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The Purpose of Lent and Experiencing Christ
Lent is a time of spiritual preparation and renewal that leads us to a more meaningful encounter with Christ. It is about repentance, humility, asking for forgiveness from others, offering forgiveness, being merciful, and more deliberate in our life in Christ.
Lent has the incredible potential for us to encounter Christ. When we grow deeper in our relationship with Christ and draw nearer to Him, then the celebration of the resurrection of Christ can be extraordinary for us.How can we experience Christ?
During this Lent, we have many opportunities to encounter and experience Christ and deepen our faith. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (March 5) check out our Mass schedule and Lenten page link below. This year we have the Little Black Book; a companion book for meditation and reflection. Get your copy before they run out! A free-will donation is welcomed. We are also offering a Parish Mission on March 16, 17 & 18 (7-8:30 pm) with more information to follow.
What is a Parish Mission?
It’s a special time of renewal, an opportunity to grow in faith. This powerful experience invites anyone and everyone, whether returning, seeking, or already committed to grow in God’s grace and love. Through reflections on salvation and the Christian life, the mission serves as a “spiritual booster shot” for the entire parish.
Matthew Conner, a seminarian with Companions of the Cross, Detroit, will be leading our Parish Mission, “To Seek and to Save” Luke 19:10. They are a Roman Catholic community of priests, and their mission is: Compelled by God’s love, we seek to lead all people into a personal and ongoing encounter with Jesus Christ.
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Bishop Fabbro's Lenten Letter - 2025
(Click image to open)
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CONFESSION: EXPERIENCE MERCY
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SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Lent is a great opportunity to take some time to experience God's Mercy in a special way in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).
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Regular Confession Times
- Wednesday: 11:45 AM to 12:10 PM Good Shepherd
- Thursday: 6:00 PM to 6:25 PM Good Shepherd
- Friday: 8:15 AM to 9:15 AM St. Simon & St. Jude
- Saturday: 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Ste. Anne's 3:45 PM to 4:15 PM St. Simon & St. Jude
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Journey through Lent 2025 - With the CCCB
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Ash Wednesday
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1st Sunday
of Lent
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2nd Sunday
of Lent
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3rd Sunday
Of Lent
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4th Sunday
of Lent
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5th Sunday
of Lent
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Palm Branches after mass
On Palm Sunday we receive blessed palm branches, and the question has come up; "What do you do with them after Easter?"
After Palm Sunday the blessed palms do not belong in the trash but need to be either buried or burned (and if burned the ashes buried). You can keep them as long as you want, but you need to be sure that when disposing of them you are being respectful.
Many people after Mass, when they return home, like to make crosses out of the palm brances and put them in their car, workspace or even use as a bookmark in their Bible. Another popular idea is to braid the palm branches and place them behind a cross at home.
Below are a few video tutorials for you to follow.
For some more information check out this article by clicking here.
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DAILY REFLECTIONS BY EMAIL / Retreat
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Bp. Barron's Reflections
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Other Daily reflections
In addition to Bishop Barron's daily emails, there are some other great daily Lenten reflections to consider as well. Check out the links below:
- Formed Daily Lenten Reflections with Dr. Tim Gray
- Praying Lent Daily Prayers from Creighton University
- Living Lent Daily by Loyola Press
- Best Lent Ever Daily Reflections from Dynamic Catholic
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Acension Press
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Coming in March
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MORE WAYS TO PRAY
- The animated series "Brother Francis" has a kids version of Stations of the Cross on Formed (login by searching for Good Shepherd)
- Meditate on Christ’s journey to the cross using this video from Ascension Presents
- Consider this stations of the cross from Catholic Relief Services
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SWITCH ON FORMED THIS LENT
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Consider taking a break from Netflix, and diving deeper into your faith this Lent by watching high-quality videos from Formed, an online streaming service like Netflix. As a member of our community, you can access Catholic movies, shows, and books for free.
To register for your own account, click here. Enter your postal code with a space (i.e. N8N 5G8) and click on Good Shepherd Parish at 462 Advance (this is for all the parishes in our family). Click Next and enter your full name and email and click Sign Up. That's it! You are in.
You can also watch by downloading the Formed app to your phone, or searching on Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast. If you ever get signed out, head to Formed.org and click on Sign In. By default, there is no password, just an email verification if you use a new device. If you want to set a password, click here.
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