Visit us on the web at www.stteresa.ca

Readings: February 9, 2020

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Isaiah 58.6-10++

Your light shall break forth like the dawn.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2.1-5

I proclaimed to you the mystery of Jesus Christ,

and him crucified.

Gospel: Matthew 5.13-16

You are the light of the world.

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Mass Intentions February 3 - 9 Monday

7:00pm Jack and Annie Foley,

Intentions of Bride Tobin and

Intentions of Nellie Heffernan

Tuesday

8:00am Jerome Conway,

Dominic, Pearl and Eddy Doyle,

Intentions of Shannie Short

Wednesday 7:00pm Mary Holwell,

Intentions of Loretta Edwards and

Intentions of Kay Bidgood

Thursday

8:00am Loel Power, Michael White and

Jim Farrell

Friday

8:00am Shane Gerald O'Neill,

William, Florence, Gordon and

Marjorie Howlett and

William David Campbell

Saturday 5:00pm Wilfred Miller, Catherine Spratt and

Steve Frederick Lewis

Sunday 9:30am Melvin Maidment, Ted English and

Theresa Duggan

11:30am The Parishioners

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Strong and mighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus,

the presentation of your Son in the temple

was his first entrance into the place of sacrifice.

Grant that, trusting in his offering upon the cross

to forgive our sins and uphold us in the time of trial,

we may sing your praises

and live in the light of your salvation, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Weekday/Weekend Masses

Monday and Wednesday: 7:00pm

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 8:00am

Weekday holidays: Weekday Mass moved to 9:00am

Saturday: 5:00pm

Sunday: 9:30am, 11:30am

Reconciliation

Wednesday at 6:30-7pm and Saturday at 4:00-4:45pm or please

call the parish office for an individual appointment with a priest.

Marriages

A minimum of six months advance notice is required.

A marriage preparation program is required to be married in the

church.

Baptisms Please contact the Parish Office to schedule the pre-baptism

course and for more information. A copy of the child’s birth

certificate must be provided before the baptism.

Eucharistic Adoration Friday after 8am Mass until 3pm

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Redemptorists Television (www.redemptorist.tv) Devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help -

Wednesdays on Vision TV at 10am and 2pm.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Marian Talk: Margarette Almonte ~ Mary's Love

Homilist: Fr. Mark Miller C.Ss.R. ~

St. Alphonsus and the Gift of Mercy

Marriage Preparation Course Upcoming Marriage Preparation course dates in

St. John’s for 2020 are March 6 & 7, April 17 & 18,

May 22 & 23, June 12 & 13. To register for a course please

complete the registration form on the Archdiocesan

website rcsj.org. Select Chancery/Marriage Tribunal and then

Marriage Preparation. Anyone requiring additional info call

Theresa Whiffen at 726-3660 ext 236 or

email twhiffen@rcsj.org.

Centre for Life (1) Counselling and support services are available for post-

abortive women and any woman in an unexpected pregnancy.

Professional confidential counselling services are available by

contacting 709-579-3818, or by email counsel-

lors@centreforlife.ca There is no fee for the services provided

by the Centre for Life.

(2) Registration for Computers for Seniors has resumed for the

winter session. To register or for information please call Centre

for Life, 579-1500.

Visit us on the web at www.stteresa.ca

We Belong to God Everyone wants to belong to someone or something. In

fact, we do not merely want to belong; we need to belong.

However, sometimes we forget to whom we really belong.

This feast reminds us to whom Jesus belonged. The

reading from Hebrews underscores the fact that Jesus

was one of us. He also was a descendant of Abraham,

thus we are his brothers and sisters. But he really

belonged to God.

The ritual of presentation, a ritual that was and continues

to be common in religious Israel, was meant to remind

everyone to whom we belong. True, only male infants were so presented. This reflects the custom of

tracing lineage in the family, tribe, or clan through the male line, with women participating through the

agency of men. This cultural gender bias need not prevent us from understanding the

profound meaning of the presentation. Though one of us, Jesus belonged to God.

The Gospel story tells of a man and a woman who recognized that this child would be the one through

whom God saves all people. It describes two important religious insights: First, it acknowledges that

the child we cherish as one of us really belongs to God. Second, it illustrates how each child has a

mission to the world to somehow make it a better place. So even with its gender and cultural bias, this

feast is about us as well as Jesus. We all belong to God; and we all have a mission to the world.

Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA

Liguori Publications

A Word from Pope Francis In the Temple…Mary and Joseph find the roots of their faith, for faith is not something

learned from a book, but the art of living with God, learned from the experience of those

who have gone before us. The two young people, in meeting two older people [Simeon

and Anna], thus find themselves. —

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2, 2018

St. Teresa’s Parish - Served By The Redemptorists Since Sunday, October 21, 1956

Fr. Ciro Perez C.Ss.R., Fr. Tony Bidgood C.Ss.R. & Fr. David Louch C.Ss.R.

Telephone: 709-579-0065

120 Mundy Pond Road, St. John’s, NL, A1E 1V1 Fax: 579-3804

Website: www.stteresa.ca

Parish Office Hours Monday to Friday 9:00 - 4:00 pm

Our bulletin is available online.

February 2, 2020 ~ The Presentation of the Lord

Visit us on the web at www.stteresa.ca

Collection January 25/26, 2020

Green Envelopes $6,017.00

Loose Collection 959.00

Total of above $6,976.00

Initial Offering $90.00 (Total $ $1,589.00)

Regular Collection Green Envelopes (2019) $3000.00

Christmas Offering $15.00 (Total $12,742.20)

New Year's Day $130.00 (Total $3,741.20)

Acknowledged with gratitude.

Mass Cancellation Policy Now that winter weather is upon us, please

be advised for weekday masses - if the

schools are closed there will be no daily

mass and the parish office will be closed. On weekends

we will endeavor to get any cancellation on the radio -

CBC, VOCM and of course our parish website,

www.stteresa.ca.

Your safety is our concern ~ please use common sense.

Mass Intentions are now accepted up to

February 2021. Due to the large number of mass

requests received each year for deceased family

members, we have limited the number of requests to

three per family per year. Additional mass intentions

will be sent to the Redemptorist Missions.

Last Year’s Blessed Palms

Please bring last years palms to the church no later

than Sunday, February 23, so that they may be

burned and used for ashes on Ash Wednesday,

February 26. Place them in the basket provided at the

church entrance.

Blessing of Throats --

Feast Day of Saint Blaise, Monday, February 3,

7pm mass Please stay behind after mass on this

evening and have your throat blessed.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

(Candlemas Day)

Celebrate ~ Monday, February 3, 7pm Mass Traditionally on this day the church blesses candles and

holds a procession of light; signifying that Christ our

Light has come to us. You may bring candles to the

church on that day to be blessed. Place your candles on

the table in the centre aisle as you enter the church.

They will be blessed during Mass and you may pick

them up as you leave.

Baptisms

Through the Waters of Baptism we welcome

Kalina Nicole Bette-Joy Bishop who was

baptized in January. We pray that her journey

of faith is filled with great joy.

World Day of the Sick – February 11th The ministry of Jesus to the sick is central to the life of

the Church. February 11th (Memorial of Our Lady of

Lourdes) highlights the healing ministry of the Church.

It reminds us that service to the sick and suffering

cannot be neglected. It recognizes the great efforts of

doctors, nurses, health care institutions and pastoral

care givers to restore health to those afflicted with

illness and disease.

In celebration of this year’s World Day of the Sick,

Archbishop Hundt invites you to join him at a special

Mass on Tuesday February 11th 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the

Basilica of St. John the Baptist. All those who are

involved in caring for the sick are especially invited to

this celebration. Following the Mass there will be light

refreshments available and an opportunity for

socializing.

Let's Make a Choir with Dr. Valerie Long and Anne

Marie Fleming will begin Thursday evenings starting

Feb 27 until May 14 at St. Teresa's Parish Hall.

10 weeks of singing in a choir, open to men and

women, no auditions. Every rehearsal has a 50/50 draw

for St. Vincent de Paul at St. Teresa's. For more

information contact Anne Marie at

letsmakeachoir@gmail.com.

Eastern Health's Pastoral Care, Ethics &

Bereavement Services Department invites people

grieving the loss of a loved one to join an 8-week

Bereavement Information & Support Group. There are

two timeslots available. The first timeslot meets at

Health Sciences Centre and begins January 23, 2020.

Sessions are held Thursday afternoons from 1:30 –

3:30 p.m. The other group option meets at St. Clare’s

Mercy Hospital and begins February 3, 2020. Sessions

are held Monday evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. For

more information, or to register, please contact the

Pastoral Care Office at 777-6959 or Scott Parsons at

777-7611 (Health Sciences) or Jenna King-Poirier at

777-5908 (St. Clare’s).

