Sunday, January 12, 2020

Audio Cassettes & CD's & Video Cassettes for sale

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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From Evangelization 2000 – New York – Fr Tom Forrest, CP, Director 

Defending the Faith

1)      I’m Not Being Fed - #1 Catholic Eating Disorder

2)      The Church and the Spirit

3)      Win an Argument, Lose a Soul

4)      For Fathers Who Aren’t in Heaven

5)      A New Apologetics for the Third Millennium

6)      A Father Who Keeps His Promises

7)      The Last Things

8)      Christ in the Mass

9)      Conference Homilies

Christian Marriage

1)      Raising the Standard in Our Marriages

2)      The Vocation of Christian Marriage

3)      The Challenge of Humanae Vitae

4)      Theological Objections to Humanae Vitae

5)      New Insights into Infertility and Miscarriage

6)      NFT – Creighton Model

7)      Inside International Planned Parenthood

Discipleship and Evangelization

1)      Living as True Disciples of Jesus Christ

2)      The Truth That Sets You Free

3)      Being Effective and Courageous Evangelists

4)      True Faith: What Jesus Demands of His Disciples

5)      Evangelization Into the Church

6)      Evangelization: Everyone’s Job

7)      Pilgrim Pope of Evangelization

8)      How to Evangelize

Spiritual Conferences from Other Teachers and Preachers
Exploration of 7 Dwelling Places of Teresa of Avila / John of the Cross – Fr William Jarema, Mercy Center

Eye of the Storm – Fr William McNamara

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – How to Pray with the Heart (2) Preparation & Effect

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – The Journey to Super Holiness (3)

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – Life Under the Influence of the Holy Spirit

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – Living the Divine Will

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – Lord I Believe – Help Me 

Fr Stephen Valenta, ofm conv – Time Is Short  

Healing the Father Wound – Fr William J. Jarema, Mercy Center
Life Series – Restoration: Evangelizing Our Culture Symposium 2004 – Ottawa (4)

The Malaise of Modernity by Charles Taylor (5)

Naked Without Shame – Christopher West (10)

Self-Esteem and Christian Growth – Loughlan Sofield

What Is New Age? By Fr Mitchell Pacwa, s.j. (4) 

Sabbatical Lecture Series – CTU Chicago 2004

Bioethics (4)        Building Community (4)        Contemporary Christology (5)

Contemporary Islam (3)        Cultural Patterns (4)        Feminism (4)        Inculturation (4)

Intimacy (4)        Liturgical Ministries (3)        Mary in Scripture (4)        Preaching (2)

Sexual Ethics (4)        Small Church (2)        Spirituality of Power (2)

Women in the N.T. (4)            Word (4)

BBC RADIO DramaThe Lord of the Rings – set audio tapes

The Billy Graham School of Evangelism – Toronto Conference July 1999 – large jacket of tapes

The Billy Graham School of Evangelism – Toronto Conference July 1999 – small jacket of tapes

The Alpha Conference Vancouver July 2000 – large jacket of tapes

From Dom John Main, OSB

John Main Awakening                John Main Being on the Way

John Main in the Beginning            John Main Last Conferences

From John Shea

Behold the Vulnerable                Beyond Religion – Spirituality Outside the Churches

Called to Be Christian                Gospel Food for Hungry Christians (4): Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Jesus Teacher Extraordinaire                The Religious Dimension of Family Life

The Spiritual Center of Christmas Stories from Starlight          Taking Care of Ourselves Spiritually


From Madonna House

Christmas Tales            Cry the Gospel With Your Life            Fragments of My life cassettes

Fragments of My life CD            Not Without Parables            Poustinia

Sobornost            Tales for the Pilgrim Soul            Talks to Priests

The Secret of Mary            Waiting for the Presence

From the Spiritual Life Institute Audio Cassettes

Desert Express – 1993        Desert Express – 1995        Desert Express – 1996

Desert Express – 1997        Desert Express – 1998        Desert Express – 1999

Desert Express – 2000        Desert Express – 2001        Desert Express – 2002

Desert Express – 2003        Desert Express – 2004        Desert Express – 2005

Fr. Dave Denny        Light Hearts and Deep Love        Passion for God

The Prayer of Intimacy        Priests’ Retreat        The Wonder of Empty Hands

From the Spiritual Life Institute CD’s

Desert Express – 2006        Desert Express – 2007        Desert Express – 2008

Desert Express – 2009        Desert Express – 2010        Desert Express – 2011

From Fr Benedict Groeschel, CFR 

5 Lessons from the Cross                The Beatitudes – Blessings to Live By

Experiencing God’s Presence                Exposing the Real Church Scandal

Growing in Christ with St Paul                On the Paschal Mystery (3)

Personal Conversion and the Life of the Priest        Reflections on the Paschal Mystery

