St. Bernard's Roman Catholic Church

05/31/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases:
10 am daily.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected]

Lectors’
Schedule:
May 31
Reader 1 – Leon
Reader 2 – Gisele

June 7
Reader 1 – Linda
Reader 2 – Michael
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

INPORTANT DATES:
Silent Auction – Donations accepted until Sunday, June 14.

St. Bernard’s Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre, 6 pm Friday, June 5.
Contact Lynda Weston for tickets. 705-368-0714

First Reading
Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9
Moses pleads for God’s mercy on Mt. Sinai.
Responsorial Psalm
Daniel 3:52-56

We praise God who is exalted above all forever.

Second Reading
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Paul urges the Corinthians to live in peace with one another and with God.

Gospel Reading
John 3:16-18
God sent his Son into the world to save the world.

Background on the Gospel Reading
This week we return to the
liturgical season of Ordinary
Time. This Sunday and next,
however, are designated as
solemnities—special days that
call our attention to central
mysteries of our faith. Today
on Trinity Sunday we
celebrate the mystery of the
Holy Trinity, one God in three
persons.
Today’s Gospel is from the
beginning of John’s Gospel.
The passage we read follows
Jesus’ conversation with a
Pharisee, Nicodemus, about
what it means to be born of
both water and the spirit.
Nicodemus approaches Jesus
at night and acknowledges
Jesus as a teacher from God.

Jesus tells him that only those
who are born from above will
see the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus misunderstands
and questions how a person
can be born more than once.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that no
one can enter the Kingdom of
God without being born of
water and Spirit. Jesus is
essentially explaining
Baptism, which we celebrate
as a sacrament today. Yet
Nicodemus, we are told, still
does not understand what
Jesus is saying. Jesus
continues by testifying to the
need to be born from above so
that one might have eternal
life.
After the dialogue with
Nicodemus, the author of the
Gospel offers his own
explanation of Jesus’ words.
This is what we read in
today’s Gospel, John 3:16-18.
In the context of today’s focus
on the mystery of the Holy
Trinity, the reading calls our
attention to the action of God,
who reveals himself in three
persons: God the Father, Jesus
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God the Father, out of love for
the world, sent his Son into
the world in order to save it.

Through the death and
resurrection of the Son, we
have been given the gift of the
Holy Spirit. As three persons,
God acts always as a God of
love; he does not condemn the
world but acts to save it.
The Gospel also calls
attention to the response that
is required of us. God’s love
for us calls us to respond in
faith by professing our belief
in God’s son, Jesus, and the
salvation that he has won for
us. This profession of faith is
a sign of the work of the Holy
Spirit in our lives.
Sunday Connection | Loyola
Press

05/17/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases: 10 am daily.

Women’s group will have a meeting this week – date to be announced at mass.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected].

Lectors’ Schedule:
May 17
Reader 1 – Lynda W.
Reader 2 – Leon
May 24
Reader 1 – Linda
Reader 2 – Margery
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Silent Auction – Donations accepted from this Sunday, May 17 until Sunday June 14.

First Reading
Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11
Jesus is taken up to heaven in the presence of the apostles.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 47:2-3,6-9
Sing praise to God as he mounts his throne.

Second Reading
Ephesians 1:17-23
God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 28:16-20
Jesus charges his disciples to make disciples of all nations and promises to be with them forever.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today’s Gospel is taken from the conclusion of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s Gospel quickly moves from the disciples’ discovery of Jesus’ empty tomb, to Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, to the commission that Jesus gives his disciples in today’s Gospel.
The Final Commission, as this Gospel is sometimes called, is given on the mountaintop. Throughout Scripture, the most important events happen on the mountaintop, and Matthew has used this motif throughout his Gospel. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John had seen Jesus transfigured on the mountaintop (Matthew 17:1-8). Also in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus taught the crowds from the mountaintop in what we now call the Sermon on the Mount.
Here we are told that the eleven disciples go the mountaintop in Galilee, as Jesus had instructed through Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (cf. Matthew 28:9-10). They see Jesus, and both worship and doubt at the same time. Jesus approaches them and commissions them to baptize and teach, "to make disciples of all nations." It is a task which Jesus had previously prepared his disciples for; recall that Jesus had sent the twelve apostles to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal (Matthew 10:1-15).
However, earlier the Twelve were sent only to the House of Israel; in this Final Commission, the eleven are told to go to "all nations." The mission of Jesus is now to be taken to all people; the task now is to baptize and to teach.
Jesus commissions his disciples to baptize in the name of the Trinity, one of the clearest attestations found in Scripture for baptism in the name of the Trinity. In the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of Paul, baptism is more frequently offered "in the name of Jesus."
The ending of Matthew’s Gospel can be understood as the beginning of the Church.
Jesus commissions his disciples to continue to teach in his name and to bring others into the community of disciples through baptism. The Gospel ends, as it had begun, with the promise that Jesus will continue to be Emmanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), for all eternity.
Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

