Fr. Bob’s Corner

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There are a few other YouTube presentations on priests’ retreats. Some of you might be interested so I am posting the links. If I find any more, I will add to the list.

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A few words from Sister Joan in her latest Newsletter seemed extremely pertinent to me. I thought I would relay her words:

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More so today, than in the recent past, people discuss and explore ways of praying. Here is a You Tube video-conversation from Loyola Press - by two Christian women: Vinnie Hampton Wright and Alice Camille. In this short video we hear of their personal prayer life: devotional prayer, biblical prayer, liturgical pray, Ignatian Prayer, and about praying always.

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In a very special way this video movingly captures our common humanity,  inter-dependence, and need for one another.

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I recently read Fr. Richard Richard Rohr’s Book: Hope Against Darkness. (The Transforming Vision of St. Francis in an Age of Anxiety) Some of you might find it to be a particularly relevant given the upheaval in our world at the present time. It is also a good Lenten book, in my opinion.

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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.

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Did you know that most of the world religions have a primary belief and teaching in common. If only we could all learn to put into practice the golden rule of all these religions.

The Golden Rule Across the World’s Religions
Thirteen Sacred Texts - English Version

Baha’i Faith

Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself.

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Today is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. When I read this prayer by this holy man, the founder of the Jesuits, I became very uncomfortable. Could I pray this prayer, I pondered? Yes, I thought, but parts of it I would not really mean. In fact, I would be praying just the opposite in the next breath.

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It seems as if there is an international effort to respond to those that have seen a UFO, and believe in aliens from outer space. Recently France, Belgium, and the U.K., and a few other countries have released or are about to release their secret dossiers on this very subject. This week the Vatican waded into this highly controversial topic on May 14 with an interview in L’Osservatore Romano with Fr. Funes S.J., the director of the Vatican Observatory. Why Now? Maybe it is to counter all the debate out there and prove that there is really nothing, or maybe, just maybe, there really is proven life in outer space, and we are not alone. If you would like to hear what Fr. Funes had to say, and you may be surprised, here is a link to the CNS which covered the story. Better still, here is a translation of the interview on frroderick.com.

Prayer can take many methods and forms. One way of praying is called “Imaginative Contemplation”, or “Ignatian Contemplation”. Using this method of prayer you allow your imagination which you use in daydreaming and creative projects to take you on a spiritual journey.

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Strange as this title may be, it does not condone sin, but points to moments of conversion. The following is an excerpt from an email sent by Sr. Joan Chittister to subscribers to Benetvision.

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First Sunday of Advent

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 Gospel: Luke 21:5-19 [show]Luke 21:5-19 Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple [5]And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, [6]"As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." [7]And they asked him, "Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?" [8]And he said, "See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. [9]And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once." Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution [10]Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. [11]There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. [12]But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. [13]This will be your opportunity to bear witness. [14]Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, [15]for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. [16]You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers(1) and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. [17]You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. [18]But not a hair of your head will perish. [19]By your endurance you will gain your lives. (ESV) Footnotes 1. [21:16] Or ‘parents and brothers and sisters’

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Last Weekend ‘Our Lady’s Missionaries’ made a visit to both our Parishes. Sr. Christine Gebel gave us an update on their work since her last visit with us about two years ago. As she spoke at all our Masses, she reflected on the Gospel passage of the lady who had seven deceased husbands and the Sadducees question: “In the Resurrection whose wife will the woman be?” (Lk. 20:27-39 [show]Luke 20:27-39 Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection [27]There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, [28]and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man(1) must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. [29]Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. [30]And the second [31]and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. [32]Afterward the woman also died. [33]In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife." [34]And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, [35]but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, [36]for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons(2) of the resurrection. [37]But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. [38]Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." [39]Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well." (ESV) Footnotes 1. [20:28] Greek ‘his brother’ 2. [20:36] Greek ‘huioi’; see preface
) Now in Jesus’ time a wife was more or less the property of a husband, and therefore the question not only enquired about the marriage bond in eternity, but had a connotation of ownership. As she pointed out, no one owns anybody in eternity, and in God’s kingdom in the here and now. As Christians we are called to love our neighbor as our selves, and to live in freedom, as children of God. Her insights came from the Sisters work with oppressed people around the world who are often owned by another. An example being prostitutes one of the Sisters works with in one of their missions. And, from a personal point of view and her involvement in Muslim Christian dialogue in the Philippines, she offered the insight that no one even owns God.

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Catholicism in Quebec

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It has been a very busy time here at the Parish and in the Diocese. Last week I was on retreat at the beautiful Marian Shrine in Cap-de-la-Madeleine with the priests of our Diocese. If you haven’t been to Cap-de-la-Madeleine, it is a must visit. Here are a few pictures from the retreat. Click

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For those of you interested in taking a little private retreat this Lent, I suggest these meditation talks by Fr.Gerry Pierse CSsR. Link: Series A | 2006 January - March | Gerry Pierse CSsR

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Recently, Father Buzzeti, an Italian Biblicist made the following statement;
“Most Catholics, Father Buzzetti said, understand heaven as a vague place of eternal survival, where happiness can become monotonous and where the absence of human passions creates an ‘anemic’ atmosphere.
In other words, boring. And if heaven is seen as a dull routine of perpetual bliss, how can it possibly stimulate people to live a good and moral life in this world?

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Church needs to show its caring side :: The Catholic Register :: Canada’s Catholic news source

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“We are called to be the guardians of our fellows. The Lord will call us to account for the responsibilities entrusted to us, for the good and bad we have done to our brothers and sisters; whether we accompanied them carefully on the daily journey, sharing the anguish and joys of their hearts; whether we stayed beside them discreetly but constantly, helping and supporting them when the path became more difficult and tiring.” Pope Benedict XVI (Jan. 12, 2007.

Hope

Advent is the season of hope. We count down the weeks and the days until Christmas. We read scriptures that announce the arrival of the Messiah, the one who will be God Among Us. It’s all focused on how the ages have looked forward to – have hoped for – the coming of Christ, the Incarnation.And what do we really have at all, if not hope?Looking around, I can see all the human-ness of drudgery, expectations, duty, routine, weariness, brokenness, healing, triumph and persistence. We go through these things every day, and we keep coming back for more - even when it’s painful, when we are fairly sure we will be disappointed, again. There are times when we feel like giving up, when we just don’t want to try any more, but most people, most of the time, keep on going. And I blame that on hope.

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There are literally hundreds of sites with meditations on the Stations of the Cross. Click HERE for a few of them, or do a google search yourself.

Hulstein

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