In our 25th year, we almost doubled donations from the Church.

Lenten food commences Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday. Please donate only listed items. Dried, beans, peas, lentils, barley, soup basics, pasta, rice, sugar, salt, cooking oil, etc. Full list at the main entrance of the church.

For information call Kay at 324-3596 or the rectory 324-4828.

Of course Food for Children can be used all the year round and any and every donation is gratefully appreciated.

Every we begin a new parish year and once again it is time to ask: are you ready and willing to help in one of the various parish ministries?

We can certainly use more readers, eucharistic ministers, altar servers, ushers, and singers for the folk choir and 11:00 choir, and people to help with children’s liturgy.

If you would like to become involved, please call the parish office or contact us here.

(Who, When, How) Define a stranger. The ice cream person seen every day is still a stranger.

Have a plan with your child for separation from a parent…be pro active.

Keep access to a computer a public versus private communication in the home.

Dear God, Creator of this fresh new world: The fields and the woods and hills are white again, not with snow but with the blossoms of the wild strawberry. There is snow too, here and there, and some of it is still piled high, still stubbornly holding out against the sun, still glazed. (It was from the snow, of course, that the strawberry got the idea for its blossoms.) Everywhere I see white petals.

The pussy willows have grown so big I could mistake them at a distance, for chokecherry buds. The maple tree near the river has acquired a million little buttons. Pike and bass are spawning in the slough; and someone has set a trap for muskrats.

Sun and shade make queer patterns on the surface of the water, and in some lights I can clearly see the river bottom. (What clam came reeling home to his family last night? Look at the crazy trail he left!)

The ducks have returned to the Madawaska River. They are pretending to be jet planes, dive bombers, torpedoes, or snorkel submarines. I wish I could enjoy the icy water as they do.

A late snow falls. Great white flakes. And someone nearby has made a bonfire of last year’s fallen twigs and branches. I love the smell of wood smoke. Lord, let it come up to You as incense for Your new Spring. And let me offer with it a prayer of perfect joy!

There are people offering their pain to You as prayer. There are people offering prayers in atonement for misdeeds or grievous sins. There are people offering prayers of supplication, and prayers of petition, and prayers of faith and love and hope. But prayers of joy, I think, are very few. Yet we have most need of You when we are most happy.

What do we need to make us happy? A new convertible with red leather seats? A final payment on the first mortgage? A boy friend? A well-paying job, or a promotion with twice as much money? A new suit or hat? A broiled lobster and half a keg of beer? A trip to Europe or some other expensive continent?

Once I worked for most of these things-and only for them. Now my happiness is made of little things. The sun rising in the blazing east. A marigold

in full bloom. A sparrow staring at me from a post. A mushroom ready to pick. A hamburger or hot dog, with French mustard, or perhaps a dash of horseradish, or even a plate of spinach with melted cheese. A bunch of wild flowers brought into my room. Sunset and evening star. The faces of happy friends. And sometimes a funny remark will make me happy for two dozen hours. My heart is full of joy!

Dear God of every day and every hour: Let me never be bored by Your miracles! Let me never yawn at any of Your wonders! Let me never take You for granted, as I am prone to do.

Let me enjoy the miracle of waking, when it comes to me; and the miracle of being aware that I am alive-a breathing, walking, thinking proof of Your love and mercy. It is a miracle that You made us, Lord. It is a greater miracle that You tolerate us.

Let me not slight any of the miracles I see every day around me. So many, many miracles! So many beautiful miracles! Let me see You in everybody-for every man and every woman and every child on earth, is a miracle of Yours.

Spring is a miracle. Summer is a miracle. Autumn is a miracle. Winter is a miracle-and it lasts a long, long time, here, Lord, a very long, long time!

