Thursday - Full Schedule!

Its summer time "...and the living is easy..." - at least that is what the song says. The reality at Holy Family these days is quite the opposite! If we dial back to Thursday of this week, there were 3 things I wanted to talk about:

- We were in the midst of our 4th week of Holydays camp, and on Thursdays they have a trip day - This time it was the Blue Jays Game;
- The new Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Toronto - His Excellency Wayne Kirkpatrick - was welcomed to Toronto to begin his apostolic Ministry;
- And it was July 26 - the feast of St. Ann & St. Joachim - the parents of Mary.Ann & Joachim - as the parents of Mary - the Mother of Jesus - The Mother of God - were the Grandparents of Jesus. 

At the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin - NeilMcCarthy from the Archdiocese of Toronto reported about an organization called the Catholic Grandparents Association:

Catherine Wiley shared her personal story of writing to Pope Benedict XVI asking for a universal prayer for Grandparents. An excerpt from her presentation:
"Seven years ago, I wrote to our Holy Father in desperation and begged him to write a universal prayer for Grandparents because as a Grandmother, even though I was a practising Catholic, I felt I was failing my family. I felt unable to pass on my faith, because some members of my family were scorning and rejecting it. I felt hurt and excluded. Nobody believed that the Pope would ever write the prayer. I never doubted it. My mission was to ensure that he saw the request (not an easy task as you can imagine). I knew, absolutely, that once he did, he would not hesitate, and when he did, he summed it up perfectly."

Lord Jesus, you were born of the Virgin Mary,

the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on Grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of Grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep Grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly Pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of live without end. Amen

"You can see why our Holy Father has become known as the champion of Grandparents – the Grandparents’ Pope. He understands. Grandparents desperately needed this prayer to help restore their confidence and strengthen their faith. They need to be reassured that the Church is aware of their plight and is there to help them. And they need to be given the courage and support to proclaim their faith, to fulfill their sacred obligation of passing on the faith. Grandparents are the natural Evangelizers embedded in the heart of the family. After receiving the Holy Father’s Prayer for Grandparents, we founded the Catholic Grandparents Association to fulfill the great need that the people of Ireland themselves said they needed."

Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick Was Ordained on Wednesday July 25th - the feast of St. James the Apostle - and was formally welcomed in a celebration at St. Michael's Cathedral on Thursday Morning. This Mass was followed by a Lunch, and a short number of speeches: on behalf of the Religious Sisters and Brothers of the Archdiocese, the Lay Staff of the Archdiocese, and the Clergy and Pastoral workers in the Norhtern Pastoral Region where Bishop Kirkpatrick will serve. 

Then Deacon Robert and his wife Gabrielle drove me over to the Rogers centre - and I joined the Holidays Camp for the 8th Inning of the Ball Game (Yeah Jays: 10-4 win) and I rode back on the Bus with the campers. Then after 2 wedding rehearsals and a house blessing I plopped into bed! "Summer time - and the living is (not) easy!"

Peace!

Day Camp and a Visitor

Thursdays at Holydays day camp is "outing day" - and today we went to Albion Hills Conservation Centre.  They have a terrific pool / splash Pad that the campers enjoyed - as well as a playground, hiking trails and a large picnic shelter.  It was a wonderful day trip - even if the weather was not as warm today as it was over the past few days!  The pool was still refreshing, and there were lots of places to explore!

This afternoon, after we returned from Albion Hills - I met Fr. Sherwin who dropped by for a visit. (This is old associate's week - Fr. Peter was here on Tuesday at an Edge Adventure Camp Meeting!!!) Fr. Sherwin is settling into his new parish well, and getting used to the travel between the main Parish (in Sutton) and the Mission Church (in Keswick). The Mission Church is now a bigger building and community than the Main Parish!

Peace

Euthanasia - A real concern

Recently the Right to Life coalition communicated with people about the June 15th  B.C. Supreme Court Judge ruling in the Carter v. Attorney General case.  This ruling, if not overturned, will plunge Canada even deeper into a culture of death. Justice Lyn Smith has made all Canadians vulnerable by striking down our criminal code prohibitions against euthanasia and assisted suicide. I wonder if it will be the elderly and the disabled who will become targets of euthanasia by an increasingly cash-strapped health care system and / or unscrupulous family members.


To justify abolishing our homicide laws, Justice Smith ignored irrefutable evidence and numerous studies which prove that in other countries where assisted suicide and euthanasia has been legalized, abuse followed. The judge falsely alleged that “safeguards” have been effective in those jurisdictions to prevent elder abuse and the “slippery slope” that we have been warned about by euthanasia opponents.

Justice Smith also took on the role of executioner by granting Gloria Taylor a constitutional exemption, allowing her doctor to kill her by euthanasia or assisted suicide.

One could consider this an "activist-judge" - who has no constitutional right to "make" laws. That power is reserved solely to our elected Members of Parliament. What are we to do?

Inform yourself on this B.C. ruling and what’s at stake by watching this video. 

This cause will be helped if pro-lifers influence the public debate by bombarding newspapers across the country with letters to the editor. Based on your postal code, Campaign Life's Letter To The Editor program will give you a choice of local and national publications to choose from. 

Then, it provides you with talking points to help you write a customized letter through our website. Choose one or two “talking points” along the right hand side to help you personalize your letter. We’ve placed a limit of 250 words which the program will count for you. In the final step, just press <Submit> to send it to the media outlets of your choice.

Tuesday Cookies - Wednesday Beach Day!

Tuesday was a full day at Holydays as I had 3 1/2 sessions of cookie baking with the campers! I say half a session - because with Fr. Damian off on 2 weeks of holidays - I was celebrating the Tuesday morning Mass - so I got them started - and then the great counselors took over! and I was just in time to enjoy the fruits of their labour!  There are a lot of cookies the get baked in a day of camp - with 4 sessions making 30 cookies each - plus the starting batch that is prepared before the camp begins! There is usually enough cookies for the people who come to morning Mass, and the parents who come to the Talent show on Friday afternoon!

On Wednesday each week there is a different "Theme Day" - last week it was "Rock Stars" and today it was Beach day! Some of the activities included making Sand Art, and painting yourself at the beach.  
Many of the campers and all of the staff showed up in Beach apparel - including yours truly! (Picture to follow later in the week!) 


Peace!

Just a little humour !

With a large number of visitors at the noon mass on Sunday - I thought this was an appropriate piece of humour!

Peace

Funeral - Holydays - Wedding

Tears of sadness and joy over these two days:

Sadness as we celebrated the funeral of Donna Marie O'Malley on Friday morning - a 56 year old woman with 2 daughters and one grandson. It was a sudden, unexpected death, and you could see the shock still on the family as they struggled to understand.  We live in a world where we have inherited death and disease as a result of the fall from that state of original grace.  

Friday afternoon we celebrated Mass with the Holydays campers and then we had the talent show.  One of the campers played Beethoven's  "Hymn to Joy" on the piano - with her eyes closed!!! Really neat!  They also enjoyed a slideshow of the week's activities.  One of my friends - who works for an agency in peel that helps children and families - thinks that the time I spend with the young campers teaching them how to bake Sr. Carmelita's Cookies will have the most impact on people I encounter this week!  They sure like the cookies - I can tell you that! Tears of Joy!


More tears of joy this Saturday as I celebrate the marriage of 2 young people who grew up in Bradford - but have been coming to Bolton for the past year and a half - so that I could witness their marriage and celebrate with them. Claudio and Mafalda met at Holy Trinity High School, but didn't really start dating until 3 years ago or so... Claudio used to be an altar server at Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish!  Another reason for tears of Joy!


Peace

Steubenville Wrap-up and Holydays begins!

