The last planned decade of your career has a way of feeling both powerful and unfinished at the same time. You've got the wisdom, the passion, the hard-won experience. You work smarter. You finally see the fruits of everything you've poured into your work. The finish line feels close, and honestly, it feels good.
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Then life does what life always does. It changes.

For me, it happened fast. I had responsibilities, a clear direction, a sense of control that felt almost comfortable. I thought I had it figured out. And then, right in the middle of the track, a sinkhole opened up. No plan could correct it. Starting over wasn't a choice; it was the only option.

There was real grief. The kind that doesn't stay in your head. It moves into your chest, into your body, spinning and gaining weight. Losing a plan hurts, even when no one else quite understands why. But underneath the grief was a harder question: What if the future I was holding onto wasn't the one God had in mind?

I kept coming back to something St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote: "He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things."  That cut right through me, because honestly? I'd been trusting in myself; in my plans, my timeline, my version of success.

A Christian in business learns to see crisis differently. The Lumen Institute puts it beautifully: "Every crisis contains a hidden invitation - an opportunity for purification, a call to detach from worldly success, or a chance to exercise heroic virtue" (Lumen Institute Monthly Circle, May 2026).  I want to believe that.  I'm learning to live it.

The turning point came when I stopped making plans without God and started actually surrendering. Not vaguely but concretely, out loud: "Okay, Lord. If this isn't Your way, show me a new path and help me to follow Yours."

That's where devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus went from being a beautiful tradition to being a lifeline.

The Sacred Heart isn't just an image. It represents the whole interior life of Jesus: His love, His virtues, His very Person.  His is a heart that is both overflowing and wounded. That matters deeply when your life feels like it's been turned upside down, because it means you're not being asked to trust a distant, abstract God. You're being invited to trust a Heart that loved completely, was rejected, suffered and kept loving anyway.

Once I understood that, my next step became clear: If I was going to start over and build something new, then prayer had to be the foundation. So, my first act in launching my new business, my new practice, will be to consecrate it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

​I was 18 when God spoke to me. It was early fall, and I was at a retreat centre deep in the woods of central Alberta called Ephphatha House.
 
On the grounds was a large chapel with a massive stained-glass picture of Jesus known as the “Divine Mercy.” It’s a painting of a vision that a young Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska, saw in prayer: an image of Jesus standing in a doorway, with two rays of light emanating from His chest, and an inscription below His feet that reads: “Jesus I trust in you.”
 
His stained-glass eyes would follow me as I walked from one side of the chapel to the other. There was Jesus gazing at me, and here was I, a beggar at his feet, hungover, lonely, and empty.
 
I looked up at this Stained-Glass Gaze of Jesus and felt this sensation of love in a way that I hadn’t encountered before. Then he spoke:
 
“Kevin, I love you. Take up your cross and follow me.”
 
It was in that moment that I knew everything I was looking for was found in Jesus. The desire for belonging, for freedom, peace, joy, happiness … all of it was found in Jesus. I gave Him the only answer I could ever possibly utter: “Yes.”
 
That’s how Jesus transformed my life. Shortly after this event I became filled with a missionary fervour that sought to proclaim His love to the ends of the earth. Now, 30 years later I am married with three children and my wife and I both share this missionary fire.

Three years ago, my wife and I decided to leave full-time employment for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. Our ministry is called Boats on Fire Catholic Ministries, and we seek to abandon all things for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus.
 
The heartbeat and evangelical fire of our ministry is found in peripheries. Whether that be in the slums of Mexico City or the hard-to-reach areas of Canada and even throughout the prairies, God has called our ministry to teach the great story of Jesus and his Church throughout Canada and beyond.
 
One area where we’ve encountered significant fruit is by facilitating simple revival events for parishes. Our goal with these events is to keep them very simple and have three components:

1. A community gathering around a meal (like a potluck or a BBQ), music, or even something as simple as a cup of coffee.
2. I share a simple message about the life-changing love of Jesus.
3. We finish with an opportunity to respond to the message.
   ​

Over the next few weeks, I will be contacting your pastor and your parish renewal team to book one of these events for the summer and into the fall. Together, we will meaningfully engage our brothers and sisters in Christ, see our faith come alive, and watch God transform our communities with His love and power. He’s done that in my life, my family’s life, and I am excited to see Him transform yours.
 
I look forward to being with you this summer!

Written by Kevin Philip, Boats on Fire Ministry

Michelle once asked God to prove He was real. What she did not realize then was that God had already been pursuing her.

​At last month’s Diocesan Renewal Conference "Evangelization at the Heart of Renewal," held Apr 17 and 18 at St. Michael Catholic Community, Michelle responded to the call to share her testimony after hearing Bishop Scott McCaig speak on evangelization and the importance of sharing how God has worked in our lives. 

​Michelle, a parishioner at St. Bonaventure Parish in Calgary, had grown up Catholic. Her family was prayerful, faithful, and active in the life of the Church. But as a child, she struggled to understand why any of it mattered.

“I came from a really good Catholic family, very prayerful and always talked about God,” she recalled. “I think I had a rebellious spirit when I was a kid.”

While her family loved going to Mass and taking part in “all these extra things,” Michelle often found herself asking why.

She had questions about God, the Church, and Jesus, but felt that the answers she received did not fully satisfy her.

“I didn’t understand anything about the Catholic Church,” she said. “And me being a kid, I thought I knew everything.”

Eventually, Michelle drifted from the practice of the faith. She stopped going to church regularly and began living what she described as a secular life. She explored New Age spirituality and considered herself a “spiritual person,” but something was still missing.

“At some point I realized that it was unsatisfying, not really knowing if God was real or not,” she said.

In that uncertainty, Michelle remembers praying honestly: “If you’re real, show me. Prove it to me that you’re real.”

Since Catholicism was all she had ever known, she decided to give the Church one real chance. She began going back to Mass, even if at first it was “a little bit unwillingly.” Then, during the pandemic, a friend invited her to join an online Alpha group.

“I just said yes to an invitation that my friend had given me,” Michelle said.

At the time, she was at one of the lowest points in her life. She had been laid off and felt she had very little left. But in that small online group, she encountered people who spoke to her about Jesus.

“They were talking to me about Jesus, and I really didn’t know who Jesus was,” she said. “I didn’t know if I believed in him or not.”

Then one day, someone in the group told her, “Jesus still heals today.”

Michelle had been living with persistent neck pain for eight years. When the Alpha group asked if they could pray for healing, she agreed.

“Couple days later, I realized that the pain in my neck was gone,” she said.

“That’s when I realized that God has been with me this whole time and God was pursuing me,” she said. “God had answered my request of proving it to me that he was real.”

From that moment, Michelle knew she could not simply return to the way she had been living. Her faith was no longer something inherited from her family or something she had to figure out only from a distance. It had become personal.
“Because I realized that God could see me, I was like, I can never go back to my old life,” she said.

Today, Michelle often thinks of Psalm 139, the psalm of the inescapable God who searches and knows each person completely.

“He searches me, and he knows me,” she said. “And he’s always pursuing me.”

Based on Michelle’s video testimony recorded at the Renewal Conference, Apr 17–18, 2026.  

During the planning stage, the campaign gradually developed a clear identity. The slogan “This Is My Church” was chosen to express personal stewardship and shared responsibility. Dedicated blue envelopes, promotional materials, donation stations, banners, and regular communications helped make the campaign visible throughout the parish.
The original objective was ambitious. Based on giving patterns and historical contributions, it appeared possible to eliminate the debt within approximately five years. Yet even before the campaign officially launched, an unexpected development changed everything.

An anonymous parishioner came forward with an extraordinary offer: every dollar donated toward the debt would be matched, up to $2.6 million. Suddenly, the amount the parish needed to raise was cut in half. What had initially seemed like a five-year journey now appeared achievable in a much shorter time. The anonymous donor proposed a one-year matching campaign, inviting the parish to respond with generosity, confidence and a shared commitment.

The campaign was launched in March 2025, and the first weekend of each month was designated as a Building Fund weekend, with a dedicated collection and campaign activities to promote awareness and encourage participation. Parishioners responded with remarkable generosity. Contributions arrived through many channels, including envelope donations, e-transfers, online giving, securities and shares, pre-authorized giving, Donation Stations with card payment machines, grocery card commissions, fundraising activities, and support from ministries.

Throughout the campaign, numerous fundraising initiatives were organized. These included a religious book sale, the sale of replicas of our parish Marian Grotto, a parish garage sale organized by the CWL and the Knights of Columbus, a Stampede Dinner and Dance, Taste of St. Peter’s, and other community events. While these activities generated financial support, they also served the broader purpose of bringing parishioners together, creating opportunities for fellowship, and helping the parish experience a stronger sense of community.

As the campaign progressed, another extraordinary opportunity emerged. Through the Diocese of Calgary’s Multiply the Hope, a matching initiative to help parishes focus more fully on Renewal, we received an additional $775,000 in matching support toward debt reduction. Combined with the anonymous donor’s commitment, every dollar given in the final stretch of the campaign became four dollars toward debt repayment. Parishioners embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm.

At its best, RCIA is not just a class or a countdown to the Easter Vigil. It is a gradual journey where seekers are welcomed, accompanied, formed in prayer, drawn into parish life, and helped to discern their next step with Christ. Across the Diocese of Calgary, RCIA teams are already helping this happen with generosity and care. The RCIA renewal seeks to strengthen it, so that every parish can offer Christian Initiation with greater clarity, consistency, and care.
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​On February 3, Bishop William T. McGrattan officially announced a multi-year renewal of the ministry of Christian Initiation within the Diocese. The vision he offered for this renewal was drawn from the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35).

​Bishop McGrattan reminded us that just as Christ drew near to the disciples, listened to their experiences, opened the Scriptures, rekindled their hearts, and sent them forth as witnesses of the Resurrection, so too the Church is called to walk with those who are seeking Christ today through the RCIA.

Over the past several months, the Diocese has taken the first important step in living out this vision: listening.

​Through a wide consultation that included feedback from pastors, RCIA coordinators, participants, sponsors, and those recently received into the Church, more than 400 voices have helped form a clearer picture of how RCIA is being lived in our parishes today.

What has emerged is both encouraging and challenging.

Across the Diocese, there is a strong and consistent experience of welcome. Those entering the Church overwhelmingly describe being received with kindness, accompanied with care, and supported in their journey of faith. As one RCIA participant put it, “The RCIA journey has been so much more than a destination; it has been a path paved with love.”

​Many participants also spoke of growing in their trust in God, learning to pray, and discovering what it means to follow Jesus Christ. As one neophyte who was received into the Church last year shared, “My faith has always been there, but this process really helped me to understand Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit in ways that I could not or did not understand previously.”

These strengths show the dedication and generosity of RCIA teams across the Diocese. They also provide a strong foundation for the renewal now underway.

At the same time, the consultation has pointed clearly to areas where the Diocese can better support parishes. At times, the experience can be shaped more by schedules and timelines than by the gradual, personal journey toward faith that the Church envisions.

“The aim of RCIA is to lead people into a lifelong relationship with Christ and His Church,” explained Joseph Palko, Catechetics and Discipleship Coordinator for the Diocese. “This process can take a longer time for some and a shorter time for others. The process must respect this.”

Another important area of renewal is the need to involve sponsors more fully in the faith journey of those they accompany. One sponsor expressed this challenge candidly: “It was a bit unclear to me how I was journeying with ‘my’ catechumen when I felt somewhat removed from the process.”

Additional feedback pointed to the need for greater clarity in how the different stages of initiation are lived, as well as stronger connections between RCIA, parish life, liturgy, and ongoing discipleship.

“All of these insights,” explained Huy Nguyen, Director of Pastoral Ministry, “should be seen as a gift. They reveal a Church that is alive, generous, and already doing much good, and one that is now being invited to grow more fully into its calling.”

As the RCIA renewal now moves into its next phase of discernment, the feedback gathered throughout the listening phase will help guide the development of renewed diocesan norms, pastoral guidelines, and practical resources. The aim is to ensure that each stage of the RCIA journey is lived more faithfully, more consistently, and more fruitfully across our parishes.

​​As this renewal continues, the invitation remains the same for all of us:
​To draw near.
To listen.
To walk together.
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And to trust that, along the way, Christ will reveal Himself.

For more information about the Renewing RCIA initiative, contact the Office of Pastoral Ministry:
- Huy Nguyen, Director of Pastoral Ministry
- Joseph Palko, Catechetics & Discipleship Ministry Coordinator

Photography: Bandi Szakony for the Diocese of Calgary | Easter Vigil 2026 at St. Mary's Cathedral

On the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Bishop William McGrattan reflected on the living presence of the saints and the quiet, faithful role of St. Joseph in God’s plan of salvation.

“The communion of saints… are not historical, but they are present spiritually and active,” he said, reminding the faithful that the saints continue to accompany the Church today. He added that churches named after saints are “not only to be an inspiration, but to be a source of intercession,” especially as the Diocese continues its path of Pastoral Renewal.

Reflecting on St. Joseph, Bishop McGrattan pointed to the breadth of his patronage: the Universal Church, Canada, the poor, workers, refugees, fathers, and those who are dying. “We always pray to St. Joseph for a peaceful and holy death,” he said, noting the continued relevance of this devotion today. 

Turning to the readings, Bishop McGrattan reflected on God’s promise to David as a prefiguration of Joseph’s role.
“We all come from a certain lineage,” he said, pointing to the human dimension of faith rooted in relationships. “That familial relationship is so important… that human dimension that allows God’s grace to work in our lives and in our parishes.”

He noted that in a world marked by division and discord, the Church has a responsibility to witness to unity: “The Church has the important role of being the protector of salvation… allowing the gift of God’s unity to reign in our communities and in our parishes.” This is reflected in St. Joseph, who “built the family and the house of Nazareth, a house in which Christ dwelt for 30 years.”

Though little is recorded in Scripture, Joseph’s role is unmistakable: “It’s not recorded in words, but it is recorded in his actions.”

Faithful, dutiful, and docile

In the Gospel, Joseph faces uncertainty and difficulty, yet responds with openness to God’s will. He “was open and docile to the will of God, even though he didn’t understand what that would entail in terms of the future.”

This trust, Bishop McGrattan noted, is rooted in grace: “Salvation comes through the grace of God.”

Speaking to those involved in Parish Renewal, he acknowledged the challenges many have experienced.
“You… may have possibly been like Saint Joseph at times, faced with adversity, obstacles and even conflicts and misunderstanding.” Yet he encouraged the faithful to continue with trust: “We may not see the completion of the renewal… but that we can have that confidence of trust and docility.”

Like St. Joseph, the faithful are entrusted with a mission: “He was called to this role… of being a protector and a guardian of salvation.” And so too: “You have to be… the protector and guardian and the promoter of the renewal in our diocese.”

The homily concluded with a simple but clear invitation: to imitate St. Joseph’s quiet fidelity. Not dramatic, not visible, but steady and rooted in trust. “Saint Joseph teaches us to be faithful, dutiful, and docile to the will of God.”

As the Church continues its path of Renewal, Bishop McGrattan invited all to turn to St. Joseph, to ask for his intercession and to learn from his example of humble, courageous faith.

Photography: Bandi Szakony for the Diocese of Calgary

Someone very close to me has been away from the Church since we were teenagers, and for many years I have prayed for a return to the healing love the Lord holds in His heart. The two of us never did agree on much, and it has been that way for as long as I can remember. Over the years, we have learned to avoid certain topics to keep the peace, and that has worked because we care about each other very much. 
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We all have people in our lives that we would so dearly love to come home to Jesus and His Church.  For the most part, we are called to pray and fast for them. Because of how close we are to them (and often the baggage that goes with that) it is likely that we are not the ones the Lord will send to share the Good News with them. He will send another. We are called to pray and fast. 
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However, it is also likely that the Lord wishes us to reach someone else’s loved one, someone with whom we are called to share the Gospel.

Written by Ryan Schmidt, Director of Renewal, Diocese of Calgary.

It started with a handshake.

Not a debate. Not an argument. Just an invitation.

On a recent episode of Heroic Hotline, I sat down with longtime friend and ministry leader Richard Beaulieu to follow up on a conversation about what we call “handshake outreach,” the simple, human act of inviting a man into something meaningful.
​
What followed was a story neither of us planned to tell, but one that captured exactly what that outreach can look like when it is patient, relational, and rooted in trust. 

A tap on the shoulder

Richard spoke about a friend he had known for years, a self-described atheist. “He would say he was an atheist,” Richard said, “but he would also tell these childhood stories.”

The stories always returned to one memory in particular, his grandfather, a Russian Orthodox priest, with long vestments and a long gray beard. “He would talk about it like it was nonsense,” Richard said. “But there was something endearing about the way he told it.”

The friend also spoke of a fleeting moment with Jesus as a young man, an experience that came and went, and later joining a church baseball team. Once the season ended, so did church.

Richard did not push his friend. He did not argue theology. He simply listened.

And then came the tap. 

“I just thought, maybe if he walked into a Catholic church again,” Richard said, “he might feel that love he sensed when he was a kid.” So he bought him a ticket.
​
An invitation to come and see

The invitation was to the God Squad Men’s Conference. “Come,” Richard told him. “What’s the worst that can happen? You get a free lunch.”

The conference that year carried a weighty theme, Memento Mori, remember your death. Speakers included Father Raymond de Souza and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, whose invitation to “come home to the Church” left a deep impression.

“For him,” Richard said, “it was a mountaintop experience.” 

“All of a sudden, the fog breaks, and there they are.”

​Walking with him after the high

Richard knew the experience could not stand alone. “You don’t leave a man floundering after that,” he said. “You journey with him.”

So the next invitation came, an Alpha program at their parish. Dinner included. No pressure. Still, something had shifted.  

The man was not ready to be prayed over. He was not ready for RCIA. But he was hungry. “I want more,” he told Richard.

He began attending RCIA just to explore. Then Mass. Then blessings during Communion. “A year earlier, he said, ‘No, it wouldn’t feel right,’” Richard said. “Now he was going up.”

Eventually, he said the words Richard had been waiting for, “I want to receive.”

At 70 years old, after a long RCIA process that included canonical complications, the man was baptized at the Easter Vigil on April 19, 2025.

“He used to call himself ‘one of the others,’” Richard said, referencing the labourers in the vineyard who arrive late but receive the same wage.

“He felt guilty about that,” Richard said. “Until he began to understand God’s unfathomable mercy.”

Memento Mori

That joy was soon tested.

In August, the man was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. By October 18, he had passed away. “He was part of the Church militant for six months,” Richard said.

His wife later told Richard that without faith, he would have been an angry patient, frustrated with doctors, with her, and with the world. “Instead,” Richard said, “he had peace. All the time.” A supernatural peace. “The only kind that can be inspired by faith.”

Richard connected the story to an account from the French Revolution, of religious sisters who went to their deaths with peace and forgiveness. “Only a faith inspired by courage could allow them to die that way,” he said.

The same courage, he believed, marked his friend’s final months. 

“Memento mori,” Richard added. “Remember your death.”

One more soul

The message Richard left with listeners was simple. “I always pray for one more soul,” he said. “Just one more than yesterday.”  

“Who’s the man in your life you need to tap on the shoulder? Buy him a coffee. Invite him. Walk with him.”

Submitted by Sean Lynn, God Squad / Heroic Men Canada.

Written by Ryan Schmidt, Director of Renewal. Save the date: April 17-18 - Renewal Conference on Missionary Discipleship - with Bishop Scott McCaig - St. Michael's, Calgary. Details coming soon!

The second thing I would like to share is that Ron Huntley, who is currently journeying with our Parish Renewal Team leaders, has recently released a new book titled Road to Renewal: How Faith, Vision, and Courage Are Fuelling a Church Comeback. The book gathers the voices of twelve pastors and lay leaders who have led their parishes along the path of renewal. What emerges is not a model or a program, but honest voices from the field, people who are learning as they go and sharing what has helped them continue moving forward. The book is available on Amazon for those who are interested.

​As we begin this new year, I am thankful for the full year of the Jubilee of Hope we have just lived. My hope is that the grace we received continues to shape our daily faith and deepen the renewal already taking root across our diocese.

Written by Ryan Schmidt, Director of Renewal, Diocese of Calgary.

At the start of the 2025–2026 school year, the Diocese of Calgary launched the Feed the Hungry School Outreach Program, a new initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity among students and families within its Catholic school communities. Through targeted funding, the program supports practical, school-based responses that ensure children are nourished, supported, and better able to learn.

As part of this initiative, Calgary Catholic School District received $60,000 to support a designated school in providing a four-day-per-week lunch program. This funding ensures consistent access to nutritious meals for students who might otherwise arrive at school hungry, helping to remove a significant barrier to learning and overall well-being.

Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools received $20,000 to support its Grocery Cards to Support Families in Need program. This initiative assists families experiencing food insecurity by providing grocery gift cards, enabling them to purchase food and essential nutritional items with dignity and flexibility.

Medicine Hat Catholic Schools received $120,000 to establish and deliver a school-based food program at St. Mary’s School in Medicine Hat. This investment strengthens the school’s capacity to respond directly to student needs through a structured and sustainable approach to daily nutrition.

Reflecting on the impact of this support, Shari Gustafson, Principal of St. Mary’s School in Okotoks, shared: “Children are not truly available for learning when their tummies are hungry. It is heartbreaking to see nearly empty lunch kits in a world of abundance.”

She emphasized that the program provides not only food assistance but also dignity, stability, and hope for families in need.

Gustafson further described the response within her school community: “There were hugs, hearts overwhelmed, and it was clear that they knew they were loved, they mattered, and they belonged.”

She added that the support has made “a tangible and meaningful difference” and stands as a living witness to the Gospel call: “For I was hungry and you gave me food” (Matthew 25:35).

The Feed the Hungry School Outreach Program is available to all five Catholic school districts within the Diocese of Calgary through an application process. The initiative reflects the Diocese’s ongoing commitment to caring for the most vulnerable and to forming school communities rooted in compassion, justice, and faith in action. 
www.feedthehungrycalgary.ca

On Saturday, December 6th, along with parishes across the Diocese, almost 100 people gathered in the Hall of Holy Family Parish in Medicine Hat to partake in the live-streamed Advent Renewal Retreat. Following opening remarks by Bishop McGrattan and a Lectio Divina led by Ryan Schmidt, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast provided information and reflections focused on the Retreat theme of Advent Listening: How the Word Forms Hearts for Discipleship and Mission.

