The Good News

In today’s First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke gives the surprising news that there is more of the story to be told. The story did not end with the empty tomb, or with Jesus’ appearances to the Apostles over the course of forty days. Jesus’ saving work will have a liturgical consummation. He is the great high priest, and He has still to ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, there to celebrate the feast in the true Holy of Holies. The truth of this feast shines forth from the Letter to the Hebrews, where we read of the great high priest’s passing through the heavens, the sinless intercessor’s sacrifice on our behalf (see Hebrews 4:14–15). Indeed, His intercession will lead to the Holy Spirit’s descent in fire upon the Church. Luke spells out that promise in the First Reading for the feast of the Ascension: “in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). The Ascension is the preliminary feast that directs the Church’s attention forward to Pentecost. On that day, salvation will be complete; for salvation is not simply expiation for sins (that would be wonder enough), but it is something even greater than that. Expiation is itself a necessary precondition of our adoption as God’s children. To live that divine life we must receive the Holy Spirit. To receive the Holy Spirit we must be purified through Baptism. The Responsorial Psalm presents the Ascension in terms familiar from the worship of the Jerusalem Temple in the days of King Solomon: “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord” (Psalm 47). The priest-king takes his place at the head of the people, ruling over the nations, establishing peace. The Epistle strikes a distinctively Paschal note. In the early Church, as today, Easter was the normal time for the baptism of adult converts. The sacrament was often called “illumination” or “enlightenment” because of the light that came with God’s saving grace (see, for example, Hebrews 10:32). Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians, speaks in terms of glory that leads to greater glories still, as Ascension leads to Pentecost: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,” he writes, as he looks to the divinization of the believers. Their “hope” is “his inheritance among the holy ones,” the saints who have been adopted into God’s family and now rule with Him at the Father’s right hand. This is the “good news” the Apostles are commissioned to spread—to the whole world, to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem—at the Ascension. It’s the good news we must spread today.

—Yours in Christ, Scott Hahn, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2020 The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, All rights reserved. www.stpaulcenter.com Used with permission

PASTOR: Fr. Jojappa Chinnabathini (Fr.Jojo) - 780-690-8386

ASSOCIATE PASTOR: Fr. Anthony Narisetty - 780-916-6221

DEACON: Ed Meding HOLY CROSS

10734 Shand Avenue PO Box 1048, Grande Cache, Alberta T0E 0Y0

Parish phone – 780-827-2422 Fax – 780-827-3511

Email – HolyCross.GrCache@caedm.ca OUR LADY OF THE ROCKIES Susa Creek, Alberta T0E 0Y0

GRANDE CACHE INSTITUTION Grande Cache, Alberta T0E 0Y0

MASS TIMES

You can also find Mass Times on our Parish website

www.holycrossgc.caedm.ca

WEEKEND MASSES Saturday – 1:30 p.m. (G.C. Institution)

Saturday – 7:00 p.m. (Holy Cross) Sunday – 10:00 a.m. (Holy Cross)

Sunday – 12 Noon (Our Lady of the Rockies)

WEEKDAY MASSES Thursday – 6:30 p.m. (Holy Cross)

Friday – 4:00 p.m. (Whispering Pines)

MASS INTENTIONS: Are accepted and celebrated by

the priests privately

CONFESSIONS: by appointment (Holy Cross)

NEW Grande Cache Parish Website: holycrossgc.caedm.ca

Archdiocese of Edmonton Website: www.caedm.ca

Formed Website: www.formed.org

Mass Readings

Acts 1.1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1.17-23; Matthew 28.16-20

Masses will be celebrated by Priests only. We do not expect people to come.

The Mass times are listed to enable you to be spiritually in communion with the priests.

Weekdays

Confessions 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Adoration 6:30 pm. To 7:30 p.m.

