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Making an Informed, Moral Choice

5/17/2023

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In preparation for the upcoming provincial election, the Catholic Bishops of Alberta wish to encourage all members of the Church to engage in the electoral process. By means of this letter, we offer to our Catholic faithful a reminder of important principles and concerns, which stem from the social doctrine of the Church, to guide the discernment of choices that accord with the Gospel’s vision for the right ordering of society.

  • We are one human family. Yet, in recent years especially, division has in many ways marred our common life. The Word of God calls us to see the other as our neighbour and pursue initiatives that promote justice among peoples. We look to our political representatives to work with us all as peacemakers in our communities, province, and nation.

  • Seeking together the common good. Elected officials ensure the common good when they seek to create a human environment that enables citizens to exercise their rights and fulfill their corresponding duties. The Church, through Catholic education and healthcare, her parishes, and many charitable and social service works, seeks to promote the flourishing of a just and human society. Let us continue to advocate for the support of our Catholic institutions in their service of the common good.

  • Freedom of conscience and religion. Conscience recognizes the obligation of every individual to seek the truth and live in accordance with it. Freedom of religion embraces not only the act of worship but also public witness to the truth as expressed in the tenets of faith. Those elected to govern must respect these liberties and uphold them.

  • The dignity and sanctity of every human life. We expect elected officials to recognize and respect human dignity by defending and promoting inalienable rights. First among these, and foundational to all others, is the right to life from conception to natural death.

  • Concern for poor and vulnerable persons. The litmus test for society’s moral health is the attention and care given to the needy among us. How do those seeking political office plan to address the serious matter of homelessness, for example, or what priority will be given to welcoming immigrants and refugees? How shall we offer care and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges or living with terminal and/or debilitating illnesses?

  • Walking with the Indigenous Peoples. During his visit to Alberta in 2022, Pope Francis apologized for harms of the past, advocated for the rights of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples of this land, welcomed the wisdom of their traditions, and praised the beauty of their cultures. This election campaign period presents an opportunity to encourage those running for political office to join the walk with Indigenous Peoples along the pathway of truth, healing, justice, reconciliation, and hope.

  • Care for God’s creation. Stewardship of our common home is a constitutive element of the Christian faith. The protection of both people and planet carries ethical demands that cannot be ignored. We are called to engage in dialogue with holders of political office on this important issue, and work with them to care for the world, which God has entrusted to us.

As Catholics, we have a moral obligation to be involved in the democratic process for the good of the human community. The considerations offered above can help each of us make voting choices that accord with our Catholic identity and moral values.

Please join with us in prayer for those elected to public office. They are assuming a heavy responsibility, often at great personal sacrifice. May they be granted the strength and wisdom to govern in accord with the precept of charity in service of the life and well-being of everyone.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Catholic Bishops of Alberta
Most Reverend Richard W. Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton
Most Reverend William McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
Most Reverend Gary Franken, Bishop of St. Paul
Most Reverend Gerard Pettipas CSsR, Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan
Most Reverend David Motiuk, Bishop of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Edmonton

  • Download Letter in PDF
  • Go To Catholic Conscience to compare party platforms
  • Listen to Archbishop Smith’s podcast on How to Vote As a Catholic
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2023 Daily Prayers for Families #NFLW

5/7/2023

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Let us spend the National Week of Family and Life (NFLW) 2023 united in prayer, reflection, and action, demonstrating our active support for family and life. Indeed, families are “guardians of life” when we love one another within our families and in wider society when we show kindness toward and care for the vulnerable and marginalized.
Note: Day 1 can begin anytime! We want to ensure everybody has the opportunity to join in and take part in this wonderful experience. Don't worry if you missed the start of NFLW, you can join in and start participating in the daily prayers and activities from any day.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

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Day 1 
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Prayer Intention: For single parents | 
God of love and tenderness, we pray for single parents, that you may be their guide, their protector, and their safe refuge. Grant them the grace to provide for the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of their children. In your loving mercy comfort all single parents in times of need and bring healing to their unique suffering. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Daily Activity for families
Single parents can often struggle with feeling isolated or marginalized. If you know someone who is a single parent in your community or church, consider extending yourself to them and their children. You can reach out to them to introduce yourself and get to know them. Other ideas could be dropping off a meal, offering babysitting for an hour, or inviting them over for dinner.

In the parish community
In your parish community, is there an opportunity to establish a network of single parents and their children with others in similar situations? Monthly prayer events or online scripture studies can be a good way to bring single parents together with each other, as well as other families.

Today’s prayer intention and family activity was developed in collaboration with Momentum, a ministry supporting Catholic single mothers. 
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Day 2 
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Prayer Intention: For those living with mental health challenges, including mental illnesses | Loving Jesus, you walk with us along the valleys and peaks of life. Be near to those living with mental health challenges, including mental illnesses. May they hear the still, small voice of calm whisper through the silence,“You are loved. You are not alone.” Strengthen and sustain caregivers and others who accompany those living with mental health challenges, including mental illnesses. May the joy of your Resurrection offer lasting hope and healing, as we await the coming of your kingdom where you live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Daily Activity for families
As a family, take time to check in on your individual mental health and share it with each other while practicing active listening. If you were to describe how you are feeling as a colour, what would it be and why? Recognizing that it’s okay not to be okay, are you experiencing a season of flourishing or of languishing? Can you care for your mental health together today? Perhaps go for a walk, have a kitchen dance party, make a visit to a Eucharistic chapel, bake your favourite muffins, or take a holy nap!

