St. Dominic Parish, Oakville
2415 Rebecca Street L6L 2B1 Oakville, ON, Canada

Feast of Christ, the King of the Universe Reflection November 22, 2020 In the early 1920’s almost all known kingdoms of this world were engrossed in battle amongst each other for supremacy. Atheistic communism and secularism were gaining prominence which resulted in the denial of the Roman Catholic Church’s authority. People started to discard the laws of Christ and His Church as being less important. To combat these problems and to teach the rulers what true kingship is,... and the subjects how to live a good life, Pope Pius XI, on 11 December 1925, instituted the feast of Christ the King. The feast is also the Church’s affirmation of what scripture the Old and the New Testaments have to say. The promise made in the Old Testament to create a lasting kingdom is fulfilled in Christ. It is the desire of the church with Saint Paul and all the apostles that every knee shall bend to honour our saviour and King. The Kingdom of Jesus is the kingdom of love. He has become the King through His self-sacrifice. Therefore His subjects are dear to Him and He always takes care of them. Jesus becomes the model for all rulers, ministers, leaders and all who aspire for power in governments, organizations, or churches. Kingship or leadership, therefore, is a call for service and sacrifice. Rev. Ranjan D’Sa OCD

His Grace, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, has announced that Reverend Father Wayne Lawrence Lobsinger has been appointed Auxiliary Bishop... of the Diocese of Hamilton by His Holiness, Pope Francis. The episcopal ordination is expected to take place at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King, in early February 2021. Congratulations, Bishop-elect Lobsinger! Read more: http://ow.ly/VQa450CqeIP

Thank you to everyone who came out!!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Homily November 15, 2020 Taken by itself, today’s gospel offers a terrifying image of what it means to be a Christian. It is therefore a popular parable among those whose entire theology is one of fear and vengeance those who would rather picture the hands of Jesus closed in a fist rather than open on the cross. From those that have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. Tough words!...Continue reading

Go follow us on Instagram!! @saintdominicym Stay connected with us for news and upcoming events! @saintdominicym #catholicyouthministry #saintsinthemaking #catholic #youthministry

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Reflection November 8, 2020 This Sunday we contemplate the theme of vigilance. Faith and human character cannot simply be passed on from one person to another. People can have a positive influence on others by living their life of faith heroically. Faith must be always sought like ‘wisdom’ in the first reading, and carefully preserved like the ‘oil in the lamps’ of the five wise virgins in the Gospel. As good Christians, we must learn how to p...repare ourselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus. On Monday, we celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Whenever we celebrate the dedication of this church, we consider it as a feast of the Lord. Every church gives us a sacred place to worship God in Christ. St. John Lateran Basilica is the first church that was built for Christian worship. It is named as the mother of all churches. Initially the place of Basilica with a beautiful palace belonged to a famous Laterani family. Later, when the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian, he donated the site to the Christians for their worship. Since then, it has become the official church of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. The Basilica has been rebuilt at least four times. The edifice was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century; an earthquake ruined it in the 9th, and it was destroyed by fires in the 14th and 17th centuries. Regarding churches, William Barkley renders a unique observation done by the famous British painter Edward Seago who took with him two young gypsy boys to visit a Cathedral in England. The boys, who were usually boisterous, became absolutely silent the moment they entered the huge Cathedral. Not only were they quiet while they were in the Cathedral, they also kept up their solemn feeling with peaceful silence until the evening. Commenting on the incident, William Barkley wrote: Instinctive reverence was in their uninstructed hearts. Every place on this earth is worthy of God’s worship. But there are some places where we really feel the presence of God, where we can lift up our hearts and spirits to God with less distractions and struggles. When God appeared to Moses through the burning bush in the wilderness, He instructed Moses to take off the sandals from his feet and said; The place where you stand is a holy ground (Ex. 3:5). Our Churches, in like manner, are the holy places of God’s presence. They are places of God meeting His people through the holy sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Let the celebration of the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome help us to realize the sacredness of our own local churches where we regularly come in the presence our One Holy God. -Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD

Remember to turn your clocks back 1 hour tonight! #daylightsavingsends

Solemnity of All Saints Reflection November 01, 2020 Recently, I had an opportunity to sit with a person at the hospital who was staring at his imminent death. He had gone to the hospital to be checked for the pain in his stomach. When I entered his room, he was resting on the hospital bed preparing for his death for he was told that he will not last long his cancer has spread all over his stomach. This man, in his late fifties, asked me to sit beside him so that he cou...ld pour out his emotions as he browsed through memories of the long corridors of his past life. He would question time and time again, would he be able to face God? Will he be shown mercy? In one word, his regret was that he failed to become a saint. Today we celebrate the feast of all saints. All these saints keep before us many and different ways of becoming saints in life. Many of them were quite ordinary people with simple lives. Today we especially remember those saints who in total anonymity lived extraordinary holy lives. Some of them may have come to our parish and sat on the same pews where we are sitting today. Some of them may be our own parents or grandparents; some may have lived in our own neighbourhood. By honouring them today, we are encouraged to follow their paths. Today’s first reading is from the book of Revelation which John wrote to the suffering church in Asia Minor. They were persecuted, probably at the hands of Emperor Domitian. John had a vision and he saw the end of all persecution because God has willed to bring justice in the world. Heaven has already proclaimed the victory song and all those who were faithful to him will be vindicated. The martyrs who died for their faith were exalted These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7: 14). In the early church mainly to encourage others to persist through persecutions only those who died a martyr’s death for the sake of faith were proclaimed saints. The Gospel of today gives us the simplest ways to become saints. Beatitude is the heart of Jesus teaching. Beatitudes teach us how to become like Jesus himself. Jesus, in his own person, lived all the beatitudes and now wants us to follow His path. He invites us to become spiritually poor, mourn for the lost, become meek and humble, become a messenger of peace, etc. Jesus knows well and with Him we too know that all these things will lead us to the Cross, the only means of our sainthood and salvation. Jesus promises that if we try to become saints (perfect like His father who is perfect Mt 5:48), we will be called the children of God, we will inherit God’s Kingdom, God will console us, God will satisfy our needs and we will see God. Becoming saints, therefore, is the primary duty of every Christian. Ranjan D’Sa OCD