Over the course of this 2.5-hour Retreat, and following the ‘Conversation in the Spirit’ approach, there were 2 opportunities for small group discussions. As part of hosting at Holy Family Parish, our Parish Renewal Team and Parish Pastoral Council provided each small group (6 or less people per group) with ‘worksheets’ to capture summary comments of:

1. How does God call us and what holds us back from giving ourselves fully to following Christ and to becoming a disciple?
2. How can I share my joy/faith with one specific person?
3. What struck you from this Retreat?
   
   

The following information provides a summary of themes that emerged from our small group discussions. While each parish in the Diocese will have their own unique perspectives, we suspect that there are also many commonalities with these themes from our parish.

Trust and Surrender

• ​Embrace God’s call with openness, even when it feels uncertain or overwhelming.
• Let go of fear, pride, and the need for control, trusting that God equips us for the mission.
• Practice daily “yeses” to God in small acts of faith and service.
  
  

Strengthen Discipleship

• Invest in faith education, especially for children and youth, to build confidence in living as disciples.
• Encourage growth through prayer, scripture, and silence, recognizing that faith deepens over time.
• Accept personal limitations and hardships as part of the journey, relying on grace rather than perfection.
  
  

Witness Through Joy

• Cultivate joy in Christ personally, then share it authentically with others.
• Evangelize through family connections, everyday conversations, and simple acts of kindness.
• Use forgiveness, patience, and prayer as foundations for outreach, especially when addressing wounds.
  
  

Build a Welcoming Community

• Create a parish environment that is open, inviting, and creative in its outreach.
• Encourage communal responsibility for evangelization—everyone has a role in planting seeds of faith.
• Celebrate sacraments as gateways to deeper discipleship and renewal.

Overall, those attending the Retreat felt that discipleship is not about perfection but about openness to God’s call, lived daily through trust, joy, and community. By saying “yes” together, the parish can grow as a living witness of Christ’s love. There was specific appreciation for the ‘Conversation in the Spirit’ approach to small group discussions, noting that it provided a calming, spiritual ‘space’ for each person to speak and be heard, lending to more fulsome conversations.

We certainly felt that this was a great Advent Renewal Retreat, in format, presentation, engagement, learning, and fellowship. We hosted a soup-and-sandwich buffet following the retreat to allow for further reflection, sharing, and fellowship, and that was great, too! The event will be spiritually helpful for each person who attended, and the information gleaned will help inform our parish renewal goals and actions.

A big Thank You to all who organized, presented, attended, participated, and served for this Advent Renewal Retreat. God is Great!!

During our Pilgrimage of Hope, Leisha and I escaped the Florentine rain to pray a rosary in Santa Maria del Fiore. We had completed the first decade when a pilgrim group from Texas entered and prepared to offer a Mass in English, an unanticipated blessing!

​In his homily, Rev. Jean-Oscar Nlandu said: “The journey of faith goes through struggle. What is hope? Hope is a refusal to let suffering have the last word.”
 
My faith life flashed before my eyes.
 
When I was 16, I immaturely understood faith as a series of impossible propositions, like the Apostle’s Creed we had made to start the rosary. We believe in a Creator of Heaven and Earth who sent His only Son to be immaculately conceived, crucified, and buried. The Son descended into Hell and rose on the third day. We also believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life in a world to come. At 16, faith was a checklist, and I didn’t believe in everything on the list, so I didn’t have faith.
 
I then left my Father’s house and ventured into the wilderness. Years later, when I found myself eating pig slop and became curious about returning to my Father’s house, faith became a precious commodity. My main concern became figuring out what spiritual payment I needed to make to acquire this thing called faith?
 
Then, during marriage preparation 18 years ago, Deacon Botari said to me, “I don’t know any priest or deacon who doesn’t have a problem with aspects of the faith; that’s where they concentrate their prayer and contemplation.”
 
Precisely. Because the journey of faith goes through struggle. 
 
Here’s how I now understand that journey. Faith and hope work together like two wings lifting the soul toward divine union. Faith is propelled by God's revealed truths—the eternal reality whispered through Scripture. Faith soars beyond reason’s doubts to pierce the veil of the unseen, but (to mix metaphors) this is a turbulent flight, evidenced in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” Faith does not eliminate doubt but places trust in the story of salvation already revealed — the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the sacraments that continue to pulse with Christ's Blood. Faith enables me to struggle with the divine mysteries I don’t and will never fully understand. Prayer and contemplation are the tools of struggle that allow me to embrace the divine IS. I do not need to delay my trust. I can completely trust now, even if I don’t completely get it. 
 
If faith is the intellect’s assent to revelation, then hope is its active will. Hope is the irresistible longing that lifts me from the now to the not yet. Faith accepts truth, and hope yearns for the fullness of truth in the heavenly homeland amid and beyond our earthly trials. Hope, according to the Catechism, “sustains him during times of abandonment” (1818). When God feels absent, when the effort doesn’t seem worthwhile, hope continues to pull me toward the narrow gate. Hope resides, not in wishful thinking, but in actions that align with faith’s acceptance of the promise.
 
Here’s how this plays out in discipleship: I find the resurrection of Jesus easy to believe. My faith comes from core facts about Jesus that almost all scholars agree on. Jesus was crucified, and His tomb was found empty. His followers believed they had experiences with Christ after his death, proven by their willingness to suffer death for their belief that they had met the risen Christ. Not one of Jesus’s early disciples ever recanted, and as Beckwith suggests in Return to Rome, Jesus’s resurrection is the ONLY explanation that makes sense for the saints’ behaviour and the endurance of the persecuted church.
 
