A New P-Era (Phase of Life) Begins

And so it finally happened. After several years of suffering under my own impatience, the Franciscans of Western Canada and Canon Law let me Solemnly Profess. Before most of my immediate family, many extended family, friends, and my Franciscan brothers, myself and Billy Isenor, OFM pledged “perfect” gospel living. A ridiculously tall order…and now my dear sister Janine may legally point, glare, laugh, and exult: “You said you would!”

All joking aside, my profession liturgy (St. Mary’s Parish) and reception (on the lawn of Mount St. Francis) in Cochrane is the highlight of my life thus far. It feels good to be surrounded by love and support! Now I cherish the advice of my friend Father William Hahn: “remember those hills when you go into the valleys, brother”.

Life is like that –full of ups and downs. “One has to swim the moat before reaching the castle.” Heard enough clichés? Apologies, I’ve been watching movies again; good ones always get my fingers flexing.

I wrote the following (in ink) last night; my laptop has fallen terminally ill.

“Eat, Pray, Love”: I suffered through the book and much of the movie too. Maybe it was the random (whom am I to talk?) nature of Elizabeth Gilbert’s story, or the “unbuddhist” within me (I have nothing against Buddhism; the little I grasp does not appeal to me) yawning, but I was bored. And here I am writing about it.
Like many aimlessly romantic/spiritual tales, Eat, Pray, Love spoke to Friar Ducharme. Any sincere spiritual journey must and will lead to the truth of one’s heart. Liz Gilbert, like all of us, seeks love. Why? Because buried under superficial diversions is a person longing to be set free. I may be wrong, but I assert that each and every individual can be encompassed in this one word – “lover”. Like the Supreme Being we are all, at our roots, lovers. Church Father St. Ireneus proclaimed “God became human so that human beings become divine”. If we truly wish to be like God, That Whom we are not, we need be humble enough to love whom we are.

Before departing, I should fill you in on other random news. I was ordained a deacon on September 11th. The plan is to be ordained a presbyter sometime in the new year. In between celebrations, there is work. I have started a pastoral year at St. Mary’s Parish in Cochrane, Alberta.

“I’m not perfect, but I will keep trying because that’s what I said I would do” (Hedley).

A Ordinary Day's Reflection

I had not written this for blogging purposes, but here goes.  The following is a reflection on today's readings.

Mathew13:44-46

“ ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Christian living is by its very nature paradoxical.  For disciples self-giving precipitates life in abundance.  Poverty of self and obedience fall on the road to freedom. 

Though he was not a disciple of Jesus Christ, the prophet Jeremiah experienced the complex nature of grace (poverty and obedience).   He laments the weighty expectations of the Lord for him.  While I can appreciate, and even identify, with the Hebrew prophet, he is what he is; Jeremiah is a man who wrestles with God, nature and grace.     

As today’s gospel demonstrates, God’s kingdom is a desirable treasure; It is true freedom and perfect joy.  Granted a little mysterious, perhaps even allusive, the kingdom of which Jesus speaks is more wonderful than precious pearls, great scotch, or fine wine. 

As father Francis taught us, to receive and follow Jesus Christ is a perfect joy.  Of course while Francis could preach such, he too with Jeremiah and many of us, suffered the temptation of alternative perfections.   Rather than seek after perfect joy, we Christians tend after vainer goals.  Such things as perfect conduct, perfect deeds, ..…performance, health, happiness and security are not, I am afraid, the stuff of freedom.      

When we can praise God with gratitude for all that we are, only then do we experience true freedom and perfect joy.  The kingdom of heaven may be mysterious and somewhat allusive, but as Jesus tells us today, it is worth digging up and buying into.  

Happy Canada Day

In the shadows of red coloured Rockies, near Estes Park, Colorado (famous for Jack Nicholson’s The Shining), I miss the kickoff of Canadian Football Season.  Attending a 30 day “vows retreat”, it’s time to react to my surroundings.

Canada Day –what is that? Is that your “Independence Day”?  

Canada, or Confederation, Day is hardly a celebration of independence: liberty, equality, private property.  These values and my American confreres will have their turn on the 4^th of July; not part of my history.   Interdependence, mutuality, cooperation and compassion are words that come to mind when I reflect on Canada.  The closest we came to a war of independence involved fending off American Imperialists in 1812. We won that battle, and have been afraid of our own shadow ever since.  

In these parts, Canadians are known for their humility and ability to compromise.   In a global context, there is little about which we can boast.  We are a threat to none and dependent on many.

Canada Day celebrates how people have come together.  The brainchild of two European nations, our country is diverse if not plural.  What we have is a flawed and far from homogenous communion, but it seems to work.  We stake no claim of superiority; with God’s help we witness to the gift of minority.

My prayer for Canada today is that we follow in the footprints of Jesus Christ, and persevere in the vision of our founders:  multicultural, multilingual, multi-faith, etc.  May we be always be hospitable, receptive and kind –a refuge for strangers on the road.  

Automobile Diaries

God is Good

May 21/10

Highway 11 north to Saskatoon invites reflection . The prairie is flat and green; the Franciscan province of Christ the King, simple and zealous. I am on my way back to Edmonton from Lumsden and my first mid-term chapter experience.
5 days ago thirty something friars surrounded our most aged household in western Canada. I visited Lumsden once before, I had been to a Franciscan Chapter once before, neither experience offered me much hope for the future. This time, things were different.
I could list factors that led to this chapter experience as positive, but science is futile. More obvious in this moment is the incredibly abundant presence of God in my life and my Franciscan fraternity. Something happened this week; something beautifully beyond cause and effect. I need not explain it; I cannot explain it.
Memories of love, respect, sincerity, truth, and reconciliation giving way to hope, peace and stronger fraternity go home with us today. To my brothers young and old, thank you for your passion. May God never cease to inflame us.

30th Annual Edmonton Outdoor Way of the Cross