Happy New Year

Nestled in the rectory of St. Ann's on this New Year's Eve.

Giving thanks for an amazing year of ministry this year. I met some wonderful people this year as result of ministry within my parishes and diocese. I saw the visible face of Jesus Christ in your lives. This is a privilege I do not take for granted.

As I close my eyes tonight (before midnight I might add) I offer all my hopes for you in this coming year. Thank you for allowing me to share the message of the Gospel with you. I treasure those experiences: both the joyful ones and the sorrowful ones which we shared together. They all have God's hand upon them and give us grace.

It was a hard year on priests: we have lost some good ones and ordained some new ones. In all, I suppose, I still am grateful God has blessed me with the beautiful gift of ordination in the Priesthood.

I pray especially tonight for the priests in the United States who have lived through some difficult times           as pastors. Some are hungering for a more responsible leadership from their bishops; some pray for a more pastoral response from their bishops, who hold authority before people. Most pray for a healing of relationships between the institutional Church and her people. They are remembered tonight.

New Year's Day is the World Day of Prayer for Peace - and we have desperate need of it. Let us make that our shared prayer for communion tonight.

God Bless,one and all. Happy New Year!

Good Night

Feast of the Holy Family Homily

This weekend the Church puts before us the Feast of the Holy Family. It is an opportunity for us to look to Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus for direction, hope and comfort.

Our families, more or less, are challenging. They require attention and perserverance in order to grow into healthy reflections of God's love for the world.

On this feast I pray for your families, wherever they may be. They are remembered at this moment of grace and I have no doubt that God will continue to guide you in the days which are ahead.

In thanksgiving for the gift of family I offer you these words:

Merry Christmas From Father Paul

From our house to yours...

Merry Christmas from Father Paul & Kismet

On Not Being "Religious"

I had an experience today, which was not unfamiliar, I would think, to some priests. I was asked to preside at the funeral of a man who was, shall we say, "on the fringe of the church" or even organzied religion.

In my ministry in Canada's north this has been a regular ocurrence for me. I'm not certain it is due to demographics or just simply being in the right place at the right time, but I have frequently presided at funerals of people who some would say, "are outside the Church."

I have never looked at this in an extraordinary way. I simply believe I am a pastor and I have a responsibility to be present for people who are entrusted to my care - officially or not. I have drawn criticism from a former archbishop because of this, indeed I even received a censure in a previous parish for this practice, which I nonethless ignored.

Today, I felt relieved that a family chose to express their love for a father and friend by having prayers offered for him publically. It made a difference in my life, I must say.

I sometimes feel that we, as a Church, can grow too comfortable with how we do things. When an experience falls upon us which causes us to "think outside the box" we fall back on rules to prevent us from having to think pastorally. "This should not be allowed; He/she is a Protestant; we don't know he believed in God," and many other excuses come to mind.

This whole Advent Season we have been waiting. For whom? The Messiah made real to us in the birth of an infant named Jesus. We prepare to welcome him. How do we do this in 2012?

I believe the Church needs to pay closer attention to those "outside" it. They, like the shepherds and Wise Men who first welcomed Christ, are looking for an experience. Can we offer them that? More importantly, ought we offer them this?

I think too much sometimes. Today might be one of those days. I am enlightened and overjoyed that I saw hope in the life of a grieving family today. Did they fit the criteria of "practical Catholics" that the Church likes to throw around? I'm not prepared to make a judgement about that. All I saw today was a family who struggled to find hope and to express their love and gratitude for a man who touched their lives. They wanted God to be a part of that in some way.

That is enough for me. I pray one day, it will be enough for the Church.

Catholic Beliefs Not Open to Popular Vote: Pope

When the Catholic church affirms the importance of how all the faithful understand matters of faith and morals, it is not saying Catholic beliefs are open to a popular vote, Pope Benedict XVI said.

An authentic sensus fidei, which literally means "sense of faith," can come only when Catholics actively participate in the life of the church and follow the teaching of the pope and bishops, he said Dec. 7 during a meeting with members of the International Theological Commission.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes the Second Vatican Council's teaching that "the whole body of the faithful … cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, 'from the bishops to the last of the faithful,' they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals."

Benedict praised the theological commission members for including a discussion of the sensus fidei in "Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria," a document they released in March and which affirms the primacy of bishops over theologians as interpreters of church teaching.

