A Sunday Reflection

Joy & Treasure

Does finding the Treasure give us Joy?
     Or might our Joy help us find the treasure?
Have you got something that is very precious to you? 
It might be something that isn’t very important to anyone else, but is very special to you. Maybe it is something you would grab in a house fire, or flood. Would you be willing to give it away or swap it?  In the Gospel Jesus tells us that God’s kingdom is like a priceless treasure that one would give their most precious possession for. God’s kingdom begins here and now, in this life. 
It is not simply something in the Future - on the other side of death. Deacon Robert and his wife Gabrielle tell me that Fr. Bob McDougall s.j. was fond of saying that the Kingdom is not just Pie in the Sky after you Die, but it is Steak on the Plate while we wait! God, the Lord of all creation, is always present to His creation. Often it is us - the creatures who are not present to God! 

This is quite evident - when we see the horrible suffering inflicted on Christians & other minorities in Iraq and Syria;   
   Seeing the fighting and killing in Israel and Gaza; 
      When we hear of planes shot down over Ukraine.
Yet it is just as apparent when we are unkind to each other: when we select the bad over the good because it is ‘popular’ or is ‘socially acceptable’ to do so.
The Kingdom of God, the Reign of Heaven is here and now.

When we have a true and deep encounter with God - that is a Real Treasure! no matter if that authentic experience of God is:

• Found in nature / in a time in the wilderness, or the beaty of a sunset;
• Or found in a time of quiet Prayer, experience a deep presence of God;
• Or in singing a song - and being surrounded by others singing praise to God and being in utter communion;
• Or in the mystery of Love - in a Husband and Wife, in the joy of the birth of a new child - realizing the Joy of Family

We often would give up everything in that moment to remain there – to have & keep that ‘treasure’. Yet we will all face the Cross. and for us the image of the middle parable in today's set of three parables can give us consolation. The pearl of great value - of great price.

Pearls, of course, are not created in a vacuum. They are born from friction, hardship. Out of that struggle comes a miracle: a jewel of profound simplicity and humbling beauty, our Joy – The Joy of the Gospel – enables us to bear our cross / to hope thru suffering and to allow God to bring forth the K of G here and now - this beautiful Pearl.

Peace

Fearful Times in Iraq / Syria / Israel / Gaza and Ukraine

The Arabic letter N - for Nazarene - being used to mark the homes of Christians in Iraq and Syria

If you visited Facebook or Yahoo or Bing on Friday afternoon, you would see all kinds of stories trending - about celebrities, and movies and TV shows. You would have to look very hard to find any discussion at all about what we might say is the most important, most harrowing story of the week—quite possibly, the most historically significant story of this year.
That is: the obliteration of Christianity from Iraq.
The world is only now waking up to a horror that is unfolding before our eyes. Mainstream media coverage has been scant. Our government has been largely silent. But attention must be paid. The gospel we hear this Sunday is about a pearl of great price – the kingdom of God. Some of our brothers and sisters seeking that pearl are paying the ultimate price. They are paying for it with their lives.
In the city of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, the church bells have fallen silent. For the first time in 1600 years, there are no Christian church services, no Masses, no liturgies. Crosses have been ripped from churches. The cathedral has been turned in to a mosque. A monastery has been raided, looted, overtaken; the monks have been expelled, taking only the clothes on their backs. In a video that is, frankly, incredible, the ancient tomb of the prophet Jonah—one of the holiest sites in the region—was bombed and destroyed.

Men, women and children are literally running for their lives, fleeing to safer places to the north. In some towns, ISIS – the Islamist extremist group now dominating the country—has cut off water supplies and electricity. They have confiscated medicine. If they catch people trying to flee, they take everything they have – passports, medicine, wedding rings. The edict has gone forth: convert to Islam, or pay an outrageous tax that no one can afford. If you do not pay, you will be killed. It’s not an idle threat. Some people are being crucified.
And it is happening for one reason only: because they are Christian.
Seventy years ago, men and women fought a war to stop genocide in Europe. Now it has returned, in another place, targeting another group, going by another name. One Catholic archbishop has called it, bluntly, “religious cleansing.” 
The first Christians were baptized in Iraq nearly 20 centuries ago. Some speak the same language that Christ himself spoke, Aramaic. Now they are being crushed under the heel of evil.
Last week, during his general audience, Pope Francis led a moment of silence to pray for the people of Iraq. The Chaldean Catholic patriarch Louis Sako wrote an open letter, saying that for the first time in his history, Mosul is completely empty of Christians, and warning that the country is facing — quote – “a humanitarian, cultural and historical disaster.”

