Bishop Frederick B. Henry
A native of London, Ontario, Bishop Frederick Bernard Henry was born on April 11, 1943; the eldest of five sons in the family of Leo and Noreen Henry. After finishing high school, he entered St. Peter’s Seminary, London. He became a priest on May 25, 1968. In 1971, he earned a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, and in 1973 a Licentiate in Theology with a Specialization in Fundamental Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. He was an Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at St. Peter’s Seminary from 1973 - 1986 and Dean of Theology and Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary from 1981 - 1986. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of London and Titular Bishop of Carinola and ordained to the Episcopate on June 24, 1986. He was installed as the fourth Bishop of Thunder Bay on May 11, 1995 and installed as the seventh Bishop of Calgary on March 19, 1998. Bishop Henry’s episcopal motto, ‘Dabo Vobis Pastores’ (I will give you pastors) is taken from Jeremiah 3:15, which reads ‘I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding’. This was the motto of the seminary in London, ON where Bishop Henry taught before coming to Calgary. As Bishop, he was passionate about addressing abortion, euthanasia, the disregard of the poor, and the education of young people. He was motivated by his love for the priesthood and by the growing population of Calgary. On January 4, 2017, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Henry, and has appointed the Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of the Diocese of Peterborough, as his successor. 

Rev. John Maes  
Fr. John Maes was born in Antwerp, Belgium in January of 1943. He went to Edmonton seminary and was ordained a priest on May 18th of 1968 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Calgary by Bishop Harrington. He served as the Assistant Pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Calgary in 1968, followed by Canadian Martyrs in 1971. He went on to serve as Pastor of a number of parishes in the Diocese of Calgary, starting with Holy Cross Parish in Fort Macleod (1973-77), St. Andrew in Vulcan (1977-80), St. Augustine in Taber (1980-84), St. Basil in Lethbridge (1984-89) and St Thomas More in Calgary (1989-95). His last pastoral assignment was also his longest. He served as the Pastor of St. Patrick’s Church, Medicine Hat from August 1998 until his retirement on July 31, 2010. 

Rev. Jaroslaw Dziuba
Father Jaroslaw ‘Yarek’ Dziuba was born in 1965 in Chrzanow, Poland. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1993 for the Society of the Divine Saviour, an order which emphasizes the universality of the Christian vocation, animating lay people to live their baptismal commitment and to be witnesses of faith in their private and social life. Within the Diocese of Calgary, he has served as a pastor at St. James, Calgary (2007-12) and St. James, Okotoks (2012-16). Father Yarek is presently the pastor of St Joseph, Calgary where he has served since August 2016 and he is also the Dean of Northwest Calgary. Among many things, Fr. Yarek is known for his theological and deep understanding of the Divine Mercy.

Rev. Paul Raj
Born in 1965 in Palayamkottai, Tirnelveli, Fr. Paul is seventh of eight children. He has five brothers and two sisters. He decided to join the Diocesan seminary after grade 10 but his parish priest then vocation director looked at him and said that he was too young. After Grade 12, he joined the Pallottines and became a priest after 11 years of studies. He was ordained on December 19, 1993 by Most Rev. Irudaya Raj, D.D., Bishop of Palayamkottai Diocese, Tamil, Nadu, South India. He completed his Masters in Pastoral Theology in the Philippines in 2001-2004. He then returned to India to continue serving the church as a pastor and shared his knowledge by guest teaching in the seminary for the next 5 years and offering Pastoral Theology classes to the lay people. His ministry highlights thus far as Pallottine Priest has the Church he built and a 27 class room high school. His first assignment in the Diocese of Calgary was at St. Cecilia in 2014 as an assistant pastor. Father Paul is presently the pastor of St. Cecilia in Calgary and has been since December 2014. He is also the Vice Superior of the Pallotines in Canada. 

Rev. Albert Sayson
Father Albert Sayson was born in 1962 in Naga City, Philippines. He studied in a Catholic school run by Chinese priests. This school provided students a venue to grow in faith and to be involved in church work as altar servers or members of the school choir. He served as an altar boy right through his high school years and continued to work as a convent boy during his first year of university. After almost a year, he was encouraged by Fr. Joseph Chen to attend a vocation campaign search. Out of curiosity he participated in the gathering and following that began to pray for guidance to take the entrance examination to enter in the seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 8, 1993 in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines. He is presently serving on his first assignment in the Diocese of Calgary as the associate pastor of Holy Family, Medicine Hat where he has been since December 2014. In his own words he said “I am so grateful to all the people who have been supportive and prayed for me. It is in the Mass that I encounter Jesus who has guided me and who I have been celebrating Mass for 25 years for. I am still encountering Jesus with all the people who attend as I celebrate the Eucharist. It was at the Chrism Mass that I renewed my promise to serve God’s people and his church as I celebrate my 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I am so grateful to celebrate my anniversary with other jubilarians in the diocese of Calgary.”

