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Indigenous delegations in Rome (Mar 28 - Apr 1)

3/30/2022

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A delegation of 32 Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers, residential school survivors, and youth are meeting with Pope Francis this week (March 28 to April 1). Watch the media briefing and videos below. We will share more on social media as they unfold.
  • Media briefing | Meeting between Pope Francis & delegates from the Métis National Council. 
  • Media briefing | Meeting between Pope Francis and delegates from the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. 
  • Media briefing | Meeting between the Pope and delegates from the Assembly of First Nations. 
  • Final Audience between Pope Francis and all the Indigenous delegates. 
  • Media briefing with all Indigenous partners and the CCCB following the final audience with Pope Francis will be held on April 1, 7:30 am MT. 
​
Read / Watch
  • Canada’s Catholic Bishops Welcome Pope Francis’ Apology to Indigenous Peoples (CCCB)
  • Pope Francis' address to the Indigenous Delegates (April 1)
  • Canada's Catholic Bishops welcome Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous Peoples (April 1)
  • Updates from CCCB
  • Photos of important moments captured during the delegation to Rome (CCCB)
  • A historic week of meetings with Canada's Indigenous (Vatican News)
  • What brought the Canadian Indigenous to the Vatican (Aleteia) 
  • Indigenous leaders reflect on talks with Pope (CBC)
  • Métis delegate Angie Crerar touched by meeting with Pope Francis (Archdiocese of Edmonton) 
  • Fr. Cristino Bouvette talk about the meetings between Pope Francis and Canada’s Indigenous delegation (Global News).
  • Bishop William McGrattan shares how the meetings between the Holy Father and the indigenous groups (EWTN News)
  • A journey toward healing and reconciliation (Salt + Light TV)
    • March 28 | March 29 | March 31
  • Chief Wilton Littlechild responds to Pope Francis' apology (Archdiocese of Edmonton)
  • Elder Angie Crerar's final briefing message and prayer on the final day in Rome with the Indigenous delegation (Archdiocese of Edmonton)
  • Raymond J. de Souza: The meaning of Pope Francis' apology to Indigenous people (National Post)
  • "Now we're brothers, sisters." Archbishop Smith recaps Indigenous visit to Rome (Archdiocese of Edmonton)
  • Father Cristino Bouvette, an Indigenous Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Calgary, speaks about the historic apology given by Pope Francis. 
Photos:  ©Vatican Media
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Praying away anxiety?

3/28/2022

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Any of our daily concerns can become a source of great anxiety if we do not manage them. In general, the antidote to anxiety is trust in the Lord. Sometimes, however, it feels like we can't just pray away our anxiety, which makes us feel that we must not have enough faith and trust in God for not being able to shake it off.

This short video explains how anxiety feels and provides simple tools which can be used in daily our conversation with God. The anxiety journal, for example, can unpack and slowly dispel a looming concern as we write down what we are anxious about, what their root causes are, and how are we going to confront or tackle the real issues. All done prayerfully before God.

Consider this... Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the causes of your worries or anxieties and work out a plan to resolve the root causes "for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

​Remember that we have been created for freedom in Christ. Take responsibility and take care of the gift of freedom which we have received in Christ.
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Re-introducing Solidarity Sunday in 2022

3/26/2022

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This Lent Bishop McGrattan has re-introduced Solidarity Sunday in our Diocese.

So what is it? It has been an integral part of Development and Peace-Caritas Canada since 1968. Parishes throughout Canada hold a special Mass and a collection that gives us the opportunity to stand together in solidarity with the poorest of the poor in the Global South – in prayer and almsgiving.
 
This Lent we are invited to pray for all those who are the poorest and most forgotten and to give generously at our Solidarity Sunday Second Collection at your parish, which will be taken up on the Fifth Sunday(April 3) of Lent. Throughout our country our bishops are asking us to support Development and Peace-Caritas Canada in the life-giving work in places such as Honduras, Cambodia, Madagascar – and Ukraine.
  • Learn more about Development and Peace - Caritas Canada's Share Lent campaign.
  • Read  Pastoral Letter from Bishop McGrattan re: Solidarity Sunday 
  • How do I give? Give through the second collection on the 5th Sunday of Lent (April 3) in your parish, or drop off your donation envelope there. Alternatively, you can also give directly online.

