St. Agnes Catholic Church, Waterloo

Lent

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:47:39 +0000

Bishop Crosby shares a beautiful reflection on Lent in his annual Lenten letter for 2012. He speaks of Lent as a time of “…living in right order with God, self and others. SUCH ORDER IS HOLY AND NOURISHES OUR LIFE IN HIM.”

Click on this link to read Bishop Crosby’s full letter http://www.hamiltondiocese.com/site/

Visit our “Lent” page for more information and helpful resources.

Congratulations to His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins!

Thomas Cardinal Collins was elevated to the College of Cardinals on February 18, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI on February 18th, 2012. Click on the following links to view the event at the Vatican and to read more:

Video live footage from the ceremony at the Vatican: http://www.therecord.com/videozone/674259

Visit the Archdiocese of Toronto website for more information.

Thank you!

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:35 +0000

Thank you to everyone for joining us for the annual St. Agnes Pasta Dinner – a beautiful gathering of friends, family and parish community over a delicious meal. Thank you to Ennio Renon of Ennio’s Pasta House, and his family for once again making this event available to us. An enormous thanks to the extensive group of parishioners who contributed their help in planning and executing another very successful event!

Singers Needed!

An invitation to all who would like to be part of the Music Ministry for Ash Wednesday coming up on Feb. 22nd. Practice: Monday Feb. 20th 7:00 pm.

Questions? Contact Deb MacIntosh in the parish office at 519.885.4480

Volunteers Needed!

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:53:34 +0000

Here at St. Agnes we are looking for motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join our parish in a variety of roles such as:

Bingo Coordinator
Coffee Sunday coordinators
Event Coordinators
Contributors at large
How ever you would like to help!

If you are interested, have an hour or two a week to spare, and want to join a dedicated, good natured bunch email Alfie Scozzaro ascozzaro@hotmail.com or call our parish office.

Feast of Saint Agnes January 21

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:02:44 +0000

Prayer to Saint Agnes

Saint Agnes, although you were only a child, you believed that Jesus was always with you; help us to remember that he is also with us, and to remain true to his presence.

Saint Agnes, you refused to give up your faith; help us to be proud of our faith, to love it, to be strong in it, and to give witness to it daily.

Saint Agnes, patron saint of children, watch over the children of the world; keep them safe from harm; be with them in their hour of need; and always pray for them.

Saint Agnes, pray for us.

“We Three Kings”

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:05:56 +0000

According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Magi found Jesus by ‘following’ a star,^[15] which thus traditionally became known as the Star of Bethlehem.

On finding him, they gave him three symbolic gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. There are different theories of the meaning and symbolism of the gifts have been brought forward:

All three gifts are ordinary offerings and gifts given to a king. Myrrh being commonly used as an anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable.
The three gifts had a spiritual meaning : gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.

These interpretations are alluded to in the verses of the popular carol “We Three Kings” in which the magi describe their gifts. Bibical Magi – Wikipedia

Fourth Sunday of Advent – The End of Waiting.

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:21:08 +0000

Dear Friends,

Please join us for Holy Mass this Christmas weekend:

Christmas Eve – Saturday, December 24th 2011

6:00 pm – Christmas Eve Holy Mass, Christmas Pageant, Folk Choir & Children’s Choir
10:30pm – Christmas Carols
11:00pm – Christmas Eve Holy Mass – Sanctuary Choir

Christmas Day – Sunday December 25th 2011

10:00am – Holy Mass

Feast of St. Stephen – Monday, December 26th 2011

9:00am – Holy Mass

First Sunday of Advent

St. Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo, ON — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 01:19:54 +0000

O Lord, you are our Father; We are the clay, and you are our potter. Isaiah 64,8

Dear Parishioners,

A few days ago visiting the mall, listening to the Christmas |carols in the background ,and seeing all the decorations – I thought that Christmas had just arrived.. I asked myself, ‘where is the time of waiting and preparation for Christmas? Where is the time of Advent’?

We all love Christmas, even the people who are not Christians appreciate this special time of exchanging gifts, the peace and joy, the wonderful music and the festivities.

In the face of God we all are special and in a very privileged situation because we are receiving a extra time of preparation for Christmas. For four weeks we will follow the teaching of the prophets, and especially John the Baptist, who is crying in the wilderness: ‘Convert yourselves and make room for the Messiah in your hearts.’ Therefore, we want to open our ears more and more for the challenging words of the prophets and especially today for the words of the prophet Isaiah.

The prophet Isaiah talked about the expectation of the people of Israel who were in exile in Babylon. It was a time of vigilance and expectation and a permanent question:

‘Why do we have to keep vigil’? ‘God, why don’t you act and save us’? ‘When will you allow us to return to Jerusalem’? ‘How long O Lord do we have to be distressed’? ‘Why O God do you hide yourself’? ‘Why do you hide your face from us’?

I think, it was a more dramatic question than the question of Americans on Sep. 11th:

Where were you God when we needed you?

We must not be afraid – God is always with us!

He is our Father, our Creator.

Do you remember the words of Isaiah?

‘Oh Lord, you are our Father

We are the clay, and you are our potter:

We are all the work of your hand.’

Dear Sisters and Brothers – God is a cosmic force!

God is always in action. God is a Creator and He is creating at all times. He is always working, even now while you are listening to my words and He is shaping you and I – like clay. We must be simple and humble and ready to be shaped by the Creator!

I know, dear Parishioners, that the shaping process is sometimes painful and brutal because we are – sometimes – proud of our individuality and frequently we don’t like to be changed.

We think that we are the top model and, consequently, we don’t want to be clay – because clay is passive.

On the other hand, the shaping process should be very exciting and creative if we open ourselves to the action of God who is in us. God is working in us and we could say that we are clay in God’s hands. He is the Master and He is modelling us.

What kind of clay are you – soft and ready to be moulded or brittle and closed to God’s gifts?

Advent – a time of waiting and being alert and waiting for Someone Special is upon us…

Advent is leading you to Bethlehem where the Messiah will be born. Please find the Baby Jesus in the crib at Christmas.

We now have a time of vigil and preparation.

God bless all of you!

Fr. Piotr Machnacki, pastor.