End of the Week

Well friends, I laid to rest a good friend of mine today. I invited those gathered to "reverence" the gift of those we love.

I sit here, quietly in Lorette, MB, reflecting on how humbling it is to watch God work in the various travels of our lives. God does touch us through the lives of others.

I was reminded in today's first reading (Book of Wisdom) that our temporary afflictions are nothing compared to the immensity of what God reveals to us in these experiences.

I guess I'm a little sentimental tonight. I believe I'm just grateful tonight for the people God has blessed me with.

Safe weekend one & all!

Tuesday Night

Good day, Church

Posting from Lorette, MB. I'm trying out posting from my mobile - feel free to comment. I can hardly believe how easy it has become to access people through technology.

It was a God given day in which I saw God clearly revealed in the, sometimes challenging, experiences of life.

I spent the day supporting a grieving family and witnessed, first hand, God's loving embrace.

Often times God reaches out to us in our loss through the very people he has blessed us with by way of family.

It challenges me to remain vigilant to see God's face. At home, at work; these are all altars where I can be embraced by my living Lord.

Just wanted to share.

Good night & God Bless!

Father Paul

Traveling Today

Good morning, Church

Posting from the road. In The Pas now heading to Steinbach for the funeral of a good friend of mine, Marlene Skokun.

Marlene fought a courageous battle with cancer and passed away yesterday afternoon with her family at her side.

I will be in Steinbach, MB until Friday. Will post when I can.

Blessings on your day - pray for safe travels for me as we are pushing snow in these parts.

Take care,

Father Paul

Three Tips for Priests: Pope

Benedict XVI is recommending three conditions for a priest to grow in conformity with Christ, and the first is being fascinated by Him -- His words, gestures and very person.

The Pope offered his recommendations at the celebration of vespers on Friday to mark the opening of the academic year at the pontifical universities.

Mindful of the 70th anniversary of Pius XII's institution of the Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations, the Holy Father focused his reflection on the priesthood, though he clarified that his words are applicable to others, since it is "important for all, in fact, always to learn more to 'remain' with the Lord."

"There are some conditions for there to be a growing consonance between Christ and the life of the priest," the Pope stated: "the aspiration to work with Jesus to spread the Kingdom of God, the gratuity of the pastoral charge and the attitude of service."

The Bishop of Rome first emphasized that in the priesthood, "there is the encounter with Christ and being fascinated, struck by his words, by his gestures, by his very person. It is distinguishing his voice from many voices. (...) It is like feeling the radiance of the Good and Love that emanate from him, feeling enveloped and involved to the point of desiring to remain with him like the disciples of Emmaus."

The minister of the Gospel is one who is drawn in by Christ, the Holy Father said, "who knows how to 'remain' with him, who enters into harmony, in intimate friendship, with him, that all be done 'as God wishes.'"

Fully fulfilled

Next, Benedict XVI spoke of the priestly calling to be "administrators of the Mysteries of God 'not for personal gain but with a generous soul.'"

"The Lord's call to ministry is not the fruit of special merits but a gift to be received and to which there corresponds a dedication of oneself not to one's own project but God's, in a generous and disinterested way, that he might dispose of us according to his will even if this does not concur with our desires of self-realization," he stressed. "(...) We must never forget -- as priests -- the one legitimate ascent for the ministry of shepherd is not that of success but that of the cross."

Finally, the Holy Father exhorted priests to live as servants, both in the sense of being role models for the faithful and as servants of the sacraments.

"It is one life, then, profoundly marked by this service: from the attentive care of the flock, from the faithful celebration of the liturgy, and from the prompt solicitude for all of the brothers, especially the most poor and needy," he said. "In living this 'pastoral charity' on the model of Christ and with Christ, in whatever post the Lord calls one to, every priest can fully realize himself and his vocation."

Canada Bishops Present Pope With New Translation

The leaders of the Canadian episcopal conference presented Benedict XVI with the first printed copy of the revised Canadian English-language translation of the Roman Missal.

The Pope received the book, with a special dedication to him, at a private audience with the prelates on Monday.

The revised Canadian English-language edition of the Missal was officially launched Oct. 17, during the bishops' plenary assembly. It will go into effect in Canada, as in other English-speaking countries, on the First Sunday of Advent.

At the plenary assembly, the second printed copy of the Missal was presented to Archbishop Pedro López Quintana, apostolic nuncio to Canada. 

Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, president of the conference, also gave the Holy Father a copy of a book marking the opening of a new building for St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton. It is the first volume in a series titled "Lieux sacrés / A Geography of Faith."

The bishops' delegation will continue its visits in Rome with the major offices of the Holy See until Nov. 18.

On Offering Our Lives

Recently a parishioner asked me about a practice which he has developed over the last several years. Upon awakening in the morning after a good night's rest and fitful sleep, he proceeds to offer that night's rest for all people who failed to enjoy a good evening's sleep. I was asked whether or not this was a good practice.

This conversation led to a deeper one in which I explained to this parishioner that this is a long standing Christian tradition: offering up moments of our lives for the good of others.

It is a simple devotion that can enrich all of our lives and it takes such little effort. To be able to see in our lives moments of satisfaction, or even dissatisfaction, as opportunities to unite our joys and sufferings with those of Jesus Christ. Our lives then become living examples of God's Hand and love working in our very midst each and every day.  When we enjoy a blessing in our life we thank God and pray for those for whom this day will be a struggle. Conversely, when we suffer, we offer our suffering up with the sufferings of Christ and we then remember those, who like Christ, need a Simon of Cyrene to help them in carrying their particular cross - whatever that may be.