In the parish community
In your parish community, is there an opportunity to organize an outreach program or event to promote the wellbeing of every person? Wellbeing is about supporting the mental, physical, and spiritual health of persons and
families. What are some creative ways your parish community can promote wellbeing? Some examples could include a time of Eucharistic Adoration followed by a time of hospitality and fellowship. For an example ministry, see more information below about Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. 
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Today’s prayer intention and family activity was developed
in collaboration with Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries,
a ministry equipping the church to support mental health and
wellbeing. 
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Day 3

Prayer Intention: For marriage accompaniment and enrichment | Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of my spouse and for the gift of each one of our children. You know our hearts and our needs. You know we desire to live faithfully our promises to you and to each other. We oftentimes find ourselves hurting each other and creating wounds in each other’s heart that we never wanted to cause. We recognize the gaps in our family caused by selfishness that have made us live distantly from you and each other. We want to invite you to fill our hearts with your presence and make us a family united in you. Inspired by the example of the Holy Family may our family always be a living gospel, giving witness to your love in our world. Amen.
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In the parish community
In your parish community, is there  an opportunity to connect with couples preparing for marriage with couples who have been married for a number of years? What can the parish community facilitate to celebrate and recognize couples who have been married one year, or two years? An example is to host a special Mass for couples celebrating one year of marriage alongside mile-stone anniversaries like 10, 25, or 35 years of marriage. Host a special reception following Mass!
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Today’s prayer intention and family activity was developed in collaboration with Witness to Love, a Catholic marriage mentoring and preparation program.
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Day 4

Prayer Intention: For persons with disabilities and their families | Father in heaven, you created us in your divine image. May every person living with a disability experience true belonging in a loving community. Guide us to pursue our call to work for justice and fullness of life for all persons with disabilities. Graciously help us to open new and creative spaces to invite all persons to participate meaningfully in parish and community life. Help us to contribute to the Church and, together, be a sign of the unity of the Body of Christ. Amen. 
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Daily Activity for families
On 3 December 2022, in his message for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Pope Francis spoke about a “magisterium of fragility ... a charism by which you—dear sisters and brothers with disabilities—can enrich the Church. Your presence ‘may help transform the actual situations in which we live, making them more human and more welcoming. Without vulnerability, without limits, without obstacles to overcome, there would be no true humanity.’” 

As a family, watch together the 4-minute video below. You will get to know a priest from Australia who was born legally blind and is a witness to a joyful faith lived within human fragility and limits. “We” not “they,” disability in the life of the Church www.bit.ly/IamChurch​
Discussion Questions for Families
  • What surprised you about Fr. Justin Glyn, SJ?
  • In your own life, do you live with certain limitations or vulnerabilities? How does your faith help you with these experiences?
  • After hearing Fr. Justin’s story, do you have any ideas about how to open creative spaces to promote the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in your faith community?
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In the Parish Community
In your parish community, can you identify ways to open creative spaces for persons with disabilities to foster a sense of belonging for everyone? For some practical ideas in your parish, explore “Beyond the Ramp: A Parish Guide to Welcoming Persons with Disabilities”, written by Connie Price.

Additional Resources
  1. David Rizzo, Faith, Family and Children with Special Needs
  2. Megan Gannon, Special Saints for Special People: Stories of Saints with Disabilities
  3. For Catechists, teachers, parents, families: Loyola Press Resources for Special Needs Ministry: Special Needs | Loyola Press
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Day 5

Prayer Intention: For an increase of good palliative care and end-of-life care | Compassionate and healing God, We pray for all those who are sick and those nearing the end of this earthly life. Draw near to them and extend your consoling presence. Bless them with family and friends to care for and accompany them, skilled caregivers to ease their suffering and lessen their burden, and volunteers to lend a listening ear and steady presence. May your loving embrace be a light to their lives. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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Daily Activity for families
Start a conversation in your family about what’s most important to you at the end of life. Health care and end-of-life planning conversations are a powerful entryway to connect meaningfully about life and death. Note: This activity is most appropriate between young adults, parents and grandparents; however, mature teenagers may also find these types of conversations helpful.
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In the parish community
In your parish community, have you launched the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' Horizons of Hope: A Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care? The open access program includes a facilitator’s guide and four modules that are easy to follow and offer high-quality medical and theological information on palliative care. It is so important to talk about end-of-life are today—don’t delay in opening these conversations in your parish community.
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Day 6 

Prayer Intention: Offering compassion for those grieving the loss of little ones | 
O loving God, out of the depths, we cry to you. Your Spirit intercedes for us even when we do not know how to pray. Come near to those who mourn the loss of a preborn infant or child, for you know our hearts and share our tears especially in times of grief and sorrow. Guide us with your grace to recognize you are always with us, even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Almighty God, who knew us and formed us in the womb, we ask that you enfold every grieving heart and every child in heaven into your tender loving care; by your Spirit, we ask for your kindness and grace. Amen.

