Bishop Message

OAPCE 2025 Lenten message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Dear Parents of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), On Wednesday March 5th, we start the Lenten Season. During the forty days that precede the great feast of the Resurrection of Christ, we are invited to follow and imitate Jesus who, after his baptism by John, “Full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was put to the test by the devil.” (Luke 4:1-2) This year, the beginning of the Lenten Season coincides with the March break. Strange time to start a season of penance and fasting! But this is also a good reason to rediscover the spiritual meaning of Lent. In our childhood memories, Lent is synonymous with privation of good things: no dessert, no chocolate, no meat on Fridays. But Lent is fundamentally a time to return to God in order to love him with all our hearth, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength (see Mark 12:30). This can be done even when we enjoy the March break. On Ash Wednesday, Jesus invites all his disciples to do three things: to give alms, to pray and to fast (see Matthew 6:1-6,16-18). These three practices touch fundamental relationships in our life: our relation to our brothers and sisters (almsgiving), our relation to God (prayer) and our relation to creation (fasting). In these three fundamental areas, we are invited to accomplish the will of God our Father. The idea is not to be praised or be seen by others. It is rather to center our life on the Gospel. The purpose is to be seen and praised by God: “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:4,6,18) As Catholic parents, we could use the time we have during the March break and during Lent to be closer to our children and to show them how closely we follow Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel. The idea is not so much to start preaching to them about charity, prayer and fasting. The most important way of teaching our kids about the Gospel is not so much what we say but how we act on a daily basis.  “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Together with our children who received the light of Christ on the day of Baptism, let us take the time to rekindle the light of faith in our family life. A family could decide to put aside some money during Lent, and to share it with those who are in need. Another family will decide to invest some time in the food bank of its parish. This could be a dynamic way to give alms! What if each family of OAPCE was to take one brief moment, 15 minutes a week maybe, to pray together and to share the Sunday Gospel? Our prayer life would certainly improve! And since ecology is such an important issue for our kids, what if we were to do our best to recycle rather than waste the products we consume? What a fast that would be! Have a great Lenten Season ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

OAPCE Christmas 2024 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Dear members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), The first days of December and the first signs of winter remind us that Christmas is only a few days away. This Christmas 2024, like all the other Christmases we celebrated before, Christians from the whole world will commemorate the Nativity of Christ. But this year’s Christmas celebration will be different. It will mark the beginning of a new Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church. The word Jubilee comes the Hebrew word Yobel, the ram’s horn that is used the beginning of a special feast in the Jewish liturgical calendar. In this calendar, every seventh year is a sabbatical year. “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” (Lev. 25:3-4) After “seven weeks of years, seven times seven years,” (Lev. 25:8) “you shall have the trumpet sounded loud.” (Lev. 25:9) “And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.” (Lev. 25:10-11) “It was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields.” Following this Biblical tradition, “in 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a ‘Holy Year,’ since it is a time in which God’s holiness transforms us.” It was originally celebrated every hundred years. But in 1470, Pope Pius XI decided that there would be a Holy Year every twenty-five years. This Christmas eve, the trumpet (yobel) will sound to mark the 2025th anniversary of Jesus’ Nativity. “The 2025 Jubilee will officially open on December 24, 2024 at 7pm, with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father, who will then preside over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord’s Birth inside the Basilica.” As “parents in Catholic Education,” we are thus invited to celebrate this Christmas in a very special way with our children. Pope Francis wrote: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope. This will indeed be the case if we are capable of recovering a sense of universal fraternity.” Just like the shepherds of Christmas, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2:15) Let us become Pilgrims of Hope, collaborating with God to build a world of Hope and Peace. Merry Christmas to you all! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

