Sirach 27:30 - 28:7

Romans 14: 7 - 9

Matthew 18: 21 - 35

Today’s readings call us to look inward to the state of our hearts, our thoughts and emotions.

Our first reading, from Sirach, addresses the complicated emotion of anger.  “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?"  We have all been wounded by others at some point, some perhaps quite deeply.  Our emotions are gifts from God.  But we must steward them well, rather than allowing them to overcome us.

How do we do this?  Sirach tells us.  “Remember your last days, set enmity aside... Remember the Most High’s covenant and overlook faults.”  We embrace the stewardship mindset — not brooding over hurts, but recalling all the gifts our good God has given us, all the love He continually pours out upon us, and we put our focus and trust in Him.

In our Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus reminds us of the true position we have before Him in light of all that He has done for us, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a “king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.”  In the parable, a debtor is brought before the king, owing such an overwhelming debt that it could not possibly be repaid.  Yet, the king is filled with compassion for the servant, forgives the debt and lets him go free.

Doesn’t that sound like each of us in relation to the King of Kings?  The Father has given us life, and then sent His only Son to die for us to free us from our sin “debts” and make eternal life with Him possible for us.  It is impossible for us to repay this debt.  All we can do is thank God by giving Him our whole selves — inside and out.

What joy and freedom we find in the stewardship way of life!

Tue, Sep 19 @ 9:00 am          Frits Ipema (RIP)

Tue, Sep 19 @ 11:00 am        Joel Blomme (INT) - Senior Care Centre

Tue, Sep 19 @ 6:30 pm          Special Intention for Carmen Toole & Greg Yont
Wed, Sep 20 @ 9:00 am         Robert McMurray (RIP)

Wed, Sep 20 @ 10:30 am       Lorne  Monkman (RIP) - Senior Care Centre

Wed, Sep 20 @ 6:30 pm         Erin Castro (INT)

Thu, Sep 21 @ 9:00 am          Gerard Kathryn & Jessica (INT)

Thu, Sep 21 @ 6:30 pm          Michelle Diment (INT)

Fri, Sep 22 @ 9:00 am            Anyika Ekene Jr. (INT)

Fri, Sep 22 @ 6:30 pm            Riku Wada (INT)
Sat, Sep 23 @ 9:00 am           Thomas Blomme (RIP)

Sat, Sep 23 @ 5:00 pm           Dianne Harrison-Cockrane  (RIP)
Sun, Sep 24 @ 9:00 am          Clifford Pletell (RIP)

Sun, Sep 24 @ 11:00 am        St. Albert the Great Community (INT)

Sun, Sep 24 @ 5:00 pm          James Vincent (RIP)

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.

Registration for the sacraments (First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation) is now open at St. Albert the Great Church for 2023-2024!

Please click the following link to register:
https://stalbertthegreat.ca/sacrament-registration-form.../

Please register by the end of September.

For an outline of dates for the sacraments, please visit the following link:  https://stalbertthegreat.ca/sacrament-dates-2023-2024/

Contact Dan D'Agostino via email with any questions at sacraments@stalbertthegreat.ca

Our parish refugee family has been given the date and time of their immigration interview.   We have organized a special holy hour of adoration and prayer during the time of the interview to intercede for the family.  This holy hour is open to everyone in the parish. , 

The Purpose is for all Ministries of the Parish to promote and advise their activities and their needs.                                                                                                             The Concept is to encourage all parishioners to get involved in a ministry/activity of choice to enhance our Church Community.

 

Hope to see you all there.

Weekly Sunday Social will resume on Sunday September 10, 2023 after 9 AM and 11 AM Masses.  Come enjoy coffee, goodies and fellowship.  Please consider volunteering to help bake and serve.  We are very short volunteers for the 11:00 AM Masses.

Invitation to join the Boomers Seniors, a social club which fosters friendships, both old and new in fun filled gatherings.  We meet monthly from September to June to share our gifts and talents, social and learning activities and enjoy each others company.

Learn more

Please mark your calendar for the 2^nd and 4^th Fridays of the month for our Canasta evenings.  New players welcome.  We will help you.  Start time 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

Schedule for the season is as follows:

Sept.     15/23                   Sept       29/23

Oct.       13/23                   Oct.        27/23

Nov.       10/23                   Nov.       24/23

Dec.       8/23                    Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Jan.       12/24                   Jan.        26/24

Feb.       9/24                     Feb.       23/24

Mar        8/24                     Mar.       22/24

Apr        12/24                    Apr.        26/24

May       10/24                   May        24/24

Jun.       14/24                   Jun         28/24

Have a great summer.

Mag 403-203-0220        Rachel 403-236-9661

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.

The parish is looking for mothers willing to participate and help to develop mother’s group this year 🤱🏽🤰🏽.

If anyone is interested please send your name and email and we will contact you for a registration and information session on Thursday September 14th at 9:45 am in the basement.

Please send this message to your friends.