"Today it is particularly important to clarify the criteria which make it possible to distinguish the authentic sensus fidei from its counterfeits," the pope said. "In reality, it is not some kind of ecclesial public opinion, and it is unthinkable to use it to contest the teaching of the magisterium because the sensus fidei cannot develop authentically in a believer except to the extent in which he or she fully participates in the life of the church, and this requires a responsible adherence to the magisterium."

The sensus fidei is a kind of "supernatural instinct" that helps Catholics recognize what does and does not belong to the faith of the church, he said, and it is a sign that "the Holy Spirit does not cease to speak to the churches and lead them to the whole truth."

Referring to another document the commission is working on, about the Catholic belief in one God, Benedict said the sensus fidei is what helps believers rightly react against "the prejudice that says religions, especially monotheistic religions, would inherently be bearers of violence, mainly because of the claim that they advance about the existence of a universal truth."

Some people, he said, insist relativism is the only way to guarantee tolerance and peace and that it best conforms to the ideals of a democratic society where everything should be open to a vote.

When people are denied the possibility of referring to objective truths, he said, "dialogue is rendered impossible and violence, whether declared or hidden, becomes the rule of law of human relationships."

The life and death of Jesus, Benedict said, demonstrates "a radical rejection of all forms of hatred and violence" in favor of the absolute primacy of love.

"If, therefore, in history there have been or are forms of violence carried out in the name of God, these are not to be attributed to monotheism, but historical causes, mainly the result of human errors," he said.

In fact, the pope said, "it is forgetting God that immerses human societies in a form of relativism, which inevitably generates violence."

Cindy Wooden - National Catholic Reporter

Keeping Christ in Christmas

St. Ann's joined with Knights of Columbus Council's across the world in proclaiming their annual message of "Keeping Christ in Christmas."

Jill Diakow, Sir Knight Richard Kozar, Monica Kozar

With the help of a couple of parishioners, Sir Knight Richard Kozar erected the parish banner at St. Ann's Church, in Flin Flon, MB.

Mother nature shined on us in giving us a day that was only mildly cold at -12.

I appreciate our local council's initiative in keeping this annual tradition alive. The banner is visible from a major highway in town and is a visible reminder of our shared need to remember that this holiday time is centred around our Lord, Messiah and Teacher: Jesus Christ.

Thank you to Sir Knight Richard Kozar, Monica Kozar and Jill Diakow who assisted in this effort.

Many thanks from all of us at St. Ann's.

Homily - Advent & John the Baptist: Are We Willing to Reveal Jesus to Others?

This Sunday finds us celebrating the Third Sunday of Advent, or Gaudete Sunday. It simply means to "Rejoice" at the presence of the Lord.

We hear about John the Baptist this weekend; a pivotal person in the life of the Messiah.

John's message was clear: "Prepare the way for the Lord!"

We have taken much time over these last weeks in contemplating the coming of Christmas; the Birth of Christ - not only in history, but the coming of Christ at the end of time. How do we hear John's message in this Sunday's Gospel? Is there something there that we can encourage ourselves with today?

Are we willing, like St. John, to announce the coming of Christ in our lives as christians? Do we make His presence known?

I have found the emergence of the popular greeting, "Happy Holidays" to be worrisome. Are we as christians settling for a watered down version of the Christmas Message in order to not make waves in the culture in which we live? It is "Christ"mas, afterall.

I ask myself if I am willing to stand for my belief? An acknowledgment that God's Son came into the world that I might have life and a life to the full. I owe my life, such as it is, to God. God's grace alone keeps me, at least, serene and sober. Can I not have the freedom to acknowledge God's greatest and most lasting gift to the world when afterall it is His birthday I celebrate?

Pray for the grace to stand like those who have gone before us to pass on our faith. Pray for the grace to acknowledge the source and summit of this "holiday" and be grateful to say, "Merry Christmas."

Homily:

Installation of Archbishop Chatlain Announced

It has been announced that Archbishop Murray Chatlain will be installed on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in The Pas, MB.

This promises to be a significant event in the life of our archdiocese. I am certain that there will be many representatives from across the diocese who will join in welcoming our new archbishop.

More detailed information will be following. On this weekend where we celebrate "Gaudete" Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) we have great reason to celebrate.

Please join me in keeping Bishop Murray in our prayers as he makes this eventful move in his life.

What an amazing Christmas present we have received.

Advent Homilies on Line...Finally

At long last I have managed to go digital with some homilies.

I have included here both homilies at St. Ann's Parish in Flin Flon, MB from the First & Second Sundays of Advent.

Let me know what you think of the format if you have the time.

