Post for February 4, 2010
I tried to get back to Montreal today, but it would seem that God had other plans.
My flight was to leave Mexico City at 9:40 am, so Padre Roberto and I left Cuernavaca around 6:30. One hour of driving would get me to the airport two hours before departure… or so I thought.
It was not to be. We drove through pounding rain and heavy winds, only to be turned back by the federal police. The highway was closed.
Padre Roberto suggested we take the old two-lane highway as an alternative. We quickly discovered why the roads were closed. That pounding rain was turning roads into lakes, and the wind was literally sending trees crashing down onto the road.
How could it be so bad? Well, the road between Mexico City and Cuernavaca is actually a mountain pass, and it gets windy up in them there mountains. We eventually had to turn back, making it to Cuernavaca by noon.
Happily I had accepted the offer of a lift from Padre Roberto and not insisted in taking the bus. We managed to contact Air Canada to cancel the reservation (so I didn’t lost the ticket entirely) and another members of Air Canada personnel back home helped me to rebook. Let me at this point give a big shout-out to those people and to that company. We all know of airline horror stories, but I will tell you know that I received service above and beyond the call of duty. I actually had tears of gratitude in my eyes, I kid you not.
The people back at the parish were a bit surprised to see me again — after all, we had already said our goodbyes! But one thing I’ve noticed about every Mexican I’ve met is their ability to take things in stride. I’ve got something to learn there.
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Post for February 3, 2010
Every first Wednesday of the month Padre Roberto picks up his parents and takes them out to a restaurant for brunch. Today was no exception. What made it different was having a Canadian visitor to tag along!
I don’t think they were expecting to see me, but I must say we got along famously. A funny moment came when they asked Padre Roberto to translate for them when they would speak to me — when in fact I understood everything (or at least up until that point).
Breakfast was at a restaurant that Padre Roberto and I know well (a chain called Sanborns). After that they had some errands to run… well, to be more accurate, Padre Roberto went with his mom to run some errands, so I hung back with his dad. As it turns out we both have the same favourite way to kill time: in a bookstore. We each picked up this and that and chatted about that we found. Him: the story of the Mexican revolution. Me: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (hey, I need something easy for this Spanish stuff).
Priests don’t grow on trees: they come from real flesh-and-blood families, and it was nice to get to know Padre Roberto even more in this way.
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Post for February 2, 2010
The last time I was in Mexico I wrote about how my real test of Spanish knowledge did not involve writing exams or recieving diplomas. No, the real test was taking a taxi.
Well, today was my second test/diploma, and it was even more dramatic.
A bit of background: I’ve decided to go home a bit early (Thursday) so as to get some downtime before heading back to work. I’m having fun here, but thinking and speaking Spanish can be a bit tiring, especially given my level of knowledge (or lack thereof). So rather than take another week of classes, I decided to visit Mexico City (see the post for yesterday) and use today and tommorow to develop some personal study notes (i.e. consolidate what I knew) to help me stay fresh once I am back home. Oh, and take a bit of a break too!
But God had other plans. Around 10 am the parish secretary asked for me. There was a (very) young couple in the office, she explained, who had just had a baby (little Leslie Guadelupe). Unforunately the baby was in critical condition in the hospital, and the hospital did not have a chaplain. Given that Padre Roberto was out and was not expected until later this afternoon, could I go and do an emergency baptism?
I’ll admit I had a momentary flash of panic, but how could I say no? So I grabbed the ritual book and a stole, and off we went (the parish secretary came with us, thank God, to help translate not so much the words as the situation).
After going through a decontamination process, we saw the little one. How tiny! She was born with a hole in her abdomen, so some of her intestines actually were outside after birth (a condition called gastroschisis). Two surgeries later, she was still going but was very critical. I explained that I would use the short ritual for emergency baptisms, as it was the most appropriate in this case (heck, godparents had not even been identified yet). To be honest, I’m not sure the parents even noticed how stressed I was, nor do I think they cared about my broken Spanish — they were just glad it was happening.
When it was over I got their names for the baptism register and headed back home with the parish secretary. What an adrenaline rush! You feel glad and nervous all at the same time.
So my Spanish still sucks. After all, it has only been my second week here (sixth if you count my first time in Cuernavaca 18 months ago). But as lousy as it was, it was enough to get a little baby baptised. For me, that’s more than enough for now, and is a real incentive to keep learning.
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Post for February 1, 2010
Padre Roberto and I took that day off today and went to visit Mexico City. Well, actually, most of the country took the day off, as today was a national holiday dedicated to honouring the Mexican constitution. Well, actually, that day is on February 5, not Feb 1, but they transferred the holiday to give people a long weekend. (Why they didn’t consider that a Fri-Sat-Sun long weekend is just as long as a Sat-Sun-Mon long weekend is beyond me, but I digress…)
We left Cuernavaca early in the morning. Happily the main bus station is literally a three-minute walk from the parish, so it was a piece of cake to grab the first bus to Mexico City (they leave every half-hour). This brought us to a southern subway station (like Montreal, they call it the Metro). First impressions: the subway was immaculately clean, and ran very smooth (none of the usual screeching associated with metal-wheeled trains). Various vendors would wander through the cars, selling their wares (e.g. maps, flashlights, chocolate bars, pirated music, etc.) A street-performing pair also came in, whose performance involved smashing themselves with broken glass. I couldn’t look. Neither could Padre Roberto.
We got off at Zocalo station, located at the main square in Mexico City (also known as the Zocalo). Several main government buildings are there, as well as the Cathedral and the remains of the ancient pyramid temple of the Aztecs. Unfortunately all the museums were closed (they all close on Monday, like at home) so that cut out a lot of things we might otherwise have seen. But there was still lots to see! We wandered around a bit in the central historic section, eventually attending mass at a local church and grabbing some lunch. Then, after lunch, we hopped on one of those circuit tour buses that take you around the city.
The bus was ok. Of course, the things we were taken to see were interesting, but the pre-recorded translations that were offered made me laugh out loud at times. Also, it started to rain, and even got a bit chilly, so we had to stay in the bus. From my point of view, it was essentially a down-payment on my next visit. 
Regarding the weather, BTW, when I say “a bit chilly” I am speaking as a Canadian, of course: the Mexicans themselves were freezing, and wore heavy jackets and scarves (I had a light sweatshirt over a t-shirt). Frankly, they know nothing of the cold. As for me, all it took was a good Starbucks coffee to warm me up and I was good to go again.
