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Ever wondered what it would be like to sit in on a sacred circle with the Seven Grandfather teachings ‘personified’ as young adults, seeking peaceful resolutions from troubles, toward the birth of something new?

Wander with me into an imagined sacred circle of young adults arriving with COURAGE…they have all come with courage. They themselves are surprised at who showed up. Who will speak first? They sit nervously and hope HONESTY will begin to put on the table the raw issues of hurtful lived experience in the community and its origins. Honesty ‘got the message’ and speaks at length with courage. ‘But who cares!? Does anyone care?’ seems to be the sentiment among the group gathered.

LOVE does! and stands with authority, having been asked to hold the eagle feather, having listened with great RESPECT to what has been shared. They all savour this LOVE of belonging to something much greater than themselves, and breathe in hope and a little relief together…with a quiet understanding that something good has to come from this!  They listen to what it is to be Loved and to Love. TRUTH feels called to back up Honesty.

To hold the feather tenderly with Courage and conviction is Truth’s role in the sacred circle. With great trust in Love, Truth acknowledges grief with those around the table who share shattered dreams, worry and fear of tomorrow, let alone the future. There is deafening silence. Anxiety wants to erupt among them, revealed in their restless shuffling and muffled words spoken under their breath. 

WISDOM stands. She readied herself with HUMILITY to give voice to what was emerging from Love, quieting the anxiety. ‘Could you dream new dreams?’ asks Wisdom. Wisdom speaks of their desires as the light in the darkness that cannot be hidden, and Love speaks gently to brave hearts while tears form in their eyes. They hear, ‘Can you rebuild together what is broken?’ ‘How?’ they inquire in testing silence.

Love continues, “‘I forgive you, please forgive me’, are necessary words.” The sacred circle sits up; some are questioning, even doubting the suggestion. ‘Those words are seeds of your belonging to Creation, rooting your given talent that’s just beginning to emerge. Guard this seed of Inner Peace. Identify the predators, that would dig at your resolve, attempting to destabilize your depth of belonging and the invitation to the birth of something new.’

Come Lord Jesus, we await your coming into our hearts. We ask you to make the way straight. Fill us with inner peace as you guide each of us to dream new dreams with You.

Mary Balfe

At the age of 7, Michael contracted polio. It was a severe case. His family invested every resource to assist him in hopes that he might recover some use of his limbs. Those recovery efforts were in vain. Nevertheless, from those early grueling years of therapy, and seeing how much his family believed in him and loved him, Michael took encouragement and strength. Wheelchair bound but determined, he returned to school. He chose to continue his education and earned a degree in law. From his wheelchair, and with the help of full-time caregivers throughout his life, he opened and maintained a law practice, earning his own way in life and helping others.

Remarkably, Michael enjoyed singing and even joined a country music band in his middle years. He loved to perform on stage. He also had a passion for philosophy and spirituality. He became a published author. Nevertheless, very day of his life he had to be helped out of bed, bathed, dressed, fed, and then lifted into bed again each night. He weighed less than 90 pounds, but he wore a smile nearly every single day of his life. He lived always hopeful and joyful until he passed away at the ripe age of 74. He was a living example of courage and unwavering hope to everyone who knew him.

In the Gospel for this First Sunday of Advent the words of Jesus can sound foreboding and dark. They address, however, the truth of our human condition: we all face obstacles in life and we long for the assurance that we can get through the darkest times with our dignity intact. The promise of God’s faithful love and care is like a blanket spread over the terrors and hardships described in this passage. In those darkest moments of our lives, Jesus says, take courage, stand erect, lift your head. Jesus assures us that, buoyed by faith, we can trust that our “redemption is near at hand.”

In those times of your greatest hardships, take courage and hope from the ancient promise of God’s faithfulness, and from the examples of people like Michael. Be joyful, put on a smile, not just for yourself but for the sake of encouraging and strengthening others. Believe and watch patiently for the promised redemption that will surely come.

– Fr. Mark Hoelsken, S.J.

Today and this week mark the end of our church liturgical journey, reminding us that we are at the end of an important life cycle, although this is not the end. Throughout the year we celebrated the highlights of Jesus’ human and earth journey that ended in what appeared to be his death, followed by his resurrection and ascension.

We claim Jesus as our King, but what does this say about us, about who we are?

