July - Year A
Sunday July 5, 2020
Mass Intentions
July 7 - August 2, 2020
As we gather, let us remember and pray for . . .
th
Tues. ~ ………………………………………. July 7
9:00 am + Manuel DaSilva
(by Maria DaSilva)
Wed. ~ ………………………………….…... July 8th
9:00 am Intn’s Ron & Sue Bruch - 30th
Anniversary (by Kath Bruch)
Thurs. ~ ………………………………….…... July 9th
9:00 am + Vito DiIorio
(by Helen & Gino Francavilla)
Fri. ~ ……………………….……...………. July 10th
9:00 am + Stephen Damp
(by Zuzek Family)
Sat. ~ ……………………….……...……….. July 11th
5:00 pm + Maria da Gloria Pereira &
+ Joao Araujo (by the Family)
Sun. ~ …………………………………………. July 12th
10:00 am For the People of St. Helen Church
Tues. ~ ………St. Kateri Tekakwitha..……. July 14
9:00 am Intn’s of Smeenk & Munster Fam.
(by Mary Smeenk)
Wed. ~ ………St. Bonaventure…..…….…... July 15th
9:00 am + Dora Geczy & + Elizabeth Barna
(by Alex Geczy)
Thurs. ~ ………………………………….…... July 16h
9:00 am + Krystyna Batorski
(by the Family)
Fri. ~ ……………………….……...………. July 17th
9:00 am Helen & Andy Hendriks - 60th
Anniversary (by Mary Smeenk)
Sat. ~ ……………………………………….. July 18th
5:00 pm For the People of St. Helen Church
Sun. ~ …………………………………………. July 19th
10:00 am + Robert Monte
(by Rebecca Williams)
Tues. ~ ………………………………………. July 21st
9:00 am + John Amato
(by Steve & Kate D’Onofrio)
Wed. ~ ………..St. Mary Magdalene….…... July 22nd
9:00 am Special Intention
Thurs. ~ ……………………….……...………. July 23rd
9:00 am Special Intention
Fri. ~ ……………………….……...………. July 24th
9:00 am Special Intention
Mass Intentions ~ Continued
Sat. ~ ……………………………………….. July 25th
5:00 pm For the People of St. Helen Church
Sun. ~ …………………………………………. July 26th
10:00 am + Teresa & Michael Commisso
(by Rose & John Luppino)
Tues. ~ ………………………………………. July 28th
9:00 am Special Intention
Wed. ~ …………….St. Martha…….………. July 29th
9:00 am Special Intention
Thurs. ~ ………………St. Peter...…...………. July 30th
9:00 am Special Intention
Fri. ~ ……….St. Ignatius of Loyola…...…. July 31st
9:00 am + Pietro & Ursula Elia &
+ Michael & Olga D’Alessio
(by Connie & Louis Elia)
Sat. ~ ……………………………………….. Aug. 1st
th 5:00 pm For the People of St. Helen Church
Sun. ~ …………………………………………. Aug. 2nd
10:00 am Special Intention
SANCTUARY LAMP
The Sanctuary Lamp burns in memory of:
Week of July 6 to July 12, 2020:
ROSA MORANO
Week of July 13 to July 19, 2020:
GIUSEPPE & LAURA PORTANOVA
Week of July 20 to July 26, 2020:
ANGELO & VINCENZA DELLAMANNA
Week of July 27 to August 2, 2020:
DECEASED MEMBERS OF COMMISSO FAMILY
MASS INTENTIONS & SANCTUARY LAMP
To schedule a new Mass intention or to book the Sanctuary
Lamp for your loved ones, please contact the office via
phone or email and your call will be returned. There are still
many openings available for August and September.
BULLETIN ADVERTISING
There are several opening for the advertising page. If you
are interested in advertising your business or have a friend
who may be interested, please call the office.
SUMMER WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE
Beginning the weekend of July 4/5th, Saturday Mass will
be as normally scheduled at 5:00 p.m. and there will only be
one Sunday Mass at 10:00 a.m.
 July 5 – 14th Sunday of the Year
Lo, your king comes to you humble and riding on a donkey.
(Zechariah 9)
If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you
will live. (Romans 8)
I am gentle and humble in heart. (Matthew 11)
When Christ calls his disciples to
embrace the simple faith of “little
ones,” he is not saying that our
approach to faith should be
“dumbed down” to the level of
children. Christ is calling us,
instead, to embrace a faith that is
centered in the “simple” but
profound love, compassion and
hope of God: love that is not
compromised by self-interest and rationalization;
compassion that is not measured but offered totally and
unreservedly, completely and without limit or condition;
hope that is centered in gratitude for the many ways God’s
presence is revealed in our midst. It is an approach to faith
that is not compromised by “adult” complexities and
complications but embraced with “child-like” directness and
optimism.
