At Notre Dame, 120 Married Couples Celebrate Anniversaries

MASS FOR WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL BASILICA, OTTAWA

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR “B”)–MAY 6, 2012

“I AM THE TRUE VINE”

[Texts: Acts 9.26–31 [Psalm 22]; 1 John 3.18–24; John 15.1–8]

It’s always a great joy for me to welcome wedding anniversary couples to the cathedral, along with your families and friends. It is wonderful to celebrate the renewal of your vows in this beautiful Easter season.

You have walked a long road. That reminded me of an icon of the encounter of Jesus with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Sister Mary Paul of the Benedictine monastery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem painted this icon. A unique feature of the icon is that the disciples are presented as a couple, the husband Cleopas and his wife.

Can you see yourself in their place? Imagine the three of you journeying together, Jesus instructing you in his word and revealing himself to you in the breaking of the bread.

What wellspring did you draw from…to stay in love? …To persevere against all odds? …To grow together? If you chose to celebrate your anniversary in the church, it’s probably because you have held strong, as a couple, to someone stronger than the trials and the storms. He has supported you and fed you all your life.

Today’s liturgy speaks of discipleship but also of married life. It reminds us that life is fruitful when it is shared, but a little of the self must die to make room for the larger projects of God.

The words Jesus speaks in today’s gospel evoke ancient biblical images: the vine, vine-grower and viniculture practices such as pruning, breaking off dead branches for burning, and harvesting others that produce abundant fruit (John 15.1–17).

For example, Isaiah described God crooning a love-song to Israel under vineyard imagery (5.1–7); so the vineyard and God’s people became interchangeable (“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel”).

Jesus describes himself as “the true vine” and his Father is the vine-grower. He said that “you,” his disciples then and now, are already pruned because of the word he has spoken to you. His word may have pruned away sin or some other distraction in your life. As branches, you abide in him (“as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me”). Pruning makes way for more fruit.

My dear married couples, I know that you have experienced painful pruning. Yet here you are, still in love with Jesus, and still in love with each other, trusting that “in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Romans 8.28). You have produced—and continue to produce—much good fruit: your children, help for the needy, spreading the gospel, and more.

As the vine stock, Jesus nourishes us with sap. His blood is our life-blood. Without him, we would be dead, unproductive branches, fit only for disposal.

The First Epistle of John further develops the vision of unity of purpose with God. He argues that it is obedience to God’s words, given by Jesus, that lies at the heart of this spiritual “abiding” (“all who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them”).

For God’s commandments are two-fold: to believe in his Son’s name and to love one another. As the Christian lives out these two commands, the Holy Spirit mystically unites the Christian and the Lord (“by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us”).

Believing in the name of Jesus Christ is more demanding than it may seem. Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew, means God saves. Christos in Greek means Messiah, the chosen one sent by God. To believe in his name, I must first admit that I need a saviour and I’m not God. The pruning has begun!

Loving my neighbour is not easy either. It means to share my time, my possessions, my money; with my spouse, my children, and my neighbour. It means forgiving all their offences, without limit. Who could possibly do that? Only God, who is greater than our condemning hearts. Ask, and he will share his heart of mercy with you.

You must already know this, because you have made it this far, and you are still smiling. I am sure each of you could teach me some lessons in forgiveness!

Your example encourages us to faithfulness in a time when popular culture invites us to chase after counterfeit pleasures and infidelity. Thank you for being here today, as a public witness that, with God, all things are better and all things are possible. I pray the Holy Family’s intercession that your marriage vows continue to be life-giving and that your families be blessed with faith, joy, love, health, long life, and life eternal. Amen.

[Photos courtesy of Heribert Risebeck]

"I am the Vine, you are the Branches" - The 60th Annual Tulip Festival in Ottawa Begins

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15.5-7). From the gospel for the 5th Sunday of Easter (Year “B”)

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Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us, that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 

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60th OTTAWA TULIP FESTIVAL

 

There are lots of visitors in town for Tulip Festival. 

Welcome to Ottawa!

Enjoy your stay!