OAPCE Summer 2024 Message From The Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Trust and hope! We are a few days away from vacation time. As we conclude the 85th anniversary celebrations of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, summer will come as a season of well-deserved rest for all of us. As members of OAPCE, it is important to take the summer break seriously. A good way to rest until September is to consider the two parables Jesus told us on Sunday June 16th. The two parables are about the Kingdom of God.  Jesus first said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29) Throughout this year, as committed Catholic parents, we certainly sowed a lot of love, faith and hope in the fertile soil of the hearts of our children. Mission accomplished!  Jesus is now inviting us to trust in him and in his Father. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Indeed God the Father sowed his only beloved Son in our world. The Son became one of us and Jesus gave up his life. He sowed God’s gift in the soil of our humanity, to open for us the access to eternal life. “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24) Let us put our trust in the Holy Spirit that will secure the growth of what we sowed throughout the school year. We might think that we did not sow enough. That what we have done for and with OAPCE will not change the world. Let us choose hope, relying on the second parable. “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” May our summer vacations transform our families and everything we’ve one as committed Catholic parents this year into sources of coolness in the midst of the heat of our world. A wonderful summer to you all! I keep you in my prayers. ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  OAPCE Fall 2024 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM With the beginning of the school year 2024-2025, the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE) embarks on its 86th year of existence. And as we enter a new phase of the Association’s history, the Gospel reading of Sunday October 6 (27th Sunday in ordinary time) is reminding us of the educational responsibility of the whole Church: People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16) As parents who believe in and promote Catholic education, we too bring our children to Jesus. We do want them to be touched by Jesus, the risen Lord. We want them to be in contact with his healing power. We want them to know who he really is. We want them to know that his Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has the power of changing our lives for the better. We want Jesus to touch their heart and introduce them to life, eternal life. However, there are many obstacles that prevent our children from being touched by Christ today. At the time Jesus walked among us, the disciples tried to keep children away from Jesus. Today, many believe that children do not have to be exposed to the Gospel, to the Catholic values. In Ontario, we can count on the presence of a publicly funded English Catholic system of education in the Province of Ontario.  OAPCE is here to support our Catholic system or Education and advocate for you. We believe that parents play a crucial role in the education of their children, and we encourage you to get involved and be a part of your child’s educational journey. As parents, you are the first and most influential educators of the children God gave you in his love.  As we journey with our children on the path of faith, let us learn from them to be disciples of Christ, “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” (Mark 10:14) A child is totally dependent on his parents to survive. He or she is totally open to God’s action in his/her life. No wonder Jesus declares: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15) As we embark in this new school year, let us learn from our children how to receive the Gospel and live accordingly. May the way we live our faith in love and hope inspire our children. And may our commitment to our children’s education make the difference in our school boards, our schools and our families. A blessed school year to you all! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  OAPCE Easter 2024 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Dear members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), on the occasion of the Easter Vigil, the Evangelist Mark will recount how the women discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. “When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ ” (Mark 16:1-3) Let us contemplate what inhabited the women’s hearts as they went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. These women had been touched by Jesus’ healing hand, transformed by his words, and they became his disciples. They had put their hope in him. But their hope seemed to die on the cross with Jesus on Good Friday. Not only did death deprived them of their master, but a stone had been rolled against the door of the tomb. How would they be able to enter and pay respect to the one who loved them so much? As we are about to celebrate the 85th anniversary of OAPCE, similar thoughts might be present in our hearts. After all these years, the commitment of Parents towards Catholic education is still needed. It seems that the necessity to engage in favor of catholic education, to advocate catholic education and enhance it will never end. “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” Just like the women who went to the tomb on Easter morning, we are invited to look up and see that, through the Resurrection of Christ, “the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.” (Mark 16:4) Indeed, “Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified […] has been raised.” (Mark 16:6) “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” (Romans 6:9) He is with us until the end of times.  The angel who appeared to the women concluded his message, saying, “go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:7) This is our mission today. Yes indeed, the risen Lord did not leave us alone. He is going ahead of us in the Galilees of our lives. He is leading the way as we engage, advocate and enhance Catholic education through our commitment to OAPCE. May the presence of the risen Lord sustain our efforts so that the future generations be able to know him, love him and serve him as committed Catholic disciples. Amen. Alleluia. Happy Easter 2024! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  OAPCE 2024 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Dear members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), Even though I am a little late, let me start by offering you my best wishes for the New Year. May “the Lord bless you and keep you; [may] the LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; [may] the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-25) Throughout this year, during our Sunday liturgies, we will read the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news’.” (Mk 1:14-15). These first words of Jesus are an invitation to seize the moment. This is the time, the kairos, when the kingdom of God is near. Why? Because Jesus, the risen Lord, is among us. He says: “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev. 3:20) As Catholic parents, how are we to open the door to Christ and allow him to be present in the life of our families? Here are a few suggestions. Prayer is a wonderful way to start a day. We could create a little moment as the little family is getting ready in the morning to offer our day to the Lord. We could ask him for his blessing and for his protection. We could also ask for the help of the Spirit to support each family member in his/her challenges of the day. Another way of turning to the Lord (this is the meaning of “to repent”) is to make sure we take the time to share one meal a day as a family. In today’s hectic way of life, we often must take quick meals, then to be on the run. Occasionally, the whole family could take some time to eat slowly and to exchange about what each member lived during the day. That meal could start with a short prayer. And in the conversation, we could relate the shared experience to a passage of Scripture we remember. These are a few means to open the door to Christ and to allow the kingdom of God to be in our midst. These little moments will allow us to be faithful to the mission Christ entrusted us with. Let us remember Jesus’ last words in Mark’s Gospel: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” (Mk 16,15) I pray that what we are, what we do, and what we say in our daily lives as Catholic parents always be a proclamation of the good news. Let us open the door of our hearts. If we do so, what a year it will be!  Happy 2024! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  Seeking the Kingdom of God Above and Beyond All Other Things Pastoral Letter to the People of God in Toronto1 January 2024, Solemnity of Mary Mother of GodMost Reverend Francis LeoMetropolitan Archbishop of Toronto In this inspiring pastoral letter, Most Reverend Francis Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, reflects on the call to live out our faith in all aspects of life, encouraging us to embrace the Kingdom of God with renewed commitment. Through profound theological insights and spiritual guidance, Archbishop Leo invites the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ and to participate actively in building a community grounded in love, truth, and justice. Download the full letter to explore his reflections and guidance for the year ahead. Download

