5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This weekend we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This annual observance was instituted by Pope Francis in 2021 and is celebrated by the universal Church on or near the liturgical Feast Day of Saints Anne and Joachim, grandparents of Jesus. The theme, chosen by Pope Francis earlier this year, is “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” (Sirach 14:2).

In his written message for this occasion, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that “Sacred Scripture offers us many examples of women and men whom the Lord called late in life to play a part in his saving plan. World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is an excellent opportunity for families and faith communities to seek ways to cherish and care for our elders, uplifting them as signs of hope for future generations.” To read the Pope’s entire message click on the following link, Signs of Hope.

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July 26th is the Feast Day of Saints Anne and Joachim parents of the Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus and are also patron saints of grandparents. The Feast of Saint Anne is of special significance to Indigenous Peoples and many Indigenous Communities undertake an annual pilgrimage to shrines such as Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre (Quebec) at this time of year for a time of spiritual renewal and to honor Saint Anne as she represents the importance of grandmothers in their own culture. On this Feast Day weekend, we offer the following prayer:

Good Saint Anne, Mother of Mary, the Blessed one among women, (Lk 1.42) you were thanked by the newcomers on this glorious and free land for your protecting intercession during their uncertain trip on the sea and you were invoked by them in their trials in establishing new homes and traditions. Intercede for all our families so that, through the help of the Holy Spirit, we may grow together in peace and understanding and make our home hospitable to our visitors and guests. May we persevere, like you, in the love of Jesus and Mary and live pure and blameless lives in the sight of God. Grandmother of Jesus, our Saviour, you were honoured by the First Nations people of this land in your role of nurturing him and bringing him up to maturity. Intercede for all grandmothers, so that they may nurture their grandchildren with love and wisdom, teaching them to find their way in life and to be right in word and in deed.

Gentle Saint Joachim, Father of the Virgin Handmaid of the Lord, (cf. Lk 1.38) Grandfather of Jesus, among your descendants, you had the privilege to count the One whom your own ancestors longed to see, the long-expected Messiah. Intercede for all elders and grandfathers, who worked hard on this land, defending its integrity, and who grew old in the service of the Almighty. May God grant them to benefit from their remaining strength, to share the wealth of their experience and wisdom and to enter his Kingdom at the end of their earthly time.

Good St. Anne and St. Joachim, Parents of Mary, the “favoured one” (Lk 1.28), accompany us, in our faith journey on this land, to the glory and praise of God, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

(Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops)

This weekend I offer you a taste of the wisdom of Kathleen Norris. She is the award-winning poet, writer and author of the “New York Times” best sellers The Cloister Walk, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writers Life, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, and The Virgin of Bennington. Exploring the spiritual life, her work has been a great companion and inspiration for those seeking a contemplative life in the midst of the ordinary routine, gift and adventure of our everyday lives. Some quotes:

“Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can’t imagine.”

“If grace is so wonderful, why do we have such difficulty recognizing and accepting it? Maybe it’s because grace is not gentle or made-to-order. It often comes disguised as loss, or failure or unwelcome change.”

“True hospitality is marked by an open response to the dignity of each and every person. Henri Nouwen has described it as receiving the stranger on their own terms, and asserts that it can be offered only by those who have found the center of their lives in their own hearts.” Dakota: A Spiritual Geography

From her book Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks and a Writers Life:

“For grace to be grace it must give us things we didn’t know we needed and take us places we didn’t know we didn’t want to go. As we stumble through the crazily altered landscape of our lives, we find that God is enjoying our attention as never before.”

“But hope has an astonishing resilience and strength. Its very persistence in our hearts indicates that it is not a tonic for wishful thinkers but the ground on which realists stand.”

“Because we are made in God’s image, in fleeing from a relationship with a loving God, we are also running from being our most authentic selves.”

From her book, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith:

“There is a God who is not identified with the help of a dictionary but through a relationship.”

“At its Greek root, “to believe” simply means “to give one’s heart to.” Thus, if we can determine what it is we give our heart to, then we will know what it is we believe.”

We pray to stretch our vision to see beyond our own needs, great as they may be at this time. May we see more clearly the beauty that surrounds us in all the marvelous creatures—human, animal, and plant—with whom we share Earth, our home.

We pray to stretch our heart space to increase our capacity for compassion and respect toward those from whom we would rather pull away. May we open ourselves to those who are different from us in their choices, values and desires.

We pray to stretch our hearing that we listen not only to those with whom we agree but ever more carefully to those who disagree with us, that we may learn from them what they hold dear.

We pray to stretch our voices to speak on behalf of those, near and far, who are silenced by tyranny, violence or destitution. We pray to expand our gratefulness for all your creation, all of our family. Gather us in a circle of care as we seek your grace in these stretching times.

Amen.

Sister Aileen Donovan, OP
Dominican Sisters of Sparkill

Nature is in full glory these Spring days. I offer you the following as a prayer practice to be present with our God who creates it all.

The Sabbath Walk – ‘For thirty minutes’ walk slowly and silently – preferably outside in nature, but it can also be done indoors – without trying to get anywhere. It is more of an amble, a stroll. Let your senses guide your walk. If you are drawn to a leaf, a stone, a color, a chink in the concrete, a shape in the floor, the fragrance of the grass, simply stop, and linger, and allow the moment to be, to smell or touch or thoroughly observe whatever is available for you….. When you are called to stop, stop and investigate. When you are called to begin again, move on. After thirty minutes notice what has happened to your body, mind, your sense of time.’

(From Wayne Muller, Sabbath, Find Rest, Renewal and Delight in our Busy Lives).

To register for either retreat contact Bob McDermott @ mcdermot@nbnet.nb.ca.
For further information on the retreat and registration go to https://www.aaseasaintjohn.ca/longer-retreats-residential

The Month of May is dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus, and is also the month in which we celebrate Mother’s Day.

