Post for February 29, 2008
Today was another healing mass led by the CCSM healing ministry. It took place at St. Brendan’s parish, in the East End. Fr. Paul Pomkoski did a super job presiding it, and encouraging all persons present to pray for each other for healing (whatever the specific need might be). As for me, I heard confessions, both before and after the mass. It was great! I just love getting back into the real thick of things — and there is nothing more “real” than the sacraments (as surprising a statement as that might be for some).
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Post for February 28, 2008
Today was a meeting between the various department heads (and their associates) at the Archdiocese. We call the “Offices and Services”. In 2000-speak of our diocesan curia, an “Office” is like a “congregation” in the Roman Curia — its role is to set binding policy for the diocese. On the other hand, a “Service” is more like a “council” in the Roman Curia — it is there to support certain pastoral initiatives. For myself, I work in an Office, called the Office for Pastoral Personnel. We basically handle human resources issues for all pastoral personnel in the archdiocese. I am the “adjoint” to the Director of the Office, a title which does not translate well into English (I usually use “associate director” to express that I have no power to make any decisions without reference to my boss, but at the same time I have the right to take initiatives within certain defined fields of action). Yeah, its complicated.
Now please don’t misunderstand the title of this post! I do not mean that I am “getting out of the Office of the Pastoral Personnel”. Far from it! I’m referring to a request that the Archbishop made shortly before I began working at in the curia — that all curial personnel devote 20% of their time “on the ground” in the pastoral regions of the diocese. In other words, he wants us to get out of the ivory tower and see what is really going on.
Well I can tell you, that is preaching to the choir as far as I am concerned. Personally, I’ve tried to equip myself to be able to do just that. My backpack is pre-loaded, for example, with things that turn it into a kind of portable office. It is subdivided into several pouches so I can store multiple files when I travel. I’ve got my 4 GB data key that can store basically every electronic dossier I have. I’ve got a Blackberry-ready cell phone complete with Bluetooth keyboard, so I can work basically anywhere. My contact database has over 500 people in it, and I keep a spare copy of the diocesan directory in one of pouches so that I’m never really out of touch.
Still, the situation is not perfect. For some odd reason, I can’t forward my phone from the office to the cell, so if people call me they have to leave a message (and I have to remember to get the message – it isn’t seamless). I can only get access to email through a complex web interface, and the diocese does not (at present – *ahem*) pay for data usage. I have no remote access at all the file servers on the LAN, and no way of synchronising files with the data key. This last point is really important, because if I were to lose the data key — poof. And I need a way to encrypt it, too, so that no one else would gain access to confidential materials. One step at a time, I guess.
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Post for February 27, 2008
One of the key areas of responsibility on my plate is support to the recently ordained priests in Montreal (i.e. those ordained less than 10 years, otherwise known as the “young priests”). In practical terms, one of the things I do is organize an annual meeting between the Cardinal Archbishop and these priests. Today was the day for this encounter.
The Cardinal has written his weekly column on the subject of this meeting, and I thought that, rather than supply my own blah blah, it might be good simply to link to his own thoughts and words. Enjoy!
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Post for February 26, 2008
I had planned to take today as a planning day, as I had no meetings scheduled. No such luck. The phone just did not stop ringing.
I did some quick calculations: if I get an average of 15 phone calls per day, and I spend 10 minutes (on average) with a call, I spend 2.5 hours per day on the phone.
If I get 6 work-related emails per day, and spend an average of 20 minutes per email answering it properly, that is another 2 hours gone.
Finally, if I have one meeting per day, on average, that lasts 1.5 hours, I have a total of 6 hours spent without getting any actual work done.
Incredible. 80% of my average day is already gone, before I even get to the areas where new initiatives are called for.
This is insane. I have to get a better grip on this, or else the phone, email and etc. are going to be the masters of my mission, rather than tools to enhance it.
Yeesh.
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Post for February 25, 2008
Today was an important day for the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism: we had our annual general meeting, at which I presented the audited statements for the last fiscal year, as well as a resolution for the appointment of new auditors for the next fiscal year.