THE ENTOMBMENT OF FATHER ROBERT (BOB) BEDARD, CC

MASS ON THE OCCASION OF THE ENTOMBMENT

OF FATHER ROBERT (BOB) BEDARD, CC

HOPE CEMETERY—OTTAWA, ONTARIO

FRIDAY OF EASTER WEEK 4—MAY 4, 2012

[Texts: Acts 13.26–33; Psalm 2; 2 Timothy 4.1–8; John 14.1–6]

...Today, we come to a final commendation of Father Bob Bedard's mortal remains in a beautiful mausoleum. In a small way, this structure will keep his life present to our memory to help us cling to the ways of discipleship he shared with us. Certainly, the inspiring writings and the vibrant community of priests he has left us will do that. We become aware of this legacy: a fellowship devoted to Christ and his Church that is rooted in the Magisterium, is centred on the Eucharistic, rejoices in the charisms bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit, and lives under the sheltering protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, inspired by her “yes” to God. This urges us on in the task of the new evangelization.

The reading from Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, chosen for this occasion, speaks of the testament that will guide ministry in the church from generation to generation. The gospel of the day reminds us of the many rooms in the Father’s house to which our brother in Christ has preceded us. Both these New Testament readings bring us consolation and peace on this solemn occasion.

In today’s epistle reading, we see Paul encouraging Timothy—a timid person—to let the scriptures guide him in all the decisions he will have to take during his ministry, once his mentor has gone home to the Lord. Father Bob did this, too, by both word and example. In his own life and ministry, he knew the truth Paul declares—that scripture has a multitude of purposes, namely, “teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness”—even instruction about prayer—during the time allotted us on this earth.

We lay Father Bob’s body to rest until Christ’s return, confident that, having been nourished by the Eucharist, it will be restored in glory on the last day. St. Paul’s summary of his career as an apostle and evangelist applies also to Father Bob, “I have kept the faith.”

Like St. Paul, he had been loyal in keeping trust with the Lord who called him to his service. God will offer him the victor’s prize. Not the race-winner’s wreath of leaves given at the Olympics or Isthmian Games that wither. Rather, on the last day, God will confer the infinitely more precious “crown of righteousness.”

Timothy and Father Bob, and all of us gathered here this evening, know that, by clinging to the Scriptures and their embodiment in the sacramental life of the Church, we too can receive this crown from Jesus, “the righteous judge.”

Paul tasked Timothy, and I believe Father Bob would want to say the same to us, that we continue to evangelize: “proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable.”

Paul used dramatic images to symbolize the nearness of his death. His statement, “I am already being poured out like a libation,” alludes to the wine poured out upon ritual temple sacrifices.

“The time of my departure” evokes impressions of breaking camp or letting a ship loose from its moorings. Both were common euphemisms for death in antiquity. Paul also expressed a serene sense of accomplishment. This comes not from his strength alone but with Christ’s power.

Two athletic images lead into a concluding summary of Paul’s ministry: the fight and the race. All that remained for Paul was to accept God’s final gift, the culmination of a life of blessings freely bestowed, “To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Thomas, the disciple who is our twin, expresses our confusion in the face of the mystery of death, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Behind these questions lies the plaintive cry to Jesus, “Why must you leave us?” You may have felt similar emotions stirring when Father Bob passed away.

This appeal echoes the early Christian community’s concern about how to sustain the dynamism unleashed by Jesus, now that he would be absent from the world in which the Church lived. Jesus’ answer was a call to his disciples to believe in him as they believed in the Father: “Believe in God, believe also in me.”

Although Jesus’ “Father’s house” is a reference to heaven, it is likely that the revelation by the Johannine Jesus should be understood not spatially but relationally. Earlier, John had informed his readers that Jesus was always “in the bosom of his Father” (1.18), even when he was on earth and the Father in heaven.

And so, the many rooms or “dwelling places,” which have been prepared for and await Jesus’ disciples, refer to that intimate relationship they would one day enjoy with “my Father and your Father, my God and your God” (20.17).

Thomas misunderstood Jesus’ sayings, which allowed for clarifications, namely, that Jesus is the way that leads to God, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus reveals that he not only offers access to the Father, but that he is also the embodiment of life with God. Christ’s exclusive claim reminds us that evangelisation is the Church’s first priority....

Father Bob had a powerful encounter with Christ, our Risen Lord. He was hopeful enough about the future to plant seeds in our hearts that would flourish decades later, as they do today.