I took lots of photos, but I don’t have access to a decent photo editor here so posting them will have to wait. Our bus ride home was uneventful, and we made it back by 8pm. Poor Padre Roberto wasn’t feeling that great, so we hit the hay early. I had a bit of a headache myself (due to the pollution in Mexico City, I expect). At any rate, I am glad I went, and I look forward to the next time, now that I have a good sense of what is available to see.
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Post for January 30, 2010
Padre Roberto has two Saturday masses, one at the parish and one in the local hospital. Or at least, I thought it was in the hospital… more like *at* the hospital…
Allow me to explain. Because Mexico has a highly secular elite, with a strong separation between Church and State in law, priests sometimes have trouble getting into hospitals to care for people. There are no chaplains, for example, in a secular hospital. And, I might add, there are no chapels, and no masses.
However, because Mexico is also highly Catholic, the people *want* religious services. They *want* the mass said for the sick and their families, and they want it close to where their loved ones are, i.e. the hospital. So what is the solution?
Simple: the people themselves erected a shrine to Our Lady of Guadelupe just outside the hospital, in a side alley. And the priest goes once per week to say mass outdoors, in the side alley.
True story! So we packed up the car with a the mass books, a portable mass kit, and even a portable altar. Once we got there it took a grand total of five minutes to turn an alleyway into a chapel. We were expected: chairs were already set up, and there was even a choir! It was very touching, to see how people just would not let their faith be extinguished. I am not sure how many understood that the powers-that-be officially did not want them there. I expect many of them have had the experience of being looked down upon so much they hardly noticed it anymore. But at the same time, it didn’t change anything: the mass is the mass, even in an alley, and the Eucharist has the power to turn even an alley into a palace.
I shared some coffee with some people afterwards, and all I sensed was the joy of faith. Yeah, it was outdoors at night. Yeah, it was cold (by Cuernavaca standards). But these people were doing something their earliest ancestors on the faith did as well. If those early Christians has the same joy, no wonder the Roman Empire couldn’t get rid of them. From what I could see, joy is the ultimate answer to oppression.
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Post for January 29, 2010
Padre Roberto and I decided to head out to see (yet another) film this evening. I was a bit worried my presence was a distraction to him, but as he put it, “If I live alone I don’t get to see movies I want to see, because I don’t want to see them alone. With you here, I can go and see them!” Made sense to me.
We decided to see Up in the Air, the George Clooney film that people are talking about. It is about a guy whose job is to fire people — companies hire his firm to let people down easy (and in a way that covers their legal butts). He spends so much time on the road doing his job that he is barely ever home, a situation that he enjoys. He *likes* being in planes and airport lounges and hotel bars. Simply put, he is a travelling pro, who belives that the only way to be happy is to have no attachments to anything, not even people.
Of course, the vacuous nature of this rootless existence eventually catches up to him. His only goal in life is to acquire a particular level of frequent flyer miles, and he starts to wonder if this is enough. And he discovers it isn’t.
The end.
Well, there’s more. There are a number of funny (and sweet) moments that come from his interactions with a new employee in his firm who is young and perky and full of impractical ideas… he gets the job of showing her the ropes (to his dismay and hers). In some ways his rediscovery of idealism parallels her loss of hers. And there is his relationship with his family, which itself evolves.
But in the end, he is still left with nothing. The movie is about the deconstruction of an anti-hero. The possibility of some kind of redemption is held out at the end (quite literally, actually — he contemplates redeeming some travel points), but he does so with a lost look on his face. He starts out confident, he ends up lost. The end.
Quite depressing, if you ask me.
What is it about movies these days that they can’t have heroes? Maybe that’s why Avatar did so well. Not just the special effects, but the fact that the protagonist was himself changed and, in a way, redeemed. The nihilists were the *bad guys*.
At least Up in the Air faces the nihilism and shows us where it goes. I suppose that is valuable. And I’m sure there will be some who will say that it should be applauded as an aid to helping people become Nietzchean supermen, facing into the abyss. But personally, I think there is meaning to the world and to human existence. So I can’t celebrate tragedy, nor Up in the Air.
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Post for January 28, 2010
Today I had a chance to visit with another friend, an older lady who owns a lovely home in the parish where I had stayed the last time I was in Cuernavaca. Padre Roberto and I, as well as the parish secretary and her family, were invited for dinner. And what a dinner it was! Where do these Mexicans pack away all the food that they eat?
I visited with Toni (the name of the hostess) and her husband the last time I was here, but unfortunately he has since died (he had been quite ill). He was English, and so had been delighted to speak with someone (i.e. me) in his mother tongue. Toni told me she had fond memories of that visit, as do I. I am told I have an open invitation to visit whenever I like.
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Post for January 27, 2010
One thing that I was worried might get me in trouble here at the parish (in Mexico) is the fact that I’ve been reading the gospel and concelebrating (with my own part of the Eucharistic prayer). You see, I can practice these ahead of time, so I actually sound pretty good in Spanish. Unfortunately, this also gives people the impression I can actually *speak* the language, rather than just read it.
So after mass one elderly lady come to me, asking me for prayers for… well, to be honest, I have no idea. None whatsoever. She was speaking softly, I guess so that no one would hear her request, and swallowing some of her syllables, so I got about 5% of what she said.
So I (in Spanish) told her that I didn’t speak all that much Spanish, and asked her to repeat herself. But she began to offer replies that made absolutely no sense. It was like she hadn’t understood me at all, but was just faking that she had.
It was then I realised that she was hard of hearing!
So I began faking that I understood her, as she faked understanding me. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision, but what else could I do? I couldn’t just walk away, and she seemed happy to be speaking with me. Well, to me. Well, at me. You get the picture. The bottom line is that there was a lot of head-nodding and hand-holding on my part, accompanied by can only have been a very strange exchange. I can only imagine what we must have sounded like to an eavesdropper!
In the end I blessed her, and she left contented. Not knowing what I should be praying for, I just offered it up to the Lord, saying “Lord, you know what she was talking about. Your will be done.” Which is pretty much what I might have prayed had I understood her in the first place.
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Post for January 26, 2010
My friends Lily and Jorge came by the parish this evening for the 6pm mass. The church was packed, so I only noticed them when it was almost over. They were the other two of the three friends who met me at the airport, so I was really delighted to see them again. And their generosity was proven once again, as we priests received a gift of… Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Mmmm… At any rate, we are planning to see one another again for dinner on Sunday. I look forward to it.
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Post for January 25, 2010
I had my first official Spanish classes at the IDEAL school today, and by the time I got back home I was just beat. Padre Roberto has his day off on Monday, and because he prefers to spend it outside the parish we headed out to visit a nearby town: Tepoztlán!