Daily Activityfor the family
Create a ‘Rooted in Love’ Memory Garden Start with talking about how each family member feels about having a memory garden to honour their sibling. Young children can help plan and draw what it might look like. Choose a special tree and plant it together as a family and create a garden so everyone can contribute and participate.

You can symbolize the family unit with pots or other objects such as DIY stepping stones for each family member. Hummingbird feeders and wooden hand-painted bird feeders can attract feathered friends to visit. Be creative and decorate pots, stones etc. with pens or paint. Use ribbons to represent memories, laminate drawings or pictures and hang them off branches.

Make it your own! You may wish to include a statue of the Holy Family and/or design a Rosary garden using painted rocks. Add a prayer bench and table to read, journal or meditate with a candle. It can be healing to sit around a firepit and pray together.

Here are ideas on how families can decorate the tree together; 
  • Advent | Jesse Tree Symbols and/or a numbered bag for each day of Advent with a surprise such as mini pieces to create a small nativity scene to display under the tree
  • Christmas | Have children create their own decorations using clear ornaments and add mini outdoor lights
  • Valentine’s Day | Hang hearts and notes of love and gratitude for family members to find
  • Lent/Easter | Use Easter eggs with scripture verses inside for each day of Lent, have an Easter egg hunt
  • Birthdays | Add streamers, have a picnic in the yard that includes birthday cake  

Additionally, the same plant/tree can also be sent to extended family members so they can also be part of honouring the lost child. Flower seeds can also be sent to those who are farther away. It's a beautiful way to remember loved ones and also create a new life and memories together. How meaningful would it be to exchange pictures of the memory gardens each Christmas? 
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In the Parish Community
In your parish community, can you find ways to gently raise awareness and support for those grieving the loss of preborn and born children?

​Sometimes the best people to lead these outreach programs and initiatives are those who have also experienced the grief of losing a child. Consider working closely with these parents and families and seeking guidance from them in your pastoral approaches and ideas.  

Today’s prayer intention and family activity was developed in collaboration with Elizabeth Ministry BC, which offers faith-based, peer support after loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth, in infancy and toddlerhood. Visit Elizabeth Ministry BC’s website here: elizabethministrybc.ca
Source: National Life & Family Week Daily Prayers & Activities, CCCB, 2023
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In Mary's loving presence

6/22/2022

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 An inspiring grotto housing the statue of Mary seems only fitting for the backyard of Elizabeth House, a transitional housing program supported by the Diocese which welcomes pregnant and parenting women who need a safe place to live.
 
Mother Mary is symbolic of womanhood and motherhood and Elizabeth House staff are hopeful that the resilient women who access the house and services provided there will find the grotto to be a place of healing and hope as embodied in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
 
Dave Curry, who built the grotto with the help of Peter Dugandzic, shared that the project was meaningful to him because the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe holds pro-life significance. He spoke about the hard work of constructing the beautiful brick grotto in the summer heat last year and how it was recently completed.
 
Dave said that it was “beautiful doing something for Elizabeth House and for Mary”. Dave is a member of the Knights of Columbus Don Bosco Council at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church and built the grotto with the help and support from the Knights of Columbus.
 
Elizabeth House has capacity to house seven women and their babies. This program offers resources, support, and a safe place for women to start their motherhood journey. Elizabeth House states that through their program courageous mothers are empowered to work towards a transition to independent living as well as pursue the education or job skills training necessary to help set the foundation for a bright future.
 
Marin Lepp, an Elizabeth House staff, said the grotto and statue speak to the “the incredible support and spiritual foundation that this place has for all of the women who we welcome from every background, every walk of life. This represents strength in womanhood and in motherhood and that looks so different for all of our ladies based on their circumstances.”
 
Marin called the the grotto a grounding place, and a guide in Elizabeth House’s approach to reconciliation for Indigenous peoples. She reflected that at the centre of the work is “motherhood, womanhood and the strength around that.”
 
The special garden area where Our Lady of Guadalupe has taken up residence was blessed recently by Bishop William McGrattan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary.
 
“I think the legacy of Elizabeth House is something that we’ve received from the religious and I think it’s something that allows us to witness to and continue the sanctity of human life and to know that we’re helping families, especially women who want to make this choice. It’s counter-cultural and I think the Church needs to be present and allow them to go forward with this particular support that they need,” said Bishop McGrattan. 
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Bishop McGrattan emphasized the importance of making sure that Elizabeth House continues. He stated that the program has important donors and volunteer associations who value and support the work of Elizabeth House and stated that this work is “an important commitment as well. Just the experience of them being here supporting these young women and their children is something. They know they’re living their faith.”
 
Bishop McGrattan also reflected on the significance of Mary as a symbol of grace, joy, and hope for all. He stated that “First of all, she is Christ’s mother. The mother of the visible and the image of the invisible God. But she is also the image and the model of the Church and she is an exemplar. In Mary, the Church joyously contemplates the image of all that the Church itself desires and hopes wholly to be. The Church recognizes in Mary the model of the path and the practice it must follow to reach complete union with Christ.”
 
Bishop McGrattan hoped that when people from Elizabeth House are outside in the backyard the grotto the statue of Mary will catch their eye and that  “they might be drawn into a moment of reflection, a moment of prayer. And that’s what images and statues are for. They draw our attention, they focus our thoughts and our sentiments. Often we formulate the words of prayer. This is how I think it will be an important statue here in this backyard of Elizabeth House,” he said.
 
“We know that those who come here in this yard and are able to pray, and contemplate, will ponder as Mary did in the silence of her heart the truth and the gift of human life and the gift and choice that they’ve made. We pray and hope that this will be a time and a moment where they see the hand of God through our Blessed Mother that they have made a choice for life and that we are supporting them.”


Written by Mario Toneguzzi & Elizabeth House Staff for Faithfully. Photos courtesy of Marin Lepp. 
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An Easter Message from Bishop McGrattan

4/18/2022

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Each year the celebration of Easter takes us beyond the Cross of Good Friday to the joy and hope that comes from knowing that the Risen Lord is truly present in the world and in the lives of believers. For Mary Magdalene and the other women, Peter and the beloved disciple, the experience of the empty tomb would soon be transformed into that of encountering the risen Christ.

The gospels each follow a similar pattern for those who would come to believe. Initially scripture tells us that they did not recognize him. This was to signify for each of them the need to let go of their knowing him in the flesh, of not finding the body in the tomb. A necessary step of becoming detached from recognizing him in his earthly body, in order that they would become attached to him in new ways and know him in his resurrected and glorified body which was no longer bound by time or space. This believing community of disciples became the first witnesses to know that God’s love and presence in and through Christ has the power to transform our lives, to move us beyond the experiences of the empty tomb to the hope of our Easter belief!

The stark images of those caught up in the current tragedy of war throughout the world were reminders to us this Good Friday of Jesus' passion, the carrying of the cross, the suffering and death he endured. His acceptance of the Father’s will would ultimately be the source of new life, a hope that is found in the resurrection. God moves us in faith to act with the same love that our Lord offers for the entire world. It is a love that restores dignity for those who have been exiled from their homes, transforming strangers into neighbours, and calling us to respond with compassion and care to those who are suffering and vulnerable.

Jesus revealed himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in the midst of their doubt and despair. At first the disciples were prevented from recognizing him until he began to share with them his presence in the living Word of scripture and then in the sacramental sign of his presence “in the breaking of the bread” – the Eucharist. He also commissioned Mary as the “apostle (the one sent) to the apostles”, to bring this good news of the resurrection to the world. In a similar way each Easter celebration invites us to come and see, to encounter like the two disciples the presence of the resurrected Lord in Word and Sacrament and then like Mary to go and proclaim this mystery which God has accomplished through Christ. 

To enter into mystery means the ability to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us (cf. 1 Kings 19:12).  Like Mary we need humility to enter into this mystery and to receive through the Holy Spirit the whispering of the revealed truth that our search for life, goodness, beauty and love is fully revealed in the risen Christ. May our commitment to this sacred mystery be revealed in the witness which we give in the promoting of the dignity of each human person in our country of Canada. 

A blessed Easter Season to you and your family.

​Sincerely yours in Christ,

+ William T. McGrattan
Bishop of Calgary

April 17, 2022
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Choosing life is possible

3/9/2021

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My path to participating in the 40 Days for Life (40 DFL) Prayer Vigil was a winding one. I was a child of the 60’s and 70’s and was fully indoctrinated into the culture of socially progressive values. By the time I had graduated from University, I had embraced the feminist movement. I had grown up in a Catholic family, but we were not practicing our faith, so I did not have any foundation in the teachings of our Church. It was easy for me to accept the values of feminism. I believed strongly in the right of a woman to choose to abort if she wanted to.

I met my husband after graduating. He was a practicing Catholic and was strongly pro-life. My husband’s faith grew on me because he was so faithful to the teachings of the Church. By God’s grace, I came to believe in and practice the Catholic faith that I had never known as a young woman.

During each of my three pregnancies, I was in awe of my baby growing within me, and I was amazed at the birth of each of my children. So perfect and tiny and soft and beautiful. Each one a miracle. My heart awoke to the thought that abortion was the wrongful taking of another human’s life.

One day as I was leaving church, I saw a table with 40 DFL paraphernalia on it and sitting behind it was a bright, articulate woman that I knew through my work. I was surprised to see her, and she told me that she was on the Calgary organizing team for 40 DFL. She said that my parish did not have a 40 DFL representative and asked me if I would take on that position. Suddenly, I was forced to consider what I thought about abortion. I recalled the feminist slogan, “My body, my choice”. I knew that there was more than one body in a pregnant woman. Each of my babies had their own DNA separate from mine. That slogan no longer persuaded me. The baby had no choice.

I began to study the issue. I was convinced by embryology that a fetus is a human being from the moment of conception. Human beings deserve human rights including the right to life. We don’t kill toddlers because they are small, dependent, or less developed than older children, so why do we kill defenseless babies in the womb? The answer is because it’s legal and they’re inconvenient. I learned that in Canada over 100,000 babies are aborted each year; that a baby may be aborted at any age and for any reason. This shocked me.

