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Hanging out with the Sisters!

1/30/2023

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On Friday, January 13th, I attended ‘An Evening with the Sisters’ at the Sacred Heart Convent in Calgary. Sisters from various communities of consecrated life gathered with unmarried women in our diocese to enjoy ourselves together. That is exactly what we did! There were Sisters from the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the Faithful Companions of Jesus, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth, and the Seeds of the Word. There were also many single young women I recognized from the St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy.

We started the evening by eating veggie pizza (since it was a Friday) and getting to know each other. I introduced myself to many of the Sisters and young women who were there. All the Sisters certainly had great stories about their interesting lives as Spouses of Christ. When one of the Polish Dominican sisters learned that I am half-Polish, she told me that I had to go and visit the beautiful country. I also got to see a few friends who are doing the Sabbatical Year program with the Seeds of the Word community. What a joy it was to hear their hilarious stories of community life while we ate dinner! I loved to hear all about their inside jokes and their sledding and skating mishaps.
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The whole group split into teams, and we all played the most intense game of Pictionary of my life. It was so fun to see how competitive we became, including the Sisters!

​After Pictionary, we broke off to play board games in small groups, and the Sabbatical Year participants taught us the ridiculous and fun Brazilian rules that they use to play UNO. Sr. Charbel Joseph O.P. played with us, and she told us the story of her namesake, St. Charbel. With a shining smile, she explained that he is “the Padre Pio of the East.” 
The evening ended with Night Prayer, which is the last prayer Sisters pray at the end of their jam-packed days. We left behind the rowdy games to enter the calm of the chapel, where the red light of the sanctuary candle was waiting for us. To pray Night Prayer, each side of the room took turns saying the lines of a psalm. Before Sr. Dianne said goodbye to us for the night, we had a few moments of silence together in the chapel. It was a good opportunity to turn to Jesus in the Eucharist and ask Him for the grace to say yes to my vocation, whatever it may be.

As I watched the diverse group of women genuflect to the Blessed Sacrament and leave the chapel, I wondered what my life would be like in a religious community. I saw such beautiful women around me, each of them open to the invitation of Jesus in her life. God has a fulfilling plan for each one of them, and for me.

After everyone cleaned up, I grabbed some pamphlets about consecrated life and said bye to my new and old friends. I almost caught myself skipping out of the convent, because I was feeling so excited to know what God’s call is in my life!
I am thankful that I had the chance to get to know the Sisters of our diocese in such a casual setting. It can be very difficult to work up the courage to visit a religious order. Watching the Sisters enjoy themselves, I understood that they are human beings just like me. They like to eat pizza and play games. They have their own fears and dreams. But each one of them had experienced, at some point in their discernment, the courage to interact with the Sisters they felt they might be called to join.
​
I am reminded of a quote by Fr. Bede Jarrett O.P.: “What is love but choice, the choice of a friend? He calls us, because He loves us and He is always calling us. May He give us the silence of heart that will listen, and the discerning wisdom that will recognise, and the courage of love that will obey.”

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Written by Angela Blach for Faithfully. ​Angela is a member of the St. Francis Xavier chaplaincy. She is a student of business administration at SAIT. When she's not at school, she enjoys reading, hiking, taking walks, and spending time with her friends. 
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​Photos courtesy of Sr. Dianne Turner
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Money habits that keep you poor

1/30/2023

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Some Catholics believe that we should not think of money as we focus on God not recognizing that most common symptoms of spiritual problems involve finances. Greed, the lack of self-discipline, and corruption in the heart will manifest wherever they can, often dealing with one’s money or other people’s money. Some people are drowning in debt from excessive shopping, some have gambling problems to channel their loneliness, some steal money from others or from work to manage their finances problems… 

Now on the flip side, we cannot be money-obsessed either. Our money cannot own us or control us. God should be our center. Money is a tool to serve God and others, while making sure that we have what we need for a good, balanced, and an upright life. 
​
This accountant shares some basic financial approaches to overcome or prevent money issues. While not everything may apply to you, her tips should provide things to consider in the management of your personal finances. 

