Summer Camp - Tent City for Students - and still more hockey

Over the last few weeks, Erin, our co-ordinator for our Summer Day Camp - Holydays - has been busy working on preparations for the day camp we are running this year in the month of July.  People were interviewed for the camp counselor positions, decisions were made on who to hire, and tonight these counselors as well as the "counselors in training" - those students who are volunteering - are all gathering for the first training & information session. We have had good response in terms of registration - which continues until May 31st.  This team we have assembled is really terrific!


The ShareLife  office and the a number of Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board chaplains have been preparing for a few months to lead a "Tent City" experiential time of reflection considering the issue of homelessness. This "Tent City" (for students) was all distinct from, and not connected to, my work on homelessness within Caledon!  Covenant House in downtown Toronto was contacted some time ago, and a speaker was arranged.  a couple of time in the last 2 weeks - i worked with our Chaplain - Urszula Cybulko - to prepare the prayer on Thursday Evening, and the Mass on Friday morning.  All was set to go today / overnight at Mount Alverno / when it was postponed - a rain delay of sorts.  It really was a shame - I thought that the homeless will not get a night off because of the rain!

The Memorial Cup began last Friday in Mississauga, and on Saturday my Godson's team - Owen Sound Attack - played against the Kootenay Ice.  It was a good game, and the Attack won.  On Monday Owen Sound played the St. John Sea Dogs.  It was a well fought game - with Owen Sound taking an early lead, then St. John tying it up in the third period with only a few minutes to go sending it to overtime.  Each team had chances and in the end - St. John scored in OT.  Wednesday's game was against the St. Mike's Majors, and it was a rematch of the OHL Championship contest.  I was late getting to the game - having to celebrate Mass in the Parish Wednesday Evening. I missed some of the first period's hard hitting, and including a hit against Geoffrey that sent him to the dressing room.  He was OK but St. Mike's didn't even get a penalty - although the linesman had taken the player to the penalty box!  Sometimes the Referees are like a 3rd team on the ice!  The Attack lost 3-1 (with a final seconds empty net goal). It was hard to watch the tape when I got home.  
Tonight is the Tie Breaker - its do or die time for the Attack. Kootenay Ice also want to make it to the Semi Finals on Friday.  I am going tonight with John form the parish - this time I bought the tickets... No matter what though - I wont be in the stands Friday night - I'll be in Sarnia - doing a presentation for RCIA teams in the Diocese of London - the third in a series of 4 presentations that I am doing with Catherine Ecker.
Peace

Annual Priests' Retreat

Each year the Diocesan Priests who have pastoral appointments within the Archdiocese gather for a retreat.  Because the Diocese is so large, and to allow for parishes with 2 priests to continue operations as usual, the same retreat is held twice - over 2 consecutive weeks. I was on retreat this past week - and Fr. Sherwin will be on retreat next week.

This year the retreat director is Fr. Timothy Gallagher, who was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. He obtained his doctorate in 1983 from the Gregorian University. He has taught (St. John's Seminary, Brighton, MA; Our Lady of Grace Seminary Residence, Boston, MA), assisted in formation work for twelve years, and served two terms as provincial in his own community. He has dedicated many years to an extensive ministry of retreats, spiritual direction, and teaching about the spiritual life.

We concentrated on the first 4 "Rules" that St. Ignatius offers those seeking to live in a stronger relationship with God.  To be aware of what is happening within me on a spiritual level, to understand whether that force is the good spirit, or the enemy, and to then choose to accept the former and reject the latter is the heart of these first 4 rules.
To live a life aware, understanding the forces that are at work in and outside of me, and to move toward love and service of God, is rightly the desire of each disciple of Jesus Christ.  
For me - this was a timely retreat, and an opportunity to recommit to all that is good and holy and upright.
Thanks be to God!
Peace