As I think of all the different ways in which Mother’s Day is celebrated and those special loved ones we celebrate, I began to reflect on the scriptures and the prominent role of mothers who exemplified faith and trust in God, who loved and cared for their children, who provided joy and gratitude, wisdom and guidance, humility, encouragement and forgiveness.

● Eve: Her name means “mother of all living”, the first woman and the first mother to live and embrace all of God’s creation. Her gifts to us include strength, knowledge, intuition and leadership.

● Sarah: Wife of Abraham and subsequently the mother of the nation of Israel. She conceived at an older age (90) and as promised by God gave birth to a son whom they named Isaac. Her gifts to us include faith, loyalty, patience and sharing.

● Elizabeth: Mother of John the Baptist and cousin of Mary. Also giving birth to a son later in life, they named him John as instructed by an angel. She dedicated her son to God who became a great prophet. Her gifts to us include foresight, trust, praise and faithfulness.

● Mary: Mother of Jesus. A young humble peasant girl who became the human mother of Jesus. She is the most honored mother in the Bible. Her gifts to us include humility, courage, acceptance, love and grace.

There are many, many other examples of mothers in the scriptures. This month may be a good time to begin your own pilgrimage of honoring these special mothers whose gifts help us to see all the ways God is with us in our own lives.

Wishing all mothers a Happy and blessed Mother’s Day!

With thoughts still fresh in our minds on the passing of Pope Francis and his gift of humility, Sister Joan Chittister offers the following reflections on the power of humility:

“In our culture, importance is expressed in the singular: we lionize the one person to win six triathlons in a row, for instance. Or the only person to scale a given mountain. Or the first person to fly around the globe in a balloon. We make people what they do.

As a result of our concentration on the achievement and competition that come from uniqueness, we are inclined to overlook the uniqueness of simplicity. We downplay the power of humility. We ignore the impact of the individual. We merge the person and the things they do to the point where we are in danger of losing a sense of the person at all.

Then we wonder why it is that loss destroys people, and pride consumes them, and humility puzzles us. But at the end of the day, we discover that humility—the strength to separate our sense of the meaning of life from what we do—is the only real answer to lifelong happiness.” – The Monastic Way, April 2025.

The following quotes are also attributed to Sr. Chittister and may help us to reflect on the virtues of humility, where we see examples of this gift in our lives and within our community.

“Only the humble are truly happy. There is nothing they have that anyone can take from them, and all that they have, whatever it is, they enjoy for its own sake.”

“The truly humble never really covet recognition. They simply accept it, if and when it comes, and wear it lightly.”

“Humility is the foundation of humanity. It is the glue that binds a group together, aware of their own gifts, grateful for the gifts of others.”

“Humility is authenticity. It comes from the Latin word humus, meaning "earth." As Scripture has taught, we're made of dust, and unto dust we shall return.”

In a recent letter from the Office of the Bishop, Bishop Riesbeck has extended an invitation to attend a Memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, April 29th at 7pm. Copies of the Bishop`s Letter are available in the lobby of the church.

I have often heard ‘elders’ among us speak the following phrases (or something like them) with a deep confidence:

“Eventually things change for the better.”

“This will get better.”

“Hope springs eternal.”

I have believed and trusted these words because they were coming from folks who have been on life’s journey a longer and sometimes a much longer time than myself and have experienced much challenge, pain, loss and even devastation. Yet they were hopeful.

For the followers of Jesus, His crucifixion and death was devastating. It left them empty, at a loss, frightened and ashamed of their lack of courage and faithfulness. It also left them desiring and hoping for things to get better and for a ‘hope that springs eternal’.

This is exactly what happened. The Easter Gospel stories tell us they came to experience that the crucifixion and death of Jesus was not his end. He had Risen and came to all of them as ‘The Risen Christ’. He breathed on them and spoke hope and renewal into their lives.

They were changed! They found that they had a NEW AND DEEPER courage and peace, and that Hope Sprang Eternal in them. This is what came to be known as Easter!

Today, Jesus, the Risen Christ continues to seek us out as individuals and in communities and brings change for the better in us and through us and in others and through others. Easter has been in our lives from the time we were created. It looks like this:

Where we have been afraid, we have found courage!

When we have been apathetic, we have sought awareness and have become concerned and compassionate!

When we have been wounded we have found healing!

Where we have so often left it to others to speak out, to act and to change things, we have found ourselves passionate, concerned and involved with others in being that change for the better.

All of this we call Easter! If we reflect on it in this way, we see the great abundance of Easter grace in our world and we also see where Easter grace is needed. May we all be willing to bring it there because we have Easter – the Risen Christ in us….all of us! What amazing Good News! Alleluia!  

This week we move into the celebration of Holy Week. This is considered the ‘Greatest Week’ of our liturgical year. It encompasses the end of Lent and the Easter Triduum. This week provides us with a graphic remembering of God’s love for us in Jesus’ total giving of himself in love through his dying and rising in glory. In our remembering, we are inspired by Jesus’ presence in our world and personal lives. We are touched deeply by his unwavering commitment to be with us in the delights, ordinary moments and suffering experiences of our lives and bringing all of us into the glory of Easter with Him.

The Easter Triduum, which is the three days from Holy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday evening, is celebrated as one great feast. This is why we are strongly encouraged to participate in the three main celebrations: Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening, The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening or Easter Sunday Mass.

I would invite you to see these three days as a retreat time for yourselves and your families by attending these liturgies and taking some reflective time between these celebrations to let them speak more deeply into your lives.