This AGM was a long time in preparation. We had to get in contact with old members from years past, and try and obtain a quorum within the context of our by-laws. It was not easy, and we are not quite out of the woods yet — a key amendment will need to be made to our by-laws shortly to facilitiate the holding of future AGMs. That being said, I am confident that the Centre is on the road of good corporate governance.
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Post for February 24, 2008
I spent the last few nights preaching a parish mission at St-David church in Pierrefonds. What made this mission different from the previous ones was that it was all in French. It was quite a challenge, I must say, translating all the material into the language of Molière, but I’m sure it will pay off for the Lord’s kingdom.
All the mission materials that I’m making public can be found on the Adventus website.
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Post for February 20, 2008
Not for me. For an elderly brother priest, who needs to get special injections every 3 months. We have an infirmary for priests who require medical attention, and while this brother priest does not need 24-hour care it makes sense that he go there to receive his medication.
Except he does not drive. That’s where I come in, given that my job is to support the pastoral personnel. I must say, though, he is very pleasant company, and afterwards he always want to go for coffee or lunch (depending on the time of day). We actually wound up having a HUGE meal at The Keg in downtown Montreal. It was very enjoyable.
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Post for February 19, 2008
The Montreal Clergy Community Fund is a charity specially founded to help look after our diocesan priests here in Montreal, and yes, I am on the Board of Directors. One of the things I have been pushing for is a greater flexibility in how people can contribute. I am pleased to report that we are now fully registered with CanadaHelps.org, so that people can contribute to the support of priests through that website. Next steps: a logo, more descriptive text, and our own web page within those of the Archdiocese of Montreal!
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Post for February 18, 2008
‘Nuff said.
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Post for February 17, 2008
Today I had the pleasure of presiding a special mass for the Montreal Challenge Movement. It is team day today — the last major day of preparation before the Challenge weekend. Of course, being a Sunday, the members of team wanted to have Sunday eucharist, and as I was already going to be present at the parish where they were doing the team day for another purpose it just made sense.
I helped found the Montreal Challenge Movement close to 10 years ago. It was exciting then, and I am so happy to see it is still going strong. Deo gratias!
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Post for February 16, 2008
I had the pleasure to baptise little Ethan today. Or should I say BIG Ethan, as this is a bouncing baby boy if I’ve ever seen one! I had the honour of presiding the marriage of Meagan and Ryan (the parents), and it was an honour to join the family again to welcome the new arrival into the household of faith.
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Post for February 15, 2008
Today we had an all-day gathering of the Nominations Committee. This is the diocesan body that makes final recommendations to the Cardinal regarding appointments for pastoral personnel, including priests. If a priest is about to change parishes, this is the committee that proposes the change.
It isn’t easy setting pastoral placements, because of the domino effect: as soon as one priest changes parishes, for example, another needs to be named to replace him, and the dominos start to fall. Each year the Nominations Committee meets in the spring to get an overall picture of the situation. That’s what we did today. And since there are 200+ parishes in Montreal, it takes time, so we met all day at the Val-Marie diocesan house.
So what changes are in the making? Sorry, can’t say. But I can say that so far it looks like a relatively quiet year.
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Post for February 14, 2008
I was all set this evening to receive two people for pastoral meetings (one for spiritual direction, one for marriage preparation). And then…neither of them showed up! The first had to cancel at the last minute, and the second went to the wrong church to meet me. We’ve rescheduled both appointments for next week.
Now when people have to cancel something (or go to the wrong place…) they are, quite often and quite understandably, quite apologetic. From my perspective, though, things like this are actually a kind of blessing. My agenda tends to be PACKED, and so if I was not meeting them I’d likely have something else in that same slot. To have a last-minute cancellation actually gives me a “surprise night off”, allowing me to sit back, relax, have a good single malt scotch, and read a book/listen to music/do whatever. So to those two people: don’t feel bad! It all worked out in the end.