[Simeon said,] “Now, Master, you may let your

servant go in peace, according to your word, for

my eyes have seen your salvation.” Luke 2:29–30

Visit us on the web at www.stteresa.ca

Knights of Columbus,

St. Teresa’s Council #7702 (1) Bingo continues every Sunday at 8pm in the Parish

Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The jackpot is

approximately $4200. Come along and bring a friend

for a night of fun.

(2) Weekly crib tournament - every Tuesday, 7pm,

St. Teresa's Room, church basement. Winter 2020 Group Offerings - Ruah Counselling

Centre. Please go to www.rcsj.org for more

information: Rebuilding After the End of a

Relationship, Separation & Divorce (8 weeks

beginning January 13, 2020 on Monday evenings 7-

9pm) Stress Management (8 weeks beginning January

22, 2020 on Wednesday evenings 7-9pm) Self-

Empowerment for Women (8 weeks beginning January

23, 2020 on Thursday evenings 7-9pm) When You See

Red for Women (8 weeks beginning January 29, 2020

on Wednesday afternoons 12-2pm) When You See Red

for Men (8 weeks beginning February 4, 2020 on

Tuesday evenings 7-9pm).

Ruah Counselling Centre also provides individual,

couple, and family counselling. Please contact

Samantha Lake at 579-0168 for more information.

The Blessings of Aging This series based on Joan Chittister’s best-selling book,

The Gift of Years, explores themes of aging such as

meaning, time, joy, regret, spirituality, and legacy with

an invitation to explore with others the blessing and

challenge of each theme. Session by session, you will

be guided to embrace a vision of elderhood as a blessed

time to be alive. This 5 part series begins on Monday,

February 3, 10:15 - 11: 15 am at St. Pius X Church,

Smithville Cres with Maria Kelsey, MTh.

CCO (Catholic Christian Outreach)

Annual Founders' Dinner is Saturday, March 28 For details, and to register please go to cco.ca/

stjohnsgala Please join us for CCO's annual

fundraising dinner. We will hear from CCO's Founder

Angele Regnier and we will also hear from students

involved with CCO who have been impacted by God

through their involvement. This is a highlight for many

of our friends and supporters - don't miss it! This event

will take place at Columbus Hall, 49 St. Clare Ave.

Doors open at 5:00pm, dinner will be served at 6pm.

Register at cco.ca/stjohnsgala.

Email maryclaire.hoffman@cco.ca with any questions.

Dear Padre,

A guided meditation on the rosary’s fourth Joyful

Mystery (The Presentation of Our Lord) mentions “our

Blessed Mother’s purification.” What does that mean?

According to Jewish law, a mother was considered

ritually impure for forty days after giving birth to a son,

and eighty days after the birth of a daughter (see

Leviticus 12:1–8). After the prescribed period of

purification, she made an offering to God in the Temple

for her atonement and another offering to support the

priests. Her purification offering was a pigeon or

turtledove; the burnt offering for the priests was a

yearling lamb. However, if a woman couldn’t afford the

lamb, she could instead substitute two turtledoves or

pigeons. Mary’s offering of two birds indicated her

poverty (see Luke 2:24).

Moreover, the Law stipulated that every firstborn male

be presented to God in the Temple. “The Lord spoke to

Moses and said, ‘Consecrate to me every firstborn;

whatever opens the womb…whether of human being or

beast, belongs to me’” (Exodus 13:1–2). As a devout,

law-abiding Jewish couple, Mary and Joseph traveled

eighty miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem to present their

son to God. Mary couldn’t afford a lamb as a burnt

offering; rather she offered Jesus as the true Lamb of

God in the name of the human race. Saint Alphonsus

Liguori wrote, “O my God, I on my part unite my

sacrifice to that of Mary. I offer to you your own divine

Son, and by his merits I ask you to grant me all the

graces I need for salvation.”

Home Again Furniture Bank - Donations Requested

Donating Your Gently-Used Furniture Could

Change a Life

Home Again Furniture Bank is a local non-profit

organization that provides gently-used furniture and

housewares to individuals and families in need. Each

week, Home Again volunteers ensure that our

neighbours have beds to sleep in and tables to share a

meal around.

For more information on how you can help to transform

homes, and lives, please connect with Home Again

today: info@homeagainfb.com or visit our website:

www.homeagainfb.ca

Vocation Reflection

The Presentation of the Lord -- February 2, 2020 –

World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life “Consider

your own calling…” and do not be discouraged by

others when considering the consecrated life or

priesthood. Call Fr. Jeff Kolonel at 745-8183,

Fr. Ray Earle 781-1696 or Fr. Philip Melvin at

754-1195 or email: vocations@rcsj.org