Special note about Holy Saturday and the ‘Sacred Fire’ connected to the Easter Vigil: The Easter Vigil always begins with lighting a new fire recognizing the gift of God’s fire within the universe, the center of the earth, on the earth, within each of us and Christ as Light for the World. This year Wolastoqey Fire Keeper Ray Francis will make and attend a ‘Sacred Fire’ in an area in front of Holy Family Church (parking area) for us to gather, be in a circle of community and prayer before the Vigil. The Fire will be there by 6 pm and the Easter Vigil begins at 8 pm with Fire being taken from this Sacred Fire to light our Pascal Candle. You are invited to spend a bit or an extended period at the Sacred Fire during this time. Even if you gather there for a moment or two as you arrive for the Vigil will be a gift.

Regional Lenten Reconciliation Celebration will be held at St. Mary Magdalene Parish (St. Dunstan’s Church) on Sunday, April 6th @ 3 pm. Everyone is welcome.

Jubilee 2025 Pilgrims of Hope – Jubilee Pilgrimage to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. There will be a Pilgrimage of Hope to the Cathedral on the first Saturdays in the month throughout the year. The next date is April 5th. Everyone is welcome to attend any Pilgrimages throughout the year including those designated for specific regions. The designated date for our Parish Group to participate in a Pilgrimage to the Cathedral has been scheduled for Saturday, July 5th. This group includes St. John the Baptist Parish (Woodstock/Nackawic); St. Barbara’s Parish (Minto/Chipman): Mother of Mercy Parish (Johnsville/Bath/Florenceville/Juniper); and St. John Paul II (Oromocto/Lincoln/Village of Gagetown). More information to follow.

Miramichi Region: The Annual Shrine Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel will be held Sunday, July 13th at 3pm. Why not add this pilgrimage to your Jubilee Year to do list. Any questions on this pilgrimage, please contact Cassie at goodshepherdparish92@yahoo.com or 506-843-2210.

The Jubilee happens every 25 years and you don’t want to miss out. A quote from Pope Francis, “In the course of the year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to their efficacy.”

Journey Through Lent Video Series: Beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5th and for each Sunday in Lent, up to and including Palm Sunday, a video will be uploaded to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops website. This series is designed for individuals, families, and communities, providing spiritual inspiration and guidance on how to prepare for the Easter Season. To access the videos, click on the following link : Journey Through Lent 2025.

Franciscan LEAD is for high-school aged youth who are passionate about their Catholic faith, active in their youth groups, and ready to step up to the next level of leadership through evangelization and discipleship training. https://steubenvilleconferences.com/franciscan-lead/
First round applications due April 1st, 2025. LEAD week is held prior to Steubenville Atlantic, (July 11-13, 2025) in Halifax, Before applying please contact Patricia at 506-627-6465 or by email: Catechesis@dioceseofsaintjohn.org

Spring Faith Formation Opportunities, first in a series offered on Zoom by Patricia Lee, Director of Catechesis and facilitated by Jim Anderson, Director of Missionary Discipleship Formation entitled: Called to Witness and Proclaim A Pastoral Letter on Evangelization and Catechesis in the Family. This is open to parish catechists, parents, and anyone interested in faith formation of young people. Join us on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. You can choose to attend either from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83533326016 or from 7pm to 9pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86396438396

The next formation opportunity will begin on April 24 for a 4-week online retreat based on the book Into His Likeness - Be Transformed as a Disciple of Christ by Edward Sri. The book can be ordered through Amazon or Sunrisemarian.com. No registration required. Watch for our third formation opportunity coming in May!

The next session is Thursday, March 27th @ 7pm: ‘Easter Triduum’. Session led by Fr. Bill. Triduum is taken from a Latin root that means “three days” and is celebrated as one great feast. It is a period that traces the final days of Jesus' life, his death, and his resurrection from the dead. Starting with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening, The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening or Easter Sunday Mass.

This is the fifth of six sessions to be presented. The Parish Survey (the Disciple Maker Index) results indicated a strong desire of adults in the parish for opportunities to learn about their faith, discuss their faith and connect with others on the faith journey. This is for newly inquiring about the Catholic faith or those who want to learn more and deepen their faith journey

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5th and for each Sunday in Lent, up to and including Palm Sunday, a video will be uploaded to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops website featuring pastoral reflections based on the Reading for that Sunday. This series is designed for individuals, families, and communities, providing spiritual inspiration and guidance on how to prepare for the Easter Season.

The Parish Survey (the Disciple Maker Index) results indicated a strong desire of adults in the parish for opportunities to learn about their faith, discuss their faith and connect with others on the faith journey. In response, there will be six evening sessions for Adults scheduled between January 21st and into the Easter Season. These sessions will be 90 minutes in length and will each have a theme. You are welcome to attend any or all of these events. There will be input on a particular ‘theme’ or ‘aspect’ of our faith followed by an opportunity for small groups to have conversation. This is for those who are newly inquiring about the Catholic Faith or those who want to learn more and deepen their faith journey.

The Next Sessions on Thursday, February 27th will focus on Prayer. The Theme will be: “Praying With Our Life Experiences in Ways That Connects Us More Deeply to God and Others”. Input and facilitation of the process for the session will be with Pam Breau and Fr. Bill Brennan.

Future Dates: Thursday, February 27th and Wednesday March 12th – Time 7 pm.

Future Date: On Wednesday March 12th – Time 7 pm our focus will be on ‘Living the Gospel deeply through Action, Outreach and Right Relationship’. Our guest speaker will be Steve Patterson, Director of Community at 12-Neighbors ‘Tiny Home’ Community. Steve was formerly the Youth Pastor at Brunswick Street Baptist Church.

