SUNDAY IN

St. Francis of Assisi Parish49 Blueridge Ave., Kitchener, Ontario N2M 4E2519-745-7301 se.comAdministered by the Congregation of the Resurrection:Lord’s Day MassesSaturday5:00 pmSunday9:00 & 11:00 amWeekday MassesTuesday to FridayFr. Raphael Ma, C.R.(rma@hamiltondiocese.com)Pastoral Minister: Miss Ruthann Fisher(rfisher@hamiltondiocese.com)Music Ministry:Mrs. Terrianne MoultonAdmin. Assistant: Ms. Alice SoederBuilding Manager: Mr. Gary HowellAdministrator:9:00 amReconciliationBy Appointment Only,please call the parishSunday Children’s LiturgyNo Children’s Liturgy at this timePrayer NetworkCall parish office to request prayersBaptismPlease call the parish office.MarriagesPlease call the parish office.www.resurrectionists.caParish Office is open Monday – Friday,8:30 am – noon & 1:00 – 4:30 pmby Appointment Only Please call aheadVocations .ca“We are a Christ-centred faithcommunity seeking to beinstruments of God’s peace.”21st SUNDAY INORDINARY TIMEAugust 23, 2020“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church;the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”Matthew 16: 18

MASS INTENTIONSAugust 25 - 30, 2020Tuesday, 25th9:00 amWednesday, 26th9:00 amThursday, 27th9:00 amFriday, 28th9:00 amSaturday, 29th5:00 pmSunday, 30th9:00 am11:00 am- WeekdayIntentions of Sr. Norma Schmidt – Mary Jane BurgessIntentions of Kelley Hurren – Fr. Raphael Ma, CR Ann Hutter – the Family Elizabeth Rasmussen – Ron Lorentz Douglas Schefter – Joan Schefter- Weekday Ron Pritchard – Anne Pritchard- St. MonicaIntentions of Maria Cabral- St. Augustine, Bishop & Doctor of the Church Jan Edissi – Gary & Marion Howell- 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Antonio & Emelindra Rodrigues – the Family Jack Daley – St. Francis Choir Community Robert Montag – Elizabeth MacKinnon Luann Mahn – Ruthann Fisher Sr. Joyce Lorentz, SSND – Anita Stalzer Stephen Zalobka – Betty Corrigan- 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Reno & Tony Ianni – Angela IanniParishioners of St. Francis of AssisiAugust 23, 202021st SUNDAYIN ORDINARY TIMEAugust 15/16 Collection2020 Total Collection2020 Total Budget 3,732.25 162,675.30 309,450.00The Parish Office will be closedFri. Aug. 28. If you have an urgent request wewill be checking messages.“Wealth can force us to build walls.Jesus, instead, invites His disciplesto transform goods and riches intorelationships, because peopleare worth more than things,they are more valuable than anyriches we possess.” @Pontifex, Aug. 18, 2020Looking Ahead to August 30, 202022nd SUNDAYIN ORDINARY TIMEJeremiah 20: 7-9Romans 12: 1-2 Matthew 16: 21-27DIOCESAN PRAYERCALENDARMon August 24: Rev Mussie Keflezghi MCCJTues. August 25: Rev. Jerzy TomonWed. August 26: Catholic TeachersThu. August 27: Rev. Issac Tharayil, CMIFri. August 28: Rev. Nishil Varghese, CMISat. August 29: Rev. Ilija Petkovic