Spiritual Growth in a Hectic World (4)            What to do when life doesn’t make sense

MISCELLANEOUS

1.      Benedict Groeschel CFR Retreat (6) – SLI tapes (4) – TLIG tapes (2) – Christmas Hymns (2)

2.      SLI Poverty of Spirit (4) – MHA Fundamentals of the Spiritual Life (8) – L’Esprit Saint – Purgatory

3.      Small Faith Communities (3) – Christian Meditation (5) – Christian Meditation Retreat (6)

Audio Music Cassettes

Academy in Concert II – Neville Marriner        Bach: Brandenburg Concertos

Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathétique; Schubert: Wanderer

Beethoven: “Pastoral” Symphony, “Egmont” Overture

Beethoven: Sym No. 5; Mendelssohn: “Reform” Sym

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”

Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 op. 93 F-Major

Classical Highlights 1             Classical Highlights 4

Dan Gibson’s Solitudes Exploring The Classics         Concertmusic

Dvorak – La Symphonie du Nouveau Monde            Festive Baroque Music

Haydn – Symphony No. 99 & 104                The Immortals

L’Orgue de Fourvière – Toccatas œuvres mariales        Masterpieces for Violin and Piano

Méditation Classique – 1            Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Musique Nuptiales – Wedding Music

Opera Arias: Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, Mozart        Pachelbel – Albinoni

Piano Masterpieces        “Promenade” concerts 1

Ravel: Bolero; Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Tchaikovsky: “1812” Overture

Sibelius – Symphony No. 2            Simon Preston – The World of the Organ

Tchaikovsky – Concert Piano No. 1b-minor op. 23

Tchaikovsky – Symphonie Pathétique

General Interest VHS Cassette Tapes

(Some items have a link to an offer on the Internet so you can compare.)

Apostle of Divine Mercy   $15   also on eBay

Apparitions à Fatima     $15      en français

Betania Land of Grace     $15    at Amazon

Le Carmel     $5          

Catherine Doherty Sobornost     $5  

Divine Mercy No Escape   $15   at Div Mercy

Edith Stein      $15                     at Amazon

Expo 67 – Un chantier $10 

Expo 67 – Vol 1, 2, 3, 4 $25

Freemasonry     $15                   at Amazon

Le Frère André     $15             1987

Garabandal     $15                  at Amazon

The Homeland of Jesus  $15   at Amazon

How to Get Into Heaven     $10   at Amazon

The Ice Storm     $50               CBC Archives

Jeanne La Pucelle Batailles  $15   at Amazon

Jeanne La Pucelle Prisons     $15    at Amazon

Jesus Living in Mary Montfort  $15   Amazon

Journey to Super Holiness 1    $10  

Journey to Super Holiness 2    $10  

Journey to Super Holiness 3    $10  

MH People Towel Water     $10 at MHA

M House Schola     $10  

N D Cap Terre de Marie     $5   Sanctuaire

N Amer Alpha Conference 2000     $5

On The Road to God     $15        on eBay

Our Lady of Soufanieh     $15   similar pix

Padre Pio – 50 Yrs     $20       

A Place Called Home     $15    at Amazon

Prayer Min Training     $15    on eBay

Prophecy New Times     $15    on Amazon

The Reign of God     $15         

Reason to Believe Groeschel     $15  

True Joy of Serving God     $15  

Vatican II Faithful Revolution (5)    $30  

Woman in Love MH     $15     background

WYD 02 Way of Cross     $15  

WYD 2002 – VHS     $10         

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Sunday, September 29, 2019

Online helps to become free of sexual addiction and recover our original innocence which is God's gift to human beings

 In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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Pornography Addiction – Online Helps - PDF version of this text 

There are a variety of approaches for someone who wants to get off the disordered sexuality merry-go-round, which only makes one dizzy and prevents us from enjoying the abundance of life Jesus promised He came to give us and which our heavenly Father wants us to have and enjoy.

There are a number of services available on the Internet to help a person become free from the dependency on porn and all the various forms of sexual behavior that is not in accord with the way in which God designed us in order to truly love and be loved. Here are a few of them. I haven't used any of these myself, nor do I know anyone who has, that is, not yet. However, we are only now just beginning to do something about the plague of porn and of the many destructive improper uses of our human sexuality, which is a truly awesome gift from God to allow us to love and be loved in a way that is truly life giving for everyone involved.

I have received emails from Covenant Eyes, and I find them to be of a high quality and quite impressive. Strive is offered by Matt Fradd who is highly recommended by pastoral workers in our Diocese in Montreal and he gave two talks on Thursday, September 26th 2019 on "Parenting the Internet generation" and on "Porn: Seven Myths Exposed". I would be inclined to think that you can certainly trust his Strive offering. I've looked at Reclaim and Fortify and they seem legitimate and honest.

