I am slowly getting back into the routine after my drive to Florida and holiday there and the study week in Cornwall. To set the record straight, I drove my mother's car to Florida but she flew down on the 14th. She wanted to stay in Ottawa to see her first great grandchild, born on 1 November.
On our study week Fr. Hamish Currie, of Sault Ste. Marie diocese, led us in a reflection on Monday evening and Tuesday on the physical, intellectual, emotional and relational, and spiritual wellness of priests, using the resource "A Practical Guide to Priestly Wellness", a resource developed by the National Federation of Presbyteral Councils of Canada. On Wednesday all day and Thursday morning Steve Foran of Halifax spoke to us on the subject of stewardship. He is a father of two young adults and has been involved in raising awareness of stewardship in his diocese and elsewhere. The resource "Stewardship: a Disciple's Response" published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was given to us for further reflection. The group of 45 was made up of some of our diocesan priests and those working in our diocese. Archbishop Prendergast presided and preached at our daily mass. Study days are held for the priests every two years in our diocese, alternating with a diocesan retreat. The francophone priests held their retreat recently in Cap de la Madeleine, QC.
We are ironing out the logistics for the larger congregation gathering in the high school gym. The floor plan of the smaller congregation did not work as well with the increased numbers, especially with very long rows and the confusion at communion time. We will experiment with a few models and then assess what works best.
After the difficulty we had during the summer in finding priests to assist us, we now seem to have a plethora! Many of you have met some of them over the last month. Fr. Christian Riesbeck, CC, has returned to his home town, Ottawa, from Houston, TX, in order to study canon law at St. Paul University. Fr. Jim MacGillvray, CC, originally of Kingston archdiocese, works in the personnel office of the Companions and must travel some in that work so his schedule will depend on that. This coming weekend and next we welcome Fr. Yves Masse is a health care chaplain and member of the institute Voluntus Dei. He is celebrating his 12th year in the priesthood and is a grandfather of 6. I am sure you will welcome these priests and their assistance in presiding and preaching at our Sunday eucharists. Many of you will remember Fr. Gord MacLean of Halifax archdiocese who filled in during the sabbatical of Fr. Michael Wright. He has returned to Ottawa for the winter and will fill in at St. Patrick, Fallowfield, when Fr. Tom Riopelle enjoys a six month sabbatical in the new year.
The 2009 missals are now available for sale at a cost of $5.00 or $10 for the children’s edition. While some parishes have missals in the pews for use by the assembly (and everyone turns the page at the same time as they read along) we encourage the use of missals to prepare for the Sunday eucharist or to reflect further upon it. Please see page 528 of the 2007/2008 edition or page 546 of the 2008/2009 edition for an article by Bishop Ray Lahey of Antigonish, NS, on "How to Use Missals".
All parishioners are invited to attend a morning of reflection on the Apostle Paul on Saturday, 22 November. We will begin with Morning Prayer in the church at 0900 and listen to Deacon Des Adam lead us in one of his favourite topics for about two hours including a coffee break. At 1130 all liturgical ministers will continue by gathering, for one hour, in groups to further reflect upon their respective roles in our Sunday eucharist. This is an excellent chance for those who may wish to become lectors, ministers of holy communion, hospitality ministers or mass coordinators or music ministers to learn more about these ministries. As part of the responsible ministry program in our diocese, the parish has a responsibility to provide on-going formation of those in ministry and those who are involved have a responsibility to grow in their understanding and appreciation of their ministry and participate in formation programs.
Father Ross