​>> Watch video now
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.” 
​1 Timothy 6:17-19 

Be good stewards. Live with God by having Him at the center of your life. Keep everything in order.
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World Day Prayer for Consecrated Life

1/28/2023

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February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, is celebrated in the Church also as the World Day for Consecrated Life. In parishes, the celebration may be transferred to the weekend following February 2 to make the celebration more accessible. This is an opportunity for the Church to reflect on and celebrate the unique role and importance that Consecrated Life has in the Church. (CCCB)

The Consecrated Life includes all men and women who vow or promise to consecrate their lives to God and to provide a unique public witness as members of religious communities, apostolic societies, secular institutes, and consecrated virgins. (CCCB)
​
The following is a prayer that can be offered for the local Church to ask the Lord for more vocations to these particular vocations in our Diocese.
The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit." ~ St. John Paul II: Vita Consecrata 1
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Prayer for Consecrated Life in our Diocese

O God our Father, Lord of the harvest, we ask You to send Your Holy Spirit to stir up the grace of Consecrated life vocations in the hearts of many within our parish community. Grant them the willingness and generosity to place their lives completely in Your hands as Religious priests, brothers and sisters, and consecrated virgins. Help us to support them by our own fidelity to Your call to holiness through prayer and Christian service. When You desire that members of our family and friends follow Your Son in this way, grant us the wisdom, love, and insight to support and encourage them to listen to Your voice and follow You without delay.  We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
  • Download prayer card: print ready | 4 in 1 sheet 
  • Download graphic: ​square | wide #1, wide #2

Submitted by Sr. Dianne Turner, Assistant Director of Vocation
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2023 World Day Prayer for the Sick on Feb 11

1/27/2023

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The World Day of the Sick is celebrated each year on February 11, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is an occasion to pray for individuals who are suffering, and to find concrete ways to draw nearer to them.

The Holy Father's 2023 message is entitled: "Take care of him - Compassion as a synodal exercise of healing". In light of the Church's synodal journey, Pope Francis invites us "to reflect on the fact that it is precisely through the experience of fragility and illness that we can learn to walk together according to God's style of closeness, compassion and tenderness." 
Pope Francis tells us in his Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti that “we cannot be indifferent to suffering” (68), and he proposes that we read anew the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The condition of loneliness and abandonment of the sick in today’s world only “takes a moment of our attention, of being moved to compassion within us, in order to eliminate it.” In seeking the help of another to care for the sick man, the Samaritan asks the innkeeper to “take care of him.” Only with the help, courage, and innovation of others in a “face-to-face encounter” can we organize care for the sick in a spirit of fraternity and resilience. Many healthcare workers, family members, and community volunteers are daily witnesses of this accompaniment and caring compassion.
The World Day of the Sick is an occasion to pray for individuals who are suffering, and to find concrete ways to draw nearer to them. Mindful of this call, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recently published an open-source palliative care toolkit for parishes, families, and communities in order that they may deepen their understandings of illness, suffering, dying and death. Drawing on Catholic moral and pastoral theology, medical expertise, and the Compassionate Community model, the palliative care toolkit facilitates conversations and learning, grounded in the mercy and tenderness of the living Christ. Users of the toolkit are invited to organize group-based engagement according to the toolkit’s four-module program so as to sustain and renew pastoral attention on the sick, lonely and abandoned. Learn more about Horizons of Hope, its training videos, facilitator guide, social media images, and take-home resources.
Pastoral suggestions for the World Day for the Sick (Feb. 11, 2023) for parishes and all the faithful:
  1. Read and share Pope Francis’s message
  2. Watch and share the video: “An experience of accompanying a loved one through palliative care”
  3. Visit a loved one, friend, colleague, or stranger who is shut in, lonely or sick
  4. Offer gratitude to a healthcare professional or volunteer
  5. Organize the Horizons of Hope program in your parish or community

Resources for World Day for the Sick:
  • Download resources to promote 2023 World Day of the Sick in your parish:
    • In English: Communications Toolkit - World Day of the Sick
    • In French: Trousse de communications – Journée mondiale du malade
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Let us pray
  • For the sick, lonely and abandoned, may the closeness and saving mercy of Christ bring consolation and peace, let us pray to the Lord. 
  • For families caring for loved ones through illness, loneliness, and old age, may relationships be nurtured, and that leaning on others to share their burden is made more possible, let us pray to the Lord.
  • For volunteers who accompany the sick, may they continue to be valued and cherished in care settings as they listen and provide steady companionship, a reminder of God to those who need it most, let us pray to the Lord.
To the intercession of Mary, Health of the Sick, I entrust all of you who are ill; you who care for them in your families, or through your work, research and volunteer service; and those of you who are committed to weaving personal, ecclesial, and civic bonds of fraternity." 
​~Pope Francis, 2023
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Voice your concerns

