Dear Parishioners, It’s the first weekend of February and we are approaching the middle of winter. Because of the past several unusual years, there have been more “bugs” going around and perhaps you have had to fight the flu or some other sickness. This past Friday, February 3, the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Blaise. Many of you look forward to the blessing of St. Blaise because it reminds us that God blesses and watches over us in our times of illness, and can bring healing to us. After all the Sunday Masses this weekend, we will have the blessing of St. Blaise available for those who would like it. For anyone who has been in the parish for a while, you probably remember when the Youth Centre was built and then, a little while later, the gym portion of the Stanley building. From what I can tell from the dedication sign, it was 20 years ago that this building was erected. During Christmas break, we hired some painters to work on parts of the building as the walls were pretty beat up after all these years. Along with our staff, we finished the entry, Guadalupe room, youth game room, and the stairwell that leads upstairs. We also received a donation to replace some of the worn-out carpet in the entryway. It was certainly time to do all this work. One of the reasons that we started to look around and see how worn out everything happened to be is the fact that Bishop Bradley’s office asked us to host a number of the Diocesan Synod meetings for the Special Year of Priestly renewal gatherings for parish representatives and priests. These meetings will be held in the Stanley Centre in March. Thank you for your continued prayers for your priests both here and throughout this diocese as well as prayers for an increase in vocations. Thanks for reading!