OHL Champions

WOW.  The underdogs pull it off! Game 7 in the OHL finals and the game goes into sudden death overtime.  Does it get any better than this?  The game winner, a scramble in front of the Mississauga net, and a young rookie - Jarrod Maidens - puts the puck in the net for the Championship.
The St. Michael's Majors and the Owen Sound Attack were very evenly matched, and it was indeed exciting hockey.  The best part was that the refs let the game be played on the ice, and the players never resorted to hits that were over the line... The crowd at the Mississauga Hershey Centre was pro Owen Sound!  and the volume when the Attack would take the ice was clearly more than when St. Mike's entered the arena!  It was electric....
I went to the game with John Castellucci - our Bolton "good luck charm" for the Attack, and we sat behind the St. Mike's net. A week ago Friday it was John who bought my ticket - so I let him do it again! (What a sacrifice for me!)

After trading goals in the first period, there were 2 periods without scoring.  The last time we went to Overtime - Owen Sound won after 16 minutes in the extra frame.  This time - it was less than 4 minutres til the game winner by Owen Sound's rookie centre.  The goalie last game and this was Jordon Binnington.  Congrats to him for 25 saves in this defining game for Owen Sound's run at the Memorial Cup. 

This proud Godfather was concerned when a Mississauga player landed a heck of a hit - but Geoffery shaked it off and kept skating.  I am impressed how he plays with such fine sportsmanship qualities.

Reports are that the entire town of Owen Sound was on the highway to welcome the Team's bus when it returned to Owen Sound Sunday Evening and there was a parade... well deserved guys!
There is a week off before the Memorial Cup begins on Friday.  The format is different than a championship series - more like the Olympics than the Stanley Cup playoffs - with a round robin and not a series of games...

Looking forward to a retreat this week.  There will be no posts till the annual priests' retreat ends Thursday afternoon.
Peace... from 1 very proud GodFather

Good Shepherd Sunday - OHL Finals & Wedding Celebrations

Brian and Lesley Coronel

Last night I was went to the Reception for Brian and Lesley's Marriage celebration.  I loved that the meal was nice - but restrained - and not an over indulgent food fest.  There was antipasti as guests arrived.  Dinner was a Pasta appetizer, Beef main course, and Sherbet dessert.  The table seating arrangement used "Cake Pops" that Lesley had made to tell people what table they were seated at!

I remember that Lesley had made some of the delightful cake pops for a hospitality Sunday last fall in the Parish.




The 4th Sunday of Easter each year is "Good Shepherd Sunday", and so the Gospel always has a reference to sheep and shepherds.  The interesting thing this year is that in today's Gospel (John 10:1-10) Jesus is referred to as the gate - with no reference as a shepherd.  In March, while I was leading the pilgrimage to Israel, we visited a Kibutz that I mentioned in an earlier blog post:

"We went for Lunch and a first century experience at Kefar Kedeem.  We got dressed in ancient garb, and learned about sowing wheat in a land where you had to trust in God to send rain to make the wheat grow. After baking our own Pita bread, we had a meal of Hummis, salad, chicken breast strips, and lamb Sausage Kebobs."

 It was here that I was able to hold a baby lamb on my shoulders - as if I was a good shepherd!
This afternoon it is off to see Game 7 of the OHL Final with the Owen Sound Attack playing Mississauga St. Mikes Majors!  Go Attack Go!  Actually - I pray for a clean game - with good sportsmanship all around!
Peace

The Second Saturday in May

The custom each year in the Archdiocese of Toronto - for as long as I can remember -  is to celebrate ordinations to the priesthood on the second Saturday in May at St. Michael's Cathedral.  It was so in 1993 when I was ordained on May 8th, and it was so in 2005 when Fr. Sherwin was ordained this day - May 14th.  This year we are celebrating the priestly ordinations of 3 men for service in the Archdiocese of Toronto:

