St.

Helen Church
4106 Mountain St.
Beamsville, ON L0R 1B7
Ph: 905-562-7427
Fax: 905-563-0003
Email: office@sthelenscatholic.ca
Opened - October 2, 1938 Est. as a Parish - January 1, 1986
Pastor: Rev. Krzysztof Szczepanik Sunday Masses:
Office Administration: Aggie Agnino Saturday: 5:00pm
Sunday: 9:00am, 11:00am
Office hours:
Tuesday to Friday 9:30am - 12:00pm Weekday Masses:
Closed on Mondays and all Statutory holidays Tuesday to Friday: 9:00am
Website: www.sthelenscatholic.ca 1st Friday of the Month:
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sthelenscatholic Adoration after morning Mass

Sacraments Contacts
Catholic Funeral Rites:
Baptism: When a death occurs in your family, Music Ministry:
1st & 3rd Sunday at 1:00 pm. please call the Parish Office and we Anthony van Engelen
Call parish office. will assist you in making the adve1@yahoo.com
necessary liturgical arrangements.
1st Communion & Confirmation Ministry Scheduling & RFM:
Contact the Parish Office. Chronic Care Facilities: Rachel Reid ~ ministryschedul-
Pastoral visits are made monthly. ing@sthelenscatholic.ca
Reconciliation: Reception of Holy Communion is
Every Saturday 4:00pm - 4:30pm or by available to residents. Fundraising Events:
appointment with the priest. office@sthelenscatholic.ca
Homebound:
Marriage: Notify the Parish Office when serious Facility & Grounds Maintenance:
Arrangements six months in advance. illness occurs. When the sick, aged or Craig Luey
Marriage preparation is required. incapacitated are confined to home for craig.luey@gmail.com
an extended time, pastoral visit can be
RCIA & RCIC: arranged. Catholic Women's League:
Contact the Parish Office. Piera Palmieri ~ contact parish office

Anointing of the Sick: Schools Knights of Columbus:

Please let us know when someone has St. Mark School Marcel VanRuyven
a serious or prolonged illness or is to Principal: Steven Ward mgvanruijven@gmail.com
have surgery. This sacrament
celebrates the healing of mind and St. Edward School SVDP:
body and the forgiveness of sins. Acting Principal: John Romano Lorraine Martin ~ contact parish office

Kindly complete the following and place in the collection basket.

