Sexsmith Catholic Church
9928 97 St T0H 3C0 Sexsmith, AB, Canada

Dear parishioners please bring donations this Sunday for the Christmas Hamper so we have this ready for pickup Monday morning. Canned meats and canned fruits mostly needed. Thank you for generosity.

Christmas Mass Schedule Kindly call text or email Fr. Jeyapaul about which Mass you would attend as only 31 persons could attend a Mass keeping social distance. 780-805-0423; [email protected] Sexsmith Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve 8:00 pm + 11:00 pm + Christmas Day 11:00 am... Bezanson Christmas Mass on Dec 24th at 5:00 pm

Word of the Living Father The Eucharist is given to us as a challenge and a promise. That’s how Jesus presents it in today’s Gospel. He doesn’t make it easy for those who hear Him. They are repulsed and offended at His words. Even when they begin to quarrel, He insists on describing the eating and drinking of His flesh and blood in starkly literal terms. Four times in today’s reading, Jesus uses a Greek wordtrogeinthat refers to a crude kind of eating, almost a gnawing or... chewing (see John 6:54, 56, 57, 58). He is testing their faith in His Word, as today’s First Reading describes God testing Israel in the desert. The heavenly manna was not given to satisfy the Israelites’ hunger, as Moses explains. It was given to show them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God In today’s Psalm, too, we see a connection between God’s Word and the bread of life. We sing of God filling us with finest wheat and proclaiming his Word to the world. In Jesus, the living Father has given us His Word come down from heaven, made flesh for the life of the world. Yet as the Israelites grumbled in the desert, many in today’s Gospel cannot accept that Word. Even many of Jesus’ own followers abandon Him after this discourse (see John 6:66). But His words are Spirit and life, the words of eternal life (see John 6:63, 67). In the Eucharist we are made one flesh with Christ. We have His life in us and have our life because of Him. This is what Paul means in today’s Epistle when He calls the Eucharist a participation in Christ’s body and blood. We become in this sacrament partakers of the divine nature (see 1 Peter 2:4). This is the mystery of the faith that Jesus asks us to believe. And He gives us His promise: that sharing in His flesh and blood that was raised from the dead, we too will be raised up on the last day. Yours in Christ Scott Hahn, Phd More information at www.stpaulcenter.com

Nice Side Effects!

Welcome Back Everyone to Church!!! We have 3 Weekend Masses Saturday at 7:00 pm Sunday at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm Please call Father Jeyapaul to indicate which... Mass you would like to attend. Cell: 780-805-0423 or Office: 780-568-3779 Weekly Masses as per usual schedule Safety Measures as you come for Mass Use the hand sanitizer when you enter the church. Keep a physical distance from other people Sit at the end of alternate pews. Use masks at least when you receive communion. NO SINGING during Mass; instrumentation only.

How God Loves We often begin Mass with the prayer from today’s Epistle: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. We praise the God who has revealed Himself as a Trinity, a communion of persons. Communion with the Trinity is the goal of our worshipand the purpose of the salvation history that begins in the Bible and continues in the Eucharist and sacraments of the Church. We see the beginnings of God...’s self-revelation in today’s First Reading, as He passes before Moses and cries out His holy name. Israel had sinned in worshipping the golden calf (see Exodus 32). But God does not condemn them to perish. Instead, He proclaims His mercy and faithfulness to His covenant. God loved Israel as His firstborn son among the nations (see Exodus 4:22). Through Israelheirs of His covenant with AbrahamGod planned to reveal Himself as the Father of all nations (see Genesis 22:18). The memory of God’s covenant testing of Abrahamand Abraham’s faithful obediencelies behind today’s Gospel. In commanding Abraham to offer his only beloved son (see Genesis 22:2, 12, 16), God was preparing us for the fullest possible revelation of His love for the world. As Abraham was willing to offer Isaac, God did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all (see Romans 8:32).. In this, He revealed what was only disclosed partially to Mosesthat His kindness continues for a thousand generations, that He forgives our sin, and that He takes us back as His very own people (see Deuteronomy 4:20; 9:29). Jesus humbled himself to die in obedience to God’s will. And for this, the Spirit of God raised Him from the dead (see Romans 8:11), and gave Him a name above every name (see Philippians 2:810). This is the name we glorify in today’s Responsorialthe name of our Lord, the God who is Love (see 1 John 4;8, 16). Yours in Christ, Scott Hahn, Phd More information at www.stpaulcenter.com

anyone still needing a palm to celebrate Jesus Christ the King can contact me for free delivery or pick up at the Church or my house. Yes, those bins outside are for picks ups and delivery and you don't even need to see me