Holy Week is definitely a full calendar at Blessed Sacrament parish. There is the reconciliation service on the Monday, the Chrism mass at the Cathedral on Tuesday, our incredibly moving Holy Thursday service on Thursday evening, and a number of services and masses during the Triduum.
The entire schedule is posted as a PDF file right here.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Spiritual awakening and growth
Fr. Joe presided over the funeral Mass of a former Parliamentary Press Gallery colleague of mine this afternoon. Canadian Press photographer Tom Hanson was playing hockey last week when he suddenly collapsed and later died of a heart attack. He was 41.
The ceremony was very moving and, as usual, Fr. Joe’s gift for framing our daily experiences in a spiritual context brought solace to many of us who were still incredulous at Tom’s death at such a young age. I thought it would be helpful to share it with you.
Fr. Joe’s homily focused on how Tom’s life has changed, rather than ended. He talked about how we are given our lives, and our bodies, to use our five senses – touch, smell, feel, sight, and hearing – to develop our sixth sense, our spiritual sense.
I have often thought that funerals are for the living, so that we can say our goodbyes and reflect on the course of our own lives. I know many of my former colleagues to be either agnostic or atheist, so I wondered how they must be grappling with Tom’s death.
So I thought that Fr. Joe’s homily on life being a process of spiritual awakening and growth followed by a bursting forth into the spiritual realm to be very apt food for thought for believers, non-believers, and sceptics, and I wanted to share his message with you.
The ceremony was very moving and, as usual, Fr. Joe’s gift for framing our daily experiences in a spiritual context brought solace to many of us who were still incredulous at Tom’s death at such a young age. I thought it would be helpful to share it with you.
Fr. Joe’s homily focused on how Tom’s life has changed, rather than ended. He talked about how we are given our lives, and our bodies, to use our five senses – touch, smell, feel, sight, and hearing – to develop our sixth sense, our spiritual sense.
I have often thought that funerals are for the living, so that we can say our goodbyes and reflect on the course of our own lives. I know many of my former colleagues to be either agnostic or atheist, so I wondered how they must be grappling with Tom’s death.
So I thought that Fr. Joe’s homily on life being a process of spiritual awakening and growth followed by a bursting forth into the spiritual realm to be very apt food for thought for believers, non-believers, and sceptics, and I wanted to share his message with you.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Third week of Lent
“And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.” 1 Corinthians 10:10
Guilty as charged.
I frequently catch myself bellyaching about this, that and the other thing.
And I have been trying to train myself to count my blessings every day – albeit with varying degrees of success – since Lenten seasons past.
But I do accept that living within the framework God has set out for us in the Bible is a constant, daily effort.
And the effort is worth it.
I’m not sure whether it’s the final stage of winter or something else but the mood where I work is pretty glum and that can be contagious.
There is a controversy over city hall’s decision to deny an atheist’s group request to plaster city buses with messages asserting there is “probably” no God (non-believers often ask me for proof, so why shouldn’t I expect the same from them?) and that we should just get on with “enjoying” our lives.
I read two falsehoods in this assertion:
The first questions whether there really is a God who created what many scientists openly acknowledge to be a statistically impossible cosmic fluke (life on Earth).
The second part of the assertion implies that since we are here by virtue of an almost impossible fluke we are not bound by the kill-joy rules of this probably fictitious God.
Therefore, according to this flimsy logic, the disciplines urged in this God’s users’ manual for life – the Bible – such as don’t kill each other, be faithful to your spouse, and the Golden Rule (do to others what you would have them do to you Matthew 7:12) are a real drag.
I would like to see their proof that God does not exist because I’m afraid that their assertion of probability does not stand up to scientific scrutiny.
I do have a pretty good idea of what our community would look like if the moral relativism and no-holds barred lifestyle they advocate were to take an even deeper root in our society.
We would certainly have reason to grumble then. But turning our back on God, could we be justified in expecting Him to listen then?
Guilty as charged.
I frequently catch myself bellyaching about this, that and the other thing.
And I have been trying to train myself to count my blessings every day – albeit with varying degrees of success – since Lenten seasons past.
But I do accept that living within the framework God has set out for us in the Bible is a constant, daily effort.
And the effort is worth it.
I’m not sure whether it’s the final stage of winter or something else but the mood where I work is pretty glum and that can be contagious.
There is a controversy over city hall’s decision to deny an atheist’s group request to plaster city buses with messages asserting there is “probably” no God (non-believers often ask me for proof, so why shouldn’t I expect the same from them?) and that we should just get on with “enjoying” our lives.
I read two falsehoods in this assertion:
The first questions whether there really is a God who created what many scientists openly acknowledge to be a statistically impossible cosmic fluke (life on Earth).
The second part of the assertion implies that since we are here by virtue of an almost impossible fluke we are not bound by the kill-joy rules of this probably fictitious God.
Therefore, according to this flimsy logic, the disciplines urged in this God’s users’ manual for life – the Bible – such as don’t kill each other, be faithful to your spouse, and the Golden Rule (do to others what you would have them do to you Matthew 7:12) are a real drag.
I would like to see their proof that God does not exist because I’m afraid that their assertion of probability does not stand up to scientific scrutiny.
I do have a pretty good idea of what our community would look like if the moral relativism and no-holds barred lifestyle they advocate were to take an even deeper root in our society.
We would certainly have reason to grumble then. But turning our back on God, could we be justified in expecting Him to listen then?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Second week of Lent
“About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Luke 9:28-31
The story of the transfiguration is often read during Lent.
What strikes me about these verses, as with so many others by the Apostles, is the amount of time Jesus spent in prayer and meditation during his ministry among us.
At first I was surprised by a headline in a local paper that talked about the Church urging people to curb their use of text messages or computers during Lent.
Most people I know in Ottawa have a BlackBerry and it’s hard to imagine them putting those aside for 40 days.
But then the article went on to refer to a message by the Pope on YouTube in January where he warned against “obsessive” use of technology that “may isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development”.
It seemed to me that the message of the curb on text messaging might have been lost in its dissemination.
As odd as the request might sound on first brush, it makes sense in that rather than giving up desert for Lent, for example, this is a call to give time for prayer and meditation – consulting with God – during this transformative period.
The story of the transfiguration is often read during Lent.
What strikes me about these verses, as with so many others by the Apostles, is the amount of time Jesus spent in prayer and meditation during his ministry among us.
At first I was surprised by a headline in a local paper that talked about the Church urging people to curb their use of text messages or computers during Lent.
Most people I know in Ottawa have a BlackBerry and it’s hard to imagine them putting those aside for 40 days.
But then the article went on to refer to a message by the Pope on YouTube in January where he warned against “obsessive” use of technology that “may isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development”.
It seemed to me that the message of the curb on text messaging might have been lost in its dissemination.
As odd as the request might sound on first brush, it makes sense in that rather than giving up desert for Lent, for example, this is a call to give time for prayer and meditation – consulting with God – during this transformative period.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
First week of Lent
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds. "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
James 2:14-18
The first week of Lent often seems to be accompanied by questions along the lines of ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ followed by laudable personal goals like eating or drinking less, exercising more and so on.
Then, as the 40 days go on, or after them, this exercise in privation in the face of temptation sometimes ebbs away, much to our chagrin.
To encourage us in our efforts, some priests have preached about Jesus Christ’s 40 days and 40 nights of fasting and temptation by the Devil in the desert.
But when I think of Lent in this way, it seems that when many of us ask ourselves what our act of faith will be, we are framing the question in the negative, rather than the positive.
It’s as though we make a deal with ourselves that this is the penance we will choose for ourselves for this period of time and then it’s back to business as usual.
It’s almost as though we are implying to ourselves that we think the loving God we worship wants us to harm ourselves.
Maybe a more successful way to achieve what we set out for ourselves during Lent is to flip this logic on its head: our loving God actually wants us to choose a course of action during these 40 days to get rid of some of the junk in our lives.
And that by praying for God’s support in this crucial period when trying to shed old, harmful habits, proves most difficult, we end the exercise taking one step closer to our loving God.
James 2:14-18
The first week of Lent often seems to be accompanied by questions along the lines of ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ followed by laudable personal goals like eating or drinking less, exercising more and so on.
Then, as the 40 days go on, or after them, this exercise in privation in the face of temptation sometimes ebbs away, much to our chagrin.
To encourage us in our efforts, some priests have preached about Jesus Christ’s 40 days and 40 nights of fasting and temptation by the Devil in the desert.
But when I think of Lent in this way, it seems that when many of us ask ourselves what our act of faith will be, we are framing the question in the negative, rather than the positive.
It’s as though we make a deal with ourselves that this is the penance we will choose for ourselves for this period of time and then it’s back to business as usual.
It’s almost as though we are implying to ourselves that we think the loving God we worship wants us to harm ourselves.
Maybe a more successful way to achieve what we set out for ourselves during Lent is to flip this logic on its head: our loving God actually wants us to choose a course of action during these 40 days to get rid of some of the junk in our lives.
And that by praying for God’s support in this crucial period when trying to shed old, harmful habits, proves most difficult, we end the exercise taking one step closer to our loving God.
Our Parish Lenten Journey
The schedule of weekly events during Lent has been posted at the parish web site. Click here to read it in PDF format.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Christian Meditation Ministry
Blessed Sacrament’s Christian Meditation Ministry promotes the practice of Christian meditation in our Parish. If you are interested in learning about Christian meditation, we invite you to join us. Youth are especially welcome.
Meeting Details
We meet every Sunday, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Parish Library. At our meetings, we listen to a recording of a talk by Father John Main. Then, we meditate for 25 minutes.
What Is Christian Meditation?
Christian meditation is a practice through which we quiet the mind and become still and attentive to God. It is a prayer of silence that takes us beyond words, thoughts and images to experience the presence of Christ in us.
Read more....
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