We have images of earthly human kings, queens, and royalty in general, who rule some areas of the land. They might be people who show off their status and class in society. This may be our concept of royalty. The books of Daniel and Revelation give us a different image. Daniel talks about dreams, visions, dominion, glory and everlasting kingship. The book of Revelation speaks of Jesus as our link, for our human earthly reality, to the everlasting spirit world. The gospel quotes Jesus speaking of a kingdom that is not a worldly kingdom, or at least not the kind of kingdom the world glorifies, but quite the opposite.

Jesus the King conquered evil in the world, because it could not crush him. He was victorious in that battle, and we celebrate that battle during Lent and Easter. We have Jesus’ flesh and blood whenever we receive communion in the Eucharist. When we listen to the readings, we are absorbing God’s word into our minds and hearts, where God resides; and so Jesus, living in us, continues that battle in us and through us. This is a reality (perhaps beyond our understanding) of our spiritual royalty, bestowed on us in and through Jesus.

We need to carry ourselves with dignity, no matter the turmoil that happens around us, no matter how many fireworks we hear throughout the days and nights, or the sirens that go by. We are sons and daughters of the King and we will walk with dignity, as Jesus held himself with dignity even on the cross.

As this church year comes to a close, let us take some quiet time to reflect on who we really are, not listening to what the world tells us we should be. Scribes and Pharisees condemned Jesus for saying he was the Son of God, but he knew who he was. Let us not listen to the world telling us we belong to the world, but rather know that we are God’s sons and daughters through Jesus, the firstborn. Let us all live the truth of who we are, as princesses and princes.

Sr. Terry Beaudry

Today’s readings tend to focus on the end of all things, and we are given some descriptions of what that will be like. With it comes both bad news and good news. The bad news is that this is what all creation is moving towards (passing away), and there’s nothing really any of us can do about it to alter that course. In fact, it is in large part our own fault (the fault of sin) that our world is like this and will continue going through the consequences.

The good news is that, despite being the end in one sense, all will be renewed. We also can share in that renewal in uninterrupted peace and glory – if we accept the invitation that God is giving us. Today’s Responsorial Psalm and the Letter to the Hebrews are calling us to this. To turn our attention to God (through Christ) and his ways, and to participate with him, so that all our sins and lawless deeds will be blotted out and forgiven. The wall that we ourselves erected that separated us from God and his love, mercy, healing. The obstacles to the sincere love that we ought to have for one another and for ourselves will be broken down forever. “In your presence there is fullness of joy […] forevermore.”

To take hold of the promises given us by this good news does require our alertness, and our action, in cooperation with God’s will for us. Hence, the summons to be attentive to the signs God gives us. We are also admonished elsewhere to always keep vigilant against the enemies of our souls who are described as “a prowling lion seeking whom to devour”. These do wage war against us and will seek every means necessary to deceive us from remaining steadfast to the Lord.

Thanks be to God that we have this assurance from him: “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”. Let us hold fast to him despite the difficulties and say with St. Peter what he says elsewhere: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

– Aaron Neiva

By Eddie MacDonald

Today’s readings are a summary of how to be sure to get into heaven, so we must listen carefully!  It follows on this past week’s readings on the Beatitudes, how blessed we can be if we spiritually align with Christ.  If we are poor in spirit, meek, a peacekeeper, a mourner, a martyr, one persecuted for his name’s sake, if we hunger and thirst for righteousness; we will share in the kingdom of heaven. Yet today, from Moses in the first reading, to the Gospel, right from the mouth of Jesus, we hear the summary of how to get into heaven.   How frustrated the Lord must be with us, that He must always simplify Himself as we just don’t get it! 

Moses tells us to love our God with all our heart, and soul and strength.  It’s surprising that the Israelites needed to hear this message considering they saw miraculous power of God! Yet being people with a hardened heart they kept going back to the false gods and idols- remember that golden calf? We could say we don’t have trouble with idols, no golden calves in our lives, but do we? How easily we get distracted from doing what we know we should do.  Idols like watching TV, following Hollywood’s famous, skipping Mass to go to sports events, or playing one more game on our phone or computer.  Just not putting God first in our life. 

The Psalms always offers a way to communicate to our God. We can align our hearts to the Psalmist in our sorrow, our need for courage, the experience of joy and even in our anger! Today we speak of the certainty of our commitment to God and our acknowledgement of his power when we repeat the refrain “I love you Lord, my strength!”

