body of Christ”.

This feast day commemorates the Eucharist, the meal in which we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is at the heart of our Catholic faith and traditionally, holds a special place among the sacraments.

On Sunday, June 9th, the Church celebrates Pentecost. This Solemnity  comes fifty days after Easter and ten days after the Ascension of Jesus. Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter Season, celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

Following Mass on Pentecost Sunday, the Easter cross is removed from the sanctuary, signifying that the Easter Season has come to an end. The Paschal candle will be moved to stand next to the Baptismal font. It will be used during the celebration of Baptism, when the candles of the newly baptized are lit from it. It may also be placed near the body of the deceased at a funeral Mass, as a reminder that we entered into the death of Christ through our Baptism and we will rise again with Him in glory.

Sympathy is extended to Father George Ulahannan Thotra, VC and his family on the death of their mother Annamma Ouseph.    Mrs. Ouseph died on Monday, June 3, 2019 in her 83rd year.

Please join in praying for the repose of her soul and in praying for the grace of God’s consolation for Father George and his family.

On Sunday, June 2nd, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. The Bible tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven on the 40^th day after the Resurrection, so the Ascension falls on the Thursday of the sixth week of Easter.  However, in Canada, as in a number of other countries, the observance of this feast day has been transferred to the following Sunday, the seventh Sunday of Easter.

Each year, on the Sunday before Pentecost, the Church celebrates World Communications Day. This year’s theme is “We are members one of another (Eph 4, 25)", from social network communities to the human community.. The Holy Father’s message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers and journalists, observed annually on January 24^th.

World Communications Day was established by Pope Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council in order to draw attention to “the vast and complex phenomenon of the modern means of social communication.” One of the documents produced by the Second Vatican Council, Inter Mirifica (Decree on the Media of Social Communication), was devoted entirely to communications media and it initiated the only worldwide annual celebration commissioned by the Council – World Communications Day – which was first celebrated in 1967 and continues to be observed annually.

The week of May 12-19, 2019 is being observed as the seventh National Week for Life and the Family. The theme of this year’s Week is “Listening to the Gospel as a Family". In his Message for this National Week, Bishop Lionel Gendron, President of the Canadian conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) writes: "With my brother Bishops, it is my prayer that on the occasion of this year’s Week for Life and the Family, you and your family will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to encounter Jesus more fully by listening to the Gospel, and that you may joyfully live out this saving message by becoming witnesses of God, the Father’s loving presence in the world."

On Sunday, May 12, the Church marks the 56^th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The theme this year is The Courage to Take a Risk for God’s Promise,.

In 1963, Pope Paul VI designated Good Shepherd Sunday as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Good Shepherd Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Easter; that is, the Sunday three weeks after Easter Sunday. The name comes from the Gospel reading for this day which in all three lectionary years is taken from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. In this reading, Jesus is described as the Good Shepherd, who protects us as his flock and promises us the gift of eternal life.

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE 
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

EASTER 2019

Central loggia of the Vatican Basilica 
Easter, 21 April 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter!

Today the Church renews the proclamation made by the first disciples: “Jesus is risen!” And from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, there resounds a call to praise: “Alleluia, Alleluia!” On this morning of Easter, the perennial youth of the Church and of humanity as a whole, I would like to address each of you in the opening words of my recent Apostolic Exhortation devoted especially to young people:

“Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world. Everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! He is in you, he is with you and he never abandons you. However far you may wander, he is always there, the Risen One. He calls you and he waits for you to return to him and start over again. When you feel you are growing old out of sorrow, resentment or fear, doubt or failure, he will always be there to restore your strength and your hope” (Christus Vivit, 1-2).

Dear brothers and sisters, this message is also addressed to every person in the world. The resurrection of Christ is the principle of new life for every man and every woman, for true renewal always begins from the heart, from the conscience. Yet Easter is also the beginning of the new world, set free from the slavery of sin and death: the world open at last to the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of love, peace and fraternity.

Each year on Good Friday, dioceses and parishes in Canada and around the world hold a collection for the needs of the Church in the Holy Land. In the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, Catholics pray for the needs of all the world and they remember in a special way the Holy Land and its people. Christians living in the Holy Land today are descendants to those who first believed and lived the Christian faith. The funds collected are used to support the work of the Catholic Church - providing Christian formation and education, conducting parish ministry, offering housing and food to the poor and maintaining the shrines of the Holy Land.

The Easter Triduum - from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday - is the summit of the Liturgical Year of the Church. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day, unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery.

The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.

The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are :

Mass of the Lord's Supper

Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

the Easter Vigil and the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord