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Journey through Lent 2023

2/21/2023

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This year’s Lenten reflections from CCCB are delivered by His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, and the Most Reverend Brian Joseph Dunn, Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth. 
  • ​Watch weekly videos here

As we begin our journey of Lent, may we all walk the path of renewal that is ahead of us. May each and every one of us be blessed with the grace to grow closer to Christ with renewed purpose and spiritual insight as we journey through these 40 days.

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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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Surviving the desert of our lives

2/25/2022

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At any age, often without warning, we might suddenly find ourselves in the ‘desert’, a state of extreme emotional and/or physical hardship. I was in this place following the death of my twin sister. I don’t remember the details; it was simply a long, weary, grayness. I wandered through my life on autopilot, scarcely caring about my responsibilities. If I appeared to be coping it was a mirage because my heart felt arid, my feelings numbed and the future a bleak continuation of present misery. I could not find the energy to pray. Indeed, I didn’t recognize God at all in this experience. For years I was angry with God for perceived injury and persistent inattention.

Desert times often accompany chronic illness or the death of a loved one. Sometimes we have lost a job or an important relationship. Each of these circumstances cause great (and some may say necessary), grief. If we’re lucky, we will grieve in a supportive environment and eventually find our way out. However sometimes, through no fault of our own, we become stuck in a place of lifelessness and pain – a desert of the soul. By the grace of God, I eventually emerged from my ‘desert’. Life still has sorrows in every season but now I don’t feel as stranded as I did before. Curiously, what helped me is learning more about Nature’s deserts.
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In nature the desert is not lifeless. It’s filled with plants and animals which have adapted to the harsh conditions. These remarkable creations not only survive but thrive. I’m particularly struck by the coping strategies of plants. Here are some of those methods which might translate into spiritual strategies to survive our own desert times.
Vast root systems

Mesquite plants can have tap roots 80-100 feet long, reaching deep into the soil to find water. Cactuses have shallow but extensive root mats which extend far beyond their stems so that they can absorb every drop of rain when it falls.

By going deep and wide in our prayer life, we will be more likely to receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit. So when our daily Scripture reading becomes rote, keep reading. When our prayers become stale, keep praying. When we don’t feel the least bit holy, keep coming for the Eucharist. Staying accessible to God increases the likelihood that eventually we’ll feel his presence.

Small leaf surfaces
Cacti have leaves so narrow that they resemble spines. This is to reduce the loss of water to the environment.

When we’re hurting it’s OK to withdraw from the world. Well-meant comments can feel overwhelming so reduce contacts and commitments if you need to. But don’t isolate entirely. Keeping even a sporadic connection to our community or parish ensures the fraternity we may not even realize we need.

Liquid reserves
Succulents have evolved to store water in their leaves, stems and even in tubers underground.

In our driest times we might find hidden reserves in places we never expected. I discovered peace at silent retreats which I’d previously avoided. A woman I know found meaning in writing a book about her husband’s terminal illness.

Occasional exuberance
Ephemerals are short-lived desert plants which bloom and die in one season leaving hardy seeds which can lie dormant for years until it rains again.

Even in the midst of sadness, there can be moments of surprising joy. I can recall a milestone birthday, filled with light-hearted teasing, shortly after my sister died. I was glad to be alive that day but so sad afterwards that my twin couldn’t celebrate her milestone too. Nevertheless, the memory of having been happy gave me hope that I could feel that way again.

Desert times are difficult and nobody chooses them willingly. But if they come we need not fear them. We can trust God to help us survive until we experience the joy He has in store for us, beyond the desert.

The upcoming season of Lent mirrors the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert. Traditionally this is a time of sacrifice and increased prayer. It is an opportunity to feel some discomfort in solidarity with Jesus who spent his desert time with no sustenance and being harassed by the devil. Most of us will not feel that level of deprivation at Lent but we can remember and pray for those who do.

