Message from the Rector

To view the Message from the Rector on the Sacrament of Confession - please click here 

May 29, 2022

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Next Tuesday evening (May 31) at 7 PM in the Cathedral, three men will be ordained to the priesthood for our diocesan clergy: Kevin Burgess, Marc Gaudet and Connor O’Hara. All members of the diocese are invited to attend. Please keep these men in your prayers as they begin their priestly service to the People of God of our diocese. Father O’Hara will celebrate his First Mass at Saint Patrick’s on Wednesday, June 1, at 10 AM. All are most welcome to attend the Mass, followed by a reception in the Scavi Hall.

Next Sunday, June 5, is Pentecost Sunday. At the 12:15 PM Mass, Archbishop Damphousse will confirm five of our young parishioners. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin their faith journey as adults in the Church. Pentecost ends the Easter season. We will be reminded of the joy of our Easter faith by the singing or recital of the double Alleluia at the end of each Mass. The Paschal candle will be present in the sanctuary at all Masses but then will be removed, returning only for the celebration of Baptisms and Funerals.

Our Parish Finance Council met virtually on May 17. After the call to order, opening prayer and approval of the agenda, the members considered business arising from the minutes. As a preliminary consideration, the Rector noted that his pastoral appointment at Saint Patrick’s will be finished at the end of July.  He has advised the Archbishop that he is moving to London (Ontario) and will not be available for a further appointment in our Archdiocese.  The question of hiring an accountant to assist with parish finances was tabled for future consideration. The Council received the parish financial statements for the period ending April 30, noticing the following: general offerings are increasing, and are ahead of budget; operating expenses are slightly below budget but the cost of utilities is above budget due to the months of March and April being unseasonably colder than normal; with respect to the Book & Gift Shop, sales have increased but the Shop remains in a deficit position which is common after the first quarter but May and June should assist with reducing the deficit; with respect to the Restoration Fund, the offerings continued to remain well below budget and will need to be monitored in the coming year – expenses are anticipated for the completion of the HVAC project in the Scavi as well as the church boiler replacement. The overall financial position of the parish remains strong as our community finished the 2021 year in a strong surplus position. An analysis of donations for the year 2021, and 2022 to date, noted the substantial amount of donations which are now coming through electronic means: eTransfers, preauthorized debits through bank and credit card payments, and online donations made possible through our website (CanadaHelps). A discussion was had about the possibility of returning to a pew collection. At the moment, the current collection methods seem to be working well and vigilance by the ushers at the exits will be important. With respect to projects, the members received an update as to the following items: the backflow control of the church water supply as required by the City has received the building permit and will be completed in 2023; the phase 1 of HVAC Scavi project should be completed in the coming weeks with start-up and commissioning; the contract for the replacement of the church boiler has been given to Alliance Mechanical and is scheduled for the summer; as for the rectory, as the engineer expressed a concern about supply of a new boiler for the rectory at this point in the year, the project has been postponed until 2023; and, other minor repairs and renovations are scheduled to be completed in the coming months. The members discussed, in camera, a number of personnel issues. The next meeting of the Finance Council is scheduled for Tuesday, June 21. The meeting closed with prayer.
Fr. Kevin