A Prayer By Chief Dan George

Years ago I was living in Alberta and found the writings of Chief Dan George very inspiring. He was a member of the Co-Salish tribe, born in 1899 and raised on the Burrard Reserve in North Vancouver, B.C. As a child, he learned the traditional ways of his people but also attended St. Paul’s Boarding School in North Vancouver where he learned to ‘grab the instruments of the white man’s success’.

Reading more about his life and how it was influenced by his past, his present situations, and his desires for the future makes this prayer of his more poignant.

-Sister Elaine Cole, csj

Oh, Great Spirit! Give me back the courage of the olden Chiefs. Let me wrestle with my surroundings. Let me once again, live in harmony with my environment. Let me humbly accept this new culture and through it rise up and go on.

Like the thunderbird of old, I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man’s success– his education, his skills. With these new tools, I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society. I shall see our young braves and our chiefs sitting in the houses of law and government, ruling and being ruled by the knowledge and freedoms of our great land.

-Chief Dan George–1974

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My Heart Soars by Chief Dan George, page 92

Hancock House Publishers, Ltd. 3215 Island View Road Saanichton, B.C.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Maybe it was the phone call from a friend who mentioned how wonderful it was to be able to share a meal with her extended family again, even though their tables were separated by plexiglass and the music in the restaurant was too loud, that caused me to notice the phrase in the first reading of Easter Sunday: “we… ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:41)

The disciples and Mary Magdalene did not recognize him immediately. In the gospel, Mary thinks she is talking to the gardener until he speaks her name in love and opens her heart and eyes to see him. The disciples on the road to Emmaus had their eyes opened and only recognized him when he broke bread with them.

During this year-long Lent of a pandemic, we have been starved of so many ordinary, everyday things that we took for granted:  family celebrations, hugs, visits, the ability to celebrate together the death of a loved one, etc. How do we celebrate Easter joy in such a time which is not over yet although, with vaccines, there seems to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel?

John O’Donohue in his book Anam Cara reminds us “Behind the façade of our normal lives eternal destiny is shaping our days and our ways” (p.90) We need to wake up and see behind the façade of the familiar where God is woven into our lives. Can I sing with the psalmist: “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!” (Psalm 118) My friend could marvel at being able to eat with family again although it was certainly not as she would normally have wished it to be.

““Behind the façade of our normal lives eternal destiny is shaping our days and our ways” ”

Maybe the gift of this Easter for me is to decide to begin to shape in my life the “new normal”. Try to live my life with my eyes wide open to the beauty of Springtime coming alive all around me. To accepting each day as a gift and to look for ways to be a gift for everyone I have contact with even if it is only by Zoom or a phone call. Thus, in my own small way, I hope to be ready to participate in a kinder and more loving world when we leave this time of Covid19.

-Sister Catherine Stafford, csj

National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas is celebrated on the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, December 12th. A feast commemorating a religious event in the 16th century is now intertwined with our growing awareness of Indigenous peoples throughout the world – their strength, resilience, and rightful place in society. In the film The Condor and the Eagle we see such strength and resilience as four Indigenous leaders make a trans-continental journey from the Canadian plains to the heart of the Amazonian jungle. Their purpose - to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of "Climate Justice."  

At the heart of the journey is the indigenous prophecy “When the eagle of the North and the condor of the South fly together, Indigenous peoples will unite the human family.”  This underlies the amazing story, as we watch a shift of identity. Once forgotten voices rise to become strong communities with power to bring change to their world.

The experience of Juan Diego filled him with hope and belief in the spiritual protection offered through his extraordinary experience.

With the struggle and dialogue of Indigenous people in Canada, new hope is rising. This month the Liberal government of Canada introduced legislation to begin the process of bringing Canadian law into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). Lots of hard work and dialogue lie ahead, but the shift has begun.

www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-introduce-undrip-legislation-1.5826523

As we remember the Indigenous saint of the South, we celebrate yet one more step in the North to live into reconciliation.

-Sister Loretta Manzara, csj

Requiescet in Pace

The loss of a loved one is painful and deep. Recently I experienced this, again for the first time, when Ted, Leanne’s husband, phoned.  That he took the time to call me personally, to tell me the circumstances of her passing, was an honour since Leanne comes from a large family which could have taken up all Ted’s time. Leanne and I had a special relationship – I can hear many others who had known Leanne much longer say so did we.  Leanne and I partnered in introducing Christian Meditation into the Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board beginning in 2011.  It was a friendship of like minds and hearts. I used to say to her ‘Leanne, we are tied at the hip’ as we trotted off to school with brown bag lunches and high hope of engaging with the students and teachers. Leanne had just retired after 40 years teaching and was 20 years my junior and she used to say, ‘Sister, you make me feel young’.

For Christians, November is the month dedicated in a special way to remembering our beloved dead.  It is also the month the world honours those who made the ultimate sacrifice for country and freedom.  So I could say that Leanne’s passing was appropriately timed even though she has left a huge crater in the lives and hearts of her family and friends still on this side of the veil. I thought this evening as I prayed my evening prayers (Night Office), now Leanne you know the answer to all those questions we used to ask each other:

what does living your faith look like;

how does prayer work for you;

how do you forgive deeply and authentically unforgivable hurts?

Rest in peace my friend

- Sister Ann, csj.

With Gratitude in Our Hearts

I am delighted that Canadian Thanksgiving occurs amidst the glories of autumn.   Fall has a beauty all its own.  During my morning walks, I’m in awe of the amazing changes occurring all around me.  The sun is still warm on my skin but there is a pungent smell in the air as trees begin to change their leaves from green to yellow, orange, and red. The sumac wears her crimson gown. Roses fade while asters, zinnias, and fall flowers show their purples, rusts, and golden hues. It reminds me of the school fair displays of flowers long ago. Grass grows longer and dew covers the lawn.  Overhead, I imagine the chirping birds are telling each other it’s time to fly south to the warmer climes.  Even the resident turkeys are keeping their distance from us these days.

Often, the autumn scene causes me to break into a quiet song as I wander throughout the neighbourhood.  Thanksgiving hymns from my childhood that are still sung today rise spontaneously from deep within my being.  I find the famous, “Now Thank We All Our God” surfacing and “For the Beauty of the Earth” giving voice to my elation.  Sometimes, it’s “God Created Earth and Heaven”; other times it’s “How Great Thou Art.”  No, I don’t forget The Old 100th tune, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

““With gratitude in your hearts, sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God” (Colossians 3:16).”

I think I’m in good company with autumn praise. St. Paul himself encourages us by exhorting, “With gratitude in your hearts, sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God” (Colossians 3:16).  Probably, you too, often respond to thanksgiving with song. Whether alone or in smaller groups to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let us remember that God’s blessings are abundant and renewed each day and in every season of our life.

- Sister Jean Moylan, csj