As Fr. Bill expressed in his homily last weekend, we are living in uncertain and worrisome times given the political unrest we are and will continue to experience. To help us in our prayer and our reflections, Fr. Ron Rolheiser provides us with the ‘Lord’s Prayer for Justice’. “God always stands on the side of the weak and it is there, among the weak, that we find God. Given the truth of that, let us pray the Lord’s Prayer for Justice:

Our Father who art in heaven … you always stand with the weak, the powerless, the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the aged, the very young, the unborn, and those who suffer.

Hallowed be thy name … May the reverence we give your name pull us out of selfishness that prevents us from seeing the pain of our neighbour.

Your kingdom come, your will be done … help us to create a world where, we will act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you and each other.

On earth as in heaven … may the work of our hands, reflect your glory so that the joy, graciousness, tenderness, and justice of heaven will show forth on earth.

Give us this day our daily bread … so that each person in the world may have enough food, enough clean water, enough clean air, adequate health care, and sufficient access to education so as to have the sustenance for a healthy life. Teach us to give from our sustenance and not just from our surplus.

And forgive us our trespasses … forgive us our blindness towards our neighbour, our obsessive self-preoccupation, our racism, our sexism, and our incurable propensity to worry only about ourselves and our own. Forgive us our capacity to watch the evening news and do nothing about it.

As we forgive those who trespass against us … help us to forgive those who victimize us. Help us to mellow out in spirit, to not grow bitter with age, to forgive the imperfect parents and systems that wounded and ignored us.

And do not put us to the test but deliver us from evil … do not judge us only by whether we have fed the hungry, given clothing to the naked, visited the sick, or tried to mend the systems that victimized the poor. Spare us this test for none of us can stand before this gospel scrutiny. Give us, instead, more days to mend our ways, our selfishness, and our systems. Amen.”

The following is an excerpt from the diary of Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M on January 29, 2023: “Dare I believe in peace for a world caught in the snares of domination, greed, and disregard for human life? Dare I believe in big-hearted love, self-giving service, and a setting aside of conflict, hatred and hurtful indifference? Only if I remember the kindness, caring, and selfless compassion of people whose stories never make national news yet stay forever in the grateful hearts of those who’ve been recipients of that goodness.

One of those stories occurred several weeks ago when I learned of neighbors assisting an older couple in their mid-eighties, both elders using walkers in their home and no longer able to drive. Living in a rural area without public transportation they were increasingly concerned about finding a way to travel to scheduled medical appointments. Imagine their relief and joy when neighbors several miles away happened to stop by, detected their need, and eagerly volunteered to provide their transportation.

It is this type of compassionate attitude and quiet action that contributes to a foundation for peace desperately longed for in our world. We cannot stop believing in the possibility of a major change to move humankind from deadly violence to global peace. I’ve begun praying daily the following World Prayer for Peace that was written in 1981 with the intention that “people around the world would offer this prayer at midday everyday. …around the globe a continuous vigil.

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.

Peace begins in the minds and hearts of individuals, and that includes my own where rancor and division have no place if my life is to make a positive difference. I believe that to be a person of peace is to be a person of compassion, one who unites rather than divides, who seeks to love rather than to vent animosity, one who gives wholeheartedly rather than grasps selfishly, a person at home with oneself, and consequently at home with others.

I have long felt a resonance with the verse from Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace.” And so, I am trusting a Spirit of Enduring Peace to continue to reach into human hearts and I am planning to pray daily for people near and far, that we may respond in a way that leads to furthering harmony and well-being on our beloved planet.” Abundant Peace, Joyce Rupp.

Prayer of Peace

I want to be there at dawn’s arrival
when the last stars of night yawn,
and the morning’s first radiant smile
filters through the coming of daylight.

I want to be there at the sun’s setting
when birds chatter their evening prayers,
and darkness falls like a gentle cloak
over the planet’s beloved residents.

I want to be there in human history
when peace overtakes all violence,
and each unsettled heart leaves behind
whatever blocks the flow of kindness.

I want to be there when true kinship
unites me to people here and everywhere,
gathering the enduring thread of Spirit
into a strong bond that nothing can separate.

I want to be there.
(Joyce Rupp, OSM)

The White Candle of Christmas Reminds us that Emmanuel - God is with us. (read Matthew 1:2-3)

Living as God’s Beloved. “We have to dare to reclaim the truth that we are God’s chosen ones, even when our world does not choose us…The great spiritual battle begins—and never ends—with the reclaiming of our closeness." (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved)

To be chosen is to be loved, treasured and valued. In Christ we are God’s chosen ones, we are God’s beloved. Will we, in turn, choose God? St. John wrote, “We love because God first loved us.” If we choose God, it is because God first chose us. If we love God, it is because God first loved us. Everything we do is a response to God’s love and care for us—even the breaths we take are a result of God’s creative love.

As the days of Christmas draw near, may we bask in this reality as we would bask in the warm sunshine of a quiet afternoon. We are chosen. We are loved.

God, I believe that you love me. May I be changed by this truth and know it in my heart this Christmas. Amen.
(The Fullness of Time, Henri J.M. Nouwen)

The Bethlehem Candle Reminds Us of God's Love for Us and for One Another. (read 1 John: 4-12)

God with Us. “Compassion and gratitude are the two words most helpful to understand this Ministry. Ministry happens when you participate in the mystery of being with. The whole incarnation, God-with-us, Emmanuel, if first of all, being with people.

If we really believe “Emmanuel”—that God is with us—we must be willing to turn around and be Emmanuel for others. For a faith that allows us to hide from others and places us only in self-imposed solitude is not a faith at all—at least not one that reflects the unconditional love and availability of the Incarnate Christ.

To be Emmanuel is to leave ourselves open to the homeless person next to us on the bus, it is to show up for the person in the hospital, it is to overcome our fear and nervousness and meet those in prison and hospice. To be Emmanuel is about feeding the hungry and quenching the thirst of the poor, all without stopping to count the cost.

