Peace by Jude Gosselin

We talk about it. We include a sign of it in the liturgy. Peace on earth, goodwill to all. So what?

Peace is not a wistful thought or a dreamy ideal. It is something that needs to be worked at and even fought for.

In our everyday relationships we need to work at peace by speaking positively about those around us, by encouraging those facing hard hard times and lovingly calling back those that have been consumed by their passions and egos. I think that too often will balk at the effort needed to truly create peace.

In our whole human family we need to work at peace by honestly examining our own behaviours and values. How do our choices impact our community? In this time of Christmas blessings we can create peace in our land by working for justice. Did the person who made your shirt get a fair wage? The plantation workers where you fruit was grown... are the workers there treated with true human dignity?

Injustices like these represent a true and present impediment for peace.

After all Jesus said blessed are the Peacemakers.

A message from Ireland.

Stephanie Berthon is a missionary currently residing in Knock, Ireland. This is an update of her recent NET experience.

Hi Everyone!

It has already been almost 4 months since I said goodbye to all of you, packed my little (yeah right) suitcase and hopped on a plane to Ireland. I miss you all so much, I have been praying lots for you and I think an update is in order!

Where to begin… well I guess we can start by explaining a little bit about my NET team and how we came to be! We spent one month training in Knock, Ireland. Knock is actually home to a Marian Shrine and it was such a blessing to visit my first Marian Shrine and to have had access to the Shrine basically any day I wanted to walk down! In the middle of training, teams were announced. I was called up to be on the road team and all I remember thinking was “Jesus, you are crazy I’m NOT cut out for this!” Luckily, I was wrong and Jesus was (obviously) right. My team is nothing short of crazy but somehow that makes us perfect together. At the moment I have 3 sisters on my team and 4 brothers. We are 5 Canadians, 2 Americans and 1 Irish lad, all from different places in our lives. I’m learning a lot about community life, sharing and coping with not having any alone time–ever. Although a lot of that sounds difficult (and I will admit, it isn’t easy), I love it and Jesus has blessed me with more patience than I ever thought I had and so much love for my team that I’ve been doing really well! I love being on the road team. We run Encounter Days (retreats) almost every day of the week. It is such a blessing to wake up every morning (even if it is 5:45 am) and know that my “job” is to tell other people about Jesus and what He’s done in my life.

We hit the road in the middle of September, putting on Encounter Days for different age groups of students from one end of the country to another. We’ve had all sorts of retreats: one with about fifteen eighteen-year-old guys to a few Encounter Days for over 150 grade seven girls (that one was a little scary for some of my brothers!) Some Encounter Days are easy and just fly by while others are a little bit harder for us, with a couple of challenges throughout our day. Easy or hard, every Encounter Day leaves us with at least one glory story and always a few reminders as to how much Jesus needs us to be here.

I hope everything in Winnipeg is going well! I’m sure there is lots of snow by now, it’s probably getting chilly and Christmas preparations are in full swing for many families. Here in Ireland, the temperature has certainly been dropping, and we just got hit with our first bout of snow! The Irish people aren’t really used to snow; one of the brothers on my team (the one from Dublin) was actually worried to drive today because it had snowed! The Canadians are all doing fine with it, we feel a little closer to home actually! We are currently in Dublin until the middle of December and I have to say, they really go all out with their Christmas decorations! It isn’t even December yet and already the streets are lined with strings of lights and festive wreaths. The shopping centers are decorated head to toe with Christmas villages for Santa and snowflakes and twinkling lights. Already my team has been invited to take part in a caroling service being put on by a local parish and we are looking forward to helping the priest of the parish in which we are staying, Fr. Seamus, decorate his massive Christmas tree. We had a gingerbread house building competition today (unfortunately I think the guys won…), it was really fun and we bought a mini Christmas tree so our team is really getting into the Christmas spirit!

We have only 7 retreats left until our December retreat and then we’ll get a few weeks off to relax and enjoy Christmas. Some of my teammates are going home to visit their families. My sister Morgan and I are actually going to Turkey because her aunt lives there and had invited her and I to spend Christmas with her, I am really looking forward to spending Christmas in warm weather but I will admit, it will be so different and I will really miss being in Winnipeg.

I want to finish off by thanking everyone for their prayers for my team and I and also a special thank you to all those who have been supporting NET this year, as it is our first year of being an independent ministry (we are no longer affiliated with NET Ministries of Canada). I have certainly seen why your support is so needed for my team and for our ministry, and I am so thankful for every bit of it. If there is anyone who feels like they would also like to support NET Ministries of Ireland please feel free to contact me by email. Any donation would be extremely helpful to us this year.

Thanks so much for listening to my little update and, once again, please keep us in your prayers! Also, feel free to email me and send me updates about life in Winnipeg, I’d love to hear for you! Merry Christmas to everyone and many blessings in the New Year!

In Christ,

Stephanie Berthon

News!

It’s my pleasure to announce, that on December 14^th, our guest will be Archbishop Lagatt. His Grace will be coming to Emmaus with a special Christmas message. Feel free, like any other Emmaus evening, to invite friends and family.
Happy Holidays,

Billz

October Update

The last team meeting for Emmaus was held on Sunday, October 24^th. We began by sitting down for a meal while engaging in the usual small-talk that precedes all things. After the majority of our plates were empty, we began our meeting with The Litany of Humility, a devotion that the team has adopted for this upcoming year. Our prayer lead into a scripture reflection on Mark 11 where Jesus rides on a donkey into Jerusalem. In the passage Jesus says and does somethings that don't quite make sense to us; we reflected on following him even when we fail to have the clarity we would like. We then shared with each other the current events in our daily lives, the good and the bad. The final portion of our formation period was a time of affirmation. We highlighted all the good things we see in one another.

Our planning portion of the evening focused on the next couple months of Prayer Meetings we were going to have. We felt that it would be fitting to host a series focused on Canadian Saints for the month of November. Being in the wake of the canonization of St. Andre Bessette, we found this to be a great topic to explore. We also addressed a lack of communication that occurred in the team during the transition between Team Leaders. Jacquelline Lambert, who has guided the Team and Emmaus exceptionally, has decided it would be best for her to step down as Team Leader and focus on her studies. Brigitte Cormier, and her betrothed, Bill Dykstra had assumed the roles of Co-Team Leaders in late September. 

Why "The Roadie"?

For some of us, throughout our lives we have been "wowed" by the live performances of music groups. During concerts we have been inspired and amazed by the talent of musicians, vocalists, and songwriters through their ability to convey different thoughts and emotions via their gifts. However, the most talented & entertaining performers all have the assistance of a crew of workers who's job is to manage the instruments, lighting, and sound equipment for some of your favorite live acts. These people are informally known as "the Roadies". These  Roadies often receive little credit for the work that "sets the stage" for some awe-inspiring events.
Through this blog we home to serve others more efficiently in presenting the current events of the Emmaus Prayer Meeting. We hope that this would further our outreach by posting testimonies, scripture reflections, & poetry. We pray that this online tool would be a source of service, information, and expression.