Busy Weekend

The Past few days have been busy for me - both at Holy Family and away from the Parish.  On Friday I traveled up to Martyrs Shrine in Midland to offer a retreat for the Board of Trustees.  This was a short 4 hour retreat - where we reflected upon the image of Sunday as the Day of the Lord, and that our gathering for Eucharist on Sunday is not for ourselves - but we are nourished and sent forth from the Table for the life of the world.
Then I came back to Bolton in time to help lead the Edge Night - on the Changes to the Roman Missal... 
Saturday started off with Breakfast with 200 women at the semi-annual "Magnificat" gathering in North York.  With a couple of Tables from Bolton / Caledon, it was impressive to see that many women celebrating their commitment to the faith.  The guest speaker was Sr. Mary Elizabeth Doolittle - who is a "Sister of Life" - a relatively new congregation formed by Cardinal O'Connor in the early 1990's in New York, and now present in a number of cities - including Toronto.  Sr. Mary Elizabeth spoke of her discernment story and how the Holy Spirit had been active in her life... She was a terrific, energy filled speaker.  I would love to have some of the Sisters of Life come to the parish and be a witness for our young people - especially our young women.


Meanwhile back in Bolton there was a full house in the Parish:  Edge had Teen Training for over 90 people from 6 parishes, and we had our final Lector Proclamation workshop.

The usual Saturday Night Lifenight was busy - with some visitors from Bradford and Orangeville...
Then Sunday afternoon - after the Masses - we had a Staff meeting for almost 3 hours with our entire - including the Student Part time Staff.  We have one of these meetings each year - and this year we are endeavoring to step things up - going from being a "good staff" to beeing a "great staff" in service of our parishioners...
I then high-tailed it to North York to have dinner with my Sister Julie and her family - Julie turned 40 this week (oops was I supposed to say that?)  It was a surprise to have Dad and I there for dinner - she had no Idea - since I had given her a card when they came to Mass Sunday Morning!
Its a busy week ahead with All Saints, All Souls, St. Michael's School Awards night, A Joint Meeting with Priests and Secondary School Principals in Dufferin Peel, and other preparations before I go on holidays next Monday, Nov. 7, for over 2 weeks.


Peace

A Year of...

Over the years the Church has had a number of different "Holy Year" times to focus non an aspect of our Salvation, of God, or a person of importance:

• 1975 - Holy Year (Typically held every 25 years)
• 1984 - Holy Year of Redemption (World Youth Day Cross)
• 1997 - Holy Spirit              Part of the
• 1998 - Jesus Christ            lead up to the
• 1999 - God the Father       Jubilee Year
• 2000 - Jubilee Year
• 2002 - The Rosary (We celebrated in 2003 in Toronto)
• 2004 - 2005 - The Eucharist
• 2008 - 2009 - St. Paul
• 2009 - 2010 - Year for Priests

Now this past Sunday Pope Benedict has announced another "Year of..."  that will begin next October on the 50th anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council - a Year of Faith.
Here is the text of the Holy Father's Announcement:

