Year Three: PRAY - LISTEN - GO
Joyful Journal
March 2017
Lent is for Spiritual LAPS
Produced by Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, Communications
--Dorothy Burns, Director of Religious Education, CTR Catholic
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the
traditional Lenten practices. Over the
years there is always the danger that
this can become rather routine and we
arrive at the end of the Lenten season
without any real change in our spiritual
health nor a deeper conversion to
Christ.
Let’s take a fresh look at Lent by
considering it as a six week spiritual
boot camp. One of the things that
they do at any boot camp is run laps
to increase your physical fitness. If we
run spiritual LAPS we can be assured
that with the help of God’s grace we
will improve our spiritual health and be
ready for a true celebration of Easter.
L is for learning. There are two types
of learning that we can do during Lent.
One is to grow in our understanding
of the faith or the spiritual life by
sustained spiritual reading. There are
many good authors out there and many
good books, some previously reviewed
in issues of this publication. Fast from
a half hour of television or social media
every day and use that time to read.
Maybe you have a persistent sin in
your life or a vice that you need to
overcome. Examine it and learn about
it. What is the virtue that is the counter
to this particular vice? When are you
tempted to engage in this unholy
activity? What need or void in your life
are you trying to meet through this? A
thorough examination of conscience
and a good confession can teach you
a lot about yourself. How have other
people who struggle with this particular
vice/sin worked to overcome it? The
lives of the saints can be an inspiration
for us. This prepares you for ….
A is for application and attitude.
Take what you have learned and apply
it to your life. Maybe share with a
friend what you are trying to do so
you will have someone to keep you
accountable. Or perhaps you need
an attitude adjustment. Reflecting
on the Beatitudes is a good way to
learn what the attitude of a follower of
Christ should be. Warning: this might
take you back for another round of
confession. Jesus does not want us to
just outwardly look good and act good.
He wants our hearts to be good. “But
what comes out of the mouth proceeds
from the heart, and this is what defiles”
(Matthew 15:18).
P is for practice. Practice makes
perfect and gets results. Most gym
memberships include a paragraph
somewhere that says that unless you
work out at least three times a week
you will not see any results. Why should
spiritual fitness be somehow magically
different? Lent is an opportunity to
establish some regular spiritual fitness
habits. Research shows that it takes
21 days to establish a new habit. Lent
is twice that so there is no excuse not
to get something happening. Daily
prayer and regular participation in the
Eucharist are two practices that should
be part of all healthy Christian lives.
S is for Spirit and Scripture. We
cannot be transformed by our own
power. We live in a fallen world and
with a fallen human nature. That is the
whole reason that Jesus had to come,
suffer, die, rise and ascend; so His Spirit
could be released into the world with
its transformative power. This same
Spirit drove Jesus into the desert so
he could show us that temptation can
be overcome, through the power of
God’s word, which is incarnate in Jesus.
Where do we find God’s Word today? In
the Scriptures. God is always speaking
to us there; are we making time to
listen?
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of
your people and kindle in them the fire
of your love.”
(This article is inspired by Robert Spitzer’s book Five
Pillars of the Spiritual Life and the LAPS acronym from a talk
on the moral life in the Symbolon series).
The
Joy of
the Gospel
(Wise Words from Pope Francis)
“Lent is a new beginning, a path
leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This
season urgently calls us to conversion.
Christians are asked to return to God
“with all their hearts” (Joel 2:12), to
refuse to settle for mediocrity and
to grow in friendship with the Lord.
Jesus is the faithful friend who never
abandons us. Even when we sin, he
patiently awaits our return; by that
patient expectation, he shows us his
readiness to forgive (cf. Homily, 8
January 2016).”
Lent is a favourable season for
deepening our spiritual life through
the means of sanctification offered
us by the Church: fasting, prayer
and almsgiving. At the basis of everything is the word of God, which
during this season we are invited to
hear and ponder more deeply. …
Dear friends, Lent is the favourable season for renewing our
encounter with Christ, living in his
word, in the sacraments and in our
neighbour.
The Lord, who overcame the
deceptions of the Tempter during
the forty days in the desert, shows
us the path we must take. May the
Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can
rediscover the gift of God’s word,
be purified of the sin that blinds
us, and serve Christ present in our
brothers and sisters in need.
I encourage all the faithful to
express this spiritual renewal also
by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns
promoted by many Church organizations in different parts of the
world, and thus to favour the culture of encounter in our one human
family.
Let us pray for one another so
that, by sharing in the victory of
Christ, we may open our doors to
the weak and poor. Then we will be
able to experience and share to the
full the joy of Easter.
NET News
What I learned....
Grade 7 and 8 Girls’ Retreat:
• I learned that we must open our hearts to God
to accept Him. He died for us and we must
welcome him and put him above everything.
