march 2018€¦ · 03/03/2019 · lynne bernier susan bernier irene bialek valerie bonnefoy...
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Our Spiritual Advisor Reverend Fr. Charles Fillion
Our Members
Lacey Bernardin, Pres-Elect, Org. Lynne Bernier Susan Bernier Irene Bialek
Valerie Bonnefoy Jacqueline Bouchard Lindsay Bouchard
Jolene Capina, Treasurer Maryse Char�er Lucille Chay, Chair
Crystal Chernichan Monica Chernichan Rolande Chernichan Jaquelyne Cournoyer Carol (Curtain) Summers† Patricia Danylchuk Suzanne Desmarais
Gisèle Falk Constance Haas Monique Johnson Delaney Kolowca Heather Kolowca
Ne�e Lambert, Chair Karen LeMay†
Micki Maxwell Madelyn McConnell Kathleen Messner
Suzanne Moore, Past-President Carol Mravinec Mary-Ann Novak
Marcia Poirier, Secretary Jennifer Poitra
Marie-Ange Prevost Mae Ross, Chair Iris Swiderski
Joanne Touche�e Marilyn Toutant, 1st Vice, Chair
Evelyn Wyrzykowski †
March 2018
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3
4
First Scrutiny
5 6 7 8 9 10
11 Second
Scrutiny
12 13 14 CWL General Mtg 7pm @ DTS staffroom
15 16 17
18 Third
Scrutiny Kof C
Breakfast
19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 Chrism
Mass Honour Guard
28 29 30 31
Adora�on 6-6:45 Susan & Irene
Adora�on 6-6:45 Maryse & Ne�e
Adora�on 6-6:45 Carol & Marcia
Adora�on 6-6:45 Heather &
Delaney
Prayers < Mass Maryanne
Prayers < Mass Vanessa
Prayers < Mass Rolande
The Catholic Women’s League prays the Rosary for peace on Wednesdays
March 30: Rolande Chernichan March 31: Maryse Char�er
Pope’s Prayer Inten�ons for March 2018
Evangeliza�on: Forma�on in Spiritual Discernment That the Church may appreciate the urgency of forma�on in spiritual discernment, both on the personal and communitarian levels.
Dear Fr. Charles and dear ladies:
The season for spring is just around the
corner and we are bracing for a winter
storm. As of the wri�ng of this column,
the rain has just begun. It will be
interes�ng to see how it will all pan out,
and I want to send out prayers to anyone
who needs to travel.
Last month, at our general mee�ng,
Kathleen Messner talked to us about Alpha
coming to our parish this coming
September. A core team has been struck,
and we are looking for poten�al leaders
and session hosts for the approximately 11
weeks of the program. More informa�on
will follow in the next few months. If
you’ve ever a�ended Alpha, you know its
value, and will be a�racted to sharing it
with someone else. If you haven’t, please
seriously consider a�ending, and find
someone to share this spiritual richness
with.
The RCIA team is asking for your prayers
for our elect, Kayla Carriere, and our
candidates, Kim Carriere, Sarah Palud and
Crystal Donais, who will be receiving the
sacraments of ini�a�on at the Easter Vigil
in our parish. These people who will be
received into full communion, have been
travelling together in study and discussion
since September.
A few upcoming events:
C&S Prepaid Card Sales: Our prepaid card
sales campaign for C&S Country Gardens is
one of two fundraisers that we do during
the year. Chris & Sue are very generous to
offer us a 15% commission on sales of the
cards, and the funds are used to cover
expenses incurred and to help our
members a�end CWL events. The
deadline is April 6 for sales.
Family Dance: On March 10, 7-10 at the hall, bring your families and friends down
for a good old-tyme dance, led by our
favourite family, the Reimer6. Denise has
promised to call simple dances for
everyone’s par�cipa�on, and we CWL’ers
are looking a�er the coffee, juice, snacks
and clean up. Anyone who can help out
will be most warmly welcome!
Kyle Coffey, CCBR: Our general mee�ng
on March 14 at the DTS staffroom will
highlight a presenta�on and Q&A session
by Kyle Coffey, Manitoba Outreach
Coordinator for the Canadian Centre for
Bioethical Research (CCBR), a pro-life organiza�on. We look forward to hearing
from him.
CCBR Presenta�on: March 21, 7-8:15 pm
at the parish hall, Cam Côté, Western
Outreach Coordinator will join Kyle in
spearheading a presenta�on/ fundraiser
for the organiza�on. The CWL has offered
to provide coffee and snacks for the
presenta�on. A special invita�on is sent to
all our members to come out and find out
more about this organiza�on.