This is a really lovely town that is very popular with tourists but which has still kept a very local feel. We went mainly for the food, as there are a couple of very famous restaurants in the area (and I must admit, the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde we just amazing). I also was looking forward to seeing the local pyramid, but when I saw how far up it was I said forget it: all I had on was my sandals! But we did see the local parish church, which was very lovely.
On our way back we visited a local Benedictine monastery and stayed with the monks for vespers. It was nice to round off the day with a calming environment of prayer.
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Post for January 24, 2010
The last time I was in Mexico I connected with the Dominguez family, who have sort of “adopted” Padre Roberto and, now, myself. After the masses of the day I headed over to their place in Juitepec (a suburb of Cuernavaca). Dinner was delicious, and after we went for a walk in a nearby “greenbelt” area (although given it is dry season, it was more of a “brownbelt”). Padre Roberto joined us a bit later, and we played a rather silly game board game involving eggs dressed as people (click the link to see what I mean). All in all it was a nice chance to reconnect with people who helped me a lot the last time I was here, and who hold a special place in my heart.
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Post for January 23, 2010
It is presently Saturday, a little before 2 pm. I’m now on my 5th day here. I made a decision before coming here to not start Spanish lessons before spending one week here, so as to be able to “refresh” what I already had. After all, why pay a school to teach me things I already know? This, it turns out, was a wise move, for two reasons.
First of all, my Spanish has really roared back. Not that it was all that great to begin with, but I honestly find I do speak with more confidence, almost without having to think about it first, than when I left. I went out for a movie last night with some friends from my former Mexican trip, and they remarked on it as well.
The second reason has to be with my personal state. Frankly, I was a lot more tired than I thought. I was originally planning to do a lot of self-study, purchasing books and audio resources to that end, but I’ve found myself sleeping a lot instead. A *lot*. I feel a bit awkward about that — those who know me know I like to “get stuff done” — but on the other hand I guess I needed it. And I’ve found that the little I’ve studied I’ve been able to put into practice right away, which is awesome.
I have been out checking on schools, and I found one (called IDEAL) that actually has had a long-running partnership with Quebec (and more specifically, the Prêtres des missions étrangères). I find I feel at home there, even if it does stretch my budget a bit more than I expected. And, of course, there are other ways in which I feel at home no matter what, such as during the Eucharist. Wherever Christ is, is home.
Yeah, there are annoyances, which I will describe in order of importance. The most serious is a lack of general security: more than one person has told me to “watch my back” because I am an obvious gringo that robbers will assume has money. I take this seriously, because the Cuernavaca of today is not the one I knew two years ago, with drug lords now taking over the local crime scene (I even saw masked military police with BIG guns providing security at one point). A second annoyance, less serious, is the general environment of noise and air pollution, which constantly invades the senses, although to be honest it is roughly comparable to my living environment in downtown Montreal (especially when the Canadians win a game at home). Finally, on a more personal note, I walked too much a couple of days in, making my sandals start to fall apart and giving me a blister that just won’t heal. Very annoying, especially that I’m largely on foot: new sandals I can buy, but the foot not so much. Like I said, an annoyance.
I will mention one final thing about this trip, one that overwhelms everything else: the tremendous generosity of Father Roberto Dirzo, my host. He first accepted to welcome me when I visited two years ago, on the simple recommendation of a friend, and hosted me for 4 weeks. This time, when he heard I was coming, he offered that I stay with him again. He has been unfailingly hospitable and charitable, giving of himself to put up with my broken Spanish and general discombobulation. This is even more remarkable given that he is the pastor of the poorest parish in the city, and a busy one at that. He has shared with me some of his dreams for this place, and if I can find a way to help him, even financially, when I am back home, I will.
God bless from Mexico!
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Post for January 19, 2010
Well, I made it to Cuernavaca. I was received at the airport by three friends, including Padre Roberto with whom I am staying. We had lunch at the airport itself, and then took a tour of the basilica and grounds of the shrine of Our Lady of Guadelupe. I’d been there before, but I had only seen the church itself, so I was glad to get a chance to see more. On the hill itself where the apparations took place there is a good lookout over Mexico City, and you really see how absolutely ENORMOUS the place actually is.
From Mexico City we drove to Cuernavaca. There is a highway that connects the two cities that goes up over the mountains (and continues past Cuernavaca to Acapulco). The highway can be tricky on the way down, mind you, with lots of tight curves, and unfortunately a truck ahead of us took it too fast and rolled over. Traffic was horrendous as the road was closed for a bit, and then only opened to one lane. I don’t know that happened with the driver, but I said a prayer for him.
Once in Cuernavaca we did a bit of shopping (at Costco, if you believe it) and then we headed over to the parish church — dedicated to both the Ressurection of our Lord and Our Lady of Guadelupe. It is a very simple place, located in the poorest section of Cuernavaca, and I learned my timing was somewhat unusual: there have been a series of robberies here over the past several months (three in the past three weeks), so everything now has a lock on it. Oh, and no hot water (bring on those cold showers — brrrr). But they have high-speed internet! Ah, priorities…
Things got really interesting after a bit of grocery shopping. Padre Roberto was going to come with us, but a couple of ladies were waiting for him at the door so I headed out to the Mega supermarket with a parishioner and her grown children. When we got back we discovered those ladies were related to the fellow who had robbed the place at least those three most recent times, and they were here to return the things they found to the parish. A parade of stolen goods started to come in the door, and I had to laugh at how useless some of these things were — who steals a box full of tea bags, for example? Anyway, it was quite a first evening. We had a spot of supper and then I headed to bed, just exhausted.
As for today, Padre Roberto and I went out for breakfast to a nearby restaurant, and then he had to go an teach philosophy at the local seminary. I headed over to a couple of language schools to check out availability and prices. It turns out one school only offers one-on-one lessons (for a very high price), while another does group lessons but is at least a 30-minute walk. Yeah, I found that out the hard way, although I got a bit turned around going there so the leg out was more like 45 minutes. Still, this school is the one I studied at last time, so I am seriously considering returning, as I know what to expect, and I liked the people in general.
This evening I did dishes. A TON of dishes. Let’s just say that Padre Roberto’s home is definitely a bachelor pad. He was considering hiring a lady to help with cooking while I am here (I would contribute, of course), but she’s having some personal problems so so far she’s a no-show. While a number of things needed cleaning, the sink was just loaded, so I rolled up my sleeves and started in with the so-called “woman’s work”. Machismo be damned, somebody had to do it, and between us it got done.
Oh, did I mention the kitchen has no running water? The thief (or thieves) stole the copper tubing that fed the kitchen. We were hauling in buckets of water to get the job done. This is turning out to be quite an adventure!
