Isaiah 56: 1, 6 - 7

Romans 11: 13 - 15, 29 - 32

Matthew 15: 21 - 28

Our Gospel today from Matthew reminds us to trust in Him even when it seems He is not answering our prayers.

God wants to lead us to the joy of heaven to spend eternity with Him. For that, we must be strong in faith and live our lives as an act of love and gratitude to Him.  In other words, we must allow Him to transform us into saints.  This is what the stewardship way of life is meant to do. Sometimes, that will feel painful to us.  Often, it will be challenging.

Jesus certainly challenged the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel passage from Matthew.  She called out to Him on behalf of her daughter, who was being tormented by a demon.  What did Jesus do in reply to this mother’s desperate plea?  Nothing.  He “did not say a word in answer to her.”  Undeterred, the woman continues to call out to Him, yet He still does not give her what she asks for.  Instead, He continues to challenge her faith.

And she rises to the challenge to such an impressive degree that Jesus exclaims, “O woman [a term of deep respect in that day], great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”  Imagine hearing those words proclaimed over us by God.  Truly there could be no higher honor than hearing our Lord say that to us.

So we must accept the difficulties that come with the stewardship way of life.  Some days will be a true challenge to our trust in God.  But those are the days when God is making saints of us.  Let’s embrace the hard days during these difficult times.  The deep joy that eventually comes, the eternal reward He promises, will be so worth it.

But when we embrace the stewardship way of life, letting go of a tight hold over our money, time, and talents, our lives become a grand adventure, rooted firmly and gratefully in the God Who always cares for us.

Tue, Aug 22 @ 9:00 am          Ed Obligacion (RIP)

Tue, Aug 22 @ 10:00 pm        Gerry Molloy (RIP) - Senior Care Centre

Tue, Aug 22 @ 6:30 pm          Sr. Alice Trottier (RIP)
Wed, Aug 23 @ 9:00 am         Jose Digney (RIP)

Wed, Aug 23 @ 6:30 pm         Tim Parker (RIP)

Thu, Aug 24 @ 9:00 am          Morley Seis (RIP)

Thu, Aug 24 @ 6:30 pm          Anyika Ekene Jr. (INT)

Fri, Aug 25 @ 9:00 am            Yolanda Corredor (RIP)

Fri, Aug 25 @ 6:30 pm            Thanksgiving to St Anthony (INT)
Sat, Aug 26 @ 9:00 am           Teresa & Cal Bohme (RIP)

Sat, Aug 26 @ 5:00 pm           Adolf Smerdely (RIP)
Sun, Aug 27 @ 9:00 am          Justin Rhodes (RIP)

Sun, Aug 27 @ 11:00 am        St. Albert the Great Community (INT)

Sun, Aug 27 @ 5:00 pm          Alisa, Ted McLin & Family (INT)

ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFERS – when making donations by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) please put your full name in the memo line, and your address if it is the first time you are sending an EFT donation.  We are receiving donations that only come in from the bank with a first name, and we do not know who it belongs to, or what it is for; donation, sacrament fee payment, etc.  Also, you may have the same first and last name as another parishioner, and the address helps us correctly record the donation.  Your full name and address ensures that we are recording the donation to the correct person for tax receipts at the end of the year.

DONATION ENVELOPES – we are encouraging parishioners to make donations electronically, however we can provide you with a box of donation envelopes and a sheet of labels to put on them, as the envelopes are not numbered.  Please come to the parish office Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and we can provide you with the box of envelopes and labels. If you do not want the labels, when using envelopes, please PRINT your full name and address on the envelope.  If you only put your first name “John”, or your last name “Doe Family”, we do not know who to record the donation to and it gets recorded as loose.

St. Albert the Great Parish is celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of the Parish and the 20^th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Church.  

You can find 25th Anniversary merchandise for purchase at this link .

The items are rounded either to the nearest $1, or $5 increment to fundraise for the parish (with the exception on the coffee mugs), with a donation to the parish adder at the checkout page.  The first order will be placed on August 16.  After August 16^th, additional orders will be taken on the next run until October 20^th with that next run delivered by November 10^th so people can have a chance to have it for the Feast Day celebration on November 15^th.

St. Albert the Great Parish

CGS is a Montessori based Catholic faith formation program where children can joyfully fall deeply in love with God through contemplation of Scripture and Liturgy.   St. Albert the Great is happy to announce that we are going to be running 5 week programs starting in September until May on Saturday mornings depending on the interest and support of the community.  The program is open to children from the ages of 3 to 6 years old.

