Confirmation at Forget

The day after the Centennial Celebration in Forget, we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for the young people of the parishes which make up the pastoral unit served by Sr. Jacqueline. I am very moved by the positive spirit that is shown by our young people when they receive this Sacrament which makes them now fully members of God's holy people: the Church.

Again, excellent Altar Servers and Lectors. The lay ministries of Acolyte and Lector are so important for the Church to celebrate the Liturgy effectively with respect and reverence. We are blessed with so many fine and dedicated people who carry out these ministries with great preparation and competence.

It is also very encouraging to see those who are older among our youth continuing to give of their time and experience to God for the sake of the Church's prayer.

And here we all are at the end of a very special celebration.

-30-

Estevan Deanery Celebrates Archdiocesan Centennial

On June 21st. the first of the Deanery Celebrations of the Centennial of the Archdiocese of Regin took place in Forget for the Estevan Deanery. This event took place during the annual pilgrimage to the Grotto at our Lady of LaSalette parish.

This was our main server at the Pilgrimage and at the Mass that followed. A very competent and helpful young lady.

I am impressed by the quality of music which the parishioners provide throughout the diocese. People with great talent and generosity share their time and talent to enhance the community's worship of God and celebration of their faith. Another example of good Stewardship!

The priests of the deanery came together to celebrate the Eucharist and I was assisted by our two seminarians, Andrew Young and James Zick.

The Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus also were on hand to provide an honour guard and lend a special solemnity to the occasion. The Knights of Columbus are an excellent Catholic men's organization who do an immense amount of good work in support of the church and the priests in our Archdiocese.

Sr. Jacqueline Lussier, the Parish Minister at Forget was delighted to see a packed church for this event.

-30-

A Day of Instruction on the new Sacramentary

Recently Bishop Raymond Lahey, the Bishop of Antigonish, NS, spent a day with both the priests and lay pastoral workers to outline some of the changes that will be found in the new Roman Missal which will be published in the near future. The Missal is the book which contains the prayers for the various celebrations of the Eucharist throught the year. The General Instruction which accompanies it contain the proper proceedures and rituals for the celebration of the Eucharist in our churches in Canada.

Bishop Lahey is a member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is a mixed commission of Catholic Bishops' Conferences in countries where English is used in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Roman Rite. The purpose of the Commission is to prepare English translations of each of the Latin liturgical books and any individual liturgical texts in accord with the directives of the Holy See.

There was an excellent turn out of priests and lay people who came to be informed and brought up to date on the liturgy of the Church and its proper celebration.

The Eucharist is the source and the summit of our Christian life so it is most important that it be celebrated both properly and reverently so that all may receive its full benefit and be able to participate fully and actively. Workshops such as these are of great benefit in achieving this.

-30-

Some more Faces of Confirmation

One of the pleasures of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in the many parishes of the Archdiocese is meeting the young people who give of their time to serve at Mass. This generous gift of time is a great example of Stewardship that is practiced by our youth. Here are the servers at St. Lawrence Parish in Maple Creek. Fr. Rick Krofchek, who is the Dean of the Swift Current Deanery, took part in the celebration while the Parish Priest, Fr. Faustino, was away.

And here are the young people who were confirmed at St. Lawrence.

Then we moved on to Notre Dame d'Auvergne parish in Ponteix. Another fine group of young people seen here with their pastor, Fr. Raymond Carignan and Fr. Fernand Ducharme.

I usually take the opportunity to talk to the young people a bit before the celebration and meet them. Here we are in Resurrection Parish in Regina.

As you can see, a goodly number of fine young people together with their Pastor, Fr. Stephen Bill.

-30-