Many parishes are offering a special All Saints Day Mass in the evening. We strongly encourage you attend mass and bring a friend. If you have any questions contact your parish or diocese.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
All Saints Day
With All Saints Day just around the corner, here is a Fr. Barron Comment to help us better understand the saints and their role in our lives.
Many parishes are offering a special All Saints Day Mass in the evening. We strongly encourage you attend mass and bring a friend. If you have any questions contact your parish or diocese.
Many parishes are offering a special All Saints Day Mass in the evening. We strongly encourage you attend mass and bring a friend. If you have any questions contact your parish or diocese.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I have nobody. I need somebody: The loss of Amanda Todd
In an online
video, Amanda Todd gives her personal testimony of abuse. In this video, that
has gone viral, she gives an autobiography of bullying that spans over the
course of a few years. In it she uses cue cards, with her face hidden, to recalls
the various abuses in her life that lead to her ultimate decision. She begins
by recounting the need to seek online chat rooms to “meet and talk to new people”
because of the amount of bullying she was experiencing at school. Online she
met a boy who, through offering her compliments that exalted her physical
beauty, coaxed her to expose her breasts on camera.
A year later, after having to move from experiencing a great deal of bullying at her previous high school, that same young boy who convinced her to expose herself online, revealed he knew her identity along with her school, address, friends and family members. He threatened to make the pictures he possessed public if she didn't “put on a show” for him. She describe that over the Christmas holidays those pictures were exposed, thereby subjecting her to more bullying and torment by her peers. Last week, on October 10th, Amanda Todd took her own life.
In her video, Amanda reveals to world something more personal and intimate than her leaked photos ever could. She exposes the deepest, most sincere yearnings of the human soul, she unveils the abuses perpetrated by lust, the true beauty of the feminine genius, all which articulates, and makes public, the current state of our society.
Regardless if every individual is willing to admit it, humanity at its very core has profound yearnings for absolute truth, beauty, power, salvation, love, etc. A mid-nineteenth century atheist philosopher and anthropologist, Ludwig Feuerbach, realized these deep wants and desires of the human person. In his opinion, the Christian notion of God, a contrived notion he would argue, was influenced by these motivations. Known to some as the father of modern atheism, he hypothesized that If we crave absolute power, we would then invent a deity who would fulfil that craving. Though he is correct in symptoms, he falls short in his diagnosis. The desire for something does not disprove its existence or prove it as fiction. If one is hungry, they will desire a sandwich. Does this prove that sandwiches don’t exist? No. The equally, if not more likely argument, is that the deepest yearnings in Ms.Todds heart are proof that absolute relationship and love does exist.
In his famous Confessions, St. Augustine has a famous line “Fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te” which is translated as “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. These motivations, though twisted and mislead by her own anguish, I believe were at the centre of Amanda Todd’s life. From my own experience, six years ago I found myself in the psyche ward of a local hospital after trying to end myself. It was the most surreal moment of my life. Some would consider ending up in such a place to be ‘hitting rock bottom’. The beauty of being at your lowest point is that, as long as you don’t kill yourself, you’re improving. A part of the agreement of my release is was that I would begin to seek counselling. After seeing a councillor for a few weeks he made some remarks that perfectly articulated what was taking place in the depth of my heart. He told me that some seek suicide as a means to find God. They are disinterested with the finite world and wish to seek out something everlasting.
Amanda Todd goes on to describe how, in her severe loneliness, she was used by guys, one guy in particular for sex. She simply describes through her cue cards that “he started to say he liked me...led me on.” He invited her over to his house, to which she regretted “huge mistake” and “I thought he liked me..”. Amanda transmits and reverberates the same cry that countless young girls repeat in their minds over and over again “I thought he liked me...”. More often than not, men are praised for their anonymous sexual endeavors. As a man, to be counted amongst your peers as an equal, to be successful with “getting what you want” is a prerequisite.
A CTV online article reporting on her death was entitled “Amanda Todd: anotherchild who just fell through the cracks”. To me, this is an insulting and short sighted interpretation of the events of her life. To think that the answer to Ms. Todd’s pain solely relied on the actions of an institution is entirely missing the mark. With the aforementioned illustration on masculinity, it is clear that Amanda’s suffering came from the hands of the society itself.
