Cathedral

Each (Arch)diocese has a Cathedral - the principal church in that diocese.  It is named the Cathedral because it is the church that has the Bishop's Chair: "The Cathedra".  In Toronto this Chair is usually green, and has the coat of arms of the current Archbishop embroidered on it.  
On Saturday February 18th, the Chair was changed - from Green Upholstery to a new chair - with Red Upholstery - and the Coat of arms of Canada's newest Cardinal!

Today at the Cathedral, The people of God of the Archdiocese: including the priests, a number of Bishops from across Canada, and some dignitaries from the Provincial and Municipal Governments, gathered for a local celebration of the elevation of our Archbishop Thomas Collins to the Sacred College of Cardinals.
The Text of the Homily is here.
It was a great day of joy in the Archdiocese, and the large number of priests who were present offered opportunities to connect with many of my brother priests.

After the Luncheon - Deacon Robert and I returned to the Cathedral and I took the picture of the chair (above) and Deacon Robert Tested out one of the  "Chaplain To The Cardinal" chairs that the Deacon sits in!!!  Security was going to remove us but then Gabrielle told him it was just a priest and a deacon taking a picture of the new Cathedra!
Peace

First Sunday in Lent

We have embarked upon our Lenten Journey
     We have been marked by ashes
We have been marked with the cross
A reminder of our Mortality – and our Hope
We have begun this holy season
      Driven into the Desert – to take stock
Thrust into the Desert of Lent
     Where we can sync our hearts with God’s
            With God’s Desire for us
Like we sync our phone/ipod with our computer

The Journey we embark upon has a direction:
The Paschal Triduum
       The Three days Holy Thurs-Easter Sun
This is the Direction placed before us as church

In the Story of Noah & the Ark - the Rainbow
       is a sign of the covenant
An outward sign of an Interior reality
     When Exterior & Interior collide – there are great possibilitiesLike Exterior ashes & Interior Conversion 

     like striking our breast & recognition of sinfulness

The Old Testament Covenant Stories: 

     Adam & Eve

     Noah & the Ark

     Abraham & Isaac

     Moses & the Commandments
All are leading to the New and Eternal Covenant
      which we celebrate each Sunday
The Life / Ministry / Passion / Death / Resurrection
and Ascension of Jesus into spirit-filled glory:
The Paschal Mystery

Our Feast and our Direction
This Sunday – Every Sunday

Peace

Ash Wednesday 2012

Ash Wednesday is a Universal day of Fasting and Abstinence.
Fasting = one less meal (or 2 smaller meals that combined do not equal the main meal)
Abstinence = not eating meat (Beef, Pork, Chicken, lamb, etc.)
We begin our Lenten Journey by being marked with ashes, usually in the form of a cross on our forehead.  A symbol of both life and death, of hope and mortality.
And we take up the 3 practices of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Alms Giving (donations).
I am not sure how it is that I can get up and go about things on a regular day and not even think about Lunch until after 3 o'clock, but on Ash Wednesday - when I have to fast - I am hungry by 10:30!

What could possibly take priority over deepening our
relationship with God? “Now is the time,” St. Paul insists (2 Corinthians 6:2). He repeats for emphasis: Don’t put this on hold or wait for a more convenient break in the calendar.
Now is the time to act, to do what Christians have done for centuries. Let’s take advantage of the fact that a whole season, honored by a large community, is set aside to do what we know we should be doing anyway. Some people “get religion” with fear when they hear a diagnosis of terminal illness, or with gratitude when they emerge unscathed from an accident. Today’s readings urge us to turn to the God of all goodness simply from love, not from any lesser motive.


Rita Ferrone is a friend of mine who lives in New York City (part of that Chicago 6 group that worked together in 2002) and she has written a wonderful resource for Lent which you can download and print here (and there is a similar resource for Teens here). 


Peace

Highs and lows - on the eve of Lent

This past Monday, as we celebrated Family Day in Ontario, I traveled out to Oshawa to see My Godson's hockey team - the Oshawa Generals play in the afternoon.  When I saw him play in Mississauga 10 days ago, he was hurt in the third period.  Geoffrey is still recovering from that pinch to the ribs, so he was sitting out this game, but I still wanted to go out to Oshawa, and spend some time with him.  The Generals lost to the Barrie Colts, and Geoffrey's Family all came out after the Game and we went to dinner.  It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening.  I think Geoffrey should be back in the line up this coming weekend as they make a road trip to the US - playing Saginaw and Plymouth in Michigan.