Rev. Jacek Walkiewicz
Father Jacek Walkiewicz was born in 1967. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1993. One of the main motivations of his priesthood is his love for serving and being with his people. He belongs to the religious order Society of Christ. He was sent to North American province in 1995, not long after his ordination. He was in Chicago for 4 years working as the pastor for Holy Trinity Church. He then served at Sacred Heart, Guelph, Ontario, which was his longest tenure so far. After fourteen years, he served at St Cyril and Methodius in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for two years. In 2015, his Superior Provincial asked him to go to Canada. He was assigned as the pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Calgary. 

God yearns for his people to be fully alive - How do we get to that state? 

​1. At Peace with Oneself

There are Christians who have been led to believe that you should love your neighbor and hate yourself. The challenge of Jesus' spirituality is to "love your neighbor as yourself," which clearly presupposes that you already love yourself. This may appear to be natural and spontaneous but the fact is that many people do not love themselves -  hate themselves -  who they are, what they are, and where they are – some would prefer to be somebody else, doing something else, living somewhere else, perhaps with a body that is different from the one they have. 

Self-love is not the same as selfishness or self-centeredness. We all too frequently are divided against ourselves. We need to become whole. We all have issues to deal with and yet we know that we are lovable. God loves each of us unconditionally.

The challenge is to learn to love ourselves, unconditionally - accepting ourselves as we are, no matter what we have done, even  in our perhaps, shady past. We have to learn to forgive ourselves. We have to learn to accept our weaknesses, our limitations, and our shame. And  humbly embrace the truth about oneself. 

2. Loving One's Body

Truly, a considerable number of people have difficulty with the aspect of “ loving their bodies”. There are several possible reasons for this - an aging body, a body that is tired, sickly, and wracked with pain, or an “ ugly” body, that is to say, a body that does not conform to the latest standards of beauty and attractiveness. So, one comes to perceive their body as a burden they have to carry. There are those who were brought up to treat their bodies as a handicap that they will be released from when they die.

You can begin to actually hate your body maybe because it is not what you want it to be, you can get angry and impatient with it. You can also become afraid of your body because of its seemingly uncontrollable appetites and desires - including our sexual desires. We all have to find a way of happily owning our gender, our sexual orientation, and our desires. For some that can be a long and painful struggle.

Pleasure and pain are an inevitable part of bodily life - both are a gift from God. Pleasure in itself is a gift from God to be savored and treasured. It becomes a problem only when the ego co-opts it for selfish purposes, when it becomes self-indulgent. Pain is also inevitable and a gift from God - e.g. chest pains - what does it signify and what to do about it;  nevertheless, we will want to avoid it however we should not make the mistake of thinking that happiness means all pleasure and no pain. Happiness is the ability to handle my pain, whatever it may turn out to be and to postpone or give up pleasure whenever necessary.
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Loneliness is a psychic pain -  a disconnect somewhere: transcendental, cultural, social, personal. This is “a flashing red light” . Figure out where the disconnect is and take action or something worse may happen. I need to become aware of myself as one whole organic being and not an amalgam of separate parts. Nor is it just a matter of accepting my body as it is. If my love of myself includes my body, then I need to embrace my body, care for it, and treat it well. That will mean looking after my health, eating properly, getting enough exercise and rest. 

3. Loving Our True Self and Embracing Uniqueness

Ever wonder about the popularity of the Prayer of St. Francis? Why is that? Because it's so deep and profound. 

• The two sections of the prayer both begin with powerful words, “Lord” and “Divine Master”. We are servants who are called to empty ourselves, surrender and serve God, God’s will and whomever God sends into our lives. The first section is dedicated to peace, the Easter gift of the Risen Christ. We pray to be instruments of this peace. Yet,  Easter peace goes far beyond clenched fists, angry words and the absence of war. It’s fullness can only blossom when we have confronted the very roots of conflict and dissension: hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness and sadness - all experience that suggest a life centred upon “me”. And so, following in the footprints of the Lord, we pray to sow the six seeds of Easter peace: love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy.
• The second half of the prayer reminds us that the ego needs to be overcome. “Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.” Easter peace is a product of priorities and preferences arranged in consideration of “thee”, not “me”. Indeed, it is about giving, not receiving; it is about pardoning, not being pardoned.
• The prayer comes full circle and concludes the way it begins, with a reference to the resurrection “For it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” the resurrection and its Easter peace are the beginning of Christian spirituality as well as the finish line. 

Remember that each of us is unique. There has never been, and there never will be, an individual person like me — or like you. We are not superior or inferior to others, neither better nor worse. But we are different — and unique. What matters is not whether my role is small or large or how much time it will require or whether I will play it as a prominent leader or as a starving child. My role and my contribution whatever they may turn out to be, are unique. Don't try to play another role or someone else's role. Each of us has a unique role to play in the mysterious unfolding of the universe. 

~From: Bishop Emeritus Frederick Henry at the Diocesan Seniors Luncheon, June 18, 2018 - at St. Joseph's Church, Calgary, AB.