Message for Christmas 2009

As we are drawing closer to the celebrations of our Lord’s birth, I wish to take this opportunity to wish all our parishioners a very blessed and holy Christmas. It is a blessing for me to serve you and to be inspired by your beautiful faith. May our faith be strengthened during this Christmas season, so that we can fall in love with Christ and His Church all over again!

Fr. Kuzma

December 6, 2009

I want to take this opportunity to thank Fr. Cull, vocations director for the diocese and Hamilton, and all those who participated in the Day of Prayer for Vocations which took place at our church this past Friday. Your prayerful support gives great witness to the world how much we need and love those who have left everything to bring Christ to us. May God continue to bless all priests and religious, especially during this Year of the Priest!

~ Fr. Kuzma

November 22, 2009

Today’s feast of Christ the King affirms our belief that Jesus is the supreme ruler over all things, and that some day “every knee will bend, and every tongue proclaim that Jesus is Lord”. With this feast we end our liturgical year. The Church invites us today to remember that the Lord whom we serve is the only supreme ruler, the only true God. We may not always feel God’s power in the world, but we can be assured that there will come a time when those who have been faithful to Him will be rewarded. May we be counted among those blessed ones!

~ Fr. Kuzma

November 15, 2009

It seems that we have entered a period of transition here at St. Aloysius. For some time now we’ve known that Sandy Milne, our pastoral associate; and Rose Costello, our Business Administrator, have been making the necessary preparations to retire. There is some good news though. With the help of Rose Costello and Betty Smythe (chair of Parish Management Committee) we have hired Carol Roehrig to take over Rose’s job. Carol comes with much experience and a beautiful personality. I’m happy to welcome her on behalf of all parishioners to our family. Carol starts work on Tuesday of this week, with Rose agreeing to assist her for a little while. Thank you, Rose, for all that you have done for us.

~ Fr. Kuzma

November 8, 2009

November is a month of prayer for our deceased brothers and sisters in the Lord as we pray for holy souls in purgatory.  Praying for the dead is a beautiful tradition of the Church which dates back to the very beginnings of Christianity.  Records of this practice can be found in the Catacombs, where Christians gathered for Mass during the first 3 centuries of great persecution.  We have included a special Book of Remembrance of the Dead in our church, where we invite you to write the names of your departed relatives.  We will remember their names during all the Masses throughout the month of November.  Also remember to say a prayer for holy souls in purgatory during your daily time with the Lord -- they will be grateful.

“Eternal rest grant unto them, oh Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them. 
May they rest in peace. Amen.”

~ Fr. Kuzma

November 1, 2009

After ten days in the Holy Land I return with great joy to the good people of St. Aloysius Parish. It is difficult, if not impossible, to express what one feels while touching the ground that Jesus walked on. Along with 26 other pilgrims I was able to renew my faith in a God that loves us so much that He sent His only Son to redeem us. As I prayed at the various sights which were touched by the miracles of Jesus I asked God to bless all of you. Along with all the pilgrims I hope to share my experiences, pictures, stories, etc. with you at a special Pot-Luck at the end of November. Anticipate a date for this event in the coming weeks.

~ Fr. Kuzma

October 4, 2009

I love our Canadian fall. It reminds me of the beauty of change, of moving on and anticipating something new and exciting. As we welcome this new season of change we also begin the month of October, which is known as the month of the Rosary. This ancient prayer of the Church is so simple and yet so powerful that it continues to be recommended to all by the Church. I would like to encourage all of us to pray the rosary daily, allowing Mary to teach us how to love Christ more. If you do not know, or cannot remember, how to pray the rosary, please help yourself to a free pamphlet on the rosary at the main doors of the church. During the month of October I also want to invite all our high school youth to come and join our brand new Youth Group. Our first meeting is this Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in the parish hall.