1. REV. FR. ALLYN ROSE, 34, was born and raised in Orangeville, ON. He is the middle child of three. He studied accounting at Sheridan College and then at the University of Windsor. Allyn began volunteering in various capacities, including youth ministry, at his home parish of St. Timothy's in Orangeville, Ontario. It was then that he began to realize that he found more fulfillment in his voluntary ministry than he did working full-time and decided to answer the call to priesthood that he had been denying for years. Allyn worked in an accounting office for two years before leaving to enter the seminary in 2005.
2. REV. FR. ERIC MAH, 34, was born in Vancouver. Attended the University of British Columbia where he obtained a B.A. (English Literature) in 1999. Graduated from Dalhousie University with a law degree in 2002. Moved to Toronto and was called to the bar in 2003. Practiced insurance law on a full-time basis before entering St. Augustine's Seminary in 2005. Pastoral internship was completed at Blessed Trinity Parish under Msgr. Ambrose Sheehy. Studying to be a priest for the Archdiocese of Toronto.
3. REV. FR. RUSSELL ASCH, 39, was born in Montreal and is the younger of two brothers. His parents, opera singers, brought the two sons up with much music, conversation and travelling. Spending formative years in England, he became an active member of Bevis Marks Sephardic synagogue (when studying Restoration Stone-carving). Baptised in 1997, he began to look towards Religious life and/or Ordination; spending the next five years working in a bookshop. While visiting his mother, he became increasingly familiar with the Toronto Catholic community and entered St. Augustine's Seminary in 2004.

We pray for each of these men and the communities they will serve in the coming years.
At Holy Family we have the Funeral of Giovanni Pincente this morning and the Marriage of Brian Coronel and Lesley Ruiz this afternoon. An interesting fact is that both Brian and Lesley were in grade 8 when I was sent to St. Jerome's Parish in 1993, and they were confirmed the following year - in February 1994.  That means that they were confirmed with the same Chrism Oil that I was ordained a priest with in the Easter season of 1993!
And now - years later - I have the privilege of celebrating with them their commitment of marriage before their families and God.
God is good - all the time.  All the time - God is good!
Peace 

Parish Life Continues

All kinds of efforts were made to get to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga for game 5 of the OHL Championships - and despite arriving at the beginning of the second period, the Owen Sound Attack lost the game 7-3.  It was 4 - 0 for Mississauga when I got in the car, and was able to find the Owen Sound radio station - fuzzy but audible, as they cover all the "away" games for the Owen Sound home crowd.  The Attack scored 2 goals in the last 4 minutes of Period 1 and went to the dressing room down 4-2.  There was no scoring in the second period. A tight game - and even in shots on goal.  At the beginning of the third, Owen Sound scored another to close within 1 goal... hope was blooming in section 4 - where I was sitting with Geoffrey's parents, his brother Thomas, and many of the other Attack parents. 
Then things came off the rails, and Mississauga's excellent fore checking paid off - and there were 3 more goals.  And a slew of penalties, as the guys seemed to get frustrated... 
It was interesting to hear how many Owen Sound fans there were in the Hershey Centre - and to see how many empty seats there were on Tuesday Night. The tale of these 2 towns and their hockey teams is told here in the Toronto Star article yesterday.
I am hoping for a home town win tonight - so I get to see another game on Sunday in Mississauga. Regardless I will be seeing a couple of games when they play in the Memorial Cup...

On Monday I was at St. Paul's Basilica in Downtown Toronto as our Catechist  - Catherine Ecker - was honoured with other parish and Diocesan employees for 20+ and 25 years of service.  Catherine has been with the Archdiocese of Toronto for 23 years and has also worked in different parishes over those years.  It was a wonderful opportunity for the people from different offices and parishes to gather for this celebration of service to God's people.  Archbishop Collins presided and preached about service as the mark or trail we leave behind us. (I even picked up a couple of images I will use in the future.)  Wednesday afternoon - and again tonight we have our final 2 Confirmation retreats.
Peace

Awesome Thursday

We had an awesome Thursday in the parish :  In the afternoon I went up to St. Michael's Secondary School for the Walk for the Kids Help Phone.  After the walk - the participants - which was really everyone in the school - had a BBQ Hamburger, Pasta Salad, and a drink.  Later on Thursday afternoon  we had our final Confirmation retreat, and in my own little world Thursday night - my Godson's team won their game in Owen Sound Details here and now there is a game 7 in Mississauga on Sunday... Any guesses as to where I will be Sunday at 2:00???  In fact it was Geoffrey who scored the third goal of the night for the Attack, and it ended up being the game winner!