Although we say our farewell to Fr. Bob’ physical presence at this solemn ceremony, I am confident that he continues to pursue his ministry as an intercessor. Let us resolve to commit, as he did, to the new evangelization, so needed in our day, wherever God would send us.

 
 

[Photos courtesy of Heribert Riesbeck]

First Friday of May - Canadian Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis

Although we don't hear much talk of making the nine First Fridays, there is no shortage of the need to remind ourselves of Christ's love of all humanity as expressed in the vision of Margaret Mary Alacoque and promulgated by her spiritual director Claude de la Columbière.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart reminds of us of Christ's great love for us, and his desire that this love burn in our hearts. Taking Christ as our namesake, since we call ourselves Christians, we are called to be like Christ and share that love where it is needed most.

Although we may be tempted to despair by the enormity world's problems, we need to examine where in our lives we can be witnesses to the power of prayer and how that prayer can move us and others towards Christ's Sacred Heart. Dedicating ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides us with a great means and encouragement to build up the Kingdom of that same loving Savior.

The work of promoting this devotion continues to this day under the auspices of the Apostleship of Prayer. You can learn about this important work at the following link: http://www.apostleshipofprayer.org/ [Fr. Michael W. Maher, SJ, The Magis Institute (http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/].

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The Holy Father's May 2012

Prayer Intentions

General Intention
The Family: that initiatives which defend and uphold the role of the family may be promoted within society.

Mission Intention

Mary, Guide of Missionaries: that Mary, Queen of the World and Star of Evangelization, may accompany all missionaries in proclaiming her Son Jesus.

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Blessed Marie-Leonie

Elodie Paradis was born in the village of L'Acadie in Quebec, Canada. It was May 12, 1840. Her parents were poor but devout Catholics. They loved their little girl. When Elodie was nine, her parents decided to send her to a boarding school. They wanted her to have an excellent education. The Sisters of Notre Dame warmly received the new student. But Elodie and her family missed each other very much.

Mr. Paradis worked hard running a mill. But times were bad, and the mill did not produce enough to support his wife and children. He heard wonderful reports of the gold rush in California. He was so desperate that he decided to go. In California, Mr. Paradis did not find the wealth he hoped for. When he returned to L'Acadie, he was shocked to find that his Elodie had joined the convent. She had entered the Holy Cross congregation on February 21, 1854.

Mr. Paradis went to the convent. He begged his daughter to return home, but she chose to remain. Finally, her father accepted it. She pronounced her vows in 1857. Blessed Marie-Leonie taught school in different cities. She prayed and lived her life joyfully. As time went on, Sister Marie-Leonie was led by Jesus to begin a new religious order in the Church. The Little Sisters of the Holy Family were begun in 1880. These loving sisters are devoted to the priesthood. They serve priests in the household care so important to their ministry. The Little Sisters of the Holy Family now have sixty-seven convents in Canada, the United States, Rome and Honduras.

Mother Marie Leonie worked for her sisters until the last few hours of her life. She was always frail and often ill. But she never stopped caring for God's people. She put the last corrections on the pages of the book of rules she had written. She had it sent to the print shop. That book would give her sisters the guidance they would need for their life. It was Friday, May 3, 1912. Mother Marie-Leonie said she felt very tired. She went to rest and died a few hours later. She was seventy-one years old.

Reflection: Sometimes we are afraid of our future. May the words of Jesus comfort and give us hope: "Do not be afraid, I am with you until the end of time."

O God, who made Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis an example of devoted and humble service to your Church's ministers, grant us, we pray, the grace to imitate her virtues, that, faithfully walking in our own vocation, we may reach the perfection you have set before us in your Son.  Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Holy Apostles Philip & James, the Less - Easter Sunday 5B

St. Philip The Apostle Philip was one of Christ's first disciples, called soon after his Master's baptism in the Jordan. The fourth Gospel gives the following detail: "The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: Follow Me.

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see" (John 1:43ff).

St. James the Less, a brother of the Apostle Jude, was of Cana of Galilee. He is the author of one of the Catholic Epistles in the New Testament. He was favored by an appearance of the Risen Christ (I Cor. 15:7). After the dispersion of the Apostles he was made Bishop of Jerusalem. He was visited by St. Paul (Gal. 1:19). He spoke after Peter at the meeting of the Apostles (Acts 15:13).

