01 Never Felt Like This Before 1  Madison Kozak Promo 2010

Hey Everyone!  International recording artist Madison will be performing with her band “South Mountain” at Academy Theatre on March 4th starting at 7pm.  She will be playing a variety of classic country, new country, and her own music!  So, don’t forget to buy your Madison Kozak Concert tickets today to support our 10 youth going to World Youth Day in Madrid Spain this August to see our Holy Father!   Tickets are only $23 and all proceeds go towards our WYD goal of $24,000!  Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster online with a credit card, at the academy theatre box office, at St. Mary’s Rectory, or from various church and school groups.  Please call the parish office (705) 324-3390 or my cell (705) 341-3390 to reserve a seat today!  God bless everyone!

Brad Waggoner (St. Mary’s Youth Coordinator)

Half of the money earned by Tip Top Car Care on Saturday March 6 and Saturday March 20 will be donated to RFC World Youth Day Pilgrims who wish to attend the next WYD in Madrid Spain 2011.  WYD pilgrims will be volunteering at Tip Top’s to help clean cars on Sat. from 2:30pm-6pm.  Special thanks to the owner of Tip Top Car Care Aaron Reilly who is making this generous donation.  Tip Top Car Care is located at 88 Lindsay St. South Lindsay (across from the Taco Bell) 705 328-2200 and specializes in interior car cleaning.  This is a great way to donate to send youth to see the pope.  Your car will look great and you will feel great! 

Brad Waggoner (St. Mary’s Youth Coordinator)

With the Martyr Shrine coming up fast I thought it would be good to give some history on the martyrdom of Brefbeuf and L’Alemant whose Martyrdom sites we will be visiting on the March 16 for the parish winter pilgrimage.  March 16 is the day they were captured in the year 1649!  Remember it’s not too late to reserve a  seat on the bus!  $20/adult and $10/student.  They are amazing saints and many miracles of healing have been attributed to their intercession.  Call me at the rectory at 705 325-4828 or email youth@stmaryslindsay.ca   This trip is open to all ages, but one of the sites does involve some hiking to get to.  The trip’s itinerary is listed below the account of their martyrdom. 

God bless,

Brad Waggoner

St. Mary’s Church Youth Coordinator 

Father Jean de Brebeuf and Father Gabriel L’Alemant had set out from our cabin, to go to a small Village, called St. Ignace, distant from our cabin about a short quarter of a league, to instruct the Savages and the new Christians of that Village. It was on the 16^thDay of March, in the morning, that we perceived a great fire at the place to which these two good fathers had gone. This fire made us very uneasy; we did not know whether it were enemies, or if the fire had caught in some of the huts of the village. The Reverend Father Paul Ragueneau, our Superior, immediately resolved to send someone to learn what might be the cause. But no sooner had we formed the design of going there to see, than we perceived several savages on the road, coming straight toward us. We all thought it was the Iroquois who were coming to attack us; but having considered them more closely, we perceived that they were Hurons who were fleeing from the fight, and who had escaped from the combat. These poor savages caused great pity in us. They were all covered with wounds. One had his head fractured; another his arm broken; another had an arrow in his eye; another had his hand cut off by a blow from a hatchet. In fine, the day was passed in receiving into our cabins all these poor wounded people, and in looking with compassion toward the fire, and the place where were those two good Fathers. We saw the fire and the barbarians, but we could not see anything of the two Fathers.

       This is what these savages told us of the taking of the Village of St. Ignace, and about Fathers Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel L’Alemant:     

The Iroquois came, to the number of twelve hundred men; took our village, and seized Father Brebeuf and his companion; and set fire to all the huts. They proceeded to vent their rage on those two Fathers, for they took them both and stripped them entirely naked, and fastened each to a post. They tied both of their hands together . They tore the nails from the fingers. They beat them with a shower of blows from cudgels, on the shoulders, the loins, the belly, the legs and the face ?there being no part of their body which did not endure this torment.