In the second reading Paul writes to the Hebrews reaffirming that Jesus is the high priest, in fact the only priest who is without sin.  All others may try but, in their humanity, fail miserably. We are to look to no other, he is the one in which all are to follow.  In essence, He through His priestly way brings us to the Father, interceding for us!  What an incredible gift from on high!

Finally, Jesus tells us what the most important commandment is:  To love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Secondly, he added to love your neighbor as yourself. Again, putting God our Father first, acknowledging and loving him with intensity! And, through loving him we then take that love to those around us, each a neighbor in this life.  Finally, he included that hinge word – AS.  To love your neighbor AS yourself.  Yes friends, we need to love ourselves.  We are created in His image, by His hand with His plan for us.  When we drift away from that plan He gives us a way back through the sacrament of reconciliation.  He loves us, therefore we can and should love ourselves.  How else can we fully love our neighbor?  Don’t be afraid to look at yourself as God sees you.  His beautiful creation that He loves.

During the month of November, we remember those who have died. In particular, on Friday, November 1^st, we celebrate All Saints Day; then the next day is All Souls Day. One way to distinguish between these two days would be to say that on All Saints Day we remember and pray with all those who have “made it to heaven”; and on All Souls we pray for all the dead, including those who may be journeying or lost along the way.

The word “saint” basically means “holy”. On All Saints Day, then, we can think about all the holy people who have gone before us, who are in the land of the Creator, and we ask for their prayers.

Those who are in heaven, then, are the holy people? What about those of us who are not particularly holy or saintly? Well, we too have a solid hope of being among the saints in heaven. For one thing, in this present life on Earth, we can do what we can, and pray, so that we might move toward some measure of holiness in our lives. At the same time, though, we don’t have to achieve some kind of level of perfection in this life in order to be accepted by God in the next. Rather, the way that I understand it is that God loves us, with that love including mercy and forgiveness; and our job is to accept and receive that love, both in this life and after death. While in this world, we work on our goodness, even our holiness, in response to God’s love and out of love for others; and not because we’re trying to earn our way into heaven. And being a Saint in that Giizhigoong after death would be the result of a final purification, whereby we are made holy and made, we might say, fully ourselves.

May you have a blessed Tasewang / All Saints / All Souls, and month of November, in communion with those who have gone on before us.

Fr. Paul Robson SJ

The 29^th Sunday readings teach us about true greatness in service; about serving others with humility; about hope and trust in Jesus’s help; about embracing suffering as a way to love others; and about true leadership. These readings guide us on our journey of faith, to follow Jesus.

The First Reading, Isaiah 53:10-11, is about a servant who suffers to save others. This refers to Jesus, who willingly suffered and died and rose again to save us from our sins. By taking on the pain and the suffering, Jesus shows us how deeply he cares and loves us. Following his example of selfless love, we too must show this love to others.

The Responsorial Psalm, from Psalm 33, is a prayer of praise and hope for God’s mercy.

The Second Reading, Hebrews 4:14-16,is aboutJesus, who became human, who is the high priest who understands our struggles and has compassion. We can approach him for grace and mercy in times of need.

In the Gospel Reading, Mark 10:35-45,James and John, not fully understanding, asked Jesus to sit in places of honor in his glory. Jesus says that the honor they seek is not his to give, and so he teaches them that those who wish to be great must be the servant of all; that true greatness comes from serving others, not seeking one’s own glory. This is humility. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. We can follow his example of true leadership by helping others through love, by putting their needs first before our own.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, in my time of need,

Trusting in your mercy and understanding,

To find strength and grace,

Help me to serve others with humility.

Help me be a true leader, a servant to all,

Putting their needs first, before my own,

Not seeking honor for myself.

All to draw closer to you in prayer.

To always follow your example, to love others.

Amen.

                                                                        Rosella Kinoshameg DOS

In the first reading, the author of the book of Wisdom insists on the superiority of possessing wisdom over material riches. No wonder, then, that the man in today’s Gospel, who is not lacking in material possessions, approaches Jesus – the real fountain of wisdom, for finding the formula for good living. Jesus challenges him to go beyond the requirements of the ten commandments and share his money with the poor.

Among the saints who followed that advice was Francis of Assisi (whose liturgical memorial falls on October 4th). He gave away his family inheritance to pursue a life of radical poverty.