We cannot find love any other way.
• I love the NET Team so much. They are so kind
and I love everything they do. The games and
skits help me so much to understand. I loved
Adoration and my small group leader was
amazing.
• Because the NET members really made it feel
like God was right there with me and that’s
rare for me to feel that way.
• Their talks helped me realize why I need God
more in my life, and the prayer helped me talk
with God and grow my relationship with Him.
Overnight Retreat – Grade 9 and 10:
• The priest provided a very welcoming
environment when he did my confession.
Adoration was beautiful; the singing was
no less. The whole peaceful and genuine
atmosphere and environment was the straight
up bomb. The people were great and would be
very open and honest. The whole separation
from the world and media allowed for a very
reflective time and I think the people and
atmosphere played as very good catalyst
for this. Especially, the NET members were
hilarious, beautiful, and amazing, though I
wish I got to know some of them more. – Young
Woman
• With the talks that the team told us really
changed me. They had these problems that I
completely could relate to. Knowing that, or
being reminded that lots of people struggle
really helped me. – Young Man
• It helped me to realize that He loves me no
matter what and that I’m worthy, chosen, and
beautiful. – Young Woman
• I felt closer to God because we had a good
amount of time for personal prayer – Young
Man
DISCIPLE - LIFELONG LEARNER IN FAITH
Evolution Scripture & Nature Say Yes!
By Dorothy Burns,
CTR Catholic
“Evolution Scripture and
Nature Say YES!” by Denis O.
Lamoureux
Denis O. Lamoureux is
Associate Professor of Science
and Religion at St. Joseph’s
College at the University of
Alberta, the first tenure-track
position in Canada dedicated
to teaching and research on
the relationship between scientific discovery and Christian
faith.
“I wrote this book to
address problems Christian students face regarding
modern science and the origin of the world. It is based
on the traditional belief of a fruitful relationship
between God’s Two Books. The Book of God’s Words
is the Bible. Scripture. Scripture reveals spiritual truths
concerning our Creator, his creation, and us. The Book
of God’s Works is the physical world. Science is a wonderful gift from the Lord to explore the heavens and
the earth and all the wonderful creatures. Through
microscopes and telescopes we can see that nature
Excerpts from Pope Francis –
Message for Lent 2017 “declare[s] the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). Together, God’s
Two Books – Scripture and nature- provide us
with a divine revelation of who created the
world and how he created it. (p. 15)
With PhD’s in both Theology and Biology,
Dr. Lamoureux is highly qualified to address this
topic. In an engaging style he shares his personal journey and clarifies many issues and terminology which make it difficult to sort through
this landmine of a topic. Many people feel forced
to choose between Creation or Evolution or
Science and Religion. He demonstrates that this
is a very simplistic position to take in light of the
complexity of the topic. Here is another excerpt
that demonstrates his explanatory skills.
“An issue that is divided into only two simple
positions is called a “dichotomy”. This word is made
up of the Greek word dicha, which means “in two”,
and temno is the verb “to cut”. A dichotomy forces
people to pick between one of two choices. It completely blinds them from seeing a wide range of other
possibilities. For example, why could there not be a
third choice for origins, where the God of Christianity
used evolution as his method to create the entire
cosmos and every plant and animal? (p. 16)
I read this book in two sittings. It is definitely a
must read for every educator particularly those who
teach science.
Joyful Journal • Pg. 2
You Shall Be My Witnesses
St. Josephine Bakhita
and drama stages how her story
(to do whatever we
unfolded through circumstances of
want), St. Josephine
uncertainty, but how in hindsight
exercised her freedom
Strength, simplicity, and surrender – three
the way that God was calling her to
by choosing to
virtues that St. Josephine Bakhita practiced
Him, came together delicately yet
live according to
throughout her life of uncertainty and
beautifully. She journeyed, suffered,
God’s will, and so
restraints. She was born in Sudan, was sold as experienced humility, and hostility,
this transformation
a slave, treated poorly throughout her life by
yet had the fortitude and simplicity
from slave to saint
various individuals, yet maintained a peaceful of heart to carry on.
took place. This
manner in her daily responsibilities. She did
Most impressive though, was
transformation is
not shy away from giving her life in service to
St. Josephine’s way of surrendering
possible for each one
others, neither before the seed of faith was
all to God. Through this surrender,
of us, whatever we
planted in her heart, nor after. Her example
not only was she able to give God
may be slaves to, and
has been both an inspiration and a source
everything, but He was able to
by choosing to live
of strength, when life can seem difficult or
then do amazing things through
according to God’s will
unpredictable.
her example, her words, her hands,
in all things from great
Ignatius Press released a movie, simply
and to multiply those works. From
to small, we can live
called “Bakhita,” many years ago about her life. slave to religious sister, she modelled what
in the same reality of being transformed into
Filmed in Italy where she lived for a good part true freedom is: the ability to choose the good. living saints.
of her life and later died, this detailed biography Far from our modern-day version of freedom
By Margaret Smerdely
Clear Water Academy, Calgary
Close Encounters of the Christ Kind
(in words, sacraments, and others)
By Krissie Eberhart,
St. Francis of Assisi Academy, DeWinton
On Friday, March 3 Greg Gibbs, one of
our outstanding grade 4 teachers at STF, was
leading our CLC. Greg was helping us to start
focusing on developing the “STF Way” through
teaching students about intentional courtesy.