Jesus’s resurrection revealed the reasonable basis for faith when Doubting Thomas placed his fingers in Jesus’s wounds. After Jesus ascended, however, and the Apostles were alone on their pilgrim journeys in hostile lands, hope gave St. Bartholomew the willingness to be skinned alive, and St. Simon the Zealot the courage to be sawed in half. And just like the irony of exalting the cross, Michelangelo depicts a glorious Bartholomew carrying his skin like a tattered old costume, and a muscular St. Simon is the patron saint of lumberjacks. That’s what hope looks like; winking at the suffering involved in discipleship because suffering is not the last word.
 
I have struggled in my diaconal journey, but hope has kept my pilgrim feet keep walking. As the pilgrim’s scallop shell models, our individual journeys will eventually converge at that place where we are completely united to God and each other in love. No matter how far I walk, I always arrive at the beginning, and in the beginning was the Word. 

Written by Jason Openo for Faithfully. Photos courtesy of Jason Openo.

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, St. Peter’s Catholic Church welcomed the Diocese of Calgary’s second Renewal Gathering for Lay Associations. Co-chaired by Ryan Schmidt and Janet Lymer, the gathering brought together 96 registered participants representing 41 lay associations. The room carried a simple message: the Holy Spirit has already planted a wide range of charisms in our Diocese, and renewal will grow faster when we stop working in isolation.

The day began where renewal must begin: at Mass. From there, we moved into a steady rhythm of testimony and table dialogue, starting with the Diocese’s Year 3 Renewal video, “Lighting the Fire of Renewal.” Its message: You are called, You matter, You belong set the tone for everything that followed: encounter is personal, witness is public, and both require conversion.

Lay associations are not add-ons to parish life. They are the baptized living the Church’s mission through discipleship, service, and evangelization across southern Alberta. Gathering together made this visible, as diverse charisms met in prayer and dialogue, revealing how our gifts are meant to complement one another.
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Through testimony and Conversations in the Spirit, participants listened deeply and discerned where the Lord may be leading next.

Carla Hamarsnes: Renewal begins on our knees
Carla Hamarsnes (Apostoli Viae) offered a candid testimony of returning to the Church after leaving as a young adult. She described the intensity of her search, daily Mass, reading, online formation, events, devotions, and a strong sacramental life, yet still feeling that deep interior transformation remained out of reach.

The turning point came through daily mental prayer, setting aside intentional time and space for Christ. Her witness highlighted a clear message: parish renewal is sustained not by programs, but by personal, faithful prayer.

Walking forward together

If there was one clear takeaway from the day, it was this: renewal will not be “delivered” to us. We will live it into being: through prayer, through encounter, and through witness.

Lay associations are already carrying much of this work across the Diocese. The invitation now is to strengthen our collaboration: share resources, cross-promote events, partner with parishes, and keep returning to the Eucharist and to personal prayer as the source of fruitfulness.
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As we continue walking this renewal journey, called, loved, and sent, may our many charisms become one clear witness: Jesus Christ is alive, and His Church is being renewed.

Rerum Novarum Partners has secured a license to bring this film to Calgary as a community screening. Tickets will be approximately $7, and if the event generates any profit, half will be donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society in support of those in need.

Screening Details
Triumph of the Heart - Introduction and Viewing
Sat, Jan 10, 2026, at 7 pm | Cardel Theatre – Quarry Park
180 Quarry Park Blvd, Calgary
​To get tickets, email [email protected]

This screening is an invitation to come together as a community to reflect on faith, courage, and the enduring power of love. Parish groups, families, and individuals are warmly encouraged to attend and invite others.

The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a Eucharistic Association of women who feel called to strengthen the church by ensuring that a Holy Hour is prayed each day of the week throughout the year for the sole intentions of a specific priest in their Parish.

The Anchoress of our Apostolate is charged with assigning each sister one Holy Hour to pray alone before the Blessed Sacrament for a pastor chosen for us.  Although we pray alone, we gather once a year, close to the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to celebrate with our pastors and sisters and to renew our commitment to the Apostolate.
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On June 28 this year, the Apostolate at St. Luke’s Parish held our third annual Potluck Lunch at the church. Our Pastors, Fr. Fernando Genogaling, Fr. Derek Remus, and Fr. Barnabas Esegine, joined us and offered thanks for our prayers for their intentions. We were grateful for the opportunity to “break bread” together, and judging by the volume of chatter in the room, it was clear that our pastors and all of the sisters of the Apostolate enjoyed each other’s company.

To date, the Seven Sisters Apostolate at St. Luke’s Parish has 42 sisters who pray every week for the priests who shepherd us and for Bishop Rev. William McGrattan.  Although our commitment to pray for our pastors is for one year, the members of the apostolate may choose to recommit for a further year, as many of our sisters have done.

At St. Albert the Great Parish in Calgary, Homecoming is a beloved fall tradition, a joyful time when parishioners come together to reconnect, welcome new faces, and celebrate all that God is doing in their midst. This year, however, Homecoming 2025 carried a special focus: Parish Renewal.
 
Our renewal journey has reminded us that renewal is not only something happening within our parish; it begins in each of us. As we come home to our parish family, we are also called to come home to Christ through prayer and personal conversion. That message of “Welcome Home” was visible everywhere throughout the celebration, from the joyful greetings at our doors to the heartfelt words shared from the ambo.
 
Homecoming began with Name Tag Weekend, a parish tradition, where everyone attending Mass was invited to wear a name tag, from work, school, or even a creative homemade one designed by the children. It was a fun and meaningful way to get to know one another better and to recognize that each name represents a unique story of faith that makes our parish family stronger. At the same time, the parish hall came alive with the Ministry Fair, where parishioners explored the many ways to serve, grow, and share their gifts. It was a beautiful expression of how renewal becomes visible through active discipleship and stewardship.
 
