Post for April 26, 2009
This morning, before leaving for the parish where I was to celebrate mass, I bumped into the Cardinal on the way to the parking lot.
My first words: “Good morning, your Eminence!”
His first words: “Are you still planning on going to Mexico? This swine flu is very worrying.”
What a way to start your day…and yet, he does have a point. I was actually quite touched by his concern.
I can’t deny that the thought of cancelling my trip has crossed my mind. Yep, I still want to go. I have a couple of offers of places to stay, and my language school from last year has a spot.
But, given this “swine flu”…
Will the school be open for business?
Will the *country* be open for business?
Based on current reports, I’m not actually all that worried. The panic gripping Mexico may very well be exagerrated, just like the SARS episode in Toronto was (in my opinion) blown out of proportion. I’m not saying the suffering of those who have died and their families is insignificant. I’m just saying that 20-30 deaths out of over 1000 reported cases in a population of 25 million (Mexico City alone) is not a pandemic.
And yet…
Can those reports be trusted? Hey, this is Mexico. I’ve seen the inefficiency and corruption. And I’m not saying anything that Mexicans themselves don’t say, trust me. They know it better than I do.
So I am going to keep an eye on the situation for the next few days. If things peter out, fine. If not, I can cancel my ticket and rebook for a later date. Yeah, there would be a penalty, but so what?
There is one thing that really does have me worried, though: my friends. I am honoured to have many friends now in Mexico, and I am worried about them. I am especially worried about the priests, like my friends Padre Roberto and Padre Marco. As priests we come into contact with a lot of people, meaning that we can easily find ourselves on the path of contagious disease (just think of all the hands we shake at the end of each mass, for example). So I ask your prayers for all of them, that the Lord keep them safe. I can just as easily stay home where there are anti-viral drugs ready to go and more that can come. It isn’t so easy for them. Lord have mercy!
» Filed Under Personal tidbits | 2 Comments
Post for April 19, 2009
As I was preaching this morning, I experienced something that many preachers know: the unexpected homily. This occurs when a person has prepared one homily, but in the course of giving it something you can’t quite explain takes over and a quite different homily emerges.
Well, I liked the results, so in the time between masses I listened to the audio recording and prepared a new set of homily notes so as to be able to give a repeat performance. The only thing was, as I started to speak from the notes yet another different homily emerged. It was very odd! The one homily I had prepared became two other — and quite different — homilies.
So here you have it: a chance to listen to what a difference the “unexpected homily” makes:
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Post for April 12, 2009
Hello my blog-reading friends, now that Holy Week is over and we are into Easter week I felt it appropriate to get back to the blog and wish all of you the best of this season. I personally love the Easter Octave (i.e. the week after Easter Sunday) and like to treat it like a week-long festival of grace. So treat yourselves! This is the week of our greatest joy!
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
» Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
Post for April 9, 2009
I was invited to attend the annual general meeting of the Order of Saint Lazarus today, so I went. What, you never heard of them? Me neither until recently, but I have been pleasantly surprised to discover this group of active citizens working for charitable purposes throughout Canada (and the world). They have a long and (literally) noble history, so I thought I’d give them a plug.
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Post for April 8, 2009
Today I began to work in ernest on a new personnel database for our office. I’m able to update the main profile table, and the system I have designed tracks every change made to that table (along with the userid of whoever made it). Next step: a login system, which should not be hard because I’ve designed something like that before.
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Post for April 4, 2009
Just a little heads-up: I’ll be off to Mexico again for the month of May. I want to consolidate the Spanish I learned and get more practice.
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Post for April 3, 2009
My brother called me up today to see if I wanted to take in a comedy show. As it turns out, Visions Camp (of which he was a member many moons ago) was doing a fundraiser, so he was coming into town. So I figured, why not? A good chance to hang with my bro, I thought. As it turns out, I saw a lot of people I knew, which was really nice, and I might add that the comedy was actually pretty funny! A little colourful at times, but nothing blasphemous (which I absolutely hate). I had a few good laughs, and I’m glad I went.
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Post for April 3, 2009
One of the major advisory committees within our diocese is called the Nominations Committee. It is composed of the Director of the Office for Pastoral Personnel, his assistant directors (including yours truly) and the regional episcopal vicars of our diocese. It is the committee responsible to discern what pastoral assignments to recommend to the Archbishop.
Every spring, the Nominations Committee goes through an exercise to determine what pastoral changes will be made for the September 1 start of the pastoral year. Which means that every spring we have lots of long meetings, trying to see what needs to change and what needs to stay the same.
Today was one of those meetings. Sorry, the results are top secret until the Cardinal approves of the recommendations, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how relatively painless the exercise was this time. Oh we are not done yet, and much can still be undone through unforseen circumstances, but it is looking good.
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Post for April 2, 2009
I went for an eye exam today (last one was in 2007). Everything checks out well – a slight increase in myopia, but not need for reading glasses just yet, and my astigmatism seems to have gone away! I can keep the same glasses and still be ok for driving, but as these are getting old it might be time for a change.
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Post for April 1, 2009
This week my students and I examined the question of how God acts outside himself. The audio is now posted:
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