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Undertaking our Lenten journey

3/26/2022

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​During Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Mary’s University several years ago, professor of psychology, Fr. Peter Doherty, offered an inspiring homily. He spoke of the importance of the Lenten journey and the need for us to reach out and to support others, as well as the need to reflect on the importance of the ‘journey’ of Lent — emphasizing that Lent isn’t a time period, but a process leading to discovery. He reminded us that Lent offers us an opportunity to replenish our spirit, especially when the weight of the world has descended on us. The sacrifice that is made during Lent of giving up coffee, wine, television or whatever else is valued, should be genuinely challenging, but also an opportunity to reflect — perhaps to find relief from ‘things.’
 
Most important, he suggested, was the need to restart our life’s journey and to change our point of view. He then asked us what event in the Stations of the Cross was repeated three times. ‘Jesus falling,’ someone called out. You could tell that this was exactly what he wanted to hear. In a playful voice he responded: ‘Far be it from me to question the authority of the Church, but I have always thought we needed to re-label those stations. It shouldn’t be Jesus fell. It should be, Jesus got back up.’ Because the triumph of the story is not Christ’s downfall, but rather that He spent His last day on Earth rising, just as later He would rise again from the dead.
 
To me it’s a powerful, clear message of the importance of point of view, and one that has resonance in our time. Too often we perceive and walk in darkness, even when the light is ahead of us. It is the difficult lesson parents often try to teach their children, to take comfort from adversity and to find the positive; a lesson that we sometimes forget as we ourselves get older and the pressures of our time get heavier. But they are never heavier than the Cross.
 
This for me is what the Lenten journey has always reaffirmed. Ours is a faith that asks not for vengeance but forgiveness, not rules but understanding, not despair but hope. And the narrative of the Stations of the Cross and the paschal journey provides one of the most remarkable reversals imaginable. Here is a story that demonstrates the utter darkness of human violence, of intolerance, or rejection and betrayal. And yet it provides the most glorious truth we could ever hope to receive. Here is a moment of death that proves the possibility of eternal life — of grace from the utter wasteland of despair. It is truly, to paraphrase Hollywood, the great story ever told.
 
What I appreciated from the homily was how it found a way to connect us to that transcendent moment through the ordinariness of our every day. And by this I don’t mean that our lives are not sincerely challenged, some, of course, more than others. And here I think especially of our beleaguered brothers and sisters in Ukraine at this tragic time. But rather that even from the depths of the darkest despair, the Lenten journey leads us towards hope — renewal — rescue. Certainly, it is a reminder to take the time to rethink and reassess, to change our point of view.
 
Pope Benedict XVI, during an Angelus address in 2013, spoke of Lent as a time that ‘always involves a battle, a spiritual battle,’ and as an invitation for us to reject false temptations that ‘undermine the conscience, disguised and proposed as affordable, effective and even good.’ The Church, Pope Benedict explained, uses Lent to call all of us ‘to be renewed in the spirit, to reorient closely to God.’
 
Pope Francis, for his part, in one of his Ash Wednesday homilies, invites us to slow down. ‘Lent is the time to rediscover the direction of life. Because in life’s journey, as in every journey, what really matters is not to lose sight of the goal.’ It is a cliché widely shared that we should focus on the journey, not the destination — and surely here we are invited to rethink that adage. The destination is pivotal. But there is no way to achieve it without falling … and more importantly, getting back up.
 
It may be true to say that part of the Lenten process is a metaphor. To surrender our consumption of coffee or wine is really not a hardship, and certainly not of the magnitude that this abstinence is meant to celebrate. Rather, we understand that it is a symbolic deprivation, one that is challenging perhaps but hardly fatal. Yet it reminds us, in the doing, of what is at stake and of how we got here. It reminds us of the very real and deep suffering our brothers and sisters around the globe encounter daily, including in our beleaguered Ukraine today. And it reminds us never to take the gifts — the freedoms — we have for granted.


