Champions in Faith

During the past few weeks our televisions have been focused upon the site of the Olympic games in China. I have found myself watching events that I would never watch on a regular basis. As a parish we have been looking at the Olympics in a way maybe we never have been before. We taking the Sunday scriptures for the past month and have been focusing on becoming Champions in Faith. Here’s the recap:

Week 1: With the Scriptures as our road map, we were led in Week One to establish some Olympic Principles: “Run Your Own Race and Fix Your Eyes.” and to not be tempted by the "Golden Apples" along the way, but to be at our best the entire race.

Week 2: We recalled that it is vital to remember that God is in control and we don’t have to Beg for Bronze ... We don’t have to accept whatever we can get (what the world offers is a quick fix, not the answer). The cross and the Eucharist are what awaits us as we seek to be faithful, the prize which awaits us is “gold” - But we have to press on, even in the midst of defeat, suffering or challenge.

Week 3: Settling for Silver is not the road of a Champion in Faith! We are called to live in gratefulness and with persistence. Our road involves talking, but most of all just listening and spending time with God - And we do that because we love Him. And since He is the prize we don’t settle for silver but are persistent in life, even in the face of setbacks and Go for Gold.

Week 4 : Going for the Gold is the road of a Champion of Faith, but along this road we must first decide that we will do the hardest thing - we will take the stand (take the stand for Christ) by the witness we give, and allow His anthem to be sung in our life. Along the road we also have to decide to say the hardest thing “Lord I want what you want.” so that we can see and be the Light of Faith as Champions.

We ended off by asking this - How we Olympic style Champions of Faith ?
- how are we seeking to Run our Own Race and Fix our Eyes on the Prize ?
- how are we ensuring that we are not just accepting the world and thus Begging for Bronze ?
- how are we meeting the task of persistent gratefulness and thus not Settling for Silver ?
- how are we desiring to take a stand and surrender - to hear God’s anthem sung in our life and not play our own song....thereby Going for the Gold ?

It has been a blessed four weeks.

One last thing - thank you to all those involved in our exciting “Rock the Block” activities this past week. Some 25 young people participated. We have put some pictures and a recap on our new Kids Klub Blog which can be accessed at www.stmaryskidsklub.blogspot.com. A special word of thanks to those adults and teens who helped: it was a success because of you.

Day Three: Wet Wednesday

Although everyone looked a little tired today - especially after yesterday's full day at Ontario Place - Wet Wednesday activities were great. We continued with our theme - Discipleship - and everyone started off by looking at what that call really means - to mirror Christ - and started asking how are we are suppose to live it out, even if others (and world) say you are “all wet”.

Each group then got together and created “Want Ads” for a Disciple - saying what makes up a good Disciple. After each group worked on them and they presented them to the entire group. We then talked about how things and people sometimes challenge us -and can discourage Disciples - and say they are all wet.....

So off we went to Forbes Park and played some water games - ya we got wet - but we also learned co operation and helping each other in a number of group games. See part of Discipleship is knowing we are not alone - we call on other Disciples to help us. That is why being part of a parish - a church - is so important - and why Sunday Mass is so vital - because we remember we are not alone; there are other Disciples there to help us.

When we got back - snack was awaiting us - fudgicals- and once we dried off a bit - then we all got new Jobs --- Father Freitas and our leaders Nicky, Mrs Henderson, Matt, Angie and Emily - all told us we were now official Disciples of Jesus - called to go out and mirror Him in our actions and deeds. Father Freitas even gave us official certificates and Nicky gave us prayer cards - Seek, Study and Serve we were told.

Rock the Block has been possible because of the great leaders we have had - our teens: Matthew, Emily and Angie have been great role models and examples of Discipleship. Mrs Henderson has done lots too in helping and providing care to the children, and we are grateful. We owe great thanks to Nicky, a volunteer from our parish, who has given a great deal of her time and talent in leading many of the activities. Her energy and devotion were appreciated by all.

