Past News

Parishioners making end-of-year donations are reminded that only those envelopes and online donations received by the parish on/prior to December 31st can be included on 2024 tax receipts.

Our Adoration Chapel will be closed December 26-28, 2024

Based on the award-winning Bible! Join Minno kids Margot, Lexi, Miguel, and Logan on a heartwarming journey through the Christmas story. Hosted by the Hopeful World, this beautiful retelling of the story of Jesus’ birth will help kids understand the true meaning of Christmas. Viewers both young and old will be filled with hope as they recall God’s promise fulfilled through our Savior’s arrival.

Join Dr. Michael Barber, professor of Scripture and theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, as he answers some of the Internet’s most popular questions about Christmas. What are the 12 days of Christmas? Was Santa Claus a real person? What is Advent?

Combining the German traditions from her heritage and the Mexican traditions popular in her hometown of Los Angeles, Kendra shares her Christmas Eve menu. Learn about the luminaria tradition, too, to usher in the Light of the World!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

A Saviour has been born for us; a Son has been given to us.

Christ, who in his birth and in becoming human has allowed us to share in the glory of his immortal nature. He has freed us from death, and the power of sin and darkness. This promise of salvation is ours and thus we rejoice in the knowledge that God is with us.

In our world overshadowed by war, injustice, oppression, division and selfish concerns the Good News proclaimed by Christ continues to offer us a message of salvation and hope. His words speak to us today, they reassure us, and fill us with hope:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
I am the way, and the truth and the life.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the bread of life.

On 29 December 2024 the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year of Hope will take place in the cathedrals across Canada. In announcing the Jubilee year Pope Francis wrote: “The Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”

May the light of hope illuminated by the Holy Spirit burn within our hearts this Christmas. May the light of God’s love shine through us, and may our witness of faith be an invitation for others to believe in the gift of salvation that Christ offers to all, and most especially in this upcoming Jubilee year.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year 2025!

The Most Rev. William McGrattan
Bishop of Calgary
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

By all the smiling faces it looks like Kindred Spirits had a wonderful Christmas get-together! This picture captured a memorable occasion filled with laughter, love, and Christmas cheer. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers. As we move forward into the new year, we are excited for the memories they will continue to create together.

A Jubilee Year is a significant period of celebration and forgiveness observed every 25 years in the Catholic Church. This sacred time provides a unique opportunity for spiritual renewal, where individuals and communities can reflect on their faith, seek forgiveness, and restore relationships. The essence of the Jubilee is rooted in the themes of mercy and hope, inviting everyone to partake in the grace of God and the joy of reconciliation. Pope Francis has called for a year of jubilee with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” The 2025 Jubilee will officially open on December 24, 2024, with a Mass presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City. The rite of the Opening of the Holy Door will follow. For the faithful around the world, the local diocesan Masses are to be held on December 29, 2024.

Vatican events will be live streamed:

Do you know someone who is carrying the grief of a past abortion? There is always hope. The pain and sorrow of abortion does not need to endure for a lifetime. We offer accompaniment and retreats to women seeking healing after abortion. A “Day of Prayer and Healing” offers the opportunity to experience the love and mercy of God and to respond to His invitation to begin the journey of healing the wound of abortion. Upcoming dates are: February 8 and April 5, 2025
For more details, locations, and confidential registration, or to simply talk to a Sister, please call the Sisters of Life at (416) 463-2722 or email us at toronto@sistersoflife.org.

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Christmas, like all those before, is a celebration of joy and hope, as it proclaims the wondrous love of God for us. In a Christmas homily a few years ago, Pope Francis reminded us that the birth of Christ brings people hope and courage in troubled times. A Christmas carol lyric puts it even more poetically: “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” The coming of God to redeem us, promised so long ago, proclaims that we are precious and beloved. This knowledge invites us to face the future with courage and confidence, despite any challenges or fears that may afflict us. 

The theme of hope is even more pronounced this Christmas, as Pope Francis will inaugurate the Jubilee year on Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  The Church celebrates such Jubilees every twenty-five years, and the Holy Father has declared this holy year to be a Jubilee of Hope.  We are invited, with the universal Church, to embark on this celebration, and to embrace the great virtue of hope – one that will be lived out in our desire for peace, our respect for life and our loving care for those who suffer in any way.

The Solemn Opening of the Jubilee in our diocese will take place at the Cathedral of St. Peter-in-Chains on the Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday, December 29 at the 10:30 a.m. Mass, an event that I am looking forward to celebrating.  Though it is a busy time of year and not all of you live close to Peterborough, I invite and encourage you to join me for this Mass, as we initiate the Jubilee of Hope in our diocese.

May this great Christmas season, when we celebrate God’s love revealed in “a child born for us,” instill in our hearts an ever-deeper hope and inspire us to bring hope to others.  May the joy of Christ’s birth, the foundation of our hope, be with you and yours this Christmas. 

Yours in Christ,

+Daniel Miehm

Bishop of Peterborough