Conven�ons: You will no�ce on page 4
invita�ons to both the St. Boniface
Diocesan Conven�on and the Winnipeg
Diocesan Conven�on, both occurring in
April. Our council pays the $8 registra�on
fee for each member to a�end the St.
Boniface Diocesan Conven�on. The other
costs—$18 for lunch and $40 for the
banquet—are yours to cover. Just let
Lacey know if you are interested in
a�ending the St. Boniface Diocesan
Conven�on and she will register you.
However, you will need to register on your
own for the Winnipeg Diocesan
Conven�on, should you wish to a�end.
Raffle Tickets: The final fundraiser for the
2018 Na�onal Conven�on is here! As last
year, raffle prizes of $1000, $750, $500 and
$250 are up for grabs, PLUS 10% to the
seller of the winning �cket. As some of
you are aware, we have had 2 winners of
$1000 in our council in the past three
years! Please consider helping to sell and/
or buy these �ckets. See Lacey for books
for sale.
For those of you who don’t know her, this
is one of our newest
CWL sisters, Maryse
Char�er. Maryse
grew up in Lore�e
and is currently
living in Winnipeg.
On February 9, 2018,
Maryse was
featured on CBC’S
ICI Manitoba’s website. This is her
photo and
accompanying write-up:
My biggest challenge right now is to find God's will in my everyday life. I don't want to be a prisoner of the same rou�ne. Those who inspire me are ordinary people who stand up every morning and do what they have to do with love. My greatest desire is that all people know that they are worthy of love. I'd also like to be more authen�c and people in general are. I've always been an op�mist. In fact, I believe that the human being is fundamentally good. h�ps://www.facebook.com/icimanitoba/
As a CWLer, Maryse remains rooted in
gospel values, aiming for holiness through
service to the people of God and we are
proud to call her a sister.
I hope to see you on March 14, and please
consider bringing a Tin for the Bin for the Tache Food Bank. Love
you all!
We are asking each CWL member in Manitoba to hand write a
personal gree�ng for a 2018 CWL Na�onal Conven�on delegate or guest.
It can be a store-bought card, the back of a postcard or picture of an iconic Manitoba loca�on, or a handmade card from those so gi�ed. The message
can be as unique as each of us – it can be a welcome, a prayer, a favourite
verse. You are welcome to include your name and contact informa�on or
remain anonymous; the choice is yours.
Please bring your gree�ngs, prayers and wishes to Susan Bernier or Suzanne Moore at your diocesan
conven�on or to the provincial conven�on being held at Mary Mother of the Church, June 2-3, 2018. Susan Bernier, 2018 Na�onal Conven�on Planning Commi�ee Chair
The modern feminist/socialist objects to
the tradi�onal Israelite structure of the
family: the male father is the head of the
wife and the children.
Instead, we observe the media’s depic�on
of the father is a comical dolt. The children
laugh at him. The mother goes around his
back. Sitcoms and films are replete with
foolish fathers who jus�fy the claim that
there is no hierarchy in family.
Society tells all men to “man up” and
marry but as soon as he does, he is
presumed to become an embarrassing
caricature of manhood, as someone
resembling Homer Simpson or George
McFly from Back to the Future:
We find the perfect familiar order (and
correc�ve to our �mes) in the Holy Family,
which conforms perfectly with divine law
and natural law. Moreover, God in
providen�al irony set up the Holy Family
so that the most wise and meritorious
members of the family submit to the less
wise and meritorious.
Here’s the breakdown:
· Jesus Christ (Divine Logos and Son of God) submits to Mary and Joseph.
· Mary (Immaculate Concep�on and
Mother of God) submits to Joseph.
· Joseph (neither divine person like Christ nor immaculate like Mary) is the Head
of Holy Family.
If merit, grace, or dignity were the criteria
for leadership and headship, clearly it
would be Joseph at the bo�om of the
leadership chain. But not so. God honors
the natural order of fathers in the family
and he recognizes Joseph as the leader.
Although Joseph is least gi�ed and least
worthy, he is nonetheless submi�ed to
and obeyed by the Divine Jesus and the
Immaculate Mary.
Children o�en test their fathers: Is he truly a great man? Do I truly want to follow him? Wives do the same: Did I marry the right man? Is he the hero that chose me and swept me off my feet or is he George McFly?
