Year Two: GET SET
Joyful Journal
January 2016
A Light Shines in the Darkness!
Produced by Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, Communications
--Dorothy Burns, Director of Religious Education, CTR Catholic
“Master now you are dismissing your
servant in peace according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the presence of
all the peoples, a light for revelation to
the Gentiles and for glory to your people
Israel” (Luke 2: 29 – 32).
These are the words of Simeon when
he takes the infant Jesus in his arms
when Mary and Joseph present Him in
the temple.
We have just celebrated the Feast of
the Epiphany, when we remember the
wise men (kings) who follow the star
to find Jesus. If we think back over the
readings of Advent and Christmas we
realize that there are many references to
light. The prophet spoke of the people
who walked in darkness that saw a great
light. The glory of the Lord “shone”
around the angels as they gave the good
news to the shepherds. Why is the light
so important? A most neglected reading
for Christmas Day tells us. (Chances are
pretty good if you went to Christmas Day
Mass you did not hear this reading)
“In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with
God. All things came into being through
him, and without him not one thing
came into being. What has come into
being in him was life, and the life was
the light of all people. The light shines in
the darkness, and the darkness did not
overcome it” (John 1:1 – 5)
Many people would say, “This is too
abstract. Give me the manger, the baby
Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds.”
We are much more comfortable with
the tableau of Christmas and in the
familiarity of it all perhaps we actually
miss the point.
Rather than thinking of John’s prologue
as too abstract, we should think of it as
mystical. Adult life tends to focus us on
facts; we approach reality in ways that
tend to be functional and pragmatic.
If we are not careful our imaginations
become so dull that we no longer
understand the language of sign and
symbol, the language where words
and images point beyond themselves
employing multiple allusions. (Rita
Ferrone). Yet we need this language to
reveal something that can be explored
but never fully explained: the mystery of
God.
John’s plot is the contest between
good and evil; the stark opposition
between darkness and light, with the
triumph of light over darkness. It’s kind
of like hitting the page source button on
a web browser program and seeing what
is going on behind the scenes of that
attractive web page.
In this prologue the whole dynamism
of the paschal mystery (death and
resurrection of Christ) is present in a way
that it is not in the other nativity stories:
“He came to what was his own, and his
own people did not accept him.”
It’s not just about a baby being born
but believers being born: “But to all who
received him, who believe in his name,
he gave power to become children of
God, who were born not of blood or of
the will of the flesh or of the will of man,
but of God” (John 1: 12 – 13)
“From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace” (John 1:16). In this
Jubilee Year of Mercy may we receive
the grace to perceive His presence in
the signs and wonders of creation, His
Church and the people around us.
The Joy Gospel of Luke...
of the
Gospel
by Tomas Rochford,
Holy Cross Collegiate
(wise words from
Pope Francis)
Replace Optimism
With Hope
I have a dogmatic certainty:
God is in every person’s life.
Even if the life of a person
has been a disaster, even if it
is destroyed by vices, drugs or
anything else- God is in that
person’s life.
You can and must try to
seek God in every human life.
Although the life of a person
is a land full of thorns and
weeds, there is always a space
in which good seed can grow.
You have to trust God…
I do not like the word optimism because it refers to a
psychological state.
I prefer to use the word hope
instead… I recall, more or less
by heart the verses of the riddle
in Puccini’s opera Turandot’
to which the solution is hope:
“In the gloomy night flies
an iridescent ghost./ It rises
and opens its wings/ on the
infinite black humanity./ The
whole world invokes it/ and
the whole world implores it./
But the ghost disappears with
the dawn/ to be reborn in the
heart./ Every night it is born/
and every night it dies!”
This verse reveals the desire
for hope that here is merely an
iridescent ghost that disappears with the dawn.
You see, Christian hope is
not a ghost and it does not deceive. It is a theological virtue
and therefore, ultimately, a
gift from God that cannot be
reduced to optimism, which is
only human. God does not mislead hope; God cannot deny
himself. God is all promise.
From: My Door is Always Open: A
Conversation of Faith, Hope and the
Church in a Time of Change- Pope
Francis with Antonio Spadaro (2013)
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.” With this bold statement Our Lord teaches
the people of Nazareth, and us, that the prophecies
and promises of the Old Testament refer to Him. He
is the Messiah, the long-desired Saviour who fulfills
all that the prophets had foretold.
Unfortunately His listeners do not respond with
joy, but confusion and derision, asking: “Is not this
Joseph’s son?” How is this mere carpenter’s son—
known since childhood to those in Nazareth—how
could He be the Christ?
To them, and to us, Our Lord responds that no
prophet is accepted in His own home. Just as Old
Testament prophets like Elijah and Jeremiah (or
saints like Catherine of Siena and Padre Pio) were
unwelcome because of their message of repentance
and conversion, so too is Our Lord rejected for a life
and message that is challenging and uncomfortable.