Please email me your impressions once you engage in one of these. You will find my address at the end. One thing is certain, and that is that your decision to do something in order to change is how you will begin to experience relief. God offers us all his love and divine power, and his only condition is that we follow up on the good desires He gives us and that all along the way we give Him our consent to do what He wants to do in us.

Strive to become the man you are meant to be is a company whose service is clearly based in Christian values and its team is clearly identified. It is a powerful 21-day challenge to help men get the tools in place necessary to get on the path toward freedom. It is a practical step-by-step plan to break free from pornography, and a supportive community of men from around the world journeying together. You'll also have lifetime access to the challenge and current and future live events. This is for any man who engages porn and/or masturbation at any level every day or only occasionally, a clear red flag that something is off and needs to be dealt with.

You simply cannot continue to engage in pornography and/or masturbation and love others rightly. And this is such a slippery slope. Porn use always leads to more porn use and more deviant forms of porn use. That’s what the science is telling us. When we no longer get aroused at the more “vanilla" forms of pornography, we seek something a little more edgy which becomes a little more violent and soon we find ourselves in a place we never dreamed we would be. We want to help you stop that vicious cycle before you go to that place.

There is more information in the FAQs tab section. For now, the program is free, but in time, they may have to charge a fee for it. After all, we all need to earn a living and the worker deserves his wages, Jesus once said.

Fortify does not clearly identify who runs it. It is an online support community for men and women – young and old – seeking lasting freedom from pornography. Fortify was designed to equip individuals struggling with compulsive pornography use – young and old – with tools, education and community to assist them in reaching lasting freedom. Our mission is to help spark an uprising of people tired of porn messing with their lives – and ready for something far better. In addition to a series of instructional videos and accompanying training, Fortify offers many opportunities for individuals to share insights and stories together. This is from their "About" page. Sign-up gives a complete breakdown of the services offered for free and what you get for the Premium version at US$9.99 / month, US$6.95 for students, and free for teens 13-17 with and approved scholarship. They have a chat option allowing you to get in touch with someone who is apparently qualified to offer this service.

Reclaim God's Plan for Sexual Health is an online service offered by Elizabeth Ministry International; so it is run by a clearly identified Christian agency. This inspires confidence that they are responsible and accountable and willing to reply to queries and respond to complaints. Reclaim is available 24 / 7 which is anonymous, private, and secure; a science-based approach designed to activate or re-activate, form, and strengthen your "human decision system". It is offered at low cost (a soft drink or coffee a day) which gives you a daily tracking calendar and a personal journal. That seems to be not much but it adds up to US$49 / month or US$245 up front for 6 months (5 months with a 6th month free). The operating principle is that if something is free it doesn't trigger our commitment, but when there is a cost, we have to find inside our willingness to commit, which is essential to success. Also, their incredible investment of people and technology needs to fund itself.

You also get online "crisis tools" to help you with cravings and urges to act out unwanted sexual behaviors. Reclaim is also a prayer network, faith focused, a social support, with real world application, safe and anonymous, so you can be always moving forward. You would begin this Online Recovery Program with 10-15 minutes of training a day over several weeks from six modules, which will give you incredible knowledge and understanding about your life as a human being. They offer a free mini course which is really a promo and intro to the program.

Covenant Eyes like all these services is not specifically identifying as a Christian service but is clearly based in Christian values and also offers a “Catholic service” for parishes and dioceses. It is a service offer to give you the assurance of having caring people become your allies to help you become accountable for your Internet use and communication. The idea is that the service allows you to recruit people who know and love you to help you be accountable. Once you sign onto the service, you log in all your devices - PC, laptop, tablet, phone, etc. - and Covenant Eyes monitors your use, logs any suspicious images, blurs them, and reports on them to your allies. This allows your allies to support you, affirm you, ask helpful questions, and support you in formulating and accomplishing realizable goals for yourself. They have a high success rate.

They offer the service free for 30 days, and after that, they charge US$15.99 per month, but there is room for up to 10 users and unlimited devices. A whole family or two families or a bunch of friends could sign up into one account; so it would only cost them a cup of coffee a month for each member on the account.

CMG Connect Parents is an online service offered to parents by Covenant Eyes and Catholic Mutual Group. I haven’t researched it much but it seems worth investigating.

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All these services have a common goal: to help people break free from pornography, and those who design and offer these services are people who hold human values that harmonize with Christian values, with the gospel and person of Jesus Christ. These services are also founded in companies that need to be built up and exist in the real world, which means paying people salaries, housing the work in office buildings and studios, and other resources and expenses. While individual people can offer their presence and service free for a time or on a specific occasion, everyone needs to earn a living for themselves and their family, and as Jesus once said, the worker deserves his wages – Matthew 10:10 & Luke 10:7.

