Busy - Kingdom Building Time!

Since I last blogged it has been a busy life! 
"Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap" to quote scripture: Luke 6:38  (Which continues: "For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.") 
On October 12th and 13th I participated in the Simcoe Liturgy Conference. This was the 10th time the conference had been held (every 18 months or so) and I presented this time with Margaret Bick.  I'll let you in on a secret - Margaret was the brains in this operation! We based our presentations on Dies Domini - the Day of the Lord, which was written by Pope John Paul II in 1998. Even though it is 14 year old - I have fallen more and more in love with this document!
I shared the different "Titles" or names that Pope John Paul II used to help describe Sunday as the Lord's Day.  Margaret spoke about the claim Christ made of Sunday - the whole day - and shared her own conversion around what she did on Sundays... It was a wonderful time - with over a 100 participants. 

Late in the evening on Thursday October 18th I flew to Chicago to be part of a 2 day Institute: "Evangelizing Parish: Vision, Passion and Practice" in the Diocese of Joliet.  This is one of many different types of conferences that the North American Forum on the Catechumenate holds across the continent at the request of local Dioceses. Forum is dedicated to the full implementation in all parishes of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.  The first period in the RCIA is called "Evangelization and Pre-Catechhumenate", so this is institute looks at how a parish is called to be an evangelizing parish - all the time.  Working all day Friday and Saturday - we take people from the Scriptures - to the Tradition of the Church. Starting in the Acts of the Apostles - we gain some insight into the passion of that early church community. Then from the Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12) we learn the 7 Principles of Catholic Social Teaching - and realize that if we live these principles, if we live the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, then we will be witnesses in our culture.  

After flying back late Saturday night - landing just after midnight - we had a full day in the parish Sunday - Including a 25th Wedding Anniversary for 2 couples:
          Aldo and Fiorella Sunseri,    and 
          Silvia and Joseph Lume.
A wonderful celebration!

This past week I have been at the annual Priests' Seminar (at the Nottawasaga Inn) discussing the topic: Theology in the parish: Does it matter? There were good presentations on Theology, Liturgy, Scripture and Evangelization.

Peace.