​A Message from Fr. Sean for the New Year 2021

Dear Parishioners of St. Gregory's Parish, 

While many in the world enjoy the departure of 2020, we who are followers of Christ must still have gratitude for the time we were blessed to have and endure despite whatever difficulties came with it. 2020 was indeed a trying year for many of us. Perhaps we lost loved ones and friends or even distant relatives. We should acknowledge the hardships that come with the pandemic but at the same time let us not put blame for whatever struggles each of us had to endure. We must rise and grow from the occasion.

As we transition into the New Year of 2021, we must look forward with hope – a hope unlike that of the world. Christian hope is one which the Saviour of the World gives us. It is a theological hope. We hope what the Lord hopes of us. We desire what the Lord desires of us. We do not place our own expectations over the expectations of what God has in mind for us. We must face with confidence in Christ whatever the future holds, for good or for ill. The Lord is with us in good times and in bad times. This is the way of His Pilgrim People. We do not face it alone. 

While we continue to suffer from the restrictions that the Province of Ontario has imposed on places of worship, we do not live in denial like some who think this pandemic is merely a conspiracy theory. The danger is real, the deaths are real. Let us remain prayerful for departed souls and for those who are in their final agony on their death bed. We mourn for those whom we say fare-forward to but we do not mourn as some others do. Life is changed not ended. In these times, Christian hope is our strength. 

On a personal note, on the weekend of December 26/27, I was so pleased to see many of you who came to receive the Lord in the Christmas Communion Services. I am very grateful to His Eminence, Cardinal Collins, for allowing me to serve you on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. With the closures imposed during the pandemic, I find myself resorting to looking at old St. Gregory photos trying to remember who my people are and their faces. It has been a while since seeing you without the face covering and masks. I truly believe, as I said in a homily before, “The most intimate part of the human body is the face.” For now, we must long for that day when we will see each other face to face as we are. And how much more, do we long to see God face to face as He is. 

With a cheerful heart, I bid you... 

Happy New Year!