“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul”- Henry W. Beecher

Every celebration is an experience, the external fades away, and the internal lingers and echoes in the most depth of our hearts. We are reminded that jubilees are milestones on the journey of life and reminders of God’s fidelity all through.

 Our hearts are filled with Gratitude and joy that overflows within us as we recall the 70 years, St. Valentine Parish have completed. We thank the Almighty for accompanying us in marvelous ways, all through these years and keeping our Parish safe and productive in His vineyard. We as parishioners experienced the hand of God in everything we came to do together. Through our parish we tried to spread the fragrance of God’s Love, Compassion, Mercy, Joy and healing to its members and whole of Redford over 70 years.

“Gratitude is the memory of a heart that will recognize the good done”  French Proverb

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our Parish Council who came together for numerous meetings planning for this special occasion. We express a sincere thank you to Mary Anthony and Lisa Alexander from our Parish Council who worked tirelessly to make this 70th anniversary celebration a success.  The school gym came alive with the 70’s and 80’s decorating theme all courtesy of Barb Pogoda and her sister, Mary O’Sullivan. We thank Julie and Pat Jeffries for their expertise in running the silent auction.

 Glory for allowing God to work in you and through you.

Special thanks to all those parishioners who purchased tickets, donated auction items and were successful in their bids. We hope you are enjoying your baskets and prizes.  The party would not have been successful if you, the parishioner, had not supported our efforts. We thank you!

 Many hands came together to make this a true celebration.  Thank you one and all.

 The Lord is truly risen, alleluia. To him be glory and power for all the ages of eternity, alleluia, alleluia. (Luke 24.34; cf Rev. 1:6)

The Lord is truly risen, alleluia. This is the truth of Easter. This is the truth that we celebrate. This is the truth that we give witness to. Our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the Cross has risen and is now alive. He rose from the dead and opened for us eternal life with God. In the Gospel, the message of the Angel to the women who went to see the tomb is encouraging: “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’” (Mt. 28.5- 7) Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, this good news should be a cause of great joy for us!

My sincere appreciation to all of you for making our Lenten and Easter celebrations prayerful and beautiful. Let us continue to renew our faith in the Risen Lord as we gather daily and weekly to celebrate God’s everlasting presence among us in the Eucharist. We once again cheer, rejoicing and singing, “Jesus Christ is risen today. Alleluia!”

I along with Fr. Henry and our staff wish you a joyous and glorious Easter. My prayers that God’s blessings come upon you and your loved ones in a special way this season.

 Next Sunday our second collection will be towards the Pallottine Missions – whatever way you can help the Pallottines continue our work and missions back in India we will be ever grateful. In the past years you have always been very generous and we thank you for that. Know for sure that your sacrifices will go a long way. If you are not able to help financially do not be disheartened, just offer a prayer for our works and mission and you will receive your blessings in return. The very fact that we as Pallottines are allowed to ministry in this country is already a great help for our Society. As I have mentioned in the past, through our ministry here we are obliged to contribute to our Society through our salary and also through mission appeals so that our work as Pallottines can be enhanced. You have been very generous and gracious towards us by accepting and supporting us in our ministry. Your words of encouragement and support help us to continue our ministry more joyfully. My sincere thanks to each one for your support. May our Founder St. Vincent Pallotti and our Patroness Mary Queen of the Apostles, continue to intercede for us as we all strive to make God’s kingdom come on earth through our lives and activities.

God Bless you all.
Fr. Socorro Fernandes

The poinsettias are gone, the crib and the lights are down and the Christmas season is over and now we begin the Ordinary Time of the Year with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

 Just a few thoughts on the Gospel passage for this weekend.

 1)      We come upon John the Baptist seeing Jesus and pointing to him: “This is the Lamb of God.” And with His baptism, Jesus the Lamb of God begins his ministry. Our call, through baptism, is to become involved in a Christ-centered ministry. We must give up any thoughts of using our ministry to achieve power, to lord over others, and instead, like Jesus, embrace prayer and forgiveness.

2)      John the Baptist saw Jesus and proclaimed, “Look, there is the Lamb of God. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit”. Jesus’ disciples would be given the same power, to transform the world. They would be given the power to create a new world, a world with a new way of living, the way of sacrificial love. When we sing the “Lamb of God,” we are remembering what Jesus did for us and what he is empowering us to do.

3)      John the Baptist found his reason for existence. He was to point out the Lamb of God to the world. His mission is not different from the mission of every Christian. We are to point out the Lamb of God to the world. There is nothing greater that any of us can do in our lives than point out Christ to others. John looked to Jesus and said: “There is the Lamb of God.” We have been called to do the same.