Monday after the night before!

Well it was quite an afternoon / evening in Owen Sound!  The arena was packed - there over 3,200 fans - including a Bus from Mississauga that the Major's fans rode on to the game.
The first period was cluttered with penalties, and from a biased supporter (ME!) it seemed as if the refs were calling stuff against Owen Sound and not against St. Mikes... But at the end of the first it was end to end hockey - and scoreless.  In the second period - there were lots of chances on each side, and the refs let up and the guys could play some hockey.  Yet at the end of 2 it was still scoreless.
Now I can tell you I take a pill for blood pressure (its dosage has reduced as I have lost some weight) but I think I should have taken two pills yesterday!  It might be a great game to watch as a fan of hockey - but it sure is hard to watch when you are so emotionally invested as a parent (or Godparent) of a player. 
When the 3rd period was half over - and it was still scoreless - we could see that this game could turn on one great goal or one hard mistake! St. Mike's scored with about 5 minutes left in the game, and the arena fell next to silent for the first time in 2 hours!  Then there was a penalty call against St. Mike's and the Attack, with a man advantage, scored within a minute.  

To overtime it went - and while St. Mikes did a good job of killing a delay of game penalty - in the end it was a great  break away pass to Cameron Brace that resulted in the sudden death game winner at the 16 minute mark! 
We went to dinner after the game - with Cameron, Jordan Binnington (one of the highest ranked goaltenders in the upcoming NHL draft) and Geoffrey.  It was a pretty satisfying meal... and a great Mother's day present for Maureen to receive. Even the coach (Mark Reeds) served the meals to the guys!
At dinner and on the ride home I was pressured to get to the game on Tuesday night in Mississauga.  I had a Finance council meeting - which I asked the members to change (maybe - told - not asked!) and I'll make it for the second period tonight...
One of the finance council members said:

I know our national pastime can alter newscasts and even delay election debates but I had no idea it has enough power to postpone the work of the Lord. Awesome. 

Peace

OHL Hockey - A Godfather's Duty!

I have known the Rankin family since 1979, when my family moved into Blessed Trinity Parish.  Bill Rankin was the Permanent Deacon there, his wife Yvette was on the Liturgy Committee, and I came to know their daughter Maureen when she and I were youth representatives on the Parish Council. Maureen and I have remained great friends ever since, and in 1990 Maureen married Emil Schemitsch. Over the years they have had 4 children: Laura, Geoffrey, Christine, and Thomas.  I am the Godfather to both Geoffrey and Thomas, and I celebrated the Baptism of Christine!

Both Geoffrey and Thomas are hockey players - while the girls dance. Geoffrey has been playing defense with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) since last season.  A year ago April he was selected to be part of the Canada under 18 team that played in the IIHF Championship in Belarus (in part of the former Soviet Union!)  It was in the 2010 NHL Draft that Geoffrey was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning.  On my desk in the office, I still have the team hat Geoffrey received from Tampa Bay last year.
This year the Attack are doing quite well, and are the OHL Western Conference Champions.  They are playing the Mississauga St. Mikes Majors for the OHL crown.  
The Memorial Cup (which is the Canadian Junior Hockey Championship)  has the lst place teams from each of the 3 Junior hockey leagues in Canada: the Western Hockey League, the Quebec Hockey League, and the OHL) An interesting thing is that since Mississauga is the host for this year's Memorial Cup - they are also invited - so it means that automatically the second place team in the OHL finals also goes to the Memorial Cup.  So both Mississauga and Owen Sound are going to the Memorial Cup this May 19-29.
Friday Night I was able to go to game 3 of the OHL finals held in Mississauga.  John Castellucci from the parish heard that my Godson was playing in the OHL Finals and went and got tickets for the two of us.  While there I met a priest who used to live in Blessed Trinity Parish years ago - when I was in High School.  The Attack defeated the St. Mikes Majors 6-5 in overtime.  I tell you it was a terrific game, exciting and nail biting at the same time! 
Today I am off to meet Maureen and Emil and drive up with them to Owen Sound to see game 4 at 4:30 this afternoon.  It will be on TV - on Sports Net Ontario!  I'll be wearing my white clerical shirt!
Go Attack Go!!!
I know this is not so religious a post - maybe simply personal - but it is my Godfatherly duty!  O, the burdens of office!
Peace.