Envelopes will be on the round table in the foyer the following weekend.
☐ New Parishioner* ☐ Change of address ☐ Moving
Name________________________ Phone_________________ E-mail___________________
Address______________________________________________ City_____________________
☐ I would like to use offertory envelopes* Postal Code______________
 Twenty- Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
Sunday September 27, 2020
Mass Intentions
 September 29 - October 4, 2020
As we gather, let us remember and pray for . . .
th
Tues. ~ …Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael.. Sep. 29
9:00 am + Pietro & Ursula Elia
(by Connie & Louis Elia)
Wed. ~ …………..St. Jerome………………. Sep. 30th
9:00 am + Guido Malvestuto
(by MacNiven Family)
Thurs. ~ …..St. Therese of the Child Jesus….. Oct. 1st
9:00 am + Rosa & Vittorio Hrvatin
(by Hrvatin Family)
Fri. ~ ……The Holy Guardian Angels…... Oct. 2nd
9:00 am Intn’s of Hendriks & deKoning
Family - L & D
(by Helen & Andy Hendriks)
Sat. ~ ………………………………………. Oct. 3rd
5:00 pm For the People of St. Helen Parish
Sun. ~ ………………………………………. Oct. 4th
9:00 am + John Leaver
(by Nancy Winslow)
11:00 am + Anne Kelly
(by D’Onofrio Family)
MINISTRY FOR THE SICK AND HOMEBOUND
We are grateful to those who give of
their time and care to bring Holy
Communion to our parishioners who
cannot make it to church due to
sickness or infirmity. If you know of
anyone who would like to receive communion in their
home or while hospitalized at West Lincoln Hospital,
please contact the parish office.
MEETINGS & EVENTS
At this time and until further notice, parish meetings,
bingo and other events are cancelled. It is suggested
that groups find alternate meeting places should you
wish to meet with your group.
MASS INTENTIONS & SANCTUARY LAMP
If you would like to have a Mass offered for someone,
contact the parish office for dates and times which are
available. The Mass stipend or offering given is $10.00.
Mass cards are $2.00. The are still dates available for
the Sanctuary Lamp this year.
PREAUTHORIZED DEBIT
(PAD) is offered for your donations. If you are
interested in using this convenient way to make your
offerings to the church, please contact the parish office.
Donations are processed once a month, on or about the
15th.
This week, the Sanctuary Lamp burns in
memory of:
+ MARIA DA GLORIA PEREIRA
The Sanctuary Lamp burns to remind us of
Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the
altar.
If you wish to sponsor the sanctuary lamp for one
week, the stipend is $35.00
our parish prayer
Jesus, open our hearts, enabling us to embrace
your teachings and to love one another. Holy
Spirit, lift us and lead us, deepening our desire to
serve God through serving each other. Amen.
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION
Friday October 2nd
after 9:00 a.m. Mass
You are invited to come and
spend a holy hour with Jesus.
IMPORTANT - VOLUNTEER HELP NEEDED
We are in dire need of volunteers to help clean and
sanitize the church. Please consider if you can spare
some time once or twice a month to help keep our
church clean and germ free.
Rachel, who does all the Ministry Scheduling and
Responsible Faith Ministry will need to hand over the
reins at some point in the near future. Should you be an
organized person who has some time to dedicate to this
ministry, Rachel can provide training and support
during the transition phase. Please contact Rachel or
the office if you are interested.
WELCOME
Through the celebration of the Sacrament of
Holy Baptism, we welcome to our parish
family our new member:
GIA GABRIELLA DI GIOVANNI
May God bless you as you begin this beautiful spiritual
journey with our Lord and Saviour Jesus.
We would also like to welcome to our parish family
Laura & Quinn Martindale as they received the
Sacraments of Initiation. May God continue to bless
them as they continue on their journey as fully initiated
members of this parish.
Collection First Sunday of the Month!
 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
When the wicked turn away from the wickedness they
have committed, they shall save their life. (Ezekiel 18)
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians)
The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the
kingdom of heaven ahead of you. (Matthew 21)
Jesus’ simple story
of the two sons takes
the Gospel out of the
realm of the
“theoretical” and
places the mercy of
God into the midst of
our messy,
complicated everyday
lives. Compassion,
forgiveness and mercy are only words until our actions
give full expression to those values in our relationships
with others; our calling ourselves Christians and
disciples of Jesus means nothing until our lives express
that identity in the values will uphold and the beliefs we
live.
The words of the Gospel must be lived; Jesus’
teachings on justice, reconciliation and love must be the
light that guides us, the path we walk, the prayer we
work to make a reality. Discipleship begins within our
hearts, where we realize Christ’s presence in our lives
and in the lives of others and then honoring that
presence in meaningful acts of compassion and
charity.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shatters labels and
stereotypes in order to uphold the sacred dignity of all
men and women in the eyes of God. Christ calls us to
move beyond our own contemporary version of the
designations of “tax collector” and “prostitute” to
recognize, instead, the holiness that resides within the
soul of every person, who is, like us, a child of God.
LIFE CHAIN GRIMSBY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1-2PM
Sunday, October 4 from 1 - 2pm we plan to gather at
the intersection of Main St and Christie St in Grimsby
to pray for an end to abortion and for all those who
have been affected by abortion. We will be joining our
prayers with thousands of people in 1600 locations
across Canada and the United States who will be
forming Life Chains in their communities on the same
day!
We will pray silently and hold professionally-printed
signs provided at the site. This is a local witness
intended to generate thought and discussion within our
community and to demonstrate that abortion is not a
closed or settled issue in this country. Due to COVID-
19, we ask that participants physically distance from
those outside of their household while attending Life
Chain 2020.
For questions or if you would like to receive
promotional information to distribute, please
contact grimsbylifechain@gmail.com.
STRESS IN YOUR MARRIAGE?
A Lifeline for Marriage – Do you feel alone? Are you
frustrated or angry with each other? Retrouvaille has
helped 10’s of 1000’s of couples experiencing marital
difficulty at all levels. For confidential information, or
to register for the program beginning with a weekend
on October 23 , 2020, at the Mount Carmel Spiritual
Centre in Niagara Falls , please call 905-664-5212 or
email: Teamrecine@gmail.com or visit the web site at
www.retrouvaille.org.
WEEKLY DONATIONS
The new Sunday Collection box is placed at the
entrance of the church. If you are attending Mass,
since there is no collection, please drop off your
offering in the collection box at the entrance of the
church before or after Mass. If you are unable to
attend Mass, please consider online giving or
preauthorized monthly giving. Ways to give
instructions are attached to this bulletin.
SACRAMENTS FOR OUR STUDENTS
First Communion Update - Parents of the remaining
students are asked to contact the parish office if they
would like to celebrate these Sacraments this year. If
you wish to defer, please let Fr. Chris know.
Confirmation Update - Families of our grade 8
students have been contacted by Fr. Chris and
Confirmation dates will continue to be scheduled for
confirmandees who were prepared last spring. If you
have not scheduled your date, please contact Fr.
Chris asap. Understandably, protocols currently in
place for our worship space will apply and will
determine the number of families able to celebrate at a
given time.
DIOCESAN SEPARATED & DIVORCED
HEALING MINISTRY SUPPORT GROUP
We meet every second and fourth Monday (7:00-9:00
p.m.) at Mt. Carmel Spiritual Centre. Next session will
be Monday, September 28 - 7:00 to 9:00 pm - Topic -
Coping with Stress For more info, call 905-356-4113,
or e-mail: separatedanddivorced@saintcd.com.
 Advertise your
business or service
in this space.
For more info email:
office@sthelenscatholic.ca

Advertise your
business or service
in this space.
For more info email:
office@sthelenscatholic.ca

Advertise your
business or service
in this space.
For more info email:
office@sthelenscatholic.ca
Last weekend’s Masses, the letter of Cardinal Robert Sarah which was sent to bishops around
the world, was referenced. This letter urging a return to Mass, with proper safety protocols
observed amid the coronavirus pandemic. Below is an excerpt of that letter:

Let us return to the Eucharist with joy!

