Lent in Linwood Ontario

When I gave up Facebook for Lent, I intended to spend some of the saved time to be more regular in my blogging again.  Now, less than a week before Easter, I'm finally getting my first blog post up!

While, despite my best intentions, some of that time was used in the very intriguing (but perhaps not so fruitful) activity of fiddling around with Linux again (this time with ArchLinux,) we've also had a very fruitful and and focused Lent.

Another Traditional Mass

Our priest gave us the wonderful gift of another special traditional Latin Mass (i.e. Extraordinary Form) for Ash Wednesday.  This was my second and I am sure it will not be my last.

A Visit From the Bishop

Two weeks ago, His Excellency Bishop Douglas Crosby of the Diocese of Hamilton visited our parish.  We had a few minutes to chat. Most importantly, as our priest let us know the week before, Mass with the bishop is the church in its fullness - another wonderful gift!

A Silent Lenten Retreat

A week ago this weekend our parish had its first weekend retreat (12 hours on Saturday and half a day on Sunday.)  It included prayers in the form of the rosary, silent prayer times, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. We had a 4 part video series by Father William Casey - an amazing speaker! His topics included the Eucharist, prayer, repentence and God's commandments.  Very clear, to the point and simple advice to follow.

This evening I am driving to our cathedral for the Chrism Mass, and - God willing - I will be going to a TLM Mass for the Easter Vigil.  (There's one in Toronto - I still have to double check the schedule.)

Right now I'm using a computer desktop that's "under construction" so the pictures will have to come later!

Stations of the Cross Restored and the Prayerful Elderly

Stations of the Cross at Our Parish

This Lent  we are having the Stations of the Cross at my parish (St. Mary Queen of Heaven, Linwood, ON) again.  I have to confirm this, but I believe it is the first time these prayers and meditations have been held here since we started sharing a priest 13 years ago.  Of course, they are being led by a layperson while the priest leads the stations at the main parish nearby (St. Clements).

We though at first that it might be only my family showing up, but we were pleasantly surprised to be joined by 6 elderly parishioners from the community. 

Detail of the 12th Station

These parishioners, along with a few others who join when they can, form a core group of what the pastor praised as "our prayerful elderly."


They always come 30 minutes early for Mass to say the Rosary and pray and a number of them always come to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Mass (in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help) on Wednesdays.

It hadn't occurred to me very directly before our pastor mentioned it, but this group is a true gift for our parish; I don't doubt that the dedicated and constant prayers of this group are a strength and blessing for the rest of us.

And I am delighted that they have blessed the newly re-established Stations of the Cross by joining us.

One of our crucifixes

"Every Man Has Hated Mankind When He Was Less than a Man"

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Nietzsche's aristocracy has about it all the sacredness that belongs to the weak.  When he makes us feel that he cannot endure the innumerable faces, the incessant voices, the overpowering omnipresence which belongs to the mob, he will have the sympathy of anybody who has ever been sick on a steamer or tired in a crowded omnibus.  Every man has hated mankind when he was less than a man.  Every man has had humanity in his eyes like a blinding fog, humanity in his nostrils like a suffocating smell.  But when Nietzsche has the incredible lack of humour and lack of imagination to ask us to believe that his aristocracy is an aristocracy of strong muscles or an aristocracy of strong wills, it is necessary to point out the truth.  It is an aristocracy of weak nerves."




-Chesterton, "On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family," Heretics

(My emphases)

The Joy of Living and Walter Ostanek

Back in October, someone made a comment about polka, and brought back memories of seeing Walter Ostanek on T.V. back in the 80s.  Something always struck me about Mr. Ostanek; I don't think it was his music per se, but more the fact that he always looked incredibly happy.  Take a look:

How many pop/rock/other famous musicians do you see with a smile like that on their faces these days?  Either they look depressed or angry, or they take themselves far too seriously to smile.
In any case, there seems to be some joy in the polka party.

