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For those of you who you who participated in the Scouting or Guiding movement as young people or adult leaders you no doubt connect today’s date, February 22nd , with Thinking Day. Perhaps Thinking Day may remind and encourage us to make part of every day’s routine a period of personal reflection. The Lenten Season challenges us to make reflection an everyday practice, a time to ground ourselves in the stillness of being.
Nancy Wales, csj
Might you be looking at how you might support your prayer practice during this Lenten Season? May I suggest you consider getting yourself a copy of “Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace” J.P. Newell’s, user friendly compilation of morning and evening prayers are rooted in the prayers, scriptures, and artistic riches of the faith traditions of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Nowell provides individuals with a spiritual pathway to a contemplative oasis where one can discover soul food and find oneself nourished from these long-standing wisdom sources.
We become spiritually grounded as we pray on one of the beatitudes. Each of the daily morning and evening prayers gently challenge us to live out of this wholistic attitude, one Jesus called blessed. Using this prayer aid fosters global peace, one day, one person at a time, as we reflect, find our inner peace, and voice our desire for peace.
-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ
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Image: Jon Tyson/Unsplash
Every journey starts with a first step. Here we are just past Quadragesima Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent, reminding us of our forty-day Lenten trek of fervent prayer, fasting and almsgiving until Good Friday.
An unusual first step for me was to attend my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. No, I am not an alcoholic, but I was honoured to attend as a guest of someone who was receiving his 1-year medallion of sobriety.
AA Sobriety chips
Perhaps 30 people were in attendance announcing anywhere from several days up to 55 years of sobriety. The speaker of the evening recounted, with humour and tears, her downward spiral into addiction then her inspiring journey to sobriety. To say I was moved is a gross understatement. Her acknowledging of her current dependence on God (her higher power), her family of origin and her AA family was inspiring. To see that support in action over the evening will continue to be a blessing for me. To hold the hand of a stranger with 50 year sobriety as we prayed the Lord’s prayer was a gift. Prayer, almsgiving, and fasting were all elements of the meeting. The coffee was very welcome!
As we begin Lent, we often set goals for ourselves: giving up candy or cigarettes OR praying more OR not gossiping etc. At AA I learned that to keep coming back is one key to success even when we misstep. Forty days is long!
Let’s share our journey and offer support to those we love and those who love us and maybe even those who don’t know but have wisdom we need to hear.
-Maureen Condon, CSJ Associate
FAMILY DAY - February 19, 2024
Canada’s first Family Day occurred in Alberta in 1990. Ontario first celebrated this special day only sixteen years ago in 2008. If asked about the roots of Family Day, we might find ourselves with few words to say about it. “Professor Google” provided the following information as to how this day spread across our nation:
Family Day in Canada is celebrated on the third Monday in February, and technically is not a national, federally mandated holiday.
Most Canadians live in areas that celebrate Family Day as a province-level statutory holiday as does British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan.
Other provinces have statutory holidays on the third Monday in February, but these are not called Family Day. The holiday is referred to Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Heritage Day in Nova Scotia, and Islander Day on Prince Edward Island.
Also, in the Yukon, the February holiday is called Heritage Day, celebrated on February 23, not as a statutory but a contractual holiday.
Image: Unsplash/Rod Long
Today, society as a whole recognizes that families come in various shapes. A family does not necessarily consist of blood relatives. Perhaps you have witnessed strong family ties among close knit people who love and support each other and see themselves as family.
The third Monday in February has no deeply rooted traditions associated with it as there are with Christmas or Thanksgiving. Whatever the February holiday is named, it provides a three-day winter weekend with precious time to celebrate the bonds of love among and between individuals who identify as family.
Let’s find ways to make Family Day 2024 an occasion to reconnect and express our gratitude for the role families play in our lives and society.
-Sister Nancy Wales
