OUR STRONG NEED AS A CHURCH

 

A human being grows into adult maturity when they have a good understanding of their strengths and their weaknesses. We may be very strong on being organized and well planned out, but we may be very limited on having a sense of humor. “He is great at getting things done but he seldom ever laughs!”

One of the best ways to describe our Catholic Church is that it is a “big tent church.” It involves the rich and the poor, the well educated and the people who are illiterate, it involves people who have a strong understanding of their Christian faith and those who barely know much more than how to make the sign of the cross.

One of our strongest needs is to educate in our faith. In other words, to help people understand and come to a basic experience of prayer, Eucharist and service to their fellow human being.  Simply put, we need to  put ourselves in the position where we can be educated in the  Christian faith.

It is not sufficient to have parents run their children through the sacramental preparation program and then think “Well, I ‘ve got them done.”

What we do with children must become a lifelong learning season of walking with our God. We are on a journey of transformation into the likeness of Christ.

We need an understanding and a commitment to the Christian way of life.  Born Catholics are so surprised when you outline that he Christian journey is  a lifelong process.

We need to encourage a prayerful reading of the four Gospels in the Bible and an understanding what each of the seven sacraments is all about.

Born Catholics are slowly being educated in the social teaching of the Church about justice, peace making and compassion toward the poor. There is just so much here that the average born Catholic is unaware of.

The Church is an educating church. It has the gospel mandate to go forth and share the good news with everyone. Today, we will begin with all our born Catholics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESPONDING TO WAINWRIGHT

 I write these reflections two days after the horrendous fire that happened about 4pm at the training base in Wainwright, Alberta. Four service people have been killed. Thirty-eight are undergoing hospital treatment as I continue writing.

I share with God and with each reader my gratitude for the goodness of my fellow Canadians in this tragedy. All of Canada was hurt and deeply touched by this tragedy.

There are some citizens who are seriously upset with government power and regulations. But this is too narrow. Government actions are not all beneficial and well organized but we need to be reminded how good we have organized life in Canada when we stand beside so many other countries who struggle to make their societies  work.

I am thankful at the speed in which help (ambulances and firetrucks were on the scene) arrived quickly.  No matter what speed a EMT drives you cannot have a fleet of ambulances in the town of Wainwright within ten minutes! The rescue of the injured was marvellous.

The response of the helicopters and the airmen that parachuted into the football field to assist was commendable. This could not have happened if we did not have clear government structures that were well organized to respond to an emergency. 

Try to imagine if our medical system did not have any plans in place to  respond  toan emergenicy. What if an unprecedented storm blew up, or uncontrolled firee or some man gone off his rocker and starting shooting people in the streets. 

 

You can only respond if you have work-out plans and a clear line of authority to handle the crisis. Thank you for all the hard work that has been put into making these emergency plans work.

I want to be thankful to every  person who risks their own life and safety in helping others into the ambulances and all the medical staff in our hospitals.

I want to be grateful that we are a society that is wealthy enough to have these helicopers bring  medical personnel to the accident site and the ability to fly the injured to the Edmonton hospitals. Many countries in the world do not have the wealth and the technology to possess such resources. 

We have a long ways to go for all the injured to recover, but I come before God and all my fellow Canadians with gratitude.

 

 

BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE

 

 

In today’s world you need to carry in your verbal toolbox the observation, “But that’s not true.”

 

Three weeks ago during the forest fires in BC a picture of the fire came up on the evening news. The viewer beside me asked, “Is that picture real?”?

 

This picture could h ave been the creation of AI (a computer generated picture) or it could be an actual photo of the forest fire.

 

We live in a deluge of information.  It is very possible that some of the TV programs that you watch are not real people. The actors, script and situations are all AI generated. The first tool we must bring to this flood of ideas, news stories and commentates from all sorts of people, “Is this actually true?”

 

You are not being rude or unkind if you question whether something is true. You are working to establish the truths of this particular event. 

 

There are people who chatter but never check out of what they are speaking is actually true. These are the ones who take offense when you ask them if what they have just said is actually a true fact or do they just have a need to talk?

 

Be the person who seeks to receive and truth and only pass on the truth to others. If you hear it in the media, question it. 

 

Survival in today’s world means we must become critical (i.e., truth seeking) in all things. 

 

To use a good winter image, be like the Inuit in the far north of Canada. They have grown up on the land and know the water and forest well. One southern man observed, watching how the Inuit men travel over the waterways in the early part of the winter. “Watch, they know the waters so well that they never run over thin ice. They never fall into the frozen lake. Their feet are so well educated not to step in the wrong patch of snow or ice.”

We live in a church that has a long history of working towards the truth. There were vicious verbal fights in the early church over the identity of Jesus. Finally in council it was defined that Jesus was true God and true man. And this was hammered out into the Nicene Creed. Today we use the shorter version, “The Apostles’ Creed.”

 

We are always working towards the truth.  In your daily life, be a truth-worker.

 

Be critical. Be sharp towards receiving the truth.

 

Be firm and honest. There are things that you will hear today that are not true. From time to time we will have to say, “But that is not true.”