1/23/2023

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The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has been advocating against Medical Assistance in Dying (Bill C-14)  ever since it was brought forward and passed in 2016. At that time, it was only accessible to those whose death was reasonably foreseeable. An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying) (Bill C-7)  was passed on March 17, 2021, that will make it easier for the vulnerable to access Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). 
 
Did you know?
 
MAiD is publicly funded and has been made a health care right by the federal government which implies that it operates under the same guidelines across the country. Palliative care is the responsibility of the provincial health care system and is addressed differently in each province. This reveals a disconnect of responsibility.
 
Bill C-7 removed the requirement that death be in the reasonably foreseeable future. It has two tracks, one for those whose death is foreseeable and track two for those who have severe long-term conditions.

  • In Track One, for those whose death is reasonably foreseeable, Bill C-7 removed the requirement of a ten-day reflection period. (Could now be only 1 day!) It reduces the number of witnesses of the request from two persons to one, and that person can be a paid health professional. 
  • Track Two allows MAiD for those who have a severe long-term condition or disability. Although these persons will be legally informed of treatment options, there will no longer be any requirement to attempt those other treatments before choosing MAID.  We will be the only country in the world to offer MAiD as a first level treatment! After consent, there will be a 90-day reflection period before administering MAiD.

Bill C-7 passed on March 17 2021 allowing people with mental illness as their sole criterion to choose MAiD.  There was a “sunset clause” added to the Bill so that proper safeguards and requirements for MAiD under such circumstances will be put to committee, studied, and decided upon within two years, March 17, 2023.  On December 15, 2022 Justice Minister David Lametti and the Minister for Mental health and Addictions, Carolyn Bennet, announced the government would delay the expansion of MAiD, but not how long the delay will be.  Parliament resumes sitting on January 30.
 
Bill C-7 has raised the issue of "ableism" - a prejudice in which persons with disabilities are considered unable to lead a life of quality. Disability rights advocates are concerned that Track Two will encourage MAiD to be favoured over expensive supports for the disabled or those with severe long term chronic conditions. There is also concern over what safeguards Bill C-7 will provide for those with mental illness.
 
When Parliament resumes, there will be four working weeks in which they can draft legislation to modify Bill C-7 before the “sunset clause” expires on March 17, 2023.

We can express our concerns to our elected officials during this window of opportunity.

Article and Letter templates are prepared and written by ​St. Peter’s CWL Resolution and Legislation Committee. 
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All are invited to join Horizons of Hope to learn and reflect upon end-of-life issues, as well as to promote the need for excellent palliative care.
Horizons of Hope
TrAID for MaID Presentation
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Spirituality & Mental Health

1/23/2023

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As human beings with both body and soul, we take good care of ourselves through healthy relationships, especially our relationship with God, and with the help of science.

​Watch this video and see how both science and the Faith connect.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.” 3 John 1:2

We have been wonderfully made by God. We must always seek wholeness and holiness in everything so that in sickness or in health and through life’s joys and sorrows, we abide in God.
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8 Days of Prayer for Christian Unity | Jan 18-25, 2023

1/16/2023

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Praying together for Christian unity allows us to reflect on what unites us and to commit ourselves to confront oppression and division amongst humanity. ​The prophet Micah points out that God has told us what is good and what God requires of us: “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6:8). To act justly means that we have respect for all persons. Justice requires truly equitable treatment in order to address historic disadvantage based on “race”, gender, religion and socio-economic status. To walk humbly with God requires repentance, reparations, and finally reconciliation

​Those wishing to undertake bible studies on the Week of Prayer theme can use as a basis the following biblical texts and reflections given in the eight days. As we seek greater unity, may it be in service to the love and justice God has revealed in Jesus.