If we look at the first decade of the 21st century, we see a ‘revolution’ of sorts in the issue of climate change. Al Gore’s famous documentary entitled “An inconvenient truth” sought to expose the evil of green house gas emissions and how it’s affecting our world. To me, Mr. Gore is witnessing to an issue that covers a wider spectrum than just the environment, the tendency to take the resource or desire and divorce it from the responsibility. We use the world’s resources like we treat the physical beauty of humanity. Take the gratification and reduce the outlet to a disposal object.
I would challenge anyone to find an article that decries her death and issues that WE as a society need to change. Venerable Fulton Sheen writes in his book “Way to happiness” that the greatest revolution is waged in the depths of heart. He writes:
“Our Lord has instituted the revolution of humility in words before; now He put it into practice after the Last Supper, when "He laid his garments aside, took a towel and put it about him; and then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, wiping them with the towel that girded him". Slaves were assigned, in those days, to do such menial tasks as this. It was a topsy-turvy event on a gigantic scale to have the Master of Masters, the King of Kings kneel down at twenty-four calloused, sweaty feet and make them clean- as His absolution still makes clean our calloused hearts and our soiled souls. All human values were forever reversed in the starling revolution Christ declared in these words: "The man who exalts himself will be humbled and the man who humbles himself will be exalted."
At the moments these words were uttered, Caesar lost his throne. The principle of exaltation was undone, and arrogance and pride were shown the door.”
If Amanda encountered men and women of this temperament, I believe the course of her life would be drastically different; I believe she would still be alive. In our society we are to find purpose and value in it according to our own specifications. Ultimately this leaves our own selfish desires pitted up against another’s, leaving one will to subdue the other; this is an animalistic survival of the fittest.
Christ did not solely offer us an example of selflessness so that we would imitate him exclusively as a role model to look up to. He offers us a relationship with that very Love itself. If St. Augustine is right and we were created by Him, for Him, then it would be perfectly sane to conclude that through this relationship, we become more fully what we were made for. St. Catherine of Sienna said “If we are who we are meant to be, we will set the world on fire”.
On a personal note, the news of Amanda Todd’s passing has enraged me. I too was teased in High School a great deal. To those who have never experienced bullying, you’re left with an impressive feeling of loneliness. I call it impressive because sometimes, no matter how many friends you may have to support you, it sometimes only takes the jeers of one bully to put everything you thought you knew about yourself and your world into question. Although I have felt a pain like the aggressive hurt that Ms.Todd had experienced, I cannot claim to be innocent. Those same selfish desires that are ingredients in this cultural soup of narcissism dwell within my own heart. The loss of Amanda’s life should be viewed in its proper context, not as the failure to be helped by social programs, but a victim of our senseless worship of the ego.
A year later, after having to move from experiencing a great deal of bullying at her previous high school, that same young boy who convinced her to expose herself online, revealed he knew her identity along with her school, address, friends and family members. He threatened to make the pictures he possessed public if she didn't “put on a show” for him. She describe that over the Christmas holidays those pictures were exposed, thereby subjecting her to more bullying and torment by her peers. Last week, on October 10th, Amanda Todd took her own life.
In her video, Amanda reveals to world something more personal and intimate than her leaked photos ever could. She exposes the deepest, most sincere yearnings of the human soul, she unveils the abuses perpetrated by lust, the true beauty of the feminine genius, all which articulates, and makes public, the current state of our society.
Regardless if every individual is willing to admit it, humanity at its very core has profound yearnings for absolute truth, beauty, power, salvation, love, etc. A mid-nineteenth century atheist philosopher and anthropologist, Ludwig Feuerbach, realized these deep wants and desires of the human person. In his opinion, the Christian notion of God, a contrived notion he would argue, was influenced by these motivations. Known to some as the father of modern atheism, he hypothesized that If we crave absolute power, we would then invent a deity who would fulfil that craving. Though he is correct in symptoms, he falls short in his diagnosis. The desire for something does not disprove its existence or prove it as fiction. If one is hungry, they will desire a sandwich. Does this prove that sandwiches don’t exist? No. The equally, if not more likely argument, is that the deepest yearnings in Ms.Todds heart are proof that absolute relationship and love does exist.
In his famous Confessions, St. Augustine has a famous line “Fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te” which is translated as “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. These motivations, though twisted and mislead by her own anguish, I believe were at the centre of Amanda Todd’s life. From my own experience, six years ago I found myself in the psyche ward of a local hospital after trying to end myself. It was the most surreal moment of my life. Some would consider ending up in such a place to be ‘hitting rock bottom’. The beauty of being at your lowest point is that, as long as you don’t kill yourself, you’re improving. A part of the agreement of my release is was that I would begin to seek counselling. After seeing a councillor for a few weeks he made some remarks that perfectly articulated what was taking place in the depth of my heart. He told me that some seek suicide as a means to find God. They are disinterested with the finite world and wish to seek out something everlasting.
Amanda Todd goes on to describe how, in her severe loneliness, she was used by guys, one guy in particular for sex. She simply describes through her cue cards that “he started to say he liked me...led me on.” He invited her over to his house, to which she regretted “huge mistake” and “I thought he liked me..”. Amanda transmits and reverberates the same cry that countless young girls repeat in their minds over and over again “I thought he liked me...”. More often than not, men are praised for their anonymous sexual endeavors. As a man, to be counted amongst your peers as an equal, to be successful with “getting what you want” is a prerequisite.
A CTV online article reporting on her death was entitled “Amanda Todd: anotherchild who just fell through the cracks”. To me, this is an insulting and short sighted interpretation of the events of her life. To think that the answer to Ms. Todd’s pain solely relied on the actions of an institution is entirely missing the mark. With the aforementioned illustration on masculinity, it is clear that Amanda’s suffering came from the hands of the society itself.
If we look at the first decade of the 21st century, we see a ‘revolution’ of sorts in the issue of climate change. Al Gore’s famous documentary entitled “An inconvenient truth” sought to expose the evil of green house gas emissions and how it’s affecting our world. To me, Mr. Gore is witnessing to an issue that covers a wider spectrum than just the environment, the tendency to take the resource or desire and divorce it from the responsibility. We use the world’s resources like we treat the physical beauty of humanity. Take the gratification and reduce the outlet to a disposal object.
I would challenge anyone to find an article that decries her death and issues that WE as a society need to change. Venerable Fulton Sheen writes in his book “Way to happiness” that the greatest revolution is waged in the depths of heart. He writes:
“Our Lord has instituted the revolution of humility in words before; now He put it into practice after the Last Supper, when "He laid his garments aside, took a towel and put it about him; and then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples, wiping them with the towel that girded him". Slaves were assigned, in those days, to do such menial tasks as this. It was a topsy-turvy event on a gigantic scale to have the Master of Masters, the King of Kings kneel down at twenty-four calloused, sweaty feet and make them clean- as His absolution still makes clean our calloused hearts and our soiled souls. All human values were forever reversed in the starling revolution Christ declared in these words: "The man who exalts himself will be humbled and the man who humbles himself will be exalted."
At the moments these words were uttered, Caesar lost his throne. The principle of exaltation was undone, and arrogance and pride were shown the door.”
If Amanda encountered men and women of this temperament, I believe the course of her life would be drastically different; I believe she would still be alive. In our society we are to find purpose and value in it according to our own specifications. Ultimately this leaves our own selfish desires pitted up against another’s, leaving one will to subdue the other; this is an animalistic survival of the fittest.
Christ did not solely offer us an example of selflessness so that we would imitate him exclusively as a role model to look up to. He offers us a relationship with that very Love itself. If St. Augustine is right and we were created by Him, for Him, then it would be perfectly sane to conclude that through this relationship, we become more fully what we were made for. St. Catherine of Sienna said “If we are who we are meant to be, we will set the world on fire”.
On a personal note, the news of Amanda Todd’s passing has enraged me. I too was teased in High School a great deal. To those who have never experienced bullying, you’re left with an impressive feeling of loneliness. I call it impressive because sometimes, no matter how many friends you may have to support you, it sometimes only takes the jeers of one bully to put everything you thought you knew about yourself and your world into question. Although I have felt a pain like the aggressive hurt that Ms.Todd had experienced, I cannot claim to be innocent. Those same selfish desires that are ingredients in this cultural soup of narcissism dwell within my own heart. The loss of Amanda’s life should be viewed in its proper context, not as the failure to be helped by social programs, but a victim of our senseless worship of the ego.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Characteristics of Faith by Gilles Urquhart
Based on Catechism of the
Catholic Church Paragraphs 153-165
What is Faith?
