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Our Lady of Victory
490 Charles Street
Gatineau, Québec
J8L 2K5
(819)986-3763
olv@videotron.ca
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St. Malachy
3889 Route 315
Mayo, Québec
J8L 3Z8
(819)986-3763
olv@videotron.ca
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THE OUTAOUAIS NOW AT LEVEL 3 - ALERT (ORANGE ZONE)
(Message from the office of the Archbishop)
As of February 22nd, the Outaouais region has switched to the orange zone. Here is what it means for health measures in the parishes of our archdiocese:
- Only acts of worship are permitted in places of worship. However, all celebrations are limited to a maximum of 25 people in addition to those involved in the celebration (the minister and others in service).
- We are not allowed to hold meetings. (e.g., factory council or parish assembly).
- Offices should always be closed as much as possible, including parish secretariats.
- The sacraments such as baptism, confirmation, and marriage may be celebrated, provided that the strict limit of 25 participants is followed. This also applies to funeral celebrations (maximum of 25 people excluding funeral home workers and volunteers in or outside the building).
We are counting on your collaboration to maintain compliance with these measures in order to help limit the spread of the virus and thus allow our churches to remain open during Lent and Easter.
This means that we can reopen the church for the celebration of mass with a total of 25 individuals plus the volunteers. The same process as before will be in place where parishioners will be required to register for mass by leaving a voice mail with the Secretary on Thursday mornings. The Mass schedule is as follows:
| Location |
Day |
Date |
Time |
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| St. Malachy |
Saturday |
Mar. 6th |
4:30 p.m. |
| Our Lady fo Victory |
Sunday |
Mar. 7th |
9:00 a.m. |
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Parishioners will still be able to access the mass celebration at Our Lady of Victory on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. via our new Zoom link:
ZOOM MEETING INVITATION - OUR LADY OF VICTORY SUNDAY CELEBRATION
| Meeting ID: |
865 6208 3149 |
| Passcode: |
651344 |
The link will be open 15 minutes before the celebration.
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| Fr. Albanus’ Reflections on the Sunday Liturgy - 28 February 2021 |
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Lent: Suffering, Sacrifice and Glory
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First Reading:
Psalm:
Second Reading:
Gospel:
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Genesis 22.1-2,9-13, 15-18
I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living
Romans 8.31b-35, 37
Mark 9.2-10
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Today’s readings speak of transformation and invite us all to cooperate with the grace of God, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit to transform our lives especially during this Lenten season. The first reading presents the story of encounter between God and Abraham. Abraham’s life was transformed because of his trusting faith in God and his obedience to God’s order to sacrifice the only son of his old age. He became the supreme model of Faith in God’s promises and obedience to His Holy Will. God had promised that Abraham would become father of many nations. How could this be possible if Isaac were to be sacrificed? Abraham trusted that God was both faithful enough and powerful enough to keep His promise. The reward was the renewal of promise: he would be the father of a great race; his progeny throughout the world would receive blessing of God. Not only would Abraham’s descendants be blessed, but all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him. In the Divine sparing of Isaac, Israel was to learn that theirs was a God who was not appeased by human sacrifice but by the sacrifice of a contrite spirit and a humbled heart. There is a clear parallel in this story: Abraham and Isaac are a prototype of God the Father and His Son, Jesus. The difference is that while Isaac was spared at the last moment, Jesus had to die. Just as to sacrifice his only son did not make sense to Abraham, it made even less sense to the disciples of Jesus that God could allow their Lord and Master Jesus to be executed. This only became clearer after the Pentecost for the Apostles. Eternal salvation was brought about by the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
There is also this parallel in the second reading. There is both the image of a Father’s willingness to give up his son and the son’s readiness to accept the father’s will wholeheartedly. In this letter to the Romans, Paul assures us that it was by the perfect obedience to the will of His Father, expressed in His suffering and death, that Jesus was glorified and made our Heavenly intercessor. He affirms that He who gave His Son for us will give us all the things with His Son. We therefore should have confidence in God because it is Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father who intercedes for us, and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ for us. St. Paul says ‘if God is for us, who is against us.’ God’s love has no limit as He offered His Son to die for us. The incarnation and the crucifixion of His Son for us is our hope that God will give us His assistance we need to get to Heaven. This reading shows how the love of the Father is final and gratuitous and cannot be destroyed by the sins or infidelities of people. The Gospel is the story of transfiguration. The event was the opportunity for Jesus to consult His Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and resurrection. Secondly, God was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of Jesus’ divine glory so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and be strengthened in their time of trial.
On Mount Hermon, while praying, Jesus was transformed into a shining figure, figure of Heavenly glory. God the Father, Moses and Elijah approved the plan regarding Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. God’s words from the cloud "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" which find parallel in Mk 1:11 (Baptism), and 15:39 (Calvary) summarizes the meaning of Transfiguration, that on this mountain, God revealed Jesus as His Son – His Beloved – the One in whom He is always well pleased and the One to whom we must listen.
At Mass, the bread and wine we offer on the altar are transformed into the crucified and risen, living Body and Blood of Jesus. Like the Apostles at the transfiguration, each Holy Mass should be our source of heavenly strength against temptations and renewal especially during this Lent. The Holy Communion should be the source of our continuous ‘transfiguration,’ transforming minds and hearts so that we may do more good by humble and selfless service to others. Our sacraments have transforming effects on us. They make us sons and daughters of God. In moments of doubts and during our dark moments of despair and hopelessness, the thought of our transformation in Heaven will help us to reach out to God and listen to His consoling words, ‘This is my beloved son or daughter.’ Through our Lenten sacrifices and acceptance of our daily crosses, we may grow closer to Jesus in His suffering, share in the carrying of His cross and finally share the glory of His final ‘transformation,’ His resurrection.
We need mountain-top experience in our lives. We share in that experience in our lives when we spend extra time in prayer during this Lent. Our fasting is important too and keeps us to store up spiritual energy which helps us have thoughts that are higher and nobler than our usual mundane thinking. It puts us closely in touch with God and makes us more willing to help the hungry. During this season, we need transformation in our lives so that we may seek reconciliation instead of revenge, love our enemies, pray for those who hate us, give to the needy without expecting a reward, refuse to judge others and make friends with those we don’t naturally like, hold back on harsh words, let love rule, forgive those who hurt us or hate us.
Happy Sunday!
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