Walking With The Father: July 2015

July 30, 2015

The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.



July 23, 2015

Ordination to the Diaconate

On Saturday June 23rd 2012 Archbishop Terrence Prendergast ordained me to the diaconate! With many friends and family present, the Good Lord continued to call me closer to the priesthood in this big step where I officially became a member of the Roman Catholic Clergy of Ottawa.

During this celebration, I made three promises before God and the Christian community gathered at my internship parish: to live a celibate life, to pray each day for the People of God, and to be obedient to Archbishop Prendergast and to his successors for the rest of my life.

The whole experience was very moving. I was particularly marked by the gesture of placing my hands in the bishop’s hands and as I promised obedience to him and his successors. This gesture of trust and total self-gift of my life to serve God’s people was very special for me. I really believe that we were all made to give ourselves completely to others. Usually this means to a spouse and children in a family, but in my case, to a large family in the Church that I have given my life to.

In addition, when I was lying face down on the ground during the singing of the Litany of the Saints I was reminded of how powerless I am to carry out this mission entrusted to me. My human gifts and abilities are insufficient to serve so great a family. During the singing of the Litany I was reminded that the people are praying to help me and to ask God to give me the grace to do His will as a priest. I must always remember that I have the support of all the saints in Heaven; even when faced with adversity or persecution in the world. This was such a powerful moment. It brings to mind Saint Paul’s famous lines:

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamites; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Immediately after being vested with the stole and dalmatic (liturgical vestments of a deacon), I knelt in front of the bishop and received the book of the Gospels. His words were some of my favourite words from the ordination rite – it reminds everyone of what it means to be an ordained man of the Church, but also I believe that these words are applicable to all the baptized. How do they apply to your life?
“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are.
Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

Answering the Call


July 16, 2015

The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic (Matthew Kelly)

In this book, Kelly shares some research he has done which shows that 7% of Catholics are responsible for 80% of the work in the Church; from volunteering and supporting the parish financially, to being the most active in its life of prayer and worship each week. Kelly identifies four signs that “dynamic Catholics” have in common: prayer, study, generosity and evangelization. In doing so, Kelly challenges the reader to become a “dynamic Catholic,” and to help others to become dynamic Catholics themselves.

Many of us would like to see all of our churches full every Sunday with young and old alike, but this transformation may seem overwhelming at first. Kelly suggests growing our base of dynamic Catholics by just 1% per year – which is much more reasonable to hope for given our limited resources. His argument is that if 7% produce 80% of the fruits already, then if we grow our dynamic Catholic base by 1% annually, they will produce double the current harvest in 7 years’ time.

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