Western Bishops Retreat

Shortly after New Year's, the Bishops of Western Canada held their annual retreat at the Benedictine Abbey in Mission, BC.

This view from the Abbey window gives a little idea of the beauty of the setting, even though it was a typical winter day in British Columbia with lots of clouds and some rain. It was none the less somewhat warmer than in Regina!

The Abbey Church is also a beautiful and impressive place where the liturgy is celebrated throughout the day by the monks and their students.

Our retreat was directed by Archbishop Marcel Gervais, the Archbishop Emeritus of Ottawa. Archbishop Gervais has a wonderfully strong background in Holy Scripture, and we were both attentive

and enjoying his talks, which I found very positive and helpful.

I particularly enjoyed the time he spent on the stories of the Patriarchs in the books of Genesis and Exodus. The portrayal of God and the relationship that existed between God and the Chosen People of Israel is much more earthy than we might perhaps use today and give us a different insight into our God who loves us and is so patient and forgiving of our weaknesses and failures.

The monks also had a wonderful Christmas Cactus that was in full bloom in the monastery. With the rain in the background I found it a lovely reminder that amidst the clouds and dark days of life, the presence of Christ with and within is is always a bright and hopefilled promise.

In the middle is Fr. Mark Dumont, OSB, our Guestmaster and on his right is Bishop Richard Gagnon of Victoria.

During the retreat we celebrated some of the Liturgies with the Monastic Community and their students.

And we concluded the week by celebrating the Sunday Eucharist with them in their beautiful Monastery Church.

And here is the bunch of us, obviously happy with the time together with the Lord and with one another for this time of retreat.

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Cultural Interface

In the Fall of 2007 eight of our priests who have come from overseas plus eight of our local priests travelled to Riding Mountain Park in Manitoba to join an equal number of priests from the Archdiocese of Winnipeg and also from the Diocese of Saskatoon. We spent the week following a workshop given by Fr. Anthony Gittens C.S.Sp, professor of theological anthropoligy at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. The workshop dealt with ways to deal with cultural differences in a positive and productive way. Since our diocese has a sizeable percentage of priests coming from other countries and cultures working together, we found the week together both challenging and productive.

The group has continued to meet three or four times a year to develop a trust and a vehicle to try to reach some of the goals presented by Fr. Gittens. Here are some of the priests from our last meeting. Fr. Hector Seville of the Philippines who is pastor in Langenburg, Fr. Louis Kim Nguyen from Vietnam, associate at Holy Family, Regina and Fr. James Owolagba from Nigeriawho is pastor at Gull Lake.

And there is Fr. Andrew Pawlowicz who is on loan to the diocese from Poland, Administrator at Rockglen, and Fr. Tonny Dizi, pastor at Christ the King, Regina.

We had a great meal together put on by the Philippine priests - one way of getting to know one another's cultures. Seen here are Fr. Raymond Carrignan, Ponteix, Fr. Brad Fahlman, Holy Family, Regina and Fr. Thang Nguyen, pastor in Raymore.

Usually during the evening we have a presentation or two from priests of different nationalities. Fr. Dennis Remot, administrator at Moosomin,who is on loan to the diocese from the Philippines spoke about his homeland, his ministry there and the church in the Philippines.

Here with Fr. James is Fr. Neil Osiowy, pastor at Holdfast.

And a second presentation was given by Fr. Tonny Dizi, who came to Canada from Holland when he was a young boy. Fr. Tonny spoke about the church in Holland and the way of life there.

There usually follows some discussion on priestly life and the ways that different cultures can present both problems and opportunities for enrichment and growth both for the priests themselves and for the Archdiocesan Church.

The goal of the group is to eventually becine the "leaven" for all the priests of the diocese to enter into this process of personal growth in relationships, spirituality and ministry.

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Underway Again!

On New Year's Day, after celebrating the Liturgical Feast Day of Mary the Mother of God at Holy Rosary Cathedral, we held the annual Archbishop's Levee in the Cathedral Parish Hall. The Levee is a reception held on New Year's Day in which the people of the Archdiocese can meet their Archbishop and exchange greetings and best wishes at the beginning of the new year.

The Levee ws a very pleasant event for me. The Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree were present to assist in the reception and facilitating my meeting with the people who were present. Msgr. Kenneth Miller the Vicar General of the Archdiocese was with me and was a wonderful help in making introductions. His long service to the Archdiocese has enabled him to know many people in our Church family.

It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to chat with many people

both young and old.

It was a very pleasant way for me to begin the New Year. The Mass in the Cathedral Church celebrating Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of all who follow her Son completed the Octave of Christmas and gave confidence to all who believe to begin another new year secure in God's love and care for us all. Then to have the opportunity to meet and spend some time with the people of our Archdiocese and wish them the Blessings of God for the New Year was "the icing on the cake."

To finish off the day, I was invited by the Sisters at Martha House to come and have dinner with the retired priests and residents who make Martha House their home. The sisters who are members of the community of the Daughters of St. Mary of Leuca, provide a great meal in a very warm and hospitable home.

With me around the table is Fr. Art Vandendriessche, Fr. Louis Kubash, Fr. Gordon Rushka.

And on the other side of the table Fr. Dan McCarthy and Fr. Mike Hogan.


Here we see the Sr. Ninfa, Sr. Vincenza and Sr. Ulrica with Fr. Van.

Along with the priests who live at Martha House, there is also a very nice group of lay people who make Martha House their home as well. It is always a pleasure to see them when I visit.

Along with the traditional Creche for Christmas, the Sisters also have in their chapel a representation of the new born Christ Child as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (Is 11: 1-2)

The church celebrates this belief as it is expressed in the Advent Antiphon: O Root of Jesse, you stand as a sign for the peoples; before you kings shall keep silence and to you all nations shall have recourse. Come, save us, and do not delay.

And so January 1 completed the solemn celebration of the Birth of the One who gives us hope and life and the security of salvation in each of our lives.

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