05/10/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases:
10 am daily.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add:
[email protected]

Lectors’
Schedule:
May 10
Reader 1 – Gisele
Reader 2 – Margery

May 17
Reader 1 – Linda W.
Reader 2 – Leon
2nd Reader also reads
Prayers of the Faithful.

INPORTANT DATES:
Church Yard clean up! Come out and help rake branches, pick up garbage, sweep our walks and get the yard in our rectory in better shape.
Tuesday, May 12 10 am.
We’ll have a job for everyone. Bring rakes, wheelbarrows and shovels. Wear old clothes and bring work gloves. We will supply garbage bags.

Silent Auction – Donations accepted from Sunday May 17 until Sunday June 14.

First Reading
Acts 8:5-8,14-17
The people of Samaria accept the Gospel of Jesus proclaimed to them by Philip.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 66:1-7,16,20
Sing praise to God, all the earth.

Second Reading
1 Peter 3:15-18
Be ready to give explanation for your hope in Christ.

Gospel Reading
John 14:15-21

Jesus promises his disciples
that he will send them
another advocate, the Spirit
of truth.
Background on the
Gospel Reading

Today’s Gospel is a
continuation of last week’s
Gospel: Jesus is speaking to
his disciples at the Last
Supper. In today’s reading
Jesus offers encouragement
to his disciples, who will
soon see him crucified. He
reassures them that even
though he will leave them,
he will not abandon them.
Instead, he will send them
the Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, through whom the
disciples will continue to
live in union with Jesus.
Jesus uses the
term Advocate to describe
the Holy Spirit, whom the
disciples will receive.
Another word used to
describe the Holy Spirit
is Paraclete, a legal term
meaning “one who offers
defense for another.” Note
that Jesus says that he will
send “another Advocate.”
Jesus himself is the first
advocate, interceding for his
disciples with the Father.
In today’s reading Jesus
contrasts his impending
departure with the

permanence of the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Jesus will
leave to return to the Father,
but the Holy Spirit will
remain with the disciples.
Through the gift of the Holy
Spirit, the disciples will
come to know and
appreciate the unity of the
Son and the Father. They
will also understand that
they too participate in the
communion between the
Father and the Son: “On that
day you will realize that I
am in my Father and you are
in me and I in you” (John
14:20).
Today’s reading is one
example of the contrast that
John’s Gospel presents
between the community of
disciples, to whom God will
reveal himself, and the
unbelieving world, which
will remain in darkness. The
unbelieving world cannot
accept the “Spirit of truth,”
whom the disciples will
receive. Only through the
Spirit will God’s revelation
and love be known.
Sunday Connection | Loyola
Press

05/02/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases: 10 am daily.
Tuesday, May, 5 9 am, the Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Jeffrey Burwell, will be with us for a brief meeting for those who wish to attend. The 10 am mass on Tuesday will be celebrated by Fr. Burwell.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected]
Lectors’ Schedule:
May 3
Reader 1 – Leon
Reader 2 – Margery
May 10
Reader 1 – Gisele
Reader 2 – Mike
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Pancake Breakfast – this Sunday! May 3. Cost – by donation.
Silent Auction – Donations accepted from Sunday May 17 until Sunday June 14.
Murder Mystery Dinner June 5 6 pm.

First Reading
Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7
The early Christian community chooses seven people to serve at table so that the Twelve can devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,18-19
The Lord is merciful toward those who trust in him.

Second Reading
1 Peter 2:4-9
Those who have faith are chosen in Christ to be a holy priesthood.