We all ques�on our leaders. For this
reason, fathers should strive to be
excellent and fulfill their mission in
life. This earns respect from wives and
children. It quiets their worries about
whether he is the great man that they
hope him to be. However, no man is
perfect. Jesus and Mary were greater than
Joseph, and yet they were pa�ent with
him as he understood less than they did.
If any man in history were compara�vely
outclassed by his wife and child, it was
Saint Joseph. This is an example to all
families. The father of the home should be
honored as the head of the wife and head
of the family – even if he is less holy, less wise, less prudent, less pious than his
mother and children: because that was
once the case with Saint Joseph.
No doubt, the comments will be filled with
tes�monies such as: “My father was evil,
and he did XYZ.” I grant that these deep
fractures exist in countless famliies. There
are fathers out there that earn a score of
F-.
But let’s be honest, many (most?) fathers
out there are scoring As, Bs, and Cs on
their report card. They work hard. They
pay for Christmas. They tell bed�me
stories. They play catch and teach children
how to swim. They pay for insurance and
health care. They fix the car. They live the
faith. They take the family to church. They
spend �me inves�ng in their children.
They respect and love their wives. They
are the oak.
So, if your husband/father is scoring a B+
in your mind (and you think you’re scoring
an A+), be like Mary and Joseph and honor
him anyway as chosen by God to be your
unworthy leader. The soul of a man is
fueled by respect. I have no doubt that the
soul of Joseph was rocket-boosted to highest heaven by the fuel of respect
poured into him by his be�ers: by his wife
Mary and his foster son Jesus.
h�p://taylormarshall.com/2017/12/subordina�on-joseph-
holy-family.html?utm_source=Taylor+Marshall%
27s+Updates&utm_campaign=6af6d01d8e-
RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=
0_64accbc3c7-6af6d01d8e-59474749&ct=t
Oh St. Joseph, whose protec�on is so
great, so strong, so prompt before the
throne of God, I place in you all my
interests and desires.
Oh St. Joseph, do assist me by your
powerful intercession and obtain for
me from your divine son all spiritual
blessings through Jesus Christ, our
Lord; so that having engaged here
below your heavenly power, I may
offer my thanksgiving and homage to
the most loving of Fathers.
Oh St. Joseph, I never weary
contempla�ng you and Jesus asleep in
your arms. I dare not approach while
he reposes near your heart. Press Him
in my name and kiss his fine head for
me and ask him to return the kiss
when I draw my dying breath. St.
Joseph, patron of depar�ng souls,
pray for us. Amen
MARCH World Day of Prayer
2018: Suriname This year, our World Day of Prayer focus is on the people of Suriname who are very diverse—ethnically, culturally, religiously, and linguis�cally.
Suriname is a small country north of Brazil in South America. Among ten districts, Paramaribo and Wancia account for less than .5% of the total area of Suriname but hold 65% of the popula�on. The service highlights preserving crea�on so we may con�nue to hear
the words "It is good."
A major concern for Suriname is gold mining in the Amazon which causes deforesta�on of their beau�ful rainforest and contamina�on of their rivers and food supply. Populated areas allow families to be�er educate their children despite an average wage that is less than one-tenth of a miner's income. Constant hard work in isolated areas erodes family rela�onships when miners are separated many months of the year. Fa�gue leaves workers suscep�ble to malaria.
Standing water le� over from sluicing for gold is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread malaria. Mercury, used to separate gold from the soil, has contaminated waterways and
fish. Crime is also a concern.
Some organiza�ons are working to bring awareness of the ecological impact of mining. Indigenous people are being trained to monitor the mercury levels in fish and water and the results of deforesta�on. Ini�a�ves, such as handicra�s and agriculture are being introduced to give an alterna�ve, sustainable income.
Let us pray for the people in Suriname, and all people, that we embrace respect for our environment and we con�nue to say, "All God's crea�on is very good!"