I had a chance to spend a good hour before the Blessed Sacrament today, and I concelebrated mass this evening. I’ve been praying part of my breviary in Spanish, and of course the environment as a whole is forcing me to refresh what I already knew (and which is coming back to me muy rapido). For the next couple of days I will study on my own, reviewing the materials I brought with me as I continue to settle in. Oh, and I need to find a place to recharge my laptop, as right now I’m running on batteries and they won’t last forever — but one thing at a time. I’ll try and post again when I can. Pray for me and I’ll pray for you!
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Post for January 17, 2010
Hello friends, I know it has been a while since I have blogged, but it has been part of a personal choice of mine for the past couple of months. Still, I wanted to let readers know that I’m still alive and will be away for three weeks starting tomorrow: I am returning to Cuernavaca to continue by study of Spanish. Talk to you when I get back on February 8th!
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Post for December 1, 2009
The sacristy of the Cathedral (where I live) was recently being renovated. This was a big deal for me, because it basically meant I didn’t have a regular place to say daily mass a few weeks. I usually get home from the office after the main church is shut down, so all I really have is the small sacristy oratory.
Curiously, my requests for masses that I receive over the Internet also began to slow down around the same time. I have only 2 in my backlog since the renovations began — and I’m off to take care of one of those requests as soon as I’m done with this blog post.
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Post for November 26, 2009
As I have mentioned in the past, yours truly is the Chairperson of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism. Tonight was our Annual General Meeting.
In the past, the AGM was more of an extension of the Board of Directors. Certain changes to our by-laws in 2008, coupled with the creation of membership recruiting tools in 2009, has permitted us to increase our roster of members more easily and even to envisage having hundreds, if not thousands, of members some day. This AGM, therefore, was particularly important, because we are starting a paradigm shift: we are trying to make the AGM a real community-building exercise for the task of Christian unity and interreligious dialogue.
So apart from the usual business, we had two excellent presentation: one on the work of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (with which the Centre is partnered) and one from one of our Directors on the history of French Protestantism. The exercise of working on our usual business was also useful, as I think we now can have a better sense of how to scale it up for 2010. I’m hoping to be able to send out 1000 invitations to the AGM next year, and more than that, I’m hoping to create an energized base of members ready to collaborate in the mission of the Centre all across Canada. Oh, it’s a long-term project, but slowly the right steps are being taken. Tonight was just another one of those steps, and I am happy about it.
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Post for November 23, 2009
So my niece has been waiting with great anticipation for the new Twilight film, called “New Moon”, and now it is finally here. I had seen the first one, and while it was “ok” I had found it pretty cheesy, so I was wary about seeing the sequel. However, the various reviews I read of the film were actually quite positive. In general, the consensus was that the movie was better than the first installment of the series, and that the performances really let you get into the mindset of the main character Bella. Granted, she’s an angst-filled teenage girl, so I wasn’t sure it was a mindset I wanted to explore all that much, but I figured what the heck. After all, how bad could it be?
Oh my gosh. Pretty bad, as it turns out. After almost falling asleep after the first half hour (it was so slow) the movie became a complete caricature of itself. I mean, it was really painful. A friend sitting beside me whispered to himself aty one point, “This is torture!” And it was, it really was. Now I have seen bad cheesy movies in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them (Army of Darkness comes immediately to mind), but this film suffers from the fatal flaw that typically prevents a movie from elevating its cheesiness to an art form: it takes itself WAY to seriously.
As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones to think this: several times people in the theatre burst out laughing at moments that you can tell were not meant to be funny. And I must also confess that those of us who went to see the movie together wound up spending a considerable amount of time talking about the movie or, more accurately, our experience of the movie. We were merciless, and I laughed so hard I actually cried. Ah well, it was a good excuse for us to get together after and share a good scotch.
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Post for November 21, 2009
Today (Saturday) I once again had the beautiful opportunity to welcome a new member of the Christian family: baby Josef, the son of Terri and Fred (whose wedding I celebrated last year). It was like a spiritual reunion, a really joyful celebration of faith. And then, of course, there was the meal! The baptism in the early afternoon, so we got to the restaurant by about 2:30 pm. The promptly began eating… and eating… and eating! And I must confess, I have a weakness for Lebanese food, so I ate… and ate… and ate! I finally had to roll out of there about three hours later, and the main course hadn’t even yet arrived. You know, the Bible says that the Kingdom of God is like a banquet. Well, this new Christian, this new human that God has chosen in a special way for heaven, certainly gave us the occasion to have a taste of that abundance. Congrats to the family, and many thanks for inviting me to be a part of this special moment!
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Post for November 20, 2009
Today was Fr. Lowe’s funeral. Once again, my experience of funerals where faith is truly involved has been confirmed. In short, I have learned that when the deceased was a person of faith, the funeral, while sad, has a certain lightness about it. It is thanks to hope.
Many brother priests were there, and the church was full. But I must say, the homily was AMAZING. At first, I thought the preacher was being a bit abstract, talking about points of eucharistic doctrine etc. But then he brought it to Fr. Lowe’s life as an example of a man who, while being totally himself, was deeply committed to others: to Christ, to the Church, to his people. He loved the eucharist, he was deliberately faithful to the magisterium, and he was constant in promoting sound doctrine.
Again, it was amazing. It was like Father Lowe’s example was giving every priest, every PERSON, permission to be a true disciple of Christ. And the focus of the homily really wasn’t Father Lowe, but the things in which he believed. Fr. Lowe’s life was merely the key which opened a door of faith, and we were invited to walk through that door to Jesus.
Again, it was great. I am sorry my friend has died, of course, and I pray for the repose of his soul and for his community which will now be living a period of uncertainty. But I am grateful for having been given the chance to see experience that living faith that lets us grieve, but with true hope.
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Post for November 19, 2009
I attended a meeting this morning of the various lay pastoral agents for our Archdiocese, which was organized by our office (the Office for Pastoral Personnel). I found the gathering very touching — several witnesses got up to give their testimony of the work they are doing in the Lord’s vineyard, and more importantly of the work they see the Lord doing in his vineyard.
I really believe that the transformation of our culture is going to require a body of laity truly alive and the Spirit and awake to their task. Some commentators have called the Catholic laity a “slumbering giant”, and in some respects I think that is true. I was very encouraged by what I saw and heard, but we need more. We need a way to take these people, give them community *around the task they are called to accomplish* and give them the training they need so that they are (a) truly Catholic, and (b) truly competent. The Archdiocese has the herculean task of now trying to make it happen. Ah well, sleep is overrated…
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Post for November 17, 2009
The following email came in recently:
I always understood that when you die, your soul is immediately judged by God and are sent to hell or heaven. Some would be sent to purgatory for purification before entering eternal life.