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Written by Alice Matisz for Faithfully. ​Alice lives in Lethbridge with her husband Don. She is a member of All Saints Parish where she volunteers to bring the Eucharist to a long term care home (pre-Covid). She enjoys reading, writing, baking and painting. ​
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Return to me with all your heart

2/11/2021

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Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing. 
Return to the Lord, your God, 
for he is gracious and merciful, 
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, 
​and relents from punishing. (Joel 2: 12-13)
​

Each year at the Mass for Ash Wednesday, which begins the Season of Lent, we hear this reading from the Prophet Joel.  Despite not knowing many specific details about the life and preaching of this prophet, he does leave us with a challenging call each year to a spirit of repentance, conversion and hope during this time of Lent.

Joel’s prophetic message begins with a lament over the destruction of the land (Joel 1:2-12). The prophet presents many powerful images of the dire situation in which his community has found itself.  The land has been invaded, laid waste, “widowed,” without produce for food or sacrifice and all joy has slowly withered from the hearts of the people.

The reality is that Israel has failed to heed the warnings of earlier prophets, and Joel's appeal for repentance, and his message of further destruction, is one more sign of the nation’s continued rebellion against the God of their ancestors, the refusal to heed His word and to obey the covenantal promises received at Mount Sinai. Now, the entire people of Israel are being called to fast, and to cry out to the Lord their God, in sincere repentance of heart.  In truth, he is offering his people words of encouragement and the strength to endure. Through all of this, Joel is confident that the Lord will hear their cries and rescue his people. It is the faithful constancy of God with his promise of life and protection for his people that must be the foundation of their hope.

The continued grace and mercy of God is heard in the divine appeal, to the people of Judah to repent of their sins and return to the Lord – “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping and mourning.”  These are the external demonstrations of an inner repentance of heart.   “Rend your hearts and not your clothing.”  The meaning of this passage is renewed and lived each Lent, for we are reminded that it is never too late to turn away from sin; to return to the Lord with full heart, and to receive forgiveness and salvation.  

The Prophet Joel’s proclamation initiates this call of repentance for each of us during Lent. It calls us to forty days of a faithful preparation for the joyous celebration of Easter – an Easter that will once again celebrate the hope of the Resurrection even in the midst of a threatening pandemic and its devastating effects on our lives.   Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we can experience this inner conversion of heart that will open our lives to receive the in-breaking reign of God’s grace and the hope revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Such hope and conversion is at the heart of Pope Francis’ Lenten message this year:
​First, we are called to witness to the great hope we hold in our faith.  ​In these times of trouble, when everything seems fragile and uncertain, it may appear challenging to speak of hope. Yet Lent is precisely the season of hope, when we turn back to God. (Lenten Message 2021, Pope Francis)  
Paul prays in the Letter to the Ephesians for this hope.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, (Ephesians 1:17)
Second, we are to be inspired this Lent to speak a kind word of hope to one another. 
In Lent, may we be increasingly concerned with “speaking words of comfort, strength, consolation and encouragement, and not words that demean, sadden, anger or show scorn” (Fratelli Tutti, 223). In order to give hope to others, it is sometimes enough simply to be kind, to be “willing to set everything else aside in order to show interest, to give the gift of a smile, to speak a word of encouragement, to listen amid general indifference” (ibid., 224).  (Lenten Message 2021, Pope Francis)
It may seem to many that we have been living an extended period of Lent since the onset of this pandemic and its health precautions and restrictions. Perhaps the Lord is inviting us to truly know the enduring truth of the Prophet Joel’s words this Lent “return to me with all your heart”. This Lent, is an opportunity to receive God’s grace without any reserve or restriction, and a time of great hope that inspires us in humility to seek reparation, forgiveness - and in the words of the psalmist, to experience a clean heart.  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
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The first video will be shared on Ash Wednesday | Visit catholicyyc.ca and diocesan social media (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram).
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Written by Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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February 10, 2021
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