Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Explaining the Trinity is not an easy task. I take some consolation in the fact that the great Doctor of the Church St. Augustine of Hippo spent over 30 years working on his treatise De Trinitate [about the Holy Trinity], endeavouring to conceive an intelligible explanation for the mystery of the Trinity. There is a story told that Augustine was walking by the seashore one day contemplating and trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he saw a small boy running back and forth from the water to a spot on the seashore. The boy was using a sea shell to carry the water from the ocean and place it into a small hole in the sand. The Bishop of Hippo approached him and asked, “My boy, what are doing?” “I am trying to bring all the sea into this hole,” the boy replied with a sweet smile. “But that is impossible, my dear child, the hole cannot contain all that water” said Augustine. The boy paused in his work, stood up, looked into the eyes of the Saint, and replied, “It ...

Pope Francis Message for Vocations Sunday 2016 The Church, Mother of Vocations Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is my great hope that, during the course of this  Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy , all the baptized may experience the joy of belonging to the Church and rediscover that the Christian vocation, just like every particular vocation, is born from within the People of God, and is a gift of divine mercy. The Church is the house of mercy, and it is the “soil” where vocations take root, mature and bear fruit. For this reason, on the occasion of the 53 rd  World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I invite all of you to reflect upon the apostolic community, and to give thanks for the role of the community in each person’s vocational journey. In the  Bull of Indiction for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy , I recalled the words of the venerable Saint Bede, describing the call of Saint Matthew: “ Miserando atque eligendo ” ( Misericordiae Vultus , 8). The Lord’s merci...

If you haven't made New Year's resolutions yet, here is some help from Pope Francis! – “Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are.” – “Take care of your family life, giving your children and loved ones not just money, but most of all your time, attention and love.” – “Take care of your relationships with others, transforming your faith into life and your words into good works, especially on behalf of the needy.” – “Be careful how you speak, purify your tongue of offensive words, vulgarity and worldly decadence.” – “Heal wounds of the heart with the oil of forgiveness, forgiving those who have hurt us and medicating the wounds we have caused others.” – “Look after your work, doing it with enthusiasm, humility, competence, passion and with a spirit that knows how to thank the Lord.” – “Be careful of envy, lust, hatred and negative feelings that devour our interior peace and transform us...

This morning we had the great blessing to participate in the General Audience with Pope Francis. We were up pretty close too, seated to the right of the Pope. Every Wednesday and Sunday, about 70,000-90,000 people regularly attend the catechesis or the Angelus with Pope Francis. We had to be there quite early so as to secure our seats so it was time to relax, pray, avoid getting sunburnt (the sun was very hot!) and banter among ourselves. Numerous groups had gathered from all over the world and cheers of joy went up from the crowds when their group was called out. At about 10.40 the crowd began to liven up as the Pope began weaving in and out of the various sections of the Piazza in the Popemobile. Every now and then the Popemobile would stop for the Pope to bless babies and young children. On reaching the steps, he energetically made his way to the sanctuary where he would begin his catechesis. Here is what he shared with us this morning: "Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Mor...

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 51st WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS 11 MAY 2014 - FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER Theme: Vocations, Witness to the Truth  Dear Brothers and Sisters, 1. The Gospel says that “Jesus went about all the cities and villages... When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’” (Mt 9:35-38). These words surprise us, because we all know that it is necessary first to plow, sow and cultivate to then, in due time, reap an abundant harvest. Jesus says instead that “the harvest is plentiful”. But who did the work to bring about these results? There is only one answer: God. Clearly the field of which Jesus is speaking is humanity, us. And the efficacious action which has borne “much fruit” is the grace of God, that is, commu...

Throughout history, the voice of the prophet is one of the vehicles through which God speaks to the community and to the world. Today, we commemorate one of these prophets. On this day, 34 years ago, evil men in El Salvador tried to silence the voice of a prophet. I claim this date as being special to my life story because it was the month and the year that I was to grace the world. However God had another plan and I arrived a little earlier on January 24th. It continues to be a day where I remember Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. Knowing himself to be on the government’s “hit list,” Romero went to the hills to prepare himself for his final confrontation with evil. He telephoned his farewell message to Exclesior, Mexico’s premier newspaper, insisting that like the Good Shepherd, a pastor must give his life for those he loves. Romero was shot while celebrating an anniverary Mass of a  friend’s mother at the local convent. The asassin escaped in the hubbub a...

Sr. M. Louise and Fr. Dean Valentine’s Day can be an awkward feastday for many. Single people often feel isolated. People in relationships feel obliged to show their affection for their significant others in a way that may seem totally manufactured. Valentine’s Day is considered one of the most polarizing holidays in the year. You are either a complete believer in what Valentine’s Day has come to mean, a celebration of love, or else you are sick and tired of the marketing frenzy that surrounds the event.However, love makes life beautiful, at any age. Whether it’s for the first time or the 100th, expressing your love is the best way to light up someone’s day, especially when they don’t expect it! And that’s exactly what we did last week on campus at Saint Paul University! Saint Paul Students for Life group decided to mark Valentine’s Day and celebrate the gift of life and love on campus on Thursday last. Bopping along to classic love songs and handing out delicious home-made coo...

One word: Yes! A life programme! Surrender all! Fiat! Amen! Let it be done.   Believe it or not, the word YES is the most powerful prayer you can make. It’s saying that, “I believe God that you probably know what’s best for my life . . . for my life more than I do, and I’m willing to trust you with my life. And I’m willing to go along with what I understand to be your plans for my life.” Today, the liturgy had us meditate the scene of the Annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to Mary. Pope Francis reflecting on this Gospel back in October, sums up the Annunciation like this: “God surprises us, God asks us to be faithful and God is our strength.” He explains saying that God surprised Mary, but despite this she was able to say, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, be it done onto me according to your word”. God does surprise us, he wreaks havoc with our plans, but he also says “trust me, do not be afraid”. In his second reflection “God asks us to be faithful” Pope Fra...

“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden.” ― St. Thérèse de Lisieux Today is one of my favourite feastdays, feast of St. Thérèse, also known as the Little Flower! I know it is predictable but one of my favourite spiritual books is the ‘Story of a Soul’ which I came across as a teenager.Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint and found in her short life more inspiration for own lives than in volumes by theologians. Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, publis...

Fireworks display, Montreal One of the most prestigious fireworks competitions is the Montreal Fireworks Festival so since my arrival here 10 days ago I have been able to watch three different pyrotechnical shows from the comfort of our balcony here. Montreal is really the city of firework connoisseurs. The festival is a generous litany of pyromusical displays involving careful synchronization of the fireworks to a musical score prepared by a different country every three days for the whole month of July. The grande finale was yesterday evening and involved a pyromusical display in tribute to U2. The local radio livestreams the music so equipped with the radio on my mobile phone I was able to follow everything! Well done to Italy who claimed first prize in the competition! Used for aesthetic, cultural, and religious purposes, fireworks are a breathtaking experience. There is something about fireworks which fascinate me. I have been spoiled here in Canada because Ottawa is no stra...

Catechesis from Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on the 5th of June 2013, World Environment Day. "Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! Today I want to focus on the issue of the environment, which I have already spoken of on several occasions. Today we also mark World Environment Day, sponsored by the United Nations, which sends a strong reminder of the need to eliminate the waste and disposal of food. When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it (cf. 2:15). And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it? The verb "to cultivate" reminds me of the care that the farmer has for his land so that it bear fruit, and it is shared: how much attention, passion and dedication! Cult...