In this, we help in broadening our understanding of God and of God's presence in our lives. It becomes something we can all do, if we remain mindful and aware, to ease the burdens of our sisters and brothers.

Problems? What problems?

Always remember that no matter what the problem may be, there is an infinity of solutions.
--Marion Weinstein

A girl named Iris was tormented by the boys at school. Whenever she walked by they would make rude noises. Sometimes, when no one was looking, they would block her way and not let her go home. She was too inexperienced at taking care of herself to realize that believing she couldn't do anything made it true. Feeling helpless kept her from thinking about what she might do.

One day she got so scared that she told her best friend what was happening. Together they began to think of all sorts of things she could do. Knowing she could do something took away the helpless feeling, and the boys noticed and stopped teasing her. It wasn't fun for them anymore.

We often feel helpless in situations that seem too much for us to handle. In fact, help is always available - through friends and family, and through God, who helps us see how we can help ourselves. All we have to do is stop being distracted by that helpless feeling and ask for what we need.

Can I see the many solutions to my problems today?

Hello, again...

Good evening, Church...

Posting from Snow Lake, MB at Our Lady of the Snows Parish.  What do you know? There is actually snow in Snow Lake.


It has been a long few weeks and I apologize for the lack of posts.  This blogging can get away from a guy fairly easily.

I had the pleasure of company the last couple of weeks.  Three friends from Dundas, ON: Father James Curtin, Nikki Sjoblom and Gina Furlong.  It was a great visit with a great deal of driving (as is the norm for these parts) and I just dropped them back in Winnipeg for their flight home.


I celebrated our weekly Sunday mass at St. Ann's in Flin Flon this morning and then traveled to Cranberry Portage for 2 pm mass.  I'm rounding off the day with an evening mass here at 7 pm and then hopefully a quiet evening with a good book.

I hope to catch you up with some news of the new liturgy over the next couple of days and please know that I continue to keep you all in prayer.

Blessings on your weekend (what's left of it),

Father Paul

Laughing at Ourselves

If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation it would be the ability of each individual to learn to laugh at himself.
--Charles Schulz

 

At times in life we learn to laugh at the people we once were. This is a healthy kind of self-ridicule. Above all, we laugh at the person we never again have to be if we learn from the mistakes of our past. To blot out the "me" of yesterday, we have only to follow some very simple guidelines.

At times, obeying the principles, which have been set down for us, may not be easy. But with our realization that we have chosen to stop playing God comes the awareness that difficulties need not be disastrous. If everything in life came easily, we would lack sparkle in our lives.

I am thankful my sense of humor has found freedom. Now I am able to laugh at myself, which is the height of self-conquest.

Pope Warns of 'Virtuality' Overtaking 'Reality'

Human beings need to "expose themselves to reality," says Benedict XVI. And he encouraged silence and solitude as a way to do this.

The Pope spoke Sunday of the need for silence when he addressed a group of Carthusian monks during a one-day trip to southeastern Italy.

The Holy Father noted that in today's world, media has developed to such a point that "virtuality" "risks getting the upper hand over reality."

In a world where people are immersed in an audio and visual dimension from morning till night, the youngest "seem to want to fill every empty moment with music and images," he said, adding that it's almost as if they fear the "emptiness" of silence and solitude.

The Bishop of Rome suggested this trend has reached such a level as "to give rise to talk about anthropological mutation."

"Some people are no longer capable of remaining for long periods in silence and solitude," the Pontiff observed.

In this context, he said the monastery is a "precious gift for the Church and for the world, a gift that contains a deep message for our life and for the whole of humanity."

"I shall sum it up like this," the Pope said. "By withdrawing into silence and solitude, human beings, so to speak, 'expose' themselves to reality in their nakedness, to that apparent 'void,' which I mentioned at the outset, in order to experience instead Fullness, the presence of God."

Vocations

Benedict XVI went on to clarify that a monk does not learn to be in God's presence just by going into the monastery.

The monk's "risk," exposing himself "to solitude and silence in order to live on nothing but the essential," requires development, the Pope reflected. "This vocation, like every vocation, finds an answer in an ongoing process, in the searching of a whole life.

"Indeed it is not enough to withdraw to a place such as this in order to learn to be in God's presence. Just as in marriage it is not enough to celebrate the sacrament to become effectively one but it is necessary to let God's grace act and to walk together through the daily routine of conjugal life, so becoming monks requires time, practice and patience."

The Pontiff said the beauty of every vocation consists in this, "giving God time to act with his Spirit and to one's own humanity to form itself, to grow in that special state of life according to the measure of the maturity of Christ."

"In Christ there is everything, fullness; we need time to make one of the dimensions of his mystery our own," he continued. "We could say that this is a journey of transformation in which the mystery of Christ's resurrection is brought about and made manifest in us. (...) The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and will give life even to our mortal bodies is the One who also brings about our configuration to Christ in accordance with each one's vocation. (...) In the world's eyes it sometimes seems impossible to spend one's whole life in a monastery but in fact a whole life barely suffices to enter into this union with God, into this essential and profound Reality which is Jesus Christ."