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Written by Dr. Gerry Turcotte for Faithfully. Dr. Gerry Turcotte has been President and Vice-Chancellor of St. Mary’s University, Calgary, for eight years. He is the author and editor of 15 books including, most recently, Big Things: Ordinary Thoughts in Extraordinary Times, and The History of the Novel in English since 1950. He was awarded the Governor General’s Award for Canadian Studies in 2011 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. He is a regular columnist for The Catholic Register.
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The Consecration of Russia & Ukraine

3/24/2022

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DOWNLOAD BOOKLET
The Consecration will be livestreamed on Friday, March 25 at 9:45 am. ​Watch live on Youtube | Facebook

If you plan to come in person, please arrive by 9:45 am. 
Bishop McGrattan joins the Holy Father in the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Mary's Cathedral on Friday, March 25. 
  • Prayer starts at 9:50 am. Act of Consecration at 10 am (5 pm Rome time). 
  • Mass in the Cathedral: 7:30 am & 5:00 pm
  • Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
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A penitential season of transformation

3/21/2022

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The Season of Lent began three weeks ago at Ash Wednesday when we received the ashes visibly marking us with the sign of repentance and of eternal life.

Lent is a season that invites us to reflect on the transformational change needed in our lives in anticipation of celebrating the new life in Christ at Easter. This Season often coincides with Spring – a season filled with the natural signs of rebirth, new beginnings, and new growth.  And in the Third week of Lent this year, we do in fact mark the first day of Spring. 

Lent provides the opportunity to grow deeper spiritually by engaging in the practices of fasting, almsgiving, and more frequent prayer from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. These penitential days of Lent can truly help us to experience a spiritual transformation and thus to celebrate more fully the Easter Season.

This year the season of Lent is also offering us many moments and world events that invite a pause in the usual routines of living. The pandemic has taken a toll on people. Some have lost family members and friends during the pandemic and often those deaths were compounded painfully by isolation from one another. Some have lost employment or experienced a reduction in work hours. Others have suffered mental health issues as the health precautions imposed an isolation that impacted the provision of supportive mental health care services. Children were unable to attend school at times or they studied at home away from their friends. The list of impacts goes on. 

And then, as things slowly began to return to normal pre-pandemic practices, Russia attacked Ukraine and the world watched in horror the images of innocent people caught in the middle of this violent conflict. It has been shocking and tragic to see the suffering of the people in Ukraine as their homes are bombed and more recently the hospitals and shelters that are being targeted and destroyed.

The world is seeing a tragic injustice unfold that is causing deep suffering, a suffering that we can carry in our prayers asking for God’s strength and comfort.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)) denounces the destruction which is inflicted by war:
Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation. A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.” CCC 2314
The condemnation of Russia’s aggressive indiscriminate choice of warfare has been resolutely opposed by the countries of the world and is only matched by the bravery of the Ukrainian men and women fighting to defend their freedom and homeland. What outstanding examples of personal fortitude and perseverance!  

In the midst of this destruction and human suffering, there are witnesses to the faith who are reaching out to alleviate one another’s anguish. Mothers in Poland left strollers at a train station for those mothers arriving with children from Ukraine, a volunteer at the Polish border gave children candy and toys, Romanian volunteers gave flowers to women arriving from Ukraine on International Women’s Day, a person played the piano at the border crossing, people in Berlin greeted a train arriving from Ukraine with signs indicating how many people they could welcome with accommodation, etc.  A father and eldest son saying farewell to the mother and three other children in the family were asked by a reporter if they thought that the family would be reunited soon.  The eldest son replied quickly and without hesitation, “Everything will be alright.”