Tuesday Morning I traveled down to Holy Name parish on the Danforth for the Funeral of Fr. Tom McKillop.  Fr. Tom was 84 years old and was the instrumental priest in the formation of "Youth Corps" in the archdiocese of Toronto in the 1960's.  I would say that modern day youth ministers owe their positions in church to Fr. Tom.  He was the one who moved the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) from sports and dances to outreach and mission.  He put a depth to the organization - called it Youth Corps - and transformed thousands of young people into committed Catholics.  It was because of Fr. Tom that I got to meet Mother Teresa in the locker room / changing room at Varsity Stadium in 1981 when I was a young Teenage Volunteer at the Youth Corps Event.

As we prepare for Lent, purple is awash in the Church, and Palms have been burned to create ashes for services in our Schools and Parish tomorrow.  
May we know the depth of the Lord's Love as we travel these 40 Days of Lent in preparation for the Baptism of our Catechumen - Chris, and the renewal of our own Baptism at Easter.
Peace

I get it ... really I do ... but...

I get it, everything has a purpose.  Mosquitoes are eaten by birds. Bugs are eaten buy small animals.  Small animals are eaten by larger animals.  Winter snows insulate the ground, and provide water for crops that grow in the summer.  

But really - what can be the purpose of a stuffy nose!?!  And JP (from our edge youth ministry CORE team, said - "A Stuffy nose it stinks! and you cant even smell!
If I was to be completely honest I would have to give credit to Fr. Damian for sharing this wonderful gift with each of us in the office!  We are all walking wounded!  Despite all that - the preparations for the Pasta Night are almost complete and we will have 2 sold out seating's for dinner tonight in Piazza Della Santa Famiglia!  Thank you Holy Family Parish!


On a completely unrelated note - The Consistory was held this morning in Rome - and Bishop Collins received his red hat, and ring from Pope Benedict.  I will share 2 video's here: 
the first one is the sort part - where Archbishop Collins receives his Hat and Ring, 

this next video is of the entire consistory, about an hour and a half - the part with Cardinal Collins is at the 50:00 minute mark.

He woke up as "Your Grace" and goes to bed as "Your Eminence"!
Peace

Archbishop Collins in Rome

Archbishop Collins headed to Rome on Sunday evening  and has been conducting interviews each day this week leading up to Saturday's Consistory. (I hear the Alitalia Flight had to taxi back to the terminal to check a technical issue!)  His new Coat of arms is now on the Archdiocesan website, where people can follow the events that are happening in Rome this week.
Along with Cardinal Designate Collins there are some people from the Archdiocese including Neil MacCarthy - the Public Relations point man. Neil has come to Holy Family when we have had media interest in a funeral that was being held in Holy Family Church. 


Here we see Neil holding an iPad for one of the interesting "interviews"  that the Cardinal Designate had - with a grade 3 class from Holy Cross School in Malton!

You can follow the updates that Neil posts on the Archdiocesan blog (on the right side of the main Archdiocese web site).
Peace

Losing Time

I have a group of people that I worked with on a RCIA Institute in July of 2002 in Chicago.  We remain friends - and the 6 of us call ourselves the "Chicago 6" - and we get together each year to meet about issues in Church and Initiation...

One of these 5 friends (I am number 6 - I was the "intern" on the Institute) is a writer and when she sends something around to the 5 of us - I always take note.  This past week she sent us all a reflection from US Social Media guru, Chris Brogan:

I could ask anyone, anywhere, with most any role, if they had enough time to do the things they wanted to do. They would all answer no. I ask people how their businesses are going, and most everyone says “busy,” even the liars. We are all in a hurry. We all have somewhere to go. And oddly, I think it’s because we are accidentally losing time all over the place. It falls out of our watches like folded up money slipping out of your jeans pocket at the end of a long night, lost like leaves rattling down the street.

We’re Losing Time

We lose time when we check our phone every time it beeps and bings, especially if someone we love is sitting beside or across from us. We lose time every time we turn on the glowing box instead of pursue our future visions and goals. We throw away time every time we agree to an hour meeting when 20 minutes will do. We lose time chasing that extra six cents a gallon we heard they were getting for gas across town, not stopping to think that we’re only getting back $1.30 for that effort.

Every time we don’t say sorry first and end the stalemate, we are losing time. Every time we focus on our regrets, we lose time. Whenever you look in the mirror and judge yourself a failure, you are losing time. Strangely, this made me think of golf balls.