~ Fr. Kuzma

September 27, 2009

In our bulletin this week you will notice that we are advertising for the position of business administrator here at St. Aloysius Parish. After 23 years of working for our parish, Rose Costello is retiring. I wish to publicly thank Rose for her dedication to St. Aloysius Parish. Thankfully, we don’t have to say goodbye to Rose, as she will continue to serve on the Finance Committee and will no doubt be asked to assist us from time to time. On behalf of all parishioners I do wish to take this opportunity to thank Rose and wish her a much deserved rest in her retirement.

~ Fr. Kuzma

September 13, 2009

Every year priests of our diocese come together for a Priests’ Seminar. It is an opportunity for us to be intellectually stimulated by looking at different aspects of priestly life and ministry. This year we will be looking at the new English translation of the Mass and at practical ways of implementing it in the coming years. I will be away at this Seminar from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon of this week. Please note the change in weekday Mass schedule: we will have Mass on Tuesday morning, and the Mass on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning and Thursday morning will be canceled. Please say a prayer for all the priests attending the Seminar that we may use this time effectively.

~ Fr. Kuzma

September 6, 2009

September is finally here, and so is our new school year. I am looking forward to seeing more of our parishioners, especially those who have been away for the summer months. September is usually very busy here at the parish, as we are starting many programs which run from September until June. In September we invite parents of children in grades two and six who will be receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion, Confession and Confirmation this year to come to our parent meetings. We also encourage those interested in becoming Catholic to join us for another exciting RCIA program. In October twenty five members of our parish will be joining me on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We still have room for four more people, so if you wish to join us please contact me now. I hope and pray that this new school year will be filled with blessings and opportunities for growth in our parish community.

~ Fr. Kuzma

August 30, 2009

It is hard to believe that summer is slowly coming to an end, but I suppose that all good things must come to an end. With the start of September, I invite you to pay attention to our bulletin and newsletter announcements so that you can be informed of the many different initiatives that are happening in our parish. I also would like to encourage you to become more involved in the parish by volunteering in different ministries. We are a large community, and we need to support one another in living the faith. In the next few weeks I will include a list of various ministries and how you could become a volunteer in those ministries. Starting this weekend we are also returning to our regular bulletin printing schedule, which means that you will have a fresh bulletin with all the news you need about our parish every Sunday.

~ Fr. Kuzma

August 16, 2009

As many of you know, Sandy Milne will be away from the parish for one month, from Aug. 22 until Sept. 19, visiting with her daughter, Margaret, who is expecting to give birth later this month. A few weeks ago Sandy also informed me that after much prayer and prayerful consideration she has decided to leave St. Aloysius Parish as a Pastoral Associate at the end of November of this year. Though Sandy will be with us for a few more months I wish to take this opportunity to thank her for her service at St. Aloysius Parish and wish her God’s blessings in her future endeavors.

~ Fr. Kuzma

June 28, 2009

Summer is finally here! Hopefully we will have an opportunity to take some big breaths and enjoy this beautiful season. During the summer months we, at the parish office, are also looking to take a little break, which is why during July and August the bulletin will be published every 2 weeks.
I also want to take this opportunity to announce that Mr. Charlie Van Alphen will not be continuing his work as a Parish-School Liaison next year. He will continue to work for our parish as a Catholic Chaplaincy Leader at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. I would like to thank Charlie for his work with our schools and wish him God’s blessings for the future.

~ Fr. Kuzma

June 21, 2009

With the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 18th we have completed the Year of St. Paul. This year has been dedicated by Pope Benedict to the Priesthood, “to encourage priests in striving for spiritual perfection, on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends”. Bishop Anthony Tonnos has encouraged all priests to announce this special “Year of the Priesthood” in all parishes as we look for ways to thank God for this gift and encourage our priests in their service. I have included in this week's bulletin, a letter from His Eminence Claudio Cardinal Hummes, Prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, reflecting on the “Year of the Priesthood”.

~ Fr. Kuzma

June 14, 2009

On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, our parish welcomes Fr. Thomas Manninezath. Fr. Thomas comes to us to extend an invitation of prayerful support and Christian fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the diocese of Namibia, India. We welcome Fr. Thomas as our Mission Co-op preacher and hope that his stay with us will be a blessed one. We invite those who can to share what you can with the church of India by taking home Mission Co-op envelopes and bringing them back next week.