VATICAN CITY, 16 OCT 2011 (VIS) - During Mass this morning in the Vatican Basilica, celebrated to mark the end of an international meeting on new evangelisation organised by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, Benedict XVI announced that he was calling a forthcoming "Year of Faith".
     The Year will begin on 11 October 2012, fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II, and will come to an end on 24 November 2013, Feast of Christ the King. Its aim "is to give renewed energy to the Church's mission to lead men and women out of the desert in which they so often find themselves, and towards the place of life, towards friendship with Christ who gives us life in all its fullness". The Year will likewise be an opportunity "to strengthen our faith in Christ and joyfully to announce Him to the men and women of our time", the Pope said.
     Commenting on this Sunday's readings, the Holy Father explained that the mission of the Church must be considered in the light of "the theological meaning of history. Epoch-making events, the rise and fall of great powers, all lie under the supreme dominion of God. No earthly power can take His place. The theology of history is an essential aspect of the new evangelisation, because the men and women of our time, following the tragic period of the totalitarian empires of the twentieth century, need to rediscover a global vision of the world and history. They need a truly free and peaceful vision, the vision which Vatican Council II transmitted in its documents and which my predecessors, Servant of God Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II, illustrated with their Magisterium".
     "In order to be effective evangelisation needs the strength of the Spirit, which enlivens the message and infuses the person who bears it with the 'full conviction' of which St. Paul speaks. ... New evangelisers are called to be the first to walk along the Path which is Christ, in order to lead others to the beauty of the life-giving Gospel. On this Path we are never alone, but always in company; it is an experience of communion and fraternity which is offered to everyone we meet, bringing them to share in our experience of Christ and His Church. Thus, witness associated with announcement can open the hearts of those who seek the truth, helping them discover the meaning of their own lives".
     Finally the Holy Father turned his attention to the Gospel episode of the tribute to be paid to the emperor. Jesus command to "give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's", he said, "is rich in anthropological significance and cannot be reduced only to the political sphere. The Church, then, does not limit herself to reminding men and women of the just distinction between the authority of Caesar and that of God, between the political and religious spheres. The mission of the Church, like that of Christ, is essentially that of speaking about God, evoking His sovereignty, calling everyone - and especially Christians who have lost their identity - of God's rights over that which belongs to Him:our lives".

As we continue through the first 8 months of 2012 we will learn more and more  what this Year of Faith will look like.  There will be a general Synod of Bishops on the topic of Evangelization, and we will have been praying with the new Translation of the Roman Missal for some time, and will be comfortable with the new phrases and responses.
Peace.

Instant Messaging

Really – Love your Neighbour      How can I do that?

     I don’t even like my neighbour        

Maybe loving my neighbour is better than having to love 

my: brother – sister - Father – Mother – son – daughter – cousin – whoever

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

And all your soul      And all your mind.

What does that even mean?                              

I don’t even know if I can do that!        And He’s GOD!

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind"

Jesus is Quoting the old testament phrase which was part of Daily prayer

For the Men of Israel - whould wear Phylacteries - little box -

near their heart (on their left bicept)  & on their Mind (On the forehead)

Doing as they have done – for nearly 3000 years

This Phrase – Love God with all your heart/soul/mind

   is on a scroll in that little box

     Jesus was quoting his daily prayer - 3 times a day as the answer to the test.

Friend from High School is married, 4 children - Her sons – are my Godsons

           she has been flying a lot lately – with her husband - a Doctor

This week I helped with her AirCanada Elite choices // Upgrade Credits

     I knew – when she’d get the email, the Pkg, and the [best]Options for her

Would that I would know Sacred Scriptures like I know Airplanes…

How can I make one step closer? 

     To lovng God  with all of my heart /soul /mind

By Being a person of prayer – like Jesus

When some person wants to trick / push / provoke me

          Being a person of prayer can allow me

Not guarantee us / allow us to love –

even if that person doesn’t love us back

Hinges bear the weight - mighty doors Strong Hinges

 Love of God  //  Love of Neighbour – 2 great hinges

How do I know I can love - because I have been loved

    even when I did not deserve it - here at this Altar table,

        & over the years around dinner table at my home...

Then having been loved - even when I did not deserve it -

we can go forth and love - even if we don't like...

Peace

Lifeteen Retreat

This morning our Teens and the CORE Team of young adults gathered at Cedar Glen (YMCA Camp on the 11th Line in King) for a day long Retreat.  This is our first off site retreat for LifeTeen, and we began with Mass this morning.  (No sleeping in for this priest!)
It was a terrifically prayerful time with the 25 or so who are there.
The theme is Rooted and built up in him - Grounded in the faith.
The Teens began by imagining where they will be in 10 - 15 years - when they are 27 years old.  Who will they be - Whose will they be?

They can lead a full and abundant life - as witnesses of God's action in their lives - if they are firmly rooted in Christ - and established in the faith.
Each TEEN and CORE member gets a T-Shirt when they attend the retreat - and so now you can spot them when they come to Mass with these T-Shirts!  With that group on retreat till 9:00 tonight it means there will be a smaller crowd at 5:00 Mass tonight - But Jolene and JP are still here for Music! Alleluia!
Peace

Seminar: Good and ...