Although few would take such drastic steps as Saint Francis did, Jesus’ instruction is still very relevant for contemporary people. There is a strong temptation to spend available funds irresponsibly on gambling, drugs, alcohol, and other harmful vices. Instead, they should be invested with prudence (the parable of ten talents can be very inspiring) to help as many sisters and brothers as possible. The famous story about Lazarus and the rich man illustrates very well the tragic and permanent consequences of the strong, inordinate attachment to riches, which is the main lesson of the readings.

Let us not envy the rich. It is true wisdom to be happy when our basic needs are met. God provides indeed.

– Fr. Toni Baranowski SJ

27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We, as the Holy Cross Parish community, have been journeying together for 27 weeks of Ordinary Time; the color for this liturgical time is Green. It is a time of growth.  How has your spiritual growth been? Are you having a deeper relationship with Jesus? Has he gifted you? Has your relationship with loved ones improved? We still have 7 more weeks with Ordinary Time. An opportune time to reflect on your life with Jesus, and ask how you have experienced growth. Am I more prayerful, more loving, more patient, and kind?

Today’s first reading is from Genesis, about the time of creation, the first man “Adam”. He was the only human alive and was given the task of naming all of creation. Imagine having only you to give names to the animal world. God noticed how lonely Adam was, even though he was surrounded by the beauty of nature. God knows our every need and so he created woman. Adam experienced a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and made a woman, he brought her to the man. It was the beginning of the relationship between man and woman.

The Gospel acclamation (1 John 4:12) states: “If we love one another, God will live in us, in perfect love.” As I reflect on life, at times I wish I had Jesus in my life in a deeper way earlier in my life. However, at this point in my life, I am able to spend quiet time with Jesus, especially in the wee hours of the morning. A perfect time to reflect on yesterday, the movements of the Holy Spirit, the ah ha moments, and to pray for the day to come, to ask God for the gift of loving more like him.

The Gospel today (Mark 10:2-16) is about marriage between a man and woman, about divorces and adultery. Jesus knows we have this hardness of heart and we have a hard time forgiving, our heart holds onto grudges. The grudge simmers within us; this is a perfect time to look at ourselves, to ask Jesus to be with us, to help us through these tough times and to help us to see our way through the thickness of the dark times. He alone can bring light and guide us to go deep within our heart and soften our hardened heart.

With Jesus it is never too late to grow in love, and we have 7 more weeks of Ordinary Time as a time of Spiritual Growth.

Amen

Margaret Tish Manitowabi, Christian Life Community member

What clear and opposing worlds are brought to light in these scripture passages!  One, from ancient days, in the Book of Numbers, to Mark’s Gospel, they both welcome the generosity of the Spirit at work among God’s people. And the other from James and Mark, a harsh reminder that the shadow side of life has undesirable consequences. 

Mark identifies Jesus as heightening the awareness of the danger that lurks (the shadow), when we, without awareness, strike out on a path, or worse – when we know better. How stark a thought to be cast into the sea, or to lose a hand, a foot or an eye! Jesus knew how human we are!  Out of love, Jesus wants us to walk safely on the path, away from the edge of a cliff, being formed, ‘through Him, with Him and in Him’ as guide. Always Jesus is offering the “Master class.”

What about our inaction, our complacency, the couch potato? We willfully choose to cut off our own hand, our own foot or refuse to hear and see, cutting off by choice, our service among family, friends, and community. Recently on the news I heard a term, “cognitive dissonance.” When one is deeply confused or stubborn, deceived, a choice is made not to believe the facts, the truth; then one suffers from cognitive dissonance.

On the journey of faith, we are uniquely formed (not one of us alike) with gifts to serve the people. Removing the obstacles, the false comforts of power, honor and wealth toward vulnerability, humility and poverty are lessons learned from the Master, Jesus our brother and our Lord. Turning toward the truth of Jesus’ extravagant Love, we can embrace reconcillation with two hands, two feet, with eyes that now SEE.

Tomorrow, Canada marks a day of stark awareness. A National Day of Truth and Reconcilation seeks reconiliation as a nation, for dreadful harm to Canada’s Indigenous people. Together, the gift we will continue to offer is a voice for justice and peace, with Christ’s mercy and love. Every Child Matters.

Mary Balfe

Christian Life Community (CLC)