The SportsFathers – Episode #5 (NEW)!

Nov 14, 2012 | Blog

The SportsFathers: We are priests and we like sports. And it's live! Episode #5 of The SportsFathers is available for download! We talk about the CFL playoffs (so sad for those of us who are Riders and Esks fans), the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the Hockey Hall of Fame. And stop blaming Darian Durant! He's great! Click here to download and subscribe. (Share it around and let us know what you think!)

Rome and Assisi – Initial Reflections

Oct 26, 2012 | Blog

So, that was amazing. I was in Italy (mostly Rome, with a day trip to Assisi) from Oct. 15-22. I'm also pretty much past the jet lag after returning home on Tuesday. It was very inspiring to witness the sights of the major basilicas in Rome, to pray at the tombs of saints and blesseds (including: Peter, Paul, Francis, Clare, John Paul II, John XXIII, and to say Mass next to the tomb of St. Columbanus). Seeing the magnificent churches and artwork in person brought to life many things I had only seen in pictures or on Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism series. Walking through the excavations underneath St. Peter's Basilica and the Basilica of San Clemente was moving. Praying in front of the San Damiano cross - the same cross in front of which St. Francis prayed - was especially amazing. The whole thing connected me in a real, powerful way to the faith of those who have gone before - real, flesh and blood people who aren't really all that different from me who followed Jesus and inspire me/us to do the same today. The torch of faith has been passed to us. And I attended the canonization Mass on Oct. 21. Sadly, security in the Vatican wasn't exactly all that great as too many people were allowed into the seated area for a few of our group (including me) to be able to go in - even though we had tickets. So if you saw the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha et. al. on TV, you saw and heard way more than me. But it was still special to be there at the moment when Pope Benedict proclaimed that they are henceforth to be called "Saints"! And I could see it in the members of our group who did make it into the seated area of St. Peter's square that it was an important experience for them, especially for the First Nations people: one of their own has now been recognized as a saint. Oh, and I got to hang out with Lino Rulli, Fr. Rob Keighron, and a group of cool listeners who were on a pilgrimage that week. I was able to be with them as they broadcast from Vatican Radio (Lino put me on the air a couple of times!) and to go out for supper later. However, like Lino, I had to leave the bar before the karaoke began... I have a pile of photos up (including lots from the Vatican Museum) on Facebook: Click here for the photo album. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite photos. (Go Riders!!)

Vatican II Reflection Vol. 1

Oct 14, 2012 | Blog

In a post from a few weeks ago, I invited us to take another look during this Year of Faith at the rich teachings of the Second Vatican Council. However, my reading hasn't actually begun with one of the 16 documents produced from the council. Instead I read the opening address from Blessed Pope John XXIII, given on Oct. 11, 1962. You can find it here. There is much to digest in this text. I am immediately struck by the immense hopefulness of the Pope. He is very clear about the immense challenges that faced the church back then (many of which are the same today, if not intensified). Yet, in the face of this, he says:
We feel that We must disagree with these prophets of doom, who are always forecasting worse disasters, as though the end of the world were at hand.
Why would he say this? In the midst of his world - filled with uncertainty and fear resulting from communism, the threat of nuclear war, and rapid societal change - how could he have had this hope? In his wisdom, Bl. John notes that we must be students of "history, that great teacher of life." We can learn from those who have gone before us, who have experienced trials and tribulations, and who not only survived but thrived. Through this reading of history and through the gift of faith, we can thus "recognize here the hand of God." In the light of this, the Pope calls upon the council to safeguard "the sacred heritage of Christian truth" and to ensure that this truth may be "expounded with greater efficiency" in our world. In short, it seems to me that he was calling for a rediscovery of who we are as Christians - as members of Jesus Christ - and for a real creativity and urgency in proclaiming this Jesus who is Truth to the world. If you've been following any of the documents or events surrounding the Year of Faith (such as the excellent letter from Pope Benedict, Porta Fidei), this should sound very familiar. The Year of Faith, beginning as it did on the 50th anniversary of this address from Blessed John XXIII, is challenging us all to reawaken this same sense of faith. It's calling upon us to rediscover the richness of our heritage and of the coming of Jesus, who "is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13.8). And it's challenging us to take up our essential calling as Christians, which is to "make disciples of all nations" (Mt. 28.19). This is a huge challenge. We cannot meet it on our own. But today's gospel at Mass is instructive: "For humans it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." (Mark 10.27). May we take up the challenge in this Year of Faith in a new way by allowing ourselves to be transformed by Jesus Christ, who gives us our identity and our mission.

The SportsFathers episode #2 is available!

Oct 12, 2012 | Blog

The SportsFathers: We are priests and we like sports. Myself and Frs. Geoffrey Young, Travis Myrheim, and Andrew Schoenberger recorded a new episode of The SportsFathers this past Tuesday, Oct. 9! Join us as we chat about the Thanksgiving weekend in the CFL, the TSN 13th Man documentary (yeah, it's still painful for us Rider fans...), and a bit about baseball, the NHL, and the NFL. Also let us know what you think of our weekly CFL game picks! (Go Riders!) Click here for the episode.