Faith is
trust. Faith is belief.
Hebrews 11:1 tells
us that it is the evidence of things not yet seen.
We use faith in
the human sense all the time:
-
when a
couple marries they trust each other enough to commit to each other. The trust the word and promise of the other.
-
When
we sit on a chair we trust that it will hold us.
-
When
we eat food in a restaurant we have faith it is not poisoned etc..
Without this basic
faith we would not be able to function, to have confidence in things.
Faith in the
divine sense is similar to that. When we
hear the Gospel something stirs in our hearts to believe it. To trust in its veracity, to have confidence
in its reliability.
Abraham
Biblically
speaking the father of all who believe in God is Abraham. When we look at his life, his example lays a
foundation upon which all other believers stand. In fact, all the great monotheistic faiths
look to Abraham as their example.
By a special grace
or gift of God Abraham comes to realize that God is not found in the idols of
his people. By grace and by using his
reasoning he knows that God who made heaven and earth is beyond the scope of
our comprehension and at the same time is knowable.
Faith enabled
Abraham to leave his homeland to go to a new land, to trust in God’s promise,
even in times when the promise seemed far away.
-thus faith is a
grace CCC 153
-a fully human act
CCC 154
-in accord with
human reason CCC 155-156
-faith has a
certitude CCC 157
Mary
One of my favorite
and one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible is the Annunciation in the
Gospel of Luke. It is such an example of
faith, of trust in God’s will and providence.
When the Angel
tells her she will bear a son she asks, “How can this be?”
Mary’s question
was not that of a skeptic but that of seeking to better understand what was
happening. Our faith is not based on a
random collection of unrelated propositions grounded in nothing. Mary uses her reasoning to better develop
her faith in God.
All of us would
gain so much by asking questions so we too an deepen our faith. As the CCC puts it: “the grace of faith opens
the eyes of your hearts to a lively understanding of the contents of
Revelation.” CCC 158
The Annunciation
also brings us to the question of the relationship between faith and
science. The idea of a virginal
conception sound ridiculous to a “rational” mind. The miraculous and the scientific are both
part of God’s plan as “ the things of the world and the things of faith derive
from the same God.” CCC 159 The authentically miraculous are not myths
on the one hand nor is the scientific opposed to belief in God.
When speaking of
Mary we also think of the notion of Free Will.
All of the things God did concerning Our Lady in no way took away her
freedom.
Mary’s “yes” was
free, full and faithful.
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
“Without faith it
is impossible to please God” (Hebrews
11:6)
One of my favorite
verses in the Bible comes from Sirach 2: 11
“Look at the
generations of old and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and put to shame?”
The Bible
challenges us – even dares us – to find anyone who was disappointed by the
Lord. Oh they have been persecuted, put
to death, endured trials… but no saints of the Old Testament, New Testament and
through the ages of the Church would ever say that the Lord has abandoned them.
Faith is what
saves us. Not by itself, for on its own
it isn’t faith until it leads to action.
Authentic faith helps us walk through the trials and storms of life and
still believe. This is why familiarizing
ourselves with the great saints can encourage us today.
If our relationship
with God is like a marriage, then we must stick through it in good times and in
bad. St Paul
My MANifesto
On December 6th, 1989 I was 4 years old. The same day 25 year old Marc Lepine brought his Mini-14 rifle into a Montreal University classroom and shot 28 women; 14 women died. This event will forever be known as “The École Polytechnique Massacre”. Many Canadians still remember this day and mourn for those who were lost in a senseless scene of brutality. A piece of information that was unknown to many is that this engineering classroom was not only populated by women. Aiming his rifle to the classroom, he told all the male students to separate themselves from the women. After firing a shot in the air to prove that it wasn’t a kind of prank, every single one of the 50 men complied and moved aside.
Back when I attended the CSE the guys read a book by Dr. Larry Crabb entitled “The Silence of Adam”. In it he recounts the scene that took place in the garden, where Eve is tempted by the snake. However, through analyzing the narrative in its original text, it’s reveal that Adam, the one who was to protect Eve, was sitting on the side lines as the whole thing was taking place. Even the first man failed to act.
My name is Bill Dykstra and I help run the CSE’s young adult program called “Emmaus”. This year I’ll be participating in a global campaign to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer and other men’s health issues. The campaign is called MOVEMBER. During the month of November men grow mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health.