Yet let us not be self-congratulatory and think
that we are superior to His listeners in Nazareth
because we are Christians, for are we not just as likely
to deny Him? How often do we reject the teaching
of Christ and His Church by our words, deeds and
omissions? How often do we only listen to the bits of
Catholic teaching that are convenient, make us feel
good, or fit our temperament? It is so easy to fall into
the trap of the Nazarenes, desiring a God made in our
image, one who would work miracles for them.
We too often want such a God, perhaps desiring
His truth without His charity, or His mercy without His
justice. (See Psalm 36) We are called however to battle
against the “old self”, humbling ourselves by repentance and conversion, and “put[ting] on the Lord Jesus
Christ” (Romans 13:14) that our joy may be complete.
DISCIPULA UNITAE IN FIDE
The Return of the Prodigal Son
Reviewed by Diana Rorke,
Christ The King Academy
The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Henri J. Nouwen
Have you ever stopped to
ponder a fantastic piece of art or a
particularly inspiring Bible story?
The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Henri J. M. Nouwen is one
such reflection. This is a personal
meditation on Mr. Nouwen’s
encounter with Rembrandt’s
famous painting by the same title.
It’s an insightful reflection that
brings forth the desire for deeper
understanding in the reader.
The Return of the Prodigal Son
is broken into five distinct parts:
The Prologue/Introduction, The
Younger Son, The Elder Son, The
Father, and Conclusion.
In each section, Henri shares his
thoughts, inspiration, and insights
about why this
painting spoke to
him, the three main
characters in the
story and the impact
on his life.
Upon reflecting
and reading this
book, I found myself
forever changed
and called to be a
better person. It
challenged me
in understanding
myself and the
journey I am on in
life. Henri asked
questions that caused me to
look deeper into the meaning of
the parable and on the different
themes than I would have ever
considered on my own. When
hearing this famous parable in
Luke’s gospel, I quickly place
myself as one of the characters,
usually the elder
son. But my new
insights are that
I am the younger
and the older
son depending
on the situation
and ultimately I
am called to be
father.
The question
I still ponder
is - which “son”
would have a
harder time
asking for
forgiveness - the
younger or the elder?
Will you be as inspired as me, to
a have different view of life?
This book is a great read for the
Lenten season - one of forgiveness
and love. Let the gentle musings
of this Catholic priest arouse your
thoughts and questions.
Joyful Journal • Pg. 2
Close Encounters of the Christ kind
(in word, sacraments, and others)
By Kim Heinrichs, St. Joseph’s Collegiate
Terry Peterson came to work at St.
Joseph’s Collegiate in 2007 because he was
a Chemistry major, not because he was
Catholic. In fact, one day in my classroom he
spoke with me frankly, “Look,” he said. “I am
an atheist. I love this school and I love the
kids, but I do not know what I am doing here.
I know I am just covering for someone, but I
wonder how I ended up at a religious school.”
Terry participated in the life of SJC and was
a little worried when he found out that our
Know Your Faith
whole staff was going to be participating in
a retreat. He attended, was obviously moved
by the experience and his heart began to
change. Terry would come to my classroom,
ask me questions, have hard conversations
and finally, asked if I would give him a bible.
Thus, began a deeper friendship and our
bible studies together.
In May of 2014, God set everything in
place and Terry was baptized and received
all the sacraments in the presence of his
family, friends and staff members from S.J.C.
Before he passed away, I could hear Terry
breathlessly praying, “Jesus, thank you for
being close to me. I am ready, if you are ready
to take me. I know you are here with me. I am
at peace with leaving now.”
I loved Terry like a brother. Thinking about
his passing still brings tears to my eyes.
However, I am forever changed by Terry’s
witness. I encountered Christ by journeying
with Terry and by admiring the many times
he agreed to listen to the voice of God within
his heart.
Live Your Faith
Share Your Faith
Epiphany is a teaching moment, and
there are good doctrinal reasons that the
Church chooses to focus on the visit of the
magi. Yes, it emphasizes the salvation of nonJews, but it also emphasizes Jesus’s divinity.
The magi came to Jesus and worshipped
him. They recognized him as God incarnate,
even though he was just a baby.
Very early in the history of Christianity,
the Church found itself combating a heresy
called “adoptionism.” The belief took many
forms, but its basic contention was this: Jesus
was not born divine; rather he became divine
when God adopted him at his baptism.
The episode of the magi exposes the
error of adoptionism, and the celebration of
the feast makes the matter abundantly clear
in the Church and to the world. Jesus Christ
is, from the moment of his conception, true
God and true man.
Epiphany represents a completion of the
Christmas story. Christ first appeared to the
people of Israel and to angels, but then he
drew all the world to himself.
The baptism of the Lord is also an
important revelatory moment in Jesus’s life,
and the Church has given it a feast all its own,
on the Sunday following January 6. Jesus’s
baptism marks the beginning of his public
life. Saint John the Baptizer proclaimed Jesus
as the Christ, the Messiah, and God himself
confirmed the message in an extraordinary
way, by a manifestation of the Blessed Trinity:
The Father’s voice, the Son’s body, and the
Spirit descending as a dove.