However, Jesus did say that He would return to judge the living and the dead. Does this mean that those who have died must also wait for the return of Christ for the final judgment? Where does Purgatory come into this?
A few nuances are in order: the soul upon death is not so much judged by God as it experiences judgment. The two are not quite the same, as it is possible that it is the soul that judges itself.
Also, the souls are not “sent” anywhere so much as they begin to *experience* heaven, purgatory or hell.
Yes, Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, but the word judgment is being used differently in this context. It refers first and foremost to a “rescue operation” by Jesus in which the dead are restored to bodily existence in the resurrection. However, since both evil and good people rise, a second stage of the process is the separation of the blessed and the damned, akin to the separation they had previously when they didn’t yet have bodies again.
As for purgatory, there is a general consensus that it will no longer exist at the general resurrection from the dead. Whether this is because it will be “empty” by that point, or simply that it won’t be necessary anymore, is a debated point.
For an audio lecture of mine on these questions, check out my page on Adventus.org on the Creed, and scroll down to the April 9 lecture.
Finally, for a distinctly Canadian look at the “why” of purgatory, see my post on purgatory and hockey.
» Filed Under Explaining the faith | 3 Comments
Post for November 17, 2009
I got word Saturday evening that Fr. Don Lowe passed away earlier that day of a heart attack. His parishioners showed up for the Saturday evening mass and the doors were locked. When someone came with a key and they opened up the rectory, they found him dead. What an awful shock that must have been. I’ll post more details as I get them.
UPDATE: I just got word that Fr. Lowe’s funeral will be on Friday, November 20 @ 2:00 p.m., at Holy Family church in Deux-Montagnes. Visitation will be the previous evening (Thursday, November 19) from 7 to 9, and the next morning (the Friday) from 9 to noon (i.e. it finishes 2 hours before the funeral itself).
» Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Post for November 14, 2009
Whew, what a weekend. I had another 24-hour training session with some of the foreign priests, which had me going full steam all day Friday (until 10 pm) and all Sat morning. But it was amazing — Fr. Alain Pouliot came from the diocese of Quebec City to be our guest speaker on the subject of teamwork in the Quebec cultural context, and Francine Tremblay spoke to us Saturday morning on the relationship between men and women (again, in the local cultural context). Both sessions were just great, and I think everyone got a lot out of them. I know I could never have led them with such quality, so I’m really glad I was able to find people of quality to take on this challenge.
Our next sessions will be in two weeks, on media and communications. I may add a fourth 24 hour session to cover miscellaneous topics that have been arising over time. One thing I do know: the priests attending these sessions are not wasting their time.
» Filed Under Archdiocese of Montreal | Leave a Comment
Post for November 12, 2009
A reader sends this along:
Last year several parishes across the US gave out copies of Rediscovering Catholicism at their Christmas Masses. The impact was incredible. For too many people this is the only time they come to Church each year, and the book became a touchstone for renewal.
We are making twenty thousand copies of the book available for just $1 per copy this year. If you would like between 250 and 3,000 copies for your parish please contact Analise Ebaugh by 5pm EST on Monday, November 16 via email: analise@matthewkelly.org
» Filed Under Pastoral work | Leave a Comment
Post for November 11, 2009
Today I had the chance to be the inaugural speaker for the Concordia University Catholic Students Association. They are a new group — only been around a month — so I was delighted to be able to be there with them and support them. The topic they had proposed was quite interesting: Man is made to keep the garden — Stewardship in environment and religion. Unfortunately there were relatively few students, but that may have been just as well — I wasn’t at my best, to be honest, having just come off 3 hours of teaching at the Grand Séminaire.
For those wanting to know more about a Catholic perspective on the environment, the following website entitled Catholic Conservation Center looks quite interesting.
One thing the students did mention to me was that they had a hard time selling this talk to their fellow Catholics, some of whom accused them of being part of a trendy fad or even of encouraging druidism (!). I’ve encountered this sort of reaction myself, and in my experience it is more a reaction to the excessive sentimentalism of some of the environmentalists than to the issues themselves. Indeed, this sentimentalism is sometimes downright irrational. However, I think that an excessive opposite reaction is not helpful either: we must be able to appreciate creation in a joyful reaction to its beauty, as a gift coming from God. There is the possibility of a genuine spirituality of creation, it would seem to me, that keeps things in their proper order. Anyway, that’s what I tried to get across.
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Post for November 10, 2009
Today I had a chance to visit the Melkite cathedral here in Montreal, in order to prepare an ecumenical pilgrimage that will take place in December. The Melkites are Catholics, generally from Lebanon, who follow the Byzantine liturgical tradition. Given the large Lebanese community in Montreal, the Holy See gave the Melkites their own diocese (called an eparchy) 25 years ago for all of Canada, with its home base in Montreal.
I was very warmly received by the curate of the cathedral, Father Jean Mansour, who was ordained in 2005 and has been in Canada for only a couple of years. We had a delicious lunch at a local Lebanese restaurant (well, more of a feast than a lunch, actually) completed with a couple of glasses of arak — I hope I got the spelling right. Arak is a liqueur that tastes like licorice — Fr. Mansour said that where he is from, the saying is that every day you should say at least one Our Father and drink one glass of arak. Let’s just say we were particularly pious today
» Filed Under Order of Saint Lazarus | Leave a Comment
Post for November 8, 2009
Hmmm… MoPress had issues, mainly due to it not working properly with my Bluetooth keyboard. But now I’m trying Wordmobi, which seems to work really well.
Posted by Wordmobi
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Post for November 8, 2009
One thing I’ve been trying to get my phone to do for some time is write decent blog posts, thereby freeing me from my slavery to my regular PC. Well, I managed to find a neat little tool called MoPress, a Java tool that I installed on my phone that acts as an XML-RPC client. It isn’t perfect but it seems to be doing the trick. Hopefully this will make it easier for me to blog more frequently!
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Post for October 24, 2009
A few years ago I accepted, somewhat at the last minute, to teach an introduction to theology course at Concordia University. Years later, one of the happy consequences of that decision was the opportunity I had today to preside the wedding of one of my students, Jennifer, now married to Michael.
Congrats to the happy couple, my 42nd!
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Post for October 22, 2009
Today was a special training session for our new pastors, who were joined also by some priests who are likely soon to be named pastors. One thing they don’t teach us in seminary is how to administer a parish, and in the past a priest learned it by being an associate pastor for ten or twenty years. Well, we don’t have that luxury any more, and priests are becoming pastors with sometimes less than 3 years of experience. Hence, today’s training session.
