Mass Intentions

Monday, December 30

Eric Chow (INT)

Tuesday, December 31

Barbara Baldissera (INT)

Wednesday, January 1

Engracia & Gregorio Rama (+)

Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Thursday, January 2

Rita Dion (+)

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Doctors

Friday, January 3

Josephine Steckler (+)

The Most Holy Name of Jesus

Saturday, January 4

Gerone Mosan (+)

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs

St. Pat’s Highlights

Ministry Updates & Upcoming Events

---

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – 

A letter from Father Matthew To

My Dear St. Patrick’s Family,

Christmas has come and I am filled with joy as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

At Christmas, Christ enters into our messy world and messy lives and brings healing and opportunities for peace and joy and wonder.  A simple Bethlehem stable welcomes the King of Kings. Poor shepherds fields become holy grounds for God’s glory.

I am grateful for the many ways our parish family supports one another and our community: through serving in ministries, contributing to the Giving Tree (where we helped to financially support over 30 families experiencing difficulties over Christmas), giving of time and effort in our bi-weekly Food Recovery Program (where we are supporting more than 100 families and the program continues to grow), by bringing Holy Communion to those who are sick or fragile and unable to come to church, and by praying for one another individually and as a community. 

I pray that each of you find time to reflect on the many blessings Jesus has brought into your heart and in your lives.  It is my very great hope that in the coming year we all find opportunities to open our hearts more fully to the goodness of God and allow Him to rescue and to heal us from our many wounds.

If we let Jesus into our lives, we lose nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and full of joy and peace. In Jesus we have every reason to loudly proclaim Merry Christmas!

I wish to extend a Christmas blessing to each of you and your loved ones. May the joy of Christmas illuminate your lives and continue to bless you in the new year!

Thank you all for the many Christmas cards and gifts!

~Fr. Matthew

---

Harry and Collette would like to express their heartfelt gratitude for all the prayers of healing for their 2 grandsons. They are doing very well and are almost ready to go home.

Finished Alpha? About to start Rescue? Wondering what is next? Feeling like you want to give your faith life a boost? Email Hannah to inquire about small groups. Small groups are intended to build lasting friendships and deepen our love for Jesus and what He has done for us. Come experience authentic friendship, close bonds and learning more about Jesus in a far more personal way than perhaps ever thought possible.

Thank you to everyone who made our annual Candle Light Mass (Rorate Mass) possible. To those who stayed late to prepare the church and woke up at 5am to make sure the candles were ready – Thank you; to those who prepared our parish coffee house, Holy Grounds so that there was an amazing Oatmeal Breakfast (prepared by Shelly, Jodi, Emily, Hannah, Marko) with hot coffee, cocoa and tea, pastries, yogourts and more and to those who welcomed everyone with warm and loving smiles…thank you. We appreciate the work that goes into bringing this incredible season into the hearts of so many.

Thank you to Divine and Cecille for hosting the Christmas morning socials.

We are still working to compile a complete list of the incredible team of people who volunteered their time and talents to bring together the many events of the Christmas week.  Please watch for more in the coming days.

Support your Parish

Every act of help and support keeps our parish running and is an integral part of achieving our parish mission. We are so very grateful to all.

If you would like to serve the parish by donating your time or skills, please let us know.

Pre-labelled Parish donation envelopes are available for pick up for those who prefer to donate with cash or cheque.

Please use these envelopes starting Jan 1, 2025.

There is a limited number of physical envelopes available and they are pre-labelled based on parishioner preference.  
For parishioners who donate electronically, there is no need to pick up a physical envelope for donations – your donations are recorded electronically and your envelope # does not change in the new year.
Envelopes for Second Collections are additionally available at the office for your use.

Please contact the parish office if you require paper envelopes and one is not already available for you.

NEW!

Check out our revamped Small Community Business Listings page.  Please consider supporting parish-run small businesses.  We have a little of everything here, from personal services to home renovation to real estate to custom fabrication to restaurants and eateries and so much more.

Relic Tour – St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. Kateri Tekakwitha

As part of the Jubilee Year 2025, you are invited to come and pray with the major relics of the Canadian Martyrs, including St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalement, St. Charles Garnier, as well as North America’s first indigenous Saint, Kateri Tekakwitha. These first class relics are visiting from the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ontario as part of their first tour of Western Canada.

