Notices

1) The Holy Week Schedule is as follows:

Chrism Mass - Wednesday, April 16th - 5:30 p.m. (Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception)

Holy Thursday -  April 17th - MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER 6:30 p.m. - Gros Islet and Monchy (please remember to bring your offerings for those in                                                                            need)                                  

Good Friday - April 18th ♦ WAY OF THE CROSS - 4:30 a.m. Outdoor - Gros Islet begins from next to Key Largo, opposite the Aquatic Centre; 

                                                                     Grande Riviere begins at Mongiraud Gap and

                                                                    Monchy at Jackerie

The start of the route for Gros Islet had to be changed because the trees on Old Malitary Trail impede the movement of the truck with the sound system.

9:00 a.m. - Indoor - Gros Islet Church.  At the end of the Way of the Cross (both outdoor and indoor) we begin the Divine Mercy Novena which will continue during the                            Octave of Easter 

1:45 p.m. - Meditation on the seven (7) last words of Jesus - Gros Islet Church

3:00 p.m. ♦ COMMEMORATION OF THE LORD’S PASSION - Gros Islet Church

Holy Saturday - April 19th - 9:00 p.m. EASTER VIGIL  - Gros Islet Church 

Easter Sunday - April 20th - 7:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. - Gros Islet 

                                              7:30 a.m. -  Grande Riviere

                                             10:00 a.m. - Monchy

2) The Calvary Shrine at La Clery will be blessed on Friday, April 25th followed by Holy Mass.  All Parishioners are invited to attend.

3) The Jubilee Year activity, "March for Peace", is on Sunday, April 27th.  The "March" begins at the Cathedral with the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 p.m. and ends back at the Cathedral for Vespers and Benediction.  All parishioners are encouraged to attend and wear their Jubilee Polo-shirts.

4) The Diocesan Clergy of the Province of Castries invite all parishioners to "Walk with Your Priest" on Thursday, May 1st.  The Walk will begin from Caribbean Cinemas carpark at 6:30 a.m. to end at Pigeon Point.  Come and enjoy a day filled with fun, fitness and faith.  There will also be a Health Fair at Pigeon Point after the walk.  T-shirts cost $35.  Please register for a t-shirt with the ushers.

5) FROM MOST REVEREND GABRIEL MALZAIRE

For some time now, the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday has been gaining prominence on the Universal Catholic Calendar.  As such, I would like to encourage its promotion throughout the Archdiocese.  Beginning this year, the following are to be observed in all parishes.

i) Open the Novena of Divine Mercy at the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.

ii) Novena Prayers for the remaining eight (8) days to be recited after the homily during the Masses of Easter Week (The Easter Octave).

iii) Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Solemn Vespers & Benediction in all parishes on Divine Mercy Sunday starting at 3:00 p.m. to pray for the country.

iv) As part of this year's Jubilee Celebrations the Divine Mercy Sunday devotion will take the form of a March for Peace in Castries, starting with the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (BS) at the Cathedral at 3:00 p.m. followed by procession with the BS along Laborie Street into Jeremie Street, to Chaussee Road, through Leslie Land Road, down Waterworks Road, back into Chaussee Road, up Brazil Street, into Laborie Street and back into the Cathedral for Solemn Vespers & Benediction.

v) Neighbouring parishes of La Clery, Marchand, St Benedict may join the Cathedral in the March for Peace.

vi) Other parishes that wish to organise a March for Peace along with Solemn Vespers and Benediction, may do so: a good witness against crime and violence in parishes and country.

We look forward to the participation of all Clergy, Religious and Faithful, in this important prayerful exercise for our country and its many needs, including the fight against crime and violence.

The end

6) Are you seeking clarity and a deepened relationship with Jesus in this Jubilee year? Find answers at the Charismatic Renewal's "Life in the Spirit" Seminar.  Explore a powerful way to pray, equip yourself with the gifts of the Spirit and experience spiritual breakthroughs.  The seminar takes place on Saturdays between 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. from April 12th to May 31st.  Rejuvenate your relationship with the Lord.  Register now at 518-4830 or visit the Charismatic Renewal St. Lucia on Facebook or Instagram.

7) Jubilee Polo Shirts are available at the cost of $50.00.  Please indicate your size to the usher, as well, whether you require a male or female polo.

8) The Catholic Charismatic Renewal invites you to a special time of prayer, praise, worship, testimony and fellowship during this Jubilee Year at their weekly meetings at the Cathedral every Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.  Come and learn about our faith and grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

9) To celebrate the 2025th anniversary of the Incarnation of the Lord, all youth are invited to Rome for the international celebration of the Jubilee of Young People from July 28th to August 3rd, 2025.  During that week, youth from around the world will journey to the Eternal City for the pilgrimage experience of a lifetime.  Registration is open and the estimated cost is EC$8,500.00.  This includes the cost of the flight to and from Rome, extra days spent in Rome after the pilgrimage, registration package, local t-shirts and preparation.  A deposit of EC$946 must be paid by the first week of February to secure your registration.  You may register through the Youth and Vocations Commission, your Youth Coordinator or send a WhatsApp message to 714-2572 or 713-0942.