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Saturday, March 9, 2019

Emotions connect us - they are at times troublesome but they add colour to life

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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 PDF version of this file    


Emotions Connect Us


We human beings are complex beings living in several dimensions: body, mind, psyche or heart, soul, and in God.

Your body is like a space ship which enables you to travel out into the world, do things, and return home

Like a space ship, airplane, or ocean vessel your body is equipped with navigational sensors enabling you to situate yourself wherever you are, to orient yourself towards chosen destinations, and to accomplish all sorts of tasks and objectives. Unlike those inanimate vessels, your body is alive and invested with a sense of its own existence. This is why we identify with our body: we don’t say that we have a body but rather that we are a body, but not only a body. We are much more than just a body.


Your mind is like a computer that enables you to make sense of what’s happening and where you’re going

Like a computer your mind is equipped with applications capable of complex operations, but unlike even the most advanced computer, and like your body, your mind is alive and has a strong sense of its own existence. While humanity is trying to create “artificial intelligence”, we are invested with what we could call “natural intelligence”. As we identify with our body, so do we also identify with our mind: yet again we don’t say that we have a mind but rather that we are a mind, but not only a mind. We are much more than just a mind.

Your psyche or heart deploys a constellation of emotions to connect you with others, the world, yourself

Far more “advanced” than the most sophisticated network in “the cloud” or in any computing system, your psyche spontaneously manifests a constellation of feelings and emotions. Far more complex than even the most advanced network or neural net, your psyche is alive like your body and your mind, but much more. It even has a very personal sense of being; which is why we commonly call it our “heart”. Probably from the first moment of our conception, our whole being has been accumulating impressions which give rise to our feelings and emotions. At first while we were still in the womb we simply “vibrated” to the feelings and emotions of our mother and soon after to our father who was “outside” but “nearby”. Being born by our mother into the world “expelled” us from the “paradise” of the womb and we immediately began to “feel” and to “emote” in accord to a whole constellation of “states of being”. As birth made our body autonomous from our mother’s body; so too was our psyche or heart made autonomous from our mother’s feelings and emotions. We can now feel and emote on our own; while still remaining related to others and their feelings and emotions. As we identify with our body and our mind, so do we also identify with our heart: yet again we don’t say that we have a heart but rather that we are a heart, but not only a heart. We are much more than just a heart.

Your soul is what contains who you really are, the person you are becoming, and is connected with God

Unlike your body, your mind, or your heart / psyche, your soul is incorporeal – that is, not made of matter or energy as we experience them in the material universe – which is why science cannot detect or measure it. It is God who has revealed to us over the past four millennia that we human beings have an immortal soul. As it is with our body, mind, and heart, we don’t say that we have a soul, but rather that we are a soul. Like your body, mind and heart, your soul is alive and is imbued with a sense of its own immortal existence. It is their soul that causes even very old people to still “feel young inside”. While most of our human efforts focus on this mortal and temporal existence, our soul is oriented towards eternity. Unlike our Creator God who has always existed without any beginning, we came into being at our conception. Our parents provided the DNA and God provided our immortal soul which will live forever. So we are body, mind, heart, and soul.

We sense within us an “empty space” that longs to be filled – only the Holy Trinity can fill us in perfect love

The Holy Spirit is the “breath” of the living God in eternal communion of love between the eternal Father and his only-begotten Son who over 2000 years ago took on a human life in Palestine and came to be known as Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and son of Mary. Jesus died, rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is forever in perfect unity of communion with his eternal Father in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit like the Father and the Son is also a divine Person who “pours into us” to fill us with the divine life that is in the Holy Trinity.

RETURN TO CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN TOOLS PAGE 

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Friday, December 7, 2018

Marriage - Jesus Has a New Paradigm for Life and He Went to a Lot of Trouble to Bring It to Humanity - the old paradigms don't work... look around you....

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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 PDF version of this file    

Marriage, Family Life, and the Sunday Mass – Jesus’ New Paradigm for Life by Fr Gilles A. Surprenant (scroll down to the middle of this post for Jesus' New Paradigm)


Family Life was once enough preparation for Life, Work, Vocation, Marriage, and Family

Life, marriage, and family as we approach the middle of the 21st century is far less stable than it was a century ago. The social upheaval brought about by World War II, scientific, technological, and manufacturing upheavals, and the speeding up of society due to the "digital age" and omnipresent means of social communication have made society much more mobile. We won't understand for a while how radically life will be different because of the Covid-19 worldwide Pandemic. 

The so-called "sexual revolution" - it is beginning to be clear by now - has disturbed much of what had been known and expected about life, marriage, family, and religious life and priesthood. As a result, increasing differences continue to generate misunderstanding and confusion, greater disparity in women’s and men’s expectations of marriage, religious life, and priesthood, and greater fear and anxiety about what can be experienced by people in these vocations or walks of life.