To get this program going, we do need a few things.  Some help we need would be:

If you are interested to volunteer or to register, please email: larainne.friesen@gmail.com or schndersa@hotmail.com.  Registration will start in the summer as space is limited to only 12 students maximum.  Thank you for your support and we look forward to growing in faith with you and your child.

A small group of the faithful from St. Albert the Great Parish have taken on the mission to put together some recollections and archives going back to the very beginnings of our parish.  Our history got away from us and we think that while we’re still able, we need to gather up our memories.  We are reaching out to anyone who has been a part of our journey for the past 25 years to help document our past.

We’re not exactly sure of what this is all going to look like, but all stories and memories are important.  Can you help us?

Your participation wouldn’t involve a huge time commitment.  If you do like meetings and such, we’ve decided to gather once a month to add past events to a giant timeline.  But, another way that you might participate is to write down your recollections…events that stick out in your memory or that were really important to your family.  You might want to look through your boxes of photos and contribute those or a scan of those.  There are many ways that your participation might be celebrated.  Whether you walked in the front doors of our church when they first opened 20 years ago, or for the first time a few months ago, you are an important part of our history and we thank you for anything you might do.  If you have something to share, please contact us at  archives@stalbertthegreat.ca  .

To have a name added to the Prayer Board, please email secretary@stalbertthegreat.ca  and provide the name of the person you would like to add.

Join St. Gabriel's Parish (Chestermere) for a refreshing hike at Boom Trail on Saturday, August 26.  Meeting point: Parking lot of Boom Trail at 9:30 am.  The destination point is the lake.  Remember to bring your lunch - the boulders all around the side of the lake make it a great spot to enjoy lunch and the view. No group camping this year.  Registrations for the hike are coming up soon at saintgabrielparish.ca.  Donations are welcome in support of St. Gabriel's Church building fund. More info

In September 2023, the CCCB Office for Evangelization and Catechesis will host a webinar series, titled "The Way of Beauty" inviting leaders of catechesis and evangelization to reflect on the way of beauty and its powerful witness in the life of the Church.

The three sessions of "The Way of Beauty" webinar series will be:

All webinar sessions will be recorded and packaged with a reflection guide for later release. If you wish to attend any of the webinar session or to be notified when session recordings are made available, please register now.

You are invited to visit the Eucharistic Miracles of the World Exhibition at Sacred Heart Parish, from Thu, Sep 28 to Sun, Oct 1, 2023.  

The Eucharistic Miracles of the World is a collection of Miracles that are recognized by the Church which occurred through the centuries in various countries. Through these photo panels you can “virtually visit” the places where the miracles happened. There are 158 Vatican approved Eucharistic Miracles which would be displayed on panels. They will be displayed in the Upper Room and the Narthex. 

Today we move ahead in our reading of Matthew’s Gospel.  Last week we read about Jesus walking on the water and the disciples’ confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God.  If we were reading Matthew’s entire Gospel, we would have read about Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees about Jewish purity laws.  Jesus argues that it is not what goes into us that makes us unclean; he is referring to the strict Jewish dietary rules.  Instead our words and our actions—what comes out of us—make us unclean because they emerge from a heart that is unclean.

Knowing about Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees helps us to understand today’s Gospel.  In fact the story heightens the surprise and shock we feel as we hear Jesus’ exchange with the Canaanite woman.  The woman, who is not Jewish, approaches Jesus, requesting that he heal her demon-possessed daughter.  At first Jesus ignores her; he says nothing.  The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus agrees, remarking that he was sent to minister to the Jews alone.

The woman persists, paying homage to Jesus, and yet Jesus denies her request again.  He even insults her, using a Jewish word of derision for Gentiles, “dog.”  But the woman cleverly turns Jesus’ insult into an affirmation of faith.  Only then does Jesus grant her request and heal her daughter.

Jesus’ unresponsiveness to this woman may strike us as uncharacteristic or shocking.  Yet in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is directed primarily to the people of Israel.  At only a very few points, such as the one found in today’s Gospel, do we find Jesus anticipating the later Christian ministry to the rest of the world.