The past week started with 2 Masses at St. John the Baptist School on Monday morning.  Each of our Schools celebrates a mass around Thanksgiving and we celebrate the beginning of another School Year. I then went up to the Priests' Seminar - held each autumn, and which allows us to explore different Pastoral issues. Half of the priests go each week - about 160 at a time! (Fr. Sherwin will go in 2 weeks time)

This year's topic was Preaching, and the presenter was Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. The Dominicans are known as the Order of Preachers, and Fr. Cameron had a wonderful method he shared with us - exploring texts, and asking questions.  We went beyond the "standard fare" of many Gospel parables and the homilies they typically elicit by spending time going into the text, over and over, and asking ourselves - what questions does the text propose, and what questions are the people in our pews facing.
It was a great week, well... as far as those presentations went.  The downside of the week was our collective prayer. All of the singing during the liturgies was Gregorian Chant.  While this certainly slowed down - and made our praying of the office more solemn and prayerful - it meant our Eucharistic liturgies were flat, and without life.  The Introit Chant (read "Gathering Song") did not gather us and did not help us to become one body in prayer. That is what the Gathering song is supposed to do... So some Good and some Bad...


This Saturday our LifeTeen youth are on retreat - please pray for them. Their theme is "Rooted in Christ" from the World Youth Day theme this past Summer...


Peace

Cancer and Friends

Yesterday I got back from a quick 2 day visit to Virginia Beach to visit a dear friend and distant cousin, who has been battling Pancreatic Cancer.  Actually today marks 5 years from her first diagnosis! (It was 5 years ago in the beginning of October that Margie described feeling "mothy" just not quite right.)

 I met Margie with 4 other North American Forum team members when I was an Intern (learning about how to present on the Forum Beginnings and Beyond Institute) in Chicago in the summer of 2002 - just before World Youth Day in Toronto!
It was after some conversation that Margie and I discovered a common ancestry in her grandmother's Canadian roots.  Ever since that Institute the 6 of us have been terrific friends - partly because the local co-ordinator was so poor - and the facility was less than ideal (poor physical set up, poor lunch time service in the cafeteria, and really poor quality of food). It meant we bonded together in a way that a team never has before or since in over 100 of these institutes across North America!  We call ourselves the Chicago 6!
Since the fall of 2003 we have been gathering at each other's homes in an annual rotation - starting at Fr. Rick Conway's place in Andover, Massachusetts.  This year was my year to host, but due to Margie's condition, we decided to go to Virginia Beach this year.
We traveled, cooked, dined, prayed, anointed, and shared stories together.  It was a very grace-filled time, even as we realized that Margie is already in the 1% of people who celebrate 5 years of survival with this diagnosis.  Because Margie's Husband - Jim - is a retired Military (Navy) man, Margie has had access to top notch treatment options.  She has also been supported by, and herself has been a support to, many people in her faith and social networks...
I will continue to pray for Margie, my friend and my cousin, and ask you to keep her in your prayers also.
Peace.

Thanksgiving Monday

This Morning - after a Thanksgiving Day Mass - the Knights of Columbus boxed all of the donations from our Thanksgiving Day food drive.  Over 35 boxes were filled and will provide nourishment for those who are experiencing poverty these days.

This was a wonderful outpouring of care and concern.  Where we are able to connect our faith to our lives and share our resources and thus provide for someone else. 

It was a great reminder of the early Christian community in Acts 2:42-47 - where each received according to their need, and provided according to their ability.

Thank you to everyone who made donations.

