5 WEEK LENTEN MISSION – 2019

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Our annual Lenten Mission begins on Saturday, March 9TH, 2019 and will run for five consecutive Saturday mornings. Priests are available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation between 8:00am and 9:00am. The first talk is presented at 9:00am by our special guest speaker, Father Patrick Okenyi, s.m.a. followed by the Saturday Eucharist with Bishop Marcel Damphousse and/or Father Gerald Lajeunesse. The theme for the Lenten Mission is:

“The Joy of Rediscovering Jesus”

You are encouraged to attend this special Lenten Mission at Our Lady of Hope Church, 591 Brennan Road, Sudbury. Please bring your family and friends. We look forward to welcoming you. May God bless you and your loved ones during this new year 2019.

Coming in January – Growth in the Spirit

Due to unexpected circumstances, this event has been cancelled.

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Growth in the Spirit

Friday, January 18th,  6:00 PM – 9:15 PM
Saturday, January 19th, 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Our Lady of Hope Church, 591 Brennan Road
Cost $10.00/person
Bring your own lunch
The final date for registration is January 5th 2019.  Registration forms are available at the Thursday night prayer meeting.

Dear Friends in Christ:

You are invited to the a retreat weekend called Growth in the Spirit, a follow up to our recent Life in the Spirit seminar. We have found that most people finish Life in the Spirit with a basic understanding of the renewal, but there is still much more for us to learn and in many areas where we can grow.

The Growth In the Spirit Retreat is divided into two units. The first four talks are a positive statement of the fundamentals of our Catholic faith. Talk One is the importance of Loving God and to motivate us to put God first in our lives. Talk Two communicates to us the importance of Christian love – the true and false conceptions. Talk Three, the importance of faith is discussed and to help us grow. Talk Four is on guidance – the way God reveals His will and to help us grow in seeking His guidance.

The second unit focuses on the problems and difficulties which hinder us from living out the ideals presented in unit one. We have found that discernment is needed of God’s particular solution for each particular problem. This course is the foundation for future teachings as we grow in our faith.

Growth in the Spirit will have the same format as Life in the Spirit: it consists of series of seven talks followed by group discussions about the talk. Again, it is a willingness to receive the Holy Spirit and whatever gifts He chooses to give. Growth in the Spirit is growing in maturity about our faith.

All who have attended Life in the Spirit should take Growth in the Spirit as well. This retreat is also open to others who have made previous retreats with us.

Life is a Journey

The following is from the book Toward God by Michael Casey, OSB.

Toward GodOur life is a journey that makes sense only on the supposition that we are going somewhere. When it is difficult to keep moving ahead, ‘we need to reanimate our desire. This theme is beautifully developed in a passage by Saint Gregory the Great:

The present life is but a road by which we advance to our homeland. Because of this, by a secret judgement we are subjected to frequent disturbance so that we do not have more love for the journey than for the destination. Some travellers, whenever they see pleasant fields by the road, contrive to linger there and thus they deviate from the route undertaken in the journey. As long as they are charmed by the beauty of the journey, their steps are slowed. It is for this reason that the Lord makes the path through this world rough for his chosen ones who are on their way toward him. This is so that none may take pleasure in this world’s rest or find refreshment in the beauty of the journey and thus prefer to continue the journey for a long time rather than to arrive quickly. It is also to prevent one who finds delight in the journey from forgetting what it was about his homeland that had enkindled his desire.

Prayer operates as a function of our journey toward God. It is successful when it makes us want to continue the journey with greater urgency than before. If it makes us want to stop by the roadside for a picnic and a sleep in the sun, it is not prayer but delusion.