God Has a Will & a Purpose for Me

I believe there has been a grand plan for my life; so much has happened that I hadn't counted on.
--Louise Jerome

What Louise believes might offer great comfort, particularly to a mind that is fraught with fear and uncertainty. But it's not all that important whether or not we believe that God has planned every detail of our lives. In fact, if we have had more than our share of turmoil, we might feel that God has been punishing us. Just coming to believe that we haven't walked through any experience alone is where the comfort lies. This may not be an idea we were taught as youngsters. We may not be convinced of it now. But deciding to suspend our disbelief, for a time, in order to discover the peace within this idea is worth it.

Recalling our past, any portion of it, will no doubt bring to mind outcomes to situations that took us by surprise. We so often thought we knew what was best for us and others. What folly! What relief, too. Trying to play god in others' lives is a heavy burden. We may still be caught in this maze, but getting free of it is possible. It may mean we have to change our perspective on the way life really works, the role God plays in our lives, but we can open our minds to new ideas. We're older, for sure - but minds can change at any age. Let's settle for an idea that eases our journey.

Today can be as restful as I make it. What comes to me is right for me.

Pope John Paul II to be Beatifide on May 1st: Benedict XVI

On 1 May, the second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI will preside at the rite of beatification for John Paul II in the Vatican.

According to a note released by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "today 24 January, Benedict XVI, during an audience granted to Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, authorized the dicastery to promulgate the decree of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). This concludes the process which precedes the rite of beatification.

"It is well known that, by pontifical dispensation, his cause began before the end of the five-year period which the current norms stipulate must pass following the death of a Servant of God. This provision was solicited by the great fame of sanctity which Pope John Paul II enjoyed during his life, in his death and after his death. In all other ways, the normal canonical dispositions concerning causes of beatification and canonization were observed in full.

"Between June 2005 and April 2007 the principal diocesan investigation was held in Rome, accompanied by secondary investigations in various other dioceses, on his life, virtues, fame of sanctity and miracles. The juridical validity of these canonical processes was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with a decree of 4 May 2007. In June 2009, having examined the relative 'Positio', nine of the dicastery's theological consultors expressed their positive judgement concerning the heroic nature of the virtues of the Servant of God. The following November, in keeping with the usual procedure, the 'Positio' was submitted for the judgement of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who gave their approval.

"On 19 December 2009, Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree on John Paul II's heroic virtues.

"With a view to the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God, the postulator of the cause invited the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to examine the recovery from Parkinson's disease of Sr. Marie Simon Pierre Normand, a religious of the 'Institut des Petites Soeurs des Maternites Catholiques'.

"As is customary, the voluminous acts of the regularly-instituted canonical investigation, along with detailed reports from medical and legal experts, were submitted for scientific examination by the medical consultors of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 21 October 2010. The experts of the congregation, having studied the depositions and the entire documentation with their customary scrupulousness, expressed their agreement concerning the scientifically inexplicable nature of the healing. On 14 December the theological consultors, having examined the conclusions reached by the medical experts, undertook a theological evaluation of the case and unanimously recognised the unicity, antecedence and choral nature of the invocation made to Servant of God John Paul II, whose intercession was effective in this prodigious healing.

"Finally, on 11 January 2011 the ordinary session of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints took place. They expressed their unanimous approval, believing the recovery of Sr. Marie Simon Pierre to be miraculous, having been achieved by God in a scientifically inexplicable manner following the intercession of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, trustingly invoked both by Sr. Simon herself and by many other faithful".

Thought for the Day: Live in the Present

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

--Goethe

Here is a simple way to get in touch with your priorities. Imagine that you have an incurable illness and are given six months to live. As the doctors inform you of their findings, see yourself accepting your imminent mortality with the resolve, "I am going to spend the last months of my life living to the fullest, doing those things that are truly important to me." Then imagine yourself living out those six months in the manner in which you have decided.

Afterwards, note your experience. During your remaining days, what did you do, who did you see, and where did you go? What do these choices say about what is really important to you - your values and priorities? Are you living them today? If you are not, you may want to learn from Tony's story.

