St. John the Baptist Parish Est. 1802

225 Brock St., Amherstburg, ON N9V 2H3 Phone 519 736 5418 Fax: 519 736 5410

www.stjohnb.dol.ca email: stjohnb@dol.ca www.facebook.com/stjohnthebaptist

St. John the Baptist Parish is a large diverse, multi-cultural Roman Catholic Community in the Amherstburg area. Called together through the love of God, and led by the Spirit, we

experience our faith in worship, in our daily living, and in ministry to all. We strive to make our parish a welcoming place where our faithful stewardship bears witness to the

love of Christ in our lives.

Pastor Rev. Matthew Kucharski

Deacon Leonard Tetreault Deacon Matthew Sutton

Pastoral Minister

Kim Bornais

Business Administrator Anita Walach

Secretary

Karen McGuire

Custodian Matt Sutton

Pastoral Council Chair David Mailloux

Finance Committee Chair

Sharon Pillon

Building Committee Chair Mike Specht

St. Vincent de Paul Help Line

519-984-7594

Must be received no later than noon Tuesday by email or in writing

Baptism Contact Kim Bornais 519-736-5418 kbornais@dol.ca

Reconciliation Saturday from 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm, or by appointment

Holy Matrimony Contact the rectory office one year prior to wedding

Monday ~ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Tuesday - Friday 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Closed for lunch 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Tuesday - Friday ~ 9:00 am Saturday ~ 5:00 pm Sunday ~ 8:00 am, 10:00 am

Parish Mission Statement

May 31, 2020

Pentecost Sunday Sacraments

Office Hours Mass Times

Bulletin Notices

Parish Organizations

Parish Staff

Pastoral Team

May 31, 2020 Gospel Reading

John 20:19-23 Jesus appears to his disciples and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Background on the Gospel Reading The Season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the Feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading. The account in today’s Gospel, John 20:19-23, also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Yet the event in John’s Gospel takes place on Easter Sunday. There is no need to try to reconcile these two accounts. It is enough that we know that after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world. We already heard today’s Gospel proclaimed on the Second Sunday of Easter this year (Lectionary Cycle A). That Gospel passage, however, also included the description of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. In that context, we were led reflect on belief and unbelief. In the context of the Feast of Pentecost, John 20:19-23 reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them to continue his work of reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ act of breathing the Holy Spirit mirrors God’s act of breathing life into Adam at the time of Creation. In fact, both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.” This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. The reconciling presence of Christ is celebrated in the Church’s sacramental life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and become a new creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God through the forgiving of sins. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people Sunday Chuckle

Bifocals are God’s way of saying, “keep your chin up.” God does not ask your ability or your inability. He asks only your availability. Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way; but never forget the blessings that come each day.

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St. John the Baptist Parish—Mass Intentions

Tuesday, June 2, 2020 † Michael DiLuca (1st Ann.) Vicki& Daughters † Mario Rosati by Valerie Ciavaglia † Domenico Pietrangelo by Concetta DiCarlo Sp. Int. by Anita & Steve Walach

Wednesday, June 3, 2020 † Donato Iacovone by Joe DiGiovanni † Mary Ethel Dow by Betty Bezaire † Michel LaRoche by Mary Ann Seguin

Thursday, June 4, 2020 † Rosalina DiPasquale by Maria Rosati † Luigi Simone (Italy) by Maria & Peter DiPasquale † Giovina Scipione (Italy) Maria & Peter DiPasquale

Friday, June 5, 2020 † Gabriel Rosati by Antoniella Esposito † Camillo Simone (Elliot Lake) Maria & Peter DiPasquale † David Kolotylo by Bev & Rick Bondy Please note: Fr Matt will celebrate a daily private Mass at which time he will include the Mass Intentions scheduled for the day.

Adult Faith Formation from the Comfort of Your Own Home. The Diocese of London continues to partner with Dayton University to provide all parishioners with affordable, high quality formation opportunities. Parishioners can nourish their faith and continue learning during these times of physical distancing. Many online courses are offered for a reduced price. The next cycle of classes starts July 12. Registration opens May 27 and

closes July 8. For a selection of course offerings https://vlcff.udayton.edu/calendar/#cycle_5_2020_English copy and paste to your browser.

