Pastor’s Letter: April 21st, 2024
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This Sunday is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday where we hear Jesus presenting Himself as the Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down His life for His people. We are invited to reflect on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. There is a relationship with a shepherd and its sheep. We understand that the sheep do recognize their shepherd and that they will not follow a stranger. The Gospel invites us to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and to know that He is meant to lead us. By the offering of the Cross and through His Resurrection, Jesus shows us the way to the Father which is the very reason why Jesus came into our lives – so that He can draw all to Himself.
This Sunday is also known as Vocations Sunday. This day was established by Pope Paul VI as a day to pray for vocations. The purpose of this day is to fulfill Jesus’ instructions to “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest”. We invite you to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and to religious life.
Also this weekend, we celebrate First Communion with our Second Graders at St John Vianney. We celebrated with our First Communicants at Mary Our Queen on Divine Mercy Sunday. Congratulations are in order. We would like to thank all our teachers and catechists for guiding them to this day. Please keep them in your prayers.
Work began on the playground at Mary Our Queen last week. The old climbing geodome has been removed to make way for the installation of a new playground climbing structure. New swings will be installed to the existing swing frame and we will replace the two slides from the existing playground structure. The old rubber mulch will be removed, and the grounds will be prepared for a new poured surfacing rubber. This includes a sub-base and edging (the old plastic edging will be replaced by a concrete edging). Please note that in the meanwhile, the playground will be out of commission till the work gets done. There will be a temporary fencing surrounding the playground to prevent anyone from using the playground.
With the renovation of the playground, it has come to our attention that we need to replace the 4 benches by the playground. We are looking to replace the benches with 2 new picnic tables like the ones by the gym entrance. The cost of the installation of the base for the tables and the tables is $5000. We are appealing for a donor or two donors to help cover the cost of the new picnic tables. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Because of your generosity to the Capital Campaign at St John Vianney and Mary Our Queen, we are able to pay down our debt at St John Vianney and to defray the cost of the roof replacement. We are also able to pay for the replacement of the mechanicals at Mary Our Queen. Through the Capital Campaign of Mary Our Queen, we were also able to start a new scholarship fund for Mary Our Queen School in honor of our Founding Pastor Msgr. Kenny. The scholarship fund will be used to assist active parishioners who need tuition assistance. Msgr. Kenny and our founding members made a lot of sacrifices to ensure that our school was available for all who desire a Catholic Education and this scholarship continues in the spirit of our founding Pastor. More details of this scholarship will be made available in the near future. If you would like to contribute to this scholarship fund, kindly contact our Parish Office.
Easter Blessings to all of you.
Fr Marc