~ Fr. Kuzma

June 7, 2009

Without even noticing it we are nearing the end of yet another school year. Now that the summer months are upon us, we can take a big breath and hopefully slow down to enjoy the warmth and the sun. I would like to wish all the parishioners a wonderful summer, with many opportunities for golf, backyard reading, barbequing with family and friends, and many other memorable summer activities. May it be a time of renewal and rejuvenation for both our bodies and spirits!

~ Fr. Kuzma

May 31, 2009

For the next three Sundays we will be celebrating great Feasts honoring different truths about our faith.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, marking the end of our Easter Season.  It is on this day that the apostles were granted the power of the Holy Spirit to help them in the mission of the Church.  The same spirit is active in the Church today, helping us to remain faithful to the authentic teachings of Jesus.
Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, honoring our God as one in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In two weeks we will celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, which reminds us about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  I hope that these Feasts will help us to know and love the precious faith which we have received at baptism.

~ Fr. Kuzma

May 24, 2009

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. As we reflect on Christ’s return to Heaven, from where He came, we are invited to ponder the great gift of salvation which He won for us. Christ promised to go and prepare a place for us in Heaven. This should fill us with great hope and joy. Speaking of joy, I am happy to announce that my missionary trip to Florida in January was such a great success, I have decided to do it again. Hence, I will be away for the two first weeks of June. Arrangements have been made for a number of priests to come and celebrate Masses while I’m away. God bless, and see you soon!

~ Fr. Kuzma

May 10, 2009

On this Mother’s Day weekend I would like to extend my prayers and best wishes to all mothers. The vocation of motherhood is one of the most important and beautiful of all callings. It encompasses the true meaning of love, which is always about giving and selfless love. May the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is a model for all Christians, be a source of strength and inspiration to all mothers! God bless you!

~ Fr. Kuzma

May 3, 2009

With the beginning of May, most of us begin preparing for the summer. Our patio furniture makes an appearance once again, our golf clubs are moved to the trunk of our car, and we begin to enjoy the nice weather by opening the windows and taking longer walks. In our Catholic tradition, the month of May is associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been a long tradition of our Church to honour the mother of Jesus in a special way during this month. In the year 2006 Pope Benedict XVI invited the whole Catholic world to revisit this beautiful tradition of the Church by giving more attention to Mary during the month of May. We can do this in many ways: by praying to Jesus through Mary (e.g. the rosary, meditating on the life of Mary and her virtues, asking her for special favors, etc.); taking the time to learn more about the role of Mary in the Church through religious books, websites, magazines; praying the rosary with other parishioners 20 minutes before weekday Mass. Jesus has a great love for His mother, and we are called to imitate Him by developing great love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

~ Fr. Kuzma

April 26, 2009

Easter Season is always a time of joy and celebration for the gifts that God has given us. One of the gifts that we experience during this time is welcoming new members to the Catholic faith. I would like to congratulate those who have been received into the fullness of the Catholic faith during this Easter Season and assure them of our prayers and best wishes. On Easter Vigil we welcomed two adults into the Catholic Church: Charles McColm and John Kadonoff. On Divine Mercy Sunday we welcomed a number of children to the Catholic faith: William, Melissa, Sarah, Catherine, Keylan, Tristan, and Kristian. I want to assure all our new Catholics of the prayerful support of the entire Catholic Church.

~ Fr. Kuzma

April 19, 2009

The solemnity of Christ’s resurrection is the highlight of our liturgical year. The celebrations of the Holy Triduum help us to prepare for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped us in the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter Sunday. A special thanks to those who were involved in the decoration of our Church, those who donated the money for flowers, and those who helped with decorating. I also thank all of our musicians, Mass coordinators, lectors, ministers of Holy Communion and altar servers. Your generosity has helped all of us to enter into the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter.