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Post for February 13, 2008
The sixth week of my new course was on the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. Here are the audio files:
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Post for February 12, 2008
Canada actually has 5 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and RRSP season. (Well, some would argue that the hockey playoffs constitute a season as well.) Anyway, I helped a friend today with the investment of his retirement funds. The market has not been doing well lately, which ironically means it may just be an excellent time to buy. Still, not knowing how things will continue to unfold, I recommended a balanced fund (half bonds, half stocks). The fund is largely Canadian, and since the Canadian fiscal picture is very healthy it seemed a safe(r) bet for the time being (heck, even Warren Buffet is apparently bullish on Canada right now). Any thoughts from my readers?
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Post for February 11, 2008
Today I had a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism (of which I am the Treasurer). I had asked for this meeting in order to discuss a plan I had put forward on December 12, 2007, to help the Centre reorganize its membership register. It may seem like a trivial thing, but not having a well-organized register could eventually have serious consequences if not tended to. Happily, the plan continues to move along, and I am confident that we’ll have everything under control by the spring (certain delays are legally necessary, so that everyone is properly notified of the proposed changes).
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Post for February 10, 2008
Today I had the pleasure of presiding mass at St. Luke parish in the West Island of Montreal. I was there to promote the parish mission I will be preaching Feb 21-24 at the neighbouring parish of St. David. The mission will start at 7 p.m. each evening, and will be in French. Of course, along with presiding the mass I spent a lot of time catching up with people (I was a curate there for a year). Boy, I’ve only been gone 18 months and some of the kids have really grown – WOW! Still, lots of hugs and smiles – it was quite nice.
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Post for February 9, 2008
This morning I headed over to the east end of Montreal to hear confessions for kids doing their first Reconciliation. This is a very special moment for a child, as he or she tells another adult about his/her sins – never an easy thing for anybody! I do my best to help make it an authentic and positive experience for them. Of course, I can’t tell you anything more about it (sacramental secrecy and all) except to say that is was a real blessing for me as well.
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Post for February 8, 2008
This evening I had the chance to visit one of my married couples and bless their house. Well, eventually…we started with an excellent Italian meal (and yes, there was a LOT of food) and some excellent conversation (yes, there was a LOT of that too!) I really enjoyed myself, and I think it was a real moment of grace for all involved.
One follow-up from this is the couple asked for a recommendation for a family Bible, but not just one that looks good but contains study notes as well. Do any blog readers out there have any practical suggestions in that area?
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Post for February 6, 2008
The fifth week of my new course was on Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary. Here are the audio files:
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Post for February 5, 2008
Sometimes, I am helping an elderly priest make the transition to having to live in a home.
Other times, I am helping foreign priests get settled in our diocese.
Today? I went bowling.
Yep. Bowling. It was the priest bowling tournament this afternoon, followed by a dinner. Not that I actually know how to bowl all that well. Still, I showed up, mainly to demonstrate my support for the event and to have a bit of quality time with my brother priests.
My first game was terrible. My second game was not much better. But my third game was smokin’! I managed to eke out a 159. I was pretty happy with that.
And, I must say, none of us were really all that good. People in the other lanes, when they heard there was a priest bowling tournament going on, kept looking over at us with curiosity, to see how we were doing. Apparently we need to pray harder, because if we just rely on our bowling skills we’re toast.
The evening concluded with supper and a small set of prize giveaways. I won a bottle of cognac for my bowling performance (the 159 made all the difference). I’m already looking forward to the golf tournament in the fall!
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Post for February 3, 2008
Today I preached at St. Brendan’s parish on the beatitudes. Unfortunately, I forgot my voice recorder this time, so I do not have the audio file. Here is a brief summary.
The Beatitudes represent the opening lines of the Sermon on the Mount, which St. Matthew places as Jesus’ first major speech within his ministry. Each of the Beatitudes begins with the word “Blessed”, as in “Blessed are the poor in spirit” or “Blessed are the meek”. The word “blessed” does not quite capture the ancient Greek word, however, which is the word “makarios”. “Makarios” is often translated as “happy”, but it does not mean a simple human contentment, but a happiness that is rock-solid and overflowing. In French, the word we use to translate “makarious” is not hereux, but bienheureux, i.e. “really and truly happy”.