We first covered the basic ecclesiology of what it means to be the presider of a community. Then, after lunch I presented a French-language version of a paper I once wrote on the relationship between a parish and a fabrique. Finally, we had a general overview of the administration of a parish: what papers need to be filed, how to avoid problems with the various level of government, and so on. It was a full day, to be sure!
I’m not sure how much 1 day of training is worth for the mammoth task of pastoring what can sometimes be several parishes at once. All the same, it is certainly better than nothing, and from the reactions of those just starting out, it was much appreciated.
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Post for October 20, 2009
Hey folks, I’ve been struggling with my computer ever since the VERY nasty virus it caught sometime in the last two weeks, but I just had to take some time to write about today’s important develop: the creation of a new canonical structure in the Roman Catholic Church to welcome Anglicans who wish to become Catholics but who also wish to retain an Anglican spirituality. I thought I’d offer my two cents.
While the media are treating this like a bolt out of the blue, in fact this is a response to a request made by the Traditional Anglican Communion in October 2007, i.e. two years ago! In short, they declared that they wanted to become Catholics, but that they also wanted to retain the classic Anglican approach to worship and prayer.
Frankly, I don’t see how the Pope could have refused this request. After all, we can’t very well refuse to accept people into full communion with the Church if they publicly profess the same faith.
Of course, the Pope could have said “Come on in, just leave your Anglican traditions at the door.” But what kind of a statement would that be regarding the value of traditional Anglican spirituality and worship? Contrary to what many believe, the Catholic Church is not a global monolith of one-size-fits-all spirituality, nor should it be. There are already many (albeit smaller) communities of Catholics operating under a special pastoral provision that preserves their spiritual heritage. The grand Tradition of the Church is not negotiable, but the specific traditions of time and place and culture are (within reasonable limits). To have refused to allow these believers to come into full communion with the Catholic Church on the basis of their specific traditions would have been both hypocritical (because we already welcome it) and unjust (because those traditions are not a barrier to faith and good morals).
So what are we left with? The Pope simply had to find a way to welcome these folks and at the same time preserve good order in the Roman Catholic Church, while also not destroying our ecumenical relationship with those Anglicans who choose to remain part of the Anglican Communion. Hence this new apostolic constitution, announced today. The Pope is going to allow the creation of “Personal Ordinariates”, a kind of special diocese for those Anglicans wishing to come into full communion with Rome while preserving their Anglican heritage.
The leeway given to the Ordinariates is actually quite large. For example, their priests and bishops can be reordained as Catholic priests, even if married. If unmarried, they can be reordained as bishops! They can establish seminaries for the training of future leaders. They can publish liturgical books consistent with their Anglican heritage. It is true that they are being asked to do these things in a way that is harmonious with existing Roman Catholic institutions (e.g. their seminarians should do some study alongside “regular” seminarians, their liturgical books will need to go through the same revision process that all others go through, etc.), but that strikes me as normal as part of being members of a larger Church family.
Of course, this comes at a time when the Anglican Communion is experiencing tremendous internal turmoil. It may look to some like this is a cynical attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to tempt disaffected Anglicans to “swim the Tiber”, but in fact it is not. Like I wrote earlier, this is primarily a response to the Traditional Anglican Communion (who apparently are quite happy about the whole thing), although I hear other parallel inquiries were also being made. This decision by the Pope, therefore, settles all these parallel cases in one fell swoop, this preserving that good order I mentioned before.
I commend Archbishop Rowan Williams for appearing at a joint press conference to announce this new pastoral approach being taken by Rome. I imagine that there are many faithful members of the Anglican Communion who will not be happy at this turn of events, but take heart. First of all, the Traditional Anglican Communion had left you folks a long time ago, so you aren’t really “losing” anybody. Next, you have an important Papal declaration of the genuine validity of the Anglican Christian heritage — this heritage is not merely being tolerated, it is being welcomed in a way that will allow it to flourish, and this within the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church.
English spirituality has always emphasized the importance of following one’s conscience; Anglicans themselves have a well-known tradition of inclusiveness (even if we can debate what the limits of that inclusiveness should be). The Pope’s decision, announced today, is about allowing people to live according to their conscience in a way that is inclusive of their spiritual heritage. In a sense, then, this Apostolic Constitution is actually a testament to the best of the English tradition.
» Filed Under Ecumenism | 3 Comments
Post for October 18, 2009
I’ve been having some major computer problems the past couple of weeks.
It started with a virus that installed a tiny FTP program that tried to install a rootkit. Nasty stuff, if it had succeeded I would have had my PC completely taken over by hackers.
To get rid of it completely, I had to wipe my hard drive using a rather drastic tool called Boot and Nuke. Then, a complete Windows XP reinstall, which took some time. Now I’m installing tools.
Unfortunately, I misconfigured one tool I installed and now my entire Hotmail inbox is gone. POOF! Yes, I am very annoyed. I’ll have to work from a backup file on my hard drive. If you’ve been waiting for an email response from me for something, I regret to inform you it may take some time…
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Post for October 14, 2009
A journalism student wants to do a class project on religion and blogging, and I am being interviewed for that purpose. However, she would also like to interview a couple of my blog readers (I guess to get the end-user point of view).
I’m posting this to ask for volunteers. Send me your name + contact info, and I’ll send a collated set to the student. She can then get in touch with you directly.
Many thanks!
» Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Post for October 1, 2009
Today I had a meeting of a special ad hoc committee within the diocesan structure: the “comité employeur”, which was put in place a few months ago to respond to certain elements of the ambient legal climate in which the Church finds itself.
Simply put, the Church does not exist apart from the world. We are *in* the world, but at the same time, we are not supposed to be *of* the world. Part of the secret to maintaining this distinction is to make sure that we, as Church, are strong in our understanding of who we are and what we are about. Part of this strength comes from being consistent in how we apply that understanding, i.e. we need to act justly and without arbitrariness. If we don’t do this, then the world will define these things for us — and will feel quite free about doing so, I might add, because we either won’t be living up to our own standards, or worse, we won’t even have a consistent picture of what those standards are.
Now one significant area of law other there in “the world” is the question of employment law. The rights and responsibilities of employer and employee are quite developed in the various branches of law and government. We also, in the Church, have a concept of being “workers in the vineyard”, with concept of hierarchy and obedience giving a “buck stops here” kind of structure that is parallel to what we find in most secular corporations. That being said, the fit is not perfect. Most secular employers, for example, don’t really care to what religion an employee belongs, but obviously this is a mission-critical question within the Catholic Church for most positions, particularly those where a mandate from the bishop is required.