This kind of joy in the simple things in life is something I saw and experienced much more in Mexico than here.  In Mexico, there is a greater tendency to find joy in whatever you have in life, even if it's little, and whatever situation you're in.  Could it be that more limited economic opportunities and a lesser degree of stability have made everything seem a more fleeting, thus making everyone happier for what they have?  Or is it that their mentality on life has been shaped by a different set of values, different religious background, etc.?

In any case, although Walter Ostanek is still alive and well (and living in St. Catherine's) the days of the polka fest seem to be past their prime.  In the past, the unfinished sanctuary of the church I currently attend was used as a community dance hall for about 3 decades (until they had the money to finish it and use it as a sanctuary.)  There are no community dances any more.  I think there's only one at New Years, and it's only for those of age; this strips the sense of community out of such events.  The interest-focused "communities" we like to talk about are really not communities at all.  A true community includes people of all ages and tastes.  A true community, like a family, simply finds joy in being with each other.

Perhaps Canada's past was a little more festive and joyous as well?  Who knows.  In Canada, there is a lot of focus on pleasure, but little joy.  It most certainly exists (see A Mexican Chistmas Celebration (Posada) in Ontario's Countryside) but it seems the exception rather than the rule.

A Mexican Chistmas Celebration (Posada) in Ontario's Countryside

Now that Christmas time is here, I finally have some time to write again, as well as some nice events to write about.

First and foremost, one of the most exciting events to celebrate the coming of Christmas was a Mexican Posada. In Mexico, the tradition is that during the 9 days leading up to Christmas, neighbours and extended families will gather to act out the story of Joseph and Mary looking for an inn in Bethlehem, followed by a celebration with food, hot drinks and piñatas. The celebration is called a Posada, which is the Spanish word for “inn.”

In our village here Ontario, we celebrated a Posada on Sunday, Dec. 16.  The priest at our parish first proposed the idea of holding this celebration here a few weeks before.

He had heard about these events, and had been excited to hold one; when he found out that my wife is Mexican, he thought it was an excellent opportunity to bring this rich Mexican tradition to Ontario's countryside!  Several people from our parish and from the rest of the community worked together to organize certain parts of the event.  The priest played the key roll of bringing the various people together and covering some of the central details, for which we're very thankful!


In the Mexican fashion, the first part of the celebration was held outside; starting at the main intersection, people carried candles and sung Christmas carols walking about 4 blocks to the parish.  In Mexico, a couple of people are usually designated to hold little figures of Joseph and Mary (usually the ones from a household nativity scene.)  However, the community went all out, and Mary, (a roll taken by a local teen) arived on horse-back, being led by her brother who took the role of Joseph.

Arriving at the church, following the Mexican tradition, Joseph and Mary (and the rest of the crowd) was greeted by a less-than-welcoming Innkeeper.  After a back and forth dialogue in which the Innkeeper even threatened to give Joseph a beating (translated from the original Mexican songs), the Innkeeper finally realized that Joseph’s wife was Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and gave them a warm welcome, inviting them and the crowd inside for food and drink.

The celebration followed in the church basement. My parents provided Mexican food ("gordas" and a type of enchiladas), with additional snacks provided by some ladies from the church.  There were also plenty of candies, cake and coffee to go around!

The atmosphere was festive and everyone present had a good time!  At one point, a woman stood up and led the group in song.

After dinner and desert, 3 large piñatas were brought out and smashed by blind-folded children holding a broom handle.  My family and I had prepared the pinatas; this was a bit of an adventure in itself since it was our first go a making them.

They turned out well and looked good, but I had used the wrong kind of string; at the time of breaking them, 2 of them fell to the ground at the first hit!  Since one of them didn't break, I tossed it up into the air, and one kid swung at it like a baseball.  Candies flew everywhere and the kids were excited.


Despite drizzly weather, the turn out for the event was considerable; our priest had expected about 30 people, and prepared food for about 50, thinking the left overs could be sent home.  My wife and I suspected that this would overkill, and would've been quite happy to see 25 people.


However, approximately 95 people were counted at the mealtime, and most of these had joined the procession and carol singing!  When the group arrived at the church, extra tables had to be set up, almost filling the space available.  Fortunately, the food was enough to go around, and there were even some leftovers.  The priest and some others said something about the story of the fish and loaves.