In Hinton – Thursday to Saturday

In Jasper – Tuesday and Wednesday In Grande Cache – Tuesday to Saturday

FORMED: www.formed.org This is a Catholic content website (sometimes described as a Catholic Netflix) and the cost is being shared by the Parishes in Grande Cache, Hinton and Jasper. We urge you to take advantage of this wonderful offer. On our website http://holycrossgc.caedm.ca/ in the bulletin tab there is information on how to join the parish subscription.

Catholic Women’s League Regular meetings on the first Saturday of each month. Next meeting is postponed. For more information about the C.W.L., please contact Pat Mortensen, President.

Knights of Columbus All young men (18 and up) from the Parish are welcome to become Knights. Regular meetings scheduled for the 4th Thursday of each Month. Contact Brian Klappstein – Grand Knight, or any member of the KofC. www.kofc.org

KofC online video series – Into the Breach

Bottle Drive - The Knights of Columbus are kindly asking for your donations of bottles and/or juice or milk cartons for their year-round bottle drive. This is a wonderful fundraiser for their charitable works in the Parish and abroad. Bottles/Cartons can be dropped off in the church Hall or Garage.

Gentle Reminder Let’s remember that since those who clean the Church, hall and complex are volunteers, we should all do our part to ensure these areas are left as clean and tidy as possible before we leave the building.

R.C.I.A. & Sacramental Preparation

Anyone interested in becoming Catholic or learning more about the Catholic faith or wanting to receive any Sacraments (children or adults), please contact Margaret Atkinson.

Salt + Light Media is pleased to provide its viewers the Daily TV Mass produced by the National Catholic Broadcasting Council four times a day at 4:30 am, 9:00 am, 1:00 pm and 8:30 pm Mountain standard time.

https://saltandlighttv.org/ https://dailytvmass.com/daily-tv-mass/

Sunday Mass with Archbishop Smith at the Basilica

is on Telus Optic channel 876 at 10:30 a.m.

CARDS & ENVELOPES: If you have any cards and envelopes, of any size, that you are willing to part with, they are required at the Correctional Institution for Prison Ministry. Used cards are also welcome - just ensure no personal message is left on the card. Cards and envelopes can be dropped off at the Church.

Knitted or Crocheted slippers are required at the Chemo Centre in Hinton. If you can help, please drop the slippers off at Holy Cross. Thank you for your help.

Skaro Pilgrimage has been cancelled for 2020

Archbishop’s message on the cancellation

SPAM ALERT! There is an email going around with the email ID honly-bless@gmailcom that has Fr. Jojappa Chinnabathini’s (Fr. Jojo) name on it asking you to email him back immediately. This is not from Fr. Jojo. Do not respond to it. It is a spam email please delete it.

Fr. Jojo would not send an email like this.

Cybercriminals are sending emails to trick people into clicking on malicious links or responding to malicious emails. Clicking on or responding might actually install malware on your computer, which is designed to help steal personal data and information from users' systems. This goes for texts as well. If you receive a text that is not from either number on this bulletin, it is not from our priests.

Weekly Collection – All Cheques must be made out to Holy Cross Catholic Church if you want a tax receipt for your donations. If you do not use the numbered envelopes and would like to, please call 827-2422 and leave a message. Please ensure your Name and P.O. Box Number is PRINTED on the first few contribution envelopes you use.

While we are in this time of self-distancing – the parish continues to need your support. Envelopes can be mailed or dropped off at the box outside parish office or you can donate online on our website holycrossgc.caedm.ca Remember to be sure to select the parish name.

Bishops Update: Date for Resumption of Public

Masses not yet set

The Catholic Bishops of Alberta remain committed to the gradual reinstatement of public celebrations of the Mass and welcome the recent release of the Guidance for Places of Public Worship document as part of the provincial government’s relaunch strategy.

These guidelines are being carefully considered by the task force that the Bishops have established under the direction of Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton and Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary.