The savages told us further, that, although Father de Brebeuf was overwhelmed under the weight of these blows, he did not cease continually to speak of God, and to encourage all the new Christians who were captives like himself to suffer well, that they might die well, in order to go in company with him to Paradise. While the good Father was thus encouraging these good people, a wretched Huron renegade, – who had remained a captive with the Iroquois, and whom Father de Brebeuf had formerly instructed and baptized, – hearing him speak of  Paradise and Holy Baptism, was irritated, and said to him, “Echon,? that is Father de Brebeuf’s name in Huron,?thou sayest that Baptism and the sufferings of this life lead straight to Paradise; thou wilt go soon, for I am going to baptize thee, and to make thee suffer well, in order to go the sooner to thy Paradise.?The barbarian, having said that, took a kettle full of boiling water, which he poured over his body three different times, in derision of Holy baptism. And, each time that he baptized him in this manner, the barbarian said to him, with bitter sarcasm, “Go to Heaven, for thou art well baptized.?After that, they made him suffer several other torments. The 1^st was to make hatchets red-hot, and to apply them to the loins and under the armpits. They made a collar of these red-hot hatchets, and put it on the neck of this good Father. This is the fashion in which I have seen the collar made for other prisoners:

They make six hatchets red-hot, take a large withe of green wood, pass the 6 hatchets over the large end of the withe, take the two ends together, and then put it over the neck of the sufferer. I have seen no torment which more moved me to compassion than that. For you see a man, bound naked to a post, who, having this collar on his neck, cannot tell what posture to take. For, if he lean forward, those above his shoulders weigh the more on him; if he lean back, those on his stomach make him suffer the same torment; if he keep erect, without leaning to one side or the other, the burning hatchets, applied equally on both sides, give him a double torture.

       After that they put on him a belt of bark, full of pitch and resin, and set fire to it, which roasted his whole body. During all these torments, Father de Brebeuf endured like a rock, insensible to fire and flames, which astonished all the bloodthirsty wretches who tormented him. His zeal was so great that he preached continually to these infidels, to try to convert them. His executioners were enraged against him for constantly speaking to them of God and of their conversions. To prevent him from speaking more, they cut off his tongue, and both his upper and lower lips. After that, they set themselves to strip the flesh from his legs, thighs and arms to the very bone; and then put it to roast before his eyes, in order to eat it.

       While they tormented him in this manner, those wretches derided him, saying, “Thou seest plainly that thee as a friend, since we shall be the cause of thy Eternal happiness; thank us, then, for these good offices which we render thee, – for, the more thou shalt suffer, the more will thy God reward thee.?/p>

         Those butchers, seeing that the good Father began to grow weak, made him sit down on the ground; and one of them, taking a knife, cut off the skin covering his skull. Another one of those barbarians, seeing that the good Father would soon die, made an opening in the upper part of his chest, and tore out his heart, which he roasted and ate. Others came to drink his blood, still warm, which they drank with both hands, – saying that Father de Brebeuf had been very courageous to endure so much pain as they had given him, and that, by drinking his blood, they would become courageous like him.

       This is what we learned of the Martyrdom and blessed death of Father Jean de Brebeuf, by several Christian savages worthy of belief, who had been constantly present from the time the good Father was taken until his death. These good Christians were prisoners to the Iroquois, who were taking them into their country to be put to death. But our good God granted them the favor of enabling them to escape by the way; and they came to us to recount all that I have set down in writing.

       Father de Brebeuf was captured on the 16^thday of March, in the morning, with Father L’Alemant, in the year 1649. Father de Brebeuf died the same day as his capture, about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Those barbarians threw the remains of his body into the fire; but the fat which still remained on his body extinguished the fire, and he was not consumed.

        I do not doubt that all I have just related is true, and I would seal it with my blood; for I have seen the same treatment given to Iroquois prisoners whom the Huron savages had taken in war, with the exception of the boiling water, which I have not seen poured on any one.