Aware the God never abandons the humanity He has created, and that even the hardest trials can
bear fruits of grace, we have accepted our distance from the Lord’s altar as a time of Eucharistic
fasting, useful for us to rediscover its vital importance, beauty and immeasurable preciousness.
As soon as is possible, however, we must return to the Eucharist with a purified heart, with a
renewed amazement, with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him
and to bring him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life full of faith, love, and hope.

This time of deprivation gives us the grace to understand the heart of our brothers and sisters, the
martyrs of Abitinae (beginning of the 4th century), who answered their judges with serene
determination, despite a sure death sentence: “Sine Dominico non possumus.” The absolute
verb non possumus (we cannot) and the significance of the neuter non Dominicum (this which is
the Lord’s) cannot be translated with a single word. A very brief expression sums up a great
wealth of nuances and meanings that are offered to our mediation today:

--- We cannot live, be Christians, fully realizing our humanity and the desires for good and
happiness that dwell in our hearts without the Word of the Lord, which in the celebration of the
liturgy takes shape and becomes a living word, spoken by God for those who today open their
hearts to listen;

--- We cannot live as Christians without participating in the Sacrifice of the Cross in which the
Lord Jesus gives himself unreservedly to save, by his death, humanity which had died because of
sin; the Redeemer associates humanity with himself and leads it back to the Father; in the
embrace of the Crucified One all human suffering finds light and comfort;

--- We cannot be without the banquet of the Eucharist, the table of the Lord to which we are
invited as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to receive the Risen Christ himself, present in
body, blood, soul and divinity in that Bread of heaven which sustains us in the joys and labours
of this earthly pilgrimage;

--- We cannot be without the Christian community, the family of the Lord: we need to meet our
brothers and sisters who share the sonship of God, the fraternity of Christ, the vocation and the
search for holiness and the salvation of their souls in the rich diversity of ages, personal histories,
charisms and vocations;

--- We cannot be without the house of the Lord, which is our home, without the holy places
where we were born to faith, where we discovered the provident presence of the Lord and
discovered the merciful embrace that lifts up those who have fallen, where we consecrated our
vocation to marriage or religious life, where we prayed and gave thanks, rejoiced and wept,
where we entrusted to the Father our loved ones who had completed their earthly pilgrimage;

--- We cannot be without the Lord’s Day, without Sunday which gives light and meaning to the
successions of days of work and to family and social responsibilities.
 DONATIONS DURING COVID-19
1. Pre-Authorized giving (monthly automatic withdrawal): contact the office

2. E-transfer: use our business email address with your

bank: donations@sthelenscatholic.ca
If you would like to use this convenient method through your bank, please follow these
instructions (some banks charge a fee):
Go online and log into your bank account. Select Interac e-transfer and select a
recipient – the first time you will have to add recipient by putting in
donations@sthelenscatholic.ca (after the first time it will then stay on your list of
recipients). Input amount to send and complete the transaction. Note in the memo area
what your donation is for; Sunday Offertory (SO), Facility Maintenance (FM) and
Building Fund (BF). (Please include your ID# in the memo - contact the office if you
do not have a parish ID.)
Example - SO $20 One transaction can be made for all three if you wish. Such a
notation could look like this: SO $xx, FM $xx, BF $xx. If your transaction does not
work the first time, please try the next day as the Diocese can only receive a set amount
of donations in a 24-hour period. If you have any questions, please email or call the
office.

3. Regular mail: send your weekly offertory envelope or cheque payable to St. Helen
Church to:
St. Helen Church
4106 Mountain St.
Beamsville, ON L0R 1B7

4. Drop off: This option is not encouraged during the COVID 19 pandemic.
If absolutely necessary, you may drop off your envelope by calling the office to arrange a
time.

5. Credit card or Paypal (Canada Helps link): https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/49448

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/119109791RR0006-st-helens-parish/
(tax receipt is issued by Canada Helps, they retain a nominal percentage as fee)

COVID 19 pandemic
Thank you for considering the financial needs of our parish during the COVID 19 pandemic. We
understand and appreciate that financial pressure on families is different today than it was even a
few months ago. We are also carefully managing the expenses at the parish and are deeply
grateful for any help you can provide. Thank you and be assured of our continued prayers and
best wishes.