It’s never enough to offer a prayer if we’re not willing to help be the answer to that prayer, to be that person’s experience of God in the world.

Emmanuel, be near me and in me. Be seen through me.  (Henri. J.M. Nouwen, The Father’s Love).

The Shepherd's Candle Reminds us of the Joy of the Shepherds in Hearing the Good News of Jesus' Birth. (read Psalm 136:1)

Good News of Great Joy (words from Sister Joan Chittister)

“The truth is that the Christmas Season is unabashed about the purpose of the Christian Life. “I am bringing you good news of great joy,” the angel says to the shepherds on the hillside outside of Bethlehem about the birth of a baby in a stable there. Good news of great joy, we learn at the beginning of the liturgical year, is what searching for the baby is all about and it’s how and where we’re searching that matters.

“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times,” the Greek playwright Aeschylus wrote. But that’s wrong. Happiness does not require choice some of the time. Happiness requires choice all the time. It requires learning to choose between what is real and what is fleeting, what is worthless and what is worthwhile. It is the ability to choose between one good in life over another, that the liturgical year parades before our eyes over and over again, until we finally develop enough maturity of soul to tell what lasts from what pales, to discern what’s worth having from what isn’t, to know what happiness is rather than what satiety is.

Meaning we discover, has nothing to do with what is outside of us. It had to do with what we have to see within our souls. It has to do with the vision that is within us rather than the things we are heaping up around us as indicators of our success, our power, our station.

Joy is not about what happens to us, the Manger indicates. It is the meaning we give to what we do that determines the nature, the quality of the lives we live.”

Jesus, help me to be a person of reflection who seeks to follow you with a joyful heart. (Word Made Flesh)

The Angel's Candle Reminds us of the Peace Jesus Brings Us (read Isaiah 26:3-4)

The following is an excerpt from a letter from Mother Teresa to the Presidents of two countries at war with each other:

Choose the Way of Peace: “I come to you in the name of God, the God that we all love and share, to beg for the innocent ones, our poor of the world and those who will become poor because of war. They are the ones who will suffer most because they have no means of escape. I plead on bended knee for them. They will suffer and when they do, we will be the ones who are guilty for not having done all in our power to protect and love them.

I plead with you for those who will be left orphaned, widowed and left alone, because their parents, husbands, brothers and children have been killed. I beg you please to save them.

I plead for those who will be left with disability and disfigurement. They are God’s children. I plead for those who will be left with no home, no food, and no love. Please think of them as being your children.

Finally, I plead for those who will have the most precious thing that God can give us, life, taken away from them. I beg you to save our sisters and brothers, yours and ours, because they are given to us by God to love and to cherish. It is not for us to destroy what God has given to us. Please, please, let your mind and your will become the mind and will of God. You have the power to bring war into the world, or to build peace. Please choose the way of peace.”

Bless me, Jesus. Help me to remember that true peace begins with you, so I may share your peace and joy with all. (Word Made Flesh)

The Prophet's Candle Reminds us of the Prophets Who Foretold the Birth of Christ (read Isaiah 9:6)

It is the Advent Season, a time of waiting. In our world today it is not hard to feel the “waits” of our daily lives - waiting for peace, waiting for justice, waiting in hope of the return of good health for friends and family, job security, reconciliations, the list can at times feel endless. In the coming weeks as we light each candle on our Advent Wreath, let us allow time for quiet reflection and prayer preparing our hearts and minds for the coming of the light.

Prepare Your Heart, Advent Begins December 1st: “Advent is a season of waiting. It is a high spiritual season when we prepare to birth the Christ in our lives.

In the monastery we pay special attention to the vigil services that take place each Saturday during Advent. “Vigil” means to keep awake, to be watchful. The community gathers in prayer by candlelight to anticipate the Sunday feast, to spiritually prepare for Christmas. I love that the community prays the Advent vigils by candlelight as candles are prominent symbols in the monastery’s Advent services. Candles focus our minds on the light of Christ.” (Sister Joan Chittister)

During this first week of Advent consider spending some time reflecting on “Hope”.

There are so many in our communities and around the world living in hopelessness. How can you or your family bring hope to the hopeless? How can we find ways each day to share hope with others? What do I hope for?

Be with me, Holy Spirit, as I journey. Help me to be hopeful as I proclaim the Good News, believing that heaven has already come near.
(Word Made Flesh)

St. Francis of Assisi made the first Christmas nativity scene for Christmas Eve in 1223. It was a place where he could slow down and think about the presence of God in his life. Reflecting on the nativity scene can be a meaningful way for us to gather in prayer, mindful of the great joy in Christ that Advent points us toward.

Next weekend we will begin our Advent season with the lighting of the first candle on our Advent Wreath. As we move into Advent the Nativity scene will gradually be built beginning with an empty stable, followed by the shepherds and animals and as we enter the season of Christmas, the church wreaths and trees will appear, ready to be illuminated with the birth of Jesus, reminding us of the Light of Christ.

With Mary as our model, may we all experience Advent as a special time of waiting, hope and peace.

Advent Healing Mass – An Advent Healing Mass and Sacrament of Anointing for St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish will be held at St. Ann’s Church, Bilijk First Nation (Kingsclear) on Thursday, December 12th at 2pm.

This is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe now known as National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and has special significance for Indigenous People. We hope you can join us; all are welcome!

Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.

Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!"; "With war everything is lost". Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.

Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us, and you call us to live as sisters and brothers. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our sister or brother. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.

Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words "division", "hatred" and "war" be banished from the heart of everyone. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together be "sister or brother", and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!

Amen.