        I am about to describe to you truly what I saw of the Martyrdom and of the blessed Deaths of Father Jean de Brebeuf and of Father Gabriel L’Alemant. On the next morning, when we had assurance of the departure of the enemy, we went to the spot to seek for the remains of their bodies, to the place where their lives had been taken. We found them both, but a little apart from each other. They were brought to our cabin, and laid uncovered upon the bark of trees, – where I examined them at leisure, for more than two hours, to see if what the savages had told us of their martyrdom and death were true. I examined first the Body of Father de Brebeuf, which was pitiful to see, as well as that of Father L’Alemant. Father de Brebeuf had his legs, thighs and arms stripped of flesh to the very bone; I saw and touched a large number of great blisters, which he had on several place on his body, from the boiling water which these barbarians had poured over him in mockery of Holy Baptism. I saw and touched the wound from a belt of bark, full of pitch and resin, which roasted his whole body. I saw and touched the marks of burns from the Collar of hatchets placed on his shoulders and stomach. I saw and touched his two lips, which they had cut off because he spoke constantly of God while they made him suffer.

        I saw and touched all parts of his body, which had received more than two hundred blows from a stick: I saw and touched   the top of his scalped head: I saw and touched the opening which these barbarians had made to tear out his heart.

        In fine, I saw and touched all the wounds of his body, as the savages had told and declared to us: we buried these precious Relics on Sunday, the 21^st day of March, 1649, with much Consolation.

         I had the happiness of carrying them to the grave, and of burying them with those of Father Gabriel L’Alemant. When we left the country of the Hurons, we raised both bodies out of the ground, and set them to boil in strong lye. All the bones were well-scraped and the care of drying them was given to me. I put them every day into a little oven which we had, made of clay, after having heated it slightly, and when in a state to be packed, they were separately enveloped in silk stuff. Then they were put into two small chests, and we brought them to Quebec, where they are held in great veneration.

        It is not a Doctor of the Sorbonne who has composed this, as you may easily see; it is a relic from the Iroquois, and a person who has lived more than thought, – who is, and shall ever be,

                                                                   Sir,

                                  Your Very Humble and very obedient servant,

                                                     CHRISTOPHE REGNAUT 

Martyrs’ Shrine Itinerary 2010

TUESDAY, MARCH 16^TH, 2010

7:45 am Wayside Students Gather at Wayside Academy

8:00 am   Departure from Wayside Academy (Peterborough, ON)

8:45 am   Lindsay Group Gather at St. Mary’s Church Parking Lot (Bus arrives with Wayside Students and Teachers at St. Mary’s Church)

9:00 am   Departure from St. Mary’s Church Parking Lot (Lindsay, ON)

11:00am   Arrive at Martyrs’ Shrine – Stations of the Cross with Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy (Midland, ON)

12:00pm   Lunch at Shrine (pack a lunch to bring with you)

1:00 pm     Walk to the site of the first Mass in Ontario

2:30 pm     St. Louis, the site of the capture of the martyrs

3:45 pm     St. Ignace, Mass at the site of the martyrdom

5:00 pm     Departure from St. Ignace   

5:30 pm     Dinner at Montana’s Cookhouse (Orillia, ON)

8:00 pm   Lindsay Group Return to St. Mary’s Church (Lindsay, ON) (Wayside Group remain on bus and continue on to Wayside Academy.)

8:45 pm   Wayside Students Return to Wayside Academy (Peterborough, ON)

• This pilgrimage involves a lot of walking/hiking
• Wear winter boots (they may have snow)
• Layer your clothing and pack extra socks
• Weather forecast calls for a high of 2 degrees!!
• Please bring a lunch with you.
• The trip is $20/person which covers round trip by bus.  $10 student discount ($10/student).
• Want to reserve a spot on the bus? Call Brad Waggoner at 705-324-4828 or email youth@stmaryslindsay.ca

After much voting, deliberation, and with Fr. Tom’s approval the youth of St. Mary’s Church have come to a concensus on a name for the youth group!  Being Catholic in today’s society is counter-cultural and as a Catholic youth you really have to fight the tide of secular influence at school, in your workplace, and even sometimes in your own home.  Also, Jesus preached through his words and actions a way of living that was revolutionary to the norms and customs of the world at that time.  For these reasons, the Catholic Youth of St. Mary’s with Fr. Tom’s approval have chosen the name “Rebels for Christ” for the name of the Catholic youth group at St. Mary’s Church.  We are presently working on a logo to accompany the name and are open to any design ideas from the parish. 

