Author: AnishinabeSC

by Paul Robson sj

Have you ever had the experience of feeling love and concern for someone who is outside of your circle of family and friends? Or of loving a complete stranger, even? I can recall a moment in my life when I was on the bus, leaving Thunder Bay. I looked out the window and saw someone walking down the
street. I felt interest, care, concern, even love, for that individual. I would explain that moment of connection, with that person on the street as I looked down from the bus, as being a gift from God.

For God, there are no strangers. Who, then, are we to God, in relation to God? Perhaps it is appropriate to call ourselves the servants of God. Our Creator is the master, and we do our best to do God’s will, as much as we can. While there is truth in the idea that we are God’s servants, Jesus says in today’s Gospel:

“I do not call you servants any longer … but I have called you friends.” We have a friend in Jesus; and while God is greater than us, God is not distant from us.
Peter states, in today’s first reading, that “God shows no partiality.” God loves everyone, as well as all of Creation. What God asks of us, and facilitates in us, is that we love one another. In short, God asks us to be like God! And so there are moments in our lives when we experience love, where this love involves
an unselfish concern for others; and where love begins, certainly, with our near and dear ones, such as our family members. But this love can extend further than that, even to strangers, and even to our “enemies”.

Let us ask God for the gift of love in our lives: that we might be open to God’s love and to the love of others toward us; and that we might, in turn, love others as God loves us.

During May Ministries Weekend, we did celebrate Phyllis Kinoshameg Birthday; blessings for her.

Eva Solomon, CSJ spoke with her fellow participants of the Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage about reconciliation.

Highlights from the 2017 Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage. Thank you to everyone that participated, who volunteered, who donated, who met with them along the way and who prayer for their success.

November 12, 1937 –
November 29 2017

“Can you love like this until there is nothing left to give?” words lived by
our uncle Rev. Milton McWatch, who quietly passed on November 29, 2017 in his home. Milton was born in Bremner River on November 12, 1937, child of Herb and Marie McWatch (both deceased). Fr. Milton studied at George Brown
College in Toronto, at Nipissing University in North Bay, and at Regis College in Toronto. He was ordained a Catholic priest at Christ the King Church in Sudbury on November 30, 1990 by Bishop Jean Louis Plouffe, and served in various parish assignments in the Diocese of Sault Ste Marie and Thunder Bay. His most recent appointments were in Our Lady of the Snows parish in Armstrong, Annunciation parish in Nipigon and Holy Saviour parish in Marathon and St. Francis Xavier parish in Heron Bay, before his retirement. After his retirement Fr. Milton assisted in a variety of parishes assisting priests in their need. Fr. Milton was a member Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus. He is survived by his sisters Noella Hamilton and Maureen McWatch, brother Jerome and numerous nieces and nephews. He was our warrior, our teacher, our shepherd, and our provider, who will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he has touched. He is survived by younger siblings and close relatives, he was a man who never backed down from anything he believed in. He was a survivor of the Residential School System who overcame many hardships in life as he humbly walked the path of Jesus Christ as a Diocesan priest. He truly loved the outdoors, where he would constantly be planning his next moose hunt; he loved his berry picking and to take pictures of the sunsets and sunrises. He was a strong believer in education. He always made sure his family and friends had the necessities to pursue their educational dreams, and he was nominated to receive an honorary doctorate for his religious services to the Roman Catholic Church by St. Marks Catholic College at the University of British Columbia. He believed in setting us straight when we strayed from our Christian path. He was not soft but very stern when giving his reflection on the gospel. He loved our Virgin Mary and would constantly pray the rosary, so know this when you are praying the rosary he is praying with you from Holy Mother’s side.

Funeral Mass will take place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Thunder Bay, on Monday, December 4, 2017 at 11 am. Most Rev. Fred Colli, the Bishop of Thunder Bay will preside at the Funeral Mass along with priests and deacons of the diocese. Visitation will take place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral from 2 – 4 pm on Sunday, December 3, 2017 with Vigil prayers at 3 pm. Interment will take place at the Priests’ Plot at St. Patrick’s cemetery following the Funeral Mass.

Rev. Milton McWatch will be remembered in the Blake Funeral Chapel Memorial Grove. Annual dedication service Sunday, June 10, 2018.

The new Team worked together during the October Ministries Weekend, it started Friday evening with a Sharing Circle and a social hour to visit and share snacks.

The new Ministries team of Paul Robson S.J. and WimDombretS.J. and Tony BaranowskiS.J. with Mary Balfe were the facilitators for the sessions.    

We had a session related to Aboriginal Culture and Spirituality and Hymn and prayers in the language. 

Saturday morning we had a session guided by Fr. Wim S.J. and Mary Balfe. Then, Fr. Wil guided a prayer.

After lunch, Fr. Paul S.J. shared with us: “Dialogue and Proclamation” for the Ongoing formation group. 

Margaret Toulouse shared with us: “Medicine Wheel”.

Rosemary Pitawanakwat guided Rosary prayers, and Rosella Kinoshameg guided a Ojibwa hymm.

A practicum session: “Smudging, Music, readers, Ministers of the bread, cup” was guided by Rosella Kinoshameg.

The weekend ended with Fr. Tony S.J. saying mass followed by Dinner and Dismissal.

From time to time, to perceive one’s interiority with more attentiveness, a time of retreat, in a tranquil place away from the busyness of the world, can be very helpful.  One may make a retreat with some regularity, perhaps once a year, as a kind of “plateau” space of rest and renewal on the journey of life.  A retreat can be helpful to one appropriating a transition in one’s life.  It can be helpful to one who is making a major decision, such as one’s vocation.  For whatever reason, it is always a privileged time for God and the retreatant to abide together.

An Ignatian retreat is an extended period of time in silence with prayer in the manner handed down from St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556).  St. Ignatius developed spiritual exercises from the experience of his own prayer and from his guidance of others in their experiences of interiority.  For St. Ignatius and the others whom he guided, finding God’s will for the direction of their lives was of paramount concern.  Ultimately, that meant discovering what truly gave their lives meaning, freedom and a deep sense of joy.  Today, Ignatian prayer helps people from all walks of life find their God-given deepest desires. Following this way can lead to freedom and fulfillment, while, at the same time, serving God, others and all of God’s creation.

Ignatian retreats may be made over one day, a weekend, or an eight day period. Eight days is a common length of time for an annual retreat.  For one with little or no experience of an Ignatian retreat, a spiritual director, or a guide who is experienced in Ignatian prayer, is necessary for retreats of any length.  The role of the spiritual director is to help facilitate the communication between the retreatant and God, not to replace it!  Once or twice in a lifetime, one who has already made Ignatian retreats may experience the full Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola through a directed long retreat of thirty days.

If you wish to book a retreat call us at:

(705) 869 4994