Events for The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023 in Calgary:
  • Tue, Jan 24 at 11:15 am - St. Ambrose University
  • Wed, Jan 25 at 6:30 pm - Parkdale United Church
  • Wed, Jan 25 at many schools throughout the Calgary Catholic School District
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Download Daily Prayers (PDF)
Week of Prayer Resources
The daily themes, Scripture readings, reflections, challenges, and prayers below were prepared by the Minnesota Council of Churches and the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Writing Team. 
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
DAY 7
DAY 8

Day 1 (Jan 18) - Learning to do the right thing 

Readings
  • Isaiah 1:12-18 Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan; plead for the widow.
  • Luke 10:25-36 He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”​

Reflection
According to Isaiah, God wants Judah not only to practice justice but to embrace the principle of always doing the right thing. God wants us not only to care for orphans and widows but to do what is right and good for them and anyone marginalised by society. The Hebrew word for good is yaw-tab' and it means to be glad, joyful, pleasing, to do well, to make something beautiful. To be Christian means to be a disciple. All Christians sit under the Word of God, learning together what it is to do good, and who it is that stands in need of this solidarity. As society becomes more indifferent to the needs of others, we, as the children of God, must learn to take up the cause of our oppressed brothers and sisters by speaking truth to power and, if necessary, plead their case so that they may live in peace with justice. In doing this we will always do the right thing! Our commitment to eradicate and to be healed of the sin of racism requires us to be prepared and willing to be in relationship with our Christian sisters and brothers. 

Christian Unity
A lawyer asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus’ response asks us to see beyond the divisions of religion, tribe and nationality to recognise our neighbour in need. Christians likewise must see beyond these divides and the divisions within the Christian family to recognise and love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Challenge
Who are the marginalised or oppressed in your society? How might churches together walk with these brothers and sisters, respond to their need and speak up on their behalf?

Prayer
Lord, you called your people from slavery into freedom,
​Give us strength and courage to seek out those who are standing in need of justice. Allow us to see this need and provide help, and through your Holy Spirit gather us into the one fold of Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Amen.

Day 2 (Jan 19) | When justice is done . . .

Readings
  • Proverbs 21:13-15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but dismay to evildoers.
  • Matthew 23:23-25 Justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done.

Reflection
From the beginning the Book of Proverbs sets out to provide wisdom and instruction in “wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity” (1:2). Throughout its oracles of wisdom, the call to act justly and to pursue righteousness is a constant refrain, relentlessly shared and affirmed as more acceptable to God than sacrifice. In a one-sentence pearl of wisdom, the speaker testifies that the righteous rejoice when justice is done. But justice upsets the workers of iniquity. Christians, across their separations, should be united in joy when justice is done, and prepared to stand together when this justice brings opposition. When we do what the Lord requires and dare to pursue justice, we may find ourselves in a whirlwind of resistance and opposition to any attempt to make things right for the most vulnerable among us.

Those who benefit from the systems and structures buttressed by White supremacy and other oppressive ideologies such as “casteism” and patriarchy will seek to delay and deny justice, often violently. But to seek justice is to strike at the heart of the powers, making space for God’s just ordering and enduring wisdom in a world all too often unmoved by suffering. And yet, there is joy in doing what is right. There is joy in affirming that “Black Lives Matter” in the pursuit of justice for God’s oppressed, dominated, and exploited beloved.

There is joy in seeking reconciliation with other Christians so that we may better serve the proclamation of the kingdom. Let that joy manifest itself through our shared experiences of God’s presence in community in the known and unknown spaces where God journeys with us toward healing, reconciliation and unity in Christ.

Christian Unity
The religious leaders Jesus addresses in the Gospel passage have grown accustomed and comfortable with the injustices of the world. They are happy to perform religious duties such as tithing mint, dill and cumin, but neglect the weightier and more disruptive demands of justice, mercy and faithfulness. Similarly Christians have grown accustomed and comfortable with the divisions that exist between us. We are faithful in much of our religious observance, but often we neglect the Lord’s challenging desire that all his disciples be one.

Challenge
How can local congregations support one another to withstand the opposition that may follow from doing justice?