Here they are:

First Sunday of Advent:
Second Sunday of Advent:

On "America's" Summit: Vatican Meeting This Week

Church leaders from North, Central and South America are meeting in Rome to discuss the New Evangelization across the region and discover how the Church can respond to shared societal problems.

"Three things stand out to me as particularly important for our discussion at the conference next week," said Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization.

"Firstly, that America, broadly defined as the entire American continent from Alaska to Argentina, is a key area for the work of the New Evangelization, and that it remains a Christian continent," Anderson said at a Dec. 4 Vatican press conference.

"Secondly, that ‘Ecclesia in America’ reminds us that the laity has an indispensable role to play in that New Evangelization and without it the Church's renewal is impossible," he added.

The final point Anderson made was that “Our Lady of Guadalupe is key to our understanding of the New Evangelization in America.”

The New Evangelization refers to the Church-wide effort to reintroduce the Gospel in areas where the practice of the faith has declined or even been largely forgotten.

Today’s media event was held in anticipation of the Dec. 9-12 international congress in Rome called "Ecclesia in America.”

Besides focusing on the New Evangelization, the summit will also commemorate Blessed John Paul II's exhortation ''Ecclesia in America." The gathering will fall on the 15th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops' Special Assembly for America, which was held Nov. 16 to Dec. 12, 1997.

"The churches of North, Central and South America face common problems developed over the last 15 years," Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet observed.

He pointed to youth violence, drug trafficking and drug consumption as matters of "grave concern and debate," and said that the Church is called to make a major contribution to addressing these issues.

But even more importantly, Cardinal Ouellet stressed that the Church must stand strong in areas where the institution of the family is suffering a serious assault.

The international congress will also offer a chance for building “networks of friendship throughout the continent, with a true sense of belonging to the Church,” he added, referring to it as "one of the first major events of the Year of Faith.”

Over 200 participants are expected at the congress, organized by the Knights of Columbus and the Commission for Latin America with the help of the Institute for Guadalupan Studies.

The Ecclesia in America congress will open with Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica and a speech by Pope Benedict, and will include cardinals from Toronto, Boston, Guadalajara, Santo Domingo and Tegucigalpa, as well as bishops and archbishops from across the region.

Religious, supervisors of the Roman Curia and those residing in Pontifical Colleges in Rome from North and South America will also attend.

The event will also include the Rosary, which will be prayed on Dec. 11 at the Vatican Gardens, a devotional event with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Guadalupan” hymns and a scientific research presentation on the St. Juan Diego’s cloak that bears the famous image of Mary.

The conference will conclude with proposals on cooperation between the continents.

The results of Ecclesia in America will then be given to the Roman Curia and the respective bishops’ conferences.

Reflections on Archbishop-elect Chatlain

It was with great rejoicing that we, as an archdiocese, learned of the appointment of Bishop Murray Chatlain as our new Pastor.

This is a significant moment for ourselves as a diocese and for the local church. We have been without an archbishop since July and we have been very grateful for Fr. William Stang, OMI who has served as Apostolic Adminstrator during these months. I think there can be only one other person, than Bishop Chatlain, who is happier and that is Fr. Bill. May God bless him for his faithful service and guidance over these months.

This is a diocesan first for us in our history. With the appointment of Archbishop Chatlain, it is the very first time, in our history as a diocese that we have a diocesan priest as our Archbishop. Until now we have had the generous service of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate as our bishops.

This appointment signifies a moment of renewal for ourselves, as a diocese, as we have a man with a new charism and spirituality as a diocesan priest to shape and mold our diocese. There are subtle differences in the spirituality of religious and diocesan priests. They each contribute in their own way to the shaping of the faith and we have need of each other.

I am looking forward to the years ahead with Archbishop Chatlain and ask you to join me in praying for him and the faithful of the Diocese of Mckenzie - Fort Smith in giving us a good Shepherd.

We celebrated mass for the new archbishop this morning and there was great rejoicing at St. Ann's that God has indeed blessed us with a renewed hope and spirit for our Archdiocese.

Thanks be to God!

Ad Multos Annos!

New Archbishop for Keewatin - Le Pas

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today named the Most Reverend Murray Chatlain Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba, and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. At the time of his appointment, he was Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith.

He succeeds the Most Reverend Sylvain Lavoie, O.M.I., whose resignation had been accepted by the Holy Father on 16 July 2012 for reasons of health.  Since then, Father William Stang, O.M.I., has served as the Apostolic Administrator of Keewatin-Le Pas.

