Dear Parishioners
With deep joy and gratitude, we extend to you our prayerful best wishes for a holy and blessed Christmas.
In the midst of all our current challenges and concerns, the love of God the Father is made manifest to us in the wonderful gift of His Son, Jesus. With the angels in Bethlehem, our faith moves us to sing: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth!” We recognize that true peace on earth flows from our recognition and praise of God in our lives.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, bless you, your families and loved ones at this blessed time of hope and grace. May Mary, the Mother of the Child Jesus and our Mother, watch over you and our beloved Holy Cross Parish always.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Father Chris and Father Tomasz
CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR’S DAY MASS SCHEDULE
CHRISTMAS MASSES
Tuesday, December 24
5.00 pm – Christmas Eve Vigil Mass
9:00 pm Festival of Lessons and Carols followed by
10.00 pm Christmas Eve Night Mass
(NO 12:00 MIDNIGHT MASS on Christmas Eve)
Wednesday, December 25
8.00 am – Christmas Day Mass
10.00 am – Christmas Day Mass
12.00 pm – Christmas Day Mass
5.00 PM – No Mass
NEW YEARS DAY MASSES
Tuesday, December 31
5.00 pm New Year’s Eve Vigil Mass
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
8.00 am – New Year`s Mass
10.00 am – New Year`s Mass
12.00 pm – New Year`s Mass
5.00 PM – No Mass
2025 SUNDAY DONATION ENVELOPES
Your 2025 Sunday donation envelopes are available for pickup in the Church lobby.
PARISH OFFICE CLOSURES
The Parish office will be closed on Wednesday December 25, Thursday December 26 and Wednesday January 1, 2025.
MORNING MASSES at 9:00 am (for the next 2 weeks)
Weekday morning Mass will be at 9:00 am from Monday December 23, 2024 to Friday January 3, 2025.
CHRISTMAS CARDS AND 2025 CALENDARS FOR THE PRISON MINISTRY
We are still collecting unused Christmas cards, all occasion cards (i.e. Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon, etc.) and 2025 calendars for the Prison Ministry. Calendars can be wall, desk or appointment calendars without coils and should have a modest theme. Please put the cards and calendars in the boxes in the lobby of the Church. (We will be collecting these items until early January 2025.)
JUBILEE 2025
To start the 2025 Jubilee Year, there is a Solemn Opening Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Miller at Holy Rosary Cathedral on December 29th, 2024, at 11:00 am.
More information is here: https://beholdvancouver.org/events/jubilee-year-2025-opening-mass.
ALPHA – STARTING JANUARY 2025 – CHILDMINDING NOW AVAILABLE
Do you have big questions about the meaning of life? Do you want to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus? Do you want to grow in your faith? If so, we invite you to join Alpha at Holy Cross – a set of weekly evening gatherings that will explore these questions.
Each gathering consists of a dinner followed by a short video and small group discussion. Alpha 2025 begins on Friday, January 17th at 6:30pm at the parish and is free of charge. We’re welcoming all men and women to come join us, with a special invitation for parents to participate. There will be childminding available for children five years old and up (toilet-trained a requirement). Alpha is open to all faith traditions as well as to individuals with no religious affiliation.
Alpha has changed countless lives. To get a taste of what Alpha is about, watch this short video here on how Alpha transformed a parish in Montreal.
To join Alpha 2025 at Holy Cross, sign up here. We hope to see you on January 17th!
ALPHA PROGRAM – VOLUNTEERS & BAKERS NEEDED
We are thrilled that Alpha is happening again at our parish on Friday evenings from January 17th – April 4th, 2025 (except February 28th). We are currently seeking your help to make this a successful and fruitful program.
GENERAL VOLUNTEERS – Here are the options for everyone:
- 5-9pm – This would be great if you could commit these hours for various tasks
- If you are only available for a couple of hours:
- 5-7pm – Set up and Serving food
- 7-9pm – Clearing dishes, Washing, Take down
- While volunteers in the above timeframes are not able to join a table discussion, we are still committed to your faith journey and invite you to watch the videos together!
- Please sign up here
BAKERS for Dessert
- Please share your love of baking on our dessert table. Just let us know if you would like to bring a dessert on one of the Fridays.
