Welcome To St. Gerard Majella Parish

• Parish Priest:  Father Francis Ezenezi          
• Parish Secretary:  Veronica Bahun
• Sacramental Team:  Kathy Summers, Lisa Tomas, Sandra Rollin, Maria Vardy
• Liturgical Chair:   Susan Cushner
• Parish Pastoral Council:  Steve Summers, Doreen Simard, Mike Creedon, Anthony Marrato, Marian Curran, Maeve Coccimiglio, Sharon Mulligan
• Home-Hospital Visits:  Ken Ross
• Prayer Line:  Mary Van Boerdonk (256 7019) or Rhea Emond (949 6159)
• CWL President:  Marian Curran
• Welcome to St. Gerard Majella Parish website.  At the end of His earthly life Jesus ascends triumphantly into heaven. The Church acclaims Him in His holy humanity, invited to sit on the Father's right hand and to share His glory. But Christ's Ascension is the pledge of our own. Filled with an immense hope, the Church looks up towards her leader, who precedes her into the heavenly home and takes her with Him in His own person: "for the Son of God, after incorporating in Himself those whom the devil's jealousy had banished from the earthly paradise, ascends again to His Father and takes them with Him" (St. Leo).  The readings this weekend brings us to the end of Jesus' time with his disciples and the aforementioned of the scriptures.  We are also completing the Easter season.  Hope you are getting out and enjoying this great season.
  
• The month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. All but the last 4 days of the month fall within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored). The last four days of the month (beginning the Monday after Pentecost) are in Ordinary Time which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection.  You can follow the liturgy for May by referring to the article in the article section, Liturgy for May.
  
• May 20th Solemnity Ascension of the Lord
  

• The Ascension
  Besides the hope and the joyful expectancy of heaven so characteristic of the Ascension feast there is a note of melancholy. Before the final departure of Jesus, the Apostles must have been very much disturbed: each felt the distress of one who sees his dearest friend and companion going away forever, and finds himself alone to face all the difficulties of life. The Lord realized their state of mind and consoled them once more, promising the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter: "He commanded them," we read in the Epistle (Acts 1:1-11), "that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father... you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence." But even this time the Apostles did not understand! How much they needed to be enlightened and transformed by the Holy Spirit, in order to accomplish the great mission which was to be entrusted to them! Jesus continued "You shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you and you shall be witnesses unto Me ... even to the uttermost part of the earth." For the moment, however, they were there, around the Master, weak, timid, frightened, like little children watching their mother leave for a distant, unknown land. In fact, "while they looked on, He was raised up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." Two angels came to distract them from their great amazement and to make them realize what had happened. Then, placing their trust in the word of Jesus, which would henceforth be their only support, they returned to Jerusalem where, in the Cenacle, they awaited in prayer the fulfillment of the promise. It was the first novena in preparation for Pentecost: "All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with ... Mary, the Mother of Jesus" (ibid. 1:14).

  Silence, recollection, prayer, peace with our brethren, and union with Mary: these are the characteristics of the novena we too should make in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

If this is your first visit to our site then take some time to go over the information provided.  Also, we warmly invite you to join us in worship and fellowship.  You will find a warm and inviting environment in which to worship and connect. 

• To assist your faith, you can go over the daily readings through our link to DAILY READINGS.  
• If you are not a regular parishionner of St. Gerards and live in the area, plan on joining us.  You will find a warm and welcoming environment.
• TAKE TIME TO GO OVER OUR NEWS AND EVENT SECTIONS FOR INFORMATION ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR PARISH AS WELL AS EVENTS IN OTHER PLACES.
• It is our objective that this site becomes your prime source of information for our parish and its ongoing activities whether you are regularly attending our parish or unable to attend due to being out of town, ill or in a seniors complex.
• Take the time to look at our photos; click on events to see a calendar of events. As well, look at our news and articles for information dealing with the Parish and season.
• Use the related links we have set up to search for more information.
• Mass Intentions can be found in the Mass Schedule section. Just click on mass schedule and you will see the intentions.