Archbishop Murray Chatlain

Born in Saskatoon, 19 January 1963, Archbishop-elect Chatlain completed a BA at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, and then studied at St. Peter’s Seminary, London, Ontario, where he completed a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Saskatoon in 1987. He served a number of parishes in his home diocese as well as parishes in northern Saskatchewan which are part of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith. He has also studied the Dene language at La Loche, Sask., which is in the Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas.

He was named Coadjutor Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith on 23 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. He succeeded as Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith on 10 May 2008, when  the Holy Father accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Denis Croteau, O.M.I., who had served as Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith for 22 years. Since 2008, Archbishop-elect Chatlain has been a member of the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas has 45 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 37,380, which is served by 2 diocesan priests, 2 visiting priests from other dioceses, 9 priests who are members of religious communities, and seven Sisters from religious communities.

Ordination of Women Would Correct an Injustice: NCR Editorial

Preamble: In light of recent happenings within the Church in the world I discovered the following editorial from the National Catholic Reporter to be timely and well written. It asks good questions and I believe it is representative of many people within the Church at this time. I believe this is a timely reflection and well worth your read. It is not only a question of women in the church, it is a question that we as priests need to address in an open and responsible forum. A retired Archbishop once told me, "Paul, if we never ask the question, than how will people know that this is important to us?" Take a look:

National Catholic Reporter, editorial, December 3, 2012:

The call to the priesthood is a gift from God. It is rooted in baptism and is called forth and affirmed by the community because it is authentic and evident in the person as a charism. Catholic women who have discerned a call to the priesthood and have had that call affirmed by the community should be ordained in the Roman Catholic church. Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.

The most egregious statement in the Nov. 19 press release announcing Roy Bourgeois' "excommunication, dismissal and laicization" is the assertion that Bourgeois' "disobedience" and "campaign against the teachings of the Catholic church" was "ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful." Nothing could be further from the truth. Bourgeois, attuned by a lifetime of listening to the marginalized, has heard the voice of the faithful and he has responded to that voice.

Bourgeois brings this issue to the real heart of the matter. He has said that no one can say who God can and cannot call to the priesthood, and to say that anatomy is somehow a barrier to God's ability to call one of God's own children forward places absurd limits on God's power. The majority of the faithful believe this.

Let's review the history of Rome's response to the call of the faithful to ordain women:

In April 1976 the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded unanimously: "It does not seem that the New Testament by itself alone will permit us to settle in a clear way and once and for all the problem of the possible accession of women to the presbyterate." In further deliberation, the commission voted 12-5 in favor of the view that Scripture alone does not exclude the ordination of women, and 12-5 in favor of the view that the church could ordain women to the priesthood without going against Christ's original intentions.

In Inter Insigniores (dated Oct. 15, 1976, but released the following January), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said: "The Church, in fidelity to the example of the Lord, does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination." That declaration, published with the approval of Pope Paul VI, was a relatively modest "does not consider herself authorized."

Pope John Paul II upped the ante considerably in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (May 22, 1994): "We declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." John Paul had wanted to describe the ban as "irreformable," a much stronger stance than "definitively held." This met substantial resistance from high-ranking bishops who gathered at a special Vatican meeting in March 1995 to discuss the document, NCR reported at the time. Even then, bishops attuned to the pastoral needs of the church had won a concession to the possibility of changing the teaching.

But that tiny victory was fleeting.

In October 1995, the doctrinal congregation acted further, releasing a responsum ad propositum dubium concerning the nature of the teaching in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis: "This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium." The ban on women's ordination belongs "to the deposit of the faith," the responsum said.

The aim of the responsum was to stop all discussion.

In a cover letter to the responsum, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the congregation, asked presidents of bishops' conferences to "do everything possible to ensure its distribution and favorable reception, taking particular care that, above all on the part of theologians, pastors of souls and religious, ambiguous and contrary positions will not again be proposed."

Despite the certainty with which Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and the responsum were issued they did not answer all the questions on the issue.

Many have pointed out that to say that the teaching is "founded on the written Word of God" completely ignored the 1976 findings of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Others have noted that the doctrinal congregation did not make a claim of papal infallibility -- it said what the pope taught in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was that which "has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal magisterium." This too, however, has been called into question because at the time there were many bishops around the world who had serious reservations about the teaching, though few voiced them in public.