It is clear to us today that the Church is composed of human beings; so it stands to reason that criticism is often warranted and the Church as an institution is ever in need of reform. Still she continues to mirror Jesus who is the Good Shepherd. Concerned for young people who had to endure all these destabilizing influences, the Church in her bishops began in the 1940’s to offer better preparation to help young adults cope with their new challenges in the hope that they would be able to succeed in their projects of marriage or religious life.

Formation houses for religious and for candidates for priesthood are constantly being renewed

Some religious orders and communities actually reach a point of “exhaustion” as they get farther away from their founder or foundress. They usually don’t wait until it becomes urgent to put into motion reforms and ongoing formation in order to help their candidates and members to “fan into burning flames” the desire of love that brought them to join. Seminaries must also constantly assess, review, and renew their formation program. In Montreal, 2020-2021 have been two years for a major “makeover” for the Grand Seminary which initiated a move to a new location, where the staff and candidates can be more directly involved in the life of local parishes.

RETURN TO CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN TOOLS PAGE 

 “From This Day Forward” - Marriage Preparation Course 

Similarly, there have been several attempts in the Diocese of Montreal to develop Marriage preparation that would meet the needs and expectations of engaged couples. But, since human life and society never stand still, a course that satisfies for some years may no longer do so as time passes. A previous course on behalf of the Diocese used to be offered at St Patrick Basilica, and it seemed to work well enough for a few decades, but feedback gave witness to changing times, conditions, and people; making necessary a complete revision.

“From This Day Forward” has been the result of that process. The course you are now taking is not the same as the very first version offered some 20 years ago in 1998, but all the essential elements continue to be addressed. What has mostly changed are the people composing the team of presenters, and of course each person brings his or her own personality, experience, formation, faith, enthusiasm for married and family life and parenting, and love for engaged couples. In addition, in recent years – not only because of the Covid-19 Pandemic – we have undergone a “digital revolution” which will probably continue well into the future.

From your point of view and life experience as engaged couples

Most people acknowledge that society and culture are ever changing, but what stands out these days is the rapid acceleration in some of those changes. Our Marriage Preparation Course Team is constantly taking into account the evaluations and feedback given by engaged couples who take the course, as well as the data we receive from the couples who register and plan to join in one of the scheduled courses.

For a time, course participants asked for Mass on Sunday as part of the course and we offered it for about four years. The wheel of change turned again and engaged couples now want coaching in their desire to connect with God for help they feel they need in understanding and overcoming the obstacles, difficulties, and struggles they have in their lives, and further, in trying to develop a personal relationship with God. Then with the worldwide Covid-19 Pandemic which began here in Québec in March 2020; our Team agreed to offer our first “Workshop / Seminar on God and Prayer” in September 2020 and the participation of each set of engaged couples helps us to “hone” this very dynamic “Open Forum” for andragogical learning.

Sunday Worship and “Living the Lord’s Day Well”

We no longer include the Sunday in our course offerings; so there is no need to offer the Sunday Mass during the course. However, it remains valuable – even essential – for the Christian individual and couple to participate in the Sunday Liturgy. God is our Creator; so He knows under what conditions we will function the most “optimally”. To put it in other terms, God loves us so much He wants us to have “abundant life” in love. So God calls us to “live the Lord’s Day well” in order to have the rest we need and enjoy our life and family.

RETURN TO CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN TOOLS PAGE 

Of what relevance is the practice of faith to married and family Life?

From our point of view as the Team, we hope to share with course participants our conviction about the richness of weaving together the human secular perspective with the spiritual religious perspective. The human sciences dovetail very well with the Christian faith in general and the Roman Catholic tradition in particular.

For example, today humanity is increasingly aware and alarmed about the accelerating damage to our environment and the accelerating threats to the survival of our common home on Earth. All the sciences and technology propose solutions which are difficult to implement because of the diversity of opinion and practice among human societies and governments. Faith brings the added perspective that the Creator loves our Earth even more than we do and offers us the inspiration and moral courage we need to take action.

While we get busy “greening” our home life, schools, and work places, we are only now beginning to get the picture that from the very beginning the Creator designed “green” into our very DNA and even into our human sexuality. When we try to follow the Creator’s plan, we enjoy deeper respect for our own body as well as ourselves as people, and by extension, a deeper respect for our beloved, both in their body and their person. This is called “chastity” in both the married and celibate versions in accord with each Christian vocation.

Of what relevance is the Sunday Mass to married and family life?

Faith in God shows us that Jesus Christ wasn’t just a great human being, or extraordinary preacher, or miracle worker. Jesus is the divine Son of God who, out of love for us and out of concern for our challenges and unhappiness, became one of us by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary of Nazareth. In Mary the mother and in Jesus her son, God the Father provides a female and a male model of a human life lived with trust in God.

