ST. MICHAEL’S PARISH

P.O. BOX 610 - BELL ISLAND, NF - A0A 4H0
PHONE: 488-2525 – FAX: 488-3399

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is, once again, the great worker of miracles. However, none if these things could have happened had it not been for the friends of the handicapped man. Just look at the extremes they went through to get him into Jesus’ presence-they climbed up onto the roof, with their friend on his bed, then made a hole in the roof through which they lowered him. To be sure, everyone’s eyes were on Jesus and the man to see what would happen next! Mark tells us simply that “Jesus saw their faith-the friends faith,” not necessarily the faith of the man. It was this faith that prompted Jesus to say, “son, your sins are forgiven.” Why was the faith of the friends crucial to his healing? The answer lies in the word “friendship.” The men obviously valued their sick friend enough to go to such lengths for him. This surely tells us what kind of person he was to deserve such effort-and it underlines their faith that Jesus would heal their friend. It also surely tells us something of the value that Jesus places on relationship and friendship. In front of the skeptical scribes, Jesus does heal him, but only after repeating again that his sins are forgiven. Jesus recognized that the man needed physical healing, but that he also needed spiritual healing. He wasn’t implying that his paralysis was caused by his sin; he was saying that sin too is an illness-an illness of the soul. He looked at both as different expressions of the human condition. We may not all need physical healing at this moment, but we certainly need spiritual healing. This is how the miracle applies to us. We need to bring our illnesses and sinfulness to Jesus in humility and faith. Then we trust that he will say to us too, “Your sins are forgiven. Now go and live freely and joyfully as a child of God.”
 

Happy Birthday
Our parish extends Happy Birthday to Mrs. Helen Jackman as she celebrates 90 years young on Sunday. We thank Mrs. Jackman for her faithful service to our parish and we wish her continued blessings of good health.

Wednesday Feb. 22nd 9:30am Gloria Noseworthy; Lillian Power; Kevin Furlong;
 Lynn Burns; Noreen Brown; Walter Lahey
2:00pm Hoyles Home
3:00pm Chancellor Park

Thursday Feb. 23rd 7:00pm Florrie Lahey; Beatrice Jackman; Michael, Margaret &
 Jack McLean; Martin Butler; Joseph Clarke
7:45pm Knights of Columbus Meeting

Friday Feb. 24th 9:30am Joseph Brown; Steve & Ray Beeso; Ann Marie Kavanagh;
 John & Mary Jordan; Aiden & Madonna Power; Vince Hickey & dec. fam.

Saturday Feb. 25th 4:00pm Sacrament of Penance
 5:00pm David Foley; Kathleen Reid; Leo Murphy; Maria,
James; Elizabeth & Gerald Byrne; Stephen Warren; William & Patrick Cole; Emily Tucker; Melissa Hurley

Sunday Feb. 26th  10:30am For All Parishioners, Living & Deceased
 

SANCTUARY CANDLE: ARTHUR, DOUGLAS & LENA JACKMAN

Collection
Offertory - 126 envelopes..................................................................................$1237.50
Development & Peace - 18 envelopes..................................................................$128.00
Dues - 4 envelopes................................................................................................$50.00
Toonie Collection..................................................................................................$12.00
Thank you for your financial support

Annual World Day of Prayer
The annual World Day of Prayer will be hosted by our parish on Friday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. The theme for this year is: “ The Signs of the Times” with a focus on the women of South Africa.. This year Canon Shirley Gosse of St . Cyprians Anglican Church will preach the homily. Please make a special effort to attend . A social will take place at the parish hall following the celebration

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Liturgical Ministers
Sat. Feb. 25th 5:00pm Readers: Amanda Curnew & Kathleen Wiseman
Eucharistic Ministers: Raymond Whalen; Joey Kent; Jocelyn Murphy; Art Whelan
Presentation of Gifts: Mabel & Mary Ann Gendreau
Ushers: George Jackman; Jason Hickey; Bill Hammond; Peter Power; Joey Kent; Christopher Delaney