While the troubles of the world are many and they are very serious, these examples of human kindness and strength give inspiring witness to the faith and goodness of people. We join in this witness through donations to Ukraine, in supporting relief efforts, welcoming those displaced by the war to resettle in Canada and with our prayers.
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On the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (Friday, March 25), Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  His Holiness has invited Bishops around the world to join in this Act of Consecration. In solidarity with our Holy Father and in union with my brother bishops I will offer this Act of Consecration on behalf of the Diocese at St. Mary's Cathedral. A Novena Prayer is also being prayed in the nine days preceding the Solemnity and I invite you to join in the Novena Prayer and the Act of Consecration. This spiritual engagement is as important and needed as the relief efforts. The act of humbly seeking God’s mercy and grace in prayer this Lent can further the dialogue of peace. Such acts of penance can be transformational for us and the world.   
Because of the evils and injustices that all war brings with it, we must do everything reasonably possible to avoid it. The Church prays: "From famine, pestilence, and war, O Lord, deliver us." CCC 2327
​Let us continue to pray for peace. From famine, pestilence, and war, O Lord, deliver us.

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The Ukrainian Catholic leaders have prepared a Novena and invited all Catholic faithful from around the world to join them in prayer. We invite the faithful of the Diocese and all people of goodwill to participate in the Novena prayer above.
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Written by Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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​March 21, 2022
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Bishop Henry's Synodal Retreat Sessions

3/20/2022

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Bishop Emeritus Henry examined how the identity and mission of the Church as Communion, Participation and Mission is grounded in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and reaches its actualization in our fruitful and conscious participation in the Eucharist. His sessions were wonderful, witty, and inspiring. You certainly don't want to miss his stories!  
Session 1: Beginning the Journey
Session 2: My Name. Sent in His Name.
Session 3: Food for the Journey
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Faithful Living: Peace in the world

3/15/2022

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Little things we can offer for peace in the world...

1. Pray
  • Offer constant prayers throughout the day for peace not only in the world but also for our own surroundings. Take a moment and pray for peace using this video.
  • Go to Mass daily.
  • Offer the Holy Rosary daily for peace and conversion.

2. Offer penances
  • Love is expressed by gestures and not just words. Offering penance for others is offering concrete prayers to God for others. It begins with our conscious acceptance of ordinary incoveniences and discomforts,,, accepting the daily crosses. When we are aware of these daily challenges, pause, recognize the sacrifice, and offer them to God for peace in our world. Instead of kicking and screaming and perhaps whining and complaining, endure the incoveniences and turn these moments of sacrifice into prayer.
  • Another way of offering penance is by actively doing something good for others that we do not normally do for them and secretly offer this loving gesture as a sacrifice to God for peace in our world.

3. Watch or read the news and pray for the people you see & hear about
  • Doing this reminds us that they are all human beings like you and me, and in need of prayer. 
  • While it may be tempting to not pray for those who do evil and only pray for the victims, they need our prayers too. We must pray for the grace of conversion that their hearts may be softened. After all, we are all human beings in need of God's grace.

Consider this... 
St. Paul says, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." ~ Colossians 1:24

We all share in the sufferings of Christ and have a part in His crucifixion. As we consciously unite ourselves to His suffering and the suffering of others, we also unite ourselves to the gift of the resurrection and new life.

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Day of Prayer for Ukraine - March 18

3/15/2022

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A Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine will be observed on Friday, March 18, 2022 in all parishes in the Diocese of Calgary.
  • Parishes will be offering opportunities for the faithful to pray for peace through Eucharistic liturgies, prayer services, and devotional prayers.
  • The ringing of the noon bells on this day will be prolonged or extended as our call for peace in Ukraine. 

​This is in coordination with all the parishes/churches of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, the Anglican Diocese of Calgary, the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, Anglican Diocese of Athabasca, the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Paul, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

Resources
  • Download Liturgy of the Word (Prayer Service) for Day of Prayer. PDF | MS Word
  • Download graphic/poster for Day of Prayer
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Pray for Ukraine

3/14/2022

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#PrayforUkraine
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​We encourage you and all people of good will to pray for the imminent restoration of peace, dialogue, and human fraternity in Ukraine, in solidarity with the Head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, in unison with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with the people of Ukraine as well as with Canadians of Ukrainian origin and descent. 