God wants us to have the satisfaction of giving meaning and purpose to our existence; so He doesn’t offer magical solutions to remove our troubles and challenges. Instead, God gives us the opportunity to do our best with the “cards which life deals to us”. Life is often very unfair, but it does provide opportunities for us to rise to the occasion and go beyond our comfort zones in order to make of our lives a gift of love for others. In this we have inspiring examples in Mary and Jesus, as well as in Joseph and all the saints.

Jesus was born a helpless baby, totally dependent on the love and care of Mary and Joseph. The son of God trusted in his Father and accepted to become helpless. Now Jesus trusts us to accept his words and to treat his gifts with respect. When we celebrate the Holy Mass, we hear God speak to us and once again Jesus trusts us to receive Him with love by coming to us in the helpless form of bread and wine as food for our souls.

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Jesus offers us a new paradigm for human life, Marriage, parenting, and family life

People who engage in any of the professions know how easy it is to produce reports, but how very difficult it is to go on to implement the recommendations made in those reports. Why is that? The obvious reason is that we human beings don’t like to change. We prefer what is familiar and what we know. We are reluctant to trust something or someone we don’t yet know. It takes time and effort for us to accumulate all the information and motivation we need in order to effect productive change.


            Perhaps that is why Jesus taught primarily by using parables, analogies, images, and stories. He wanted to respect people’s freedom and to give them the time they needed to become convinced and to make whatever decisions they needed to make. The Lord continues to treat us with the same respect in every generation as He did when He walked the Earth two millennia ago. From God’s perspective, Jesus never really left the Earth.

Yes, He ascended into Heaven – that mysterious realm of God which existed before the universe came into being, before the “Big Bang” – but because He is God in three persons: Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and is a “divine being”, God continues to “be present” to us at every moment of our lives.

The more you read, study, pray with, and assimilate all that is contained in the Gospels about Jesus and all that He taught, as well as all the reflections on all of this in the letters and Acts of the Apostles; the more you finally realize that Jesus is making all of us an offer that is so amazing and yet which we can refuse. Unlike the “Godfather” who made offers people “could not refuse” or they would be killed; Jesus makes us an offer that we can refuse, but do we really want not to accept the new life in God that He offers?

Jesus offers us a new paradigm for human life which, if we buy into it, will begin to bring order back to the Earth in our human relations and also in the environment which, in Pope Francis’ words, “is our common home.” What is Jesus’ new paradigm, his amazing offer? In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus offers each of us a “yoke”, a piece of wood that joins two oxen to a load that the pair then pulls together. Jesus offers us to no longer feel like we have to carry the weight of the whole world on our own shoulders, alone and by ourselves, because He loves us and doesn’t want us to be crushed by the burden. Jesus offers to “team up” with each of us.

To put it in commercial terms, Jesus is offering to become our “business partner” to be our inspiration and guide as we conduct our affairs in life, family, work, and play. Jesus wants to be our “life coach”. This is at the heart of the meaning of the word religion, which points to “re-linking” or “re-joining” our lives to God our Creator from whom we come and to whom we are all returning at the end of our life on Earth.

Jesus said He came so that we might have life in abundance, to share with us his joy; so that our joy might be full. Jesus as our Lord and God is not a “spoil sport”; on the contrary, Jesus loved being with people so much that He gives us an image of eternal life as a “wedding banquet”. We human beings become most clearly living images of God who is the source of love when we live our lives most freely and generously in marriage, parenting, and family life. As parents, we are the first experience of “god” that our children have. To them we are “god” or all powerful, until the day they begin to discover that we are only human and that God is someone else, someone really amazing. We don’t have to be perfect as their parents, because God is already perfect, and we can find all that we need in Him to satisfy our deep, burning desire for perfect love and wisdom.

When people are in love – either a woman and man or a parent and child – love has us use language that at first sounds illogical or irrational. We commonly hear someone in love, or ourselves may say, “I love you so much I could eat you up.” Of course, this is not to be taken literally, because it is a language of love, and love is so deep that it cannot be perfectly put into words, but we have to try anyway to express it. We want the one we love to be “inside of us” and we ourselves want to be “inside them” for a perfect union that will last.

The Holy Mass is full of love language spoken by God to us and by us in reply. Jesus is not only human and risen from the dead, but also the Son of God and divine. He can give us something of his own substance, of his own divine life, which He does in Holy Communion. We know how meaningful it is for a mother to nourish her baby at the breast, giving nurture from her own life. This beautiful reality of maternity helps us to see how Jesus feeds us spiritually his “Body and Blood” in Holy Communion. We need this “food from heaven” to meet the challenge of living as children of God on this Earth and like Him to make of our life a gift of love for others.

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Are we “just getting married” or… “Is God calling us?”

