Thursday Evening

Good Evening, Church

This evening finds me in Thompson, MB for the next couple of days. This afternoon's drive was uneventful and a quiet escape from the hustle of the week.

I drove through some slush/rain to find a warm welcome in the home of Tyler & Sheri Harris, a couple who I married 5 years ago and who have become close friends.

I'll be here until Saturday when I head to Snow Lake, MB for liturgy on Sunday morning.

This evening gives me pause to reflect on how blessed priests are to have friends to share our lives with. We can often become so engaged in caring for others that we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we also need to be cared for.

I'm a grateful little pastor this evening as I counted my blessings for 400 kms today.

As ever, more to follow...off to enjoy a dinner among friends now.

Good Night, Church.

"Church is Your Home": Bishop says to Gays & Lesbians

Bishop Raul Vera Lopez

Celebrating Mass for participants in a diocesan-endorsed forum on sexual diversity, Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo told gays and lesbians, “The church is your home.

“Jesus founded the church to bring in those on the outside, for those suffering exclusion and rejection … so that they find the love of God,” he said March 27.

Bishop Vera has made the inclusion of homosexuals in the Catholic Church a priority in his northern Mexican diocese, which has a reputation for championing human rights issues.

The Diocese of Saltillo recently held the “Fourth Sexual Diversity, Family and Religion Forum” and now sponsors a ministry for homosexuals that promotes the ideas of providing gays and lesbians with expanded legal protections and human rights — along with an expanded sense of dignity for individuals whose emergence from the margins of society has caused conflict for many Catholics.

Bishop Vera told Catholic News Service he objects to the mentality of love the sinner and hate the sin promoted by many Christians and the view that people are “homosexual by choice.”

“I can’t judge a gay person or a lesbian by their sexual preferences,” Bishop Vera said. 

“The most important thing for us is that they have legal protections. Period.”

He emphasized that gays will not marry in the Catholic Church and the sacrament of marriage is exclusively for heterosexual couples, even though he endorsed a 2007 law in Coahuila state — which includes his diocese — allowing same-sex civil unions.

Bishop Vera said the church needed to better address the issue of same-sex couples adopting children, too.

“How am I going to evangelize to these people who already have children in their care?” he asked.

Taking on the Day

Nothing happens to any man that he is not formed by nature to bear.
--Marcus Aurelius

Reflecting on the past reveals that indeed we do find the strength and the ability to cope with whatever experience ripples our calm. Moreover, we have come to accept that these tides of turmoil wash in new awarenesses, heightened perceptions, and measurable calm.

Tragedies are guaranteed to trigger first pain, then perceptible growth, and finally, tranquility. Over and over again we pass through these stages that are designed to nurture our fuller development as healthy human beings. Over and over we see that the tough times teach us what we're ready to learn.

We can look to the day ahead fully expecting to be strengthened enough to handle whatever we've been readied to experience. Nothing will present itself that can't be coped with.

Today I can be certain of growing. I will meet the challenges in unison with my inner strength.

God's Chosen People

"The Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own.  It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he has sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.  Understand, then, that the Lord your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments."   Deuteronomy 7.6, 8-9

This reading was taken from this morning's Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the accepted prayer of the Church on any given day. Priests and Religious together with some lay people offer this prayer at several hours during the day in one fantastic witness to the glory of God.

This particular reading struck me this morning. It captivated my heart and mind and reminded me just how precious we are in the sight of God.

Indeed, we have done little to earn God's favor. God loves us unconditionally, not because we are good, but because God is good. 

It warms my heart to know that we occupy a very special place in God's heart. No matter what are past has been, we can begin anew.

Join me today in recognizing God's love for us his chosen people and let us mirror that love to those we meet this day.
 
A blessed day, Church.

Thought for the Day: On Gossip

Do I trigger gossip?

There is a saying that listening to gossip is gossip. How true! If there were no listeners, there would never be any gossip.

Some of us who pride ourselves in refraining from gossip may still have a problem with it. It's possible we still keep ears open for any juicy gossip that could fall our way. We might also shake the tree if we believe another person has some gossip to share with us. This is done in seemingly innocent ways, sometimes just by mentioning the name of a person to another who may have strong opinions to express.

The harm of gossip lies in what we do to ourselves when we engage in it. There is no way we can continue to have spiritual growth if we practice gossip, even as passive listeners. Spiritual growth takes place within us, and it needs an environment completely free of any ill will.

Let's beware of any tendency to say things that induce others to gossip. At the same time, let's tune out gossip that seems to occur spontaneously. Gossip is the enemy of the growth we desire.

It is a real relief to know that today I have no desire to spread gossip or listen to it. This includes things I might read in magazines or newspapers.

Pause to Listen this Lent: Pope

Benedict XVI is inviting the faithful to pause a moment in silence this Lent to listen to God speaking to their hearts.

The Pope reflected today on the Gospel story of the Samaritan women, whom Jesus spoke to at Jacob's well, before praying the midday Angelus together with those gathered in St. Peter's Square. 

"The woman goes every day to get water from an ancient well put there by the patriarch Jacob, and that day Jesus was sitting there, 'tired from the journey,'" the Pontiff explained.

"Jesus' weariness, sign of his true humanity, can be seen as a prelude to the passion, with which he brought the work of our redemption to completion," he said.

The Holy Father that Christ was also thirsty, and that the "theme of 'thirst' emerges in particular in the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well."

"This thirst, like the weariness, has a physical basis," the Pontiff explained. "But Jesus, as Augustine continues, 'had thirst of the woman's faith,' as he has for the faith of all of us.