"The work of the church is essential. The work of caring for the lonely, the marginalized, and the oppressed is essential. The work of speaking truth to power and seeking justice is essential. The work of being a loving, liberating, and life giving presence in the world is essential. The work of welcoming the stranger, the refugee and the undocumented is essential. The work of reconciliation and healing and caring is essential. The church does not need to “open” because the church never “closed”. We who make up the Body of Christ, the church, love God and our neighbors and ourselves so much that we will stay away from our buildings until it is safe. We are the church."

I am repeating the following in case somebody may have missed this when I announced it a couple of weeks ago. “Just as we were announcing our intent to post and hire a new ministry position for our parish, the pandemic restrictions were enacted. Although, we do not know when and in what way the restrictions will be lifted, we do not feel we can put this position on hold any longer. So this past week the diocese officially posted the announcement of the Coordinator of Family and Youth Ministry position at St. John the Baptist parish. Please go to the diocesan website: dol.ca/employmentvolunteering for further details. If you or somebody you know is interested, please send a cover letter, resume and three reference letters by email to: Hiring Committee (stjohnthebaptist1802@gmail.com). The candidate must be willing to work a flexible schedule which could include some weekends or evenings. Once this Family of Parishes is activated, St. Anthony of Padua, Harrow, will

also be part of the territory this position will be responsible for. Some of the duties and responsibilities include developing programs for young people and families; coordinating the preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation; recruit, train and screen volunteers, collaborate with the Catholic schools, etc. The closing date for all applications is June 4, 2020.”

On Saturday, Pope Francis will be praying a rosary to implore Mary’s intercession and protection amid the pandemic. He will be praying live from the replica of the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens May 30, the eve of Pentecost, starting 11:30 a.m. EDT. But the pope won’t be praying alone, joining Francis through the live stream will be some of the world’s most famous Marian shrines. The plan for the transmission is to combine images coming live from Rome with those coming from places like the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico; Fatima in Portugal; Lourdes in France; among many others. Please join with our Holy Father in praying to our loving Mother Mary.

The Bishop announced this past week an update to the COVID-19 restrictions. He stated, “With other dioceses in Ontario, we are awaiting guidelines being prepared under the auspices of the Bishops of Ontario to safely reopen our churches. These guidelines will then be implemented at the diocesan level. We are mindful that preparations for the return to celebrations of the Mass and sacraments will take a great deal of organization and work, in order to maintain a healthy environment to prevent further spread of the coronavirus… our churches will remain closed at least until the end of June. If the government’s emergency orders are lifted sooner, we will adjust accordingly.” It is my understanding that Bishop Fabbro (as President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario) and Cardinal Collins were hoping to meet with the Provincial Minister to discuss a plan to re-open churches once again. Let us pray that a timely resolution will be agreed upon that allows the faithful to fully practice the faith once again in a “safe and healthy” way.

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. This is the day that the Lord fulfilled His promise that we would not be left alone. He sent us the Advocate, a Helper. We need to take inspiration from the transformation that occurred with the Apostles in the Upper Room 50 days after the Resurrection. They were afraid and in hiding. They were confused and unsure of what to do. Perhaps they even doubted what Jesus said. However, after the Descent of the Holy Spirit – WOW, a totally different story. They went out in public and proclaimed the Good News. They challenged the authorities. They believed in the power that they had been given to heal people in Jesus’ name. They were willing to go to people who were not of the Jewish faith, i.e. non-believers (Gentiles), and share with them the power and wonder of baptism. They joyfully accepted persecution, beatings, imprisonment and even death for the sake of Christ. They did all of this in a spirit of love, compassion and mercy.

Are we following in their footsteps or do we shy away from announcing and living (publicly) the Gospel? We are the ones to continue the mission of Jesus, to embrace whatever challenges that may lie ahead. As our Bishop has proclaimed, we are “a mission-oriented Church that forms disciples of Jesus.” Our Family of Parishes model is designed to help us to do that better. So we are looking forward to how we will be able to exercise this task as the Amherstburg-Harrow Catholic Family of Parishes. Over the coming weeks we will be sharing some of the insights that our hard-working Transition Team has been putting together. “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”

From the Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Missouri, Deon K. Johnson:

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