Gospel Reading
John 14:1–12
Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Background on the Gospel Reading
The readings for the last few Sundays have been about the Resurrection, but today’s Gospel takes us back in time to an event in Jesus’ life before his Passion. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. He promises that where he is going, his disciples will be able to follow. Thomas, who will later doubt the disciples’ reports that they have seen the Risen Lord, contradicts Jesus by saying that the disciples don’t know where Jesus is going or how to get there. Jesus explains that he himself is the way, the truth, and the life. In knowing and loving Jesus, the disciples now love God the Father.
Philip then makes a request that challenges Jesus’ words. Philip wants Jesus to show the Father to the disciples. Recall that Jesus has just told his disciples, “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” As a good teacher, Jesus responds to Philip by repeating and elaborating on what he has just told the disciples: they have seen and known Jesus, so they have seen and known the Father. Then Jesus offers another reassurance about his departure: because of faith in God and in Jesus, the disciples will do the work that Jesus has done and more.
The connection between Jesus and his Father, between Jesus’ work and the work of the Father, is made clear in today’s Gospel. Jesus is in the Father, and God the Father is in Jesus. As God spoke his name to Moses, “I am,” so too Jesus speaks his name to his disciples: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
The revelation of the Trinity is completed in the passage that follows today’s reading, and it is the Gospel for next Sunday. Because Jesus goes away, the Father will send in Jesus’ name the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will continue the work of the Father and of Jesus.
Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

04/26/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases: 10 am daily.
If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected].

Lectors’ Schedule:
April 26
Reader 1 – Mike
Reader 2 – Lynda W.
May 3
Reader 1 – Leon
Reader 2 – Margery
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Pancake Breakfast – next Sunday - May 3. Cost – by donation.

Meat Fundraiser – Meat order to be returned by this Sunday - April 26. Details found in email’s attachments.

Silent Auction – Donations accepted from Sunday May 17th until Sunday June 14.

First Reading
Acts of the Apostles 2:14a,36-41
Peter and the other apostles baptize 3,000 people.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 23:1-6
The Lord is my shepherd.

Second Reading
1 Peter 2:20b-25
We have been healed by the wounds of Christ.

Gospel Reading
John 10:1-10
Jesus is the gate for his sheep.

Background on the Gospel Reading
This fourth Sunday of the Easter season is sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday because in each of the three lectionary cycles, the Gospel reading invites us to reflect on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In each cycle the reading is from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel. This chapter sets the framework for Jesus’ teaching about himself as the Good Shepherd.
Today’s reading falls between the stories of Jesus’ healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus. Both of these stories were proclaimed in the Gospels found in this year’s season of Lent. Following the controversy that ensued when Jesus healed the man born blind, Jesus directs his allegory about the sheep and the shepherd toward the Jewish religious leaders of his time, the Pharisees.
Throughout John’s Gospel the Pharisees fail to accept Jesus’ ministry and teaching. They show themselves to be “robbers and thieves” because they try to lead the sheep without entering through the gate, Jesus. Through these metaphors, Jesus is telling his listeners that those who follow him and his way will find abundant life. He identifies himself both as the shepherd and the gate. The shepherds who are faithful to him are the ones whom the sheep (Jesus’ disciples) should follow.
The relationship between the sheep and their shepherd is based on familiarity. Sheep recognize their shepherd and will not follow a stranger. At the end of the day, shepherds lead their sheep from pastures to a common gated area called a sheepfold. There, one shepherd protects all of the sheep until the next day when each shepherd returns to lead his own sheep to pasture. As shepherds move among the sheep, the sheep follow only their shepherd.
Today’s Gospel also gives us the opportunity to reflect on Christian leadership. Jesus’ words suggest to us that those who will lead the Christian community will be known by their faithfulness to Jesus. The leaders will recognize that Jesus is the gate for all of the sheep and that having a good relationship with Jesus is the primary characteristic of a Christian leader. Jesus’ allegory also suggests that faithful Christian leadership requires a good relationship with the community: the shepherd knows his sheep, and they know him. Christian leaders follow the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, by being faithful to him and by being a good shepherd.
Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

04/19/2026

04/18/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases: 10 am daily.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected]
First Reading
Acts 2:14,22-33
Peter and the apostles announce that Jesus has been raised from the dead.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-11
God will show us the path of life.
Second Reading
1 Peter 1:17-21

Lectors’ You were saved by Christ’s Schedule: sacrifice.
April 19
Luke 24:13-35
Reader 1 – Margery-Jesus appears to two disciples
Reader 2 – Gisele- who are walking to Emmaus.

April 26
Reader 1 – Linda
Reader 2 – Lynda W.

2nd Reader also reads our Prayers of the Faithful.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Pancake Breakfast – Sunday May 3rd. Cost – by donation.

Meat Fundraiser – Meat order to be returned by April 26. Details found in email’s attachments.

Silent Auction – Donations accepted from Sunday May 17th until Sunday June 14.