Some are trying to stop it—including Muslims. Last week, professor Mahmoud Al Asali at the University of Mosul spoke out against the reign of terror being inflicted on Christians, saying he believes it goes against the Muslim commandments. For his courage, he was killed.  And yet, even now, other voices are continuing to be raised.
Friday, Jordan’s Prince El Hassan – himself a descendant of Muhammad – called for an end to violence in the name of religion in a statement that was signed by several religious and secular leaders. He wrote: “We cannot stand idly by and watch as the lives of the most vulnerable, our women and our children, are destroyed in the name of religion.”  Last Sunday, in Baghdad, both Muslims and Christians gathered in the St. George Chaldean Church to pray together—and to weep together. Some Muslims carried signs: “I’m Iraqi, I’m Christian” – a powerful show of solidarity.

In Mosul, members of ISIS have been marking Christian homes with the Arabic letter “N,” which stands for “Nazarene” – meaning Christian. It is reminiscent of the Star of David that marked Jews in Nazi Germany. But now, that “N” has swept social media and is even being seen on tee shirts. The message: no matter what our belief or our nationality, we are all Christians. We are all Iraqis. We stand together in defiance of genocide, of persecution, of hate.

If there is any consolation here, it is this: Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are not facing this alone.  Neither are we.
Many in the media may be ignoring this onslaught. We cannot.
We hold in our hearts our own pearl of great price: a pearl of faith and hope. Pearls, of course, are not created in a vacuum. They are born from friction, hardship. Out of that comes a miracle: a jewel of profound simplicity and humbling beauty, giving off radiance and light.
Let us offer that pearl in prayer to the Holy Family: for Joseph and Mary know only too well the tears that are being shed, the desperation that is being felt. The Holy Family has known their terror, spoken their language, and have been refugees, fleeing from tyrants.   
Let us pray for Peace!

Summer Food Needs

A Note from the Manager of the Exchange: We have some gaps on our shelves and was wondering if you could help to fill those gaps. The items we most need are cereal, peanut butter, juice, children's snacks, canned meat/fish and crackers. If you are able to donate some of these items to us, we would greatly appreciate it. Regards, The Exchange

Pictures from St. Louis

 Some Pictures from the NPM in St. Louis.

Kirkwood Presbyterian Church - with a Casavant (Quebec made) Pipe Organ (This was in the St. Louis Suburbs

Main Stage area during Taize Prayer service - Beautiful!

I Visited the Arch on my Birthday!

Just before the Eucharist Thursday Evening - what a beautiful way to cap my Birthday festivities!

Peace

National Association of Pastoral Musicians Convention 2014

"Meet me in St. Louis" is how the song goes (from the 1904 world's fair!) and so they did just that - some 2,500 Musicians, Priests, liturgists and those involved in supporting the singing and praying church gathered for the 37th Annual Convention of the National Pastoral Musicians Association in St. Louis this past week. There were a few of us from Ontario - Nicholas (10:00 organist) and I travelled with 2 musicians from St. Christopher's Parish in Mississauga. Down there we met Bill Target from the Archdiocese of Toronto, and David Jafalice from Newmarket, as we explored the theme - "Proclaim the Good News".

There were fantastic Speakers - including Jerry Galipeau - who gave our Parish Mission in Lent 2012.  He spoke on proclaiming good news when we are broken or alienated from institutional Church. Paul Westermeyer spoke on how Musicians claiming their art will allow them to proclaim good news.  Ann Garrido spoke powerfully on Conversion - and the practice of conversation as key in proclaiming good news. Sr. Honora Werner, OP, spoke wonderfully on the church - in Vatican II - as bearing good news.