Young boys are often given no role models to look up to. Men, do you want to have occasion that you can spend time exclusively with other men and gain a deeper understanding of how and why you were made this way?
Society and the media have portrayed fathers as unintelligent, miserly, lustful, oafs. Women, do you want to see men break the “Homer Simpson mold”? Do you wish to see men become empowered to live virtuously?
In planning this event I will need your help. On October 17th after Emmaus at 622 Tache, there will be an organizing meeting for those who wish to be involved. Men and Women are both more than welcome to be a part of organizing. Emmaus begins at 7:30pm.
If you would like to contact me ahead of time, email me at b.dykstra@inbox.com
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Paul Sanders' Scriptural Rosary
Paul Sanders (1983 - 2004) , an advocate for the unborn, is now online. All downloads are free.
Paul on SoundCloud
Paul on 8tracks
Paul on SoundCloud
Paul on 8tracks
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Humility
Justin Patenaude gives his reflection on this Sundays readings.
Readings for September 23rd:
First Reading: Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20
Res.:Psalm 54: 3-8
Second Reading: James 3: 16 to 4:1-3
Gospel: Mark 9: 30-37
The first reading from the book of Wisdom is quite depressing to put it bluntly. We hear of a man saying that he will torture someone who believes in God just to prove to him that he doesn't exist. Each one of us has lived through situations where we were ridiculed for our Faith. We might not have all the answers to all non-believers questions, which means it takes humility to take their mocking words and offer it up to God.
The second reading explains what we should do in such times. Instead of trying to get your way by force instead of praying, you do not get what you want. Also, it says "When you pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to indulge your passions". I'm going to add a little thing to that: This may seem as a shock, but most of our prayers are quite selfish. Think about it, we might pray for someone to be healed, or for peace on earth, but are we really wanting them to feel better or us to feel better in the process? All prayers can be selfish because we are imperfect beings. But one way to ensure that our prayers are purified is for us to ask Mary to intercede for us. As much as I want to explain what I learned from Joe Madden at camp this summer, I'll go on with the reflection but feel free to ask me later.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus puts in bluntly, just the way I like it: "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all". Everyone has heard this passage, but how many actually apply it to their lives? I surely don't. I try my best to practice humility but I fall short on numerous occasions. I truly think that if we prayed for humility we would see a big difference in today’s society as we slowly learn to put others in front ourselves.
The first reading from the book of Wisdom is quite depressing to put it bluntly. We hear of a man saying that he will torture someone who believes in God just to prove to him that he doesn't exist. Each one of us has lived through situations where we were ridiculed for our Faith. We might not have all the answers to all non-believers questions, which means it takes humility to take their mocking words and offer it up to God.
The second reading explains what we should do in such times. Instead of trying to get your way by force instead of praying, you do not get what you want. Also, it says "When you pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to indulge your passions". I'm going to add a little thing to that: This may seem as a shock, but most of our prayers are quite selfish. Think about it, we might pray for someone to be healed, or for peace on earth, but are we really wanting them to feel better or us to feel better in the process? All prayers can be selfish because we are imperfect beings. But one way to ensure that our prayers are purified is for us to ask Mary to intercede for us. As much as I want to explain what I learned from Joe Madden at camp this summer, I'll go on with the reflection but feel free to ask me later.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus puts in bluntly, just the way I like it: "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all". Everyone has heard this passage, but how many actually apply it to their lives? I surely don't. I try my best to practice humility but I fall short on numerous occasions. I truly think that if we prayed for humility we would see a big difference in today’s society as we slowly learn to put others in front ourselves.
The second reading explains what we should do in such times. Instead of trying to get your way by force instead of praying, you do not get what you want. Also, it says "When you pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to indulge your passions". I'm going to add a little thing to that: This may seem as a shock, but most of our prayers are quite selfish. Think about it, we might pray for someone to be healed, or for peace on earth, but are we really wanting them to feel better or us to feel better in the process? All prayers can be selfish because we are imperfect beings. But one way to ensure that our prayers are purified is for us to ask Mary to intercede for us. As much as I want to explain what I learned from Joe Madden at camp this summer, I'll go on with the reflection but feel free to ask me later.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus puts in bluntly, just the way I like it: "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all". Everyone has heard this passage, but how many actually apply it to their lives? I surely don't. I try my best to practice humility but I fall short on numerous occasions. I truly think that if we prayed for humility we would see a big difference in today’s society as we slowly learn to put others in front ourselves.
Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus puts in bluntly, just the way I like it: "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all". Everyone has heard this passage, but how many actually apply it to their lives? I surely don't. I try my best to practice humility but I fall short on numerous occasions. I truly think that if we prayed for humility we would see a big difference in today’s society as we slowly learn to put others in front ourselves.
The first word that came
to mind after reflecting on Sunday's readings was: humility.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Desire to be a Saint.
This is the transcript to my talk last week. I realize it's mostly quotes.
“The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.”
Pope Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei
I would like to highlight a particular sentence out of that paragraph “To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime.” In hindsight the real ignition for my own journey of faith happened at funerals. I remember in 2001 my grandfather died. My grandfather had a long career in the Air Force. Having his roots in Viscount, Saskatchewan he eventually settled in South-western Ontario. From the memories I had of my Grandfather, he had a simple, yet consistent and unrelenting Catholic faith. It was at the foot of St. Joseph’s Church in Clinton, Ontario, while I helped hold up my grandfathers coffin, that I realized that somehow the fruits of my Grandfathers life and the fruits of the Church were the same thing.
In 2002 after I attended WYD in Toronto, I came home afterwards and received a phone call. It was news that one of my fellow class mates was driving home late one night, fell asleep behind the wheel, and went head on into a tree just five minutes away from my house. I didn’t know Ashton well but I soon learned that he was a devoted Christian who attended the local Pentecostal church. This experience was much more difficult for people to take in with him being so young. However God can use tragedy and turn it into opportunity. This was the first time I entered their Church and soon after I had a community to rely on and be formed by. I owe them a debt of gratitude for the role they played in my faith formation.
On February 2nd, 2008 there was my friend Paul. Paul Sanders was a young man hopelessly, recklessly, passionately devoted to Jesus Christ. He embraced seven traditions that would be the founding pillars to a relationship that would know no bounds. For anyone who knew Paul, if you were to take him outside of the context of the Church, his life would not make sense. He wished to adopt a saintly life. I remember when anyone would trip, bang their hear, embarrass themselves he would for sure respond with “LUCKY!” because he knew suffering advances holiness. One day the frozen lake his van was on gave way, and both Paul and a classmate of his descended into the icy waters. Fr. Paul Nicholas gave these words at Paul’s funeral mass.
“St. Luke tells us, that on the first day of the week, toward evening, two disciples set out from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. They were discussing what had happened to the beloved Master and Teacher. Bereft of consolation, grief-stricken, downcast, they refused to believe the women who had ran excitedly from His tomb with a message of glory and resurrection. Wallowing in sorrow … they could endure no more talk, they had to walk. An Unknown Traveler drew up beside them, gently coaxed out the reason for their sorrow, and listened to their pain. The unnamed disciples summarized it best … “we had hoped …”
Fr. Paul Nicholson, Homily for the Funeral Mass for Paul Sanders
C.S. Lewis describes God as “The Great Iconoclast”. He says that a sign of His presence is when our solidified and concrete ideas of who God is and how He works are smashed. We’re not called to have typical, average, monotonous lives. We are Catholics; each and every one of you is called, in one form or another, to be a Saint. Fr. Paul went on to say:
“I am consoled by the events of the gospel that seem to come to life before my eyes. I seem to recall a day many years ago when the Divine Master standing by the Lake of Galilee, looked with love upon Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew who were in their boats, mending their nets. They heard his simple call, “Follow me” and they left everything and followed Him. He said to James and John in their boat with their father Zebedee, “Come and Follow Me”, and they left everything and followed Him.
Our brother Paul has heard that call in his heart all his life long. He sought to answer it in being a good and loving son, of being a loyal and true friend and by being a witness and defender in the preciousness of human life. He hungered to know more about Christ and his Church so he could love Christ and the Church more. All the while a restlessness was in his heart … “Here I am Lord, what do you want of me?” Paul’s answer was not given [in] the ceremony of ordination. Instead, it happened with a complete and definitive yes to the Nuptial invitation of the Divine Master, on a lake, on February 2, 2008.