There is not one golf ball in the world that judges itself a failure. Sometimes they land in the hole. Other times, they get lost in the woods. But they are still primarily the same object. The same is true for you. Failure is something about a moment. Failure is a great thief of time. Learn. Embrace your learning. Move. Time only goes in one direction, and that’s away from you.

Make that call. Pick up that course of study. Practice that new idea. Experiment with that plan. Accept that you are who you are, and that change isn’t the goal: awareness and adaptation are the goals.

Set your phone to silent. Check it as infrequently as you can stand. Before we all had cell phones, our children all lived. The boss wants you to be responsive. Fine. Be responsive, but not a slave.

Time, friends, is the most difficult of the currencies to leverage, and we all spend it like it’s free.

This doesn’t mean “hurry.” This means “live.” Live in the way that suggests you know what time it is, with or without a watch. Because it’s your time. And that’s what matters while you still breathe.

And for the bonus round? Think about how you can use your time to extend value to people after you have stopped breathing. That’s why the world is thinking so much about Steve Jobs today. For every flaw you want to mention, for every truth about his temper or his choices, he built a legacy, more than once, with the time he had.

Be brave with your time.

I liked this because it made me squirm. How often I check my phone or play games on my computer before going to bed - and get so caught up - that I wake up tired - and no further ahead.
What legacy will I leave behind?
Peace 

Cardinal Collins Celebrations in March

To the left is the Coat of Arms of Archbishop Thomas Collins.  As the Archbishop is elevated to the office of Cardinal - one of the changes will be to his coat of arms.  The Hat will be red, and there will be another "layer" of tassels - so there will be 5 layers - with the bottom layer being 5 tassels across.  (3 layers of tassels for a Bishop, 4 layers for an Archbishop, and 5 layers for a Cardinal).  
The details of the local celebrations to welcome Cardinal-designate Collins upon his return from Rome have now been shared with the Parishes in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Both the Archdiocese and its parishes want to ensure that Catholics throughout the Archdiocese know that they will personally have a chance to pray and celebrate with Canada's newest cardinal through a series of regional celebrations scheduled for March.

The following celebrations are open to the public and will include Mass (beginning at 7:30 p.m.) followed by a reception.

• Thursday, March 1, 2012 – Central Pastoral Region – Blessed Trinity Parish, Toronto - 3220 Bayview Ave. 
• Wednesday, March 7, 2012 – Eastern Pastoral Region – St. Isaac Jogues Parish, Pickering - 1148 Finch Ave.
• Monday, March 12, 2012 – Western Pastoral Region – St. Francis Xavier Parish, Mississauga - 5650 Mavis Rd.
• Tuesday, March 13, 2012 – Northern Pastoral Region – St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Woodbridge - 150 St. Francis Ave.

The Diocese of Hamilton is also planning a similar celebration in the new cardinal's hometown of Guelph for later in the month.

We continue to hold Cardinal-Designate Collins in our prayers as he journeys to Rome in the next weeks for this celebration.

Peace

Presentation of the Lord & St. Blaise

Yesterday many people were looking at Groundhogs and trying to see if there were shadows seen or not!  Falling 40 days after the feast of Christmas (the Nativity of the Lord) in the church February 2 is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This feast commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, at which time the Prophets Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus as the long expected Messiah.  The celebration of this feast - dating from the 3rd century, involves a candlelight procession, and involves the blessing of candles (hence the ancient name for the feast:  "Candlemas").  This stems from the words of Simeon in the temple:

‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’

February 3rd marks the feast of St. Blaise - marked with the custom of blessing throats with Candles which were blessed at the Candlemas celebration the day before. We probably know more about the devotion to St. Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. His feast is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. The Council of Oxford, in 1222, prohibited servile labor in England on Blaise’s feast day. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor and for decades many Canadian Catholics have sought the annual St. Blaise blessing for their throats.
  
We know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. The legendary Acts of St. Blaise were written 400 years later. According to them Blaise was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. While in prison because of his faith, legend has it, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command while holding candles through the prison grate, the child was able to cough up the bone.

February 2nd and 3rd are important days here in the office of Holy Family as we celebrate the natal anniversary of Lydia and Fr. Damian.  What great days to celebrate with candles and cake! 
Happy Birthday Lydia and Fr. Damian!


Peace to you on these early February Days.