WELCOME TO OURNEWLY INITIATED!This weekend we are very happy to welcome threenew children of God to the faith:Colton William Joseph WallaceShelby Kaylynn Hope WallaceRori Accalia Rose WallaceColton, Shelby and Rori werealmost done the RCIC programwhen the pandemic hit, and aftermonths of waiting they willreceive the Sacraments ofBaptism, Confirmation and 1stCommunionthisweekend!Congratulations on your studies,and may you always know God’s love for you andthe prayers and support of our parish community.PRE-AUTHORIZED GIVINGWe are blessed to havevery generous parishionershere at St. Francis of AssisiParish, and we’d like tothank you for yoursupport, especially duringthis unprecedented time.While we were shut down many parishionerswanted to continue making donations to the parish,but struggled to figure out how to get their donationto us when they weren’t leaving their homes.Although we are now offering public Mass again,many people are still not able to join us in person.One option to make donating easier,save paper by using less envelopes,and make processing easierfor our volunteers and staff,is to sign up for Pre-Authorized Giving.You can sign up to have weekly or monthlydonations automatically withdrawn from your bankaccount and given to St. Francis Parish. You set theamount you want to give, and you can change itwhenever you need to. The program is easy to signup for and can be set up without you having toleave your house.If you want to learn more about Pre-AuthorizedGiving please contact Alice in the parish office.MINISTRIES DURING COVID-19Although it may seem hard to keep track of the dayof the week, or even what month we are in, Augustis quickly rolling by and soon the fall will be upon us.Some ministries and groups that would normallystart at the beginning of September may not bequite ready to start up again; we will keep youposted as updates are available. However, manyministries are thriving and helping the parishcommunity stay safe, connected and spirituallynourished in these difficult times. Below are all theministries currently operating in some form. If youare interested in joining any of them please contactthe Parish Office for more information. Prayer Network Prayer Shawl Hospitality / Ushering at Mass Lector at Mass Cleaning Team after MassesLITTLE BOOKSSEASONAL DEVOTIONALSEach year we offer you the opportunity to orderLittle Books, a set of daily devotional booklets forAdvent, Lent and Easter. We are very happy to beable to offer this again this year, at the same priceof 5 per set of three seasons. These books provedto be very supportive during our time of shutdown,so we are grateful to the publishers for keeping theprice low again this year and making this such anaccessible resource. If you would like to order aset(s) please call or email the parish office (519-7457301, stfranciskitchener@hamiltondiocese.com).Orders must be placed by Sept. 14. 5 cost will becollected when the Advent Little Books arrive.Continue to watch our websitewww.stfranciskw.cafor interesting content postedMonday to Friday each week.We want to stay connected with you,whether you are able to join us atMass or need to stay home for now.Be assured of our prayers for you!

The View from Fr. Raph’s Window Last Saturday August 15th, on the Solemnity of theAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – withmasks and all the other restrictions we have gottenused to living with by now – four new priests wereordained for service in the Diocese ofHamilton. You can find pictures of his happy eventon the Diocese of Hamilton website.Although I was not able to attend the ordinationitself, I was invited to one of the priests’ first Massof Thanksgiving the next day. In uncertain timeslike our own, it is nice to have events like thesewhich are signs of hope. For that hour or two(bilingual Mass, a long homily, some culturalobservances, and a bilingual thanksgiving speechby the newly ordained), I forgot about all theproblems of life and things I had to do, and justparticipated in the Mass.A few things stood out for me that Sundayafternoon. Like an ordination, a first Mass ofThanksgiving is meant to be an experience of theChurch – something bigger than just our homeparish. Various people who have played a role insome way in the journey of this newly ordainedpriest are present – priests, family, friends,neighbours, etc. The homily is traditionally notpreached by the newly ordained priest, but by apriest who has been a mentor to him. And so it’skind of like being able to “listen in” on someparting advice from one priest to another.It’s also wonderful to see all the children present –from the parish, or relatives of the newly ordained,or his friends’ children. I don’t think childrenrealize that priests come from among us, fromamong ordinary people in the pews, like you andme. Children usually see a priest on Sundays andassume that they’ve always just been there. Butevery priest has a story, and maybe these childrenmight think about what their story is going to looklike when they grow up.And finally, there is of course the tradition of thefirst blessing. I can tell you from my recentmemory, to have so many people seek out theChurch’s blessing through you is something veryhumbling for the priest. It really underscores therole of a priest, which is to give God’s gifts to thepeople. And it really underscores that it is notabout the priest. There is nothing special aboutthe priest himself – he isn’t some saint or holyperson – he was literally ordained yesterday. Hehas nothing to give them, nothing except God’sblessing.Let’s thank God for giving us these new priests toserve the Church, and let’s remember to pray forthese newly ordained priests, that they will beblessed, and a blessing to others in their manyyears of ministry that lay ahead of them. Fr. Raphael CRDO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHONEEDS A PRAYER SHAWL?Prayer shawls assure our loved ones that thecommunity of St. Francis Parish is praying for them,and that we journey with them even when wecannot be present. If you have a loved one who issuffering physically, mentally or spiritually, perhapsthey would find comfort and support in a prayershawl. Or maybe there is someone in your lifecelebrating a milestone, starting a new job, movingto a new home, expecting a baby? A prayer shawlcan bring peace in stressful times. If you would liketo pick up a prayer shawl please call the office andmake an appointment, there is not cost.VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLIf you are wondering how to spend the last fewweeks of the summer with your children, perhapsconsider an online VBS! Our children are about togo back to school after a long period away and itmay help to spend some structured time learningabout Jesus and his love for them in the comingweeks. The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta,Georgia created an entirely online VBS that isoffered on their website free of charge for familiesto participate in at their own pace. For five dayschildren search out clues in The Mystery of theClosed Case, focusing on the Names of Jesus. Theylearn scripture and songs, play games and have lotsof fun, all through videos on their website. Parentsare encouraged to check it out first athttps://apostles.org/vbs-online-portal/. Links willbe on our parish website too.