  • CCCB Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (Feb 24) EN | FR
  • Major Archbishop Shevchuk (Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) is calling for international solidarity with Ukraine  (Feb 22)
 
Prayer for Ukraine

​God of реасе and justice,
we pray for the реорІе of Ukraine today.
We pray for реасе and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for аІІ those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or реасе,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.
Above аІІ, we pray for аІІ your precious children, at-risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Реасе.
Amen.

  • A Litany for Ukraine
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Mikhail Vrubel. The Virgin and Child. 1884-85. Zinc panel. Church of St. Cyril, Kiev, Ukraine.

To support Ukraine beyond prayers 

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  • Donate through CNEWA
  • Donate through Development and Peace, Caritas Ukraine

Day of Prayer and Fasting for Ukraine

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Pope Francis announced that Ash Wednesday (March 2) will be a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Ukraine. "I encourage believers in a special way to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war,” he said. Read more 
  • Prayer is the real revolution that changes the world because it changes hearts. We have few resources against war, without bearing direct responsibility for them, the devil foments them with hatred, cunning, wickedness. This kind of demon, Jesus says, “never comes out except by prayer and fasting.” (S. Centofanti, Vatican News). 
  • “As believers, we do not lose hope for a glimmer of conscience on the part of those who hold in their hands the fortunes of the world. And we continue to pray and fast — as we shall do this coming Ash Wednesday (March 2) — for peace in Ukraine and in the entire world. (Cardinal Pietro Parolin for Vatican News)” – Full message here
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Calgary Ukrainian Churches find overwhelming support for the people in Ukraine

3/14/2022

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Fr. Michael Bombak at St. Stephen's Church. Photo credit: Mario Toneguzzi.
PictureWelcoming special donations for Ukraine.
Two Ukrainian Catholic Churches in Calgary have joined a worldwide movement to support the devastated people of Ukraine who have suffered from the vicious Russian military invasion of their country.
 
Since the Russian forces started a war in Ukraine, parishioners at St. Stephen Protomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church and The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church have launched several initiatives to help the Ukrainian people through this terrible crisis.
 
Thousands of items have been donated through various efforts and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given.
 
Father Michael Bombak, of St. Stephen, says the response is incredible and he’s been “blown away” by the support.
 
“The first and most important thing we’re doing as a parish community, and Assumption is doing as well, is prayer. That’s number one. This whole thing has coincided at this particular acute area of time with our beginning of the Great and Holy Fast. And so we’re increasing our prayer and fasting usually at this time but we’re also doing it now with a special intention of supporting our brothers and sisters in Ukraine,” says Bombak.
 
“That’s number one what a parish can do and should do. That’s the first and foremost. Prayer and fasting. St. James says you can’t tell your brother that you love him and then not feed him and clothe him and take care of his needs. So we’ve had the parish mobilize in supporting the Eparchial fund - that’s our word for Diocese. All the churches in Alberta are collecting funds through Catholic Near East Welfare Association. That’s a Papal charity and that ensures that all of that humanitarian aid that we’re collecting is going to go to Ukraine and be protected that way.
 
“We’re very grateful for that. We’ve had a generous donor who is matching the funds to $500,000. So we are collecting money for that continually. As well, we are collecting non-perishables, we are collecting various goods, clothing for humanitarian relief. Assumption is joining us as well.”
 
Father Bombak says the church will continue with its Lenten services with special intentions for Ukraine and its people, 

PictureVolunteers worked to provide humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Mary Chudyk, Charity Director at St. Stephen, says all the donated items are being shipped by land or air to Toronto then by air to Warsaw in Poland. Meest, a transportation and delivery company, will drive the items to Ukraine where they will be distributed to people through various accredited institutions.
 
“I’m overwhelmed with the generosity of people and I’m grateful that people want to do something,” she says. “It’s just been fantastic. People have been wonderful offering support, offering encouragement, offering prayers, showing up and just helping us out.”
 
Dave Wandzura, a parishioner at St. Stephen, says he’s very, very sad about what’s happening in Ukraine and the people there don’t deserve this.
 