Members of St. Mary’s Parish, neighbours from Linwood, residents of St. Clements and even an entire table of visitors from Toronto were among those attending the event. (Both Catholics and non-Catholics joined in.)

Leaving the event, many people commented on looking forward to repeating the Posada next year.  With the excellent turn-out and the festive spirit of all who attended, we're definitely planning to repeat the Posada in years to come, making plans to accommodate a larger group!

My family followed up on this event with a little Posada just at our own home with only a handful of people, on Christmas Eve.  It seems that a fairly wide-spread Catholic practice is to leave the manger empty in Nativity Scenes until Christmas Eve, when the Baby Jesus is placed in the manger.  The Mexican version of this tradition combines it with the last Posada on the night of Dec. 24.

As Mexican families will do, three people were outside holding the figures of Mary, Joseph and Jesus; when they were allowed in by the "innkeeper" (those of us inside), the entire family gathered around the nativity scene and the person holding the figure of Jesus (my oldest son in this case) placed him in the manger as we sang Christmas carols!  This final Posada usually comes after the Christmas Eve Mass and "kicks off" the Christmas celebrations (dining, music, dancing, etc.) which, in Mexico, can last till dawn.

I'll write about our household Christmas celebrations another day.

Random Acts of Kindness Day - Planned Randomness & Official Charity

Today I went to the grocery store, and there were some people there from a community foundation who gave me a free copy of the local newspaper - The Waterloo Region Record.  Today, they informed me, was "Random Act of Kindness Day."  (My wife is currently enjoying the newspaper.)

There was one item I couldn't find, so I went to the grocery store down the road.  More people from the same group were there and offered me another newspaper.  I kindly thanked them and told them I had already received one.  They then offered me a coupon for a free coffee and some tickets for free access to the local pool and skate rink. I thankfully accepted both, and went to pick up my free coffee.

The acts were nice gestures and I am thankful for the free things they gave me.  However, at one point it did occur to me - how random are these acts of kindness if a group has planned and organized them, with sponsors and all?

Of course, the whole point was to generate truly random acts of kindness, simply using this planned activity to bring attention to the idea on this one day.  On the cards and book marks that they gave with the free gifts, there is a request for the person who receives it to offer a (small) random act of kindness with someone else on the same day - saying hello, opening a door, etc.

I did my few little random acts of kindness today.  But really they were things I do just about every day anyway - and things that people do for me.

So, was this planned event by this foundation necessary or useful?  Did someone out there today start a personal habit or "domino effect" of random kindness because of it?  I'd hope so, considering the time, effort and money they and others spent on it.

In relation to this, there are two conclusions I have come to:

1. "Planned randomness" is only useful it inspires true randomness.  This may also be said of official charity, which is most useful if it inspires personal charity on a local, person to person level.
2. If a good thing is happening, no matter how over-planned it may seem, let it be.  It is a good thing after all.  I felt good to get that free coffee.  My wife is enjoying the newspaper.  Hopefully this winter I'll get a chance to go skating with my sons.  It may not be the ideal way acts of charity should happen, but it is still in the end a good thing.

Do a random act of kindness for someone today.  A real one. Something above and beyond what you would normally do.  This will accomplish 2 things; it will eliminate the need for events like this one and at the same time it will make the people planning and carrying out this event happy to see such things are happening more.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church, Playa del Carmen

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Playa del Carmen

The parish where I first saw joining the Catholic Church a real, feasible action was the parish church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Playa del Carmen (Paroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.)  This church (both the building and the people) holds a special place in my heart.  It was (and still is) like a home along the journey.  Perhaps it could be compared to Rivendell somewhat; it's not the destination of the journey, nor is it Paradise or even the most important place in the journey, but it has offered me a place and time of rest, consolation and safety along an otherwise perilous road.

Nestled in the middle of Playa del Carmen's first (and least reputable) slum, its off-white steeple with stain-glassed windows rises above half-built concrete homes with fiberglass roofs, haphazard stores, taco carts and greasy little restaurants where thick smoke pours out of the chimneys from the chicken roasters.