Meet Sister Ines: Launching children into the world of solidarity and coexistence is among the priorities of the new Secretary General of the Pontifical Mission Society of Holy Childhood, Sister Ines Paulino Albino

Rethinking Pastoral Care: “I am very grateful, and I recognise that this appointment as Secretary General of the Pontifical Mission Society of Holy Childhood is pure grace from God. It is also an honour for my Congregation, the Sisters of Adorers of the Blood of Christ, and for our missionary Church in Guinea-Bissau, my homeland. I see it as a sign that we are also participating in the Church’s universal mission,” said Sister Ines.

Rethinking pastoral care and abandoning the comfortable pastoral criterion of “it has always been done this way” is, for Sister Ines, a crucial approach both for countries with an old Christian tradition and for the relatively newly evangelized. She calls on pastoral agents to be more creative and daring in their mission, investing in children and adolescents, so that these can be channels for revitalising the Church.

By evangelizing children, we are also evangelizing adults, explains Sister Ines. Children and young people, she says, take everything they have learned back to their families. And this process leads to a new society and a renewed Church.” (Pontifical Mission Societies)

Special offertory envelopes are available in the lobby of the Church.

As noted in the Bulletin last weekend, we are sharing stories of the important work of Missionaries throughout the world and how we can help them continue this vital ministry.

Meet Sister Priscia: Sister Priscia belongs to the order of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the director of a school for the deaf blind in Malawi. Sister Priscia notes that “Our journey is tough, and the resources scarce but in each child’s smile, we find the strength to continue. Our goal is to nurture these children into individuals who can confidently stand in society, not just as equals, but as symbols of hope and perseverance. This World Mission Sunday, you can help with that!

Meet Sister Genevieve - A Life Transformed by Missionary Animation: Sister Genevieve’s journey began as a young girl living in the mission Diocese of Loikaw, Myanmar when she began to experience a profound desire to become a religious sister. Witnessing the dedication and selflessness of these women in serving others and sharing their lives with the Church inspired her deeply. In Rome, where she is studying thanks to a scholarship from the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, Sister Genevieve speaks lovingly of her homeland's small yet vibrant Catholic community.

The faithful are nurtured through catechesis, the sacraments, and outreach programs for young people and married couples.

Sister Genevieve reminds us, “We need to pray for peace in the world, in the Church, in the family, and in every heart, because many times war begins because of the lack of peace in the hear of one…to build peace, we need to start with our own hearts.” “(Pontifical Mission Societies)

World Mission Sunday is next weekend, Sunday, October 20th. Special offertory envelopes are available in the lobby of the church.

posted October 5, 2024

October is Mission Month – Are you Ready?

The month of October is a special period of reflection and action for our Church's missionary efforts worldwide.

This year World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday, October 20th the second to last weekend in October as is the tradition. This year’s theme chosen by Pope Francis is "Go and Invite EVERYONE to the Banquet’" Inspired by the parable of the wedding banquet in the Gospel of Matthew 22:9 emphasizing our call to bring God’s love and message to all corners of the world. Our mission is to reflect this divine hospitality, bringing joy, compassion, and hope to everyone we encounter.

“In this year devoted to prayer in preparation for the Jubilee of 2025, I wish to encourage all to deepen their commitment to take part in the celebration of Mass and to pray for the Church’s mission of evangelization…she does not cease to pray, at every Eucharistic and liturgical celebration, the “Our Father”, with its petition, “Thy kingdom come”. In this way, daily prayer and the Eucharist in particular, make us pilgrims and missionaries of hope, journeying towards everlasting life in God, towards the nuptial banquet that God has prepared for all his children.

The contributions collected on World Mission Sunday are crucial for sustaining the Church's mission in over 1,150 territories where the Church is still young or struggling. Let us prepare our hearts and minds to engage fully in this mission throughout the month of October.”
-Pope Francis, The Pontifical Mission Societies

Over the next two weekends we will provide you with some short stories on the work of Missionaries around the world and how you can help.

As we continue our journey in the Season of Creation this may be a good opportunity to reconnect in a special way with nature and perhaps issue a challenge to ourselves on how we are using the earth’s resources.

Is what I’m doing a sustainable practice or is it for gain only? Will my actions diminish resources for future generations? What actions am I taking or could take to lessen the effects of climatic change and ecological devastations globally?

An African wisdom of Ubuntu teaches that the sense of self is shaped by relationships with others. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a cosmic family to care for Creation. I am because we are, the same goes with Creation. We are nature, nature is us, we are God’s hands for global and cosmic justice.

The Affirmation of Faith

We have faith in one God, one Source of all life, one ground of the whole earth, who created all things good. And we have faith in Christ, in whom we have been shown the special role of humanity to bear God’s likeness in working and caring for Creation, in seeking to understand her mysteries and powers, in working with these powers for the wellbeing of life on earth.

And we have faith in God’s Spirit who leads us to a meek, unselfish and compassionate lifestyle. So that the earth is inherited in peace, her life is transformed for all creatures and her bounty shared justly.

So, be it. Amen.

(Source: Adapted from India and reproduced by ECEN (European Christian Environmental Network) for Creation Time 2003)

The month of September is dedicated to Care of Creation. The theme for this year is “To Hope & Act With Creation”.

During this Season of Creation, we are all invited to pray on how we are called to hope and act together with creation. The following reflections may help guide us on our journey of caring for creation:

To hope and act together with Creation we must truly listen to how and why Creation is groaning. We need to push for more action, we’re more aware than ever of the problems.

Creation is groaning. Creation is part of God’s revelation; we must learn from and with creation to know how to hope and act for a better future.

Although the testimony of Indigenous Christians and their spiritualties are respected, they are not listened to. Usually, Christian churches find resistance to speaking about Earth or Creation as a being, while for Indigenous and original peoples this is an intrinsic part of their cosmic worldview and way of living.