After being diagnosed with AIDS, Tony decided to embrace life. He bought a house, planted a garden, and nurtured his important relationships. As a result, he lived the remaining three years of his life in pure joy.

The tragedy is that his life ended just as he was beginning to live. Why wait for a life threatening experience to motivate you to take action? Confront your fears and pursue what brings you happiness and joy.

There is no better time than now.

Some Days Away...

Good evening, Church. This post finds your author writing from Dundas, ON at St. Augustine Parish. I arrived here this weekend despite a wicked cold and am spending a couple of days visiting family and friends before heading to a meeting in Toronto, ON.

Fr. James Curtin & Fr. Paul Bringleson

It is always a joyous moment when I get to spend some quality time with a very good priest friend of mine, Fr. James Curtin, the local pastor here. Father Curtin and I have been friends for many years and he has even been a guest of mine in both The Pas and Flin Flon.

Rest assured the pages will take a bit of break for the next week while I am in meetings but will resume at the week's end.

Keep me in prayers for the next week as it promises to be a challenging one for your author.

Be assured of my prayers for a hearty week friends.

As ever....stay tuned...

Oh "Dear" is "Dearly" Departed...

Another sign of the times: it turns out that “Dear” is becoming, in popular e-mail correspondence, a four-letter word.

From the Wall Street Journal:

When Abraham Lincoln wrote to Ulysses S. Grant in July 1863, after a key victory during the Civil War, he began his letter, “My dear General.”

When Giselle Barry emailed a throng of reporters recently to tell them about an important development regarding her congressman boss, she started the message, “Hey, folks.”

Like many modern communicators, Ms. Barry, a spokeswoman for Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, has nixed the salutation “dear” in her emails.

“Dear is a bit too intimate and connotes a personal relationship,” she said.

Ms. Barry said she wants to keep her business communications with the press at “the utmost and highest level of professionalism.”

Across the Internet the use of dear is going the way of sealing wax. Email has come to be viewed as informal even when used as formal communication, leaving some etiquette experts appalled at the ways professional strangers address one another.

People who don’t start communications with dear, says business-etiquette expert Lydia Ramsey, “lack polish.”

“They come across as being abrupt,” says Ms. Ramsey, who founded a Savannah, Ga., etiquette consultancy called Manners That Sell.

“It sets the tone for that business relationship, and it shows respect,” she says. “Email is so impersonal it needs all the help it can get.”

But to Kevin Caron, the word dear seems girlie. While he may begin an occasional email to a female family member with dear, Mr. Caron, a sculptor in Phoenix, would never use it when writing a man, even a client.

“Guys talking to guys—I’m sorry, that’s against the code,” says Mr. Caron, a 50-year-old former trucker and auto-repair-shop worker.

Oh dear. Now write a letter to someone you know, and start with “dear,” okay?

Change is Good

I shall tell you a great secret, my friend.  Do not wait for the last judgment, it takes place every day.
--Albert Camus

It is easy to hope that at some time in the future we may redeem ourselves by some great act of heroism or undergo a dramatic conversion. But in the meantime, all too often, it's business as usual. Too easily we can become used to our behavior and deny that our acting-out hasn't harmed anyone . . .except ourselves and those we love and who love and trust us. Deep down we knew we were judging ourselves and being judged. Now, each day, we can assess our actions and evaluate our behavior.  In this way we learn how our acting out has affected every part of our lives and our relationships.

It is time to change. The longer we wait, the more ingrained are our habits and ways of perceiving and deceiving. If we live a lie, we will be judged accordingly, by ourselves and those close to us. Our program teaches us that we can change and grow and move ahead into the openness and fullness of each new day.

I don't want to come to the end of my life wishing I had freed myself from my all things that bind me from experiencing God's goodness to me. I am glad I have begun the process of change.

Why Catholicism Is Good for America

Once in a while I reflect on my seminary days and all the anticipation of the years ahead as a catholic priest. I remember the invitation of a senior priest I know who reminded me simply that "everything I learned in there (the seminary) does not necessarily apply out here (the world.)" I have sought to keep this in mind frequently.