Irene Churchill, Eganville, ON. WICC Past President and Council alumnus
Fellowship of the Least Coin Prayer Concerns for March 2018
Could you
pass on to
our CWL
sisters that I
am reques�ng that our CWL ladies collect
their empty pill containers. I will take
them to Agape Table in Winnipeg. “Agape Table is non-profit organiza�on that serves breakfast every weekday to those in need. Those who can, pay $1 for
their meal. Those who can’t are s�ll
welcome. Agape Table also runs a Low-Cost Grocery to help lower-income
Winnipeggers put healthy food on the
table at home. We celebrate compassion,
community, and generosity. “ (from their
website) Agape Table is located at 175 Colony Street. I heard about the need for empty pill
containers at this organiza�on on CTV
Morning Live with Rachel Legacy hos�ng
the from there. I called Agape Table in the last couple of weeks and the
volunteer coordinator is interested in
having a few of them right now – with
more needed in the warmer months. He uses it to divide up larger items like
shampoo, body soap and laundry soaps
that are donated to the guests that come
there. It was an enlightening and heart-wrenching conversa�on. He said a pill bo�le size is appreciated because guests
o�en only have access to a bathroom sink
and they “launder” themselves
there. The reason he will need more as
the weather warms up is that guests are
reluctant to wash too o�en in the colder
weather as it dampens them and makes
them cold. (my words here – not his – and if you are homeless that is a cri�cal
downfall). Also – a pill bo�le is easy to carry in whatever type of bag they carry. I am asking the ladies of the CWL to
collect their empty pill containers, with
labels removed for the next while. Save them up and bring them to our next
mee�ng. I will deliver them to him a�er
our March mee�ng. As the warmer
weather comes, I will check in to see if he
would like a larger supply. If/when he
does I will put this request out to the
parish community. If anyone would like to see more about
Agape Table you can check them out
here: h�p://agapetable.ca/ Heather Kolowca
Remember, the CWL also collects (bins at church) · Tabs for Wheelchairs
· used stamps for Development and Peace · toiletries and used eyeglasses for missions
Lord God, Father of all, We, your children, are all members of the same human family, your family. We implore you to help us to accept your peace, To be at peace with ourselves and to live in peace with others. Help us to seek wisdom and jus�ce in all we do. Help us to be more understanding and compassionate when dealing with others, To be ready to forgive when wronged, To be willing to love when hurt and To strive for harmony and peace when threatened. Eternal Father, in your mercy, hear our prayer And grant us your everlas�ng peace. Amen.
– Diana Sutherland, CAFOD supporter
Jean & Janelle LaFrance are our former fellow parishioners
A Priest’s Reminder: Sundays
Are a Whole DAY for God, Not
Just an Hour When did Sunday go from being the Day of the
Lord to an hour for the Lord…maybe…unless…
you know….there is something more
interes�ng or important in my life? That is where it is for the overwhelming
members of the USA, Canada, and Europe. I
daresay that even the overwhelming majority
of those who iden�fy as Roman Catholics are
the same. I remember, as a child, that the only places
open on Sunday were churches and hospitals
(maybe there were others). The only people
that had to work were emergency, medical,
law enforcement, and ministers/priests. I
don’t remember there being organized
sports leagues (non-professional) or prac�ces scheduled on Sundays.
I suppose as Church and God became less
important in our culture, that the concept of
a day of rest did as well. Now everything
except Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-a seem to be
open, sports have soaked up even the Sunday
mornings (got to get all the games for the
tournaments in), and Sunday is as busy as the
rest of the week. I am sure that isn’t
contribu�ng to how worn out most people
feel. Not at all.
It is worth no�ng that our demands on God
did not diminish one iota. He was supposed to
keep us protected from all harm, give us all we
need and want, punish our enemies, or
otherwise get blamed for everything. I don’t
know about you, but I just love being in
rela�onships with people like that!
Perhaps the loss of the Day of Lord is just
another sign that we went from being Servants
of the Lord to being God’s boss in our minds.
The Day of the Lord just became more roadkill
on our widening highway to hell.
We aren’t learning the lesson of history, which
is we only push God away at our own peril.
God will abide by our decision to be pushed
away. He is no one’s errand boy. He loves us,
but He is no fool.
When a life for Christ got reduced to just a day
of Christ, got reduced to an hour for Christ…no
wonder that even that hour seems too
burdensome for most. Yet we s�ll have the
audacity to say God dang well be�er open the
doors of heaven for us who spent our lives
ignoring Him…because, you know, if there is a
God, then He be�er be a patsy who allows me
in anyway…so I can ignore Him in heaven and I
do on earth. So I can worship in heaven the
same gods I did on earth. I am so sure that
God will just be happy to accommodate our
idolatry in His home…or maybe not.
Turn around before it is too late!
h�ps://churchpop.com/2018/03/04/reminder-sundays-are-a-whole-day-for-god-not-just-an-hour/
Imagine Chris�ans
from over 170 countries coming
together in spirit,
uni�ng to pray for
relevant issues affec�ng women and children.