Confirmation Retreats

     As we prepare to celebrate Confirmation with 270 or so young people at the end of May and the first 2 weeks of June - we gather this week and next for Retreats with these Confirmandi (those to be confirmed). We are blessed in Holy Family Parish to have developed a team of young adults (and some of us older adults too!) to plan, prepare, facilitate and lead the teens of our Parish who seek to celebrate this sacrament. These youth leaders have been terrific examples of faith being alive and real for young people today!
     Often times in our own history, we were told that Confirmation is all about the young person "confirming their faith", the Church teaches us that actually the Church is Confirming their Baptism! One of the goals of this retreat is to allow the Teens to know the Power and Primacy of the Eucharist - in particular the Sunday Eucharist (that means Saturday Evening as well!)  In witness talks and skits, in prayer and celebration we try to lead these teens closer to Christ - who brings us home to the Father.  We also spent some times talking with the teens about some different methods of prayer. By reflecting on prayer through Music, with Scripture, and with the Saints, we hope to equip the teens with ways to deepen their relationship with God as they prepare to be Confirmed.

Two retreats worth of pizza boxes!

     We have had 2 retreats so far - and at the retreats we serve Pizza - a favourite food group amongst Teens! This is what 2 retreats worth of flattened pizza boxes looks like! (We flatten them to get them ready for recycling.)
Let us pray for the young people:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love!
Peace.

Osama Bin Laden's Death

As I was sitting in Marguerite D'Youville Parish on Monday Evening, before seeing the One Man Play "Vianney" which is being performed across the Archdiocese of Toronto this week, I was speaking with a parishioner about the capture / death / assassination of Osama bin Laden.  She was quite concerned about the reactions of many - and the sense of joy and jubilation some people felt. "It just doesn't sit well within me - in my gut" she said.  I agreed.

Today I saw the quote from the Vatican News service that I feel puts this kind of uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach into accurate words:

"Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions for this purpose. 

In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."

While we may rightly feel that Osama bin Laden has been Monstrous in his actions, it would not be right to call him a monster. And while we might be relieved that he has been found, our goals must always be the growth of peace and not of hatred... 


Just some thoughts in the middle of a very full week, where some of our LifeTeen CORE have spent time at St. Michael's Secondary School as part of the healthy living fair, and are getting ready for 2 Liturgies at Pope John Paul II Elementary School to celebrate the former Pope's Beatification this past Sunday, as well as preparing for Confirmation retreats on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning!


Peace

The History of the Mass

I was most struck by a recent letter to the Editor of The Catholic Register - where the writer suggested that Jesus and the apostles spoke Latin, that the Bible was originally written in Latin and not Greek and Aramaic, and that Mass was always celebrated as it was before Vatican II - wow! Was this an exercise in irony or what!? I am still not sure. Yet I do know one thing - we can all learn more about the history of what we call "The Mass" this evening at Vitamin F - Faith Nourishment. We gather at 7:15 for refreshments - and then begin at 7:30.  We conclude with Night Prayer by 9:00 - I Hope to see you here...
Peace