God bless Everyone and don’t forget to drop you empty beer, wine, and liquor bottles and cans off at the rectory to support our World Youth Day youth!

Brad Waggoner (St. Mary’s Church Youth Coordinator)

This Sunday, Nov. 29th, from 11:30am-1pm in St. Mary’s School Auditorium the Youth of St. Mary’s will be waiting tables for the CWL Harvest Luncheon and Tea.  The CWL has generously offered to make a donation to help send St. Mary’s Youth to World Youth Day 2011 to see the Pope in Madrid Spain!

Please come out and support the CWL and St. Mary’s Youth after the 11 am mass this Sunday Nov. 29th.  There will be tea, fresh baked goods, a silent auction, raffle tickets, and more! 

God bless Everyone and hope to see you there!

Brad Waggoner (St. Mary’s Youth Coordinator)

Thank you to all of the parishioners who attended the pancake brunch to support our youth in their goal to attend the next World Youth Day in Spain.  Also, thank you to those parishioners who volunteered their time in the kitchen and elsewhere to help make this event a success.  Through your generous contribution $688 was raised after expenses were paid for.  This means that almost $70 was raised for each of the 11 youth that attended the brunch.  The cost to attend World Youth Day in Madrid Spain in 2011 with the Peterborough Diocese is approximately $3000 per youth.  Thank you again and we promise that next time we will have so many sausages we won’t know what to do with them!

Our next fundraising event is planned for Sunday, Nov. 29th in St. Mary’s School Auditorium after the 11 am mass.  St. Mary’s Youth will be serving tables at the CWL Harvest Luncheon and Tea and the CWL has agreed to make a generous donation for this service.  Please come and support the CWL and the youth of the parish by attending this event.

Pictures of this event are now online here.

God bless and hope to see you on Nov. 29th!

Brad Waggoner (St. Mary’s Youth Coordinator)

Following through on the priorities that the parishioners submitted back in May, the parish Pastoral Council was established. The hundreds of submissions were grouped together and set out as objectives.

1> By far the first of needs was a youth/young adult ministry. The wages for the ministry have been largely supplied by the Priests For Life Canada to compensate the parish for my time. ( I serve as the National Director of Priests for Life, speaking , travelling and organizing for this branch of the pro-life movement). The position was advertised, resumes gathered and interview team of Mark Cossarin (principal – I.E.
Weldon Secondary), Zita Devan (Chair –Finance Committee), Avery King (Youth rep. – pastoral Council), and Annette Watson (parent) and myself interviewed the candidate and approved him. Permission was granted by the diocese and we hired Bradley Waggoner. He is 26 and a graduate of Trent and Teachers’ College. He began on Tuesday with a year contract and will work with our youth. He’ll introduce himself at
Masses and I am sure you will hear from him many times. Please welcome him to our parish. The CWL and Knights are also contributing funds to the ministry budget. His office is at the rectory and please contact him here.
The welcome to our Fleming students is paying off with some young people worshipping with us and Brad and I had a Fleming campus tour on Wednesday. As well, he introduced himself to St. Thomas Aquinas High School at Mass that day.

2> Concerns about finances were prominent. As you probably know, the parish finance committee was re-constituted and meets quarterly to review our budget and monitor costs. The 2008 financial report and 2009 budget was presented after Masses a few months ago. In early 2010 this will be repeated. In late Oct. the diocesan financial report for 2008 will also be presented in this way. The Guy Mills Court and restoration Campaign financial reports and snapshots are being prepared and will be presented as soon as they are ready. The fundraising committee is working hard to get the campaign back on track. Please support the both the monthly Restoration collection through your envelopes and also the events – the first of which is out Hallowe’en Dance. Get your tickets now!!