- Please sign up here
We understand that it may be hard to know about your plans into the spring. However, we can certainly put you on the volunteer list for now and connect with you at the beginning of the year to confirm your availability. Please email our team at holycrossburnaby@gmail.com to be added to our list or if you have any questions. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
2025 SAVE THE DATES
Holy Cross Super Bowl Party
Sunday February 9,2025 – 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Holy Cross Annual Golf Tournament
Friday May 9, 2025 – 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm
MASS INTENTIONS for Monday December 23, 2024, to Sunday December 29, 2024 (Requested by)
Mon. Dec 23 9:00 am Parishioners
Tues. Dec 24 9:00 am +Carmela Peronace
Tues. Dec 24 5:00 pm +Teresita Laxamana (Cruz Family)
+Rita Gomes (Philomena Yee)
+Norberto De Castro (Family)
Spl. Int. Peggy and Nicholas Leung and Family (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Linda, Carlos, Chloe and Claire Yam (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Ernest, Alice and Family (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Lanny and Danny (Psalm)
Tues. Dec 24 10:00 pm ++John and Rosalind Fernandez (Cecilia and Family)
+++Marina Parado, Domingo Parado Junior and Nguu Ly (Don and Mae Ly and Family)
++++Victor and Bernardo Nopre and Zacharias and Dolores Nopre and Helmut Halfar
(Albina Halfar)
+Norberto De Castro (Family)
Spl. Int. Bozena and Laszlo Szucs (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Barbara, Jacek and Sophie Maciejewski (Psalm)
Spl. Int. David and Rose Turrin and Family (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Robert, Krys and Nicholas Bondi (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Father Chris (Cristina A.)
Spl. Int. Father Tomasz (Cristina A.)
Spl. Int. Paulette Froh (Lanny)
Spl. Int. Masih Family (Lanny)
Spl. Int. Catherine and Raymond Lam (Psalm)
Wed. Dec 25 8:00 am ++Deceased Members of the Gomes and Gene Families
+Tony De Santis (Family)
+Vincenzo Misceo (Family)
+Valentine Gazzola (Ivania and Tony)
++Deceased Members of Romano and Mauro Families (Family)
+Nives Burlo
+Norberto De Castro (Family)
Spl. Int. May and Don Chan and Family (Krys and Robert)
Spl. Int. Stefano and Adriana Fogale and Family (Family)
Spl. Int. Jason Fong (Family)
Spl. Int. Cathy Kinniston (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Bozena (Cristina A.)
Spl. Int. Estela, Teresita, Maria Fe and Arnulfo (Cristina A.)
Wed. Dec 25 10:00 am ++Ricardo and Felicidad Villa (Family)
+Norberto De Castro (Family)
Spl. Int. Grace San Juan (Family)
Spl. Int. Priscilla, David, Lucas, Gracelyn, Matthew and Samantha Trang (Psalm)
Spl. Int. for Thanksgiving by the Magsino Family (Family)
Spl. Int. Giuseppina (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Barbara Van Heiningen (Makiko)
Spl. Int. Betty Chung for Thanksgiving (Makiko)
Spl. Int. Dina Cioffi (Giuseppina)
Wed. Dec 25 12:00 pm +Fernando di Cesare (Family)
+Domenic Luongo (Franca Z.)
+Adolfo Ortiz Junior (Family)
+Tony Magistrale (Family)
+Norberto De Castro (Family)
Spl. Int. for all our Priests and Parishioners (Teresa and Melwyn Rasquinha)
Spl. Int. Angeline, Edward, Elizabeth and Alexandria Han (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Adeline, Damien, Gladys and Annette Yu (Psalm)
Spl. Int. Diva (Cristina A.)
Spl. Int. Norma Valvona and Family
Spl. Int. for the Health of Jess Cervantes
Thurs. Dec 26 9:00 am ++Lucija and Paul Sigurnjak (Family)
Fri. Dec 27 9:00 am Father Francis Xavier Chang (Joe Nip)
Spl. Int. Daphne Aslam (Family)
Fri. Dec 27 7:30 pm +Blessy Dee (May and Don Chan)
Spl. Int. for Healing for Alejo Mariano Junior (Angelina Mariano)
Spl. Int. Agnes Wan (Sunday 5:00 pm Mass Choir)
Spl. Int. Father Martin Brain
Spl. Int. Father Davide Lanzani
Spl. Int. Juan Pablo Meneses
Spl. Int. Pedro Reyes De Sena
Spl. Int. May (Cristina A.)
Sat. Dec 28 9:00 am +Agostino Velenosi (Family)
Sat. Dec 28 5:00 pm Spl. Int. Dorothy (Makiko)
Sun. Dec 29 8:00 am +Tony De Santis (Family)
+Nives Burlo (Katy)
+Blessy Dee (May and Don Chan)
Spl. Int. Bozena and Laszlo (Kit Wong)
Sun. Dec 29 10:00am ++Eufrasia Sovernigo and Deceased Members of the Sovernigo Family (Family)
+Ulderico Laghi (Licastro Family)
+Olga Racanelli (Liguori Family)
+Gaston Schuler (Rosina and Jack)
+Mike De Mare (Nicole and Mike)
Sun. Dec 29 12:00 Noon +Paul Thow (Family)
+John Thow (Family)
+Tony Magistrale (Family)
+Mike De Mare
(Livio & Lilia Chiarello, Lina & Vincenzo Catania, Tannis and Larry Gough)
+Victor Nopre (Albina Halfar)
Sun. Dec 29 5:00 pm Parishioners