  OAPCE Christmas 2023 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Dear members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), In a few days, Christians from all over the world will celebrate the Nativity of Christ. The Bible does not mention Jesus’s exact birthday. We celebrate Jesus’s birth on December 25th because on that date, in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting longer. Daylight increases, and the night’s darkness decreases. Christmas is a celebration of light. Jesus declared: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). To celebrate Christmas on December 25th is a way to declare publicly our faith in Jesus, light of the world. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5) This year’s Christmas celebration also marks a special anniversary. Eight hundred years ago, St. Francis of Assisi created in Greccio (Italy) the first-ever Nativity Scene. Pope Francis writes: “Francis had earlier visited the Holy Land, and the caves in Greccio reminded him of the countryside of Bethlehem. […] Fifteen days before Christmas, Francis asked a local man named John to help him realize his desire ‘to bring to life the memory of that babe born in Bethlehem, to see as much as possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he was laid upon a bed of hay’.” (Admirabile signum, § 2) “On 25 December, friars came to Greccio from various parts, together with people from the farmsteads in the area, who brought flowers and torches to light up that holy night. When Francis arrived, he found a manger full of hay, an ox and a donkey. All those present experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. At Greccio there were no statues; the nativity scene was enacted and experienced by all who were present.” (Admirabile signum, § 2) My prayer is that all of us might experience on this Christmas Eve the closeness of Christ, the Word made flesh. May we be the holy families that welcome in their house the Son of Mary, whom God the Fathers send among us for our salvation. The more we will allow Christ to dwell in our hearts, in our home and in our schools, the more faithful we will be to our mission of Catholic parents, and the more we will be committed to transform our Catholic schools into instruments of evangelization of our children. Merry Christmas to you all! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  OAPCE Fall 2023 message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM The school year that started a few weeks ago is an important milestone for the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE). Founded in 1939, the Association is about to celebrate 85 years of existence. This is a unique occasion to reflect more deeply on the role of parents in Catholic education. In his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love, (2016) Pope Francis declared that “the family is the first school of human values.” (§ 274) Thus, parents are the first educators of the children God entrusted to them. In 2018, echoing Pope Francis, the Bishops of Ontario wrote the apostolic letter Renewing the promise. They remind parents that “God has gifted you with children and you are their first and most important educators. Yours is the task to immerse them in the unconditional love of God found in Christ Jesus.” (§ 16) In today’s world, this is not an easy mission. Your most important commitment is to continue to invest in your role as first and most influent educators of the children God gave you in his love. It requires from each and every one of us a renewed personal encouter with Christ, the risen Lord. Like any human beings, your children’s hearts desire God. You are the voice that reminds them on a daily basis that God’s love is calling them. In his 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, pope Saint Paul VI wrote, “for the Church, the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbor with limitless zeal. As we said recently to a group of lay people, ‘Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’.” (§ 41) As parents, you are certainly called by God to be witnesses “of an authentically Christian life.” By giving yourselves wholeheartedly to your family, you give yourself to God and his project of love for the whole of humanity. My prayer for all of you who are Catholic parents, for our Catholic schools and for all those who dedicate their life the Catholic education or our children, is that together we might turn our hearts to Christ. In return, Christ will introduce us once again in the communion with the Father. He will renew in us the gifts of the Spirit. In the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we will become more and more witnesses of Christ for our children and for the whole humanity. ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM

  OAPCE Summer message from the Liaison Bishop ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM Summer is about to start. After a very full year of work and commitments, it will be good to have some time for ourselves and for our families. As vacation time is near, I like to remember the invitation Jesus made to his apostles after they came back from their first mission. “He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mk 6:31) It is important therefore to take seriously that time of rest. What is fascinating is that, while he wants his apostles to rest, he himself continues his mission. Once they arrived in that deserted place, many had followed them. “He saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” (Mk 6:34) Jesus refused to let them go without food. With the help of his disciples, he fed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish. “they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.” (Mk 6:43) Jesus will continue to be at work in our families this summer. As members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, it is important to take our summer rest seriously. We can take that time off while continuing to evangelize the members of our families. In his June 4 message, pope Francis’s words suggested that “we can think of God […] through the image of a family gathered around the table, where life is shared. […] it is not only an image; it is reality! It is reality because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that the Father poured into our hearts through Jesus (cf. Gal 4:6), makes us taste, makes us savour God’s presence: the presence of God, always close, compassionate and tender. […] The invitation he extends to us, we might say, is to sit at the table with God to share in his love.” What a beautiful invitation: to sit at the table with God. Allow me to continue to quote pope Francis. By allowing God to sit at our summer table, “we commit ourselves to bear witness to God-as-love, creating communion in his name.” What a summer this will be! We will be strengthened by our rest and by the loving presence of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That way, we will be able to start anew our mission in September: to “bear witness to God-as-love,” to “offer everyone the food of God’s forgiveness and Gospel joy.” And I conclude with pope Francis’s words: “may Mary help us to live the Church as that home where one loves in a familiar way, to the glory of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” A wonderful summer to you all! ✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM