July 29, 2010
Posted in pastor
at 9:46 pm
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
One of the highlights of the month of August is the Feast of the Assumption, August 15th, which this year falls on a Sunday. The Assumption of Mary, body and soul into heaven, has been believed by the Church for centuries, as seen in various devotional paintings (see, for example, at our National Gallery, the Assumption of Neri di Bicci, painted in 1455), but it was only proclaimed a dogma (official, infallible teaching of the Church) in 1950.
At each Mass, we will be renewing the consecration of our parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (which was formally done on May 5, 2007). This practice of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has a long history in the Church. Ultimately, it stems from our call to follow the example of Jesus, who, when He came into the world, gave Himself entirely to His Mother in His Incarnation. Likewise, we, the brothers and sisters of Jesus by baptism, should entrust ourselves to the Mother of Jesus.
Jesus comes to us through Mary; His graces continue to come to us through her, as symbolized by the rays of light streaming from the hands of Mary on the Miraculous Medal. As Jesus comes to us through Mary, we can also go to Jesus and draw closer to Him through Mary.
Consecration would lack in meaning if we did not attempt to live it out each day. Even one daily Hail Mary prayed with sincere devotion is one way of keeping the Mother of God in our hearts and minds, or wearing a Miraculous Medal and daily repeating the prayer, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
A daily Rosary is not impossible for anyone, if we consider some of the “free” time we have while driving, for example. And I also recommend the First Saturday devotion, through which our Blessed Mother promises to obtain for us the graces necessary for our salvation. It includes: receiving Communion on five consecutive First Saturdays, going to Confession within 8 days of the First Saturday, praying the Rosary that day, and spending 15 minutes with Mary meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. In Christ, Fr. Tim
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July 25, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Seventeenth Sunday, Year C, July 25th, 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
One of the best movies to come out of Quebec in twenty years (I believe) is “La Neuvaine” (The Novena), directed by Bernard Emond. In this story, we witness the power of prayer, even when God does not answer our prayers directly. Francois, a simple, kind-hearted young man who lives with his dying grandmother, decides to make a novena to St. Anne for his grandmother, so he drives every day to nearby St. Anne de Beaupre to say his prayers (interestingly, we are in the middle of this novena right now, as the feast day of St. Anne and St. Joachim is on Monday).
One day he parks his truck by the St. Lawrence river to eat his sandwich. He notices a woman sitting there, immobile, starting out at the river. He has no idea that she is contemplating jumping in the river to commit suicide. In Christian charity, he simply goes to check on her and see if she is OK. That was the first moment of an unlikely friendship that helped save her life. God had answered his prayers during the novena by saving someone’s life, but not the person that Francois had expected. God is always listening. He always answers our prayers, but not always in the manner we expect.
Since God always answers our prayers, we must persevere in prayer. What is the first lesson Jesus gives us about prayer, immediately after teaching the disciples the most important and powerful prayer ever composed, the Lord’s prayer? Jesus gives a short example of a friend asking his friend to lend him three loaves of bread in the middle of the night – as we just heard. Jesus told this story to teach us the necessity of “persistence” (Lk 11:8) in our prayers. “Ask and you will receive,” but you must persist without becoming discouraged (cf Lk 18:1), and persevere in prayer and never lose heart.
We must also ask ourselves, “what are we praying for? Why? What is it that we really need?” St. James once wrote to his people, “You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). St. Paul says that we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that the Holy Spirit comes to our assistance (Rom 8:26). So we must listen for the inspirations of the Holy Spirit before we launch into our individual prayers of petition and intercession.
I spoke last week about listening to God speak to us through His Word, as Mary did who sat at the feet of Jesus. It is interesting how St. Luke, inspired by God, followed up this episode of listening to Jesus by a teaching by Jesus on prayer. We first listen, then we pray. Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. Some people think that prayer means that we have to do all the talking. No. In the first reading, Abraham was praying to God, interceding for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. But he was having a conversation with God. Abraham spoke, then stopped. God spoke, and Abraham listened. A conversation.
We must listen before we pray so that the Holy Spirit will guide us in knowing for whom and for what we should pray. I once heard this story of a woman in Omaha, Nebraska who wanted to quit smoking. She would attend virtually every prayer meeting and healing Mass in the diocese, and people got to know her as that woman who wants to quit smoking. One day when she asked for prayer at one of these gatherings, a young man at the meeting asked her, “do you want to quit smoking?” You could see the turmoil in her face as she struggled with this question. Then she said, “No. I really don’t want to stop. I should quit for health reasons, but I really don’t want to stop.” Then the young man said, ‘Let’s pray for the desire for you to want to stop.” (Interceding with Jesus, p. 8-9).
The woman had to first listen to her heart to know for what to pray. It’s the same with us. at kind of change do you really want in your life? What do you really need?
Today’s readings focus on a specific kind of prayer – the prayer of intercession – praying for others, as Abraham does for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in the first reading, as does the man in the story told by Jesus – He was asking for bread for his friend, not for himself.
This is part of our prayer at every Mass. We do we do immediately after the Profession of Faith? We have what are called the “prayers of the faithful” of the “general intercessions.” “Lord, hear our prayer.”
The most powerful pray in the world is the prayer of Jesus in the Mass. The intercession of Abraham was effective enough to save Lot and part of his family from the total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The intercession of Jesus is powerful enough to save the whole world. As the letter to the Hebrews states: “(Jesus) is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).
The prayer that Jesus once made from the Cross, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do” (Lk 23:34) is a prayer that Jesus continues in heaven – he lives forever to make intercession for us. The sacrifice and prayer of Jesus on the Cross is made present in the Mass and continues in heaven. The best way for your prayer to be heard, so that God’s ear will be at your lips, is to present your petitions to God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, in the Mass.
You can put your petition on the back of a donkey, or you can fed-ex it. Praying in isolation, separate from Jesus and the Mass, is a little bit like using a donkey – not a very efficient messenger. But if you bring your petition to Mass – whoosh! It’s fed-exed to your destination, carried directly, through the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass, to the throne of God.
Many people are not aware of the power of intercession at Mass (perhaps more Catholics would attend Mass if they knew this). Now, it is true that sometimes we thoughtlessly repeat words during the prayers of the faithful without really listening or praying. Example: “For peace in the world” (With a monotone voice): “We pray to the Lord.” “Lord (yawn . . . ) hear our prayer.”
I can imagine the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in heaven listening to some of these kinds of prayers. The Father says to Jesus, “these are your brothers and sisters, right? Are they actually praying?” “Well, sort of . . . Father, forgive them; they know not what they do!”
At least this Sunday (and perhaps every Sunday) I would like us all really pray and raise our voices in our response to the Prayers of the Faithful: “LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER.” And in order to remind you, I have slightly changed the wording of the prayers to say, “we intercede with all our hearts, and pray to the Lord: LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER.”
There is also a parish book of intentions at the entrance, where you can write down your intentions. I am hoping that once a month, we can carry this book in procession and lay it on the altar, as a symbol that all of your prayers are being placed on the altar, and fed-exed to heaven from this altar, through the sacrifice and intercession of Jesus Christ. I look at the book regularly to pray for other peoples intentions. That’s another advantage to coming to Mass – everyone here is praying for everyone else. If you only pray alone at home, there might only be one person praying for your intention; when you pray at Mass, there are hundreds of people praying – it makes a difference!
Finally, let us remember to intercede for our nation, as Abraham did for the people of his time. Scripture speaks of the great outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave was their sin (Genesis 18:20). Our nation has its own very grave sins against the sanctity of human life. But every nation, and city, and family, and individual can change, through God’s grace and the intercession of many people who persevere in prayer.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10 ).
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July 18, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Sixteenth Sunday, Year C, July 18th, 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
A man once asked Mother Teresa to teach him how to pray. They were walking together in a poor area in Tijuana, Mexico, and this man found himself alone for a moment with Mother Teresa. She stopped, as if to add emphasis to her answer and said, “the only way to learn how to pray is to pray.” She added, “If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy” (It All Begins With Prayer by Jim Towey, in Columbia, July 2010).
In today’s Gospel, Martha seemed to be too busy to pray, to sit and listen to Jesus, like her sister Mary. Summer is a wonderful time to slow down and rest a bit, and also to make some time to listen to God, and to pray.
That’s what Abraham did in the first reading. The Lord (in disguise), with His two attendants, came to visit Abraham and Sarah. It was in the heat of the day, (like Canada in July), and Abraham was so poor that he did not have air conditioning, so in order to cool off, he was sitting at the entrance of his tent, resting, but also paying attention – perhaps even praying.
Abraham first greeted these men (one of whom was God in disguise) with profound humility, “he bowed down to the ground” (Genesis 18:2), then showed them extravagant hospitality. Then he listened to them, and only after listening did Abraham then recognize the Lord who said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10). (Verse 13 explicitly states, “The Lord said”).
Interestingly, this is the same model for us at Mass. We first listen to God speak to us through His Word, and only then will we recognize Him in the Eucharist. It was the same, you will remember, with the disciples on the road to Emmaus: they first listened to Jesus (in disguise) preach the Word to them, and only later did they recognize Him in the breaking of the bread.
If we want to recognize and experience God’s presence, power and love in the Mass, then we too must first listen to God with the same rapt attention as Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, looking at His face and hanging on His words. The Church reminds us that “(God) is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church” (Dei Verbum, #7).
It is important for us to listen together, both during Mass and outside of Mass. That’s why I’m hoping that this fall we can slowly begin to develop small Christian communities based on lectio divina, praying with Scripture.
Whenever we pray with Scripture, whether at home or before Mass, we need to make an act of faith, and say to God, “Lord, I believe that you are present in your Word, and that you want to speak to me personally. Speak to my heart today. Your servant is listening.”
So it is so important for us to – excuse me for one second (answering cell-phone) “Hello? . . . (pause) . . . I’m at Church! It’s Sunday morning! Where are you . . . oh, golfing . . . no, I’m not sitting in the pew, I’m preaching, and people are waiting for me, so this better be important! . . . Alright. I’ll call you after Mass . . . yeah, God bless you too. Bye.” Sorry about that. What was I saying? Oh, yeah, something about listening to God . . .
Martha was worried and distracted by many things. She lived in first century Palestine. She had no cellphone or blackberry, no TV or radio or DVD player or MP3 player or video games. But she was worried and distracted by many things. It must be a part of the human condition in every age. We can all get distracted like Martha. But that also means that in every age, even an advanced technological culture like our own, we can listen like Mary. If we want to. If we choose to. If God is important enough in our lives that we want to hear His voice in our hearts in a new way, or perhaps for the first time.
Mary was most likely listening to Jesus before a meal. I think it is fair to say that she was thinking more about Jesus than “what’s for dinner?” She hungered and thirsted for God’s word more than for bodily food.
The South African evangelist Angus Buchan, whose life is dramatized in the movie “Faith Like Potatoes” (soon to be in our library), once made this comment before preaching, while hundreds of Africans were fighting to get free Bibles that were being handed out: “See the hunger for the Word of God. What annoys me intensely is that there are people in the Western world that have got Bibles sitting on their shelves (and) they (don’t) even read them. These people are prepared to fight for the Word of God. I don’t want to preach in Western nations. There’s no hunger for the Word of God.”
Because we have food, shelter and cellphones, we think we have everything. We are so poor. There is so much more to life! There is eternal life! There is the fullness of life, of peace, of joy that God offers to each one of us!
Where do we begin? What do we do? I think we need a Vacation Bible School for adults. We just had one this past week for the children – it was fantastic! The leaders knew how to bring the Word of God to life for these children, with songs and actions (Song “Jesus I adore you!”). They did such a good job that it puts pressure on me to preach better (now I gotta get puppets!)
In Vacation Bible School for adults this summer, we would begin by doing nothing – in a good sense. To sit, like Abraham, at the entrance of our tents in the heat of the day. To sit on a lawn-chair in the backyard or at a cottage, to sit alone with an open Bible, to literally sit at the feet of Jesus present in the tabernacle in any Church.
To turn off the cellphone or blackberry and to pray to God to turn off all the noise in our heads. To sit and think – think about life, think about this past year. Was it a good year? Thank God. Did something go wrong? Was something missing? Good. That’s very good if something was missing.
I firmly believe that no atheist or agnostic or pantheist, no skeptic or secularist, will ever come to believe in God until they reach this point. And none of us who believe in God and practice our religion will deepen in faith until we reach this point.
When we sit and think back on this past year or our whole lives, reflecting on everything we have received and everything we have accomplished, and the still, small voice of our true self asks our busy self, “Is this all there is? Go to school, get a job, raise a family? (By the way, this is one reason there is a drug and alcohol abuse problem with some young people. A secular, godless society preaches to them: “do your duty. Go to school. Get a job. Make a contribution to the economy.” “Why?” In their hearts, young people can sense that all of this, without God, is empty and meaningless). Is this all there is? What I can see and hear, touch and taste? There’s something missing. There must be something more! I want something more!”
The Good News is, there is something more – much more than you could ever imagine. God who created you, God who loves you, is always trying to get your attention. He is always trying to speak with you. Mother Teresa said that the only way to learn how to pray is to pray. Likewise, the only way to learn how to hear God is to practice listening. With practice, we can all learn to listen and recognize, with joy, that it’s the same voice of the same God – speaking in the Bible and speaking in my heart. And what a joy, having listened to Him, to recognize Him in the breaking of the bread, in the Word made flesh in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, given for you.
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July 11, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fifteenth Sunday, Year C, July 11th, 2010 – By Father Tim McCauley
It’s July, summer-time, holiday time in Canada! We work hard all year, so it’s good to have these summer months to slow down. We try hard all year to be good Samaritans, so it’s nice to have a holiday when we can do what we want and be bad Samaritans, right? . . . of course not! We all need a holiday, but we are not going to stop loving God and our neighbour on holiday, or stop praying or going to Mass!
In today’s Gospel of the Good Samaritan, what is the essential difference between the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan? All three saw the same thing – the man lying helpless, but the first two “passed by on the other side” (Lk 10:31). There was something different in the Samaritan’s manner of seeing. “He saw him” and “was moved with pity” (Lk 10:33). I think the Samaritan saw and had pity or compassion because he first listened – listened to the Word of God and his own conscience.
We heard in the first reading about God’s commandment: “turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 30:10). This commandment, which includes compassion for our neighbour, “is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away . . . no, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). The Samaritan, who had an open and listening heart, may have heard an inner voice – an echo of the Word of God — urging him, upon seeing the beaten man, “Go to him! Help him!” He saw with his eyes; he listened with his heart; he obeyed the Word and showed compassion.
Imagine that someone has three friends who all meet her one morning at work or at Mass. The third one says to the other two, “Did you see so-and-so today? She looks sad.” The other two say, “We saw her, but she seems fine to us.” But the third insists, “No, she looks sad, I’m telling you. There must be something wrong; I’m going to go and talk to her.” What is the difference in the manner of seeing of these three people? They all saw the same person, but only one was paying attention, only one was mindful, only one was watching and listening with an open, compassionate heart.
There are many ways in which we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves, to be good Samaritans. One obvious way is through the corporal works of mercy, to be concerned about those who are materially poor, both in our own city and country, and in other countries in the world such as Honduras. But we must also be moved with compassion for those who are suffering spiritually among our family, friends and neighbours. As Mother Teresa once said, “As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved.” So many people suffer this way in our time.
In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict refers to the allegorical interpretation of this parable by some of the Church fathers. In this allegory, the Good Samaritan is Jesus, and the whole human race is symbolized by the man who was stripped, beaten and left half-dead. Because of original sin, humanity has been “stripped” of the splendour of supernatural grace and left “half-dead” or wounded in our nature (200). In this allegorical interpretation, Jesus pours oil and wine into our wounds, a symbol of the healing gift of the sacraments, and he brings us to the inn, a symbol of the Church (201).
We need to be the Good Samaritan to others by leading them to the healing gift of the sacraments and bring them into the inn of the Church. Every single one of us is called by God to be a missionary, to lead others to Christ and the Church.
There is someone in your life right now who is suffering spiritually, who does not know that God loves him, or someone who no longer practices her faith, someone who is searching for God. You have what this person needs. You have Jesus and the Church. God is sending you to reach out to this person.
I’ve been thinking and praying a lot lately about how to make it as easy as possible for you to be missionaries, and as easy as possible to welcome people into the Church or back to the Church. I was thinking that starting in the fall, we could focus every first Sunday on evangelization and the mission. We would verbally welcome all visitors and the homily would be focussed on the basics of our faith: Jesus is God; He has risen from the dead; eternal life is real, and so on. We could make a special effort to meet visitors on Coffee Sunday, especially on first Sundays.
You are all qualified to be missionaries because you all possess the Holy Spirit by your baptism and by confirmation. Do not think you are unqualified. What did we read in today’s Gospel? The priest and Levite passed by, but a Samaritan who was a doctor, stopped to help. No. The Samaritan was not a doctor, but he had compassion, and he was willing to take a risk.
All you would have to do to begin to share the Gospel with a friend or neighbour is to invite him or her to Mass. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You say to your friend, “I was wondering if you might want to come to Mass with me next Sunday.” And your friend says, “why?” You freeze . . . why? . . . hmmm . . . why . . . “Ah . . . because it might help you!” And your friend says, “How? It doesn’t seem to help you much.” Ouch! That hurts! Is that what we are afraid of? The early Christian martyrs faced death for Christ, but we are afraid of what other people might say to us or about us?
Yes, if we invite others to Church, they might challenge an aspect of our faith. Then we might actually have to go home, crack open a Bible of the Compendium of the Catechism, and find an answer for them. We might actually learn something about our own faith, or deepen our faith. That’s a good thing.
In fact, the more we try to share our faith, the more real it will become. But if we hide the light of our faith under a basket, under a veil of silence and privacy, the light will fade and weaken, and could even die. The compassion of the Good Samaritan surely grew as he came to know this man he had rescued, to converse with him. Our faith will grow as we share it.
As I was visiting with my secular cousins in NYC (there were raised by a non-practising Jewish father and non-practising Protestant mother), I didn’t insert the name of Jesus in every conversation, but I was always open to opportunities to speak of God. With my cousin Shayna, the subject of relationships came up — she’s 31 and has not yet met a man she would marry. I said something like, “don’t worry, God has a loving plan for your life.” So the topic moved on to God and religion, and I learned that my cousin is a sort of pantheist; she believes that nature or the universe itself is God.
What would you say if you were trying to share your faith with a pantheist? Is it obvious that there is a God who is our Creator, who is a Person – who, like us, has intelligence, self-awareness, freedom – is a Person who loves? To many, many people, this is not so obvious. So why do you believe it? How could you explain the reasons for your belief to someone else?
Does it make any difference? If pantheists are happy, why bother them with Jesus? Why not leave them in peace? First of all, because of the truth. The truth is, the universe is not God; God is a Person who created the universe, and us in His image. This truth makes a difference in our lives. If you don’t believe in the truth of a personal God, what do you do when you experience the human condition, with times of feeling alone, unwanted, unloved? If there is no God, when you are physically alone, you are totally alone. There is no one to watch over you, care for you, love you. The universe doesn’t care at all about you or your happiness.
This philosophy ultimately leaves its adherents to despair, leaving them stripped, beaten and lying half-dead. But it also leaves them in need of a Good Samaritan, in need of a Saviour; it leaves them open to a visit, to a word, from you, an ambassador of Jesus Christ, a disciple of His inner circle.
There’s so much more I could say, but I want to be a good Samaritan to you, and not go on and on during the hot summer months. I hope you all will rest a bit this summer and enjoy your holidays, but continue to love God and your neighbour, and attend Mass. And to always have an open, listening, compassionate heart, like the Good Samaritan, while looking for opportunities to lead others to Jesus for healing with the oil and wine of the sacraments, and to bring them home to the inn of the Church.
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July 4, 2010
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 04, 2010 – By Deacon Thomas Stephenson
When we think of the followers of Jesus in the Gospels, our first thoughts are probably of the 12 Apostles. But we know that, in addition to the Apostles, He had many other disciples, and some of those were trusted enough that He sent seventy of them on this mission that we heard about today. They were sent out to the places that He Himself would be going as He made His way to Jerusalem. Notice that they were not sent to these towns as single messengers, simply to announce that Jesus would be coming that way. They were sent in pairs, to live with the people who welcomed them, to cure the sick, and to announce the Kingdom of God.
As an old saying goes, “there is strength in numbers”. Two people, together on the same mission, can support each other, sharing the challenges and the successes, backing each other up. This was important, because the world at that time was not always very receptive to the message they were bringing. Jesus is quite clear on this point, when He says “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” We may feel that way in our world at times. In most ways our Canadian society and our standard of living are things that we can be quite thankful for. We have just recently celebrated Canada Day, recognizing all the blessings we have living in this great country. But it is also true that the culture we live in does not support, and often actually undermines, the message of Christ and the way He wants us to live. However, we should not be discouraged. Perhaps Christ wants to send us to spread the Good News, too. Not to distant villages, but into our own village, among our families and neighbours, and even to some of our fellow parishioners. And, maybe not individually, but in pairs, or a few more.
You may have noticed Father Tim’s message in last week’s bulletin, or on the parish website. He talks about meeting in small groups for Lectio Divina, or sacred reading. He will expand on this idea as time goes on, but for now I’ll quote part of his message that fits for today: “These simple gatherings would help us better enter into and appreciate the Sunday Eucharist, strengthen our faith by sharing in small groups, and also be a means of evangelization and on-going Christian formation, as we could invite non-practicing friends and neighbours to these small Christian communities.”