Most women abort because the pregnancy is unplanned, and they feel like they have no other choice. Yet, in truth, a mother always has the choice to carry the baby to term and parent the baby or place the baby for adoption. There are many supports for women experiencing unplanned pregnancy, and women need to be shown that choosing life is possible and that there is assistance available to them. 

I became our parish representative on 40DFL. We stand near the Kensington abortion facility during our twice yearly 40-day campaigns and pray and fast for an end to abortion, for mothers to choose life for their babies, for the abortion workers, and for the community’s heart to be open to the truth of the value of life.

Do we make a difference? Last fall, during the 40-day campaign, a young mother with her child alongside approached one of our volunteers, named Mary, who was standing in prayer near the abortion facility with her two teenage daughters. The young mother’s child had a coloured drawing in her hand and she handed it to Mary. The mother thanked Mary for being there and told her that before her child was born, she was considering abortion, but that the presence of people near the facility praying persuaded her not to abort her baby. Her baby was now about 6 years old and was the child who had handed Mary the drawing. It is anecdotes like this that assure us that our prayers and presence there are never wasted.  


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​Written by Karen Bout for Faithfully.​ Karen is a wife and mother and has been married to Andy for 33 years. Karen and Andy are parishioners of St. Michael’s parish in Calgary. They have 3 children aged 25, 28, and 31. Karen is retired and enjoys spending time with her husband and family and friends, volunteering at her church, in pastoral care, and in her community, and she is an avid bird watcher and mediocre golfer.

Photos courtesy of Karen. 
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For more info re: 40 Days for Life, click here
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40 Days for Life

2/1/2021

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40 Days for Life is an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and peaceful vigils outside of abortion clinics. The spring campaign is from Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 to Mar. 28, 2021. 
 
Here are some ways your community can be involved for the protection of life, to pray for the aborted babies, their mothers, fathers, families, those experiencing unexpected pregnancies, and for staff and physicians working in abortion clinics.
  • Offer Mass
  • Choose a day in the week to pray the Rosary for these intentions
  • Choose a day to fast
  • Choose a day to pray before The Blessed Sacrament
  • Share the pro-life message via parish communication methods - homilies, video clips, online church bulletins, announcements, etc. 
  • Choose a day to pray outside of the Kensington Clinic by signing up here (details below)
  • View "Unplanned" and other movies, documentaries and informative and inspirational videos concerning abortion
  • Read books that have a strong pro-life message (see suggestions below)
  • Visit www.40DaysforLife.com
    • Sign up and listen to their free podcasts
    • Sign up to receive weekly prayers/devotions via email
    • Read the 40 Days for Life blog
  • Study the Church's teachings on Abortion in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2270-2275
  • Helpful tool: Pre and Post Pregnancy Resources Sheet - to help know where you may refer those who need these resources.

Consider praying outside the abortion clinic…
Praying outside the abortion clinic is one of the pillars of the campaign. It is a peaceful and educational presence. Those who are called to stand witness send a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality of abortion. It also serves as a call to repentance for those who work at the abortion center and those who patronize the facility. May you and your parish intentionally decide to dedicate a day to praying outside the clinic.

Praying at The Kensington Clinic (Address: 2431 5th ave. NW, Calgary) - from 7am to 6pm,  7 days a week
  • 40 Days for Life complies with all applicable laws and has the same expectations of all participants praying outside of the clinic
  • www.40daysforlife.com/local-campaigns/calgary/  contains the Code of Conduct and a map of the vigil location with instructions
  • Due to COVID-19, the Alberta government currently has in place province wide public health measures (subject to change by the start of, and throughout the campaign) 
  • Attendees should always remain distanced from one another and follow all public health measures.
 
40 Days for Life Resources
  • https://www.40daysforlife.com/resources-devotionals.aspx
  • https://www.endthekilling.ca/classroom/
  • https://www.40daysforlife.com/resources-devotionals.aspx
 
Suggested books & videos
  • Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions by Randy Alcorn
  • Abortion and the Art of Communicating Truth by Stephanie Gray Connors
  • Stand for Life by Scott Klusendorf and John Ensor
  • This is When We Begin To Fight by Steve Karlen
  • To the Heart of the Matter by Shawn D. Carney
  • The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell their Stories
  • “Unplanned” DVD by Abby Johnson
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Peace in the parks

1/15/2020

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“Pilgrimage, Sanctuary and Peace in the Parks”: A research snapshot and public talk on parks and nature at the end of life.

We all feel it – whether looking outside, in a field, at a beach, or on a mountain – nature gives us perspective about life and death. There is growing evidence of how natural environments impact our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Little is known, however, about the place of parks and nature at the end of life, or the impact of parks and nature on quality of life during palliative care or in grief and loss…until now! 

A recent 2018 study discovered that experiencing “Peace in the Parks” was an opportunity for: Personal Exploration, Social Discovery and Institutional Transformation. Despite the challenges to get to parks and natural places, it was always “worth it.” Even brief opportunities were an opportunity to “park palliative care”, and to have sanctuary from the stream of appointments and persistent identity as a “dying patient” or “caregiver.”  

Research participants shared, “here [in the park] we can just be ourselves”.  The experiences were both calming and energizing – providing patients and family members a sense of their strength and the courage to take other journeys they had been previously cautious about undertaking. Everyone can make the connection with nature. Ultimately there is value in even parking or sitting in areas with views of nature or short walks or strolls with a stretcher or adaptive equipment. 