Sunday was the final day of the Youth Conference/Retreat at Franciscan University of Steubenville. This was the the third of 4 retreat weekends that happen over the summer AT Steubenville, while there are 14 other conferences for youth that the University runs across the United States. Some of those have 4-5,000 participants - so I imagine that there are 30-40,000 young people who experience this kind of retreat each summer!
It was a hot and humid morning Sunday - climbing up the hill to the main campus of Steubenville - and I had beads of sweat running down my glasses at the top of the hill before 8:15 am!
After a time of Praise and Worship, & prayer and commitment - we celebrated Eucharist. At the end of Mass young people discerning a vocation - females first - and then males - were invited to the front to be prayed over as they are open to the idea that God could be calling them to religious life, or the priesthood. The numbers were impressive - and our young people commented on that on the bus ride home.
After Mass we grabbed our bag lunch - then loaded up the Buses with our luggage and headed home. Our bus prayed the rosary to start, then had a time of open mic - to allow the teens to share their experiences - and then we watched the movie Courageous.
Our border crossing was quick, and after a dinner stop along the QEW - we pulled into the parking lot immediately behind the other bus - even though we had not driven together or stopped at the same places! We couldn't have arranged it any better! Not a coincidence - but a God-incidence!

Monday I worked around the rectory - doing some gardening - and hosted a couple of good friends for dinner. Fr. Damian was back from visiting his family just in time to share in the ribs I had cooked! Tuesday we started our Holydays Camp - and I was cooking Cookies all day - with 4 different groups of campers! A delightful experience! Meanwhile Fr. Damian was playing Basketball and Floor Hockey with the campers! We were both working up a sweat!!!

Peace

Steubenville Day 2

Wow. Aour God Is Awesome! That's the best word to describe this day. It started early. It ended late. But it was awesome. The day started with some parse and worship - singing and prayer - and a presentation about Franciscan University here in Steubenville - our hosts for these 3 days. Then we celebrated mass. 2500 people can stand and sit without talking. Amazing! After mass we divided into 2 groups - newbies - and returnees. The newbies had Matt Froadd speak. I thought I recognized him - but was unsure - but as soon as he started to speak - I was right. Born in Australia Matt served on a NET Canada Team that came to Bradford in 2003 - and he remembered me (and my brown cow analogy for confirmation). He spoke powerfully on his own conversion story - and the change of perspective for him at WYD 2000 in Rome. Then there were confessions. Fr. Peter Choi is here with youth from his parish - and we signed up for 3 confession times today. There was also small group time and lunch at this time. After lunch Matt Maher led worship / and a concert so to speak. Then there men's and women's sessions - same time 2 places - and again Matt spoke - powerfully and personally. There was also a witness from a young man in the vocation discernment program at FUS. Then confessions during dinner. This time I found the meals that they brought over for the priests! After dinner was another session with music, witness, and talk by another keynote speaker. Then adoration - where the monstrance was carried throughout the giant double sized gym they have here. Very powerful time. Emotional for some. And then the third round of confessions today - while others used time for small groups. So here I am in my room. Exhausted. And yet feeling I need to share some of this! Peace.

Steubenville day 1

We were up early Friday morning as we gathered at holy family starting at 6:00. To save some money our parish group is traveling with 2 other parishes - Bradford and Orangeville. This meant 1/2 of our youth were on the bus that started in Orangeville and one half on the buss that started in Bradford. We had good traffic and made it to the border around 8:30 and had a wait of only 28 minutes. Quite quick as ar as busses go! We stopped for lunch near Erie PA, and were in Steubenville around 3:00. Check in and drop off and fining our way to the dorms took over an hour and there were many groups arriving as we did. After a simple meatless dinner(it's Friday eh) we got some great seats for the first conference session. We were standing and singing and praising God - had a talk by a youth minister and then completed the night with adoration. Some 2500 youth and chaperones praying - you could hear a pin drop!!! You could also hear the storms outside - pouring rain - but when we came out at 9:45 everything was already drying out! Peace