Saturday, Jan. 11 – St. Anthony of Padua, Agassiz

• Veneration: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
• Anticipatory Mass: 5:00 p.m. (celebrated by Fr. John O’Brien)    

Sunday, Jan. 12 – Holy Rosary Cathedral

Mass Times:   

• 11:00 a.m. (celebrated by Archbishop Miller)6:30 p.m. (in Spanish, celebrated by Fr. John O’Brien)        
• Veneration Times:
  • 12:30–1:00 p.m.
  • 2:00–4:00 p.m.        
  • 7:30–8:00 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 13 – Holy Rosary Cathedral

• Votive Mass of St. Jean de Brebeuf: 12:10 p.m.
• Veneration: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm.

Learn more at beholdvancouver.org/events

Archbishop Miller’s Christmas Message

Dear brothers and sisters:

“To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11). Those words spoken by the Angel in the heavens above Bethlehem so long ago are just as clearly addressed to us today. That the Lord has been born for us fills us with hope and trust because the Son of God has made his home among us. This is the good news that has changed the course of history and the life of each one of us.

As we look towards the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope, we recall that the reason for our hope is this: God is with us; he accompanies us; he is always by our side.

I encourage you in these special days to kneel before the Nativity scene to experience the joy that comes from the nearness of Jesus, the tenderness of God himself. With haste and enthusiasm, let us set out to see the Saviour lying in the poverty of the manger and adored by Mary, Joseph, the Angels, and the shepherds.

This Christmas I invite you to recognize the Child Jesus in the faces of the world’s children. From the manger, this Child directs our gaze to all children who are suffering and abused: to children killed in their mother’s womb; to children brutalized in their homes by terrorists; to children hiding underground to escape bombardment; to children at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants; to children who go to school hungry in our own City; to children without the blessing of a happy family home; to children who are victims of human trafficking, the pornography industry and every kind of appalling exploitation in our own Downtown Eastside.

Born of the Virgin Mary, God became man in the Child Jesus, the Saviour of the world. May he who is “the light of the world” (Jn 8:12), enter your hearts, brighten your homes, bring hope to our City, and grant peace and bring joy to the whole world.

With the assurance of my prayers for you and your families, I wish you all a blessed Christmas season.

* Decree for the Observance of the Jubilee Year 2025

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, has issued a decree proclaiming the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

The Jubilee of Hope will be from Dec. 29, 2024, to Dec. 28, 2025, and aligns with Pope Francis’ call for the global Church to embrace “a lively experience of grace and hope” and of the love of God, wrote the Archbishop in the decree released Dec. 19.

The decree highlights a special Jubilee Indulgence as “a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy,” quoting Pope Francis. It invites the faithful to partake in spiritual practices and pilgrimages to receive the special grace.

The Archbishop’s decree designates three sacred locations in the Archdiocese where pilgrims may obtain the Jubilee Indulgence:  

• Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver, which the Archbishop said should be in a special way among the “sacred places of welcome and privileged spaces for the rebirth of hope” like the other Marian Shrines Pope Francis mentions in his proclamation of the Jubilee Year;
• St. Jude’s Parish and Shrine in Vancouver;
• St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Agassiz, along with the adjacent Shrine of Santo Niño de Cebu.

The faithful can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence by visiting one of the designated sites and devoutly participating in Holy Mass or other sacred acts, such as the celebration of the Word of God, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, or a penitential celebration that includes individual confession.

In a Dec. 6 message to the faithful, Archbishop Miller emphasized the significance of the Jubilee, quoting Pope Francis: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision.”

For updates on the Jubilee Year 2025, including events and indulgence information, visit rcav.org/jubilee

The B.C. Catholic Christmas Edition                                     

The Christmas edition of The B.C. Catholic is now available online. Registered parishioners can receive a free subscription to The B.C. Catholic by calling (604) 683-3208 or registering at bccatholic.ca/subscribe.

Due to a mail disruption, our print edition is temporarily paused. We hope to resume printing on January 6.