“They’ve actually gone through so much stress and strife in their life in the last hundred years . . . Right now, we have to send funds to the people who need it most . . . Support in any way. Prayer is one of the big ones and financial support and goods as well.”

​Maria Dwulit, another parishioner at St. Stephen, who has relatives in Ukraine, says what everyone can do for the people of Ukraine is pray.

 
“They just need the power to fight this evil,” she says.
 
Father Bombak says the situation is a complete injustice - absolutely terrible to see the suffering of innocent people.
 
“Your immediate gut reaction is to hate. That doesn’t serve anyone in the long run. It needs to be stopped. Innocent people are dying. Innocent people are suffering greatly. People are being displaced. This is a problem that is going to affect generation after generation,” says Father Bombak.
 
“I was born in this country because of a previous persecution. My grandparents were displaced people themselves. You see that it’s going to have a huge impact inter-generationally. So your immediate gut reaction is anger - this sort of righteous decision that this has to stop. But that can easily turn into something that is a spiritual pitfall and that’s hatred. You have to avoid that at all costs. And yet still work as best as we can to make sure that this ends because it’s wrong.”
 
When talking to children about this horrendous time in human history, Father Bombak says people have to speak the truth in love. Bombak and his wife Kimberly have five children ranging in age from 13 years old to three years old.
 
“You can’t spare them from this. It doesn’t work. They know more stuff than we know in many ways. So you have to be truthful. But you do have to say the whole truth in a way that they’re going to understand and in a loving way,” he says. “There’s feelings of depression, helplessness.
 
“Our kids have voiced the concern of what can we do. That question is echoed not just with kids. We are receiving information through social media and the internet at such a rate that it feels as though we can’t do anything because we’re bombarded by that information so quickly. So my advice and the way I talk to my kids is we have to do what we can do. We’re going to pray for Ukraine right now. We’re going to pray as a family. We’re going to go out and support places that are supporting Ukraine. We can work here in the parish to support. Those are all viable options.”
 
Those wanting to make a financial contribution to the humanitarian efforts by the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton can visit here: https://eeparchy.com/donate/

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Written by Mario Toneguzzi for Faithfully. Mario is a veteran writer living in Calgary with his wife Marlene and their three children. They attend St. Peter's and St. Stephen's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Calgary. Mario was recently named one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the world.  
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40 steps with Jesus

3/10/2022

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Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. Called to not only abstain from luxuries, but to a true inner conversion of heart, Edmonton Catholic Schools invite our families to journey with Christ; to follow his will more faithfully.

Over the next 40 days, Faith Alive website will provide you with opportunities to participate in prayer, little-liturgies, and reflections on weekly Scripture passages, as well as activities that will highlight the lives of saints and our call to fast and to give alms. 
​
Join us this Lenten season as we follow the 40 steps with Jesus. Click on the footsteps each day to find a short action that will help you and your family journey through Lent towards Easter.
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Written by Kathleen Nguyen, Religious Education Services, ECSD. Kathleen Nguyen is currently the Elementary Religious Education Consultant for the Edmonton Catholic School Division. She is the Alberta Representative on the Editorial Board for the new Religious Education Program: Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ. Kathleen lives in Beaumont and is an active member of St. Vital parish.
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Learn & Live with DOCAT

3/9/2022

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Interested in growing spiritually this Lent both in knowledge and in practise? Watch this short video about DOCAT!
  • Download the "DOCAT What to do?" app to study the Catholic Social Doctrine of the Church in a manageable way and put what you have learned into practise.  Get it from Google Play | App Store
  • If you prefer to have a hard copy of the book instead, search DOCAT what to do? in the library or from your favorite bookstore.
Consider this... 

"‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’"
Matthew 22:36-40
​
Love God and love others. Learn and live.
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4 Facts about Fasting

3/9/2022

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Watch this short video on the four facts about fasting by Chris Stefanick. 

Aside from fasting from food and abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the spirit of fasting goes beyond merely depriving ourselves of food. The act of fasting is an act of emptying ourselves in order to make more room for God in our lives. It is an act that tells us that we're okay even when we don't eat as much or when we do not snack at all as we focus our minds and hearts to the Lord.

