“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15)

There is a beautiful passage from the Book of Deuteronomy that summarizes what Lent is all about. It reads:

“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life that your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice, and clinging to Him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

In this passage, the people of Israel are being offered a choice as they enter the Promised Land—a choice to follow God and live, or reject God and face the same death which Adam and Eve chose. Here, the Promised Land is regarded as a physical location that will allow the People of Israel to once again live in communion with God, as had Adam and Eve. For us Christians, the invitation is given to us that we might freely live in communion with God by choosing Christ and living in communion with God through the power of the Holy Spirit within the Church. As the choice of the old Adam broke the communion which once existed between God and humanity, by choosing to be followers of the New Adam—Christ, we are offered life. Continue reading →

“The Gospel on Five Fingers”
(Saint Mother Theresa)

For many people, as the Pandemic restrictions were lifted, there was a hope that life would go back to normal. Sadly, this has not happened. While vaccination mandates have been lifted and masks have become somewhat optional, it is clear that the world, and more sadly, people were changed by the Pandemic.

For most people, the experience of being locked up and frightened, has not made them better people. There has been a tendency for most to become more selfish and concerned with how others will look after them. People want to know what others can do for them and how other people can be at their service. This selfishness often shows itself in the way that we treat others and how easily people are agitated by requests to care for others and be of service to our neighbour. Continue reading →

This Sunday, within the Archdiocese of Toronto is being celebrated as Marriage Sunday. I am not sure if this date was chosen because this is the weekend before Valentine’s Day and it is a day to celebrate the love of all married couples; or if it was chosen because next weekend is the Family Day Weekend and the Sacrament of Marriage is the foundation of all Christian Family Life. As it is Marriage Sunday, this weekend I would like to share with you the prayer that I talk about with all couples who are preparing to be married here at St. Peter’s Parish. Continue reading →

The Beatitudes of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5: 1-12), which we hear read on this Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A, after we heard last week of the call of the first disciples, are referred to as a summary of the Gospel. They are said to summarize the way in which the disciples of Jesus are to live and follow the example of His life in the world today.

I think for many of us, when we hear the Beatitudes, or read them ourselves, there are three questions that can come to mind. These are: 1) What would it look like if someone was to live this way? 2) Why should anyone try to live this way? and 3) How can a person in the world today live this way?

Last weekend, following the Sunday Masses, I went to see a movie that offered a very powerful response to all of these questions. The movie was entitled “No Greater Love.” This movie is a documentary about the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta that was produced in the United States by the Knights of Columbus. The movie beautifully depicts the way in which Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta served Christ in the poorest of the poor and followed almost literally the teaching of the Beatitudes, while instructing her Sisters in the Missionaries of Charity to do the same by the way they lived and served the poor around the world. Mother Teresa’s life was a witness to the way in which the Beatitudes invite Christians to turn the values of the world upside down by seeing in each person, especially the poorest of the poor, Christ Himse Continue reading →

Christ Our Lord is Born Today—Born into a Family—Born into a Community

One of the most popular images at Christmas is the Manger. In fact, most years at Christmas, I like to preach about the Manger and what it proclaims.

In the Manger we see the poverty into which Christ was born and the extent to which He goes to announce His love for every human being. Whether a person is rich or poor, the Manger declares that Christ loves each of us and will do anything to come to make His dwelling among us. There is a great similarity between Christ’s being born in a manger and the way in which He comes to us in the Eucharist in a small piece of bread. As He comes to dwell among us in poverty in the Manger, in the Eucharist Jesus comes to dwell in our hearts in a small piece of bread. Because this small host, in which Christ gives us His body, is so simple, there can be no barrier to anyone- rich or poor- receiving Him. Unless, of course, we place a barrier there by keeping away from Him. Continue reading →

“The Father has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13)

On the last Sunday of every liturgical year, which this Sunday is, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King—King of the Universe. Next Sunday, we will begin a new liturgical year as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent.

The Solemnity of Christ the King takes place on the last Sunday of the liturgical year to remind us that at the end of time, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. The solemnity is intended to remind us that we are to be ready to meet Christ when He comes by being ready to meet Him today and always. While Christians have always believed that Jesus was their king, this liturgical feast was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. He instituted it in troubled times to remind Catholics that the worldly powers that were causing such political turmoil at the time were only temporary and passing. The true Kingship over humanity belonged to Christ and Christians ought to be more concerned with following Christ than those passing worldly powers. At the same time that Pius XI instituted the feast, he suggested that as it was celebrated all Catholics ought to renew their consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pius XI’s motto as Pope was: “Christ’s Peace through Christ’s reign.” Continue reading →

Giving thanks to God for surviving a pandemic, while still praying for peace, truth, healing and reconciliation

Thanksgiving is a North American holiday. If I remember my school lessons correctly, it derives from the experience of the first European settlers here in North America and their experience of their first few years here on this continent. The way we were taught about this holiday when I was in elementary school recalled how difficult these first Europeans found the bitter winter to survive on their own and how unprepared they were to make it through this difficult climate. They were so unprepared for the conditions they found on this continent that it was only with the help of the Indigenous Peoples who knew the land and the ways of growing here that they were able to make it through those initial days. Once they had learned to grow crops in this territory and figure out how to survive the conditions on this continent, they were so grateful that they began to have a special feast called “Thanksgiving” at the end of the growing season to celebrate the goods of this land and the great opportunities that they had discovered here. From my school days, I recall a part of those initial Thanksgiving celebrations involved celebrations with the Indigenous People who had helped these first settlers to make their lives possible here. That is why so many of our celebrations still highlight the many vegetables and local products that were handed over to the Europeans by the Indigenous People to help them survive.

Of course the history of our continent also shows us that this cooperative relationship between the first European settlers and the Indigenous People did not continue for very long. After a very short period of time, the European settlers began to take the land for granted and to demand that it all be given to them. What was at first regarded as a privilege to be grateful for, soon began to be regarded as something that was owed to them and the land and the Indigenous People were exploited. The great buffalo that roamed the continent were soon extinct and the Indigenous Peoples lost their lands and were relegated to reserves across both Canada and the United States. We still hear of the tragic circumstances of this history today as we read about the high suicide rates among the young people in the Indigenous communities. The recent revelations about the experience and trauma of many Indigenous persons in the Government mandated Residential School System has kept this tragic situation before our eyes and minds. This is a part of our history that still calls for much truth, healing and reconciliation. Continue reading →

Preparing for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

In the Anointed for Mission programme that the Archdiocese uses to prepare the candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation, there is a game that is played to try and get the candidates to take a stand for justice. In this game, people are told to award themselves points for certain qualities about themselves and to subtract points for certain other qualities. The winner of the game is the person who gets the most points. That person is given a prize of a bag of a large number of small chocolate bars. Some of the things that they are told to award themselves points for are: if their family owns their own home; if they have more than two cars in the family; if they are boys; if they are good at sports; or if they were born in Canada. Some of the things that they lose points for are: if their family does not own their own home, if their family does not have a car; if they are girls; if they are bad at sports; and if they were born outside of Canada.

The purpose of the game is to try and get the young people who are preparing for Confirmation to see the injustice of the game and to get them to want to stand up against such an unjust game. By the time the game is over, they are supposed to be angry at the injustice and want to stand up for those who are being unjustly treated. The idea is that they will see that this is sometimes the way the world actually treats people. One of the reasons that the prize is a large bag of many small chocolate bars is because it is hoped the winner will also understand how unjust the game has been and decide to share the chocolate equally with all of the candidates who take part in the game. Happily, throughout all of the times I have been involved with this exercise, the winner has always decided to share his or her prize because he or she understood that the prize was only won because of a number of unjust situations and they have a desire to share with others. Continue reading →

This Sunday, throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto, is Stewardship Sunday. This is a Sunday, in which we are invited to think about all that God has given to us and are to challenge ourselves to respond to the many gifts that we have received. In his previous pastoral letters on Stewardship Sunday, Cardinal Collins, has asked all of us to consider how we can be involved in our parish communities as a way of thanking God for the gifts that He has given us in this life. Although this Sunday pastors are to read Cardinal Collins’ letter on this subject, I would like to just comment on someone who recently caused me to think of one who was a faithful steward in her life. Continue reading →