So this “comité employeur” is all about trying to find a way to best interface with the requirements of secular society while at the same time retaining the independence of the Church and her freedom to act according to her conscience. It isn’t easy. Our legal advisors, for example, don’t all understand the nature of ecclesiatical work, and a host of jurispridence seems to indicate that even the courts and tribunals are trying to feel their way through the same questions. One thing is clear: they don’t want to wind up having to define what Catholics believe, and it seems to me all those judges and mediators would welcome a clear presentation by the Church that takes into account the complex social framework we have in place. Nope, it isn’t easy, but it is kind of fun (I like puzzles), and it is part of the challenge of the job I presently have.
» Filed Under Archdiocese of Montreal | 1 Comment
Post for September 30, 2009
Part of my role as Chairperson of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism is that I am responsible to head up the Executive Committee. We were having a devil of a time trying to find a time to meet, so we settled on today at lunch at the Grand Seminary of Montreal.
Today’s meeting highlighed a particular and immediate need at the Centre: we need a webmaster. We don’t need someone to do the technical infrastructure — that we have. What we need is someone to add the actual content to our site, to make it useful for the end user. The job is more editoral than technical. Any readers out there know someone who believes in the cause and can help in this area? I’d do it myself, but I’m already a Director, the corporate Secretary, and Chairperson of the Board. I’ve got too many hats already.
The Centre is, I believe, at a turning point in its existence. The world desperately needs to be more skilled in inter-faith understanding and reconciliation, and the Centre is an acknowleged nucleus of expertise in this area. But it is a bigger boat than I expected, and turning it is taking time. Still, we have a plan for how to move the Centre forward for the next 5 years, and I am committed to staying on until my services are no longer required for that purpose.
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Post for September 29, 2009
Given the very busy weekend I had I took it easy today (everybody needs a day off a some point). Still, there was one invitation I could not resist: this evening I spent some time with a group of Salesian Cooperators (sort of a third order for the Salesian family of religious organizations). We spent the evening discussing the latest Papal encyclical Caritatis in Veritate. I gave the main presentation, which in many ways didn’t involve the encyclical so much as giving a general background on Catholic social teaching so that people could read the encyclical on their own. I hope it was helpful to people.
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Post for September 28, 2009
…a funeral.
Father Paul was away from Saint Brendan’s parish over the weekend and into today, so I had the honour of presiding the funeral and burial of Alexandre Beaudet, an elderly gentleman who lived most of his 89 years in that same parish. I remember seeing him regularly at mass, even though I didn’t know his name, so I was quite saddened when I visited his family at the funeral parlour. Still, as any priest can tell you, faith makes a huge difference. The atmosphere itself was very light, even joyful, during the whole funeral process (wake, mass, burial). It was the most fitting tribute to the man and his trust in the Lord Jesus.
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Post for September 27, 2009
I presided Stan and Mirella’s wedding a few years ago, and today I had the honour of baptising their first little one — baby Giulia! What a sweetie. The ceremony was followed by a delicious supper over at their place, and I must say I felt really at home. It is very special to be able to be part of my married couples’ lives in this way, and I already have an invitation to go back for a house blessing. And I have two more baptisms coming up in October as well! Yee haw!
UPDATE: A picture of the blessed event!
Can’t you just spot the Holy Spirit descending?
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Post for September 26, 2009
I had the honour of presiding the wedding of these two this afternoon:
I had to arrive late for the reception due to a visit I needed to make to a funeral home, but I must say I was treated like royalty. Vic works in the restaurant business, so he knows how to make you feel right at a banquet, and it turns out some of the people who were at my table knew me from a previous pastoral assignment. We all had a really good time, and I wish my 41st couple well. We shall stay in touch!
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Post for September 25, 2009
Did I mention that video is hard? (See post of September 24 for the answer.)
Today I had the chance to interview Dawn Eden, the author of the book The Thrill of the Chaste and (former) blogger over at The Dawn Patrol. This wasn’t just for print, or even for audio: the Cardinal let me use his interview room at the Archdiocese and we had a genuine 3-camera setup. Many people came together to help make this happen, and I want to first say a public thank-you to Biagio, Vince, and especially Lisa, the director/camerawoman without whom I would have been TOTALLY lost.
The video will still need to be processed, as we had 1.5 hours of footage to fit into 3 10-minute clips — so stay tuned! But I have certainly come away from this with a new and awesome appreciation of the challenges of the video craft. Wow, it’s hard. On a purely technical level it’s hard, and I know that video is very unforgiving of even simple mistakes. But this is something I want to learn to do, and do well. It’s brutal, but that is kind of the point: if you can do it well, it really says something.
Many thanks to Dawn for coming to Montreal — it was a lot of fun to get to know her.
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Post for September 24, 2009
…and it isn’t here yet. Why? Because video is HARD!!!
I had dinner over at the home of a former student this evening (September 24) — his wife cooked a delicious meal, and his daughter was just a delight. As a gift he gave me a DVD of a pontifical mass in the Syriac Catholic tradition, and I worked and worked trying to get it ready for YouTube to share with you, the readers of this blog.
What I didn’t realise was how long it would take to render the video. HOURS of processing time. And wow, the software is really complex too, especially when (like me) you don’t really know what you are doing. NTSC vs PAL with frame rates and LAME audio encoding at 44.1 vs. 48 and what the heck does this button do and oh no I think I screwed up a default setting and 24 hours later the image is all squished…
And to do it all over again might very well mean another 24 hours wait…trial and error at this pace is very frustrating…
So, no video just yet. It’ll get there, it’ll get there.
Many thanks again to Elias for the delicious meal and delightful company!
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Post for September 22, 2009
This evening I had a chance to attend an event organized by the Order of Saint Lazarus: a cocktail fundraiser with Marc Garneau, Canada’s first man in space, as the guest speaker. The event was held at the Mount Royal Club, which I had never visited before (and I must say, is quite a swanky joint). While Mr. Garneau is now a politician, he refrained from talking up his party — and given the election fever that was gripping Canada at this point, I must say I respect his self-discipline! I got the chance to ask the first question, so I asked his opinion on whether we should return to the Moon or simply start trying to head to Mars. He thinks Mars, and I have to agree with him. The tough part is escaping Earth’s gravity: once you’ve done that, going to Mars is not much harder than going to the Moon, just longer (see Mars Direct).
BTW, the cocktail was a fundraiser for palliative care, one of the key objectives of the Order of Saint Lazarus. Many thanks to Marc Garneau for helping the Order help others.