Creation groans as fossil fuel industries create greenwashing campaigns for clean energy. They are expanding their energy businesses instead of actually phasing out of fossil fuels. They talk about energy transition, but they are only doing an energy expansion to keep their profits high.

We must acknowledge the damages caused by selfish and foolish decisions that disregard the cries of the most marginalized, including refugees, or those displaced by climate change, mining, and ecological devastation. The presence of big oil companies at COP28 we saw last year is a clear example of this.

As resources diminish and access to them diminishes, there is more war. The inevitable result of the climate crisis will be more violence. You can’t have peace without an equitable sharing of resources.

The African wisdom of Ubuntu teaches us that the sense of self is shaped by relationships with others. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a cosmic family to care for Creation. I am because we are, the same goes with Creation. We are nature, nature is us, we are God’s hands for global and cosmic justice.

"Let us weep with the anguished plea of creation. Let us hear that plea and respond to it with deeds, so that we and future generations can continue to rejoice in the creation’s sweet song of life and hope." (Pope Francis)

Due to an increase in requests for Mass Intentions for the same day and Mass time to celebrate special anniversaries and birth dates of deceased loved ones, you will notice at times that we have more than one Mass Intention for the same Mass. Since Church Law allows for this to happen we will continue this practice into the future. We are grateful to be able to provide this blessing as we live and celebrate all of the gifts of Christ’s resurrection that we share in through the Eucharist

“I was walking out a great loneliness in my life one night. As I moved along the wooded path, I saw a bright light in the distance. I quietly drew closer and saw that it was only one tiny firefly. It was just a small fragile frame that was giving forth such brightness! The lone firefly then joined the dance of a hundred fireflies as I walked in the late dusk. All across the vast meadow, far into the woods, their little lights danced and brought me a sense of bondedness. They were like a silent symphony, a gift to my lonely spirit. Like Christmas tree lights without the strings to mar their freedom, the fireflies held vigil with me. They danced for the earth, giving light to its darkness, and I thought they danced for me, a pure and simple gift of beauty in the night.

In our darkest hour, it is often the smallest spark that brings us the gift of light, be it ever so frail a flicker. It is the moment of simple grace in a softly spoken word, a letter from a friend, an unexpected phone call, a warm touch from a loved one, or even, a glance at the earth in its moment of hope. God has blessed our spirits with his own fireflies. They are small and fragile, but they fly in our dark woods and their little, beaming lights seem brilliant in our need.”

This article was written by Joyce Rupp O.S.M. Well known for her work as a retreat and conference speaker and writer. She is a member of the Servite (Servants of Mary) community. She has written a number of books including: The Cup of Life, Your Sorrow is my Sorrow and Dear Heart Come Home.

There are times when it seems that so much has been written about love there is no more to be said about it. And, worse, sometimes it seems that so much that has been written about love that is pure drivel—unattained and unattainable. Or pure theory of a theological kind talks about “loving” God when I have yet to understand human love, let alone the divine. But love is none of those things, alone and entirely. Love is far more meaningful than that.

Love is something learned only by the long, hard labor of life. It is sometimes over before we’ve even known we ever had it. We sometimes

destroy it before we appreciate it. We often have it and simply take it for granted.

But sometimes, if we’re lucky, we live long enough to grow into it in such a way that because of it we come to recognize the value of life. As the years go by, we come to love flowers and cats and small infants and old ladies and life on the dock and the one person who knows how hot we like our coffee. We learn enough about love to allow things to slip away and ourselves to melt into the God whose love made all of it possible. Sometimes we even find a love deep enough, tender enough to detach us from the foam and frills of life, all of which hold us captive to things that cannot satisfy.

Sometimes we live long enough to see the face of God in another. Then, in that case, we have loved. The poets and storytellers across time have told us about the dimensions of love that last.

The poet Rumi wrote: “From myself I am copper, through You, friend, I am gold. From myself I’m a stone, but through You I am a gem!”

And in the course of World War I, the story was told that a young sergeant begged his commanding officer to allow him to go back onto the battlefield to rescue his fallen friend. “If you do that, we’ll lose you both,” the officer said. But the sergeant begged, and the officer relented. After the battle, when the battalion was finally able to retrieve both bodies, the sergeant was still alive but losing ground rapidly. “Now do you see how useless it was to go out there?” the officer demanded. “Oh no, sir, it was all worth it,” the sergeant whispered as he breathed his last. “You see, when I finally got to him, he said to me, ‘Jack, I knew you’d come.’

Real love enables everything we are. Real love knows no costs

There are two books by Sister Joan Chittister that are available for reading and can be found in the lobby of the church: ‘Following the Path’ and ‘The Monastery of the Heart’.

In Fr. Ron Rolheiser’s book “Our One Great Act of Fidelity – Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist” he shares some of his very personal reflections on the Eucharist in addition to offering other denominations’ traditions around the Eucharist. These are some quotes from his book.

“When John wrote his Gospel, he did not include a Christmas story. In place of the birth of Jesus, he simply wrote, The word was made flesh and it lives among us.”

“So, on the night before his death, having exhausted what he could with the words, Jesus went beyond them. He gave us the Eucharist, his physical embrace, his kiss, a ritual within which he holds us to his heart.”

“The Eucharist is meant to be God’s regular nourishment for us, daily manna to keep us alive within the desert of our lives.”

“…the Eucharist is meant simply to be a family meal, a community celebration, a place like our kitchen tables and living rooms, where we come together to be with each other, to share ordinary life, to celebrate special events with each other, to console and cry with each other when life if full of heartaches, and to be together simply for the sake of being together.”

“These words wonderfully describe one of the central meanings of the Eucharist. We should be on our knees washing each other’s feet because that is precisely what Jesus did at the first Eucharist, and he did it to teach us that the Eucharist is not a private act of devotion, meant to square our debts with God, but a call to, and a grace for, service.”