The building itself is beautiful.  This is not because of the contrast to the slum around it; in fact, it would probably be more beautiful standing by itself or in a large spacious yard so you could actually see the whole thing.  But the surrounding neighbourhood is part of the church, as the church is part of it.  Many of the people who worship there live in these homes and the parish offers (to all who seek it) care, education, teaching in the Faith, blessings and the Sacraments of the Church.  The old Irish priest who started the parish about 20 years ago is respected and called "Father" by everyone I know of.  My point is; the parish and the community are inseparable.


Likewise, the building and the beautiful things which have happened there are closely bound to each other.

I think the building would be described as a neo-mission style. (Excuse the out-of-focus images; I'm getting used to using a completely manual lense.)

The Sanctuary

The main image, below the crucifix, is the Virgin of Guadalupe (patroness of the parish, and, of course, Mother of the Church), the Virgin Mary as she appeared to a native at the time of the Spanish Conquest. On each side of the image of the Virgin, you will see:

Christ as a Child with St. Joseph (the patron of our family.)

St. Juan Diego, the native Mexican to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.

 For nearly 2 decades the church was without windows.  Now, little by little, stained glass is being installed:

The steeple, looking south.

The 8 windows in the steeple and the two windows below it depict the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe appearing to St. Juan Diego.  The large one in the picture above shows the Virgin Mary giving the saint roses.  The bishop had been doubting that these appearances actually happened, so the Virgin Mary gave the roses as a sign to be brought to the bishop; at that time roses didn't exist in the area where the appearance took place (Mexico City), so the only explanation could be a miracle.

St. Juan Diego, showing the roses to the doubters. (Below the steeple, south)

Archangel Michael (north side, next to the sanctuary)

This is newest stained glass image, installed this summer, entitled, "Who is like God?"  The words of the Archangel Michael as he casts Satan from Heaven, who had claimed to be like God. (The anguished face of Satan is hidden behind the woman singing in the choir.  But you can see his wings.)

East end, opposite the sanctuary

This image is also dear to our family; St. Joseph, Christ and the Virgin Mary as the Holy Family.

The lower row of windows throughout the nave of the church still do not have glass; however, the upper row of 12 windows (6 on each side) offers some of the titles of the Virgin Mary.  My favourite is this one:

 "Refuge of Sinners"

 

One of the Stations of the Cross

One of the confessionals (There's one on each side, near the back entrance.  Confession is heard during Mass.)

A view from the main entrance, looking towards the sanctuary.

The main entrance.

 The tables in the foreground are where homeless people, low-income workers eat during the week.

Side entrance (north side)

West end of the building.

Another image of the face of the Virgin of Guadalupe can be seen above the windows of the church offices.  The blue tarp is the area where people eat breakfast after Mass. (It's redundant and pointless to call it "socializing" or "fellowship;" for Mexicans every time you eat it's socializing and fellowship!)

This area is actually the plaza which serves primarily as the patio for the parish school, of which I didn't take pictures.  The school will need a post in itself.

Baptism of Our Twins

This Sunday, our baby twins, who will be 2 months old in 2 days, were baptized!  Here are some pictures:

Grandma getting the babies dressed

The blessing of the water.

The annointing with oil.

The sermon

The baptism itself

Closer view of the baptism

Welcoming of babies into the Church



 After the baptism, the priest gave my wife the blessing for mothers of newborns, known as "churching":

Here's picture of the church's beautiful high altar.  It's a beautiful little church building in the countryside:

Finally, our celebration afterwards. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, so we enjoyed lunch outside, at our house:

No More Facebook (for now ...)

I've made a decision to cancel my Facebook account for a while.  I've been told that even if you deactivate, the minute you try to sign in again, it just reactivates everything the way it was before.  So, to make it a little harder for me to "get back into it," I'm also going to de-connect all of my friends; at least I'll have to start from 0 when I come back in.

(If you are a Facebook Friend, don't take it personally when I "cancel" our Facebook connection - I'm doing it to everyone.)

