Fourth Sunday of Easter - Masses in Toronto are suspended. Again.

Dear Parishioners and friends of St. Thomas More,

As we endure this period of lockdown and uncertainty in Ontario, one thing is certain: we must pray more and pray more fervently. We must pray for our civil and ecclesiastical leaders: that they my be open to the graces of their offices and not frustrate them through cowardice, compromise, or collaboration with evil. We must pray for one another: that we may all be kept safe from the perils posed by both the Covid disease and the proposed solutions, both medical and societal. Finally we must pray for ourselves: that we may be infused with the supernatural graces of the Holy Ghost so that our wills may be guided by the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) and our actions by the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance).

• St. Thomas More will continue to livestream Holy Mass every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on our YouTube channel (see bottom of email) during this difficult time. It is highly suggested that you use the Sunday Bulletin (link below) and a Bible to prayerfully follow along with the liturgy being streamed.
• The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and designated Holy Days is excused when physical attendance is impossible, as it is now in Toronto and most of Ontario. As many benefits as watching the livestream carries, it is not a substitute for being physically present at Holy Mass and does not fulfil an obligation that would be generally binding in normal times.
  
• We are accustomed to chanting the Litany in the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent. But it may be used on any penitential day, such as Wednesdays and Fridays, and at any time to beseech God to appease His anger and beg His protection from calamities. In light in light of the state of emergency that has been declared in Ontario and the subsequent suspension of the public celebration of Holy Mass, it is highly fitting that the Litany be chanted. As such, it will be chanted before each Sunday Mass until the stay-at home order is lifted and we are once again able to attend Mass publicly.
• Those who wish to receive Holy Communion outside of Mass may sign up here for one of the Communion Services authorized by Cardinal Collins and conducted by the Fathers of the Oratory at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Sundays.
• Our parish will do everything humanly possible to ensure that no one is left without access to the sacraments, no matter the circumstance. If you find yourself or a loved one in "trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity", please contact the parish through our website by phone or email and appropriate arrangements will be made to help.

Easter Lockdown - Suspension of Holy Mass

 This Sunday, April 16, will see the last public Masses celebrated in Toronto for a significant period of time. Our 12:30 Mass WILL proceed this Sunday. The suspension comes into effect on Monday. S. Vincent de Paul church will remain open for private prayer. If you are coming to Mass this weekend, please note the points below. The restrictions are not our choice and we have to enforce them under threat of significant civil penalties:

• No matter what one thinks of the measures imposed by the government, some people are very scared. The health risks are not imaginary. We must be charitable and not inflame anyone's fears. We must also not put the parish at risk of incurring the significant sanctions now in place.
• No one in the congregation may sing during the Mass or bring their own hymnals or any other materials. No one may come within 2 meters (6 feet) of someone not residing in the same household.
• Everyone who is not medically exempt must wear masks in the church at all times, even while seated, except the moment of reception of Holy Communion. Everyone must depart after Mass - gathering in a group of more than one household, even outside, distanced, and masked, is now a violation of the law.
• Our parish will do everything humanly possible to ensure that no one is left without access to the sacraments, no matter the circumstance. If you find yourself or a loved one in "trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity", please contact the parish through our website by phone or email and appropriate arrangements will be made to help.
• S. Thomas More will continue to livestream Holy Mass every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on our YouTube channel (see bottom of email) during this difficult time. It is highly suggested that you use the Sunday Bulletin (link below) and a Bible to prayerfully follow along with the liturgy being streamed. 

Triduum and Easter Sunday update - lockdown edition

 It has been a strange week - a strange year. Today the Ontario government has announced another month of lockdown, and there is some confusion about what this means for churches in Toronto.

• The lockdown, thankfully, does NOT further restrict our right to worship. The 15% capacity rule remains the same.
• The good news (if we can use that phrase with regards to the current situation) is that the capacity numbers for St. Vincent de Paul Church have been revised to more accurately reflect the actual capacity of the Church and consequently we can have a slightly larger number of people in the church and remain compliant with the 15% "rule".
• St. Thomas More is NOT requiring registration to attend the 12:30 Mass for parishioners and those who wish to come. That said, we must observe the capacity limits unjustly imposed by the authorities.
• As usual, please be patient and follow the directions of the ushers. You MUST wear a mask unless you assert a medical reason for not doing so.
• Pew segments are marked by green tape. Members of the same household may, of course, sit together in one or more marked "spaces" as necessary.
• Please do not leave empty "spaces" in the middle of the pews - this prevents us from fully utilizing the limited space available to us.

May we all observe this Holy Week with a renewed closeness to Our Lord and, entering into His passion in a special way this year, become more aware of what He suffered on Good Friday so that we may rejoice with Him on Easter Sunday.

