News from the Chancery is published each week to share information and upcoming events with the people of the Diocese of Victoria.
We have 6 items to share with you this week:
1) The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched its 2024 Journey Through Lent video series. On Ash Wednesday and each Sunday in Lent, a video will be shared the CCCB website featuring pastoral reflections based on the Readings for the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration. This series is meant to offer spiritual inspiration and guidance on how to prepare well for the Easter season. To view the videos, please visit https://www.cccb.ca/evangelization-catechesis-catholic-education/video-resources/journey-through-lent/.
2) 40 Days for Life invites you to pray for an end to abortion by participating in their annual vigil, which runs this year from February 14 - March 24. For more information, please visit https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/victoriabc.
3) In solidarity with the defenders of Guapinol and the San Pedro sector in Honduras, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada is seeking to collect signatures for a letter to the Honduran ambassador to Canada. As the official international solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada is working to support people who defend the environment, water and land. The letter will be delivered next month, and so the deadline for signatures is Sunday, March 25. For more information and to sign the letter, please visit https://devp.org/en/campaign/stand-for-the-land/act/
4) On February 27 at 2:00 pm, all are invited to Holy Cross Parish in Victoria (4049 Gordon Head Rd) to meet Karno Batiran, Executive Director of PAYOPAYO in Indonesia. Development and Peace – Caritas Canada is hosting Karno as a Lenten solidarity visitor as part of the Share Lent 2024 campaign. Karno and his team are enabling the next generation of farmers by training young villagers in Indonesia who want to work the land in healthy, sustainable ways.
5) On February 21 at 4 pm PT, the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute will host an online presentation on “Reclaiming Redemptive Suffering: A Spiritual Approach to the Meaning of Suffering”. Many of us have lost any sense of 'meaning' in suffering. Some want to avoid it at all costs, even choosing early death. Our Catholic faith talks about 'redemptive' suffering, but what does that mean? Presenter Erin Kinsella will discuss this through the lens of her experience of chronic illness and developing spirituality of suffering. For more information and to register, please email bioethics.usmc@utoronto.ca.
6) Would you like to be part of an ecologically conscious crew dedicated to restoring the properties of St. Andrew’s High School, the Pastoral Centre, and Sacred Heart Parish? Every Saturday morning starting on March 2, all are invited to come and help remove English Ivy, Scotch Broom, and Himalayan Blackberry and plant native plants. The work party will meet in the Sacred Heart parking lot (4040 Nelthorpe Street) and run from 10 am – 12 pm, rain or shine. Pruners and shovels are provided; please bring your own gloves, safety glasses, and water. There's no need to attend every Saturday, just come when you can! For more information and to sign up, please email jseale1234@gmail.com