Murder Mystery Dinner: 6 pm Friday, June 5 at the church

Gospel Reading
On most Sundays during the Easter season in Cycle A the Gospel is taken from the Gospel of John. This week’s Gospel, however, is taken from the Gospel of Luke. As in last week’s Gospel, today’s Gospel shows us how the first community of disciples came to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. In these stories we gain insight into how the community of the Church came to be formed.
When we read today’s Gospel, we may be surprised to learn that these friends of Jesus could walk and converse with him at some length yet not recognize him. Again, we discover that the risen Jesus is not always easily recognized. Cleopas and the other disciple walk with a person whom they believe to be a stranger; only later do they discover that the stranger is Jesus. We learn that the first community met and recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, just as we meet Jesus in the Eucharist. We can imagine the feelings of the two disciples in today’s reading. They are leaving their community in Jerusalem. Their friend Jesus has been crucified. Their hope is gone. They are trying to make sense of what has occurred, so that they can put the experience behind them. Jesus himself approaches the two men, but they take him for a stranger. Jesus asks them what they are discussing. He invites them to share their experience and interpretation of the events surrounding his crucifixion and death. When the two disciples have done so,
Jesus offers his own interpretation of his crucifixion and resurrection, citing Jewish Scripture. In that encounter we find the model for our Liturgy of the Word— what we do each time we gather as a community for the Eucharist. We reflect upon our life experiences and interpret them in light of Scripture. We gather together to break open the Word of God.
In the next part of the story, we find a model for our Liturgy of the Eucharist. The disciples invite the stranger (Jesus) to stay with them. During the meal in which they share in the breaking of the bread, the disciples’ eyes are opened; they recognize the stranger as Jesus. In the Eucharist too we share in the breaking of the bread and discover Jesus in our midst. Just as the disciples returned to Jerusalem to recount their experience to the other disciples, we too are sent from our Eucharistic gathering. Our experience of Jesus in the Eucharist compels us to share the story with others.
Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

04/12/2026

St. Bernard’s Mases:
10 am daily.
2nd Sunday of Easter

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected]
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We also received this week $1000.00 from the Lions Club.
Once again, we thank the Little Current Lions Club for their generous donation of $1,000.00. We thank all those who support us by buying Catch the Ace tickets. Tickets are available every Sunday at the church. Thank you, Tony Ferro.
Mike Blanchard’s fundraising in collaboration with the convention centre raised $1010.00 for the Cher tribute evening. Bravo, Mike.

Lectors’
Schedule:
April 12
Reader 1 – Linda
Reader 2 - Mike
2d Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

First Reading
Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47

Responsorial PsalmPsalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24Second Reading
1 Peter 1:3-9.

Gospel Reading
John 20:19-31

Background on the
Gospel Reading
The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form.
The bodily form was not one that the disciples recognized though. In John’s Gospel, Mary of Magdala does not recognize that the figure standing before her is Jesus until he speaks to her. In Luke’s Gospel the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them.
The resurrected Jesus had a physical presence, but the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus unless he allowed them to. His
resurrected body, nonetheless, showed the marks of his crucifixion.
From readings such as today’s Gospel, we also see that in his resurrected body, Jesus seems to be free of physical constraints. He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked.
Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing. In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing.
Thomas’s doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus’ appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried.
Thomas’s human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified.
Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.
Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples.
Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples.
We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen.

Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

What is Divine Mercy Sunday?
In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000.

03/29/2026

March 29, 2026 St. Bernard’s Church Passion (Palm) Sunday

PASSION (PALM) SUNDAY

St. Bernard’s Mases: 10 am daily.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Gail Griffin, who died Friday evening.
We pray for Jim and the family during this time of loss.

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church by e-transfer, just add: [email protected].

Bulletin Advertising: The one-year anniversary for organizations to advertise in our bulletin ends on March 31st. If you are interested in advertising for the upcoming April 1st 2026 until March 31st 2027 year, please contact Mike Blanchard in person or phone 705-521 2360. The fee remains $100 for the year. Please spread the word to anyone else you feel may be interested. Thank you for your continued support.

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Holy Thursday
Mass of the Lord's Supper
7 pm.
Good Friday
The Lord's Passion
3 p.m.
Holy Saturday
Easter Vigil 8 pm.
Easter Sunday 10 am.

Lectors’ Schedule:
March 29
Reader 1 – Leon
Reader 2 – Michael
Holy Thursday April 2
Reader 1 – Margery
Reader 2 - Gisele
Good Friday April 3
Reader 1 – Mike
Reader 2 – Linda
Easter Vigil April 4
Reader 1 – Gisele
Reader 2 – Margery
Easter Sunday April 5
Reader 1 – Lynda W.
Reader 2 - Margery
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.