On this same topic, Pope Benedict said: “I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina; the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to Him with trusting openness of heart.” We hear the readings at Mass; if we come to Sunday Mass each week, we actually hear the same readings every three years. Even if we listen attentively, we may not always catch all of the richness of the text. Lectio Divina can help open these scriptures up to us; it is not meant to interpret the scriptures, but to assist in our understanding, to help them come alive for us and to help us deepen our relationship with God.
As much as our beliefs may be challenged by our culture, we are not called to live in isolation; we are not to avoid the world although we may sometimes wish we could. But maintaining our faith in this culture, and bringing it to others, is best done if we are not alone. So the formation of small groups is one way that we can be like the pairs that Jesus sent out, sustaining each other in our mission. At the very minimum, we should have at least one other faithful Catholic friend; someone to share our prayers, our difficulties, and our accomplishments.
Jesus instructed the seventy disciples that, wherever they went, whether they were welcomed or not, they were to tell people “the Kingdom of God has come near”. The fact of the closeness of the Kingdom did not depend on the welcome they received. The miracles that were performed were signs of God’s power and presence, not ends in themselves. The disciples were amazed that, in Jesus’ name, they were able to heal and cast out demons. These were great works, but Jesus needed to remind them that the real rejoicing comes not from what they could do, but that their names are written in heaven.
Whether we are welcomed or not, part of our mission is to help bring the Kingdom of God near to people. We may not perform miraculous cures or cast out demons, but our example, what we say and how we live, can bring a bit of the kingdom to others. And, isn’t that example even more powerful if there are two or more doing the same right thing, acting in the same right way?
The disciples were ordinary men, and Jesus sent them with only basic instructions and no provisions. They had to rely completely on the Lord, trusting that they would be provided for. We, then, should not worry about being prepared enough to fulfil our mission. We must do our part, but it is only through Christ and with His help that we can do what He asks. His help begins right here, at Mass, and our mission continues when we leave. Archbishop Chaput of Denver recently said: “…we cannot look at liturgy as something distinct from our mission. Our worship of God in the Mass is meant to be an act of adoration, submission, and thanksgiving. It’s also meant to be a loving acceptance of our vocation as disciples. That’s why every Eucharistic liturgy ends on a missionary note – we are sent out, commissioned to share the treasure we have discovered with everyone we meet.”
So, remember those words as we come to the end of the Mass, when Father Tim or I say to go in peace, to love and serve the Lord. Pray about the finding the person or persons who you may be able to team up with to support each other in your faith, if you don’t have someone already. And if you do already have someone like that in your life, prayerfully consider inviting someone else to join you. And pray that the Lord will equip us all with the enthusiasm, the joy, and the love necessary for us to bring the Kingdom of God near to others.
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Posted in posts
at 7:25 am
Our OLMM Catholic VBS will run July 12 – 16th from 9am – noon $10 per child or $20 per family for the week. JK – Grade 5 are invited to participate. Older students who are interested in helping out for the week will earn ommunity volunteer hours!
For more info contact Allison Fortier at olmmvbs2009(at)gmail(dot)com or 613 443 2657 or allison(at)afortier(dot)com for more info
Registration Form
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July 3, 2010
Posted in pastor
at 9:18 am
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
These months of July and August are the summer months in Canada, and our traditional times of vacation and rest. Did Jesus take holidays? The answer is “yes!” He and his family went to Jerusalem for the major Jewish feast days such as Passover. It was a holy pilgrimage, certainly, with their focus on God, but it was also a welcome break from routine, and a time to visit with family and friends from other places.
We need time of rest and renewal, not only for a few weeks of holiday each year, but also one day every week. I encourage everyone to make an effort to sanctify and guard Sunday as a day for God and family. To come to Mass every Sunday, and to rest. God wants to give us peace in our hearts and our families. But we must open our hearts to receive these graces by keeping the commandment – to keep the Sabbath holy. I urge everyone to avoid shopping on Sunday, and if at all possible, to avoid work as well.
Finally, if you want to find peace and joy on your holidays, follow the example of the Holy Family and put God at the center of your holy-days as well. If you are going away, find out the location of the nearest Catholic Church so that you can attend Mass on Sunday. In addition to finding peace in Jesus in the Eucharist, you might learn something new that you can share with our parish community when you return!
I pray for God’s blessing upon you all during your times of rest and renewal this summer.
In Christ, Fr. Tim
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