St. Leonard Catholic Parish

Manotick, Ont

"Lent: A time to renew faith, hope and love."

This weekend we celebrate the Third Sunday of Lent. We are open for socially distanced public Masses at our regular times. We are limited to 30% of our maximum seating capacity and we would ask that you register at stleonardsparish.ca/ma... to reserve your seat(s).

All Weekend and Weekday Masses from St. Leonard's will be Livestreamed to our YouTube Channel. To visit this site click here. 

Please pick up your 2021 Envelopes in the Church Foyer this weekend.

Mass Readings: 3rd Sunday of Lent

The Ten Commandments • Exodus 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
The Wisdom and Folly of the Cross • 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
Cleansing of the Temple • John 2:13-25

The Temple, for Old Testament Jews, was everything.  The very dwelling place of God on earth. The place where heaven and earth met. Where harmony between God and man occurred. Unfortunately, by the time of Jesus, it had degenerated into a center for commerce and the pursuit of worldly affairs. We hear in today’s Gospel reading that, consumed by zeal for the House of God, Jesus set about cleansing the Temple and ridding it of everything that did not contribute directly to the worship of the Father. In the cleansing of the Temple, Jesus was making an incredibly significant statement about priorities and what He stood for in life; and we do precisely the same when we enter fully into the spirit of Lent and take Lent's cleansing seriously.

In the 2nd  reading, St. Paul invites the Corinthians and all of us to grasp the paradox of the cross, total folly in the eyes of the world, but a towering sign of God’s wisdom. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25) The Cross proclaims to a believing people that there cannot be evil in our world that cannot be turned to good by the power of God’s love.

St. Paul also said that, “you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you.” (1 Cor 3:16) This means we must strive to keep our bodies and minds holy. Just as Jesus cleanses the temple, we need to cleanse and keep ourselves spiritually pure. That means our hearts should be a place dedicated to one love above all others, the love of God.

When we are touched by this great love, a good guide to live by is the Ten Commandments outlined in the 1st reading from the book of Exodus. Moses presents to the Israelites the Ten Commandments that had been written by the finger of God on stone tablets (Exodus 24:12). These commandments were given to us by a loving God to help us grow into maturity and they conform closely to the moral imperative planted deeply into our soul. They start and end with love. As Father Richard Rohr pointed out, “We are not loved because we obey but rather, we obey because we are loved.”

Let’s walk through them and see how we are doing by answering a question on each one.
The first four have to do with our relationship with God and our family.
1)    Are you making something greater than God?

2)    Do you ever speak negatively about God? 

3)    Do you try to get to Church and slow your life down on Sunday?

4)    Is honour and respect for your parents something that you hold dear?

The next six have to do with your relationship with your neighbours.
5)    Are you a life giver or a life taker?

6)    Are you faithful and loving in your relationships?

7)    Do you take things that are not yours?

8)    Can you go one day without saying something untrue or negative about someone?

9)    Are you jealous of your neighbour’s possessions?

10)  Are you envious of your neighbour’s spouse?

As you go through this spring-cleaning exercise, do not compare yourself with others. As Jordan Petersen says, “It is far more important to compare your self with where you were yesterday.”

Two last thoughts. Imagine it was Jesus in the temple of your soul doing the spring cleaning. How do you think it might go? And finally, one sure way to know that your spring cleaning has been thorough is to avail yourself of the Sacrament of Confession during this Lenten Season.

God bless you folks, Father Gerard

The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary 

Lent is a wonderful time to practice this beloved Catholic devotion. This Friday join Bishop Barron in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries by clicking here.

Worship

Mass Times

Registration is required for all Weekend Masses. Please note that no reservations are required for Weekday Masses. You can make reservations by visiting stleonardsparish.ca/ma... or by calling the parish office at  (613) 692-4254 .    

Confession times

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons will air every ‪Sunday morning at 8:15 AM Eastern Time. Click on Bishop Barron’s YouTube channel and then chose the Sunday you wish to view.

Virtual Children's Liturgy

The St. Leonard Children’s Liturgy Team offers virtual Children’s Liturgy of the Word videos to keep our children connected to their faith! The videos include prayers, the week’s Gospel reading, lessons, all geared for our younger parishioners. Click here to view.

