ARE YOU NEW TO OUR PARISH? WELCOME!
Welcome to those who want to make our parish their faith home. You may have come from other places. You may have been “away for a while”. Be assured that we love to have you among us. We would appreciate it very much if you identified yourself at Mass. It would also help if you would take the time to fill out a registration form. The next time you are with us, you may leave it in the collection basket or give it to one of the ushers or to the priest. Thank you and welcome.

WHY WE BOTHER SINGING AT SUNDAY MASS
Over the past few weeks, we have taken a look at the grace of growing ever deeper relationships, offered to us through reflection on the words of our weekly Sunday Scriptures. This week we turn to the music & singing used during our Sunday celebrations. Excerpts from A Companion to the CBW III Guidelines for Liturgical Music published by the Canadian Conference of Canadian Bishops (CCCB), 2006 are included here.

Unity - Pope Pius X is quoted as saying that the purpose of music in our liturgy is to give glory to God and to sanctify God’s faithful people (circa 1903). It is said that singing liturgical texts adds nobility to the words of our prayer. This really is not such as stretch if we think of the act of breathing not just as a breath in and out, but as the breath of life, the Holy Spirit. This breath of life gives birth to a unified body, whose one voice is united in prayer to the Father, with Christ and in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

If so, then singing expresses and nurtures our love for one another since the unity of our voices expresses the unity among us, the members of Christ’s body, the Church. And the words used in our hymns give us a common language to express our common faith. Inspired by the scriptures, they are meant to both nourish the faith of we who are assembled and lead us to an every more committed life as disciples of the Lord.

Dialogue - The most evident period where the presiding priest and assembly engage in dialogue is in the one great Eucharistic prayer. Note the action words of this prayer’s Preface: lift up – we lift, and give thanks – give him thanks and praise, and also of the memorial acclamations (here are 2 of the four we have in our repertoire to use): Let us proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will rise again, and Praise to you Lord Jesus first born from the dead: Dying you destroyed…, rising you restored…, Lord Jesus come in glory!

The dialogue between priest and assembly is meant to draw the entire assembly into the act of giving thanks and praise to God. But we note that we usually sing these portions on Sundays. The thinking here is that singing these texts is simply the best way, ‘lest their weekly or daily spoken petition give way to monotony’ (or perhaps lifelessness is a better word). And this could very nicely lead us to a totally different reflection on the differences between Sunday and Weekday masses… Oh well, another day perhaps!

Visual’ aid - Hymns provide images and metaphors rooted in the scriptures, calling us to an ever more committed life as disciples of the Lord. Some texts include quotations of the scriptures; others allude to scriptural images.

That is why we do not pick ‘just any’ hymn each week. In various ways, there is some significance that we try to highlight with the hymns we choose.

It may also be useful to know that the hymns we choose for the beginning of Mass have more of a “gather & praise God together” theme while the hymns for the end of Mass are more of a “go forth and live the gospel” type. They really remind us of why we come and go in the first place! Do we actually see/listen to the words we sing?

Signs of the ‘Times’ - Some hymns have melodies that are used only during specific seasons. Have you noticed the difference in the type of melodies we use? The First Nowell is an easy example that illustrates this, as it reminds us of Christmas rather than Lent for example. A lesser pondered instance would be the fact that the ‘Alleluia’ is never sung during Lent; and so on.

The use of these ‘seasonal distinctions’ is on purpose – to call forth God’s revealing presence in our own particular life as well as within the life of the worshipping community, in different ways and at different times and from different angles. After all, we do have a 3-year cycle of God’s Word to ‘chew on’, through 4 annual Canadian seasons, 6-or-so liturgical seasons, and various and forever growing-up & growing-older seasons!

Final ‘note’ - There is an ancient proverb: “one who sings well prays twice”. Of course it is good to pray aloud in spoken voice, but to lift that prayer into song shifts it to yet another dimension of communication. Being a part of the assembly who belts out “Amazing Grace” together to the very last note of the hymn is a most excellent example of that. But, if you are still not convinced that absolutely everyone is invited to sing, including me and you, remember this most brilliant quip: “If God gives you song, sing often, but if it is instead another gift, then sing really loud so He can hear you, too!”

FEAST OF MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH, PATRONESS OF OUR DIOCESE
This feast, celebrated on October 11th, is also the annual launch for most of those who work as pastoral agents - lay or ordained - in this diocese’ parishes, with a full day of study and formation. It is followed by a Mass, which the Bishop will preside over and to which all are invited. This is your personal invitation to join the rest of the larger diocesan community on Thursday October 11, at 7:30 P.M., at the St-Joseph cathedral.

FUND RAISER - Fuel for OLV
A dance is being organized and will be held at the Palais Gomme (Doherty Road) on October 20th from 8:30 p.m -1:00a.m. Music will be provided by the Talegators (Mark Dubois). Admission is $6:00. Proceeds will be going towards fuel for OLV. For tickets, or information, please call Susan at 281-2487 or Alma at 986-3767/986-3534.

HARVEST SUPPER
OLV & ST. Malachy are organizing a Harvest supper to be held on October 26th.

Cocktails	4:30 p.m.
Supper	6:00 p.m.
Adults	$12.00
Children 6-12	$6.00
Kids 5 and under	Free

Tickets are on sale now at the entrance of the church or call Raymond St. Jean at 986-6366. Get your tickets early, as the supper is now open to the public.

IMPORTANT GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING CALLED FOR OCTOBER 14TH
The Wardens and the joint Parish Pastoral Council of both parishes have been meeting over the summer to discuss our concern about the future of our two parishes.

We have prepared a letter addressed to all the families in our area to share this concern, and they will all be mailed out this week.

We are seeking your input at a general assembly meeting that we have scheduled for Sunday October 14th, starting from 1:30 pm

We need your ideas and thoughts concerning the health of our whole faith community. We are all in this together. That’s why we are reaching out to you and to all who have some say in the future of their parishes.

We hope everyone shares our concern and we hope to see you at this important meeting, and in great numbers!

COOKBOOKS
Just a reminder that there are still a number of our Parish Cookbooks still available. What a great gift to give to someone! Contact the following for your copy:

Alma	986-3763 (Church Office)
Evelyn	986-2477
Monique	986-3166

NEW OFFICE HOURS
Please note new office hours:

Monday and Thursday:	1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday:	9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Telephone messages are picked up on a regular basis throughout the week.