Access does take planning, information and communication, and the research team discovered that supporting access to parks and nature for those in palliative care and caregivers is not a call for a new program per se, but rather an invitation, and a mindset that can be influenced by training, information and coordination of services. Further program and study is underway now to extend and expand the discoveries made – the pilgrimage and the pursuit of sanctuary continues.
By Dr. Sonya Jakubec

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To learn more about Parks & Nature at the End of Life, to hear the stories and to be inspired by the pilgrimage of palliative patients and caregivers to Alberta Parks, join Dr. Sonya Jakubec (MRU) and co-researcher Jennell Rempel (Alberta Parks) for a free 
public talk and short documentary film screening with the Calgary Public Library on Thursday Jan 23, 2020 from noon to 1:30 pm at the Central Library’s Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall. 
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Hard times and helping hands

7/17/2019

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She got a headache on the bus ride home from school. Her feet ache from shoes that fit this morning but now strain against swelling flesh. She feels the baby shift inside her pregnant body, and she is both exhilarated and exhausted. Sitting to unlace her sneakers, she starts to cry. Catherine Aghaegbuna heard the girl come in and sees her sitting at the bottom of the split-entry home, her shoulders quivering. Aghaegbuna takes a deep breath and welcomes the expectant mom home. Aghaegbuna is not her mother. But on this day, and at this moment, she is all the young woman has.

Trained in addictions counselling and community service work, Aghaegbuna works at Elizabeth House (EH). Started in 1996 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis, the house provides a safe and supportive home to pregnant and parenting young women who need a safe place to live. To date, more than 200 young women have benefited from EH, one of two charities operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary. (The other is Feed the Hungry).

Christians engaged in this kind of work often talk about the need to see Jesus in the eyes of the marginalized. An immigrant and a woman of colour, Aghaegbuna sees more. “I choose to work here out of my love for the youth and children,” says the woman whose typical shifts run from 5 pm to 7 am.  When the mother of five looks into the eyes of the people she serves, she sees the eyes of her own children. She’s reluctant to say her parenting experience gives her an edge, but the parishioner at Corpus Christi admits that parenting her children, ages 27, 19, 18, 13 and nine, helps her through the rough spots at work. “When the women tell me, ‘I am not your daughter,’ I tell them plainly, ‘I have no reason to deceive you. I have children like you. I am a mother.’”

Moms helping moms
Since 2016, members of the St. Gianna’s Moms Group at St. Luke’s parish have made women and babies at EH house special beneficiaries of an annual Christmas campaign. Named after an Italian pediatrician who sacrificed her life for her unborn child, the moms’ group buys Christmas presents that include self-care items, make up and gift cards for the young moms. “We think about what we can do to make their day special, and some of the gifts include special notes of encouragement,” says group co-leader Michelle Widmeyer, a parishioner at St. Joseph’s.

Herself the mother of four, Widmeyer says members of St. Gianna’s feel blessed to contribute to the important work done at EH, where young women get help completing high school and preparing or starting post-secondary education or training. Life at EH also helps the women hone life skills that range from conflict management to cooking, laundry and housekeeping—all while carrying or caring for their new babies. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a young and single mother with very little support,” says Widmeyer.

That grassroots support for EH’s work is greatly appreciated, says Michelle Haywood, EH program coordinator. “We survive off private donations and are not funded by the government in any way,” explains Haywood, who often finds herself coordinating donations that range from money to supplies. 

St. Michael’s parish, for example, recently donated a van load of baby and new mom supplies, as well as $4,000 in cash. “They provided everything from nursing bras to baby wipes. It was really something,” notes Haywood.
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St. Michael's CWL & Knights of Columbus - joint effort for the Undie Sunday for Elizabeth House
She also appreciates what members of the Catholic Women’s League and Knights of Columbus do to support EH. A group of Knights from St. Peter’s recently took a lead role in a major landscaping project. Individual Catholics also step up with support, including a woman from the St. Paul Centre of the Catholic school district who organized a donation drive amongst her colleagues, says Haywood.  

Given how complicated the work at EH can be, program support translates into emotional support. “We serve vulnerable and at-risk women, and this can be very difficult work. When people care about what we’re doing, it’s like an emotional boost to our residents and staff,” says Haywood, whose professional work is tempered by life experience. The mom of three, including one born during her 12 years with EH, Haywood is a university graduate whose first baby was born when Haywood was still a teen. 

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To learn more about Elizabeth House, or to find out how you or your organization can support the program, visit www.elizabethhousecalgary.ca or email Michelle Haywood at elizabethhouse@calgarydiocese.ca.

Written by Joy Gregory for Faithfully
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The unexpected path to fatherhood

6/5/2019

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Having served as a priest early in his life, Lance Dixon says that the slow ramp of becoming a spiritual father had accelerated his learning of how to be a father to his own child.