Background on the Gospel Reading
Today we begin Holy Week, the days during which we
journey with Jesus on his way of the cross and anticipate his
Resurrection on Easter.
Today’s liturgy begins with the procession with palms to remind us of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem.
The events of Jesus’ Passion are proclaimed in their entirety in today’s Liturgy of the Word.
Those events will be proclaimed again when we celebrate the liturgies of the Triduum—Holy Thursday’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, and the Easter Vigil.
In communities that celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation with catechumens, these liturgies take on special importance because they invite the catechumens and the community to enter together into the central mysteries of our faith. These days are indeed profound and holy.
While the Gospels of Matthew and Mark have many parallels in their narrative of the Passion, there are a few details worth noting that are unique to Matthew.
Only Matthew indicates the price paid to Judas for betraying Jesus. The story of Judas’s death is also found only in Matthew, as is the detail that Pilate’s wife received a warning in a dream and that
Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’ death. Finally, Matthew’s Gospel alone mentions the earthquakes and other phenomena that happened after Jesus’ death.
Matthew places the responsibility for Jesus’ death on the Sanhedrin, the chief priests and elders who were responsible for the Temple.
However, the animosity that those Jewish leaders and the Jewish people demonstrate toward Jesus is not to be interpreted in ways that blame the Jewish people for Jesus’ death. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, the narrative reflects the tension that probably
existed between the early Christian community and their Jewish contemporaries. At the Second Vatican Council, the Council Fathers made clear that all sinners share responsibility for the suffering and death of Jesus and that it is wrong to place blame for Jesus’ Passion on the Jewish contemporaries of Jesus or on Jewish people today.
Sunday Connection | Loyola Press

02/15/2026

St. Bernard’s Mass
10 am everyday of the week. If a mass must be cancelled it will be posted on our page and/or posted on the door of the church.
Ash Wednesday,
February 18-mass will be celebrated at 10 am and 6 pm, to
accommodate everyone.

A big thank you once again to all who helped in any way to
make the Pasta Dinner
the huge success it was!

If you would like to donate to St. Bernard’s Church, but are unable to attend Mass, you can make an e-transfer by adding:
[email protected] to your e-transfer list.

Lectors’
Schedule:
February 15
Reader 1 – Leon
Reader 2 – Margery
February 22
Reader 1 – Gisele
Reader 2 - Linda
2nd Reader also reads Prayers of the Faithful.
First Reading
Sirach 15:15–20
The eyes of God see all he has made.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 119:1–2,4–5, 17–
18,33–34
Happy are those who walk in the way of the Lord.
Second Reading

1 Corinthians 2:6–10
God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 5:17–37
I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to
fulfill them.

Background on the Gospel Reading
Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount with a three-part instruction by Jesus on the Way of Life in the kingdom of heaven. Today’s reading is part one and deals with the Law. Part two deals
with worship and religious practice and contains the Lord’s Prayer. Part three deals with trusting God and deeds of loving service to our neighbor.
When Matthew speaks of “the Law and the prophets” he means the whole Scripture.
When the Messiah brings the fullness of the kingdom none of scripture will be done away with. Instead, it will be fulfilled. Matthew’s Jesus does not overturn the Law of Moses, nor does he set his followers free from the Law.
He requires his followers to go beyond the Law by doing more than the Law requires.
The Law condemned murder. Jesus condemns anger. The Law condemned adultery. Jesus condemns even lustful looks.
As Jewish Christians who had always been faithful to the Law, Matthew’s community needs a way to understand the difference
Jesus and the kingdom he brings have made. They affirmed that God had always been at work in history through “the Law and the prophets.”
But God’s work goes beyond that to be embodied by the Messiah who reveals the definitive will of God. The written scriptures and their interpretation in tradition are surpassed by Jesus whose life
and teaching are the definitive revelation of the will of God.
Sunday Connection |
Loyola Press

This February 28, Leon Frisch is walking in the Coldest Night of the Year which is Canada's National Walk for Homelessness. It's raising money for people and families experiencing homelessness, hurt, and hunger in our community.
Maybe you would like to join him or donate to his walk for the Samaritan Centre in Sudbury.
Leon will be in the atrium after Mass to accept donations or to
tell you more about The Coldest Night of the Year.
Learn more by visiting
https://cnoy.org Thank you.

The Coldest Night of the Year is a winterrific family-friendly fundraising walk in support of local charities. Let’s change the tune for people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness... because it’s cold out there.