Stewardship: Financial Update for the Year ending 

Dec 31, 2020

On behalf of the Finance Council and Father Gerard, we are pleased to provide the Parish with an update on our finances for 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has been an incredibly challenging time for all of us both as individuals and as a Church Community, and we are most grateful for your ongoing financial support.

As a result of your continued generosity, government subsidies and expense reductions, we are pleased to report that for the year ending Dec 31, 2020, we achieved a surplus of $26,731. Total revenue declined year over year by $62,230. Overall revenue from collections declined by $58,128 while the total of all other sources of revenue dropped by $4,102. To counter this decline in revenue, we have managed a reduction in our expenses of $54,191 over 2019. See detailed Financial Statement below.

The Covid-19 pandemic that was officially declared on March 13, 2020. The resultant public Mass cancellations and subsequent social distancing requirements placed on us (seating restricted to 30% of maximum capacity) saw our weekend Mass attendance greatly reduced this past year. The last weekend of the year was also marked by the imposition of new Public Mass closures. While our overall collection revenue decline was only $58,128, the decline in collections we received from envelopes, cheques, and loose cash was $104,341, a 54% year over year drop. The importance of our pre-authorized debit givers and our online givers has really come to the fore over the last year. In 2019 this type of giving represented 33% of our total collections and in 2020 it represented 61% of our total collections. This year pre authorized givers accounted for $37% ($84,895) of total collection revenue while our new Tithe.ly online system accounting for another 18% ($40,910).

On behalf of all Ottawa-Cornwall parishes, the diocese has been filing for financial assistance from the Federal Government wage subsidy program. For the year just ended, that has resulted in $15,313 of additional revenue for our parish. Submissions for additional rebates from this program have been filed, but at this time their approval is uncertain.

From the beginning of the pandemic, we have initiated tight controls on our operating expenses and have deferred all capital expenditures where possible. This has resulted in a 17% decrease in total expenses year over year and has allowed us to maintain our full operations on reduced revenues. We also want to acknowledge the CWL’s efforts with their frozen pie fundraiser with all profits going to the parish.

As we look ahead, we are faced with a large degree of uncertainty. It is unclear how much longer we will need to adhere to social distancing guidelines. With the case count still high in our region and the vaccine roll-out slated to run through the summer, we see no end to the 30% of maximum capacity seating restrictions. With no significant increase in Church attendance until later this year, it is not likely that we will see an increase in our weekly Mass collections year over year. With this revenue outlook in mind, we will continue to maintain stringent controls on our operating and capital expenses.

One major challenge that we will face this year is the need for a new roof for the Church. This replacement has been forestalled for several years, but can be put off no longer. The Capital Cost of this project is estimated to be $35,000. Starting this Spring we will launch a special fund-raising campaign for this necessary repair. If you might be able to help us get this campaign off to a good start with a major financial donation, please contact Father Gerard directly.

How can you help us to continue our mission and offer the services that are required by our faith community?
1)     If you are not currently giving, please consider donating online through Tithe.ly or using Interac e-transfer.
2)     If you are an occasional giver, please consider becoming a Pre-Authorized giver through your bank or a recurring giver on Tithe.ly.
3)     If you are an envelope giver, please make sure to either drop your envelope off in the collection box at Church or in the mail to the St. Leonard office (5332 Long Island Road, Manotick, ON, K4M 1E8).

Faith Formation

New Series on Evangelization from FORMED

We are all on a mission. Spreading the Gospel and inviting others into a relationship with Christ is not just the priest's job; it is the responsibility of all baptized Catholics. What does that look like in our modern world? How do we do it effectively? Let renowned speaker, writer, and expert Chris Stefanick (The Search Program) teach you his tried and true methods of spreading the Gospel, that is, evangelization. In his three hour course, Chris breaks down the why, the how, and the what of effective ministry to help Catholics of all backgrounds fulfill the Church's mission. Watch Here.

Lent with Brother Francis (4-part series)

Learn and pray with Brother Francis this Lent. This 4-part series will help children learn more about what Lent is all about and why it is so important. Click Here.