ALPHA FOR MEN – STARTING JANUARY 2024
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 and you are a man aged 30 to 55, we invite you to join Alpha for Men at Holy Cross – a set of weekly evening gatherings that will explore these questions. If you have a husband, brother, or son who may not be a believer or has drifted from their faith, Alpha is also for them. All are welcome.
Each gathering consists of dinner followed by a short video and small group discussion. Alpha for Men begins on Friday, January 12 at 6:30pm at the parish.
Alpha has changed countless lives. To get a taste of what Alpha is about, watch this short video on how Alpha transformed a parish in Montreal.
To join Alpha for Men at Holy Cross, sign up here. We hope to see you on January 12!
2ND COLLECTION – PETER’S PENCE NOVEMBER 5TH
This weekend’s second collection is a gesture of solidarity through which every member of the faithful can participate in the activity of the Pope as Pastor of the universal Church.
2024 SUNDAY MISSALS, CHILDRENS MISSALS AND LITTLE BOOKS
The 2024 Sunday Missals (for Adults and for Young Catholics) and the Little Books for Advent and Christmas are available for sale in the back of the church. If you are a Sunday reader, you should consider buying a Sunday Missal now as, when they are sold out, we cannot get any more. The Sunday Missals are $5.00 each, the Children and Youth Missals are $8.00 each and the Little Books are $3.00 each. Please place the money in the brown box.
STANDARD TIME THIS WEEKEND
A reminder to put your clocks back 1 hour on Saturday night as Standard time starts at 2:00 am Sunday November 5th.
Share Christmas Boxes – Thank You
Thanks be to God! We have collected enough boxes that will help us transport your food to the Sisters in the Downtown Eastside. We are grateful to everyone who contributed a box(es) or an unassembled flat box(es). The effort made by our parish community was greatly appreciated. Thank you! Share Christmas will commence on the 1st Sunday of Advent (Dec 2-3).
ALL SOULS ENVELOPES
The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of November to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. This season begins with the Hallowtide Triduum, which consists of All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. During November we pray for the souls of those who have died, especially those whom we have known and loved. Remembering them, praying for them, and giving thanks for them pleases God, who makes use of our prayers to help purify those souls in Purgatory that He loves.
The Roman Catholic celebration is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful, who at death have not been cleansed from temporal punishment, due to light sins and from attachment to mortal sins, cannot immediately enter heaven. Therefore, they must be purified of “lesser faults,” and the temporal effects of sin.
The Catholic Church calls this purification “purgatory”. The universal Christian teaching on Purgatory requires belief in two realities:
1) That there will be a purification of believers prior to entering heaven and
2) That the prayers and Masses of the faithful in some way benefit those in this state of purification.
We, as Catholics, believe that these souls may be helped by our prayers and by the sacrifice of the Mass.
During the month of November we have a long-standing tradition of accepting Masses by All Souls Envelopes:
1. Each envelope is a request for one Mass. Please take these from the entrance of the church or make your own envelope that is clearly marked “All Souls”.
2. Write the names of your deceased on the front and, along with your donation, put it in the Sunday collection basket (during the entire month of November), or bring it to our parish office OR send it to us via mail.
3. Each of these envelopes will be used as one Mass intention, celebrated by Fr. Tomasz or myself, or perhaps another priest. PLEASE NOTE: we will not be able to let you know the date on which your Mass will be observed.
I encourage you to continue this beautiful practice that will help in setting our hearts and minds in the strong belief of Christ’s resurrection. This is our spiritual gift, not only for our deceased, but also for all the forgotten souls. May they rest in peace!
Please remember that we can assist all the departed by way of ALMSGIVING, INDULGENCES, AND WORKS OF PENANCE on their behalf.
Making Sense of Adolescence – Moms Support Group
When our children reach adolescence, it can seem like they have become a different person. Dr. Gordon Neufeld explains why this is and how best to still remain close to our children in this difficult stage. We will discuss his insights while touching on the topics of: peers, rebellion, aloneness, play, sexuality and, overarching, why they need to be attached to us and how we can achieve this.
Dates for this year: Nov 8, Nov 22 and Nov 29 (2024 TBC)
Time: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Holy Cross Basement
RSVP or questions to Laura laurazumpano@gmail.com or Ida digazzola@gmail.com
Kindergarten 2024 Applications
Holy Cross Elementary School will be accepting applications for prospective Kindergarten students who will be 5 years old (born in 2019). If you are interested in having your child attend Holy Cross Elementary, please complete the application form which can be found on the school website (www.holycrosselementary.ca) and bring the following to the school office: child’s birth certificate, baptismal certificate (if baptized Catholic), completed application form and a $25.00 application fee payable by cash or cheque between November 15, 2023 and December 8, 2023. In-person interviews for families selected based on our admissions policy will be on January 12, 2024.
12-HOUR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
We would like to encourage everyone to come and participate in our 12-hour Eucharistic Adoration starting after the Divine Mercy Mass at 9pm on November 24th and ending at 9:00am before morning Mass on the next day, November 25th. It can be a holy hour or a holy 15 minutes…. come and spend some time with Jesus. There will be always at least one male person at every hour, so you won’t be alone. Come and see Jesus face to face. He is waiting for you!
PURDY’S CHOCOLATES FOR CHRISTMAS (FUNDRAISER)
Christmas is less than 2 months away (yes, really!) and if you want to get started on your shopping, you can support our Holy Cross Catholic Women’s League’s (CWL) Christmas fundraiser by buying Purdy’s chocolates for your Christmas stockings, or as Christmas gifts. The CWL supports our parish with their fundraising proceeds so any support is greatly appreciated.