I must confess my road to fatherhood started off a little shaky. On the day I was to turn 26 years old, I was facing the terrifying reality of becoming a father - but perhaps not in the way one would expect. You see, on that day (All Saints Day, November 1, 1996 to be exact) I was also going to be ordained an Anglican priest, and I simply was not ready for people to call me 'Father' Lance! In fact, I was so determined to avoid this moniker that in my first homily as a priest I vainly urged the congregation, with a little tongue in cheek, to consider calling me 'Sonny’ Lance. (After all, I was the age of most of their children at the time.)
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Of course, the congregation, knowing me quite well by this time, ignored me, causing nothing of the ecclesial revolution I had hoped for. And to be honest, as one would guess, it was not the term at all that terrified me. It was the responsibility that went along with it. To be suddenly thrust into a position of spiritual authority over the life of a community is a daunting call, and I felt the gravitas of what I was taking on increase the closer the day.

Looking back, I am grateful for that terrifying ordeal. Unexpectedly, that experience prepared me for the even greater responsibility of being a father to my children.  You see, as a spiritual father to a congregation, I could go home when I had enough for the day; I could call in sick I just wasn't feeling up to toughing it through another annual garage sale; I could neglect the odd duty, and a host of veteran lay workers would swoop in to fill the gaps. The upside was, that in the midst of these moments of neglect, I slowly learned how to take responsibility for the spiritual life of the congregation, how to be present to others in their time of need, to speak truth in love, to attend to both big and small things as the shepherd of their gifts. 

And thank God I experienced those moments as a spiritual father to others, because in the first weeks after my child's birth, the only thing I could focus on was how completely inadequate I was at parenting! As a father of my own child, I didn't have the luxury of going home when I was tired of hearing the baby cry, or calling in sick when I just didn't feel like changing her diaper in the middle of the night or ignoring a tough decision on how to pay the bills to keep a roof over the head of my growing family.  The slow ramp of becoming a spiritual father had accelerated my learning of how to be a father to my own child. 

When I look back, two things helped me embrace the challenge of being a father for my children. First, in learning how to be a spiritual father to others, I had come to rely on there being grace for every journey we go through - including parenting. Second, what kept me from being overwhelmed by how inadequate I was as a parent, was the complete joy and wonder of that little child in my hands. As I stood there in the middle of the operating room, time stood still, my mind completely enraptured in the miracle I was holding. 

Okay, reality check. I now have countless broken household items, a hundred temper tantrums, and several round trips to the emergency ward between me and that moment. Which is why I’m so grateful when, amid the messiness of parenting, the Spirit nudges me to pause and ponder the wonder-filled gifts my children truly are. 

A little over eight years ago, my time as an Anglican priest came to a close. I continue my faith journey in the Catholic Church, supporting our schools as chaplain and teacher. My three daughters are teenagers now, and they seem to come up with new things for me to have to get my head around. So, in short, I'm still finding my way through parenting. But one thing at least is for certain; I will always find firm ground on the grace and joy that is at the heart of being a father. 
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Dr. Lance Dixon
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A Life Witness

5/1/2019

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In 1992 my husband and I were expecting a son, and at about 18 weeks into the pregnancy, doctors saw serious anomalies on the ultrasound. The baby’s kidneys were not developing, and there was serious concern about lack of enough amniotic fluid for the baby to continue to grow in time. We took a wait and see attitude, and we were now managing a ‘high-risk pregnancy’.

From the time you find out that you are pregnant, you become active parents. You start making decisions for that baby’s life right away.
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Baby Brandon Joseph
As my pregnancy progressed, medical concerns for the baby’s life and my own life were discussed. The doctors recommended ‘terminating the pregnancy’ at around 27 weeks. I refused all ideas of ‘terminating.’ Then the doctors suggested testing to see if the baby would have chromosomal issues. This would not change my decision, but the result may have affected their ideas on how to treat this high-risk pregnancy with respect. The test came back normal, and we learned that we were having a son. We immediately gave him the first gift that parents can give their child, his name. Brandon Joseph.

It became ‘medically necessary’ to deliver the baby early, thereby terminating the pregnancy, but not necessarily the baby. Immediately after birth, baby Brandon was baptised.

Every day of Brandon’s life had value because of the effect his personality had on each person who met him – his parents, his sister, and the doctors, nurses, volunteer cuddlers, interns, roommates, and extended family. Brandon lived for seven months. Just as any loved one who dies in a family, his memory continues to influence our family to this day.
Today, I am the educational resource consultant for Calgary Pro-Life Association. School teachers invite me to their classrooms to give presentations on positive self-esteem, and the miracle of life/fetal development, to students in grades five to 12!

During one presentation, students hear the sound of the fetal heartbeat that started between 18 and 22 days; then learn that at four weeks, they were the size of my thumb nail; at six weeks their brain was developing, and at 12 weeks they were the size of my thumb! We continue to talk about the development of the fetus until birth.

All of us have a responsibility to affirm life in our culture. We need to ask ourselves: How are we modeling the virtues of motherhood to our daughters and the virtue of fatherhood to our sons? How are we raising men who will support women in that natural affection that they ought to have for their children?
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Tell everyone you meet, no matter the age or stage in life, that they really matter and that they have a life purpose that is exciting to watch as it continues to be revealed day by day! This is how we share the pro-life message so that women and men will know that they have the right to life; and the right to choose life for themselves; for their own children now, and in the future.