After the boxing of the food, my Dad and I travelled up to Owen Sound to watch the Attack play a Monday afternoon game.  My Godson has been out of the line up for a few days - feeling sick and less than 100% so that he did not go on the road trip to Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday.  I got a text message from Geoffrey on Saturday saying he was feeling better, and that he figured he would play Monday, but he did not.  He was in the building, and had skated on the ice earlier in the day, but was "riding the bike" in the dressing room during the game.  The Attack played 2 good periods, and won the game 6-3.  Their new Import draft pick from Minsk, Belarus had a hat trick, and the young guys are contributing - playing good positional hockey. (That last sentence was from Dad!)

Dad and I treated Geoffrey to dinner, and then we headed home.  One of the unique things about the way that the business community in Owen Sound supports the team is that whenever there is a Home Game for the Attack - the local Tim Hortons Stores have an "Attack Doughnut" and I finally purchased one! Well actually three - but one was for Dad tonight and one for the road tomorrow!
Peace

Dignum et iustum est! It is Right and Just

When we Gather for Eucharist – it is our opportunity to give Praise and Thanks to God.  The word Eucharist comes from the Greek and means to Give Thanks.  The Eucharistic Prayer is our perfect prayer of Thanks – Offered by all of us and spoken by the priest

In the last line of the Preface Dialogue: The LATIN Has not changed from 1971 to 2011: Dignum et iustum est
Was translated in 1970 to english as:

“It is right to give Him thanks and praise” 

But you can clearly see:      Right    and    Just    it is

Right & Just – When we remember that Biblical Justice – Is about Right Relationship.  This is our relationship – that we, the creation, the created order, gives praise and thanks to God the Creator the Author of all that exists.  This is the right Relationship.

This Sunday/this weekend – Our Society – invites us to be thankful. Often times that social idea of thanks – for all the stuff - all the harvest stops where our social idea of justice stops – before getting to God – And our Right Relationship with God.  God created us in relationship - for relationship.  God did not just make Adam, he created Adam and Eve.  We are built for relationship - and our Celebration of the Eucharist "rights" our relationship with God.

Dignum et iustum est     -    It is Right and Just.

Even though it is shorter than the phrase we use now, I think that this text, when we ponder it, presents a rich biblical image for us to imagine.

Dignum et iustum est     -    It is Right and Just that we give thanks for the relationships - the right relationships - we have this day. We do this at the wedding feast of the Lamb - where heaven and earth are wed. 

Peace

Thanksgiving Sunday

The word Eucharist is actually rooted in the Greek word for "Thanksgiving".  When we gather for Eucharist - we are giving our Praise and Thanks to God.  The Eucharistic Prayer is the best prayer we have to give praise and thanks to God Liturgically. Yet this ritual prayer of ours as a community will always be lacking if we are not able to offer our own personal prayers of thanksgiving. Maybe the liturgy can form us in how to do this in a personal way: listening to God, realizing what we have, thanking God, looking forward to service.
In the Liturgy, having gathered together, we listen to God's Word.  This word speaks to us in every time and place and is not simply stories about people with hard to pronounce names from places far far away.  God's word is living and true - and speaks to us today - here and now.  Maybe in our personal prayer we could start by taking time to listen to God.  Listen in silence for God to speak.
Having listened to God's word, we place our gifts on the Altar.  We place our very selves in that bread and wine. We offer ourselves, and that offering - joined to Christ's timeless offering on the Cross - transforms what we have offered.  Transforms us. We recognize what we have and the One who has provided it.
In recognizing the giver of all gifts, we praise and thank God.  This gratitude can permeate our whole being, transforming entitlement (what do I get / deserve) to appreciation.
Having given our thanks to God, we leave our prayer recommitted to live our lives in service of Christ, in service of the Gospel. Our time of personal prayer and expression of Gratitude is not simply for our selves, but rather joins us more and more to Christ - who lived his life for the life of the world.


Fr. Thomas Rosica, the Director of Salt and Light Media, offered a meditation on Thanksgiving that I wanted to share with you.  As you gather at the table of the Lord, and as you gather at your dining table as a family and with those you love, my prayer is that you will see the connection between these 2 tables!