3> The Property and Maintenance committee has met numerous times. We have had a complete walk-through of the rectory to evaluate the state of the plant and prioritize needs. That report will be forthcoming. We are moving ahead with the analysis of the state of the “Bricks problem” at the church. Because the bricks are painted it means
that we have to get expert opinions about the extent of the problems and we are getting those quotes. I have been speaking to the restoration experts about the interior work.

4> Nursing home masses are scheduled monthly and we are working to re-establish monthly home visits to the shut-in and ill homebound Catholics. Please let us know about any home visits you would want. It is all too easy for these faithful parishioners to “fall through the cracks.” The hospital emergency calls seem to be working well. Masses have begun at the Jail and schedules and pastoral needs are at the beginning of being hammered out. A transportation group has been established under Wayne Klein. Can you help?

5> The 150th Anniversary committee is rolling along with approximately on event a month as well as ongoing projects such as the parish photo directory and the updated parish history. We hope this helps with creating a “welcoming atmosphere” as may priority list emphasized.
6> Liturgy concerns were about 4th as a group and they are gradually being addressed. We especially need servers (and people to train and oversee them), other lectors, Extra-ordinary Eucharistic ministers, and Children’s Liturgy leaders.

7> About 2nd on the priority list were concerns about reaching out to the fallen away and those distanced from the Church. This has been taken up by the Pastoral Council. Any ideas? We hope to have a parish mission soon if we can find a preacher but in the interim we will have visiting homilists and speakers.

I hope this update helps. Any feedback?

Would you believe that there is a document that predicts a number of the problems that plague our society today? Would you believe that this document was written by a Pope over 40 years ago? There is such a document: Humanae Vitae and on Tuesday November 17th we will discuss many aspects of this document during our Discussion on Love, Sex and God: The Naked Truth on Becoming Human. Are we afraid of the full meaning and reality of Sex? Humanae Vitae does not identify the key problem of our day in the realm of sex or birth or “the pill,” but addresses the question Who is my God? Who is in charge of my life?

Join us for sound theology, good drink, and great people! If you need a ride from the Lindsay area, call Brad Waggoner at 705 772-2723 or email bradleywaggoner @ trentu.ca. All parishioners of the age of majority are welcomed to this event.

Register online here by clicking on ”register” choose “Peterborough” then “Trent University” then search for ”St. Mary’s Youth Lindsay” team captain “Brad Waggoner”  and fill in your information.   

This event is free, a lot of fun, and for a great cause.  It’s also a great excuse to dress up and go trick or treating – and you may get candy too!  Email the youth office at bradleywaggoner @ trentu.ca to let us know you’re coming.

The first youth meeting will take place this Sunday (Oct. 18th) after the 11 am Mass at the Youth Office which is located inside St. Mary’s rectory (40 Russell St. E).  Lunch will be provided free of charge and Fr. Tom will be joining us.  Let me know if you need transportation. 

Things to think about before the meeting:

- how to register a Catholic group at Fleming (Frost Campus)?  posters and room rental?  mass on campus?
- steps for setting up Theology on Tap in Lindsay.
- volunteers needed to decorate for Halloween dance fundraiser
- Trick or Eat Peterborough (Who wants to attend?  This is a great event.  Transportation provided.)
-  Movies and screening space at Frost Campus.
-  Christian/Catholic Christmas Formal in Peterborough (who wants to attend?)
- Sports at Fleming or elsewhere (Catholic intramural team?)
- Anyone interested in attending WYD 11 Madrid Spain?  (Volunteers needed for fundraising.)

If you can think of anything else that should be covered at the meeting let me know and I will add it to the agenda. 

God bless and see you all Sunday at about noon!

Brad Waggoner
St. Mary’s Youth Coordinator in Lindsay
bradleywaggoner@trentu.ca 
705 772 2723 (cell)