Sunday Liturgy

Saturday: 5:00 pm

Sunday: 11:00 am

Mission Statement

We are a welcoming Christian community called to embrace and respect the uniqueness of each individual as we join together in our faith and worship.  Our ongoing   mission is to engage our youth, promote renewal, out reach, evangelization and ecumenical cooperation.

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Monday, April 6th – 9:00 am                            No Mass

Tuesday, April 7th – 9:00 am                            Clarence Riley                                                             

Wednesday, April 8th – 9:00 am                     Norma Forbes                             

Thursday, April 9th – 9:00 am                         Robert Quinlan                                                               

Friday, April 10th – 9:00 am                              No Mass                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Saturday, April 11th – 5:00 pm                                Florence Campbell                                                             

Sunday, April 12th – 11:00 am                         Bernadette LeBlanc

Weekly Reflections (Homily) from Msgr. Sheehan (April 2, 2026)

EASTER SUNDAY 

Dear Friends;

            There are two feasts which in my early priesthood I had difficulty in understanding the scope of their celebration.  The first one was Epiphany… I found it a strange feast… there three men from the east.

            I couldn’t see what they symbolized until somehow it was brought home that they represented the outsiders… and that they really represented us who have come but late to the revelation – that Jesus has come for all peoples… not just the chosen people.  So it is our Feast.

            The second Feast that I missed out on its’ great significance was Easter… and I think many people are like me… they think of it as simply of Jesus’ resurrection.

            It is the Feast of Jesus’ Resurrection – to be sure… but it is a very strange thing the Church doesn’t focus on His Resurrection – it takes it for granted…  It is the cornerstone of our faith… as Paul say to the Corinthians:

            “If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection from the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing is useless!”                 

                                                                                                   (1Cor. 15, 12-14)

            But what the Church does at Easter while celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus – it focuses on what that resurrection means for US…

            The Father raises Jesus – not for himself – but for us… and for many of us – we celebrate Easter as if it is a celebration simply of Jesus’ Resurrection – having little to do with what it means for us… that is not what the Church does.

            The very first words uttered at the blessing of the new fire – recalls Jesus’ Resurrection and then what it means for us:

            “Dear Friends in Christ – on this most holy night, when our Lord Jesus passed from death to life – the Church invites her children throughout the world to come together in Vigil and prayer – this is the Passover of the Lord; If we honour the memory of his death and resurrection by hearing his word and celebrating mysteries – then we may be confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with him forever.”

            Everything is celebrated to remind us of what we have become and who we are in Christ… and in his death and resurrection… new beings in Baptism… repeating our Baptismal vows… reborn in the waters – called to walk in the light… the whole world having undergone a new creation… Rejoice O Earth… rejoice O Mother Church… the risen Saviour shines upon you…

            “This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clear of sin, and freed from all defilement are restored to grace, and grow together in holiness.”

            Tomorrow morning… our opening prayer will be similar – it is our Easter wish:

            O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light of life.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

            Amen.

Easter Message 2026

“But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said’.” (Matthew 28:5-6)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, the Church joyfully proclaims the truth announced at the empty tomb: “He is not here, for he has been raised” (Matthew 28:6). This is a message not just proclaimed to the “whole world” but spoken personally to each of us.

From the beginning, God has desired an intimate, personal relationship with each of his children. Scripture reveals God as the one who created us out of love, who pursued us even when we turned away, and came to us in the fullest revelation of his love in Jesus Christ, suffering death to save us from our sin and restore our friendship with him. “Christ’s resurrection teaches us that no history is so marked by disappointment or sin that it cannot be visited by hope...However distant, lost or unworthy we may feel, there is no distance that can extinguish the unfailing power of God’s love” (Pope Leo XIV, October 8, 2025, General Audience).

Jesus died for us, personally and intentionally. He came to restore what was lost and draw us into communion with the Father. The Catechism reminds us that, “the cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the ‘one mediator between God and men’. But because in his incarnate divine person Jesus has in some way united himself to every man, ‘the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery’ is offered to all men” (CCC 618). As you gaze on Jesus crucified and risen, let this truth touch your heart: Jesus loves us and continues to pursue us with his love.

We encounter this love most intimately in the Mass when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, the re-presentation of Calvary, where Jesus gives himself to us in intimate communion, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. This is why, at the Cathedral, we recently reflected on how our gestures and postures at Mass help us to dispose our hearts in openness to this mystery with adoration, humility and deep reverence (visit https://www.immaculateconception.ca/ to learn more). When we approach the altar, we meet the One who longs to unite himself fully and completely to us. Let this Easter be the moment to be drawn into deeper unity with the Lord. Open your heart to him and all that he offers. Ask him to come even more deeply into your life. The Risen Christ is alive and onthe move, ready to pour out his mercy, joy, and transforming love from his heart to ours! Let us

receive him with a resounding “Yes!”

May this Easter encounter with Divine Love, crucified and risen, renew our hearts and fill us with the joy of knowing the Living Saviour who calls us by name.

In the Risen Lord,

✠ Christian Riesbeck, CC

Bishop of Saint John

March 31, 2026