First Sunday of Advent Homily

The First Sunday of Advent has arrived. It is forever a time of joyful anticipation and we are called, as Church, to make it so.

Unlike Lent, Advent's focus is on preparing for Christ not only at Christmas time, but also preparing to welcome Our Lord when he comes to fulfill his Kingdom on earth.

We are challenged in this First Sunday of Lent to find the grace necessary to see those things in our lives which we may be blind too that can inhibit our being able to fully be ready for when Our Lord comes. We have no idea when this may be and so we remain watchful and vigilant.

Here is my homily for the First Sunday of Advent:

New Year - New Hope - New Beginnings

Good day, Church

It has been since April since I last posted. I regret that. Life has taken it's own share of twists and turns and I dropped off the digital map with my blog for too long. Many have emailed and asked to have these pages up and running again and so I have decided to make this Season of Advent, the Church's New Year, to make a resolution to try.

It has been some wonderful months here at St. Ann's Parish and in Snow Lake and Cranberry Portage, MB. Many experiences and many opportunities to see God's love and mercy reflected in many people's lives.

Like many of you, I have fallen in love with our Holy Father, Pope Francis. I have not seen a witness to the Gospel as charismatic in my life as a Catholic. Like many priests, I find myself confessing that, he makes me want to be a better priest.

I will attempt to post my homilies for this season as they become available.

For now....join me in opening our hearts to the coming of Christ, not just at Christmas, but at His second coming among us.

Blessings,
Fr. Paul

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.

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:

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:

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.