Prayer
God, you are the source of our wisdom.
​We pray for wisdom and courage to do justice, to respond to what is wrong in the world by acting to make it right; We pray for wisdom and courage to grow in the unity of your Son, Jesus Christ, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, reigns forever and ever. Amen

Day 3 (Jan 20) | Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly​

Readings
  • Micah 6:6-8 And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
  • Mark 10:17-31 Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Reflection
We – not me. The prophet warns the people what faithfulness to God’s covenant means: “ … and what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.” In Biblical Hebrew justice and kindness (mercy) are not different or opposite from each other. They are in fact bonded together in a single word, mishpat. God has shown us what is good, asking us to do justice by loving kindness and by walking humbly with God. Walking humbly with God means walking alongside others and therefore it is not just about the individual: my walk, my love.

The love that God invites us into is always a love which gathers us into communion: we – not me. This insight makes all the difference in how we “do justice”. As Christians we act justly to manifest something of God’s kingdom in the world, and therefore to invite others into this place of God’s loving kindness. Within God’s kingdom we are all loved equally as God’s children, and as God’s Church we are called to love one another as brothers and sisters and to invite others into that love.

To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God, calls Christians to act together in bearing a united witness to God’s kingdom within our communities: we – not me.

Christian Unity
“Walking humbly” was challenging for the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He had obeyed all the commandments from his youth, but he could not take the further step to join Jesus’ disciples because of his wealth; he was beholden to his possessions. How difficult it is for Christians to let go of that which we perceive as riches, but which keep us from the greater wealth of joining Jesus’s disciples in Christian unity.
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Challenge
How can our churches better respond to the needs of our most vulnerable neighbours? How can we honour every voice in our communities? 

Prayer
Gracious and loving God,
​Expand our vision that we might see the mission we share with all of our Christian brothers and sisters, to show forth the justice and loving kindness of your kingdom. Help us to welcome our neighbours as your Son welcomed us. Help us to be more generous as we witness to the grace that you freely give us. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Day 4 (Jan 21) | ​Look, the tears of the oppressed

Readings
  • Ecclesiastes 4:1-5 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power with no one to comfort them.
  • Matthew 5:1-8 …  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted …

Reflection
“Look, the tears of the oppressed.” One can imagine that the writer has witnessed atrocities like this before with sickening regularity. And yet perhaps this is the first time the writer has truly seen the tears of the oppressed, has fully taken in their pain and their subjugation. While there is much to lament, in a new looking and a new seeing there is also a seed of hope: maybe this time this witnessing will lead to change, will make a difference.

A young woman looked and saw the tears of the oppressed. The video she shot on her phone of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 was seen all around the world and unleashed a holy rage as people witnessed, and finally acknowledged, what African Americans have experienced for centuries: undue subjugation by oppressive systems in the midst of privileged blind bystanders. Acknowledging this painful reality has led to a global outpouring of overdue compassion both in the form of prayer and protest for justice.

The progression from simply looking to seeing and understanding gives encouragement for us as actors in this earthly reality: God can remove scales from our eyes to witness things in new and liberating ways. As those scales fall, the Holy Spirit provides insight, and also, conviction to respond in new and unfettered ways. One response the churches and communities made was to establish a prayer tent at George Floyd Square, the place of his murder. In this way, these churches and communities were united in offering comfort to those who mourned and were oppressed.

Christian Unity
Matthew’s account of the Beatitudes begins with Jesus seeing the crowds. In that crowd he must have seen those who were peacemakers, the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, men and women who mourned, and those who hungered for justice. In the beatitudes Jesus not only names people’s struggles, he names what they will be: the children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. As Christians we are called to see the holy struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Challenge
How have you engaged with Christian groups addressing oppression in your neighbourhood? How can the churches in your locality come together to better show solidarity with those suffering oppression? 
​
Prayer
God of justice and grace,
​remove the scales from our eyes so we can truly see the oppression around us. We pray in the name of Jesus who saw the crowds and had compassion for them. Amen

Day 5 (Jan 22) | Singing the Lord’s song as strangers in the land

Readings
  • Psalm 137:1-4 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked us for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
  • Luke 23:27-31 Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Reflection
The lament of the psalmist originates in the exile of Judah in Babylon, however, the pain of exile is one that reverberates across time and culture. Perhaps the psalmist shouted this refrain towards the heavens. Perhaps each verse was given voice between deep sobs of grief. Perhaps this poem emerged with a shrug of indifference that can only come from living within injustice and feeling powerless to effect any meaningful change. However the words were brought forth, the heartache of this passage finds resonance in the hearts of those who are treated as strangers in other lands or in their own lands.