Statistical studies show the divorce rate for arranged marriages around 35%, and for love marriages between 40 and 50%. Divorce is what happens to people who weren’t really serious about their marriage, right? Actually, studies over the past 4 decades consistently show that when a husband and wife attend Sunday worship every week and also pray together every day; they are most certain to live a lively Marriage that thrives. That is because they are making room for God, who is the source of life and of love, in their intimate union of friendship and love. They remain connected to the fountain.

What is a Family Life Chaplain? What does a FLC do? To whom is this service offered?

Actually, "Family Life Chaplain" is in fact a "modern" term or title for the parish priest sent by Jesus to each parish through the supervisory authority of the local bishop or archbishop (in the case of an archdiocese). As Jesus received all those who came to Him with any ailment, complaint, need, or request while He walked this Earth in the Holy Land of Palestine / Israel; so now Jesus continues to receive all those who seek Him today all over this Earth through the pastoral presence and kindly services of the local parish priest. Priests don't necessarily have a charism of healer; so we continue to employ health services.

The priest continues to be a simple human being like all of us, a sinner; he isn't perfect yet. This means that we need to love him as we are called to love one another in our family and close personal circles; as well as our enemies and all those we don't necessarily like or enjoy.... Those we don't like give us an opportunity to practice perfect, unselfish love; since we don't expect anything good from such people. At such times God blesses us through the love we give rather than receive.

When the priest offers the Holy Mass, the Holy Eucharist, it is Jesus Himself who is there, offering Himself anew to his Father for us. The Holy Spirit gathers all our prayers, adoration, supplications, praise, contrition, and thanksgiving - the whole offering of our self and our life since the last time - and places our offering on the altar with the bread and wine. Through the priest, Jesus offers us, our offering, along with his own of himself, to the Father. Then, at Holy Communion, the Father answers our prayers by accepting our offering and in response, He gives us the best that He has to give, which is his only-begotten Son, Jesus, in Holy Communion. Jesus gives us a "transfusion" of the divine life and love He has with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Most Holy Trinity. With each Holy Communion we become more and more able to live, love, forgive, and serve as children of God, living images of Jesus in our world today; in this way He shines his divine light for the world.

It is the same with all of the sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation (Penance or Confession), the Anointing of the Sick, and Marriage. We see and hear the parish priest, but always it is Jesus who receives us, listens to us, speaks to us, prays with us, offers us words of instruction and encouragement, extends his hands over us in blessing, anoints us with holy oil, offers us forgiveness and absolution of our sins, challenges us to make better efforts to approach God, get to know Him and his ways, and give Him a return of love for all of the love He constantly pours into us in the Holy Spirit.... No matter how "distressing" we may find the "wrapping" - the human limits and failings of the priest - we can be assured that it is Jesus who is there, before us, serving and blessing us. Jesus promised He would be with us all days until the end of time, and He is faithful. Jesus, in union with his Eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, is faithful and ALWAYS keeps his promises.

What is on Fr. Gilles’ Web Pages - https://fathergilleshome.blogspot.com ?

On these web pages powered by Blogger you will find audio recordings of homilies given by Fr. Gilles since August 2020 and much more! On his original website you will find archived homilies sorted seasonally with links on the Home Page: HOMILIES – Summer – Fall – Advent & Christmas – Winter – Lent & Easter.

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Friday, November 23, 2018

The Lord's Day Rest versus Work

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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 PDF version of this file    


ABOUT SUNDAY WORK

A priest’s point of view

Over the years I've been privileged to live and labour as a priest of our Lord Jesus Christ. It has become apparent to me and perhaps increasingly to the faithful that priests work on the Lord’s Day, on Sunday. We still live under the obligation to rest one day a week because for our good He wants us to enjoy abundant life, to “keep holy the Lord’s Day”; that is, to rest and not to work or worry the whole day long, and to spend the day with our family and friends.

Since we priests labour on Sunday, we must transfer part of our Sunday obligation to rest and spend time with family on another day, preferably in connection with Sunday, such as on Monday or Saturday. Another issue touches all those who approach us on the Sunday – before or after Masses for example – with requests which require follow up later. Sunday is not a good day to approach our priests with anything requiring us to remember details later.  We are ready to receive personal news, to hear penitents in the confessional, to offer the Anointing of the Sick on the spot, to simply pray particularly for someone or formulate a blessing. However, multiple encounters prevent efficient memory; so if anyone wants follow up, they would do better to get back to us during the week.

It's not because we don't care, but simply that since the matter is personal and important to the seeker, then their motivation about it will definitely cause them to remember it and so it makes sense that they take charge of the follow up.  From the priests' point of view, there usually are several such conversations on Sunday, sometimes all in the space of just a few minutes.  Some may be able to remember so many varied encounters that come in rapid succession, but I tend to forget most or all of them!  In fact, I don’t even remember who left an item with me unless it is labelled. My mind doesn't work like a computer where everything is on the desktop where I left it last time I was there.