Interestingly, Jesus taught the Beatitudes while on a mountain. This is not an accident, and is meant to evoke the image of Moses, who descended from Mount Sinai holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Beatitudes are often considered to be the completion of the Law of God. Curiously, however, the Beatitudes are not written like your typical commandments. The Ten Commandments are written as a set of do’s and don’ts, as in “Do not kill” or “Do keep holy the Lord’s day”. The Beatitudes, instead, are written like simple statements of fact. In reality, however, the two kinds of statements go together. For example, imagine I were to say “Don’t eat the mushroom. It is poisonous.” I have made two statements: the first is a commandment, and the second is an explanation of the commandment. Each statement, however, completes the other. In some ways, the second statement is the more important. If all I say is “that mushroom is poisonous,” it implies that it should not be eaten. The explanation completes the commandment by giving its reason, while the commandment makes explicit the “do” or “don’t” in the statement. So it is with the Beatitudes. They do not replace the Ten Commandments, but they point out the real goal of the Ten Commandments, and provide a set of statements that have implicit within them a code of behaviour for all of life.
When we look at the Beatitudes, however, we sometimes see a contradiction. “Happy are those who mourn”…does the make sense? By definition, isn’t a person who is mourning unhappy? To understand these statements, then, we need to grasp them within their cultural context. In the original language and cultural mindset of Jesus’ time, to make a strong statement in one sense automatically implied its opposite. This is true even today in some things: the statement “it is hot” automatically implies it is not cold. A good way to understand the Beatitudes, then, is to pay attention to their opposites:
“Happy are the poor in spirit” becomes “Miserable are those attached to earthly possessions”. Isn’t it true that an inordinate attachment to material things brings all kinds of misery, such as jealousy, workoholism, and even fear of loss?
“Happy are those who mourn” becomes “Miserable are those who can never let go”. Mourning is a natural and healthy process, by which we achieve closure when we experience loss. If a person is unable to let go, however, it means they can never stop living in the past to start looking forward again.
“Happy are the meek” becomes “Miserable are the arrogant”. The meek will inherit the earth, but those who bully others can only take: they are not *given* anything.
“Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” becomes “Miserable are those who hunger and thirst for evil things”. People can try and fill themselves up with all sorts of stuff — food, drugs, money, fame — but in the end these just leave emptier. A fulfilled life does not get filled from the outside, but has a fullness that comes from the inside.
“Happy are the merciful” becomes “Miserable are the merciless”. People who bear grudges, who refuse to forgive, and who take revenge, are the real prisoners. They are prisoners of their own hate, and it eventually poisons all their relationships.
“Happy are the pure in heart” becomes “Miserable are those who take things for granted”. Purity of heart is often interpreted to mean sexual purity, and it can mean that, but is a broader sense it means the ability to focus on what is really important in the present moment. How many of us put off until later even the good things that are being presented to us right now? How many of us miss out on the beauty of the present moment, or taint it with selfishness?
“Happy are the peacemakers” becomes “Miserable are the warmongers”. There are people in this world who have a deep need to feel offended, or to offend others. Peacemakers get to be part of the grand family of the “children of God”. Warmongers, on the other hand, end up alone.
“Happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” becomes “Miserable are those who have no spine”. It isn’t always easy to stand up for what is right — yes, we can wind up persecuted. But who will ever trust us with what is truly important if we don’t have the inner strength to hold on to it in the first place?
Perhaps you see other forms of “beatitude-opposites” that help bring some or all of the actual Beatitudes into greater clarity. If so, please share them! The Beatitudes represent the goal of all real morality: the inner strength to do what is right in all circumstances, and the inner freedom to love unconditionally. Yes, the Beatitudes are a new Law, but the best law of all: a law that sets us free!
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Post for February 2, 2008
Whaddya think?
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