Holy Cross Mission Parish Bulletin May 23, 2010

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

Just a few things:

1.  Vespers at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday.

2.  Divine Liturgy: Hearing of confessions and the reading of the hours at 9:30 a.m.  Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.  This Sunday is also kid’s sermon.  Yay!!!!!!!!

3.  In honor of Mother’s Day, Holy Cross will be collecting baby layette items for new mothers in need for the Thelma Wynne Project located in Winnipeg.  The Thelma Wynne Project has been in existence in one way or another for over 50 years. For much of that time it has been located within St. Matthew’s church building. Dedicated women from Anglican churches in the city make or collect items and then prepare layettes for newborns. The layettes are distributed through social agencies in the city to new mothers who need them. The project has evolved somewhat over the years but originally was started by Thelma Wynne after whom it is named.  The items are to be new and include:  diapers, blankets, sleepers, caps, booties, baby soap, lotions, etc.  Holy Cross will be collecting these items for the month of May until May 30.  You can bring your donation to Holy Cross on Sundays or you can contact either Fr. Evan or Sylvia Kitzul at 256-8370 and we can arrange a pick up.

4.  This Sunday is Holy Pentecost, or as I like to refer to it, Rider Sunday.  Why?  Because Fr. Evan gets to wear green and white vestments.  Woo-hoo.

I came across a quote by St. Gregory Nazianzus.  “So that by gradual increase…and progress from glory to glory, the light of the Trinity might shine upon the more illuminated…for this reason it was, I think, that He gradually came to dwell in the disciples.  He measured Himself out to them according to their capacity to receive Him:  at the beginning of the gospel, after the Passion, after the Ascension, making perfect their powers, being breathed upon them, and appearing in fiery tongues…”

I find the line “He meaured Himself out to them according to their capacity to receive Him” really interesting.  Each and every one of us is on an individual spiritual journey.  It is true that we come together in common confession of faith and belief that will shape our journey, that we can share that journey with family, with friends, but when all is said and done, the journey is a singular one.  Our Lord and Saviour is not only the Saviour of humanity as a whole, but is the Saviour of the individual.

The reason I make mention of this is that the spiritual journey that each of us is on is not always going to be easy.  There will be moments that we will feel that we are totally closed off from God, that our prayers go unheard, that we will feel that we have not deepened our spirituality, failed in our ascetic attempts.  And then there will be days that we will feel like the Apostles on Holy Pentecost, feel the power of the Holy Spirit, that we will be bursting with love and joy.

What we have to remember and hold onto each and every day of our life is that just as Christ Himself gradually came to dwell in the apostles, so to does Christ gradually come and dwell in us.  As we mature spiritually our capacity to receive Christ into our hearts grows.  There will be times in our life when our capacity to let Christ fill our lives will great, and there will times when it is not so great.  That is why constant prayer is so important.  Prayer is our asking Christ to be a part of our life because we are engaging Him, asking Him to fill us.  Holy Confession is so important.  It is realizing that we have filled our heart, filled our soul with so much sinful junk that we have made it impossible to allow Christ in.  Holy Confession is the emptying out of the bad to allow the good in.  The Holy Eucharist is so paramount to our spiritual health because it is the actual filling of the vessel that is us with Christ Himself.

What we have to remember is that it is progression.  Just as it was for the Apostles, so too it is for us as well.  I guess what I really want to say is, never get discouraged, never give up.  Christ is there, Christ is always there and He responds to our needs in the most perfect way, His way.

5.  Don’t forget!  Holy Cross has a newly designed webpage. Check it out.  You can download any missed bulletins.  Maybe make a collection of them.  Get them bound in fine Corinthian Leather or genuine Saskatchewan Seal Skin, gold lettering on the cover, and Fr. Evan will personally autograph each copy.  Our website is: www.holycrosswpg.ca Take a look, post a comment, let us know what you think.

Answer to last week’s question:
Jesus only once gave someone a name in His parables.  Who was it?  Lzarus the beggar.

This week’s question:
How many loaves of bread did Jesus use to feed the 4000?

See you in church.

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

The Way of the Cross – May 23, 2010