SVP will be livestreaming the Sacred Triduum on the Oratory's YouTube channel:

• Holy Thursday: 8 pm
• Good Friday: 3 pm
• Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil): 9 pm

Public Masses set to resume this Passion Sunday, March 21st

Finally, after many long months, we once again resume the supreme public act of the worship of God - the public celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This Sunday, March 21 commonly called Passion Sunday, churches will be allowed to operate at 15% capacity. We are cautiously optimistic that this time we will stay open, but we cannot rely on blind optimism alone. We have a more powerful tool - prayer and fasting. Especially and most intently for whose in authority who are weak of mind and will, and lack courage.

This coming Sunday registration is not required for parishioners of STM, though we will be keeping careful counts so as to comply with regulations imposed on the faithful. Those who are not parishioners of STM may click here to register (scroll to the bottom to find the Ordinariate Mass). This may be revised in future as the situation develops, so stay tuned.

CARDINAL ERDO'S PRAYER

The following prayer by Cardinal Erdo of Hungary is being prayed daily around the world. Please join in praying with this translation and adaptation of the prayer to traditional English. 

Almightly LORD, GOD of our Forebears:

We bless Thee for the world created to enable human existence. We bless Thee for the wealth of creation and its miraculous principles. 

We bless Thee for allowing us to survive despite all the destructive forces that surround us. Enable us to recognise new insights in our world and in ourselves. 

We thank Thee for the opportunity to fight both individually and in community for our survival as well as for a better and a more meaningful life. 

But first and foremost we thank Thee for having been invited to eternal life; and that through the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ the Lord, the way has been opened for our eternal happiness.

Whenever a cataclysm hits us, against which we are unable on our own to find a solid protection, we understand that, after all, our life is in Thy hands.

Lord, we humbly beg Thee to help scientists quickly find antidotes for the present pandemic! Please give society’s leaders insight, enabling them to take the appropriate measures to cut the spread of contagion; and to help with prevention and the delivery of the effective treatment for those in need. 

Please grant mercy and everlasting rest to those deceased from this disease; grant recovery to the ill and grant strength and blessings to the doctors and to all the healthcare staff for their courageous stand. 

Please strengthen our faith, confidence and helping love, so that we would be able to provide maximum spiritual and physical assistance to our sick fellow humans as well as to the grieving and worried relatives. Please grant that our responsible behaviour becomes an efficient contribution to prevent the spread of disease.

Lord, please forgive us all our sins that are committed by thought, by voice, by action and by failure.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Salus Infirmorum, pray for us!

Amen. 

Virtual Advent Lessons and Carols with Benediction

Tomorrow, Friday December 18th at 8pm:
Service of Nine Lessons and Carols with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Our annual service of Advent Lessons and Carols with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will be livestreamed  tomorrow, Friday December 18th at 8pm. Public Masses and events may be suspended, but Heaven is not under quarantine and the economy of salvation continues unabated. Let us all gather virtually in hopeful expectation of the Joy of Christmas: a babe in a manger, a King who cannot be uncrowned by any earthly power. Join us virtually, in anticipation of the day when we can all be together again at the Altar of the Lord. 

Please forward the link below to our Lessons and Carols livestream far and wide. Post it everywhere.

https://youtu.be/zq78iPkwG_Y

Homily ADVENT II B -- DEC. 6, 2020 STM Toronto

St. Bernard of Clairvaux outlined what he called the three  comings of Christ:

 

1.   The incarnation of Jesus as a human person – fully visible to all. 

 

2. The intermediate coming – an invisible manifestation of God, the Holy Spirit, in the interior lives of those who are baptized and empowered by God to declare the Good News of salvation to all people.

 

 3. The final coming of Christ will also be visible “and all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.”

 

According to Isaiah, the time of exile— the separation of mankind from God due to sin—is about to end. This is the good news of the first coming of Christ proclaimed by St. John the Baptist in today’s liturgy.

 

Isaiah in today’s First Reading promises Israel’s release and return from captivity and exile. But as today’s Gospel shows, Israel’s historic deliverance was meant to herald an even greater saving act by God—the coming of Jesus to set Israel and all nations free from bondage to sin, to gather them up and carry them back to God.

 

God sent an angel before Israel to lead them in their exodus towards the promised land (Ex. 23:20).  And God promised to send a messenger of the covenant, Elijah, to purify the people and turn their hearts to the Father before the day of the Lord (Malachi 3:1, 23–24).

 

St. John the Baptist quotes Isaiah’s prophecy, to show that all of Israel’s history looks forward to the revelation of Jesus. In Jesus, God has filled in the valleythat divided the sinful from Himself. 

 

God has done all this not for humanity in the abstract but for each of us as St. Bernard emphasizes. The long history of salvation leads us to this Eucharist, in which God again comes: our salvation is near. Each of us must hear in today’s readings a personal call. Here is God, Isaiah says, who has been patient with you as St.  Peter says in the Epistle.

 

Like Jerusalem’s inhabitants we have to go out to God, repenting our sins, all the self-indulgence that can make our lives a spiritual desert. We must allow God’s grace to straighten our lives so everything leads us directly to Christ in our hearts and in our relationships.

 

Today, we hear the Gospel and commit ourselves to lives of devotion to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s coming.

 

 

 

Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11        Psalm 85:9–14            

2 Peter 3:8–14                Mark 1:1–8