Is learning more about your Catholic
faith one of your new year’s resolutions?
Consider the following:
Highly engaged Catholics are continuous learners. On average they spend
fourteen minutes each day learning more
about the faith. They see themselves as
students of Jesus and his Church, and they
proactively make an effort to allow his
teachings to guide and form them.
Dynamic Catholics have a routine for
their continuous learning. Just like with
prayer, they don’t learn more about their
faith simply when they get around to it. It
has a place in their day. They have a plan.
They have a routine.
If you read five pages of a great Cahotlic
book every day, you will be amazed how
your knowledge and enthusiasm for the
faith will begin to grow. Five pages a day
is 1,825 pages in a year, 18,250 pages in a
decade, and 45,625 pages over twenty-five
years. That’s 228 books with an average
length of two hundred pages.
If you asked most people to read 45,625
pages of Catholic material, they would be
completely overwhelmed. If you asked
most people to commit reading 228 Catholic books they would feel intimidated. But
five pages a day, we can do that. Continuous improvement – it makes incredible
things possible. How would your life be
different one year from now, five years from
now, ten years from now if you read five
pages of a great Catholic book each day?
The Feasts, by Cardinal Donald Wuerl
and Mike Aquilina
The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
by Matthew Kelly
One of the best ways to rouse curiosity is to ask questions, not answer them….
Our goal is to arouse spiritual curiosity
by our lives and by raising questions that
pose the ultimate question: “Who do you
think that Jesus is?”
Jesus was a master of asking questions that made you sit up and think
again. Jesus didn’t so much run “Q and A”
sessions as “Q and Q” sessions. In fact, he
almost never gave a straight answer to a
straight question. In the New Testament,
Jesus asked 183 questions, gave 3 answers, and answered 307 questions with a
question in return like a true rabbi. …
The point of this approach is to allow
the natural curiosity of the human person
to draw him or her to an encounter with
the person of Jesus. Nobody ever yawns
in the presence of Christ. … Jesus welcomes and cultivates that curiosity. …
This is a place where we need to
follow in our Lord’s footsteps. When we
live lives that are inexplicable apart from
the grace and power of the Gospel, we will
often find that curiosity is sparked among
people who were formerly hostile to the
faith.
“To be a witness does not consist
in engaging in propaganda, nor even in
stirring people up, but in being a living
mystery. It means to live in such a way that
one’s life would not make sense if God did
not exist.” (Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard)
Excerpt from Forming Intentional Disciples,
by Sherry A. Weddell
Special thanks to Greg Gibbs (EGSS), Ryan Irving (HFA), Jennifer Rorke (CTK), Shirlee Makse (STA) and Peter Schreiber (HSA) who are now helping with the content for the journal.
Joyful Journal • Pg. 3
Important Liturgical Dates
• January 1 Solemnity of Mary, the Most
Holy Mother of God
• January 2 St. Basil the Great and St.
Gregory Nazianzen, Season Of Christmas
begins
• January 3 Epiphany of the Lord
• January 7 St. Andre Bessette
• January 10 Baptism of the Lord, Season of
Christmas ends
• January 21 St. Agnes
• January 24 World Day of Migrants and
Refugees
• January 24-30 Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity
• January 25 Conversion of St. Paul
• January 26 Sts. Timothy and Titus
• January 28 St. Thomas Aquinas
YOU ARE INVITED
Faith Days
ENCOUNTERING JESUS
Okotoks, AB
Holy Trinity Academy 338072 32 St E, Okotoks
Keynote: Sister Miriam Heidland
Panel Discussion: The Swords of Truth
Closing Mass: Bishop Henry
Charity of Choice: Feed the Hungry
Please RSVP to lostroski@redeemer.ab.ca
Mark 8:29
Social: “80’s One Hit Wonders” hosted by École Good
Shepherd School, Foothills Centennial Centre
“Who do you say that I am?”
feb 16-17
2016
2015
There’s An
App for That!
i-Rosary
$3.49 on Apple iTunes (Opicury
Software)
This artfully interactive app
allows the user to follow along by
clicking each bead of the rosary.
The day of the week automatically
lets the user know which of the
mysteries they will be praying.
Clicking on the information i
beside Today’s Mysteries provides
more details about the week’s
prayers.
Joyful Moments
École Good Shepherd
School’s moment of joy
During the Advent season staff from École Good
Shepherd School got together to check gift boxes for
Operation Christmas Child at the Samaritan’s Purse
Warehouse. It was an amazing opportunity filled with
great joy! The staff felt like Santa’s elves working in
his workshop.
Please share with us your “Joyful” moments
through your own school’s faith journey.
Send your stories and pictures to
joyfuljourney@redeemer.ab.ca
Subject: Joyful Moments
Joyful Journal • Pg. 4