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Best Regards,
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Friday, 24 May 2013
Greg and Marie
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Why am I chosen for whatever it is I am chosen for?
Today is my birthday.
I am pondering some readings first thing and was struck with the question above. Is God pulling the strings? Is free choice just an illusion in my life?
First says Henry Nouwen:
"Each of us has a mission in life. Jesus prays to his Father for his followers, saying "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17:18)
We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God given tasks. We act as if we have to choose how, where, and with whom we live. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus says. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do."
Then from The Little White Book from Saginaw, MI:
"Nobody feels comfortable saying: "I'm a holy person." But it's true. Holiness is not something of my own doing. God's gift is in me right now. If I have God's life within me, I am holy. The eternal life Jesus gives me, by sending his Spirit, is divine life, God's life. And it isn't just something that kicks in after I die."
Something to ponder for sure. Recently I was "chosen" for two separate activities that were linked. When asked would I accept, I said yes. Was that God speaking in me?
Many years ago during my Lifespring encounter (google it), there was an exercise where the group had to choose who to put into the life boat on a sinking ship. I was one of the few chosen. At the time I remember feeling totally surprised (and unworthy) of this. Was that God choosing me?
I have had a glimpse today that it was indeed God, and He is in me. I can feel/see the edges of his presence and see the mystical works he orchestrates. I am indeed called to Him. Thanks be to God.
I am pondering some readings first thing and was struck with the question above. Is God pulling the strings? Is free choice just an illusion in my life?
First says Henry Nouwen:
"Each of us has a mission in life. Jesus prays to his Father for his followers, saying "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17:18)
We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God given tasks. We act as if we have to choose how, where, and with whom we live. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus says. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do."
Then from The Little White Book from Saginaw, MI:
"Nobody feels comfortable saying: "I'm a holy person." But it's true. Holiness is not something of my own doing. God's gift is in me right now. If I have God's life within me, I am holy. The eternal life Jesus gives me, by sending his Spirit, is divine life, God's life. And it isn't just something that kicks in after I die."
Something to ponder for sure. Recently I was "chosen" for two separate activities that were linked. When asked would I accept, I said yes. Was that God speaking in me?
Many years ago during my Lifespring encounter (google it), there was an exercise where the group had to choose who to put into the life boat on a sinking ship. I was one of the few chosen. At the time I remember feeling totally surprised (and unworthy) of this. Was that God choosing me?
I have had a glimpse today that it was indeed God, and He is in me. I can feel/see the edges of his presence and see the mystical works he orchestrates. I am indeed called to Him. Thanks be to God.
Friday, 16 November 2012
An RV Trip in November
Gosh, it has been nice here this November. In October I took the Roadtrek in for some body work. Well they kept it for 4 weeks - indoors When I picked it up Nov 9, it still had water etc in it as I had not had time to winterize it beforehand which I normally would have done in October.
Marie decided to go to a yoga retreat in Kingston, ON. Well I looked in my Passport America 50% off guide book and lo and behold, there is a PPA campground called Rideau Acres just outside of Kingston that was still open (and indeed year round!). How serendipity was that?
So we naturally took the Roadtrek to Kingston on the Nov 10 weekend. I dropped Marie at Providence House Friday night and than explored the Kingston area:
- the waterfront has a great pathway for walking along
- Queens University is a great place to explore
- Fort Henry is nearby (fort itself was closed for some reason)
- Bellevue House, Sir John A. MacDonald's home is interesting (it too was closed, for the season)
- The Catholic Cathedral down town was closed but had a nice little adoration chapel open
- found a nice little church 5 min from the campground for Sunday mass
- explored the mouth of the Rideau Canal where it empties into nearby Lake Ontario
- strolled among the wreathes and poppies after the Remembrance day crowds has dispersed
- we stopped in Carleton Place for a little shopping on the way home Sunday
- the campground had a few seasonal guests still there and the most bird crowded duck pond area I have ever seen
All in all, a great RV escape for mid November in Ontario!
Here are a few pics. See ya.
Marie decided to go to a yoga retreat in Kingston, ON. Well I looked in my Passport America 50% off guide book and lo and behold, there is a PPA campground called Rideau Acres just outside of Kingston that was still open (and indeed year round!). How serendipity was that?
So we naturally took the Roadtrek to Kingston on the Nov 10 weekend. I dropped Marie at Providence House Friday night and than explored the Kingston area:
- the waterfront has a great pathway for walking along
- Queens University is a great place to explore
- Fort Henry is nearby (fort itself was closed for some reason)
- Bellevue House, Sir John A. MacDonald's home is interesting (it too was closed, for the season)
- The Catholic Cathedral down town was closed but had a nice little adoration chapel open
- found a nice little church 5 min from the campground for Sunday mass
- explored the mouth of the Rideau Canal where it empties into nearby Lake Ontario
- strolled among the wreathes and poppies after the Remembrance day crowds has dispersed
- we stopped in Carleton Place for a little shopping on the way home Sunday
- the campground had a few seasonal guests still there and the most bird crowded duck pond area I have ever seen
All in all, a great RV escape for mid November in Ontario!
Here are a few pics. See ya.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Canticle of Zechariah
Blessed be the God of Israel,
Who comes to set us free,
Who visits and redeems us,
And grants us liberty.
The prophets spoke of mercy,
Of freedom and release;
God shall fulfill the promise,
To bring our people peace.
Now from the house of David,
A child of grace is giv'n;
A Saviour comes among us
To raise us up to heaven.
Before him goes the herald,
Forerunner in the way;
The prophet of salvation,
The messenger of Day.
Where once were fear and darkness
The sun begins to rise;
The dawning of forgiveness
Upon the sinner's eyes,
To guide the feet of pilgrims
Along the paths of peace:
O bless our God and Saviour
With songs that never cease!
Michael Perry, Copyright 1973 Hope Publishing Company
Who comes to set us free,
Who visits and redeems us,
And grants us liberty.
The prophets spoke of mercy,
Of freedom and release;
God shall fulfill the promise,
To bring our people peace.
Now from the house of David,
A child of grace is giv'n;
A Saviour comes among us
To raise us up to heaven.
Before him goes the herald,
Forerunner in the way;
The prophet of salvation,
The messenger of Day.
Where once were fear and darkness
The sun begins to rise;
The dawning of forgiveness
Upon the sinner's eyes,
To guide the feet of pilgrims
Along the paths of peace:
O bless our God and Saviour
With songs that never cease!
Michael Perry, Copyright 1973 Hope Publishing Company
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Inside the Synod
"Call to serve the poor is the best source to make credible the call for the new evangelization.
There is a need to break down our large communities into small communities where people can meet with God.
Pilgrimages can lead people to a deepening of faith.
The parish is the first place where the Word can be announced. There is a need for parish renewal.
There is a need to break down our large communities into small communities where people can meet with God.
Pilgrimages can lead people to a deepening of faith.
The parish is the first place where the Word can be announced. There is a need for parish renewal.
Clarify the types of small faith communities in different parts of the world.
Evangelization should lead to an encounter with Jesus Christ. We find our fullness in meeting Christ. There is a need to fall in love with Jesus Christ and his spouse the church. We need to contemplate the face of Christ."
These are some of the "small group" discussion reports mentioned in this weeks Inside the Synod blog report from Bishop Gerald Kikanas of Phoenix, AZ. They resonated with me.
Just going to Mass is not enough for me. I want to know more about Christ and personally experience his presence in my life.
The way to this may be through less doing and more being. Less exploring and more imploring. Travelling to the inside rather than outside.
While on the Camino de Santiago, I had plenty of time to "implore" i.e. think, reflect and pray silently. I found this immensely rewarding and life changing.
Perhaps the Synod Fathers are on to something. It's not about the "Power of the Keys", challenging secularization, "creeping infalibility", religious freedom or asking for foregiveness for past sins, it is, it is, .... about ....
BEING WITH CHRIST ALWAYS
Monday, 8 October 2012
Walking as an Antidote to City Poison
Quoted from Hilliare Belloc's The footpath way: an anthology for walkers:
"There is moral as well as bodily wholesomeness in a mountain walk, if the walker has the understanding heart, and eschews picnics. It is good for any man to be alone with nature and himself, or with a friend who knows when silence is more sociable than talk. In the Wilderness alone, there where nature worships God. It is well to be in places where man is little and God is great - where what he sees all around him has the same look as it had a thousand years ago, and will have the same, in all likelihood, when he has been 1000 years in his grave. It abates and rectifies a man, if he is worth the process.
In cities everything is man, and man alone. He seems to move and govern all, and be the Providence of cities; and there we do not render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto Go the things which are God's; but God is forgotten and Caesar is Supreme - all is human policy human insight, human power; nothing reminds us of divisible dominion, and concealed omnipotence - it is all earth, and no heaven. One cure of this is prayer and the solitary place. As the body, harassed with the noxious air of cities, seeks relief in the freedom and the purity of the fields and hills, so the mind, wearied by commerce with men, resumes its vigour in solitude and repairs its dignity."
Sydney Smith (English writer and Anglican cleric, 1771-1845)
Quoted from the working document for the Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, Rome, 2012
"Finally, popular piety with its devotion to the saints and Mary, in particular, as well as sacred places (shrines) with their opportunities for penance and spirituality, is increasingly being seen as a very timely and orginal means of initial proclamation. Pilgrimages and devotions can also provided the occasion to introduce a person to a real faith-experience and to respond to the great existential questions which touch upon conversion in one's life. A shared experience of faith opens a person to a world and life of new horizons. Working to well prserves the richness of Christian prayer in these places of conversion is undoubtedly a challenge for the new evangelization."
Three reflections are in order.
Firstly - it's true! When I am walking on a trail in the country side, I am overwhelmed with God's Creation. My faith in Him, his Love and nature's abundance, quiets my soul and brings me much needed peace. My Faith grows and I return a changed man, ready to take up my Cross with renewed spirit and energy. I have too thought, my goodness, this place was likely like this a 1000 years ago and will likely still look like this in 1000 years from now. It is humbling, earthy and organic. It is a feeling of being closer to God, in all my imperfections, and somehow these imperfections no longer matter as the birds, animals, plants, tress, rivers, lakes I see impart no judgement - we are all one.
Secondly, walking the Camino in 2010, we quickly learned that we did not like cities - they were cold, industrial, confusing, noisy, less friendly and inward focused. Having grown up and always lived in a city, I was taken aback by this revelation. Contrasting this was the warm, friendly, beauty, peacefullness and outward focused nature of the country side - with it's animals, birds, streams and mountains - I was at peace and calmed again, just like Sydney Smith says above.
Finally, going to a sacred place - meaning the pilgrimage journey provides me with an even deeper sense of a faith experience where I know that Christ was the Son of God and did rise again to offer me eternal life with his Father and with predeceased relatives and friends and Jesus. If this sounds a little far fetched or weird to you, try making a pilgrimage to a shrine or holy place, pray along the way and repent when you arrive there safely. See what happens to you. And afterwards when you return.
Le Puy Two Oh One Three
"There is moral as well as bodily wholesomeness in a mountain walk, if the walker has the understanding heart, and eschews picnics. It is good for any man to be alone with nature and himself, or with a friend who knows when silence is more sociable than talk. In the Wilderness alone, there where nature worships God. It is well to be in places where man is little and God is great - where what he sees all around him has the same look as it had a thousand years ago, and will have the same, in all likelihood, when he has been 1000 years in his grave. It abates and rectifies a man, if he is worth the process.
In cities everything is man, and man alone. He seems to move and govern all, and be the Providence of cities; and there we do not render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto Go the things which are God's; but God is forgotten and Caesar is Supreme - all is human policy human insight, human power; nothing reminds us of divisible dominion, and concealed omnipotence - it is all earth, and no heaven. One cure of this is prayer and the solitary place. As the body, harassed with the noxious air of cities, seeks relief in the freedom and the purity of the fields and hills, so the mind, wearied by commerce with men, resumes its vigour in solitude and repairs its dignity."
Sydney Smith (English writer and Anglican cleric, 1771-1845)
Quoted from the working document for the Synod of Bishops on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, Rome, 2012
"Finally, popular piety with its devotion to the saints and Mary, in particular, as well as sacred places (shrines) with their opportunities for penance and spirituality, is increasingly being seen as a very timely and orginal means of initial proclamation. Pilgrimages and devotions can also provided the occasion to introduce a person to a real faith-experience and to respond to the great existential questions which touch upon conversion in one's life. A shared experience of faith opens a person to a world and life of new horizons. Working to well prserves the richness of Christian prayer in these places of conversion is undoubtedly a challenge for the new evangelization."
Three reflections are in order.
Firstly - it's true! When I am walking on a trail in the country side, I am overwhelmed with God's Creation. My faith in Him, his Love and nature's abundance, quiets my soul and brings me much needed peace. My Faith grows and I return a changed man, ready to take up my Cross with renewed spirit and energy. I have too thought, my goodness, this place was likely like this a 1000 years ago and will likely still look like this in 1000 years from now. It is humbling, earthy and organic. It is a feeling of being closer to God, in all my imperfections, and somehow these imperfections no longer matter as the birds, animals, plants, tress, rivers, lakes I see impart no judgement - we are all one.
Secondly, walking the Camino in 2010, we quickly learned that we did not like cities - they were cold, industrial, confusing, noisy, less friendly and inward focused. Having grown up and always lived in a city, I was taken aback by this revelation. Contrasting this was the warm, friendly, beauty, peacefullness and outward focused nature of the country side - with it's animals, birds, streams and mountains - I was at peace and calmed again, just like Sydney Smith says above.
Finally, going to a sacred place - meaning the pilgrimage journey provides me with an even deeper sense of a faith experience where I know that Christ was the Son of God and did rise again to offer me eternal life with his Father and with predeceased relatives and friends and Jesus. If this sounds a little far fetched or weird to you, try making a pilgrimage to a shrine or holy place, pray along the way and repent when you arrive there safely. See what happens to you. And afterwards when you return.
Le Puy Two Oh One Three
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