Every new day is a miracle, and so is every night. Food is a miracle. Clothing is a miracle. Houses are miracles too, since You gave us the brains to build them. Health is a miracle. Laughter is a miracle…. Even death is a miracle–the greatest miracle of &-for it is both birth and death. It blots out all things that come between us, Lord, between the likes of You and the likes of me! It blots out everything, and brings me face to face with You,

I thank you, Lord, with a full heart, for everything. Give me the gift of appreciating You, and all You do.

(Excerpted from I Cover God by Eddie Doherty, “A Prayer of Joy,” and “Less Than Tomorrow.”)

Additional issues of Pass It On! can be found on the Internet at:
www.madonnahouse.org/publications/passiton/
Copyright Madonna House Publications
Made available by Madonna House Publications
Combermere, Ontario, Canada KOJ 1LO
Please feel free to make copies showing our copyright and pass them on!

So many parents complain to us about their children. They come to seek advice about many things, but especially about counteracting what they call the “influence of environment.” By this they mean the children next door, who are allowed to do things which they would never allow their children to do, such as keep late hours, constantly go to movies, use cosmetics, or go out with whomever they wish, whenever they wish. The list of things to fight in today’s environment seems to be endless.

What is the key to combatting the prevailing culture, which is overwhelmingly secular? Fundamentally, the answer lies within the souls of parents. A searching examination of conscience must be undertaker way, this searching may lead, from the worldly point of view, to dire consequences; in fact it may well revolutionize the lives of the parents themselves. It has to be a thorough examination, without self-illusion, without compromise.

Together husband and wife must face themselves and see themselves as clearly as is humanly possible. Therefore, such an examination of conscience must begin with fervent prayer. Here are some key questions that parents must ask themselves.

What are your dreams and ambitions? What are your ideas of recreation and fun? Is your home a place where all the youngsters of the block would come in preference to movies or anything else? Is there warm understanding of youth in your home? Deep love of youth? A remembrance of your own youth, its joys and difficulties?

As parents, do you take seriously your most awesome and holy vocation? Or do you bear with it because you have to? Is your home a place of peace and love radiating into every nook and corner and spilling over onto friends and neighbours? is your standard of living that of keeping up with the Joneses or with Christ?

On and on, one can extend the litany of questions parents must answer to make this examination deep and fail thful Perhaps a few examples may illustrate better what I mean.

I knew a lady whose housekeeping was so impeccable that all the women of the neighborhood extolled her, and whose cooking was so perfect that all the men wished their wives could cook as well, Yet the strange thing was that both her husband and her children were seldom at home. Mr. X preferred to spend his evenings “with the boys,” and the children could invariably be found a few doors away, where the lady of the house, her husband, and her brood welcomed them happily, arid gave thorn the front living room for themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor spent much time in their large, oldfashioned kitchen, to which everyone eventually gravitated for cookies and milk of which there always seemed an inexhaustible supply.

Now Mrs. Neighbor was not a perfect housekeeper. How could she be, with youngsters running in and out all day? With toys covering tables and chairs, not to mention skates, sweaters and such? But the whole house smelled of the wondrous cookies she always seemed to be baking. And the big, inviting smile of her husband drew crowds of boys to talk about anything and everything, from fishing to dating.

I knew another couple who made it a rule to watch television programs together. Very soon the children were content to be guided in their choice of TV shows by their parents. It happened quite simply. Everyone in the house was invited to comment on each program afterward. Easily, with much joking and laughter, between sandwiches and beverages, the parents taught their children to appreciate a good show. It was almost like a game. Once in a while the question was asked, “If you were Christ, what would you think of this show?” It worked miracles.

Have you ever watched youngsters listening to an adult conversation? They even imitate the inflections of their parents’ voices. I overheard a little girl of nine saying to another little one of the same age, “Oh, you mean Mrs. Y. Ho hum! She does not amount to much. Her husband is only a garbage collector.” Now, where did she hear that sort of thing? I happened to know her mother, and the tone of her voice was identical. So was the content. How could the good lady hope to make that child what she should be before God, when by age nine, she already had a valuation of human beings not by their worth before God, or their goodness, or their dignity as human beings, but by the silly and unimportant measure of social status or class?