“One of the deep meanings of the Eucharist is that it invites us to realize that, like Jesus, we, too, have come from God and are going back to God and that therefore all things are possible for us, including a stripping off of the outer garments that so divide us, so that we can begin to wash each other’s feet across all lines of difference and division.”

“Share! The Eucharist, as a spirituality, invites us into community and family. To live out the Eucharist in daily life is to share our everyday lives with each other.”

“We can’t always be clear-headed or warm-hearted; we can’t always be sure that we know the exact path of God; and we won’t always measure up morally and humanly to what faith asks of us. But we can be faithful in this one deep way: we can go to the Eucharist regularly.”

The final chapter of the book includes the three famous sermons on the Eucharist by Saint Augustine (AD 354-430). Fr. Rolheiser notes “Saint Augustine is perhaps the most influential and important theologian in Christian history. Each of the three sermons were delivered at a Eucharist on an Easter Sunday morning and was intended for those who had been baptized the night before at the Easter Vigil and were receiving communion for just the second time. These persons, the newly baptized, would not yet ever have heard a sermon on the Eucharist, even though they had received communion the night before.”

(A copy of this book is available for reading on the bookshelf in the lobby of the church.)

“Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matthew 9.27)

“When I try to pray, words fail me. I have no idea how to “pray constantly.” Methods of prayer and meditation are too complicated for me. I want to pray in a way that keeps me focused on the basics.

Can you relate to any of these statements? If so, you might also relate to one of the oldest, simplest, and deepest of Christian spiritual traditions: the Jesus prayer.

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” The prayer appears for the first time in the Gospels, where some version of it is prayed by a collection of needy people—blind beggars, a desperate mother, a despised public official (see Matthew 9:27; 15.22; 20.30; Mark 10.47; Luke 17.13; 18.13,38).

With a sense of kinship and self-recognition, Christians mediating on the Gospels seize on the prayer as an apt description of our ongoing need for divine mercy. The early spiritual writers recommended this prayer as a way of centering our hearts on God and fulfilling the command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5.17).

This simple prayer derives its power from “the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2.9) and is often compressed into the single word “Jesus.” This says it all. To pray “Jesus” with our lips or in our hearts is to open ourselves to God’s mercy. It invites the risen Lord to make his home in us. Gradually, his transforming presence fills us with joy and burning love.

“When I arise in the morning,” says one woman who has made the Jesus prayer a part of her life, “it starts me joyfully on a new day. When I travel by air, land or sea, it sings within my breast…When I gather my children around me, it murmurs a blessing, and at the end of a weary day, when I lay me down to rest,

I give my heart over to Jesus…I sleep—but my heart as it beats prays on: ‘JESUS’.”

The Tradition is a reflection from the Catholic Women’s Devotional Bible

“As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:9-10

“NOBODY LOVES ME! She cried, hot tears spilling from her little girl heart.

Of course, her words weren’t true, but feeling trounced reality, and her perception became what she believed. I know this has been true of me and probably true for so many of you. We’re hungry for love and acceptance, approval and admiration. Our feelings often lie, telling us we’re unloved and unlovable, but the truth never changes—you and I are loved by God.

How deeply are you loved? You are loved with the same intensity and consistency that God loves Jesus. No matter how you feel, the truth is that you are loved completely, profoundly, unwaveringly! Nothing can separate you from his love! But here lies the crux. After telling us how much we are loved, Jesus instructs us to “remain” in His love, which he says is done by keeping his commandments. Will we? To keep his commandments is to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

This isn’t a list of doing more or trying harder. As we draw near to the heart of God, we can live out of his immense love for us. Jesus doesn’t ask us to do anything he hasn’t already done. Jesus’ life is characterized by serving, humbling, giving,

obeying—even unto death. Are we willing to live like Jesus? To obey, to follow when it means denying ourselves? In this age of indulgence, can we abstain? In a culture of right now, can we wait? When others get, can we give? Instead of others looking at us, can we point them to Him? Will we surrender, serve, give?

May we remain in his love, resting our lives on the love of Christ, so we can authentically give our lives away to love God and love others well.

A Moment to Breathe…

Feelings don’t always reflect reality. Remind your heart that God is truth and God is love. And His love for you is steadfast and sure.

As I have mentioned before, I have found much inspiration in the writings of Fr. Ron Rolheiser. In his weekly article, “In Exile”, he quotes many contemporary writers in the area of spirituality. In May 2015 he gave a list of spiritual writers that he believes are highly influential today in the English-speaking world and their names and quotes frequently find their place in his writings. I am sharing this list with you bit by bit. One of the people on the list is Parker Palmer who is described by Ron Rolheiser as “a Quaker, layman, American, much-respected across denominational lines. Has written brilliantly on the spirituality of education and on achieving a Christian balance in life.” Here are some Parker Plamer quotes:

“Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.”
-Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

“Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.”
–Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life

“Like a wild animal, the soul is tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient: it knows how to survive in hard places. I learned about these qualities during my bouts with depression. In that deadly darkness, the faculties I had always depended on collapsed. My intellect was useless; my emotions were dead; my will was impotent; my ego was shattered. But from time to time, deep in the thickets of my inner wilderness, I could sense the presence of something that knew how to stay alive even when the rest of me wanted to die. That something was my tough and tenacious soul.”
–Parker J. Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”
–Parker J. Palmer, Let Your life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation

“The highest form of love is the love that allows for intimacy without the annihilation of difference.”
–Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life

“Humility is the only lens through which great things can be seen-and once we have seen them, humility is the only posture possible.”
–Parker J. Palmer

“Relational trust is built on movements of the human heart such as empathy, commitment, compassion, patience, and the capacity to forgive.”
–Parker J. Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life

Some spiritual writers recommended by Fr. Ron Rolheiser: