God is always, already present!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. It’s also the day I celebrate the anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. Although the date is actually, June 3, 1990, I chose it because it was Pentecost. This feast of the Spirit ties into my whole approach to theology, church and priestly ministry. It is grounded in the theologian Karl Rahner’s understanding of the Holy Spirit as that self-communication of God (Grace) which is always, already present in our lives… we are swimming in a world of Grace. It’s just up to us to open ourselves to that reality. The Christian faith, the Sacraments, the Priesthood are all unique and exquisite means in which God helps us open ourselves more fully to that Grace which surrounds us.

One of the things that I liked most about Rahner’s theology of the Holy Spirit is that for him it was not about spectacular or “flashy” events. The reality of the Holy Spirit cannot be dismissed because it is found in the sober reality of drinking from the chalice of ordinary life. It’s precisely in the “ordinary” where people find themselves impelled, from within, to stretch beyond what they thought were their limits of generosity, compassion or love, that we experience the Holy Spirit.

Millions

The friars of my community just spent a day of recollection.. sort of a one day retreat.. which included lots of time for reflection and faith sharing. The themes for our retreat come from the section of the Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 4) that describes how the early Christians shared everything in common and lived together in harmony. It was this vision that led us to reflect how we do or do not share everything in common, how honestly we dialogue with one another and how we use money individually and as a community. We also reflected on the Gospel passage of the rich young man who wants to follow Jesus but is hesitant to leave everything behind.

Part of the discussion was around attachments and the pitch that is made to us by the lotteries to “imagine” the freedom that would come by winning millions. As they say: Who wants to be a millionaire? Our day ended with us watching the 2005 film Millions. It’s a film from the UK by Danny Boyle (the same guy who directed Slum Dog Millionaire.

Millions tells the story of two young boys, brothers who find a whole lot of money. They have very different ways of dealing with their new-found wealth. One of the boys, Damian, is aided by a litany of saints… quite literally, and including a smoking St. Clare of Assisi.

It’s a fun film, done well that tells a great story. It’s really worth while.  I’m surprised I never heard about until I searched for a film that would fit our topic of the day. I readily found it at the video store. I highly recommend it!

Pope2You

The Holy See has launched a new website pope2you.net (probably would have been better as Pope2U) which  provides a portal for people on the internet and works with Facebook and includes links to the Vatican channel on YouTube and the special apps for the iphone and itouch.  It also connects to H2O which is an International news source. It’s is being presented as part of the celebration of World Day of Communications in the Church.

Check out Monday’s Canada AM on CTV (May 25, 7:15am) for a discussion about this new website and the Church’s ministry on the internet.

Pope: No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war!

No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Benedict XVI ended his visit to the Holy Land with a strong appeal for peace during the departure ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in T…

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Dundas Square Event

I attended the event at Dundas Square yesterday. I got there in time (after mass and baptisms) for part of the concert with our fellow franciscan, Anna DaCosta and friends. There was a respectable crowd despite the cool weather. The Archbishop was in the square meeting people, chatting and just plain accessible and friendly. What a great witness. There were lots of young people and quite a few… younger priests and religious. I overheard several people mention how surprised to see so many young priests! Hmmm, am I still a young priest?? Anyways there was also a rather obvious contingent from the NeoCats… the gentlemen in black… some looking particularily slick, cigarette in hand and very European! It was great to see some of my fellow parishioners, some pilgrims from the Eucharistic Congress including Fr. Liboria, Fr. Edwin and some of the crew from Salt+Light TV.  Thanks to Fr. Robert Mignella for organizing this event and Mr. Neil McCarthy and Mr. Emanuel Pires of the Archdiocese of Toronto for their work. It was really good. My only regrest… I missed the Matt Maher concert. I was meeting a friend for dinner who wasn’t so keen on that music (which I happen to love). But for the sake of spending some time with a friend I don’t see so often… well, I can always listen to Matt on the ipod.

Don Mills fireworks May 23

The Victoria Day weekend fireworks at the “Shops” in Don Mills schedules for May 16 were cancelled because of the high winds. The fireworks have been rescheduled for May 23, Saturday at 9:15 pm. Note that during the fireworks, access to the parking lot and exit from the property will be restricted. If you are in the area, try and walk over!

Piazza in Don Mills

In Assisi  they have the Piazza del commune. It’s the heart of the small town that have birth to St. Francis of Assisi. Even in the cold winter months the people gather there at night and stroll, stop in shops for an espresso with a touch of grappa! It’s part of the beauty of life in Europe… the town square, piazza, place centrale. Now Don Mills has such a place.

The fountain in the piazza near the future Glow restaurant.

That’s why I love the Shops at Don Mills. Ok, it’s not real, in the sense that it’s a private property (owned by our retired teachers), but it still works for me. The design of the “shops” is modern and in keeping with the traditional lines and colours of Don Mills. This isn’t your faux Tex-Mex hacienda mall that you can find just around the corner at the Laird big box centre (Home Depot, Bestbuy etc.).

The other day I was there for a cup of tea at Teopia. It’s an amazing tea store with a wild assortment of teas. You can get a large cup of tea, from among their huge selection for $2.75.  Then we strolled through the streets, some closed to traffic and stopped in the main square for a concert. There were tons of people around just enjoying the music, the weather and each others’ company. Tonight the “festival” continues with more concerts and they are having fireworks for Victoria Day weekend.

The main piazza and clock tower designed by Douglas Coupland.

My only disappointments with the “shops” is that more store are not open  yet, especially the new McEwan food store. The other thing I don’t like is that Banana Republic does not carry men’s clothes at that location. Shame on the GAP (owners of Banana Republic). I like the store because my family buys me stuff from there for Christmas. What else are you going to get your friar/brother

I hope that our new lifestyle in Don Mills continues to develop. We have great churches in Don Mills. We have our own foodbank, many seniors facilities, lots of outreach ministries… and now we have the beginning of a heart of the community. Now if only the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario can get together and help the Civitans move the arena out to a better location, we could have a great Community Recreation Centre to complete the new Shops location.

Thanks to Terry West of our parish and to the Don Mills Residents’ Association for their efforts and working with Cadillac Fairview to make this project on a human scale and something we can be proud of for our community.

C’est le mois de Marie

(It’s the month of Mary) Do you pray the Rosary? Alone, in church, quickly, slowly? We all have our preferences, but in the end we all end up at the same place… in a mother’s arms.

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Too young for the seminary?

The Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas has a new vocation recruitment program where they “sign” highschool students up for the seminary… the way sports teams do. The students sign letters of intent to go to seminary in the Fall. I don’t know but I wonder if straight out of highschool is what we want for seminarians or religious candidates.

B16 gets A+ in Holy Land

In a speech in the West Bank at the foot of “the wall” Pope Benedict calls for what any reasonable person knows is the only solution. He repeats the call for co-existence of Palestine and Israel in peace. He calls for courage and bold action. Once again, B16 and the Holy See have shown the power and strength of Catholic social justice and Gospel values. This is the Church at its best. Throughout this trip B16 has managed to convey support, admiration for Israel and solidarity with the Palestinians and ongoing love for the Christians of the Holy Land.  In his talks it’s quite clear that the Holy Father, through his multiple references to Francis of Assisi, has been influenced by the Franciscan Friars (OFM), or as we call them the “brownies”, who serve in many of the sacred sites. They do an amazing ministry and make us proud.

Here’s an example of the great work of B16:

Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached – the wall. In a world where more and more borders are being opened up – to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges – it is tragic to see walls still being erected. How we long to see the fruits of the much more difficult task of building peace! How earnestly we pray for an end to the hostilities that have caused this wall to be built!

On both sides of the wall, great courage is needed if fear and mistrust is to be overcome, if the urge to retaliate for loss or injury is to be resisted. It takes magnanimity to seek reconciliation after years of fighting. Yet history has shown that peace can only come when the parties to a conflict are willing to move beyond their grievances and work together towards common goals, each taking seriously the concerns and fears of the other, striving to build an atmosphere of trust. There has to be a willingness to take bold and imaginative initiatives towards reconciliation: if each insists on prior concessions from the other, the result can only be stalemate.

Humanitarian aid, of the kind provided in this camp, has an essential role to play, but the long-term solution to a conflict such as this can only be political. No one expects the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to arrive at it on their own. The support of the international community is vital, and hence I make a renewed appeal to all concerned to bring their influence to bear in favor of a just and lasting solution, respecting the legitimate demands of all parties and recognizing their right to live in peace and dignity, in accordance with international law. Yet at the same time, diplomatic efforts can only succeed if Palestinians and Israelis themselves are willing to break free from the cycle of aggression. I am reminded of those other beautiful words attributed to Saint Francis: “where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon … where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy.”

To all of you I renew my plea for a profound commitment to cultivate peace and non-violence, following the example of Saint Francis and other great peacemakers. Peace has to begin in the home, in the family, in the heart. I continue to pray that all parties to the conflict in these lands will have the courage and imagination to pursue the challenging but indispensable path of reconciliation. May peace flourish once more in these lands! May God bless his people with peace!