~ Fr. Kuzma

April 12, 2009

Christ has risen! He has truly risen! Dear parishioners, I wish to share the joy of Christ’s resurrection with all of you. On this Easter Sunday we share the joy of Christ’s victory over sin and death. May we l all embrace our risen Lord with renewed faith and love. I also want to take this opportunity to invite all of you to the special Divine Mercy Hour next Sunday, April 19th, which has been designated as the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Come for a special Holy Hour which will begin at 3 pm in the Church and will include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Chaplet of Divine Mercy (bring your rosaries for this prayer) and a homily.

~ Fr. Kuzma

April 5, 2009

Today the Church celebrates Passion Sunday, also known as Palm Sunday. With this feast we will begin the most sacred week in our liturgical calendar, known as the Holy Week. On Holy Thursday we accompany the apostles to the upper room where Christ washes their feet and gives us the sacraments of priesthood and Eucharist. On Good Friday we accompany Christ as He suffers the death of the Cross. On Holy Saturday we await Christ’s coming in stillness and calm. May this Holy Week be a source of great renewal of our faith and love for Jesus Christ, our Divine Saviour.
I also wish to take this opportunity to thank all of you, who participated in our Parish Lenten Mission last week. I was very pleased that so many of you found the time in your busy schedules to come. My deepest thanks to Fr. Don Sanvido, our Mission preacher, for his inspiring teaching.

~ Fr. Kuzma

March 29, 2009

As we are drawing closer to Holy Week, I wish to once again extend my invitation to one and all to come and join us for this year’s St. Aloysius Parish Lenten Mission. I am pleased to welcome Fr. Don Sanvido, from St. Basil’s Parish in Brantford, as a preacher at this year’s Parish Mission. We will meet every night of this week at 7pm in the Church. It is my hope that you will be able to come and take advantage of this beautiful way of preparing our hearts and minds for the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter.

~ Fr. Kuzma

March 15, 2009

This weekend, I am pleased to welcome to our parish, Deacon Brendan McGrath. Deacon McGrath is preparing for ministerial priesthood in the diocese of Hamilton. I have known him for a number of years, and had the privilege of serving with him at St. Margaret Mary in Hamilton, and at St. Ann in Ancaster. Deacon McGrath has been preaching at different parishes in our diocese as a way of getting to know the people and also to share his love for Christ and his call to the priesthood. I am very happy to welcome him as a visiting preacher at all our Masses this weekend. Who knows, maybe it will bring back some pleasant memories for all of us of the time you hosted another Deacon in this parish five summers ago.

~ Fr. Kuzma

March 8, 2009
(from the newsletter)

As we look forward to our celebrations of Easter, the Church invites us to make good use of the Season of Lent as a way of preparing ourselves for this most important feast in the Church’s calendar. I am very excited to propose to all of our parishioners a few parish initiatives which I hope will help in that preparation. This year we will be offering a Parish Lenten Mission which will take place one week prior to Holy Week. It will give us an opportunity to meet for five consecutive nights, Monday to Friday, at 7pm. For the first three nights we will listen to our Mission preacher, Fr. Don Sanvido. On the fourth night we will have an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a community, with 6 visiting priests hearing confessions. And on the last night we will pray the beautiful devotional prayer of Stations of the Cross. I wish to encourage all our parishioners to reserve those 5 evenings (only 1 hour per evening) as a way of preparing ourselves for the celebrations of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection the following week.

~ Fr. Kuzma

March 8, 2009
(from the bulletin)

During our Lenten season this year I wish to encourage all our parishioners to take the time from your busy schedules to join us in preparing for Easter by coming to the following events:

1. Movie and Reflection – screening of the movie “The Passion of Christ” with a meditation provided by the member of our university youth (Youth Teams of Our Lady), Friday, March 20th at 7pm.
   
2. Pot Luck Supper – Friday, March 27th at 7pm
3. Parish Mission – 5 nights of spiritual preparation for Holy Week, featuring Fr. Don Sanvido as our Mission preacher, Lenten Confession Service, and Stations of the Cross, Monday, March 30th – Friday April 3rd at 7pm.