I am convinced that Paul’s mission in the glorified Risen Saviour is now beginning. In a day when young people crave heroes and role models, Our Lord has given us a new one. His sudden and tragic death has catapulted him from relative obscurity to unintentional notoriety. Our Lord is using the tragic circumstances of Paul’s death and has constructed a pulpit from which Paul may now preach a sermon that shall never grow stale or tiresome. And pray tell, what will he say? Forgive me, brother Paul, for taking such liberties but I believe you say to each of us today: the greatest adventure in life is the search for God, and that to serve Him is the soul’s greatest delight.”
Fr. Paul Nicholson, Homily for the Funeral Mass for Paul Sanders
Due to pride, I don’t think I could have admitted it while he was alive, but now I can surely say that I would not be here in Manitoba unless Paul hadn’t attended the CSE. I can truly say that lately I’ve been looking to his example that I wish to emulate. Today while I was at work, I took a break and was talking some time to sort out my thoughts for tonight. However, all of a sudeen I hear these loud cries from the bedroom of the person I was supporting. As I approached the room I became more and more aware of this fowl stench that was in the air. I found “Rodger” in his bed, with his own feces about; this isn’t a typical day. I promptly told him that he needed to have a shower, I left to go get nylon gloves in order for him to transfer from his bed to a wheelchair, but then I heard a crash and knew exactly what happened. He had tried to make the transfer himself and slipped. Having to deal with this situation made me really angry but then I heard Paul’s voice in the back of my head “LUCKY!!!”.
I still have a very long way to go, but like one sprawled out on the floor covered in filth, Christ comes and perfectly enters to whatever situation we’re in. How is Christ going to enter in and change your world this year? God will not forcibly possess or abuse you. Like the burning bush, he is a fire that does not consume. Saints, like the burning bush, are those that are illuminated but are not turned to ash.
Pope Benedict’s letter calling for the year of Faith is called “Porta Fidei” which means “The Door of Faith”. If you’ve never read “The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe” it’s about four brothers and sisters growing up in war-torn England during the Second World War. When Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy are visiting their uncle in the country they find a magical wardrobe that, when they step through it, transports them to a whole new world, each with their own parts to play. When you walk through that “Door of Faith” there truly is on the other side the “journey that lasts a lifetime”. This Year of Faith is going to be the vehicle that carries us from an incidental set of ideals and superficial values to lives that are recklessly abandoned to the super substantial, to that which our beating chests crave most, and so that one day those hearts will rest within the confines of His own sacred heart.
St. Joseph, Pray for us.
“The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.”
Pope Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei
I would like to highlight a particular sentence out of that paragraph “To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime.” In hindsight the real ignition for my own journey of faith happened at funerals. I remember in 2001 my grandfather died. My grandfather had a long career in the Air Force. Having his roots in Viscount, Saskatchewan he eventually settled in South-western Ontario. From the memories I had of my Grandfather, he had a simple, yet consistent and unrelenting Catholic faith. It was at the foot of St. Joseph’s Church in Clinton, Ontario, while I helped hold up my grandfathers coffin, that I realized that somehow the fruits of my Grandfathers life and the fruits of the Church were the same thing.
In 2002 after I attended WYD in Toronto, I came home afterwards and received a phone call. It was news that one of my fellow class mates was driving home late one night, fell asleep behind the wheel, and went head on into a tree just five minutes away from my house. I didn’t know Ashton well but I soon learned that he was a devoted Christian who attended the local Pentecostal church. This experience was much more difficult for people to take in with him being so young. However God can use tragedy and turn it into opportunity. This was the first time I entered their Church and soon after I had a community to rely on and be formed by. I owe them a debt of gratitude for the role they played in my faith formation.
On February 2nd, 2008 there was my friend Paul. Paul Sanders was a young man hopelessly, recklessly, passionately devoted to Jesus Christ. He embraced seven traditions that would be the founding pillars to a relationship that would know no bounds. For anyone who knew Paul, if you were to take him outside of the context of the Church, his life would not make sense. He wished to adopt a saintly life. I remember when anyone would trip, bang their hear, embarrass themselves he would for sure respond with “LUCKY!” because he knew suffering advances holiness. One day the frozen lake his van was on gave way, and both Paul and a classmate of his descended into the icy waters. Fr. Paul Nicholas gave these words at Paul’s funeral mass.
“St. Luke tells us, that on the first day of the week, toward evening, two disciples set out from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. They were discussing what had happened to the beloved Master and Teacher. Bereft of consolation, grief-stricken, downcast, they refused to believe the women who had ran excitedly from His tomb with a message of glory and resurrection. Wallowing in sorrow … they could endure no more talk, they had to walk. An Unknown Traveler drew up beside them, gently coaxed out the reason for their sorrow, and listened to their pain. The unnamed disciples summarized it best … “we had hoped …”
Fr. Paul Nicholson, Homily for the Funeral Mass for Paul Sanders
C.S. Lewis describes God as “The Great Iconoclast”. He says that a sign of His presence is when our solidified and concrete ideas of who God is and how He works are smashed. We’re not called to have typical, average, monotonous lives. We are Catholics; each and every one of you is called, in one form or another, to be a Saint. Fr. Paul went on to say:
“I am consoled by the events of the gospel that seem to come to life before my eyes. I seem to recall a day many years ago when the Divine Master standing by the Lake of Galilee, looked with love upon Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew who were in their boats, mending their nets. They heard his simple call, “Follow me” and they left everything and followed Him. He said to James and John in their boat with their father Zebedee, “Come and Follow Me”, and they left everything and followed Him.
Our brother Paul has heard that call in his heart all his life long. He sought to answer it in being a good and loving son, of being a loyal and true friend and by being a witness and defender in the preciousness of human life. He hungered to know more about Christ and his Church so he could love Christ and the Church more. All the while a restlessness was in his heart … “Here I am Lord, what do you want of me?” Paul’s answer was not given [in] the ceremony of ordination. Instead, it happened with a complete and definitive yes to the Nuptial invitation of the Divine Master, on a lake, on February 2, 2008.
I am convinced that Paul’s mission in the glorified Risen Saviour is now beginning. In a day when young people crave heroes and role models, Our Lord has given us a new one. His sudden and tragic death has catapulted him from relative obscurity to unintentional notoriety. Our Lord is using the tragic circumstances of Paul’s death and has constructed a pulpit from which Paul may now preach a sermon that shall never grow stale or tiresome. And pray tell, what will he say? Forgive me, brother Paul, for taking such liberties but I believe you say to each of us today: the greatest adventure in life is the search for God, and that to serve Him is the soul’s greatest delight.”
Fr. Paul Nicholson, Homily for the Funeral Mass for Paul Sanders
Due to pride, I don’t think I could have admitted it while he was alive, but now I can surely say that I would not be here in Manitoba unless Paul hadn’t attended the CSE. I can truly say that lately I’ve been looking to his example that I wish to emulate. Today while I was at work, I took a break and was talking some time to sort out my thoughts for tonight. However, all of a sudeen I hear these loud cries from the bedroom of the person I was supporting. As I approached the room I became more and more aware of this fowl stench that was in the air. I found “Rodger” in his bed, with his own feces about; this isn’t a typical day. I promptly told him that he needed to have a shower, I left to go get nylon gloves in order for him to transfer from his bed to a wheelchair, but then I heard a crash and knew exactly what happened. He had tried to make the transfer himself and slipped. Having to deal with this situation made me really angry but then I heard Paul’s voice in the back of my head “LUCKY!!!”.
I still have a very long way to go, but like one sprawled out on the floor covered in filth, Christ comes and perfectly enters to whatever situation we’re in. How is Christ going to enter in and change your world this year? God will not forcibly possess or abuse you. Like the burning bush, he is a fire that does not consume. Saints, like the burning bush, are those that are illuminated but are not turned to ash.
Pope Benedict’s letter calling for the year of Faith is called “Porta Fidei” which means “The Door of Faith”. If you’ve never read “The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe” it’s about four brothers and sisters growing up in war-torn England during the Second World War. When Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy are visiting their uncle in the country they find a magical wardrobe that, when they step through it, transports them to a whole new world, each with their own parts to play. When you walk through that “Door of Faith” there truly is on the other side the “journey that lasts a lifetime”. This Year of Faith is going to be the vehicle that carries us from an incidental set of ideals and superficial values to lives that are recklessly abandoned to the super substantial, to that which our beating chests crave most, and so that one day those hearts will rest within the confines of His own sacred heart.
St. Joseph, Pray for us.
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