Final Day at JTTF 2008

Sunday morning may have been a little cloudy but there was energy in the air. The girls were up way before the guys and packed. Once the van got over to them to get their stuff they loaded up and then the guys did the same, that is after some got marker stains off their face - victims of a few late night pranks. We joined all the teens in the Ruins of St Raphael's Church (a fire there years ago left only the outer stone walls) for some music and then more Praise and Worship by the Mustard Seeds. Then Father James Mallon gave us the closing talk and we also had the final skit by the Disciples on being rooted and replanting ourselves in Christ. I think one thing that really got our attention was when Father James invited up those who might be thinking about becoming priests and wow - over 12 guys from all over the province stepped up to say they would be open to it. They got a standing ovation.

Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa, and the homily was by Bishop Durocher of Cornwall. His homily was great with stories and a clear message which invited us to never stop asking questions, but to always seek the answers by being rooted in Sunday Mass and in God's word (the Bible). After Mass we lined up for lunch - subs which we took and ate as we left for home.

The ride home was great. Lots of time for laughter and a few pranks. We got caught in a really heavy rain storm and we even got a surprise tour of downtown Pickering led by uncle Bruce - at least that it what we think it was - after all he couldn't have been lost right ? But at least we got another nutritious McD's supper out of it all.

When we arrived at 8:00 p.m. back in H town, the phone calls home started and parents arrived. Auntie T made sure everyone got home safe and sound - with a hug. It was a great time and we are grateful to everyone who made it possible for us to Journey to the Father.

Day Two at JTTF 2008

Saturday morning came really quick, especially for the boys in our group who got only a few hours of sleep in between their pranks and singing. The cows mooing outside the tent at 5am didn't help either. Saturday's breakfast was pretty good - muffins, milk and the sort...then more music from the Mustard Seeds and a skit by the teen leaders there called the Disciples. Mass was our first official event. Father Dan VanDelst led us and encouraged us to be rooted in the Christ by being close to His Word. Then after a break the girls went off to a talk by Angie Regnler on what it means to be a Daughter of God and Chris Bray led the guys in a talk on what it means to be a Man of God. Lunch followed - and what a lunch - hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, lasagna - it was great - plus ice cream for dessert.

Our Saturday afternoon, in the midst of beautiful weather, had us going to two great talks..Father Tom Dowd spoke about "If God is good, why is there evil in the world?" After a short break we listened to Angie Regnier speak on "Judging People". Both were kind of deep but their message was clear. Then we had some free time. Some choose volleyball, football, meeting new people and for others (especially some of the boys) catching up on sleep.

At 3:00 p.m. it was Talent Show time and Jon and Kyle did us proud with their guitar performance of a song from Creed. The photo is above - ya we know its not that clear. Even though Jon wouldn't do his unique version of "Black Bird" - we were really proud of them both for keeping the tradition of Da Crew being in the Talent Show now for two years straight. Supper was great after that...Roast Beef...it was amazing that we could even go up for seconds.

Saturday evening was so powerful. We had Eucharistic Adoration led by Father James Mallon. It was prayerful, and even though we knelt on the grass for almost two hours, it was worth it being in the presence of the Lord. After that many of us took advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation available by over 10 priests who were present, including our own Father Freitas. They were there til Midnight. Music continued in the main tent for a while, and lots of time to mingle with people from different spots. Lights out at Midnight...and after this full day I bet even the boys will fall asleep a little quicker tonight - uncle Bruce will be really happy with that..for some reason Auntie T says she is sleeping real well.

Day One at JTTF 2008

As we begin this new blog it seems like our youth pilgrimage to Journey to the Father is good place to start. Journey to the Father is an annual youth pilgrimage held in St Raphael's, Ontario ..just outside of Cornwall. This is our second year going as a group and we'd like to tell you about our adventure.

We left at 10:00 a.m. Two vans filled with 16 people...13 youth along with our chaperons, Father Freitas and "uncle Bruce and auntie T ". From the start it was an adventure on each of the vans; laughing, singing and sleeping filled the next six hours on the road - not to mention a few unusual smells filled the vans for the next six hours. Father Freitas led the vans and he even let us stop along the way for a nutritious meal at Mc D's. We arrived at JTTF at around 5:00 pm.

Our welcome was great...after registering..we were off to the tents which would form our home for the weekend. Then we had supper, met lots of new people and were off to the Main Tent for Music by the Mustard Seeds. It was amazing to see so many young people - close to 500 there..some from as far away as Texas. It was a little different than what we were use to as seeing people jumping around as they praised God was not the norm for us here in H-town, but we got use to it and joined in as we felt comfortable. We then heard from the M.C.'s for the weekend Jonathan and Katie. They told us to invest our time fully into the weekend ..... to be Rooted in Christ and Moved by the Spirit. We had a skit presented on being rooted in Christ. That was the message too of our main speaker Father James Mallon from Halifax. Then some excitement....a lighting storm came and we headed into two different spots - boys to the Church and girls to the school gym for cover and shelter. We ended up having a great talk on Mary the Mother of Jesus by different speakers and prayed the Rosary together as groups, led by some of the youth present. Then free time..as the weather got better...we had time to check out the sites, eat some poutine and the girls got to get their stuff dried off after they became victim to some of the rain from the storm. We then called it a night and started to get ready for bed at Midnight. It was a good first day...and adventure for sure ....we are looking forward to tomorrow.

Welcome to the Blog

Welcome to our new blog! I'm excited about this chance to communicate with you on a variety of subjects. Some biblical...some cultural...and I may even give a few sports' opinions from time to time. Most of all it will give us an opportunity to connect and talk about subjects we all care about.

As one relative told me when I was ordained, "So you must be busy Sundays, but what do during the week?", thinking that the church is only active on the weekend. Hopefully these pages will show you that our parish is anything but just a weekend hangout. There are so many great things happening at our parish and it will be great to share them...there really is something for everyone.

I will be posting again very soon, until then, hope you are enjoying a blessed and joy filled summer!

Father Freitas