I believe I have predictably found myself a little "left of centre" for most of my life when it comes to the political and social norms of being Catholic. In this I have often found a struggle between teaching the faith as passed on by the Church and balancing it with the lived experience of our people's lives. 

In the midst of catching up with some mail I came across this article from USA Today which tackles the very balancing act I speak about above in a very insightful way.

Tom Krattenmaker, a self-professed non-catholic writes: "Yes, the church could use some changing. But what shouldn't change about this 2-millennia-old religious movement is its inconvenient refusal to forget the poor and vulnerable in these winner-take-all times. Catholicism is not alone in this; indeed, all religion at its best, and secularists, too, have a role and a say. But Catholicism, with its numbers and history and highly relevant teachings, has something unique to offer."

This unique gift has its very core a belief in the common good of every human person. It inevitably leads a person to re-discover one's own integrity that is essential for any real and lasting growth on a personal level.

I am encouraged by articles such as this. I feel similarly to its author that there is much to be gleaned from the Church's teachings but what we lack is an effective delivery system. The message is clear but the manner in which we teach it remains open to be formed in a new and effective manner. 

For those who wish the complete article can be found here. 

Commitment from Everyone is Needed to Achieve Peace: Pope

In the Vatican Basilica, on New Year's Day, Benedict XVI presided at a Eucharistic celebration for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the forty-fourth World Day of Peace.

In his homily the Pope explained how the Church today asks the Lord "to bless this new year in the awareness that, in the face of the tragic events of history, in the face of the logic of war which unfortunately has not yet been completely overcome, only God can profoundly touch the human soul and ensure hope and peace for humankind".

And he continued: "It is in fact a consolidated tradition on the first day of the year for the Church throughout the world to raise a choral prayer for peace. It is a good idea to begin a new stage of the journey by decisively following the path of peace. Today we wish to echo the cry of so many men and women, children and elderly people, who are victims of war, which is the most horrific and violent face of history. Today we pray that the peace which the angels announced to the shepherds on Christmas night may reach everywhere. For this reason, particularly through our prayers, we wish to help all individuals and peoples, especially those in positions of power, to follow the path of peace with ever greater commitment".

"The title of 'Mother of God', as emphasised in today's liturgy, underlines the Holy Virgin's unique mission in the history of salvation; the mission which lies at the basis of the veneration and devotion Christian people show towards her. Mary, in fact, did not receive God's gift for herself but to bring it into the world. ... And it is in the name of Mary, Mother of God and of mankind, that, since 1 January 1968, the World Day of Peace has been celebrated throughout the world".

Having then recalled the theme of his Message for the 2011 World Day of Peace - "Religious Freedom. The Path to Peace" - the Holy Father highlighted how "peace is a gift of God. ... It is also a human value to be achieved at a social and political level, but it has its roots in the mystery of Christ".

"'The world needs God", he said quoting his Message. "It needs universal, shared ethical and spiritual values, and religion can offer a precious contribution to their pursuit, for the building of a just and peaceful social order at the national and international levels'. For this reason I also emphasised how religious freedom 'is an essential element of a constitutional State; it cannot be denied without at the same time encroaching on all fundamental rights and freedoms, since it is their synthesis and keystone'".

Benedict XVI continued his homily: "Humankind must not resign itself to the negative power of selfishness and violence; it must not become accustomed to conflicts which cause victims and put the future of peoples at risk. Faced with the ominous tensions of the present time, and especially with religious abuses and intolerance which today particularly strike Christians, once again I make a pressing appeal not to succumb to discouragement and resignation.

"I encourage everyone", he added in conclusion, "to pray that the efforts being made on many sides to promote and construct peace in the world may reach a fruitful conclusion. In this difficult task words are not enough, we need concrete and constant commitment from the leaders of nations. But above all it is vital that everyone be animated by an authentic spirit of peace, which must be implored ever and anew in prayer and put into practice in daily life in all times and places".