Peace

Delegation to Town Council

Yesterday morning Dr. Cheryl van Daalen-Smith, Carmel Hili and myself "Delegated Town Council" - That really means we presented a report to Council - including Mayor Morrison. The Report we presented is: "A Home in the Hills" which presents findings about Homelessness in Caledon (which is available here)

The three of us were there because
- we know of teens in our community who are couch surfing because of Family Conflict;
- there are children whose parents are facing eviction after long term unemployment who are being fed and clothed by a neighbor;
- there are children whose parents who have died and they are too old for CAS – and too young to work;
- there are senior heating their house with an oven set to 400ºF ; 
- Retired seniors who have been farmers have people who live in their barns alone;
- because homelessness can be hidden - with the people in the big house at end of the cul-de-sac choosing between food and hydro;
- because people in our midst suffer severe deprivations of the basic elements of life;
- we see people who are clearly homeless, carrying backpacks, walking into town and spending time in cafes or library, sometime thumbing a ride, a woman, with a bundle-buggy holding all her earthly belongings, sitting dazed on a bench in the Goodfellow building, a gentleman eating his breakfast apple at CCS in the morning, folks who are denied housing because they have a pet.

We were 3 members of the Caledon Homelessness Partnership Strategy Committee that met for over a year - looking at an issue that is a Provincial and Regional responsibility.
We have committed our time to this because our conscience bothers us as citizens at the thought that people are spending cold nights sleeping in the outdoors exposed to the elements, while others live on the edge and struggle not to become homeless. 

“Homelessness is the real or imminent absence of a home over which individuals or families have personal control”

The Committee found that in many ways one can be homeless
before one is without a house, and that there are many factors causing this:
• Decreased access to affordable housing
• Family crisis and conflict – Disintegration / and re-constitution
• Abuse    • Addictions   • Physical and/or mental health challenges
• Limitations of living on a fixed income (OW, ODSP)
• Loss of many kinds (job, spouse, child)
• Shame and isolation regarding one’s situation 


The Committee had an 8 month community consultation including
three Community Forums, and approached many different community demographics including: 

OPP; Youth; High School Chaplain; Guidance Counselors; Optimist Club; Crisis Case Workers; Homeless Youth; Public Works Employees; Library Staff; Motel Managers; Faith Leaders; Kinsmen Club; Salvation Army; Street Outreach Workers; Town Outdoor Staff; LCBO Employees; Tim Horton Employees; Residents; Family Transition Place; Meals On Wheels Staff; and Street Nurses.

The themes that emerged during this study were:
• Hamlets matter - Caledon is full of smaller communities
• Animals matter               • Seniors/Farmers matter
• People are employed but precariously housed
• Youth need places to be, become and matter
• Some people are passing through, but others have no option except to leave because there is no support system here.
• People want to help. People asked again and again: what to do?

In the end we reminded council that the people in Caledon have been known as people who care for their neighbours. This is traditionally so in the hamlets and small communities of Caledon: if a farmer's barn is on fire, the whole village rallies to put the fire down and to give shelter, if need be, to the family affected by the disaster. This sentiment was expressed repeatedly by people in the course of this study and also at the forums held in Claude, Bolton and with the faith community: we care for our own and Caledon should and would support and look after needy members within its communities. 
All we ask, today, is that you take time to read our report and to offer support to the strategic homelessness effort initiated at the Caledon Community Services and overwhelmingly backed by Caledon residents.


It was something different to be nervous presenting and speaking in public! Yet this is something we can address - before the problem of homelessness becomes like other bigger cities in our region.


Peace

Citizen / Taxpayer / Consumer or Child of God?

With the elections this week - I have read some interesting reflections that I would like to share with you. A word of warning - I do not intend any of this to be partisan - and only hope it sparks thought on who we are and whose we are!


Language is very powerful. Ever think about how we have been transformed in almost all public discourse from CITIZENS "people who live in and contribute to their community positively with a sense of pride and belonging" to TAXPAYERS "people who are wary of government because it takes, takes, takes and who look always at how much they are getting for their money"?
We may pay taxes but I think in these matters we are citizens, NOT simply taxpayers. And I think we should remember our first allegiance is to our Father in Heaven - and we are first and foremost Citizens of the Kingdom of God.



