WELCOME

We take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to all those who will be visiting us. We are pleased that you have come to worship with us. The doors and hearts of our parish family of FAITH are always open, and we invite you to contact us at any time.  

    
The Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 22, 2020
Fr. Noel Clarke
St. Anselm Catholic Church

ADVENT 2020

Next Sunday, November 29th, 2020 marks the first day of Advent.

The word Advent originates from a Latin word “Adventus” which means “coming” or “arrival.” Advent Season is focused on preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ in all ways, from His birth in the past to His Second Coming in the future as the Messiah. For us Catholics, Advent is a meaningful season that reminds us of the reality of Jesus Christ and that He has come and He is present in our world and lives. The birth of Jesus is worth celebrating because it reveals His human side and is therefore an example of how we should live our own lives as his followers here on earth. 

Jesus’ ascent into heaven does not mean He has abandoned us. While awaiting His return, we can still experience His presence through the Holy Spirit, our spiritual family which is the church, the sacraments and His Word. In the Second Coming, Jesus will appear in His full glory and it will perfect and complete our community and identity as His people. It is during this time that we can finally be united with Him and spend eternity with Him in heaven. 

Advent acknowledges these two significant events in our lives as Christians. It is a time for us to look back to Christ’s birth and celebrate His second coming. In the period between these two important events, we are to discover and fulfill our God-given purpose.

We are into the final days of The 2020 Catholic Archdiocesan Appeal, which ends on  November 30th, 2020. For those of you who have already made a donation, we express our heartfelt gratitude to you. For those of you who have not yet made that commitment, we invite you to act soon and to contact one of our Parish representatives or to come into the Parish Office to ensure that your donation is received before the deadline. 

2020 has been a year for the record books, and with this global pandemic following so closely behind Hurricane Dorian which hit the Bahamas in September 2019, our Archdiocese continues to faces many challenges trying to meet the demand of its many obligations as well as the need to assist those less fortunate and in need around our communities. We thank you for your participation, and may God continue to bless you.

A reminder to parents to please register your child/children for CCD if you have not already done so. Download the application below and return to one of the three persons noted by email. 

Confirmation classes have started, and all other classes will hopefully begin later this month. 

ALL CLASSES will be held virtually via ZOOM until further advised.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Download Application here . . .

 FROM the OFFICE of the ARCHBISHOP

Detailed Guidelines for the Gradual Resumption of Public Worship

MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE

The next Marriage Preparation Course for Fall, 2020 will commence on Wednesday, September 8th, 2020. Couples  planning to marry by January, 2021 must complete this course. 

Registration fee is $100.00 per couple, and this includes the textbook and workbook. For further information please contact the Office of Family Life.

In both human and divine relationships, there can be no romance without a reverent listening to the other. When we make room in our lives for silence, the heaven and earth within us find each other. Then the Word of God is able to put down deep roots. These listening roots sense our desire for bonding with the Holy One.  

 Pope Francis' Urbi et orbi meditation

 Pope Francis meditated on the calming of the storm from the Gospel of Mark during the prayer service over which he presided on the steps of St Peter's Basilica on Friday evening. Here is the full text.

“When evening had come” (Mk 4:35). The Gospel passage we have just heard begins like this. For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air, we notice in people’s gestures, their glances give them away. We find ourselves afraid and lost. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat… are all of us. Just like those disciples, who spoke anxiously with one voice, saying “We are perishing” (v. 38), so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this.

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