When he refused to deny the Divinity of Christ, the Jews cast him down from the terrace of the temple and clubbed him to death. The Breviary contains a very moving description of his death. "When he was ninety-six years old and had governed the Church for thirty years in a most holy manner, the Jews sought to stone him, then took him to the pinnacle of the temple and cast him off headlong. As he lay there half dead, with legs broken by the fall, he lifted his hands toward heaven and prayed to God for the salvation of his enemies, saying: Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do!

While the apostle was still praying, a fuller struck his head a mortal blow." His relics now rest next to those of St. Philip in the church of the Holy Apostles in Rome, and their names are mentioned in the first list in the Canon of the Mass.  [Both excerpts taken from Pius Parsch, The Church's Year of Grace.]

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O God, who gladden us each year with the feast day of the Apostles Philip and James, grant us, through their prayers, a share in the Passion and Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son, so that we may merit to behold you for eternity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year “B”)—May 6. 2012

“I AM THE TRUE VINE”

[Texts: Acts 9.26-31 [Psalm 22]; 1 John 3.18-24; John 15.1-8]

The words Jesus speaks in today's gospel are a continuation of His farewell discourse at the Last Supper. It is part of an extended expression of Jesus' legacy to His disciples (John 13.12-17.26). Its focus evokes ancient biblical images: the vine, vine-grower and viniculture practices such as pruning, breaking off dead branches for burning, and harvesting others that produce abundant fruit (John 15.1-17).



For example, a sacred poem depicted God's planting of a vine and its flourishing growth (“You brought a vine out of Egypt ... and planted it”) as the culmination of the exodus event (cf. Psalm 80.7-11). Also, Isaiah described God crooning a love-song to Israel under vineyard imagery (5.1-7); so the vineyard and God's people became interchangeable (“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel”). In addition, Jesus told several parables in which vineyard activities were prominent (Mark 12.1-12; Matthew 20.1-16; 21.28-32).



As he did with a number of other images (the bread of life, good shepherd, light of the world, resurrection and the life), by means of the “I am” formula Jesus personalized the vine motif (“I am the true vine”). Jesus expanded on the basic theme by commenting on the Father's role (“my Father is the vine-grower”) and, implicitly, of his disciples' part as branches abiding in him (“as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me”).



While other “I am” sayings in the gospel include invitations to “come” to Jesus and to “believe” in him (cf. John 6.35; 8.2; 10.9), the Vine-saying invites people, instead, to remain united with Jesus (“abide in me as I abide in you”). Spiritually linked with Jesus, disciples share in an ongoing and life-sustaining fellowship (“because apart from me you can do nothing”).



The First Epistle of John develops this vision further, by arguing that it is obedience to God's words, given by Jesus, which lies at the heart of this spiritual “abiding” (“all who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them”). For God's commandments are two-fold, consisting as they do in believing in his Son's name and in loving one another. As the Christian lives out these two commands, the Holy Spirit simultaneously effects and manifests a mystical union between the Christian and his or her Lord (“By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us”).



The first reading offers an example of how great a struggle may be involved in the Christian community's recognition and acceptance of the Holy Spirit's transforming power at work in an individual such as Saul of Tarsus. For Luke, the “conversion” of Paul was so important that he narrated it three times (Acts 9.1-31; 22.6-21; 26.1-23), each telling of the story focusing on different facets of this dramatic episode in the early Church's life.



In each account, Saul persecuted members of the church and came to learn, through his Damascus Road experience, that Jesus identified with those suffering at his hands. As Saul lay groping on the ground, blinded by his encounter with the Risen Christ, he asked “Who are you, Lord?” The reply he received was, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting”. Once reoriented and converted to faith in Jesus, Saul attempted to join the Jerusalem community, but met resistance when they could not “believe that he was a disciple”.



Barnabas, a disciple renowned in the Acts for his openness to the Holy Spirit's work in various ways, became an apologist for Saul, testifying “how in Damascus Saul had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus”.



Despite his all-encompassing ministry in the Holy City (“Saul went in and out among them in Jerusalem”), he roused the ire of a prominent group of Jewish zealots, the Hellenists, so that his life became at risk. Though forced to leave for Caesarea where he could embark for his native city of Tarsus, this “set-back” would become the providential first step leading to Saul's great missionary voyages once Barnabas had introduced him to the church at Antioch.