Written by Moniqe Achtman, ​parishioner of Holy Spirit Parish, and Educational Resource Consultant for Calgary Pro-Life Association. www.calgaryprolife.com 

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Monique Achtman
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Pro-life Events in May 2019

4/9/2019

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The Social Justice & Outreach Department is pleased to announce three important pro-life events taking place in May:
  • Mass for Life: On Monday, May 6, you are invited to St. Mary’s Cathedral for Eucharistic Adoration from 5:30 to 7 pm followed by an annual Mass for Life presided by Bishop William McGrattan. For more information, please call 403-218-5516.

  • March for Life: The 12th Annual Alberta March for Life will be taking place at Noon on Thursday, May 9 at the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Knights of Columbus have arranged for buses to Edmonton, leaving Calgary at 8:00 a.m. and arriving back at approximately 6:30 pm. For more information about the Alberta March for Life, schedule details and the list of speakers, which includes Most Rev. Bishop William McGrattan, check out https://albertamarchforlife.com. If you, your family and friends wish to reserve a complimentary seat, please call 403-271-7249 and the Knights will be happy to answer your questions. 

  • Hike for Life: Come support Calgary Pro-Life Assn. on Saturday, May 11 from 8:30 am to noon at Prince's Island Park. The Hike for Life supports two Diocesan and CSSD-approved educational Respect Life programs presented to students in grades 5-12 at Calgary and area Catholic schools. People, of all ages and stages of life, including babies, are invited to come out to 'hike' to increase our witness to a culture of life! Join us for donuts, hotdogs, music, prizes and awards after! See www.calgaryprolife.com for pledge sheets and more information. 
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    • Hike for Life Promo clip

It is our prayer that each of these events will see an increase in attendance this year and that more people than ever before will attend the Mass, the March for Life and the Hike for Life. 

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Code name Project Rachel: The woman behind post-abortion healing ministry.

3/5/2019

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If you ever wonder what God can do with a little help from the willing, look no further than to the example of Vicki Thorn—wife, mother, grandmother and foundress of the large, and still-growing post-abortion healing ministry, Project Rachel. Thorn is a well-educated, faithful, woman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has for over 30 years spearheaded the healing of thousands of people around the world. 
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She was inducted into the Pontifical Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a Roman Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the Holy See, as Lady Vicki Thorn. Over her life, she has received many awards and accolades including the People of Life Award from the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for her pro-life service to the Church. She has also been recognized as a “Woman of Faith” from the Sisters of the Divine Savior. In humility though, she continually gives credit to God for her life’s work.
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Vicki Thorn
About God’s Work

As a testament to what a determined woman can do with God’s help, Thorn began Project Rachel while raising her family of six children. Project Rachel began as a diocesan initiative in 1984, and from there it gained momentum and widespread support across the United States and then Canada, which includes the Diocese of Calgary. 

She recalls at that time there were no experts to call upon when she developed Project Rachel. However, she was convinced then and still now practises a post-abortion healing ministry that offers anonymity, has a strong spiritual element and includes a psychotherapeutic component. The name Project Rachel is inspired by Scripture: “Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).

Thorn knows that mothers of aborted babies go through different types of grieving and often seek forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They are not the only ones who are traumatized from the loss of their child. Fathers who didn’t want the abortion, grandparents and siblings who later learned about it are also devastated. 

Thorn has travelled to 28 countries speaking to thousands about not only the impact of abortion on men, women and on our culture but of what God’s ultimate plan is for humanity revealed to us through the science of the human body. 

Family Matters

Thorn takes great joy in seeing her children value life. Now they’re all grown, and there are 14 grandchildren for her and her husband to enjoy. Each of her kids, she says, along with their loving partners and her grandchildren “are just a delight to my heart.”

Despite needing to lay low for health reasons, she said she’s still busy looking to expand and develop a framework for post-abortive healing in places around the world because, she explained, “you can’t just use an American model in other countries.” Her research has led her to seek communities of sisters who are already, as she said, “the boots on the ground” serving the people where they are. 

In Milwaukee she says, she’s running a program for African American pastors who want to learn about post-abortive healing. There is a great need but “not a lot of help.” 

Theology of the Body

This March, she’ll find herself at the Theology of the Body Conference in Calgary to speak to attendees about the science that undergirds the Theology of the Body, much of what she says is “well researched, but not well known.”

We have been seeing the effects of the sexual revolution since the 1960s culminating in what many in the Church refer to as a culture of death. Thorn spends a lot of her time explaining the wounds many of us experience as a result, with scientific studies to help her show the audience hard facts. 

What we will hear from her is much deeper than what we heard from high school sex education. 

Armed with the facts of male and female biology, the science of attraction and the biochemistry of sex and conception, Thorn will take us through the beauty of God’s plan for the human body.

“We haven’t really understood how awesome we are in terms of our sexuality,” she said, adding that over time the wonder and beauty of sex have been lost. What she’ll share with us will be concrete, uniting what the Church teaches with scientific fact, which will further our knowledge of what she says is “God’s intentional plan.”

Looking at all she has achieved and the ministry she continues to grow, attendees to the upcoming conference will be blessed to be part of her journey and work.

Written by Jessica Cyr
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