Eating can often become a mindless activity that fills our boredom. Fasting reminds us that our core belongs to God and that we ought to be detached from whatever distracts us in order to be fully attached to God, to be grounded in Him.

As we fast and abstain from meat, we detach ourselves from our usual comforts and open our minds and hearts to the needs of others, especially to those who are suffering from the ravages of war. We unite our prayers in solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters as we turn our backs on our petty concerns. 

This is the spiritual workout which will help us to become saints... no longer focused on ourselves but on God and with the needs of those who are suffering.

Consider this... This sounds noble... "I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”" (Luke 18:12) but this was the line of the Pharisee who did the right thing but did not have the right heart. 

Let our fasting be one that will change the heart and the mind... may our fasting help to free us as we have been made to be free to honour and worship God.
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Faith Day

3/9/2022

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In March of 2020, our world changed irrevocably with the immediate implementation of lockdowns, churches shuttering their doors and frequent moves to online learning for many students. We knew the pandemic and ensuring restrictions would impact upon our students but to what degree remained to be seen. During the nearly two years of living through a pandemic, students have repeatedly shown us a myriad of reactions and emotions to the ongoing issues and restrictions that have become a daily reality. As a Catholic school community, we have consistently sought to remind students of God’s continuous love for them, and that they play a very real and necessary part in God’s plan of Salvation. Faith and hope in the future are front and centre of our Christian message. Thankfully, this important and timely message was integral to an important day that we planned especially for our middle-year students at Bishop David Motiuk School and delivered virtually on January 27th, as part of our annual Faith Day.
 
This was a day created specifically for our students to connect with God and to find inspiration for building community within our school. We began the day with a simple but profound Liturgy led by Father Paul Kavanagh and Deacon Ryan Sales. This led us into sessions with three guest speakers. Father Leo Patalinghug, a priest and professional chef from Boston, led us on an entertaining but meaningful journey to develop our understanding of Jesus as food for our mind, body, and soul. Deacon Ryan Sales of Edmonton, shared his heartfelt journey to becoming a Deacon and how the journey is just as important as the destination. He reminded students that they are already living God’s plan for them. Finally, we finished the morning off with a video presentation created by Father Rob Galea, an Australian priest and international speaker at youth conferences, who was also a contestant on Australia’s Got Talent. Fr. Rob touched on the pandemic and how technology has been a wonderful way for us to keep in contact with each other but that it cannot replace personal connection and community. All the videos shared were specifically recorded for Bishop David Motiuk's MYP Faith Day, which was such a blessing to our school community. The sessions were directly relevant to and meant for our students during this time of great upheaval.
 
The execution of the day was a collaboration between several of our staff members who have become experts in navigating the challenges presented by the current pandemic restrictions.  Many students shared wonderful reflections on what they heard, saw, and experienced as inspiration as they continued to live by the restrictions of a difficult school year.  Many remarked that it was like the presenters were speaking directly to them and what they are going through.
 
As Catholic educators, we continue to teach through the lens of our faith tradition and our scriptures.  We commit ourselves to “bringing Christ into our classrooms” so that students recognize that all of the facets of life and action are imbued by the presence and compassion of our loving Lord.  Taking a special day each year to remind our students through the wisdom of great speakers, that we are meant for God, is a privileged opportunity to engage in the ongoing mission of evangelization.  Our students are aware that the Lord accompanies them through difficult times, as members of a family, of a larger society, and at school.  They know they are loved by God because they see it in action around them, and they hear about it through events such as our MYP Faith Day.  What a grace it is to be able to cooperate with the Lord in sharing the beautiful message that reminds students that, “I am here with you always.” Our speakers tell us the truth of this message, and demonstrate through their inspirational talks, just where and how the Lord works in the ordinary, and in the extraordinary events such as a pandemic to draw us closer to the life of faith and hope

Written by Sunata Halliday from Edmonton Catholic School District.
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