Christmas Message

Christmas comes to a world filled with families griveing the loss of their loved ones, sickenss, unemployment, economic uncertainties and the world filled with so much darkness.

The birth of Jesus our Saviour as a baby reminds us that God's love is light in darkness, constancy of love and faithfulness, which invites us to live by the love that he has first shown us. He invites us to share his love with others and bring hope and peace to all we meet in our daily lives. In this way we can be witness to the triumph of light and goodness over darkness and evil.

Our new church is a sign how God is working in our lives. After our first mass on December 18, 2011 in our new church, I have heard a lot of positive comments from you. I thank all of you who have worked so hard over the last two years to build this Church. We were able to achieve this with your scarifice and with God's help.

Our church with all its beauty is a light in darkness and a Christmas gift from God. Together we have built our church and now I invite you to come together and be an active member of our church to build our community in one spirit. We can all be a light in the darkness and be a true witness to Jesus.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and all the best in the year 2012.

May the Peace, Joy and Hope of our Lord be with you.

Father Virgil

Father Virgil Amirthakumar
pastor@stisidorekanata.com

Fr. Virgil Amirthakumar was born on December 9, 1955, in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and studied at the National Seminary, Kandy Sri Lanka. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 28, 1983 for the diocese of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He served as a pastor in different parishes in his home country before coming to Ottawa. He moved to Canada in 1993 and obtained Masters Degree in Pastoral Counseling (marriage counseling) in 1995 from St. Paul University, Ottawa. Between 1995 and 1999, he was chaplain at the Riverside Hospital and the Civic Hospital. He is incardinated in the Archdiocese of Ottawa since September 14,1999. Between 1999 and 2009, he was the pastor at St. Bernard Church, Gloucester. Since August 2009, he is a pastor at St. Isidore Church.