Writing in The Tablet in December 1995, Jesuit Fr. Francis A. Sullivan, a theological authority on the magisterium, cited Canon 749, that no doctrine is understood to have been defined infallibly unless this fact is clearly established. "The question that remains in my mind is whether it is a clearly established fact that the bishops of the Catholic Church are as convinced by [the teaching] as Pope John Paul evidently is," Sullivan wrote.

The responsum caught nearly all bishops off-guard. Though dated October, it was not made public until Nov. 18. Archbishop William Keeler of Baltimore, then the outgoing president of the U.S. bishops' conference, received the document with no warning three hours after the bishops had adjourned their annual fall meeting. One bishop told NCR that he learned about the document from reading The New York Times. He said many bishops were deeply troubled by the statement. He, like other bishops, spoke anonymously.

The Vatican had already begun to stack the deck against questioning. As Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese reported in his 1989 book, Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church, under John Paul a potential episcopal candidate's view on the teaching against women's ordination had become a litmus test for whether a priest could be promoted to bishop.

Less than a year after Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was issued, Mercy Sr. Carmel McEnroy was removed from her tenured position teaching theology at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana for her public dissent from church teaching; she had signed an open letter to the pope calling for women's ordination. McEnroy very likely was the first victim of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, but there have been many more, most recently Roy Bourgeois.

Blessed John Henry Newman said that there are three magisteria in the church: the bishops, the theologians and the people. On the issue of women's ordination, two of the three voices have been silenced, which is why the third voice must now make itself heard. We must speak up in every forum available to us: in parish council meetings, faith-sharing groups, diocesan convocations and academic seminars. We should write letters to our bishops, to the editors of our local papers and television news channels.

Our message is that we believe the sensus fidelium is that the exclusion of women from the priesthood has no strong basis in Scripture or any other compelling rationale; therefore, women should be ordained. We have heard the faithful assent to this in countless conversations in parish halls, lecture halls and family gatherings. It has been studied and prayed over individually and in groups. The brave witness of the Women's Ordination Conference, as one example, gives us assurance that the faithful have come to this conclusion after prayerful consideration and study -- yes, even study of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

NCR joins its voice with Roy Bourgeois and calls for the Catholic church to correct this unjust teaching.

Advent Prayer

Come, long-expected Jesus.

Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Father and ours.

Receive my prayer as part of my service of the Lord who enlists me in God's own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father's joy.

I seek His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus.

Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord.

Raise in me, too, sober reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father and Son.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whose advent I hail. Amen.

(anonymous)

Sunday Evening

Having a quiet evening and cannot believe it is Sunday night and that the first Sunday of Advent has drawn to a close.

I have the comfort is sitting with some good friends by a fireplace and watching the snow fall with Kismet on my lap.

A prayer of gratitude escapes my lips as I thank God for His Son who's Presence we await. All I have comes from God and was given to me by His Son.

Thank you, Lord

Why Yes: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! You might wonder why I offer this greeting on the weekend of December 1st. Nevertheless a new Church year begins this weekend with the celebration of the First Sunday of Advent.

This Season of Advent, which at its heart is a season of hopefulness, comes every year to remind us of two things: The preparation to celebrate the coming of Christ historically at Christmas as well as an opportunity to reflect on the coming of Jesus at the end of time. Indeed, we are strongly rooted in the first practice but Christ's second coming is likely not something we spend a great deal of time contemplating.

I get it! It's difficult. Our culture: everyone and everything tells us that Christmas is here, right now. You would never be able to tell by what is happening around us that Christmas is still 24 days away. Why then does the Church insist on inviting to participate in a time of "waiting?"

Christianity, from the time of Jesus until today has always been "counter-cultural." This is to say that it often finds itself at odds with what happens culturally. This is not to say that our culture is wrong or that it is flawed in some way. Christianity does insist, however, that there is something more to be found in these weeks; something deeper to be experienced.

We provide an atmosphere of patient waiting; of expectant hope; of pausing in our life to reflect on what the coming of Jesus, the Messiah means to me. This is why the church invites us to not focus on decorations or lights, nativity sets or flowers. The church space is simple and plain with the focus being on the Advent Wreath which marks off for us each week in which we grow closer to the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity.

We do this in Lent for six weeks easily enough without a second thought. At Advent we somehow get caught up with what is going on around us that it's difficult to slow ourselves down and to admit that we are still waiting.

This year, I invite you to give this a try. Attempt to think about how the coming of Jesus in history and in our future will affect you. Does it have an effect in your life? What could our response be to Jesus when he does come at Christmas, in our hearts, and what will we say to Him when he comes again? Give it a try. I "double-dog" dare you.