10) The 2025 Archdiocesan Liturgical Calendars are on sale.  Cost is $20 each.  Please purchase your copy now.

11) We advise that your offerings and donations to the Parish can be made through BOSL Chequing Account #514 068 026, in the name of "Parish Priest of Gros Islet", Swift Code BOSLLCLC and also via Sure Pay.

Gros Islet  01

Grande Riviere  02

Monchy  03

Payments can be made in person at the Sure Pay counters or online.  Please contact the Parish Office if you require further information about online payments. 

We appreciate your support.

Register for Sure Pay here

THE SYNOD PRAYER

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name.

With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.

We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality influence our actions.

Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life
and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.

All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever.

Amen. 

THE JUBILEE PRAYER

Father in Heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within
both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of
Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.

PRAYER DURING THE HURRICANE SEASON

O Lord, our God and Father, who gives rain and sunshine to your children, we ask you in this rainy season to uphold us and provide for our needs. You try our patience and test our faith and reliance on you; forgive our sin of ingratitude. So often have we forgotten to thank you for your goodness and acts of mercy. Teach us to look up to you each day, appreciative of rain and sunshine, as you, in your wisdom, through any kind of weather do feed us alI.  In your mercy, protect us against hurricanes and tropical storms. Pour out your blessings upon our nation and our people, and make us grateful for the weather we receive from your bountiful hand. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE NATION

God of Power and might, we thank and praise You for Your goodness and mercy. Have mercy upon us, behold us and show us the light of Your mercies. Send Your fear upon our nation that we may know that there is no God besides You. Lift up Your hands over Saint Lucia that we may see Your power. Heal the hurts of our nation. Sanctify and purify our actions and way of life that we may be a Holy Nation. Give wisdom and fortitude to our leaders that they may guide our nation in Your precepts. Give love, patience and hope to our youth and strengthen our families. We make this prayer in the name of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph

Hail Guardian of the Redeemer, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man. Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage, and defend us from every evil. Amen.

Prayer against Crime and Violence

Heavenly Father, we come to you because crime is on the increase in our country.  We ask that you protect all of us from the evil of crime and the violence associated with it.  Comfort, heal and bless all victims of crime.  Be near to all who have been touched by violence: those who have been hurt, lost their loved ones, or have lost their sense of security. 

We pray for those who have died as a result of violence, draw them to yourself and shine your face upon them so they can rest in your eternal peace. In a special way be with all women who live in situations of domestic violence: be for them a steady source of comfort and a place of safety.  Strengthen your Church in its care and support of all who are in pain.  Help us to be sensitive and caring to all those who need our help.

We pray for the grace to purge ourselves of all violence - in our thoughts and actions, in our family life, in our friendships and in all our relationships with others.  We pray especially for a life-changing conversion of all criminals and those who are violent.  Remove all evil from their hearts, fill them with your goodness and love that they may cease their evil works and that our land may be free from this ongoing scourge of crime and violence.

Soften the hearts and steady the minds of those who do violence to others.  May hate be replaced with love, violence with peace and darkness with your light.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

         O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you.  As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence!  You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

         Yet we have strayed from that path of peace.  We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns.  We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves.  Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

         Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life.  He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity.  By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

         We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children.  In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion.  At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?”  You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times.  In you we place our trust.  We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

         That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs.  To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3).  Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

         Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer. Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war. Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation. Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world. Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness. Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons. Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love. Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity. Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

         O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts.  May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew.  Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace.  May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs.  May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land.  May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

         Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26).  In this way he entrusted each of us to you.  To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27).  Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.  At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ.  The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

         Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.  Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.  Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.  The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace.  We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more.  To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

         Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.  Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God.  May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts.  In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion.  You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace.  Amen.

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

Mary, Mother of Jesus, throw your
mantle of purity over our priests

Protect them, guide them, and keep

them in your heart. Be a Mother to

t h e m , e s p e c i a l l y  i n  t i m e s

of discouragement and loneliness. Love

them and keep them belonging

completely to Jesus. Like Jesus, they,

too, are your sons, so keep their hearts

pure and virginal.

Keep their minds filled with Jesus, and

put Jesus always on their lips, so that he

is the one they offer to sinners and to

all they meet. Mary, Mother of Jesus,

be their Mother, loving them and bring

them joy. Take special care of sick and

dying priests, and the ones most

tempted. Remember how they spent

their youth and old age, their entire

lives serving and giving all to Jesus.

Mary, bless them and keep a

special place for them in your heart.

Give them a piece of your heart, so

beautiful and pure and immaculate, so

full of love and humility, so that they,

too, can grow in the likeness of Christ.

Dear Mary, make them humble like

you, and holy like Jesus.

AMEN