The following weekend featured our Volunteer Appreciation Tailgate BBQ a spirited, faith-filled celebration where volunteers and their families came together as one “home team.” Wearing the colors of their favorite sports teams, parishioners shared food, laughter, and fellowship in gratitude for all who serve so generously throughout the year.

Homecoming 2025 concluded with the joyful unveiling of our Parish Renewal Plan, marking a milestone moment for the community. After two years of listening, prayer, and discernment, the Parish Renewal Team presented the plan and invited all parishioners to join this new chapter of faith and mission. Each person received a printed copy of the plan, along with a comfort cross and prayer card featuring the parish’s new Mission Statement.

​Simple reminders that parish renewal begins with personal renewal, and personal renewal begins with prayer. Following each Mass, the parish gathered for fellowship and refreshments graciously hosted by Couples for Christ, while viewing the newly released Diocesan Renewal video, connecting St. Albert the Great’s journey to the wider renewal movement across the Diocese.
 
Homecoming 2025 was more than an event…it was a living expression of renewal and welcome. As we move forward, may every heart at St. Albert the Great continue to be renewed in faith, hope, and love, so that together we may build up the Church and make our parish a true spiritual home for all.
 
Welcome Home, to renewal at St. Albert the Great!

Written by St. Albert the Great's Parish Renewal Team.

In early 2024, I was invited to join the Parish Renewal Team, tasked with translating the diocesan call into concrete parish initiatives. Around the same time, through my work with God Squad and the Heroic Men's Lay Association, I interviewed Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers about his new book Building a Civilization of Love: A Catholic Response to Racism. His reflections on the universality of the Church and how every communion line mirrors the rich diversity of God’s people led me to consider how our own parish might better reflect its members.

In his book, Deacon Harold challenges us to make the parish’s liturgical and communal life a true “mirror of the faithful.” Soon after, the Knights of Columbus hosted a men’s pizza night, providing a relaxed space for conversation and listening. Seizing the opportunity, I shared Deacon Harold’s challenge. I suggested that, instead of our traditional salmon dinner, we host an African-inspired barbecue, especially given the growing number of Nigerian families in our parish. David Asekomhe, who was present that evening, warmly embraced the idea and promised to explore it further.

When our new pastor, Fr. Fabio de Souza, arrived, the spirit of Renewal gained new energy. David, still eager to bring the idea to life, gathered a planning team that included Emmanuel Edem and Emmanuel Udoh. Together they developed A Taste of St. Peter’s, a multicultural feast inviting every parishioner to bring a dish that represented their heritage.

Seeing other men step into leadership roles was deeply inspiring. Their enthusiasm sparked a renewed sense of excitement throughout the parish community.

Held on October 4, the event coincided with the launch of the third year of diocesan renewal. The celebration featured:

• Representation from thirty countries, each contributing several traditional dishes.
• Nearly two hundred attendees, a beautiful testament to the parish’s engagement and diversity.
  
  

The evening became a vivid portrait of the Church’s universality, with flavours, languages, and faces from around the world gathered around one table, living out the very spirit of “You belong.”

I pray that this Renewal continues to deepen our sense of belonging and reflect the universal nature of the Church in a world often torn by division. It fills me with hope to see volunteers stepping forward, each one helping to build up the Kingdom by doing the will of God.

May the spark lit by A Taste of St. Peter’s carry us onward, strengthening our community, enriching our worship, and bearing witness to the love that unites all God’s children in a Church of encounter.

This weekend marked the beginning of the third year of our Diocesan Renewal… You are Called, You Matter, and You Belong. It also coincided with a Worship Conference for liturgical ministry coordinators entitled The Church at Worship, held at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Mary’s High School.
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Those who attended the two-day gathering participated in a solemn Evening Prayer, the celebration of the Eucharist, three conferences delivered by Fr. Frank Scalia of the Archdiocese of Montreal, and several practical workshops, all designed to renew the heart of liturgical ministry. The Conference focused on deepening our understanding of the Church’s liturgical worship through prayer and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. General liturgical principles were introduced to guide our celebrations and to reflect on the various forms of liturgical leadership that serve the Body of Christ in our parishes.

On Friday evening, participants gathered at the Cathedral for a chanted Evening Prayer that began with the Service of Light, or lucernarium. In the silence of the darkened church, the assembly gathered in procession with the Easter Candle, as the proclamation of light was chanted, “The Light of Christ – Thanks be to God.” The sharing of the flame among the assembly became a powerful symbol of our faith in Christ’s resurrection and triumph over death.
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Fr. Scalia’s reflections were both rich and instructive. On Friday evening he offered a foundational vision of liturgical worship, emphasizing that the Church’s liturgy is a spiritual and sacramental encounter with the living Lord in His Paschal Mystery. He reminded participants that the rites and prayers of the Church, handed down through the generations, have become the language of our Faith, enabling us to know it, celebrate it, and live it. Lex orandi: the way we pray together informs, lex credendi: the way we understand and believe the Faith, and leads to lex vivendi: the way we live as baptized Christians and missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.

On Saturday, Fr. Scalia outlined the principles of liturgy that form the foundation of renewal, drawing upon the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. He emphasized that the Eucharist is the sacramental reality that makes present the one and same sacrifice of Christ offered for our salvation. To celebrate this sacred mystery with dignity, devotion, and adoration, several principles must guide us:

• Noble Simplicity: A celebration that removes what is non-essential and redundant, incorporating instead noble solemnity, beauty, and prayerful devotion.
• Sacramental Realism: A Spirit-filled expression of faith that signifies a real and living encounter with Christ, avoiding empty ritual or routine.
• Source and Summit: The sacred liturgy, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, is both the source of the Church’s life and the goal toward which it journeys.
• Full, Conscious, and Active Participation: As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to enter into the mystery of the Eucharist with heart, mind, soul, and body, that we may be nourished as branches on the vine and bear much fruit.