The demand in the psalm comes from the oppressor to smile and make merry, to sing the songs of a “happy” past. That demand has come to marginalized people throughout history. Whether it was in minstrel shows, 1 or Geisha dances,2 or Wild West cowboy and Indian shows,3 oppressors have often demanded that oppressed people perform happily to ensure their own survival. Their message is as simple as it is cruel; your songs, your ceremonies, your cultural identity, that which makes you sacredly unique, is only allowable so long as it serves us.

In this psalm generations of the oppressed are given their voice. How could we sing the Lord’s song when we are strangers in our own land? We sing not for our captors but to praise God. We sing because we are not alone for God has never abandoned us. We sing because we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. The ancestors and saints inspire us. They encourage us to sing songs of hope, songs of freedom, songs of liberation, songs of a homeland where a people is restored.

Christian Unity
Luke’s Gospel records that people, many of them women, follow Jesus even as he carries his cross to Calvary. This following is faithful discipleship. Furthermore, Jesus recognises their struggles and the suffering that they will have to endure in faithfully carrying their own crosses. 

Thanks to the ecumenical movement, Christians today share hymns, prayers, reflections and insights across traditions. We receive them from one another as gifts borne of the faith and loving discipleship, often enduring struggles, of Christians from different communities than our own. These shared gifts are riches to be treasured and give witness to the Christian faith we share. 

Challenge
How do we raise up the stories of ancestors and saints who lived among us and have sung songs of faith, hope, and
liberation from captivity?
​
Prayer
God of the oppressed,
Open our eyes to the harm that continues to be inflicted on our sisters and brothers in Christ. May your Spirit give us the courage to sing in unison, And raise our voices with those whose suffering is unheard. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Day 6 (Jan 23) | Just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me


Readings
  • Ezekiel 34:15-20 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.
  • Matthew 25:31-40 I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me

Reflection
In the Gospel of Matthew, we are reminded that we cannot separate our love for God from our love for others. We love God when we feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner. When we care for and serve “one of the least of these,” we are caring for and serving Christ himself.

​The years 2020 and 2021 made visible the immense suffering among God’s family members. The world-wide COVID-19 pandemic, along with economic, educational and environmental disparities, impacted us in ways that will take decades to repair. It exposed individual and collective suffering throughout the world and brought Christians together in love, empathy and solidarity. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin exposed continued racial injustice. Floyd’s cry of “I can’t breathe” was also the cry of many suffering under the weight of both the pandemic and oppression.

God calls us to honour the sacredness and dignity of each member of God’s family. Caring for, serving and loving others reveals not who they are, but who we are. As Christians, we must be unified in our responsibility to love and care for others, as we are cared for and loved by God. In so doing, we live out our shared faith through our actions in service to the world.

Christian Unity
The prophet Ezekiel describes the Lord God as a shepherd who makes the flock whole by gathering in those who have strayed and binding up those who are injured. Unity is the Father’s desire for his people and he continues to bring about this unity, to make the flock whole, through the action of his Holy Spirit. Through prayer we open ourselves to receive the Spirit which restores the unity of all the baptised.

Challenge
How are the “least of these” invisible to you or your church? How can our churches work together to care for and serve “the least of these?”

Prayer
God of Love,
​We thank you for your unending care and love for us. Help us to sing redemption songs. Open wide our hearts to receive your love and to extend your compassion to the whole of the human family. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Day 7 (Jan 24) | ‘What is now does not have to be’ 

Readings
  • Job 5:11-16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. 
  • Luke 1:46-55 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly

Reflection
Job was living the good life and unexpectedly suffered the loss of his livestock and servants, and endured the devastation of the death of his children. He was suffering in his mind, body, and spirit. We all have suffering that is manifested in our minds, bodies, and spirits. We may pull away from God and others. We may lose hope. Yet, as Christians, we are unified in our belief that God is with us in the midst of our suffering.

On April 11, 2021 in Minnesota, Daunte Wright, a twenty-year old, unarmed African American man, was fatally shot by a White police officer during a routine traffic stop. This incident occurred during the Derek Chauvin trial for the killing of George Floyd. 