It's almost certain that this won't be permanent, but I do want it to be long enough to get myself out of the habit and un-addicted.

This evening, as I was viewing Facebook, I smelled the smoke of a backyard campfire coming in through an open window.  Why wasn't I at a campfire? Facebook.

I have about 1000 things to do that would be better ways of spending time than Facebook.  Some are big things, like family or religion.  Others are little things, like this blog.  I want to replace some of my screen-connections with real face-to-face connections.  When I am online, I want it to be something more productive.

There are things I hate about Facebook, like the adictive-ness, and the compulsion I've started feeling that sharing something on this public bulletin board actually makes some difference in reality. Sorry to say so, but I can't stand those ridiculous pictures people put up with the one-liner commentaries on life, politics, religion, or cats. And of course, those discussions we let ourselves get into are just so silly.  By far the worst, is the time I waste.

There are good things I like about it too.  I love seeing pictures of nieces and nephews or my friends.  It's nice to find out soon when something wonderful happens, easily offer some consolation to someone going through a hard time or simply be up-to-date with where people are and what they're doing. People have also shared many great articles on Facebook.  It's been a good way to re-connect with people I may not have otherwise found again. When I do get back onto Facebook sometime in the future, I look forward to enjoying these items again.

These are the things I first started using Facebook for. I started using it more, on a daily basis, to publicize this blog.  Ironically, it started eating away at my blogging time, little by little; now I'm on FB several times a day, but I write a blog post less than once a month.  Maybe I can start posting again regularly without FB.

Let's see if this little experiment works.

A Different (and Wonderful) Kind of Gift for Families with Newborns!

For parents of newborns a meal they don't have to cook is a great help!

3 weeks ago, my twins were born!  Since then, we've had many visits from family, friends and neighbours.  Besides the pleasure of seeing people and the joy on their faces when they held our babies, almost everyone also brought gifts. We are very thankful for all the gifts and - most importantly - the love and support so many people have shown us!

Yet, there's something different that happened this time.  Anglo Canadians, like Mexicans, bring gifts of clothes, toys, bottles, diapers, soothers, etc.  All very helpful and useful items, and all received with gratitude! However, something new for both me and my wife was the kind of gift that the our Old-Colony Mennonite (also known as Mexican Mennonites or Low-German Mennonites) friends, neighbours and relatives have been bringing us; they bring meals! (Sometimes in addition to the other kind of gifts.)

The first (Mennonite) family that visited us - some new friends who we've been getting to know this summer - called us one day shortly after the twins were born and asked if they could bring supper over around 5 pm.  All of us being over tired and not in the mood for cooking, we were delighted with the idea.  My mother-in-law (who has flown in from Mexico City, just to help out) and I hurried around to see if we could find enough dishes for the guests.  When they arrived, they passed dinner to us, and we asked them to come in.

"No, it's OK," they answered, "we just wanted to bring supper.  We'll be on our way and come to see the babies in a couple of days when you aren't so tired."

(They did come back in a couple of days, and we weren't so tired.)

At first we thought it was just a one-time idea that a friend had thought of; but as the weeks went on and neighbours we hardly know started bringing us dinner, we realized that this must be some sort of custom; we have no idea if all Old Colony Mennonites follow this custom or if it's just a local thing.  In any case, it really is a great idea.

(As a complete side note, I noticed that the meals all included [delicious] home-made chicken noodle soup; in Mexico, people believe that eating chicken soup is good for the mother of newborns.  Perhaps these people - most of whom spent most of their lives in Mexico - believe the same thing?  It was delicious - I hadn't had this kind of soup in a long time. The rest of the meal varied greatly, from Mexican-style stuffed peppers to fried chicken.  All very tasty!)

Over the next few weeks (in fact, right up to today) we've had neighbours bring us supper about 3 or 4 times a week.  It's incredible how much this has helped us.


Next time someone who lives nearby has a baby, we're going offer to cook a meal or two for them ... and "Thank You" to all of our friends, family and neighbours who cooked for us!