In his final conference, Fr. Scalia reflected on the meaning of liturgical leadership, drawing from several Gospel passages where Christ reveals the deeper truth of Christian leadership, a love expressed in service that seeks the good of others. He reminded participants that every liturgical role, whether visible or unseen, must always be exercised as a form of service for the good of God’s People gathered in worship.

This spirit of service prepared participants for the Saturday afternoon workshops, which focused on the specific ministries that contribute to the beauty and reverence of our liturgical celebrations: altar servers, sacristans, lectors, choir members, hospitality ministers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, liturgical environment, and liturgical committees. These sessions were led by lay representatives, permanent deacons, and priests of our Diocese, fostering dialogue, learning, and collaboration… a true sign of the fruits of our ongoing Renewal.
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As we continue to implement parish pastoral plans and sustain our Diocesan Renewal, we must always return to the primacy of grace received through the Church’s liturgical life, in prayer, the Sacraments, and most especially in the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Christian life.

Photography: Bandi Szakony, for the Diocese of Calgary

Like all the parishes in the Diocese of Calgary, our parish, Saint Martha's, has been diligently working on the Parish Renewal over the past few years. We continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, and it has been a wonderful journey meeting with one another under the spiritual guidance and prayers of our pastor, Father William Monis, and our Deacon Bruce Barnett. We tried to follow the guidelines and timing set out by the diocese and were happy to submit our results on schedule.

We didn't expect to win the draw for the barbecue, as many other hardworking parishes were competing for the same prize. We were very surprised on June 14 when our name was drawn from the hat. Many people got together to form a committee to organize this event. The response from the volunteers was tremendous! The barbecue took place on Friday, August 29, which was perfect timing. Bishop McGrattan was to be in Lethbridge in the morning for the opening school Mass for the Holy Spirit School Division staff.

We began with a beautiful Holy Mass at 5 pm with all our Lethbridge priests concelebrating. Not only was the Mass so beautiful, but Bishop McGrattan also used this time to install our new pastor, Father Valentine Suum, who joined us on August 1.

It was a very meaningful celebration, and all present appreciated the opportunity to be part of the installation. Our parish is comprised of many cultures, and one of the elders from the Blackfoot Confederacy, Martin Eagle Child, requested that his group make a presentation to our bishop and our two new priests at the conclusion of Mass.

After the final blessing, the First Nations group, in their traditional outfits, processed into the church to the sound of drumming to present a blanket to each of Bishop William, Father Valentine, and Father Luke. It was very powerful and all were moved.

Written by Teresa Spearman, St. Martha's Parish Renewal Team in Lethbridge. Photography courtesy of Matthew Visuals & Saint Martha's Parish.

​You’re invited, whether for a day, a weekend, or the whole week!
Join young adults and all pilgrims for this Marian Week in the heart of the Rockies. As part of our diocesan journey in the Jubilee Year of Hope, it’s a sacred time of prayer, pilgrimage, and celebration, and a special opportunity to receive plenary indulgences during this grace-filled year. 

Location: The Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies (2 Silvertip Trail, Canmore)
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Friday, Aug 15  

• 8:30 am - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mass with Fr. Pilmaiken at the Shrine Church, Canmore. Followed by:
  •  9 am - Adoration following Mass (overnight) until 10:45 am (Reposition) on Sat, Aug 16. 
    • 3 pm - Novena to Mary begins
    • 6 pm - Taize Prayer during Adoration 

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Saturday, Aug 16 

• 11 am - Blessing of Pilgrims and Mass
• 4 pm - Confession 
• 5 pm - Anticipated Sunday Mass
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Sunday, Aug 17 

• ​9:30 am, 11:30 am - Sunday Mass, followed by Confession, 
• ​5 pm - Sunday Mass, at Shrine Church, Canmore

Saturday, August 23 at the Shrine Church

• 11 am - Mass with Bishop McGrattan (Jubilee of Legion of Mary)
• 2 pm - Bike Pilgrimage (Banff to Canmore)
  A 27 km scenic bike pilgrimage on Sat, Aug 23, 2025, from St. Mary’s in Banff to the Shrine Church in Canmore via the Legacy Trail, with rest stops, blessings, and arrival in time for the 5 pm Queenship of Mary Mass. To join, register here
  
• 4 pm - Confession
• 5 pm - Sunday Mass
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Sunday, Aug 24 at the Shrine Church

• 9:30 am and 11:30 am - Sunday Mass 
• 5 pm - Mass​

A special gathering of young people from Canada took place in Rome on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, at the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, during the Jubilee of Youth (28 July to 3 August 2025), part of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year celebrations.

The Jubilee of Youth brought together thousands of young people from around the world for a week of prayer, catechesis, cultural exchange, and joyful witness. This international pilgrimage invited young people to deepen their relationship with Christ and to be living signs of hope and communion in today’s world.

An estimated 1,000 young people from across Canada made the pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. Pilgrims represented dioceses, eparchies, national groups, movements, and associations from across the country.

A delegation of young adults from the Diocese of Calgary, led by Fr. Troy Nguyen, Fr. Cristino Bouvette, and Fr. Santiago Torres, joined the global pilgrims in Rome as part of their Jubilee Year Pilgrimage. Their journey, organized through St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy (SFXC), has taken them through sacred sites across Italy, including Montecassino, Sepino, Assisi, Padua, Turin, Florence, and Orvieto, before reaching Rome for the Papal Mass with Pope Leo XIV at Tor Vergata. 

Adapted from CCCB. Photos courtesy of diocesan young adults SFXC pilgrims.