Behind Matthew’s text we can hear this early Christian community’s struggle to understand how God’s selection of Israel is consistent with two events: Israel’s rejection of Jesus and the Gentiles’ acceptance of Jesus.  Just as Jesus was surprised by the faith expressed by the Canaanite woman, so too the first Christians were surprised that the Gentiles would receive the salvation God offered through Christ.  In today’s second reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, we hear the apostle Paul considering this same concern.

The faith that the Canaanite woman expresses is an affirmation of and confidence in God’s abundant mercy.  Yes, salvation comes through Israel, but it overflows for the benefit of all.

 

Groundbreaking ceremony for the Sacred Heart Parish church took place today (Tue, Aug 1).  The church will be built on the site of the old Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) building in downtown Strathmore.  Read more
 

Join St. Gabriel's Parish (Chestermere) for a refreshing hike at Boom Trail on Saturday, August 26.  Meeting point: Parking lot of Boom Trail at 9:30 am. The destination point is the lake.  No group camping this year.  Registrations for the hike are coming up soon at saintgabrielparish.ca.  Donations are welcome in support of St. Gabriel's Church building fund.  To register, contact the Parish Office at 403-455-0196.

  

Elizabeth House is a life skills program and family-oriented home which welcomes at-risk pregnant and parenting women who need a safe place to live.  Help Elizabeth House as volunteers in the following positions: Child care team; Cleaning Crew; and Facility Maintenance (carpentry, handyfolks, renovation). More information at elizabethhousecalgary.ca  | Help Elizabeth House build a Second Kitchen

"Our Lord is hidden there, waiting for us to come and visit Him, and make our requests to Him.  See how good He is!  He accommodates Himself to our weakness.  He is present in the Sacrament of His love, sighing and interceding unceasingly with His Father for sinners." ~ St. John Vianney

You are invited to celebrate the Holy Mass and healing adoration service with Fr. Jilito George CMI. When: Aug 15, 16, 17, 22 & 23 from 6 pm to 9 pm, in participating parishes in the Diocese: Holy Spirit, Calgary (Aug 15), St. Cecilia, Calgary (Aug 16), St. Albert the Great, Calgary (Aug 17), Canadian Martyrs, Calgary (Aug 22), and St. Thomas More, Calgary (Aug 23).

Bishop McGrattan will celebrate Masses for the souls of the deceased buried at our Catholic cemeteries in Calgary and area. All are welcome! 

Four-day, half-day Vacation Bible School for ages 7-11 with the theme "Great Big Beautiful World: Creation Care Kids - Living Laudato Si'."  Through five Bible stories, children will be led on an awesome adventure through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  Each day starts with relationship-building, joint worship, music, prayer, and a dramatic presentation of the Bible story.  This program is enthusiastically Catholic and grounded in the Catholic teachings on creation and the Holy Father's encyclical.  When: Aug 22-25, 2023 at FCJ Centre.  Register here

Retrouvaille is a retreat designed to infuse hope and facilitate healing for married couples in need.  When: Sep 8 - 10, Calgary Area retreat | Contact 403-901-9582 or visit helpourmarriage.org
  

You are invited to the 14th annual "Breakfast with the Bishop" with Bishop McGrattan on Saturday, Sep 9 at 8:30 am at Mary, Mother of the Redeer Parish, Calgary. Tickets can be obtained at franciscanandfriends.ca

Saturday, Sep 16 from 9 am to 3 pm at Holy Spirit Church, Calgary.  You are invited to the annual CWL Used Book Sale at Holy Spirit, Calgary.  Books drop-off begins on Aug 13 at Holy Spirit Church (no textbooks, encyclopedias, or magazines please).  More info

You are invited to the annual fundraiser event at the FCJ Centre.  FCJ Autumn Tea Party will be a delightful afternoon of tea, music, and company. Make great connections, and enjoy the most amazing desserts and delectables!  When: Sunday, Sep 17, from 2 to 4:30 pm.  Reserve your at fjccentre.ca  or email Rita at rita.khanchat@fcicentre.ca 

You are invited to the CWL Annual Lecture in Catholic Studies with speaker Leah Perrault, and theme: Hearts of Flesh: Spiritual Resilience for Hope in the Dark.  More info here

 

Please visit  catholicyyc.ca/careers  for more information and application details. 

If you haven't already, please subscribe to the  Diocesan publication Faithfully  - to keep you updated with what's happening in our Diocese.  Get a snapshot of faith at work in the lives of everyday people in our Diocese and find opportunities to spread the Good News of Christ beyond the walls of our churches.  Subscribe at catholicyyc.ca/faithfully