I did not get to hear the concluding talk by Msgr. Ray East - Sent to proclaimn Good News (But I will watch it on www.praytellblog.com)  The entire week was a source of inspiration and refreashment for my soul! I am grateful I was able to be able to attend!
Peace

Victor D'Souza - R.I.P.

Victor D'Souza is the Father of our Seminarian Shawn D'Souza. Victor died on Thursday afternoon after a lengthy illness with Brain Cancer. Please keep Shawn, his Mother Veronica, and the family in your prayers. 

Here are the details for the funeral:

Visitation
Meadowvale Cemetery & Visitation Centre
7732 Mavis Road, Brampton, L6Y 5L5
Sunday,  July13, 2014 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Funeral Mass
St Francis Xavier Catholic Church
5650 Mavis Rd., Mississauga, L5V 2N6
Monday, July 14, 2014 10:00 AM

Burial
Assumption Catholic Cemetery
6933 Tomken Road, Mississauga, L5T 1N4
Following the Funeral

Reptile Day at Camp

If you are not a fan of some of the Items in Genesis 1:24 "... creepy things and all things that crawl on the earth -  then you would not have been a fan of Camp this afternoon!
Here are some pictures:

Red legged Tortoise from South America

Candycane the snake

"Marshmallow" is a Burmese Python - Albino - 16 feet long 

Creepy Crawly Things - Yeah!
Peace

Steubenville Highs and Lows

This past weekend we were 34 who went to Steubenville Toronto (#SteubieTO started tor trend on twitter!) There were some great moments - and I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of the organisers - because I think it was a grand success - when there were may pieces that could have caused chaos! Really things worked terrifically well. Thousands were fed 5 meals over 3 days! Thousands were housed at dozens of hotels without any hiccups that I heard of! and things flowed on time for the most part (Mass and Adoration seemed to take longer than expected!)

There was wonderful music - intriguing talks - good homilies and a powerful sense of the Holy Spirit - especially in the witness talks!
The theme of the weekend: GOD is.  This was quite an interesting choice.  It allowed you to put a punctuation mark and either proclaim God IS! or you could ask God is? It also allowed toy to put a blank - and talk about different ideas or attributes of God:

• God is Real
• God is Love
• God is Merciful
• God is Savour
• God is the same: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
• God is in suffering
• God is in the media
• God is in the day to day
• God is writing your story
• God is in service

I got to see Archbishop Prendergast (the Archbishop of Ottawa - who was a professor of mine in the Seminary)  and Fr. Rod, my Brother and Sister-in-law's former pastor, and Fr. Leo, my Dad's Pastor (both from the Archdiocese of Kingston.) All in all - it was a wonderful event that did have an impact on many young people in Southern Ontario. 

Peace

Steubenville Toronto

Years ago the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio began to host conferences and retreats, not only for university aged people, but also for Youth in High School, and Adults looking to go deeper in their faith.  We have had Adults go to Steubenville each year for the past 3 years from Holy Family Parish.
Over the years, there has been quite a growth in these conferences, and now the Franciscan University of Steubenville offers these conferences not only at their Ohio Campus site, but provides teams of leaders for 20 Conferences across North America!
This year, for the first time ever, the OCY (Office of Catholic Youth) will co-host such an event in Toronto! We will be 35 from Holy Family Parish attending this 3 day event: Friday afternoon - Sunday afternoon. It will be held in the old Maple Leaf Gardens, now named the Mattamy Centre, in the heart of the City.

Please keep our youth, and the leaders in your prayers these days.

St. Thomas

July 3 is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, sometimes called "Doubting Thomas."  He is also called "Didymus" which means "The Twin."
He was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and is best known from the account in the Gospel of Saint John, where he questioned Jesus' resurrection when first told of it (hence the "doubting" title).  Yet this doubt is followed by his confession of faith as both "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus' wounded & risen body. Maybe that is the way he should really be remembered! Proclaiming Thomas!

Traditionally, he is said to have traveled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, traveling as far as India. According to tradition, the Apostle reached Muziris, India in 52 AD and baptized several people who are today known as Saint Thomas Christians. After his death, the relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century, and later moved to various places. In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle. He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India, and the name Thomas remains quite popular among Saint Thomas Christians of India.
St. Thomas - Pray for us! Peace