It is easy to feel hopeless when we are once again reminded that we live in a fractured society that does not fully recognize, honour, and protect the human dignity and freedom of all human beings. According to Fr. Bryan Massingale, a leading Catholic social ethicist and scholar in racial justice, “Social life is made by human beings. The society we live in is the result of human choices and decisions. This means that human beings can change things. What human beings break, divide and separate, we can, with God’s help, also heal, unite and restore. What is now does not have to be, therein lies the hope and the challenge.”

In prayer, Christians align their hearts to the heart of God, to love what he loves and to love as he loves. Prayer with integrity therefore aligns the hearts of all Christians beyond their divisions, to love what, whom and how God loves, and to express this love in our actions. 

Christian Unity
The Magnificat is Mary’s song of joy for all that she sees God is doing: restoring balance by raising up the lowly; righting injustice by feeding the hungry; and remembering Israel, his servant. The Lord never forgets his promises or abandons his people. It is easy to overlook or undervalue the faith of those who belong to other Christian communities, particularly if those communities are small. But the Lord makes his people whole by raising up the lowly so that the value of each is recognised. We are called to see as He sees and to value each of our Christian brothers and sisters as He values them

Prayer
God of Hope,
​Help us to remember that you are with us in our suffering. Help us to embody hope for one another when hopelessness is a frequent unwelcomed guest in our hearts. Grant us the gift of being grounded in your loving Spirit as we work together to eradicate all forms of oppression and injustice. Give us the courage to love what, whom and how you love, and to express this love in our actions. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Day 8 (Jan 25) | The justice that restores communion

Readings
  • Psalm 82:1-4 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
  • Luke 18:1-8 Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?

Reflection
The Book of Psalms is a compilation of prayer, praise, lamentation, and instruction from God to us. In Psalm 82, God calls for a justice that upholds the basic human rights to which all people are entitled: freedom, safety, dignity, health, equality and love. The Psalm also calls for the overturning of systems of disparity and oppression, and fixing anything that is unfair, corrupt, or exploitative. This is the justice that we, as Christians, are called to promote. In Christian community we join our wills and actions to God’s, as he works his salvation for creation. Division, including that between Christians, always has sin at its root, and redemption always restores communion.

God calls us to embody our Christian faith to act out of the truth that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institutional structure in society is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of each person. Every person has a right and responsibility to participate in society, seeking together the common good and wellbeing of all, especially the lowly and the destitute.
​
In Jesus and the Disinherited, the Revd. Dr Howard Thurman, who was spiritual adviser to the Revd Dr Martin Luther King Jr., states that: “We must proclaim the truth that all life is one and that we are all of us tied together. Therefore, it is mandatory that we work for a society in which the least person can find refuge and refreshment. You must lay your lives on the altar of social change so that wherever you are, there the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Christian Unity
Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in order to teach the people “about their need to pray always and not to lose heart” (Lk 18:1). Jesus has won a decisive victory over injustice, sin and division, and as Christians our task is to receive this victory firstly in our own hearts through prayer and secondly in our lives through action. May we never lose heart, but rather continue to ask in prayer for God’s gift of unity and may we manifest this unity in our lives.

Challenge
As the people of God, how are our churches called to engage in justice that unites us in our actions to love and serve all of God’s family?

Prayer
God, Creator and Redeemer of all things,
teach us to look inward to be grounded in your loving Spirit, so that we may go outward in wisdom and courage to always choose the path of love and justice. This we pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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What it means to truly listen to someone

1/16/2023

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Jordan Peterson shares the hard truths of authentic listening. Simple but challenging. Be inspired to listen and learn. 
>> Watch video now
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You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.” ~ James 1:19-21

​If someone were to make a caricature of us, it would be a compliment if they have our eyes and ears drawn disproportionately larger than the size of our head and our mouth.
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Sunday of the Word of God

1/11/2023

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Pope Francis has declared that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God “that the life of our people be constantly marked by this decisive relationship with the living word that the Lord never tires of speaking to his Bride” (Aperuit Illis, 2). In 2024, the Sunday of the Word of God falls on January 21. 

2024 Liturgical and Pastoral Handbook 

Here are five liturgical suggestions for making the most of this universal invitation from the Pontiff.  
​
1. Homily
Focus on the centrality of the Bible for Christians. In the Gospel, Jesus quotes what we heard in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah. The word of the prophet is the foundation for his teaching and the call of the first disciples. In the second reading Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus did not send him to baptize but to proclaim the Gospel and that “it is the power of God”.

