Category: Spiritualité

Dear friends, well before the pandemic, the people that are now called guardian angels were already embodied in home caregivers, many of whom have taken Saint Brother André as their patron. Following him, home caregivers know that no matter what the ordeal we experience now, life cannot overmaster hope… when you want to believe. Believing is like an immense Yes to life.

At the heart of this black night of COVID 19 which covers the entire planet and gives rise to a fear of an uncertain tomorrow, Mary is there with us by our side.

“Behold, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1,2)
That is how Lent begins.

But, is it an “acceptable” time when we are struck down by catastrophe, anxiety, or doubt? When a pandemic hits the entire world, we can recognize at what point we become vulnerable and unsteady about that which we cannot control. The power of nature seems stronger than the power of science. Sometimes, there is panic. Fear presses us towards someone or something which can bring a feeling of security to our lives.

Since the very first day, Holy Cross Congregation strove to be “educators in the faith” in all that we do in ministry, and especially in our ministries of education.

Abbé Pierre said, “The greatest evil that can happen to human beings, even to little ones, is to think only of themselves. The one and only rule which leads to goodness and to happiness is to look after the weakest.”

Over the years, the Counseling Office of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, a space of welcome, of listening, and of compassion, has without question become a valuable service offered to people who are wounded, not necessarily physically – as was the case in the time of Brother André (1904 to 1937) — but rather psychically, psychologically, emotionally, affectively, morally, and religiously.

Conformity to Christ is a fundamental aspect of the spirituality of Blessed Basile Moreau, CSC. He understood this spiritual way of life following the teachings of St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who is living in union with me” [Galatians 2:20].

In November, the landscape is stripped away to settle gently into the white silence of winter. A privileged moment to remember our dearly departed ones who have migrated to infinity, to another life. In November, it is these loved ones who inhabit our memory and our hope.

Social life is given its rhythm by successive periods of work, breaks, holidays and vacations. Summer seems to be the most popular season for taking a vacation.

To mark our gratefulness for Father Claude Grou’s recovery, following his attack on March 22, and to salute his return to pastoral fonctions, we are happy to share the homily he gave, in French, during Mass on Friday March 29.

Read the Homily in French here.

Reflection on the Nativity and on Saint Joseph’s Oratory’s Pastoral Theme for 2019 : God Welcomes Us.

Read full article in French here.