Attempting to recover a lost memory of someone making a request or suggestion before or after Mass on Sunday can be a very tedious process.  I must tell everyone not to try to "do business" or approach me regarding anything other than what is immediate, on Sunday before or after Masses.  Though you may have a very clear memory of approaching me or another priest on a given Sunday; as generally happens, after Sunday is over, most priests have no recollection whatever of it. 

It is very misleading for me to allow anyone to have the impression that what he or she may say to me on Sundays will be retained or that anything I say will be remembered or followed up on.  I try to always say this, but can't always when they catch me between two other people or two duties, or with my mind full of personal and spiritual considerations of my own.  It is best to seek particular services from priests by putting the request to them during the week through normal channels.

While it makes sense to try to accomplish practical matters during the week, the “divine renovation” approach to the Sunday Assembly can arrange in advance to provide a wider range of services on Sunday. A “Hospitality Desk” can be set up with one or more people ready to take note of specific requests, registrations for various activities and learning opportunities, and try to answer any number of questions that people might bring.  Parish staff and volunteers could be formed to be the face and voice of the Church in rendering such a service in a way that creates opportunities for people to feel as though they are welcome and belong to the Parish faith community.

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God's point of view – “You shall keep holy the Lord’s Day.”          (Exodus 20:8, 31:14)

The Lord's Day belongs to Him; so we are not to conduct any kind of business on this day, meaning trying to make progress in our work activities, domestic tasks, or even Church work.  Our entire and only preoccupation on this day is to give glory to God, to honor Him, to consider his Word and ponder it, to reflect on his ways and take to heart his Word and see how it may apply to our lives.  It's a day for worship, spiritual renewal, community, family life, celebration, leisure, and rest. 

God did not make this a command to tyrannize our lives, but only because we had forgotten how to live well. God doesn’t want us to give Him back the “Lord’s Day” for his own benefit, but for ours.  Only when we make sufficient room for God in our lives can He free us from the harmful effects of the tyranny of our own impulses, wants, desires, ambitions, fears, and needs.

We are to spend the whole day in the company of family and friends, to remember to love and be loved, to celebrate God and each other’s lives.  We can help each other enjoy solitude and silence, physical activity, and rest. We remember we are creatures and children of God, that life is brief, filled with beauty, goodness, and all God's good gifts, and that our eternal destiny is of great importance.  We are, at least once a week, to enjoy being alive and remember why we are alive, how it is that our life is a gift, where we come from and where we are going.

A parishioner’s point of view

From our human and personal point of view, the normal times, places, and means for carrying out Fabrique and Parish activity is during the week, when we have access to means to take notes and do whatever is needed to assure the proper follow up that may be required by each need or request.  We can make special provision to assist the stranger and welcome those who come to the Sunday Assembly and orient them for later follow up without turning the day into a working ministry day.

I am deeply inspired and strongly challenged by the enthusiasm, talent, and generosity of the children of God.  I deeply appreciate you and love you for the zeal you have for God, for his Church, and for his people.  You and so many are doing so much and juggling so many duties that you share your ideas when you can for fear of forgetting them in the confusion of your relentless activity and the boiling thoughts of your very active mind and imagination. I understand that.

It remains a great challenge for us, who live in such a secularized and individualized culture and society, to obey the third commandment and give back to God the day that belongs to Him and not to us.  We get so caught up in what we do and care about that we can actually forget or lose sight of the most important things, those that really matter for the good conduct of our lives and happiness, and those that really last.  It is precisely for this reason that God has given this commandment. 

God’s solution to the threat and reality of our slavery to time is to give us time as a gift.  We can actually receive time from God as a gift when we accept to give Him back the seventh day, the Sabbath.  It’s a hard challenge for us to do this. As we try to resist the frantic pace of society around us, it is as if we were paddling against the current.  Every effort we expend to do this, to obey the Lord and honour Him, He will reward with the freedom of the children of God and renew the joy of our youth.  He has promised, and He is faithful.  Blessed be God, our Father, and Jesus our Lord.  

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I first wrote about this at St. Luke Parish in Dollard-des-Ormeaux QC September 12, 2008, updated it November 26, 2014 after ending my time in the Parish and moving on to serve as Family Life Chaplain for the OEPS of the Diocese of Montreal, and finally updating it November 23, 2018 for my original website. 

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In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
 

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Seminar / Workshop on God - "Introduction to Prayer" - Marriage Preparation Course "From This Day Forward" - Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 at St. Monica Parish - Marriage is a great adventure for LIFE! Workshop Seminar 07.6

In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity, as reported in Jeremiah 31:31-34, every human being can know God from...