1)   Alpha Day Away 2nd 34 guests and 25 team members. It was a day of great blessing for the persons present and our parish of CC

2)   Father Salvino travelled with the Senior Youth Core team to Westminster Abbey Saturday 2nd of March 

March 16th

3)   Here at CC Alpha continues to be blessed by the Lord 
We are coming close the end of Alpha #4 and it is almost disappointing! 
This is the main Evangelization pump for our 10 Year Vision and it is seeing the identifying and raising up of leaders in the parish. 
Today - Saturday - 41 Parishes and 168 people from the Archdiocese of Vancouver gathered here in the Corpus Christi Gym (because we have the space) to work with His Grace in furthering the “next steps” for a Vision for our Archdiocese 

It was a very good day. I was sitting with a great bunch of people from various parishes and we had some excellent, open and fruitful sharing. 
We need to pray for the fruitfulness of this bold adventure that His Grace is willing to engage in and take us on. 

March 16th
This evening the Junior Youth of CC gathered - there was about 35-40 youth (I didn’t count exact number). Keep in mind - most of these youth are on Spring Break and YET they came out to Junior Youth Night. Shout out to Julia K who gave well prepared, thoughtful and engaging talk on God is Greater than …. our highs and lows! Shout out to all JY CYCC leaders who organize and oversee the event.

1)   This evening  (Feb 20th) Faith Studies concluded. Our 10 Year Vision is working.

Everyone has gone through Alpha and now Faith Studies - Discovery!

Some will be going into RCIA when the time is right.

We have ended what I call the “treadmill” of enter RCIA in September and your Baptized at the Easter Vigil

Here at Corpus Christi we begin the journey with you in Alpha and then Faith Studies and then RCIA

What happens? Community is formed! Knowledge at an appropriate level is imparted and this deepens over time.

I am so grateful to Thomas and the facilitators here for being Engaged Disciples and journeying with people to meet Christ and grow in the Catholic Faith

2)    The Lord continues to bless this parish and the 10 Year Vision we have — through Alpha

Last night’s topic: Why and How Do I Pray?

When I returned at the end of the evening’s session no one was moving away from their tables. 

Everyone was still in discussion; people are hungry for God and we want to serve up and open the way for them to encounter the Lord!

This is what the vehicle of Alpha does. 

May God - through the intercession of Bl Don Alvaro - keep blessing this 10 Year Vision through the evangelization pump of Alpha

Lord - bring us more of your people to serve so they can learn the joy of serving you and one another! 

Fr Hamilton 

3)    This week Corpus Christi is having our Parish Mission. 

Fr Wade Menezes of the Fathers of Mercy is here. 

Our theme this year: "The Most Holy Eucharist: Gift and Sacrament”

Many people braved the chilly to cold and wet/snowy weather to be with Jesus and Fr Wade. 

Pray for many blessings for parishioners who attend Mass and who do not. Pray for our 10 Year Vision 

Fr Hamilton 

Notes:

1) 10 Year Vision Continues to work 
Last we had After Mass Socials - following the 9am & 11am Masses. 
We also have the AM Socials following the Mass in Cantonese - they celebrated Fr Salvino’s birthday (which was last week). 
God continues to bless this Vision here @ CC. Let us pray that we continue responding to God’s graces and push forward for that “different outcome” that brings about changes in people’s hearts. Our Core Values is how we do this: 
Multiplying Leaders
Engaged Disciples 
Evangelical Hospitality 
Rooted in Tradition

2) This past weekend our Junior Youth gathered for their monthly Youth event. 
50 - yes, 50! - young people showed up Gr 7’s through 10. This is amazing. 
More fruit of the 10 Year Vision 
Jacob gave his first talk/testimony to the Youth. Well done Jacob! 
Shout out to the whole Junior Core Team and the Coordinators Miguel and Isabelle
Youth investing in youth!

3) The 10 Year Vision continues to bear fruit.
This past weekend our RCIA candidates had a retreat here at Corpus Christi. 
When I met up with them they are taking a teaching “tour” through our parish church. Fr Salvino and Nathan were explaining the stain glass window in the baptismal area.
This year - God willing - we will have 11 to 13 adults baptized … and on a separate occasion about 15 children in total.
These candidates have gone through Alpha and then Faith Studies. They are much better prepared for RCIA.
Continue praying for them as they prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation

1)   Alpha #4.2 
Who is Jesus? 
It was another great evening with a full hall and guest talking about Who is Jesus?
It might seem obvious to someone reading this but it is NOT obvious to a lot of people. 
We have a lot of work to do - to listen and fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus to “go forth and proclaim the Good New” 
This is what Alpha does - welcomes (the person), opens (the heart) and hopefully the person can meet Jesus Christ (the mind - you cannot love what you do not know)!
Pray for the supernatural fruitfulness of this Alpha

2) Our Mass socials are continuing with much fruitfulness - after the 9am Mass and then after the 11am Mass
Today, after the 11am Mass we had a celebration of Fr Salvino’s birthday - his 33rd! 

It was great to see so many people present, the Youth of our parish and many young families with their children 
So many blessings with this 10 Year Vision: Evangelical Hospitality and Engaged Disciples

3) This week – from Tuesday through Friday – we have 40 Hours of Adoration in the Parish. 

1)    Connie and David Robinson coordinate Marriage Mentorship in this Parish. This program is a supplement to the Marriage Preparation Course that every couple is required to take from the Archdiocese.

