Musings

Good Evening, Church

The hussle of the holidays have passed by and after some much needed time away (read: fishing) I'm once again back at the helm of St. Ann's.

It was a fruitful holiday season and I give thanks for the people of Flin Flon, Snow Lake & Cranberry Portage, MB who spoiled me over Christmas. Kismet & I both need to lose some weight from the past weeks.

There have been some interesting developments in the Church as a whole over the last weeks. Pope Benedict has named new Cardinals to help lead the Church, the faithful are still adjusting to the changes in the liturgy (for many coming back at Christmas this was an awkward surprise) and there are the beginnings of new ventures for parishes in the New Year.

All will be tackled will be tackled with God`s Holy Spirit guiding us and I will spend some time over the next few days addressing them in turn.

For now, know of my prayer of blessing for you all this day and thank you for the indulgence and understanding over the last weeks. This blogging is difficult to stay up on.

Blessings,

Fr. Paul

Thought for the Day: Gathering up Our Lives

I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a shiny sliver out of one hour. I dropped it carelessly. O God! I knew not I held an opportunity.
—Hazel Lee

Once, a famous artist was hired to put stained glass windows into a great cathedral. His eager young apprentice pleaded for the chance to design just one small window. The master artist feared an experiment on even a small window would prove costly, but the persistent young apprentice kept up his pleas. Finally, the master agreed that he could try his hand on one small window if he furnished his own materials and worked on his own time.

The enterprising apprentice began gathering bits of glass his master had discarded, and set to work. When the cathedral doors were open, people stood in groups before the small window, praising its delicate excellence.

Our lives are like this. If we take the time to gather together the moments and opportunities we too often discard and waste, we find we can weave them into something beautiful.

What can I make of moments I usually waste today?

Happy New Year

Blessings for the beginning of 2012!

Fr. Paul & Kismet

On this the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, I pray that we may all imitate her example of remaining open to God's will for each us.

Let us not enter this year with fear, but rather the knowledge that we are in God's favour and that Our new-born Christ will gift us with the presence of His Peace in our lives.

My homily for this Solemnity can be found here.

With all my love and prayer for this coming year.

Father Paul

Christmas Homily at Midnight Mass

Good Morning Church,

I didn't have time to post this last night as I was a little tired after Midnight Mass. I wanted to make sure this was available to you on Christmas Morning.

You may find the homily here.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Merry Christmas

May the Blessings and Peace of the New Born Christ be upon you and remain with you this Holy Season.

You will be remembered in my Christmas Mass this night,

Father Paul Bringleson

Christmas Message 2011

Pope Invites Students to Reflect On Meaning Of Christmas

Benedict XVI is inviting university students to ask themselves "What does Christmas mean to me?"

But the question, as the Pope posed it today at a vespers service with university students of Rome, seeks an answer that is anything but trite.

"Is [Christmas] really important for my life, for the building up of society?," he said. "There are many persons in our time, especially in the halls of the universities, who ask whether we are to expect something or someone; whether we must look for another messiah, another god; if it is worthwhile to entrust ourselves to that Child whom we find in the manger between Mary and Joseph on Christmas night."

The Holy Father went on to say, "We do not need a generic, indefinite god, but the living and true God, who opens the horizon of man's future to the prospect of a firm and sure hope, a hope that is rich with eternity and that permits us to face the present in all its aspects with courage. But we must ask ourselves then: where does my seeking find the true face of this God? Or better still: where does God himself come to show me his face, revealing his mystery, entering into my history?"

The Pontiff proposed that Jesus, who "experienced human time, his growth, his immersion in history" is the "sign of the patience of God."

The Holy Father invited the students to rekindle their hope, "because the Word of God reminds us that the coming of the Lord is near, indeed, the Lord is with us and it is possible to build together with him. In the stable of Bethlehem man's solitude is overcome, our existence is no longer at the mercy of impersonal natural and historical forces, our house can be built upon the rock: we can plan our history, the history of humanity, not as a utopia but in the certainty that the God of Jesus Christ is present and walks with us."

Thought for the Day: On Controling Others

Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
  —John Ruskin

It's hard to keep from trying to control the lives of others, especially in a family. We can learn from the man whose friend drove twenty miles to and from work on the freeway every day. "How can you do it?" he asked. "I've tried, and I can't go a mile in such traffic without screaming at the crazy drivers who cut in, go too slow, change lanes. Nobody listens. I'd lose my mind if I had to do it your way." His friend replied, "Your trouble is trying to drive every car around you. I relax and drive only one car - my own."

We have only our own lives to live, and this is usually enough to keep us busy. If we pay too much attention to how others live, we will neglect ourselves.

What acts of others can I ignore today?

Fourth Sunday of Advent Homily

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.

"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1.26-38)

This Sunday, the readings invite us to contrast our response to God's call for our lives with that of our Blessed Mother, Mary. The story of the annunciation is a famous one and one in which we are all well aware of.

I have remarked, recently, that we are not only preparing to mark the birth of Jesus in history, at Christmas, but we also preparing to welcome Christ at the end of time.

These weeks of Advent invite us to look at how we mold our lives in the manner in which Jesus lived His life. Look at the example with which he grew up with: His mother's 'yes' to God all those many years ago would shape His life as well.

Mary trusted in the angel's assurance that God would bless her with every grace her life would require if she just trusted in God's will for her. It is astounding. A young women with her whole life ahead of her gave her will and her life over to the care of God and lovingly followed His plan for her. It was her vocation to bring Life into the world in the messiah, her Son, Jesus.

Are we able to imitate that trust amidst our own fears and frailty? Are we able to accept our role in the bringing of the Prince of Peace into the world within our families and within our homes? Are we prepared to help others in recognizing God's call for themselves in this life? Do our actions and decisions contribute to the building up of God's Kingdom here on earth? These are difficult questions which we must ask ourselves.

We are called to trust in God's strength in our lives that we will be able to accomplish God's will for us if we just put aside our own agendas in favor of the One who has called us "out of darkness into his own wonderful light." (Isaiah) 

Let us not be afraid. Let us pray for the grace to imitate Mary's faith and trust in God's promise to her and to our world. We call upon God's Holy Spirit to guide us in the coming days that as Advent comes to a close and we welcome Christ at Christmas we too will also have hearts which are ready to embrace the Prince of Peace when He comes at the end of time.

May God's choicest blessing be upon you and your families as we take the last steps of this Advent Season which will herald for us the new beginnings of Christ's Presence in the world.

Greetings from Snow Lake

Good day, Church

Posting from Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Snow Lake, MB. I'm here for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and just traveled in from Flin Flon, MB on a snow packed highway. Yes, there is a lot of snow in Snow Lake.

Will do my best to get some posts up and running as there is a lot happening in the days ahead.

I had the privilege of speaking at an ecumenical men's prayer breakfast group this morning in Flin Flon. It was very refreshing to gather together with some like minded Christian men to share our faith and to strengthen our commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ. This group meets monthly and I am grateful to have been invited to join them. I will do my level best to promote this group with our parish in the hopes of getting a few men from our parish to join in this fellowship. We have numerous organizations of women who gather to pray within the parish but it was refreshing to gather with the intent of sharing our male spirituality. My thanks to those who welcomed me this weekend.

I'm off to supper with a family here in the parish and am looking forward to getting a good night's sleep this evening.

A blessed evening to one and all.