Thus, on every page of the Acts, Paul became an eminent exemplar of Jesus' dictum, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples”.

Distinguished Visitors from Ukraine - St. Athanasius

Last week before travelling to Vancouver, I was privileged to attend a meeting with a delegation of religious leaders from Ukraine who came to Canada and would travel on to the USA in honour of Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Sheptyptsky who helped rescue many Jews in Ukraine during World War II. I met the group at the synagogue of Rabbi Bulka, a wonderfully open religious leader that everyone in Ottawa seems to know and regard highly.

Among the members of the Ukrainian delegation was Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk (pictured, the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who is acquainted with my friend Father David Nazar, superior of the Jesuits in Ukraine.

Other religious leaders included the Chief Rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine, Rabbi Jacob Dov Bleich, the heads of the three Orthodox churches in Ukraine, leaders from evangelical and Adventist religious communities and the Muslim Mufti of Ukraine. The delegation met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper following the passage of the motion. (Photo credit: Deborah Gyapong)

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ST. ATHANASIUS, BISHOP

DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

 
 

St. Athanasius was a champion of orthodoxy! He did not die a martyr, but his life was martyrdom in the truest sense. Athanasius was the Church's greatest hero in the battle against Arianism (a heresy that denied Christ's divinity). Even as a young deacon at the Council of Nicea (325), he was recognized as "Arius' ablest enemy" and the foremost defender of the Church's faith. After the death of his bishop (328), "the entire Catholic congregation with one accord, as one soul and body, voiced the wish of the dying bishop Alexander that Athanasius should succeed him. Everyone esteemed him as a virtuous, holy man, an ascetic, a true bishop."

There followed fifty years of constant conflict. Under five emperors and by exile on five different occasions, he gave testimony to the truth of the Catholic position. His allegiance to the Church never wavered, his courage never weakened. As consolation in the face of horrendous calumnies and cruel persecution, Athanasius looked to the unwavering love of his Catholic people. Even time brought no mitigation in Arian hatred. For five years he hid in a deep, dry cistern to be safe from their raging wrath and their attempts to assassinate him. The place was known only to one trusted friend who secretly supplied necessary food.

That Athanasius enjoyed God's special protection should have been obvious to all. On one occasion when the emperor's assassins were pursuing him, Athanasius ordered the ship on which he was fleeing to double-back and sail upstream so that he might meet and by-pass his persecutors. Not recognizing the boat upon meeting in semi-darkness, they naively asked whether the ship carrying Athanasius was still far ahead. Calmly and truthfully Athanasius himself called back, "He is not far from here." So his persecutors kept sailing on in the same direction, allowing the saint to complete his escape.

Preserved by divine Providence through a lifetime of trial and danger, he finally died in his own quarters at Alexandria during the reign of the Emperor Valens (373). Athanasius enriched Christian literature with many important works, some pointed toward piety and edification, others polemical and dogmatic in nature. He ruled the Church of Alexandria for forty-six years [Excerpted from Pius Parsch, The Church's Year of Grace.]

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Almighty ever-living God, who raised up the Bishop Saint Athanasius as an outstanding champion of your Son's divinity, mercifully grant, that, rejoicing in his teaching and his protection, we may never cease to grow in knowledge and love of you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Un évêque auxiliaire à Saint-Jérôme - St. Joseph the Worker

NEW AUXILIARY BISHOP

FOR THE ST. JEROME DIOCESE

Aujourd’hui Sa Sainteté le Pape Benoît XVI a nommé M. l’abbé Raymond Poisson, présentement recteur de la Basilique Sainte-Anne de Varennes au diocèse de Saint-Jean-Longueuil, à titre d’évêque titulaire de Gegi et d’évêque auxiliaire à Saint-Jérôme.

Today, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed Father Raymond Poisson, currently Rector of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne de Varennes in the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, as Titular Bishop of Gegi and Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme.

Ad multos et faustissimos annos!  Prayers and best wishes, Your Excellency!

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OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF

ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER

O God, Creator of all things, who laid down for the human race the law of work, graciously grant that by the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage we may complete the works you set us to do and attain the rewards you promise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.