MM – allows couples to select a mentor couple and then they go through a series of lessons that are very much “on the ground and in the home” as they meet their mentor couple in the home. 

David and Connie are also present for each couple’s marriage – it is a witness to their investment in marriage in the couple and frankly in helping the priests. It is truly appreciated. EH, ML

2)   Last Saturday evening (Corpus Christi’s) Youth Junior/Senior teams were “visioning” 
It was amazing to see; they have taken the parish’s 10 Year Vision and made their own vision which is aligned with the 10 Year. 
They were in small groups discussing how the Youth Ministry could live the Vision. It was … amazing and so heartening. 
The Vision works when you pray and when you are faithful. God WANTS this to be fruitful; God doesn’t want to stop blessing us here @ CC so we need to keep opening our hearts, our minds and our very bodies to doing what he wants us to do
There is no end, there is no depth and there is no height - there is only God and all the good things that he desires for us
Shout out to Fr Salvino, Lois, Neil, Miguel, Isabel and every young person that was there!!!!

3)   Hey everyone

CC was able to launch Alpha #4 and it is off to a good to great start

A lot of prayer

A lot of prayer

A lot of prayer

A great bunch of people leading/serving

Good preparation

A lot of prayer

58 guests tonight

Keep praying for the supernatural fruits of this Alpha

The team is excited and many people mentioned to me (upon leaving) that they really enjoyed the time

Keep praying 

Do you get the sense that prayer is just a little important

1)   Youth gathered this Saturday evening. The event was called: 

Dream Big 
Its purpose was to build up fellowship amongst youth and with youth leaders so that they will be less intimidating to them! 

2)   God’s snow delayed Alpha from beginning – so there is a reason for this happening! Alpha will begin this Wednesday. We have 53 guests and some new Table Hosts that the Alpha Team is very excited about. 

3)1)   After Mass Social – these continue to not only be sustained but grow. Why? Because they in a sense “flow form the Vision we have in the parish.” 

1)    Fr Salvino and I are now both in the confessional on Saturday’s at 345. The reason is simple – the lineups were long and not every one was getting the opportunity to go to confession before the 5pm Mass. 

I have been here for 13 years and this is the 1st time that this has had to happen AND it is s GOOD to GREAT thing. It is very much Rooted in Tradition as reception of the Sacrament of Penance or Confession is on the great signs of parish renewal! 

Yes – I’ll say that again: Confession is one of THE signs of a parish renewal. Why – Confession is a desire for personal renewal, for conversion for a desire (even if not understood 100%) for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit and the Father! 

2)   Vision Casting! This past Saturday the Senior Leadership Team had a Vision Casting. What you may ask is a Vision Casting? 

A VC is a gathering of all Ministry Leaders (and in our case) accompanied by 1 other member of each ministry – in order to explain the 10 Year Vision that we have here @ CC. 

The total # in attendance was 53 parishioners. It was very encouraging to have leaders present to hear the Vision – that picture of a preferred future that is possible – and the 4 Core Values (how we are going to attain to the Vision). 

There was a lot of excitement in the parish hall; good questions were asked; we have received some good feedback. 

We have received so many blessings here @ CC and I know – I know it in my heart of hearts – that God is FAR FROM DONE with us. 

If we stay the course, keep the faith, resolve and strive to be faithful, struggle everyday and do not stop going forward and placing our trust in Him then the blessing Will continue. This is not from me – its all there in the Sacred Scripture. So get a biblical world view by reading the Bible every day a little bit at a time. It is so amazing how faithful God is! 

So much has been done these past two year and there is so, so much more to do for Christ and his people (YOU). 

Let us pray for each other as we continue to the journey – there is no greater one that this. You Master – YOU and only YOU have the words of eternal life! 

Here we are on the 1st Friday of January – 1st month of the New Year 2024! 

I want to take time on this Podcast to review some – and I emphasize SOME of the blessings that we have received in 2023. 

St Paul says: 1 Thess 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Here are some of the blessings that this parish has received through the 10 Year Vision: 

-All the people who said Yes to Alpha and all who were touched by the Holy Spirit and changed their lives moving forward.

- The Youth specifically the Blessings of going to Portugal WYD and seeing the fruitfulness of it when they came back (bigger youth groups) and how they made their faith stronger.

- The silent warriors of CC...the people who quietly pray for our priests, staff, leaders and volunteers.

The renewed sense of community fostered by the AMS.  

Liturgies enhanced by beautiful music! Choirs are investing a lot of time to sing beautiful hymns and parts of the Mass. We are so blessed to have the 3 English Choirs and our Cantonese Choir headed by Vincent. 

A strong Youth ministry: Our CCYM was so blessed that it needed to divide into Junior YM and Senior YM. There is now a Junior Youth Core Team and a Senior Youth Core Team. Each oversees the activates of their respective groups. 

New leaders  like Michelle, Mellysa and Mary

Winnie and Irene – joined our Corpus Christi Staff; they are living out the 10 Year Vision and 4 Core Values. 

We are so blessed to have been able to acquire the services of Alex – who is our part time: Maintenance Facility Coordinator. He is truly on top of all aspects of these facilities we have. 

It is all about people – you the parishioners of CC. We have these buildings (a beautiful school, parish centre and daycare) but without people – with you – they buildings are (to be blunt) useless and without meaning. With people using them God is truly glorified through our 10 Year Vision