The task force is drafting for the Bishops a set of directives for the gradual reintroduction of Masses in public. The Bishops will present these to Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The proposed directives will take into consideration the information that will be received from the Telephone Town Hall with the Premier and the Chief Medical Officer scheduled for Thursday, May 21.

No date will be set for the resumption of public liturgies in our Catholic churches and institutions until the Bishops are satisfied that their own directives can be fully and properly implemented.

Any announcement of the date for the gradual reintroduction will be made at least five days before the first scheduled Mass. Parishes by then will have received diocesan guidelines which help ensure the safety of everyone.

“It is critical that we understand the risks and take steps in minimizing the spread of COVID-19 through prudent planning,” said Bishop McGrattan.

“The health and safety of our parishioners, priests, and church staff are of utmost importance. Each and every life is a precious gift from God, and we are called to do everything in our power to protect them. This has been a tremendous sacrifice on the part of the faithful who strongly desire to celebrate the Eucharist in their parish communities. We are grateful for their cooperation, their patient endurance, and especially for their prayers.”

YOUR RETURN GIFT TO GOD May 9/10 and May 16/17

$Holy Cross $3,377.00

“O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his steadfast love endures for ever!” Psalm 118

Together We Serve – Annual Appeal 2020 Goal: $5150.00

Collected: $2295.00 (44% of goal) Thank you for your generous donations

(the blue envelopes in your box of Collection Envelopes) Together We Serve video:

https://caedm.ca/TogetherWeServe

Pray with Pope Francis during May, the month of Mary His Holiness Pope Francis has issued a Letter to the Faithful for the Month of May 2020, in which he encourages us to pray the Rosary at home, and he includes two prayers that can be recited after the Rosary.

"It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family," Pope Francis writes. "The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this 'family' aspect, also from a spiritual point of view.

"For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. This can be done either as a group or individually; you can decide according to your own situations, making the most of both opportunities. The key to doing this is always simplicity, and it is easy also on the internet to find good models of prayers to follow.

"Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection I send you my blessing."

We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities,

but deliver us always from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 April 2020 - Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist - Pope Francis

First Prayer to Our Lady

O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross,

were united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your faith. “Protectress of the Roman people”, you know our needs, and we know that you will provide,

so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father

and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows

to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen. We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities,

but deliver us always from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

The second Prayer

“We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God”.

In the present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and seek refuge under your protection.

Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes towards us amid this coronavirus pandemic. Comfort those who are distraught and mourn their loved ones who have died, and at times are buried in a way that grieves them deeply. Be close to those who are concerned for their loved ones who are sick and who, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, cannot be close to them. Fill with hope those who are troubled by the uncertainty of the future and the consequences for the economy and employment.

Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us to God, the Father of mercies, that this great suffering may end and that hope and peace may dawn anew. Plead with your divine Son, as you did at Cana, so that the families of the sick and the victims be comforted, and their hearts be opened to confidence and trust.

Protect those doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are on the frontline of this emergency, and are risking their lives to save others. Support their heroic effort and grant them strength, generosity and continued health.

Be close to those who assist the sick night and day, and to priests who, in their pastoral concern and fidelity to the Gospel, are trying to help and support everyone.

Blessed Virgin, illumine the minds of men and women engaged in scientific research, that they may find effective solutions to overcome this virus.

Support national leaders, that with wisdom, solicitude and generosity they may come to the aid of those lacking the basic necessities of life and may devise social and economic solutions inspired by farsightedness and solidarity.

Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences, so that the enormous funds invested in developing and stockpiling arms will instead be spent on promoting effective research on how to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

Beloved Mother, help us realize that we are all members of one great family and to recognize the bond that unites us, so that, in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity, we can help to alleviate countless situations of poverty and need. Make us strong in faith, persevering in service, constant in prayer.

Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace all your children in distress and pray that God will stretch out his all-powerful hand and free us from this terrible pandemic, so that life can serenely resume its normal course.

To you, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, do we entrust ourselves, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

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