This is a reality: the movement has been
ac�ve for nearly 100 years. Each year, a different par�cipa�ng country writes the
service. The World Day of Prayer is
tradi�onally celebrated on the first Friday of
March, though communi�es can choose other
dates.
The World Day of Prayer is a global
ecumenical movement which brings Chris�ans
of many tradi�ons together to observe a
common day of prayer each year. Through
prepara�on and par�cipa�on in the worship
service, we can learn how our sisters of other
countries, languages and cultures understand
the Biblical passages in their context. We can
hear their concerns and needs and can join in
solidarity with them as we pray with and for
them. In this way, it is possible to enrich our
Chris�an faith as it grows deeper and broader
in an interna�onal, ecumenical expression.
The mo�o of the World Day of Prayer
movement is Informed Prayer and Prayerful Ac�on. Through our par�cipa�on in the World Day of Prayer, we affirm that prayer
and ac�on are inseparable and that both have
immeasurable influence on the world.
World Day of Prayer in Canada
The World Day of Prayer traces its roots to
the 19th century when Chris�an women of
Canada and the United States became
involved in missions at home and worldwide.
Since 1812, women have encouraged one
another to engage in personal prayer and lead
communal prayer within their mission groups.
Presbyterian women in the United States then
called for a na�onal day of prayer in
1887, and Anglican women in Canada
established a na�onal day of corporate
intercessions for mission in 1895.
On October 19, 1918, Presbyterian
women in Canada called together
representa�ves of five Women’s
Missionary Boards – Anglican, Bap�st, Congrega�onal, Methodist and
Presbyterian – “to promote the
spreading of Christ’s kingdom through
united prayer and ac�on.” That first
inter-church mee�ng gave birth to the
Interim Commi�ee on the Federa�on of
the Women’s Missionary Society
Boards of Canada, which organized a
na�onal and inter denomina�onal day
of prayer on January 9, 1920.
In 1922, the Canadian and U.S.
commi�ees agreed to use the same
theme and day for the Day of Prayer as
U.S. women. This annual event became the
Women’s World Day of Prayer in 1927. The
Canadian commi�ee changed its name to
become the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada and now includes representa�ves
from 11 church partners. This council
con�nues to coordinate the World Day of
Prayer in Canada and to speak to issues that
concern women of faith across the country. https://wicc.org/world-day-of-prayer/
Event Date: March 11, 2018; 10 am — 1 pm Location: Canad Inn, 1824 Pembina Highway,
Ambassador Banquet Room A Guest speakers: “The Joy of Justice”
(WICC President Shirley de Merchant; WICC Executive Director Catherine MacKeil) Dramatic presentation (Children and youth)
Steel band music: Prince Jackson Nduwayo, a college student in Manitoba, singing his song; Yawe Mana, a prayer for his war-
torn homeland Burundi, Africa Please pre-register for this event.
Lunch provided. Tickets are $25.00 per person.
Contact: akoshy20@mymts.net
Every spring just before Easter, major news
organiza�ons run stories “debunking” one of
the central tenets of the Chris�an faith—Jesus’
resurrec�on. Some take the form of an
interview with a supposed biblical expert who
puts forth reasons to doubt the Gospels’
veracity concerning the Resurrec�on; others
breathlessly report some archaeological
“discovery” that supposedly disproves the
Resurrec�on, such as an ossuary that contains
Jesus’ bones. Whatever form these a�acks take, their
objec�ve is always the same: to sow doubt in
the minds of believers, and confirm those in
the minds of unbelievers. One common myth about the Resurrec�on that
even some Chris�ans wrongly embrace, at least
in part, concerns its celebra�on at Easter. The
theory holds that Easter was a pagan fes�val
that Chris�ans “bap�zed.” This false narra�ve rests on the use of the word
“Easter” itself to designate the Solemnity of the
Lord’s Resurrec�on. Skep�cs note that the
word is similar to the old English wordEostre, which was supposedly the name of an ancient
Teutonic goddess of rising light and spring. For
evidence of that, they point to a passage in On the Reckoning of Time by the English saint Bede (672-735), wherein he wrote,
“April, Eosturmonath . . . has a name which is
now translated ‘Paschal month’ and which was
once called a�er a goddess of theirs
named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were
celebrated in that month.” But although Bede men�ons the goddess’s
name, he is the only author to have done so:
there is no evidence outside of his work for the
existence of this goddess in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, or Germanic mythology. And note that
this en�re argument works only with the
English language, since all other European
languages derive their word for Easter (such as
the French Pâques) from the Greek pascha, which in turn comes from the Hebrew
wordpesach, meaning Passover. When the history of the conversion of the
Anglo-Saxons in England and of the Saxons in con�nental Europe is considered, it becomes
clear there is no connec�on between Easter
and pagan rites. The Anglo-Saxons were
converted in the late sixth century by St.
Augus�ne of Canterbury (d. 604), and
Charlemagne (742-814) forcibly brought the
con�nental Saxons to the Faith in the eighth
century. These conversions occurred long a�er
Chris�ans first celebrated the feast of Easter,
which was firmly entrenched in the Church’s
liturgical calendar by the second century. The celebra�on of the Lord’s resurrec�on is
also well documented in Scripture and in
wri�ngs by and about the early Chris�ans.
There was even an early Church crisis over the
da�ng of Easter, such that when the Eastern
bishop St. Polycarp (69-155) visited Rome in
154, he discussed the da�ng of Easter with
Pope St. Pius I (r. 140-155). Ul�mately, the
ma�er was se�led at the Council of Nicaea in
325. But it is the celebra�on of Christmas, not
Easter, that draws the most comparisons to
pagan rites, specifically ancient Roman
celebra�ons for the gods Saturn and Sol
Invictus. These comparisons even influenced
the Puritans, who rejected the celebra�on of
Christmas as “Fools�de.” Puritan influence in
the United States kept the na�on from
recognizing Christmas as a federal holiday un�l
1870. The feast of the Roman god of agriculture,
Saturn, was a two-day celebra�on of the end of the plan�ng season and was known as the
Saturnalia. During the reign of Emperor
Augustus (r. 27 B.C.-A.D.14) the fes�val would
begin on December 17, but that date was later
moved by Emperor Domi�an (r. 51-96) to December 25. By the second century A.D. the
celebra�on encompassed an en�re week. The cult of Sol Invictus (the “Unconquered Sun”) was introduced in A.D. 274 by Emperor
Aurelian (r. 270-275), but it was not associated
with an annual event. Although the date for the
celebra�on of Sol Invictus’s birthday was
December 25, the only documentary source for
that date is a fourth-century illustrated
calendar for a wealthy
Chris�an known as
the Chronography of 354. It is easy for skep�cs
to claim Christmas
was borrowed from
paganism, because
Scripture does not
provide a date or
even a �me of year
for Christ’s birth. But the lack of calendar
specificity in the Bible does not prove the
Church decided to “bap�ze” a pagan
celebra�on with the Na�vity of the Lord.
There is no early Chris�an or pagan wri�ng that
indicates December 25 was picked because of
its correspondence with the Saturnalia or the
birthday of Sol Invictus. In fact, early Chris�ans
went out of their way to demonstrate how
different they were from the pagans. They
recognized that the Na�vity merited a place in
the liturgical calendar, so by the third century
Christmas was celebrated on December 25 in
the West and January 6 in the East. The Real Story: The celebra�on of Easter is rooted in the resurrec�on of Jesus from the
dead and was a central focus of the early
Chris�ans. The Sabbath was changed by the
early Jewish converts from Saturday to Sunday
in recogni�on of the Resurrec�on and was not
borrowed from pagan prac�ce. Fixing the date
for Christmas on December 25 had more to do
with Jewish tradi�on than pagan custom. In
Jewish tradi�on, March 25 was celebrated as
the date of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, when
the Lord promised to send a lamb to complete
the sacrifice. It also marked the first day of the
Crea�on, when God brought forth light. The
early Chris�ans easily recognized the
connec�on between Christ the Lamb and the
Light, and dated both his concep�on and death
to March 25. If the Incarna�on occurred on
March 25, then it follows that the Na�vity
occurred nine months later on December 25.
For the early Chris�ans “the decisive factor was
the connec�on of crea�on and cross, of
crea�on and Christ’s concep�on,” not the
desire to bap�ze pagan celebra�ons.
h�ps://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?
tab=wm#inbox/1602691539c57ab3
A Jesuit, a Dominican, and a Franciscan were walking along an old road, deba�ng the greatness of their orders. Suddenly, an appari�on of the Holy Family appeared in front of them, with Jesus in a manger and Mary and Joseph praying over him. The Franciscan fell on his face, overcome with awe at the sight of God born in such poverty. The Dominican fell to his knees, adoring the beau�ful reflec�on of the Trinity and the Holy Family. The Jesuit walked up to Joseph, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, “So, have you thought about where to send him to school?”
A parish priest’s car starts ac�ng up, so he takes it to a parishioner to have it fixed. When he gets the quote for what the repair will cost, he
blanches. “Ah, c’mon, can’t you give me a be�er price than that? I’m just a poor preacher!” “A poor preacher, do you say? Well, I’ve heard a lot of preachers in my �me, and I can say that you’re telling the truth there, Father, you’re telling the truth there…
I’m part of a rela�vely small parish in
Arkansas, and there is only one other Catholic
church in our county. We are share a priest
with that congrega�on.
And this year during Lent, like countless other
parishes across the country, my parish will
hold a penance service.
If we are lucky, our pastor will be able to get a
priest from a parish, 30-60 miles away, to
come and set up a makeshi� confessional in
an office or classroom. Even with an extra
priest or two, the lines for confession will be
long: ten or twenty sinners deep.
But if this year’s penance service is like recent
ones, Fr. Joseph will be our sole confessor.
One year, my 10 year old son and I waited in
line for two hours.
When I a�end one of these penance services,
even as I wait my turn to unburden myself of
my sins, I am o�en tempted to complain (at
least inwardly) about the wait, about my �red
feet and my aching back.
However, since becoming Catholic 18 years
ago, I have not only grown in my apprecia�on
for the tremendous blessing of the Sacrament
of Reconcilia�on, I have also come to
appreciate these penance services and the
long lines that are an inevitable part of them.
Here are some of the blessings I have
discovered of a long line for confession:
1) More �me to pray!
I try to go to reconcilia�on o�en, and I always
try to be well prepared for my confession. I go
through an examina�on of conscience. I make
check list. I pray. But during a par�cularly long
wait a couple of years ago, it occurred to me
that I could use that �me do even more.
As I stood in line, I had �me to pray for my
pastor. I asked the Holy Spirit to give him
wisdom. I also prayed a prayer of surrender, of
trust. I tend to think the grace of the
sacrament is dependent on my ability to make
a good confession, to remember everything
and to ar�culate myself well. And to a certain
degree that is true. A well thought out,
thorough confession is certainly be�er than a
poorly prepared confession.
S�ll, in the end, all grace is a gi�: a gi� I must
receive in faith. So, as I waited my turn, I
entrusted my confession to Jesus, knowing
that He would guide me and that God would
be merciful no ma�er how imperfect my
effort.
2) Solidarity with other penitents
When I wait in line at a penance service, I am
always moved by the sight of so many people
seeking forgiveness and healing. We are all
there, wai�ng together, to receive the same
beau�ful gi�.
I love to see old people, 20-somethings, young
children, families, and everyone in between
wai�ng (and wai�ng and wai�ng) to lay their
sins before God.
Confession is always powerful, but there is
something excep�onal about so many
different people gathered together in one
place to confess their sins and to receive God’s
healing mercy.
3) A humbling sense of gra�tude
When I am tempted to grumble inwardly
about the line for confession, I think about
people who don’t have the freedom or the
opportunity to go to confession. Would
Catholics living under oppressive regimes or in
war-torn regions complain about a 45 minute
wait �me?
Not only that, a long line is proof that God is
working in the hearts of His people. It means
souls are coming to him in droves. How
grateful I should be to wait behind so many
other penitents!
4) Time to read some those
pamphlets and fliers in the back of
the church
While wai�ng in line a couple of years ago, I
picked up a handout in the back of the church
called Father’s Love Le�er. It’s beau�ful. I might never have no�ced it if I hadn’t had all
that extra �me on my hands.
5) It’s a pre-penance
Maybe I’ve made it sound as if all my wait �me
has become a spiritual exercise in gra�tude
and surrender. Ummmm, not en�rely. I s�ll
struggle not to grumble to myself.
But if nothing else, wai�ng in a long line for
confession gives me something to offer up,
and it gives me a chance to prac�ce pa�ence.
* * *
I am extremely grateful for the sacrament of
reconcilia�on. Since my conversion in 1999, I
have loved confession, though, like most
sinners, I o�en dread it and some�mes even
put if off.
Standing in line, while unpleasant at the �me,
has only added to my apprecia�on for this
sacrament and has helped me realize all the
more what a blessing it is to be able to go to a
priest and lay my sins before God—no ma�er
how long it takes.
h�ps://churchpop.com/2017/03/13/5-hidden-bless-from-having-to-wait-in-a-long-line-for-confession/
This is excellent, a very visible and enthusias�c support for human
excep�onalism and equal moral worth. This year’s “Gerber Baby” has Down syndrome.
From the Today story: The 2018 Gerber baby is Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia who is the first child with Down
syndrome to be named a Gerber baby since the contest’s start in 2010.
“He’s very outgoing and never meets a stranger,” Lucas’s mom,
Cortney, told TODAY Parents. “He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.”
Don’t tell Iceland. That country has wiped babies with Down off their
territory through a pogrom of eugenic abor�on targe�ng fetuses with
that condi�on.
Don’t tell France. That country
refused to permit a Down syndrome
support organiza�on run a TV ad extolling the joys of raising a Down child because it could make
women who aborted Down fetuses
feel guilty.
Don’t tell Peter Singer of Princeton.
He has advocated the propriety of infan�cide of Down syndrome
infants–e.g. post-birth abor�on.
Do applaud Gerber for making an all-too-rare very posi�ve statement
about the inherent value of people with Down. h�p://www.lifenews.com/2018/02/07/new-gerber-baby-is-a-li�le-boy-with-down-
syndrome/
Washington D.C., Jan 26, 2018 / 12:04 am
(CNA).- Of the countless Catholic couples who
have come through Father T.G. Morrow's
office in Washington D.C. for marriage
counseling, two remain imprinted in the
priest's mind even today.
In many ways, these two Catholic couples
were the ideal; they were open to life, they
formed their children in the faith and they
frequented the sacraments.
But both of these marriages fell apart. The
culprit? Anger.
“Anger is a poison,” Fr. Morrow, a moral
theologian and author of “Overcoming Sinful Anger” (Sophia Press, 2014) told CNA. “If a husband and a wife are angry with each other
a lot, it destroys the rela�onship. It makes it
so painful that people want to get out of that
rela�onship.”
Everyone experiences the feeling of anger. It's
a natural, uncontrollable response to the
behavior of others, he said. And anger can
some�mes be righteous – St. Thomas Aquinas
once said anger that's aligned with reason is
praiseworthy. But most o�en that natural
response of anger morphs into sinful anger,
which is mo�vated by a desire for revenge,
the priest noted.
And this sinful anger has a devasta�ng effect
on rela�onships.
“It's extremely important that people realize
that (anger) can be a very serious thing,
especially if they have major outbursts that
really hurt other people,” Fr. Morrow said.
Anger is so destruc�ve that many marriage
experts recommend couples have five posi�ve
interac�ons for every nega�ve interac�on.
“This anger, when it’s expressed badly, is a
poison to every rela�onship,” he said.
“Married people need especially to be careful
about this…to work on this and to overcome
this.”
Since the feeling of anger is natural and
unavoidable, Fr. Morrow said it is important to
know how to express anger or displeasure in
an effec�ve and posi�ve way. The first step:
decide if it is worth ge�ng angry.
“People get angry about li�le, trifling things,”
he said. “You have to say “Is this worth ge�ng
angry about?” If not, then you have to let it
go. Just forget it.”
If your anger is jus�fied and a confronta�on
would promote the good of the other, use
humor or diplomacy to express your anger. If a
confronta�on would not promote the good of
the other, then Fr. Morrow suggested offering
that anger to God as a sacrifice for your sins
and the sins of the world.
“(Anger) won’t go away automa�cally in one
try,” he explained. “We have to keep giving it
to God as a sacrifice.”
Fr. Morrow said this approach to anger does
not mean every person should suddenly
become a doormat who is too cowardly to
express dissa�sfac�on with the ac�ons of
another.
He used the example of St. Monica, the
mother of St. Augus�ne of Hippo. Many of the
men in Tagaste at the �me had violent
tempers, and St. Monica’s husband was no
excep�on. When he would come home and
yell at St. Monica, she would stay quiet. Some
�me a�er her husband’s explosion of anger,
St. Monica would approach her husband and
calmly address his treatment of her and his
complaints.
“She was the furthest thing from a doormat,”
Fr. Morrow explained. “She had a specific goal
that she wanted to become holy and she
wanted to covert her son. She pursued her
goals ardently and as a result she converted
her violent husband and eventually converted
Augus�ne.”
Fr. Morrow’s book “Overcoming Sinful Anger” (Sophia Press, 2014) reads like a manual and draws from his experience as a
marriage counselor and spiritual director and
his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the
Pope John Paul II Ins�tute for Studies on
Marriage and Family.
h�ps://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/whats-destroying-some-catholic-marriages-the-answer-may-surprise-you-57498?utm_source=CNA&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_newsle�er
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