This past January, I wrote a blog about my New Year’s “Resolution”. It wasn’t really a resolution, more like a list of stuff I hoped to do/wanted to do with my life during the year. And with summer coming to a close, fall starting soon, a new school year starting next week and a new blog season to kick off, I thought it was a good time for a check in on my resolution...
“Seriously…” I said. “You aren’t really going to”? Without a backwards glance, I followed the airport security guard out of security and back towards the Westjet Guest Services.
I’ll have to start somewhere at the beginning in order for my question to make any sense. This May, my husband and I travelled to Great Britain and Ireland to celebrate a milestone birthday and our 45th wedding anniversary. But as parents and grandparents, when we travel we always bring back something for our girls and grandchildren and I try to bring back something of the local flair as a kind of reminder of our travels...
Some days… okay, most days, I can be so easily distracted and caught up in the hectic pace, the to-do lists and the anxieties of the world around me that I miss out on the beauty and blessings occurring around me at every moment. I thank God that God does not give up on us “wanderers” and continually sends the Holy Spirit to nudge us along. Here is today’s nudging story:
I was sitting in the pew of a small Saskatchewan town church with family and my Baba. It was the day after we gathered as family to celebrate Baba’s 106th birthday. It was a great celebration but at 106 she is not quite up to staying up to celebrate that long. This was the first time in many, many years that I can recall that my Baba went to bed before me. But anyway… see I told you I am easily distracted and go off on a tangent just like that, so anyway… there I am sitting in the pew, and my wife nudges me and gives me one of those head twitches to look down the pew. At the end of the pew is my Baba, hands folded and lips moving in silent prayer. My heart stirred...
Phase 9
Living in Edmonton at age 26 was quite a venture as a full time music student. I applied myself to the max with my studies and regularly attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Sundays. I knew that going to Church and praying for guidance was an absolute necessity for my journey.
After a couple weeks of classes and orientating to the college, I notice a bulletin board with a sign saying: WANTED- A male or female to share a 3-bedroom apartment with Tim and Dale; within walking distance of the college. This appealed to me because I was presently living in a basement room a 20 minute drive from school. Without hesitation I pursued the apartment rental and moved in with Tim (a drummer) and Dale (guitarist), musicians working in bars and lounges, who had both attended Grant MacEwan College...
Until this year I forgot how much I love weddings. Before this season, I had not been to a wedding in a few years, but now I find myself planning to attend seven weddings this year! Seven different couples that are so close to me in different ways, all with whom I can’t wait to celebrate their special day.
The number of weddings I am going to this year might end up seeming like a marathon perhaps, but I am anticipating great joy to come from all these festivities. I love weddings for many reasons – I’ve always loved to dance, and getting a chance to reunite with mutual friends and far away family is always a treat. But last weekend as I watched a close friend and her new husband walk out of the church to begin their lives together as spouses, I was struck by something deeper than I had expected...
In the popular musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, the central character Tevye ponders the question of why we do the things we do: “That, I can tell you in one word... Tradition."
“…we have traditions for everything... how to eat, how to sleep, even how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl... This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, ‘how did this tradition start’? I'll tell you … ‘I don't know’. But it's a tradition! Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do."
Even in contemporary society, tradition governs much of the way we live our lives. At Christmas, for example, tradition dictates the way our families celebrate the holiday - what foods we prepare, how we decorate the tree, when the presents are opened, etc. It doesn’t stop there. Countless things in our daily lives are ruled by tradition – from how we mow our lawns to when we do our laundry; from when and where we take our vacations to who sits where at the dinner table...
A Reflection from the Liturgical Art and Environment Committee
We just celebrated the Church’s great feast of Pentecost with all the signs of spring-turned-summer. Resurrection - Ascension - Pentecost are unified into the one mystery. Pentecost concludes our Paschal Mission. The journey we began so long ago in ashes (Ash Wednesday) is finished in the fire and wind of God's spirit - the inspiration for the symbolic flames that greeted all entering the welcoming space.
We now transition into Ordinary Time (which will take us all the way to the end of November) with two solemnities: first the feast of the Holy Trinity; and second, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)...
The month of May is a reminder to many Filipino Catholics to be thankful for the bountiful harvest, not only for staple foods and fruits, but also for the flowers of many colours and fragrances. This is also the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Filipinos’ close relationship with Mary is reflected in numerous celebrations around the country, but nothing tops the Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) which is celebrated everywhere...
I realized many, many years ago that all of those beautiful creations that we, as children, made for Mom for Mother’s Day never really survived much past, say 10 days, after the event. Maybe I dreamed that somewhere my Mom would have a hope chest cherishing and keeping all of those treasures. Now it was by no means a traumatic realization. In fact, most years my supposed “treasures” were about as artistic as, well, off-white paint. I knew in her heart Mom treasured the gifts and the efforts but she knew and I knew even more that my name wasn’t Van Gogh.
And so countless Mother’s Days passed with phone calls and overly sweet Carlton cards and the annual Prayer over the Moms at the Mass. It’s the day, as a priest, you get more hugs than Christmas Eve.
But this year was different...
Cathedral of the Holy Family
123 Nelson Road
Saskatoon, SK
S7S 1H1
Phone: 306-659-5800
Fax: 888-897-7980
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We acknowledge that we are located on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis.