Sun. Feb. 26th 10:30am Readers: Valerie Gorman & Janet Lahey
Eucharistic Ministers: Christine Quinlan; Riv Fitzgerald; Patricia King; Shirley Murphy
Presentation of Gifts: Clara Hammond & Riv Fitzgerald
Children’s Liturgy: Donna Carroll
Ushers: Ray Whalen; Jim Pendergast; Sid Maddigan; Art Whelan; Michael King

CHURCH CLEANING TEAM - 2 FOR WEEK OF FEB. 20TH FEB. 24TH
Geraldine Fitzgerald; Riv Fitzgerald; Wayne Dunne; Patricia King; Kathleen Wiseman

Please Remember
Please remember in your prayers Father Richard McHugh who is in hospital battling with the unfortunate illness of cancer . Father McHugh served our parish for many years and we are very thankful for his many years of service to the church. May the Lord continue to comfort him during this difficult time.

Feast Days
Wednesday: Chair of St. Peter (Apostle)
Thursday: St. Polycarp ( Bishop & Martyr)

Statue of St . Michael
The statue of St. Michael, the patron saint of our parish has been restored and placed above the door to the entrance of the sacristy. This is a very beautiful statue and it is placed in a very appropriate location . As we leave the church we will seek the blessing of our patron to guide us to do the good works of the Lord and to reject all that is evil in our world. St. Michael, Pray For us.
 

Ministry Schedule
This is the time of year when we renew and update our ministry schedule for the weekly liturgies. If you are a Lector, Eucharistic Minister or Presenter of the Gifts at mass, please notify Rosanne Grant if you cannot be involved or will be away. We also invite new members of our parish to become involved.. Thank you all for your past dedication and much appreciation to all who continue. The future of our parish depends on your commitment . Keep up the good work.

Sympathy
Our parish extends sympathy to the family and friends of the late: Paul Hedderson and Walter Lahey. May the Lord comfort you in your grief and grant eternal peace to our beloved. We assure the families of our continued prayers.
 

General Meeting
The annual general meeting of the Conception Bay East Bell Island PC Association will be held on Tuesday, February 21st, 7:00 p.m. at the Fire hall in Portugal Cove. All members of the association are asked to attend.
 

Parish Secretary
During the past week our secretary Jody Whalen has accepted another position with Human Resources, Labour & Employment in St. John’s beginning in April. It is a great blessing for Jody to gain full time employment and we are very happy for her. Jody has been a wonderful secretary for our parish and we certainly thank her for her excellent work.
We are accepting resumes from individuals who wish to apply for the position of secretary in our parish. This is a part time position of 9 hours per week at a pay of $10.00 per hour. The work involved is to do the accounting for the finances of our parish; have a knowledge of computers in order to do the parish bulletin; type correspondence etc, and general secretarial duties. If you wish to apply for this position, please forward your resume to the parish office. The deadline for the acceptance of this resume is Friday, March 3rd at 5:00 p.m. Once we have received the applications for employment, we will have the usual interviews and hopefully find another individual to replace Jody.

Home Religion Program: Meeting, Saturday, March 25th
The Home Religion Program is progressing very well . Parents /Guardians are asked to have completed within the next few weeks: Themes: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. If you have not received these themes for the year 1, 2, 3 or 5 programs, please contact Karen Seward at 488 - 2566. It is necessary that these themes be completed before our next meeting.

Our next meeting for the Year 1, 2 and 3 Program will take place on Saturday, February 25th at 1:00 p.m. at the parish hall. All parents/guardians and children are asked to attend. This meeting is very important and please attend. If you cannot attend for a very good reason, please have another member of your family attend.

Our next meeting for the year 5 program will take place on Saturday, February 25th at 2:00 p.m. All are asked to attend.
Please bring along all your work completed thus far which will include your scrapbook .

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