"God the Father sent him to quench our thirst for eternal life, giving us his love, but asks our faith for bestowing this gift. Love's omnipotence always respects man's freedom; it knocks at his heart and awaits his answer with patience."

Baptism 

Benedict XVI noted in particular the prominence of water in the encounter between Christ and the Samaritan woman: "It clearly alludes to the sacrament of baptism, the source of new life through faith in the grace of God."

"This water represents the Holy Spirit," he explained, "the 'gift' par excellence that Jesus has come to bring us from God the Father. Whoever is reborn by the water of the Holy Spirit, that is, baptism, enters into a real relation with God, a filial relation, and can worship 'in spirit and truth,' as Jesus discloses to the Samaritan woman.

"Thanks to the encounter with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, man's faith comes to its fulfillment, as an answer to God's revelation."

"Each one of us can identify ourselves with the Samaritan woman," the Holy Father affirmed. "Jesus awaits us, especially during this season of Lent, to speak to our hearts, to my heart. 

"Let us pause a moment in silence, in our room, or in a church, or in a place apart. Let us listen to the voice that says: 'If you knew the gift of God.'"

Employment: Safe. Dignified and Stable says Pope

This morning Benedict XVI received in audience participants in a pilgrimage from the Italian diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia, organised to mark the thirtieth anniversary of John Paul II's visit to the steel factories of Terni.

"Today we particularly wish to recall John Paul II for the love he showed towards the world of work", said Pope Benedict, going on to comment on the difficult situation the diocese is facing due to the crisis in the steel industry which is affecting the lives of thousands of people. "I know that the diocesan Church shares your concerns", he told his audience, "and feels her responsibility to remain at your side to communicate the hope of the Gospel and the strength to build a society that is more just and more worthy of man. She does this from the source, from the Eucharist", he said.

"Indeed it is from the Eucharist, in which Christ makes Himself present in His supreme act of love for us all, that we learn to live as Christians in society, so as to make it more welcoming, more united, richer in love, and more attentive to everyone's needs especially those of the weakest".

"The subject of work also comes into this context, a subject which concerns you today with its problems, especially that of unemployment. It is important always to bear in mind that work is a fundamental element for both human beings and society. Difficult or precarious working conditions make the conditions of society itself difficult and precarious, the conditions for ordered living in accordance with the needs of the common good", said the Holy Father. He also turned his attention to workplace safety, noting that "every effort must be made to interrupt the sequence of deaths and accidents. And what can we say about the precariousness of work, especially as concerns the young? This is a factor which does not fail to create anguish in many families!"

"Work", Pope Benedict explained, "helps us to come closer to God and to other people. Jesus Himself was a worker; indeed He spent a large part of His earthly life in Nazareth, in Joseph's workshop. ... His work, which was real physical effort, occupied most of His life on this earth and thus became part of the redemption of man and of the world.

"This fact", he added, "speaks to us of the dignity of work, indeed of the specific dignity of human work which becomes part of the mystery of redemption itself. It is important to see work in this Christian perspective. Often, however, it is seen merely as a means of earning money and even, in some situations in the world, as a means of exploitation and therefore of offence to the very dignity of the person. I would also like to mention the problem of working on Sundays. Unfortunately in our societies the rhythm of consumption risks stealing even the significance of the Sunday feast as a day for the Lord and the community".

Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by reiterating how the Church "supports, comforts and encourages all efforts that seek to guarantee safe, dignified and stable work for everyone", and expressed his closeness to the families of the diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia.

Living in the Present

All We Have Is...

We can only live now, this moment. We cannot erase the mistakes we made yesterday or bring back the good times we had. We cannot know what tomorrow will require of us, nor can we ensure future security and happiness. Now is what we have, and now is everything.

We can follow our plan now. We can abstain this moment. We can deal with the problems, which confront us today as best we can, trusting God to guide us. We can be in touch with our Higher Power only in the present.

As we focus on the present moment, we live it deeper, and we derive a satisfaction that we did not know when we were regretting the past and worrying about the future. Whatever happens, now is all I can manage and all I need.

I am grateful for this present moment.

Make Parish a Family of Families: Pope

Parishes need to be a "family of families" where couples come together with their children to share the joys and also the "inevitable difficulties," says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this Sunday during a brief trip to the southern outskirts of Rome, where he inaugurated the diocese's newest parish, St. Corbinian.

The parish's patron is dear to this Pontiff, as St. Corbinian was the first bishop of Freising, a post the young Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger would take in 1977. The Pope's coat of arms has Corbinian's bear.

"Just as the church building has been erected, my visit here is intended to encourage you to continue to build the Church of living stones, which you yourselves represent," the Holy Father told the community. "[...] To this end, I exhort you to make your church the place in which you learn to hear the Word of God, the permanent 'school' of Christian life from which every activity of this young and busy parish originates."

The parish was first established in 1999 to accommodate urban expansion in the area, which today has some 10,000 inhabitants and almost 4,000 families. It has one of the largest numbers of young families in Rome. In fact, last year 60 babies were baptized while 195 pupils are being catechized for their first Communion.

The Holy Father noted this parish profile in his address. He exhorted the community to "give life to family pastoral ministry characterized by an open and cordial welcome to new families, and to favor reciprocal knowledge so that the parish community increasingly becomes a 'family of families,' able to share with each other, not only the joys but the inevitable difficulties of initiating family life."

He had a particular request for families in difficulty: "Do not leave them alone, but be close to them with love, helping them to understand God's authentic plan for marriage and the family."

The parish priest also spoke of the important role the community has for families.

"Our parish never disappoints the hopes of parents," said Father Antonio Magnotta. "The Church bears with them the gentle weight of the family and while we build this young community, we pray to God to be an example to young couples who advance in their effort to found their own homes."