To love one another as God has loved us, to serve one
another as Christ the Savior serves God’s people, is a “yoke”
that is “easy” (“fitting well”) in calling us to love as we are,
using whatever gifts God has given us to give voice to our
faith; a yoke that is “light” in its sense of joy and the
fulfillment and meaning it gives our lives.
Today’s Gospel calls us to embrace Jesus’ spirit of
humility: recognizing that before God we are all debtors, that
we have done nothing to deserve the life we have been
given, that we are owed nothing from God or life. Humility
is to realize how blessed we have been by God through no
merit of our own, and to respond to such goodness with a
constant sense of gratefulness, realizing that every breath we
take is a gift from a Creator whose love knows neither limit
nor condition.
July 12 – 15th Sunday of the Year
The rain makes the earth bring forth and sprout. (Isaiah 55)
Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the
children of God. (Romans 8)
Listen: A sower went out to sow. (Matthew 13)
The parable of the sower
challenges us to see how deeply the
word of God has taken root in our
lives, how central God is to the
very fabric of our day-to-day
existence.
Christ invites his followers to
embrace the faith of the sower: to
trust and believe that our simplest
acts of kindness and forgiveness, our humblest offer of help
to anyone in need, our giving of only a few minutes to listen
to the plight of another soul may be the seeds that fall “on
good soil” and yields an abundant harvest.
Jesus challenges us in the parable of the sower to be both
sower and seed: to sow seeds of encouragement, joy and
reconciliation regardless of the “ground” on which it is
scattered, and to imitate the seed’s total giving of self that
becomes the harvest of Gospel justice and mercy.
July 19 – 16th Sunday of the Year
You give repentance for sins. (Wisdom 12)
The Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
(Romans 8)
Let both of them grow together until the harvest. (Mathew 13)
“The wheat and weeds”:
We often approach religion as a
deadly serious business; we lose
the spirit of joy and the sense of
hope that are part of the promise
of the Risen Christ. We become
so concerned about pulling out
the weeds that we forget to
harvest the grain; we become so
focused on the evil and abuses that surround us and
“threaten” us that we fail to realize and celebrate the healing
and life-giving presence of God in our very midst; we
become so intent in upbraiding and punishing sinners that
our own lives become mired in gloom and despair. The task
of judging sinners belongs to God; to us belongs the work of
compassion and reconciliation.
When we hear Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds,
we first think of good people (the wheat) and bad people (the
weeds) coexisting in an imperfect world until the coming of
God’s kingdom. But every individual possesses something
of both the “good” wheat and “evil” weed. Every one of us
possesses the ability to do compassionate and just things out
of love — but there exists within us the same ability to do
destructive things out of selfishness and greed. Discipleship
recognizes that struggle existing within each one of us but
also embraces the hope that, in seeking to imitate Christ’s
spirit of loving servanthood, we may be “wheat” for a world
that is often choking in “weeds.”
“Mustard seed”: All of us, at some time, are called to be
“mustard seeds,” to do the small, thankless things that are
necessary to bring a sense of wholeness and fulfillment to
our homes and communities. From such “mustard seeds” is
yielded a great harvest of peace and reconciliation.
“Yeast”: In baptism, we accept God's call to be “yeast,”
to be the bread of compassion, justice and forgiveness to a
world which is desperately hungry in its despair and
hopelessness.
July 26 – 17th Sunday of the Year
You have asked for an understanding mind. (1 Kings)
God predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son.
(Romans 8)
Anyone who finds a treasure in a field, sells all and buys that
field. (Matthew 13)
The “treasures” and “pearls” of
lasting value are the things of God: the
love of family and friends, the support
of community, the sense of fulfillment
from serving and giving for the sake
of others. In order to attain such
treasure, we must take the risk of the
speculator and “sell off” our own
interests, ambitions and agendas in order to free ourselves to
embrace the lasting values of the compassion, love and
reconciliation of God.
The Gospel “pearl” of great price transcends logic,
efficiency, and self-interest; and the Gospel “treasure” is the
joy and wholeness one experiences in imitating the humble
compassion and forgiveness of Christ.
In the parable of the dragnet, Jesus calls us to embrace the
vision of God that seeks out the good and nurturing, the right
and just in all things amid the “junk” of life.
 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
 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.