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Post for September 20, 2009
Today I visited my family in Ottawa, and brought with me my father’s birthday gift — a computer I had built for him. The system is very bare bones, but my idea was to recycle as many parts as I could from the old machine and swap them into the new. In particular, I wanted to transfer the hard drive, as that would make sure no data would be lost, although I suspected I might have a problem so I did make a backup first.
And yes, we had a problem.
You see, when Windows XP is first installed the system creates an installation code out of the product key and the serial numbers of some key system parts. This code is then registered with Microsoft to validate that the copy of XP is genuine. The process is called “Windows Genuine Advantage”, although it is only an advantage for Microsoft.
So what happened when I swapped the hard drive? The system, upon startup, detected that new hardware was present, and assumed that the copy of Windows that was being run was a pirate copy. In other words, every time I tried to get into Windows apart from Safe Mode, it was no dice.
“No problem,” I thought to myself, “all I need to do is redo the validation routine with Microsoft.” Except that doesn’t work. Safe Mode only worked if I didn’t have any networking drivers installed, so no Internet access. And while Microsoft does have a telephone mechanism for validation, the telephone menus did not include an option for the problem I was facing. I finally managed to find an option to be passed to an actual human being…and the system hung up on me.
@#$%!
So I did the only thing left to do: I completely reinstalled the operating system. In retrospect this really was my best option, and (unfortunately) I have enough experience reinstalling Windows that the system worked just fine. My parents now have a much faster PC, and I’m hoping that the automated processes at Microsoft won’t one day decide that my parents are pirates. AARRGGHH!!
» Filed Under Personal tidbits | 5 Comments
Post for September 19, 2009
Father Francis McKee, a brother priest here in Montreal, asked me to take over for him this morning for a study group he has been leading. This group has been going over the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a methodical way, in order to learn more about their faith. Father Francis likes for a priest to be there to help moderate the discussion, and I was honoured that he asked me to help him out. The section we were studying this morning had to do with our faith in God’s uniticy and almightiness, and that brought us into a tangent where we wound up comparing the Christian, Jewish and Islamic concepts of God.
For those interested in reading the Catechism on their own, I’m happy to provide a study plan I once developed which, if followed, will bit by bit get you through the Catechism in a year. Feel free to copy it and pass it along.
» Filed Under Explaining the faith | Leave a Comment
Post for September 18, 2009
I visited the Chinese Catholic mission today to continue the series of Bible study lessons I began with them over a year ago (today we took a look at 2 Thessalonians). At the end we went out for our usual dinner in Chinatown, but the end of the dinner had a special treat:
Surprise! Out comes a cake and the group bursts into song. Even better was a nice card I received with kind words from all who were present. And I had to admit, they had me totally fooled — I didn’t have a CLUE that this was going to happen. I was really touched!
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Post for September 16, 2009
I was recently asked to join the English Speaking Catholic Council, a non-profit organization that styles itself as the voice of English-speaking Catholics in Quebec. (I suppose it is, given that I don’t know of any other group that is claiming the title.) While I’ve heard about the Council for years, I never really knew what they did, but tonight I learned a great deal about the work of the council to promote an English Catholic presence in the health care and education fields. Some important leaders in the English Catholic community were around that table, and I’m pleased to see that while the body is (rightfully) a majority lay organization, there is an active desire to collaborate with the hierarchy to advance the cause of God. I’m not sure where it will all lead, but I see the Council as being an important mechanism to show voice specifically Catholic concerns in an increasingly secular environment.
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Post for September 14, 2009
I got up early today to head to Trois-Rivières, for a meeting of a special commission of the Assembly of Quebec Bishops that was to discuss the question of the Catholic presence in the health care system. I was a bit bummed that I had to go on my day off, but I had promised a colleague I would go in her place as she would be on vacation. Besides, having been a hospital chaplain I really believe in the importance of this part of the Church’s mission, so I wanted to make sure someone would be there.
On my way I called in to our department secretary for something from my car, and when I mentioned where I was going she asked me if I was travelling with our departmental director. “Umm, no…” I answered, “is he going too?”
“Sure,” she replied, “he’s sharing a ride with the Vicar General.”
So let me get this straight, I thought to myself, both the vicar general and an auxiliary bishop are already headed there, and I’m going because…?
Now I’m quite sure no one will ever accuse me of having a poor sense of self-esteem (ahem), but I like to think I’m not so self-important that I think I needed to be there to back up the two most senior clerics of the Archdiocese (after the Cardinal himself, of course). So I turned the car around, and headed back to Montreal. And as the Lord often does, he turned lemons into lemonade: a classmate of mine from seminary had his parish nearby, so I dropped in to visit him at his rectory in L’Assomption. It was a very nice visit, and since he’s really out in the boonies of our diocese he doesn’t get too many, so we both enjoyed ourseslves.
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Post for September 13, 2009
Well, we did it — the 6th annual “Father Tom married couples reunion” was a big success! It was a lot of work, and there were a few organizational mistakes on my part, but I am so grateful to all those who helped, as well as a special thank you to Corpus Christi parish and its pastor, Father Benoit Morrier, for the use of their facilities.
I’ve known Carol since we were twelve, and I had the honour of preaching at her wedding many moons ago.
One thing I love about this event is how the couples are becoming families. The little girl on the right was the first child to attend one of these reunions — in utero, mind you!
I just want to give a shout out to Lisa and Michael, and their little ones Jacob and Emma. Thanks for showing up so early to help set things up, and for staying late to help close things down.
Remember what I said about growing families? Congrats to (centre) Terri and Fred for little Josef, and to (far sides) George and Sonia for soon-to-be-seeing-the-light-of-day little Thomas. (Well, they haven’t actually yet decided to name him Thomas, but I’ve been encouraging them in that direction. )
We had a ton of food, and a good time was had by all. I’m looking forward to next year already, and by then my 40 couples will have grown to 43 (at least). I love all my couples, and pray for their happiness and success.
» Filed Under Marriage ministry | 1 Comment
Post for September 11, 2009
She turns 11 today. We celebrated a bit last weekend up at my parent’s cottage already, but hey, you only turn 11 once, right? No problem mentioning it twice, especially since she is the best birthday present I ever received! Happy birthday Alexandra!
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Post for September 11, 2009
Yes, today is my 39th birthday. My Facebook account + email inbox(es) are flooding with messages, and my cell phone was ringing off the hook this morning. Many thanks to all who are thinking of me — say a prayer for me too, ok? Believe me, I can use all I can get.
» Filed Under Personal tidbits | 1 Comment