We can't wait til Kids Klub - it too is all about Discipleship. Our first event will be September 12th from 7-8:30 p.m.- we are counting the days.

Hope to see everyone next summer at Rock the Block ! Remember Discipleship - its the sweet life !

Day Two: The Trip

Today was a great day ! Not only was the weather just the best - not too hot...not too cold...but the activities for Day Two of Rock the Block were just awesome. We started off at 9:00 a.m. arriving in our Parish Centre. It was great that everyone came on time. We reviewed yesterdays lesson - that we are invited to be a mirror image of Christ (as His disciples) even in the heavy climbing of life. We learned that today was going to be not only about fun, but also discovery. We were challenged to look for moments and times when we were, and could be, Disciples to one another and to other people. Our venue - Ontario Place.

Debby our bus driver got us safe to Ontario Place in record time, and we arrived at 10:30 a.m. The next few hours were filled with lots of activity and fun. We even developed a new word " Discipleish". We would compliment each other as the day went on if we saw something done by each other which represented the mirror image of Christ. Saying hello to a security guard, saying thank you to an attendant, letting others go in line before us, waiting for each other as we went from ride to ride - they all took on a brand new meaning in the rides, water park, and activities of Ontario Place which filled our day.

At 12:30 p.m. our three groups met up for lunch and then went off again until 5:00 p.m. for some afternoon fun - all in "Discipleish" fashion. Our teen leaders - Angie, Emily and Matt, along with Nicky and Father Freitas were good examples to us and certainly kept us safe as we travelled in our small groups.

As we got on the bus at shortly after 5:00 p.m. we paused for our group photo. A great keepsake of our time. The bus ride home was led by Nicky asking us to share what we saw. Everyone told an example of when someone did a "Discipleish" act. It was great to see everybody smile when their name was called out stating something they did. Everyone got a W.W.J.D. bracelet to remind us that the act of Discipleship begins with that simple question.

When we arrived back at the parish centre shortly after 6:30 p.m., Father Freitas led us in the Kids Klub prayer and we all agreed it was an awesome day - thanks to everyone who came. We can't wait for Wet Wednesday tomorrow and our final day of Rock the Block.

Rock the Block - Day One : The Wall

This summer we are having an event called ROCK THE BLOCK. It has the theme: Discipleship - Its the Sweet Life. Twenty five young people are a part of this great time and today was our first day. Father Freitas and Nikky Kloster are leading us and they along with Mrs Henderson, and three teen leaders; Matt, Emily and Angie all greeted us when we got in. But what really caught our eye was the 24 foot Rock Wall in the Parking Lot ! Wow !

We got to know each other with some games and then got divided into four groups - Smarties, Skittles, Jolly Ranchers and Rockets. Two groups went off to the Rock Wall and Two groups did some activities in the centre. The rock wall was awesome. We met "Captain" and his wife Susan and they got us pumped before we all had several tries to make it up the wall. Disciples never give up in reaching for new heights - the rock wall taught us that.

When the groups switched we went in to the Centre for an activity called "Mirror Image". Jesus ends the Gospel of Mark with the Disciples going out and doing the things that He did. We got into pairs and made a short skit of doing mirror images of our partner - we then presented that to the whole group. It was funny to see some of the things we came up with. Just as we mirrored other's actions by watching them we become disciples of Jesus by watching and following what we see Him doing in the scriptures.

Our great first day came to and end with snack, announcements about Tuesday, our closing prayer and then a little take home sweet - to remember the Sweet Life - Discipleship. We can't wait for tomorrow - Ontario Place here we come !

Day Two - The Day at the Oratory

Day Two of our Pilgrimage could not have started better. The sun rose in its glory just after 6:30 a.m. to reveal a beautiful sunny day. This was followed an hour later with a wonderful breakfast. Every one's hearty appetites were in full display as we got ready for our day. We were on the bus at 9:00am with our first stop being Mary Queen of the World Cathedral. It is the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Montreal. Its layout is modeled after St Peter's Basilica in Rome (though scaled down). The picture of the Altar here gives you a good sense of that. During our quick visit, we were given an explanation of the difference between a shrine, oratory, cathedral and basilica. It was good to have that cleared up. Then we made our way to St Joseph Oratory.