A man down the street from whe e I once lived beat his boy black and blue for gambling on pin ball machines. Yet, he himsel f gambled on the stock market, and the family life was bearable or unbearable, according to stock market quotations. The boy knew full well there was something terribly unjust about this. Eventually he ran away from home God only knows what happened to him.

Yes, an examination of parental consciences is indicated. And it must go deep, for only then can anyone counteract the baleful influences Of environment. It must begin with parents, not with children.

If the home is Christocentric, if Mary, the mother of Jesus, is loved and cherished in it, if the avowed and openly discussed goal of the whole family is sanctity (which is the goal, or should be, of all Catholics), and if life is lived and measured and evaluated against that goal, then the environment does not matter. In fact a family like that, in any given neighborhood, will soon change the environment of their neighborhood.

Why not do this examination of conscience now and ask Christ, who changed the world, to help you as a parent to change your home-and your neighborhood along with it!

Many Parishes – One Community is a retrospective review of the history of the Diocese from the first parishioners, the Peter Robinson Settlers to present day. This book is available on a pre-order basis for $35.00.

The second book offered, also on a pre-order basis, is a limited reprint of Edgar J. Boland’s 1976 history of the Diocese – From the Pioneers to The Seventies. This reprinting in soft cover, 8 x 11 format, includes an index which was not available in the earlier edition of the book.

On July 11, 2007 KARA will be participating in the celebrations with a display set up in the Stone School across from the Cathedral at the corner of Hunter and Rubidge Streets, from 1:00 to 9:30 pm. The display will include many interesting books and pictures relevant to the history of local communities throughout the Diocese.

Also included will be a computer-run slide show on Catholic Churches of the region.

Order forms are available at the entrance to the church. Copies of pre-ordered books may be picked up at the KARA display on July 11, 2007 or afterwards from the Kara Office, 926 High Street, Peterborough. Arrangements to have it delivered by mail can also be made on the order form. Please let the Kara Office (705-743-7668) know as soon as possible as the books must be ordered by the end of April.

On Saturday, April 2nd 2005, Pope John Paul II died. The world lost an inspiring leader, the Church a shepherd. In time of loss, it is important for us as Christians to remember and to celebrate the life of the one we miss. Pope John Paul was our Pope – a pope who seemed to live with us and touch us with his vibrant personality and engaging words. His death is the loss of a treasured friend. In saying goodbye to the shepherd of our Church, we celebrate his profound commitment to social justice, the needs of the poor, the dignity of each person and his unwavering opposition to violence and war – truly a man of peace. It is hard to forget his stance on that Ash Wednesday of 2000 as he apologized for God’s people’s sins against women, the Jews, Muslims and many others, reminding us all of our call to be men and women faithful to the Gospel. Who can forget this man, who though old in years, had a heart full of hope for youth – extending them an invitation to the life of the Gospel in the church? Without judgment and with a youthful glint in his eye, he accepted youth where they were at and challenged them to become God’s work of art. Who can forget his youthful and dynamic sprint descending down from the plane in 1984 on his first visit to Canada? Who can forget his faltering steps descending from a plane on his arrival to Canada only a few years ago in 2002?

We first met Pope John Paul II on our TV screen as a dynamic, lively and active man in 1978, and we journeyed with him as he gradually embraced the fragility of old age and sickness – he inspired us to see the beauty of God in all the moments of our life. “Do not be afraid” is his legacy to us, because the God of Jesus Christ will never leave us. God is with us in the vibrancy and in the fragility of our living … in life and in death. Without doubt, his broken body is transfigured and at rest in the loving embrace of God. At this significant moment in the life of God’s People, let us join our prayer to that of Pope John Paul II: May God give us a new Pope in the 21st century who will lead the Church in fidelity to the Gospel of peace and justice.
Until we meet again, Papa!