2. Bless Ministers of the Word
Following the Homily, invite ministers of the Word to stand (e.g. lectors, psalmists, leaders in RCIA, liturgy of the word for children, and scripture study). Bless them with hands extended:

Blessed are you, Lord God,
Source of all light and all goodness,
you sent your Son, your living Word,
to reveal to humanity the mystery of your love.
Look with mercy upon these women and men who proclaim your word
and lead your people closer to your teaching.
Bless X them in their ministry
so that they may be nourished by your Word,
be transformed by it and faithfully announce it
to their brothers and sisters in your Church.
We praise and thank you, Father,
in the name of Jesus your Son,
and in the love of your Holy Spirit,
God of glory for ever and ever.
Amen.


Adapted from the blessing of lectors in Celebrations of Installation and Recognition, copyright Concacan Inc.,2005. All rights reserved.

3. Universal Prayer

Introduction to the petitions:
Dear sisters and brothers,
nourished and formed by God’s Word
let us bring our needs and petitions before Him.


In addition to the petitions you have prepared for today, include some for the Word of God to come to life in your community, for example:
  • For bishops, priests, deacons, lectors, psalmists, and all who proclaim God’s Word in the world, we pray to the Lord.
  • For teachers and staff in Catholic schools, for catechists, parents, and all who bring the Word of God to children, we pray to the Lord.

Prayer at the end of the petitions:
Grant, O God, that our lives be marked by your living word.
Hear these, our prayers,
and help us to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.


4. Eucharistic Prayer

You might use Eucharistic Prayer III for Various Needs and Occasions (Jesus the Way to the Father). Its Preface focuses on Christ as the “Word” of God. Roman Missal p.764ff.

5. Enthroning the Bible (For use in homes, schools, and with RCIA or Bible Study groups)
​

The faithful have shown reverence to the bible as the inspired word of God since ancient times. The enthronement of an open bible has often served as a symbolic invitation to delve into the sacred text as the source of our spiritual life. You might use this short ritual from the American Bible Society to enthrone the Bible at home, in schools, and with RCIA or Bible Study groups.  
  • How to enthrone the Bible in your home/class/school? 

6. More Resources
  • Note from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on the Word of God Sunday. The note highlights opportunities and practical suggestions for the Word of God Sunday celebration. English | French 
  • Adult Formation Activity
  • Understanding the Bible
  • The Art and Practice of Lectio Divina
  • The Word of God as a Source of Prayer

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Entering the Ordinary Time

1/11/2023

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During the Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the fullness of the mystery of the Lord Jesus. The people of God offer praise by celebrating the Paschal Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Sunday is the original Christian Feast Day, following the tradition handed down from Apostolic times, for this way the day of the Lord’s Resurrection.

Today’s Christian communities continue this tradition by celebrating every Sunday as the day of the risen Lord. 

​Below are some resources to help break down everything you need to know for this liturgical season, as well as practical advices to help you get the most out of the Ordinary Time.
  • Read: Ultimate Guide to Ordinary Time (Catholic Telegraph) 
  • Read: Why Ordinary Time can also be called the "season of saints" (Aleteia)
  • Read: 5 ways to make Ordinary Time less ordinary (Catholic Link)
  • Read: What about an Ordinary Time resolution this year? (Aleteia)
  • Read: How do we keep Sunday holy (Aleteia) 
  • Read: 7 ways to make Sunday holy for the whole family (Aleteia)
  • Watch: Why do we need to rest from work on Sundays? (Fr. Mike Smith, Ascension Press)
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How to set resolutions?

1/9/2023

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When we experience anxiety, our fears and worries often hinder our ability to make decisions. 

Lauren Lawson suffers from anxiety disorder, and she knows first hand how challenging it can be to move toward a goal without setting off her anxiety.  
​
"My therapist once wrote a big “X” over the words what if on a piece of paper. Apparently, I had used the phrase what if so many times that she felt the need to physically show me how these two words were keeping me from moving toward any goals, let alone a single goal." 

​Read Lauren's article
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~Phililppians 4:6-7
​
In the battle against daily anxiety, seek out small acts of faith we can turn to: Surrender Novena; Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet; Offer up prayers for others; Remember God's love for you.  (Source: Ascension Press)
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