Save the date, our kick-off CONNECT disciples night will be on Thursday, Sept 27th @7pm (following Mass).  If you're looking for a way to grow in your relationship with God, in a welcoming community of faith, join us the 4th Thursday of every month.  The evening includes a talk, small group discussion, food and fellowship.  Everyone welcome, whether you're just beginning your faith journey or you simply want to go deeper!  Questions?  Email the team at comeasyouare.yyc@gmail.com.

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.

The Knights of Columbus of High River will be selling Apples after the Saturday 5:00 PM and Sunday 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM Masses on the weekend of Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1 st.  Your support is greatly appreciated!  (Cash or Cheque accepted)

Pope Francis always encourages us to place ourselves at the side of those who are marginalized and cast out, those who never make the headlines.
 
In the video containing the prayer intention for September, he asks us a question that should not leave us indifferent.  “How is it that we allow the ‘throwaway culture’ – in which millions of men and women are worth nothing compared to economic goods – to dominate our lives, our cities, our way of life?  And continuing on, he pleads with us: “Let’s stop making invisible those who are on the margins of society, whether it’s due to poverty, addictions, mental illness or disability.”
 
 Let us listen carefully to his message and do what we can to substitute the “throwaway culture” with a “culture of welcoming.”  

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.

Dying to Meet You presents a daylong cultural event with opportunities to explore the Church as an expert in humanity through morning mass, a Ministry Hall of Exhibits in the Cathedral Hall, an afternoon of panels with 10+ speakers at the Pastoral Centre, and an Evening Program led by Bishop William McGrattan.
 
 Meet & get inspired by those doing the best work promoting a culture of life concerning suffering, death, grief, caregiving & accompaniment.  Amazing lineup of speakers, including Bishop McGrattan, Dr. T. Bouchard, Fr. Derek Remus, Deacon Michael Soentgerath, Amanda Achtman, and many more!  Visit at dyingtomeetyoucalgary.com

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. 

We are pleased to announce that 12 men will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in our diocese this year! Bishop William T. McGrattan will preside at the Mass of Ordination on Saturday, November 18, at 11 am at St. Mary's Cathedral. All are welcome!
 
 The candidates to be ordained: 

You can learn more about the candidates in Faithfully, "Sacred Service." Please keep these men and their families in your prayers.

In echoing Sirach’s words from the first reading, Jesus makes his point very bluntly in this parable: the indispensable condition for being forgiven is to forgive others.  This is a perennial warning to the church, then and now, that the ultimate value does not lie in displaying an inflexible law-driven rigidity, but in a generous spirit of love and joy which calls forth an equally generous response in others. 

Have you ever felt bound by another’s unforgiveness toward you?

 (Source: Diocese of Saskatoon)

Kid's challenge this week: Can you think of a time when you have been forgiven?  Can you think of a time when someone has said sorry and said that they would not do it again, and you found it hard to forgive?  Why was it hard, and how did you feel? This week let’s try our best to make a change in the way we treat other people, to say sorry when we have done something wrong, and to forgive and help others make a change in the way they behave. (CAFOD) 

Pope Francis renews his call for the international community to help the people of Libya, who have been devastated by violent rains that have caused flooding, resulting in more than 5,000 deaths and widespread destruction.  Read more
 

Unidentified assailants set fire to a parish rectory in Nigeria's Kafanchan Diocese, killing a seminarian in the attack at St. Raphael's parish rectory in Fadan Kamantan . Dozens of priests have been abducted in Nigeria in recent years, with many killed and several others still missing.  Read more
  

Come and listen to James Desautels (Concert Master Violin) with Harpist Deborah Nyack at St. Mary's Church in Banff on Sunday, Sep. 17 at 2 pm.  Free admission.  Donations are welcome.  More
  

Back for a second series,  Fr. Tim Boyle will speak on The Art of Accompaniment, with theme: "The big four issues the Church will discuss in Rome.. and what does it mean to ‘Enlarge the Tent.'"  When: Mon, Sep. 18 at 10:30 am - Livestream or in-person at St. Martha's, Letbridge.  More
  

Would you like a spiritual companion on your faith journey but not quite sure how to go about it?  Come and learn more about spiritual direction and its benefit to your faith file.  When: Thu, Sep. 19 at 7 pm - FCJ Retreat Centre.  More
  

The Eucharistic Miracles of the World is a collection of miracles recognized by the Church which occurred through the centuries in various countries.  When: Sep 28 - Oct 1 at Sacred Heart Church, Calgary.  More
  

In the month of Holy Rosary, St. Bonaventure invites you to their parish candlelit Living Rosary for our Blessed Mother.  When: Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 pm - St. Bonaventure, Calgary.   More
  

Save the date for the annual benefit concert for the care of retired priests in the Diocese of Calgary, and ANCOP.   When: Sat, Oct. 14 at 7:30 pm - St. Thomas More, Calgary.  More

 

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