Our society is driven more and more by economics and less and less by values all the time. Canadians, who were once “CITIZENS” first and foremost, are now “TAXPAYERS” or worse, “CONSUMERS” in the eyes of corporations, the corporate media and, increasingly, government. This is a troubling linguistic evolution. Why? Well, because language shapes attitudes. And it does so very subtly and insidiously. “CITIZENS” react to worthwhile but costly government initiatives with communal spirit and generosity. “CITIZENS” band together in tough times and make sacrifices for each other and for the common good. “TAXPAYERS”, on the other hand, selfishly tally the “value” they receive from government for their hard-earned money and seek out evidence of government inefficiency and waste at all costs. “TAXPAYERS” turn on each other when the going gets tough. “TAXPAYERS” look out for number one. Similarly, “CONSUMERS” just want more and more without the slightest regard for their fellow man. While I certainly pay taxes and, like everyone else in our society, consume goods and services, I prefer to self-identify as a "Citizen", First as a child of God, and then proudly as a Canadian, for I am not merely a taxpayer or consumer.
Peace.

National Evangelization Teams

It seems that the term "Evangelization" has been at the top of my calendar this week.  First the trip to Prince Albert, now a group of Evangelizers has invaded Bolton! To make us evangelizers! Today we started out first of 4 National Evangelization Team Encounter Days for our grade 8 students.
NET stands for National Evangelization Teams. They are Catholic Missionaries who share Jesus' gospel message with young people in a team format. NET Ministries of Canada challenges young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church. NET Canada recruits and trains teams to evangelize to over 28,000 youth every year in churches, and schools. Here is a Video about NET.

NET's mission, to challenge young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church, is accomplished by:

• Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ through a personal witness of faith;
• Inviting young people to live for Christ;
• Forming young people in Christian character through the study and practice of our faith;
• Equipping young adults and youth workers with the ministry skills needed for evangelization;

Back Row- Matt Jarrett-Petrocco, DJ Rousseau, John O'Hara, Daniel Hudec, Tyler Wilson.

Front Row - Sarah DeCoste, Mary Whalen, Alex Sibiga, Silken Neutelings, Sydney Merrill.

This is the Encounter team that arrived last night and will be here until Thursday afternoon. Please pray for these young people and for our Grade 8 Students who are on retreat 1 day this week!
Peace.

Sunday Flying

Returning home today from my work in Prince Albert.  The Evangelizing Parish institute was well received and the participants had a real awakening that evangelization is the way we live as disciples - and not so much the words we say. The Bishop of Prince Albert - Most Rev. Albert THÉVENOT - is a wonderfully pastoral man.  He is down to earth, and speaks the truth in plain words.  He has taken seriously the call for input next year's Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the topic of "The New Evangelization."  The Diocese has not only had this Institute, they have also gathered the diocesan pastoral council to consider the questions that the Holy See (Rome) has circulated for input before the beginning of November.  The Institute starts with reflection on 2 portions of the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (2:42-47 and 2:1-11) as the source of our passion as disciples.  Then we look at the Beatitudes in Matthew's Gospel as the foundation for Catholic Social Teaching.  If we live Catholic Social Teaching - then we will be evangelizers, drawing others to Christ...
One of the lighter moments in the short 2 day - barely 24 hour institute - is when we invite people to share with one other person something that we would not know about you by looking at you.  I share that I am an Aeroplan Points junkie!  That I would rather fly from Toronto to Saskatoon via Edmonton or Calgary so that I get more points - and in this case it was cheaper... Maybe what I could also share is that I faithfully check out the documentaries inflight.
Flying out I watched a neat pair of lectures on the subject of Moral decision making from a Harvard University professor. Interesting theories on utility and public policy.  If you are flying AC in the near future - check out the documentary channel on the inflight entertainment system!

I write this in the Calgary Airport - waiting for my connecting flight to depart for Toronto. I can see the plane pulling up to the gate now!

Peace.