In this valuable CLC time, Greg showed us a
picture of a gentleman with no arms or legs.
He posed the following question to us, “What
might this man be unable to do?” Ideas such as
walk, hug, write, and play sports were shared.
We then learned more about this gentleman’s
life, and found out that he can do all of these
things and so much more. This man had
persevered through every obstacle that I am
sure he had been faced with, and was living an
incredibly joyful and functional life. Greg then
posed the following idea, “Maybe it is not what
we can do for him, but what he can do for us.”
The next day, I was volunteering at the
Mustard Seed. In the four hours that I spent
there my soul was given so much more than I
could have possibly put out. My entire being
became grounded, and my heart was reminded
of how blessed I am. I shared some words with
guests of the Mustard Seed. One gentleman
was all smiles and told me that he was doing,
“tickety-boo,” another couldn’t seem to express
enough gratitude to us for volunteering, while
another looked at me with the kindest eyes and
said, “take care of yourself.” Many others I spoke
with through our exchange of smiles.
It is so amazing to me how every beautiful
person who came into the Mustard Seed that
night shared their gift of love. Though we may
own a different number of material objects, our
spirits could not be separated. I can only pray
that each person I met feels the love from God
and the world around them, as I felt His love in
my encounter with them. This feeling connects
so strongly to the idea that Greg shared, where
sometimes the people we think might need our
help are actually the ones who can help us.
Mary: Model of Discipleship
Mary is the perfect companion for Lent, and Lent
is a perfect time to deepen our love, knowledge and
veneration of the Mother of God. This is especially
true during this centenary year of the apparitions of
Mary at Fatima, where Mary asked three shepherd
children to offer prayers and sacrifices for the
conversion of poor sinners. Lent is also a season of
conversion, and here too we receive great help from
Mary who, as the Mother of Mercy, points us to her
divine Son, Jesus Christ, who came into the world to
reconcile sinners to himself (cf. Lk 5:31–32).
In his general audience on Ash Wednesday,
March 5, 2014, Pope Francis highlighted the special
protection and help of the Blessed Virgin for the
journey of Lent:
“Let us give thanks to God for the mystery of
his crucified love; authentic faith, conversion and
openness of heart to the brethren: These are the
essential elements for living the season of Lent. On
this journey, we want to invoke with special trust
the protection and help of the Virgin Mary: May she,
who was the first to believe in Christ, accompany us
in our days of intense prayer and penance, so that
we might come to celebrate, purified and renewed
in spirit, the great paschal mystery of her Son.”
These words of Pope Francis help us to appreciate
one reason why Mary is the perfect companion
for Lent: She is the model of the perfect disciple
because she entrusted herself completely to God.
At the Annunciation, Mary tells the angel: “I am
the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word” (Lk 1:38). In 1974, Pope Paul
VI taught that Mary is “worthy of imitation because
she was the first and the most perfect of Christ’s
disciples” (Marialis Cultus, No. 35).
Excerpt from Dr. Robert Fastiggi, Our Sunday Visitor
Newsweekly, Feb 27, 2017
Joyful Journal • Pg. 3
Joyful Moments
Please share with us your “Joyful” moments through your own school’s faith journey.
Send your stories and pictures to [email protected]
“Leave Not one Heart Behind” is more than a mission... it is a way of life at St. Luke’s Outreach Centres in Okotoks, High River, Brooks and Drumheller. We see the face of Christ in all of our students and witness the power
of the Holy Spirit working through our students. The St. Luke’s family wishes to share with you the Joyful images of God’s miraculous works through the words and actions of our students.
Tobogganing with our School Liasion Officer, Constable Jill.
Giving back to the community and making sandwiches for the “Food for Thought”
program in High River.
Drumheller St. Luke’s and the NET team enjoy a day together
praying and reading scripture (and eating pizza)!
Brooks St. Luke’s making Valentine’s cards at the Senior’s Lodge.
Candy Cane “Bombing” vehicles at the High River hospital.
Marching together with Rowan House to stop violence against all women.
Joyful Journal • Pg. 4