Category: Feasts and Celebrations

Today’s liturgy is the result of a long evolution in which two elements come together. A celebration of the presentation of Jesus in the temple and a celebration of light. On Christmas night we celebrated Christ, who came to be the Light of the World. Forty days later, this light enters the temple.

The temple, which for the Jewish people was the place of God’s presence among his people, now receives the Light of the World. The ancient rituals of presentation in the temple and purification are suddenly transformed by a light and two people, witnesses of this waiting people, are present to welcome the one who comes to illuminate the temple. They are there to testify that the time of waiting is now over and that the time of full realisation of the promise has arrived.

This Sunday’s gospel reveals God’s message to Joseph. Through the dream he had, Joseph is invited to enter into God’s plan by welcoming Mary with her child because this unborn child comes from God. Through the angel, God asks Joseph to give this child a name that corresponds to his mission: “You shall call his name Jesus, that is, The Lord and Savior. (Mt 1:21) The evangelist Matthew concludes, “When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel had told him to do.” (v.24)

The second Sunday of Advent invites us to be converted, to adjust our lives to what God wants from us.

When we look at the life of Joseph in the Gospels, there is a first thing we can observe: Joseph leaves the field open to God’s action in his life, even if it upsets his plans. Joseph acts by allowing himself to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord of which Isaiah speaks in the first reading of this Sunday: a spirit of wisdom and discernment, a spirit of counsel and strength.

Faced with the difficulties of life and the tragic situations of our world, we sometimes doubt the presence of God and his love in our daily lives. Our hope is then put to the test.

The season of Advent reminds us that God is always at work in our lives and wants to be close to us as he was in the life of Saint Joseph. Saint Teresa of Avila used to say to those who are looking for a way to God: “All they have to do is take Saint Joseph as their guide and they will not go astray. Brother André, for his part, kept repeating to all those who approached him: “Go to Joseph, he will know how to listen to you, he will know how to help you.” This is why we propose that for this Advent 2022 we take Saint Joseph as our guide to live this time of preparation for Christmas. May his journey of faith inspire yours!

At Easter we remember the most beautiful and greatest liberation ever offered to humanity: God raising Jesus his Son from the dead.

On the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis, in his message, writes: “The theme chosen for this day, ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful‘ (Lk 6:36), directs our gaze first of all to God, ‘rich in mercy’ (Eph 2:4), who always looks upon his children with a father’s love, even when they stray from him. In fact, mercy is, the name of God, which expresses his nature, not in the manner of an occasional feeling, but as a force present in all that he accomplishes. He is both strength and tenderness. The theme of this day presents us with a comforting image of God, a God full of mercy, tenderness and forgiveness.

Ash Wednesday is that period of the liturgical year when we undertake, with the meaningful rite of the imposition of Ashes, a renewed experience of Christ’s merciful love. Saint Brother André used to say: “The love that our Lord had in his passion brings to light the love of the good Lord for us. “Let us learn from him, to become bearers of hope and to learn how to “give back” his love to our neighbor, especially to those who suffer and are in difficulty. This is the mission of every disciple of Christ. But in order to fulfill this mission it is necessary to convert, as the evangelist Mark’s exhortation, addressed to us upon receiving the ashes, invites us to do: Convert and Believe in the Gospel.

Feast of Father Basil Moreau, CSC, Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross

One thing I learned many years ago, was that to be a person who lives HOPE in life, it is likely that one has had to live through difficult times. Also, it is likely that one who sees possibilities of HOPE in the challenges faced in life, has been shaped by many challenges, setbacks or failures – yet, has come through it to be a witness of hope to others. Even with such difficulties that one must face, it is possible to face them not with just a naïve optimism, but real HOPE!

A newborn baby is always a source of wonder to family and friends. A new life is full of mystery, full of future, full of hope too. Everyone has their say in what that child will be like. And as the child grows, as his or her personality takes shape, the child will be referred to as “like father, like son” if it is a boy. In Jesus’ day, when talking about him, people used to say, “Isn’t he the son of Joseph the carpenter? »

When he founded the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1837, Father Basile Moreau opened the door to a wide range of missionary engagements. ln 1840, he responded to the requests of an Algerian bishop; the next year, he established a new team to support the work of the Church in the American Midwest. Six years later, in 1847, he accepted the invitation of the Bishop of Montréal, and sent a group of Sisters, Brothers and Priests to Quebec. ln 1850, he agreed to send a team to Rome to care for orphans. Finally, in 1852, he acquiesced to a request made by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, and took on the difficult Bengal mission.

On this third Friday of June, we celebrate the Sacred Heart. What exactly are we celebrating?

One day, Jesus led the apostles up a high mountain and he was transfigured in their presence. A voice was heard, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” The apostles felt within them such strength that they eagerly descended the mountain, ready to follow Jesus, putting their trust in him in their everyday life. They had understood the import of “Listen to the Father’s beloved Son.”