To place an order, click on the following link to “Join a Campaign”: https://fundraising.purdys.com/1536029-108413.
Should you have trouble accessing the site when clicking on the link, please visit: www.fundraising.purdys.com and select “Join a Campaign”. You will be asked to provide your email address and our Customer Number (63039).
If you don’t want chocolates, you can support our CWL with a monetary donation.
Deadline to place an order is Sunday November 26th and orders will be available for pick up after all Sunday Masses on December 10.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Thursday Nov. 9 at 7:00 pm – Knights of Columbus General Meeting in the Music room.
Knights of Columbus Annual Charity Appeal is live.
Here is the link to the charity appeal draw.
https://kofcdraw.net/c5423 – Remember to pick “Burnaby-5423 Holy Cross” from the organization list when entering your billing information. Draw date is December 16th.
SCHOOL WINTER WINELAND FUNDRAISER – Sat Nov 25
The School is holding a fundraiser on Sat Nov 25th in the School Gym. For more information, go to the link below.
https://mcusercontent.com/fcccbe40d06d8b95d8776326e/files/123d34a7-3fcc-03e6-8702-f518fdd15948/Winter_Wineland_combined.pdf
PROJECT ADVANCE
We are very excited to announce that we have surpassed the Archdiocesan Goal of $56,400 for Project Advance at Holy Cross Parish. A very sincere thank you to all our parishioners who have helped make this happen. This is great news because any further donations to Project Advance will go directly to our Parish and help us achieve our three main campaign goals for this year and, they are as follows:
– Replacing the furnace in the rectory – $13,000
– Parking Lot Repairs – $22,000
– Seismic upgrade of our elementary school
Our sincere gratitude to all our Parishioners who have donated so far and to those who still wish to participate in the 2023 Project Advance Campaign.
There are some pledge forms in the lobby of the Church in a file folder. You can drop off your pledge form in the collection basket, at the parish office or go online to give at www.projectadvance.ca and. . . please. . . designate our parish as the recipient. You can also make a donation by phoning the Parish Office with your credit card information.
KEARNEY FUNERAL HOME 6th ANNUAL MEMORIAL MASS NOV 8
Please join the Kearney Funeral Services team in honouring your loved ones and all those that have passed away this last year, at this special Mass that will be celebrated at: Our Lady of Sorrows Church 555 Slocan St., Vancouver, BC on Wednesday, November 8th, 2023, at 6:30 p.m.
Please RSVP by e-mailing us at burnaby@kearneyfs.com, or call 604-299-6889 (Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm) as we will be offering refreshments in the Parish Hall after the Mass.
Save the Dates in 2024
Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
Sunday Feb. 11, 2024 – Super Bowl Party
Friday May 10, 2024 – Annual Golf Tournament
Sunday Sept. 15, 2024 – Annual Salmon Barbecue
MASS INTENTIONS for next week November 6 to 12, 2023 (requested by):
Mon. Nov 6 8:15 am
+John Van Essen (Family)
Tues. Nov 7 8:15 am
+Evelyn Vasey (Giuseppina G.)
Wed. Nov 8 8:15 am
+Adriano Van Essen (Family)
Thurs. Nov 9 8:15 am
+Flora Calori (Family)
Fri. Nov 10 8:15 am
+Vincenzo Abbinante (Family)
Fri. Nov 10 7:30 pm
+Helen Morris (Diva)
+John Morris (Costanza Mancini)
+Richard Crompton (Lanny and Danny)
++Deceased Members of the Tan Family (Ernest and Alice)
+Wallace Morris (Diva)
+Catalino Migrino (Diva)
Presentacion Rivera (Diva)
Spl. Int. Justin, Joel and Jerome Misenas (Nita)
Spl. Int. Marie and Allen (Family)
Spl. Int. Lanny and Danny (Bozena)
Spl. Int. Diva (Kit)
Sat. Nov 11 9:00 am
+Paolo Catania (Family)
Sat. Nov 11 5:00 pm
+Kathleen Heirakuji (Thow Family)
+Carlos Espinoza (Giuseppina G.)
+Siu Wah Lee and Juana Siu (Family)
Spl. Int. Atenodora Olalo (Diva)
Sun. Nov 12 8:00 am
+Manlian Mary Bao (Vivian Shen and Family)
+Romano Choi (Family)
++Deceased Members of Mauro and Romano Families (Family)
++Teodosio and Angela Maria De Bonis (Family)
++Antonio and Lucia Lemme (Carmela Petrollini)
Sun. Nov 12 10:00am
+Santolo Esposito (Family)
++Deceased Members of Crescenzo Family (Stella Esposito and Family)
+Guido De Angelis (Family)
++Nicolina Porciello and Mark Hasselman
(Porciello and Hasselman Families)
+John Spagnuolo (Ginetta)
Spl. Int. Steve Knight (Icon Group)
Spl. Int. Priscilla Trang (Psalm)
Spl. Int. for Peace in Gaza (Maria Hu)
Sun. Nov 12 12:00 Noon
+Maureen Morris (Diva)
++Mike and Andrea Mollica (Rita Mollica)
++Guido and Rocco De Vellis (Rita Mollica)
+John Morris (Jeanette B.)
+Giovanni Porco (Ferrante Family)
+Raffaele and Domenica Losorelli (Mary and Martin Zupan)
+Bev Chan (Family)
+Jim Hibbert (Parishioner)
+Vincenzo Misceo (Wife)
+Doctor Pompeia Peng Limjoco Beltran
Spl. Int. Franca Zumpano (Anna Matera)
Sun. Nov 12 5:00 pm
+Rosemary Glavina (Friend)
+Marisa Masi (Marisa and Nick)