Our Lady of Victory / St-Malachy

EASTER

SUNDAY

CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

Our Lady of Victory

St. Malachy

Sunday - 9:00 A.M.

Saturday - 7:00 P.M.

Easter

They nailed him to a tree
But he is a victor on the cross;
death can only hide its face,
it no longer has power.
Now life has a meaning,
The conqueror triumphantly stands
at the head of those who put their trust in him,
Plunged into water and the Spirit,
we live with him.

And if one day death should lie in wait for us,

God is faithful enough
To make of us
What he made of his son:
the first-born of a multitude of brothers and sisters.
It's Easter, the great crossing over, Passover.
It's Easter, day of triumph.
Alleluia, death is dead.
Alleluia, God if alive
and leads us to life.

A Blessed Easter to All.

Pastor	William Marrevee s.c.j.
Email	w.marrevee@sympatico.ca
Rectory	490 Charles Street Gatineau, Québec J8L 2K5
Secretary	Monday and Thursday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Telephone	(819) 986-3763
Fax	(819) 986-9889

A sincere welcome to those who are new among us. We hope you find a warm and welcoming faith-home with us. Please introduce yourself after Mass and call the Rectory to register.

MASS SCHEDULE

WED.	Apr. 19 - 9:00 a.m.	OLV	Paul Lemieux by Rejeanne Lemieux
SAT.	Apr. 22 - 7:00 p.m.	St. Malachy	Gordon Miller (14th Anniversary) by Larry and Gary Miller
SUN.	Apr. 23 - 9:00 a.m.	OLV	Edward & Doris Lemieux by Regis Alice Lavell Cosgrove

WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION:
What does it mean that Jesus is raised from the dead? It is the core of the Christian faith. Not easy to handle or to explain. But still essential. Last year, in Catholic update, Thomas H. Groome tried his hand on reflecting on it in such a way that it may speak to us. It will still take some struggling, but it is worth it. Here follows the first of five installments:

One of the most moving and powerful poems written by William B Yeats was his "Easter 1916". Skeptical at first, Yeats had reluctantly come to recognize the transforming effect on Ireland of its "Easter Rebellion" Launched on Easter Monday, 1916---the timing no coincidence--- by a 'motley crew of unlikely leaders, Yeats had come to appreciate "the Rising" as the rebirth of the Irish nation. His refrain throughout the poem "all Changed, changed utterly. A terrible beauty is born." I propose that Christians can say as much at every Easter time if we really believe as the Orthodox say each Easter, "Christ is risen; he is risen indeed."

Ah, but do we really believe it--- this crowning event in the historical life of Jesus and God's ultimate seal upon him as the Christ of our faith? For Easter is a lot to believe. That Jesus lived, died and then raised up by God on our behalf (Rom 4:25); that bonded with Christ by Baptism, we, too are raised up and can "live in newness of life' (Rom 6:4). It's a lot to believe that" the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also" (2 Cor4:14). That this resurrection has give us the "Victory "over sin, that evil cannot finally triumph ---even death "has lost its sting" (Co. 15:55-57). We know for sure that we will all die, but can also trust that "in Christ, shall all be brought to life again? (See 1 Co. 15; 22).

There, surely is the greatest stretch for our faith: that death--- our ultimate concern--- is not really for real, that it is no more than a" change of life". (Preface, Mass of Resurrection). Has the rising of Jesus Christ really made death to go backwards for us all---into new life? It was this amazing conviction that launched the Christian faith. If Jesus has simply lived and died, he might be remembered as another great Israelite prophet. But his disciples became fully convinced that God had risen him from the dead, and so embarked on their own distinctive path that we know as Christianity.

Paul recognizes the stakes very well: If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain" (1Cor. 15; 14). Bur can we be so convinced of this Easter gamble? Can we thank God with rock-solid faith for giving us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1:3)?

If ours is an Easter faith, then surely, all is changed, changed utterly." Now no oppression can hold us bound, no evil can finally triumph, no cross is too heavy to carry, no trouble can rob us of hope, no sin can enslave us no dependency is beyond recovery, no hurt is beyond healing. If we truly believe that "Christ is risen, risen indeed, " then "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord'' (Rom 8:38-39).

''FIRST COMMUNION'' TO BE CELEBRATED ON APRIL 30th - GONE ARE THE NUMBERS, BUT ALSO THE FOCUS IS SHIFTING:
Can you still remember the way you made your first communion? It was most likely quite different from the way it is done today.

What do we want to achieve with it? Is it just something that "Catholic kids do" when they are in grade 2 or 3? A sort of "been there, done that''?

Celebrating a Sacrament or being involved in a religious ritual at an important stage in life is very much a "catholic thing to do." And it has to be respected as such.

At the same time we cannot help but ask ourselves some uneasy questions: How much Christian faith does such a sacrament or religious ritual presuppose? Is the fact that "we have always done it that way in our family" good enough reason to continue doing it?

Questions of this sort made our bishop, in a recent document, urge to move from the practice of preparing for sacraments to the practice of learning to live a Christian life. That is quite a challenge. Mind you, it is not an either-or proposition. It has a lot to do with making sure that celebrating a sacrament does not become a momentary blip or an isolated happening.

On the case in point, making one's first Communion is relatively easy. But how do we get to see that getting together with fellow believers of all ages on Sunday as the Day of the Lord to be part of the celebration of the Eucharist is a normal part of Christian living and has a priority for us?

OUR SYMPATHY AND PRAYERS:
- to Linda Cameron and the Laurin family on the loss of their father Lucien.

WARDENS MEETING:
- April 19th, at 7:00 p.m.

NEW WARDENS:
The parish wishes to welcome two new wardens, Bill Cameron and Aggie Jeror and we thank them for accepting this responsibility and wish them well.

BIRTHDAY WISHES AND CONGRATULATIONS TO:
- Carmen Limmer - April 20th.
- Carmel Ryan - April 22nd.

WEEKLY RECEIPTS

Date	Collection	OLV	St. Malachy

Apr. 09th	Regular	$ 632	$ 295.75
Apr. 09th	Share Lent / D & P	1076	331.00