Fr. Bob's Corner

For as long as anyone can remember the Ladies’ Guild of St. Mary’s Parish have held a tea in November. At one time, before the parish had a suitable hall, the tea was held in private homes. In those days, women from the parish would volunteer to host this annual event, and the women of the parish would bring their fine china, silver teapots and cutlery to serve tea, home baked cakes, cookies, squares, and special party sandwiches. Today, many years later, the Ladies’ Guild still sponsors the event in our small parish hall, and numerous women still provide the baked goods and sandwiches. (Years ago the Guild acquired the fine dishes to serve the tea.)

The event now incorporates a baked goods and crafts sale, and the money raised is used to maintain the projects of the Guild. The most marvellous aspect of the tea, however, is the tea itself. Women from the local community and surrounding area gather to socialize and share their stories. In an era of fast food. and constant rush, it is wonderful to go back in time to an era when people gathered just to chat and to enjoy a quiet afternoon together, and of course,  in the regal splendour of fine china and silver. 

(more…)

(My homilies will no longer be found on this site.) A few months ago I opened a free WordPress site to archive my homilies. It was an easy way of putting all my homilies in one place so that they would be easy to find and categorize. I started categorizing them according to the liturgical year: Ordinary Time, Advent, Lent, Easter, Christmas etc. etc.. The categorization  is still a little rough and not quite completed, but I’m working on it when I have time.

I began posting my homilies to both sites Fr. Bob’s Corner and Fr. Bob’s Homilies, but soon discovered that Google frowned on this type of thing. When Google crawls through the web it soon discovers that identical content is being posted to two separate sites or URL’s. When it finds such a thing, it does not want to index it for Google search. (Some were doing this to get more search returns, and one would find a proliferation of their identical posts when you did a Google search.)

I have removed all homilies from Fr. Bob’s Corner frbobscorner. com, so that they will be indexed at Fr. Bob’s Homilies, and people can find them. To read my homilies, just go to the tab at the top of this page named, homilies, and it will take you to them. You can also link to http://frmac.wordpress.com, as well, and bookmark for easy access next time you want to visit.

(more…)

Advent is the glorious season for memory and imagination. The kind of vivid imagination that enlivened our childhood. Parents and Grandparents have a wonderful opportunity to re-enter this mysterious and wondrous time again, by helping their young children explore God’s activities throughout history: Creation, Adam and Eve, Moses, King David, and all those biblical stories and events that prepare for the Birth of Jesus.

Telling stories to our kids not only helps them come to know about God, but gives us an opportunity to appreciate the wondrous ways in which God’s presence was made known to others throughout salvation history. Knowing God in this way gives us patience and hope in the present. It opens us up from just the here and the now, and allows us to appreciate the God that is always with us, but we tend to forget in the hectic rush of day to day living.

So, find a cozy nook, get a little book with lots of pictures that tells the stories of the bible. You might even want to read the bible a little to help you really experience each story. Then find some quiet time to tell and explore these stories with your children, grand-children, nieces or nephews. Let your imagination really go. Get into the telling, and make each event come alive once again.

(more…)

The New Liturgical Year begins next Sunday. As we Light the the first candle on the advent wreath, we will know that Christmas is almost here. Yikes, many will think – so much to do to get ready!! Here is a little video to remind ourselves what we are getting ready for, and some suggestions on how to do it. Enjoy!

(more…)

On the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time I included a quote that statistically painted a picture of what the world situation was like in terms of quality of life for all. It portrayed the world in terms of a small village of 1000 people, and showed the great disparity between the rich and the poor. It really isn’t a very pretty picture. There is one small thing that all of us can do to make a difference, however, and that is take a look at the Development and Peace initiative and participate. Each one of us can make a difference, if we use our gifts and talents to give a voice to those impoverished by the behavior of others. Please take a look at what some of our Canadian Mining Corporations are doing to the land and the life of others, and join Development and Peace in trying to end this tragedy for some of our poor sisters and brothers who live in our global village. DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

(more…)

Think back to the good old days when most Catholics and Protestants went to church each Sunday? These are often touted as the ‘golden days’ when few doubted God’s existence, and our churches were filled with generous contributors, and everyone, or almost everyone, professed to be Christian. Now think, was the world any more loving, honest, merciful, forgiving, than it is today. Maybe, but in my humble experience, I remember little evidence. When all were Christian, most felt quite satisfied with the status quo, and felt little challenge to explore and deepen faith.

Of course, I speak in generalities, and there were some memorable and wonderful people who I remember, and still consider saints. The point I want to make is just this. Faith is a gift that must never grow stagnant, or be taken for granted. It is about being light amidst the darkness. Maybe the times we live in, and the ‘crisis of faith’ we perceive around us, is God’s way of shaking things up, and drawing us into a more committed relationship with God, one another, and the world – a deeper and more mature faith.

(more…)

Faith and Science often seem to be at odds with one another. But the real problem is that science ignores faith, and when religious leaders remind them of this, they are accused of interference, superstitious thinking, and all those names that foster ill will, rather than dialogue. That is why it was so wonderful to see the Pope and Stephen Hawkins participate at a Conference on the topic of evolution. The conference was sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Science founded in 1936 by Pope Pius XII.

The work of the Academy covers six main areas:

(more…)