As we approach the Oratory at 10:00 a.m. in the bright sunshine we all agreed it was majestic. Upon our arrival we made our way to the Community Chapel where Father Freitas celebrated Mass for us on this the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The focus of his homily was on Mary's openness to the Father's will for her life. Her simple desire to "let it be" became the focus of our day also as we sought in prayer to let the Lord's will for us be fulfilled. Following Mass, a short tour of the crypt area took place, including seeing the tomb of Brother Andre, and then we were given time until 1:30 p.m. to make our way thru the Oratory on our own.

Many had a chance to visit the Basilica Church, to see the Museum dedicated to St Joseph and the Holy Family, to visit the original church built by Brother Andre and to see the simple porter's room where he lived. The grounds were also part of the viewing, and the beautiful carillon at Noon gave an audio background for all we saw.

At 1:30 p.m. the sunshine was covered by a few rain clouds and so we decided to do the Stations of the Cross inside the Basilica Church instead of outside on the grounds. The focus was Discipleship as we reflected on each station in light of the Jesus doing the Father's will, all with the question, how can we be more faithful in doing the same. Following that another hour to visit the oratory followed, this time with a little more sunshine, and so some got the chance to see the outdoor way of the cross and to see the site of the Oratory from the main entrance below. Many also returned to the Tomb of Brother Andre to pray and to remember intentions we had been asked to pray for.

3:00 p.m. came and we prepared to conclude our visit to the Oratory. As we departed we did so with a feeling that we had spent a very special day together. Our road trip home then turned a little quieter for a few hours as many caught up on their sleep and rested from a full day. At 6:00 p.m. we stopped for dinner just outside of Kingston. At 8:00 p.m. we began to prepare for the conclusion of our pilgrimage by thanking our Blessed Mother on this her feast day for the graces received. The bus echoed with the recitation of the Rosary. It was a great way to end our pilgrimage and were home again at 11:00 p.m.

The hours that transpired were memorable, but even more so, grace filled. We agreed, these pilgrimages should continue.

Parish Pilgrimage - Day One

Our first day of the Summer Parish Pilgrimage started off so well. Everyone started arriving at 8:00am at our Parish Centre to drop off bags and to get things sorted. We began with the Celebration of Mass in our Parish Church at 8:30 a.m. attended by all 36 who were going on the pilgrimage and about another dozen parishioners. It was a wonderful way to begin. Father Freitas spoke on the difference between a Trip and a Pilgrimage and reminded us that while during trips we go to see, on Pilgrimages we actually go to discover. He invited us to reflect upon seeking to discover the Grace God wants to give us during this time together.



Then with the help of our two trusty "cabin attendants" (pictured here) who helped load the luggage on the bus, we were off for the 7 hour bus ride with our trusty driver Bill. The ride was filled with laughter and with a couple stops along the way for stretching and some food. At 3:00 p.m. we prayed the Litany of the Divine Mercy.

Our hotel was our first destination as we arrived in Montreal at 4:30pm (inspite of some heavy traffic). We all settled in and agreed we had a great place to spend the night. Then at 6:30 p.m. we were treated to a wonderful Visual and Audio presentation on the history Notre Dame Basilica. It was entitled "And then there was Light", it gave a wonderful history of the Basilica as a place of worship, and also a focual point of the City of Montreal. It was breathtaking when the projection screen, which had been covering the Altar area of the basilica, was dropped and revealed the breathtaking sanctuary in all its glory. Some time to look around and take pictures and then we headed back to our hotel for a quite evening by 8:30 p.m. Many of us then toured the city on our own, or took advantage of the pool or facilities at the hotel.


Day One was great - tomorrow promises even to be better as we make our way to St Joseph Oratory.