Because all these events are taking place just before Holy Week, they should serve as a great preparation for celebrating Holy Week and Easter this year.  

~ Fr. Kuzma

March 1, 2009

Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent, a season of penance, opportunity, and grace. I wish to encourage all of us to make use of this season of grace and conversion by making small sacrifices in our lives. Traditionally we would give something up for Lent, something that we usually enjoy. We do this as an expression of our love for God and a desire to make room for Him in our lives. It is also a good idea to decide to take something on during this season. It can be as simple as praying a decade of the Rosary, reading the Bible each day, or learning more about our beautiful faith. I am also pleased to invite you to our Lenten Mission which will take place in the evening of March 31-April 2 (more details will follow). May God bless us during this season of grace!

~ Fr. Kuzma

February 22, 2009

This weekend I am pleased to welcome to our parish the Vocation Director of the Diocese of Hamilton, Father Kevin Cull. He will be celebrating the Eucharist and preaching at all the Masses, sharing with us his work of promoting vocations to the priesthood. In his ministry, Father Cull supports the 18 seminarians who are currently studying for the priesthood and assists those who are considering a call to priesthood or religious life. You are encouraged to join the St. Thérèse Vocation Society and pray daily for an increase in vocations. Before and after all Masses, Father Cull would be delighted to answer any questions or provide further information for those in the parish who may be considering a vocation to priesthood or religious life. Please also feel free to contact him at (905) 528-7988 ext. 2240, at frcull@vocationinfo.ca or visit the vocation web site www.vocationinfo.ca where you will find a series of video clips along with a profile of each of the seminarians. I am delighted to welcome Fr. Cull to St. Aloysius Parish and I thank him for taking the time to come and share his love for Christ, the Church, and the priesthood with all of us.

~ Fr. Kuzma

February 1, 2009

My “special ministry” in Florida has come to an end. You will be happy to know that I tried to represent our parish well while doing my “missionary work”. I wish to express my gratitude to Fr. James McSharry, Fr. Peter Machnacki, and Bp. Matthew Ustrzycki for ministering to all of you while I was away. I hope that you did not get too used to the visiting clergy, because now that I’m back you must once again be satisfied with just me. God bless you!

~ Fr. Kuzma

January 25, 2009

The beginning of a new calendar year is always a beautiful opportunity for us to reflect on our lives and make the necessary adjustments. With the New Year we recognize the reality of the passing of time, which brings us closer to our encounter with God at the end of our lives. The older we get our faith should inspire us to learn from our experiences and strive to grow in our closeness with God. The New Year always brings with it many new opportunities for growth and positive change. May this year prove to be one of growth for all of us.

~ Fr. Kuzma

January 18, 2009

Now that we have entered into the ordinary time in the Church’s calendar, it is easy for us to lose our spiritual fervor that we have felt during the season of Christmas. One of the best ways to stay spiritually healthy is by means of our faithfulness to prayer. In the next few weeks I wish to offer a few articles in the series of “Introduction to Prayer.” I hope that they will server as an encouragement in our faithfulness to daily prayer. Through prayer we allow God to be present even in the most ordinary circumstances of our lives.

~ Fr. Kuzma

January 11, 2009

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, recounting the important encounter between John the Baptist (the last prophet of the Old Testament) and Jesus (the promised Messiah). With the Feast of Christ’s Baptism we end our season of Christmas and return to our ordinary activities with our faith strengthened through the celebrations of Christ’s birth. Now that the business of Christmas is over I will be taking one week of holidays, spending some time with my brother in Florida. I will be away from Jan. 14 until Jan. 21. I wish to thank the priests who will be celebrating Masses at our parish during my absence.

~ Fr. Kuzma

January 4, 2009

With great joy I have celebrated my first Christmas at St. Aloysius Parish. I wish to express my gratitude to all parishioners for the kindness shown to me during this time of year. I would like to thank all of you for the many wishes, cards and gifts which you have shared with me. You have made my Christmas very special. May the Lord bless your kindness.

~ Fr. Kuzma