Welcome to the first 2010 edition of the Communique for the Hamilton, Ontario Diocese Cursillo community. For more information about the Hamilton Diocese Cursillo Movement visit www.4thday.ca.
So far we have no candidates for the upcoming 73rd Men's weekend which is scheduled to be held April 15th to April 18th at Deemerton. We have already postponed this weekend once and do not want to postpone it again. The men's team has decided that the weekend will be canceled unless we find at least 12 candidates before March 15th. I challenge each Ultreya to find at least one candidate. That would give us 11 candidates. If all 11 Ultreyas find a candidate I will shave off my beard and mustache. Contact David Milne at 519-894-0657 or weekenddirector@4thday.ca with any questions, comments or candidates. Application forms and are available by clicking here.
Come one, come all to our next School of Leaders meeting on February 27th. This will be a very important meeting as we discuss a proposal to split into two or three regional schools. The meeting will be at Holy Rosary Parish, 175 Emma Street, Guelph and will run from 9:45 am to 2 pm (bring your own lunch). Contact Sharon Penlington at 519-748-1711 or sharon.penlington@gmail.com with any questions or comments.
Hello Cursillistas,
I am privileged to present to you the new lay director of the Hamilton Diocese Cursillo Movement. Kim Jones has been our secretary on the Secretariat and she will take on her new responsibilities as of March 1, 2010.
Kim has been involved in Cursillo for a very long time and she was the Rectora on the last women’s weekend in Oct. 2009.
Kim lives in Guelph and works at St. Joseph’s Parish in Guelph. She has been involved in the Ultreya at St. Joseph’s and is a past Ultreya leader.
We welcome Kim to this new position and I ask that we all keep Kim and the Secretariat in your prayers.
De Colores
Sandi Farwell
Conference 2010 will be held on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, from June 24 to 27, 2010 at the Keating Millennium Centre. When plans have been finalized, you may register on-line to attend the 2010 CCCC Conference. Registrations will begin the early part of the New Year. Click here to visit the CCCC web site for the latest information.
2010 - Year of The Priest.
February 2nd is much more than Groundhog Day. It is intriguing, however, how much this “concept” has captivated the popular imagination as a solemn prediction about the weather: specifically about the length of our northern winter.
In sharp contrast, our Liturgy entitles February 2 as CandleMas Day. That is quite significant; for, you see, in all our liturgy only three days in the whole calendar are designated as “Mass” day: Christmas, Candlemas, and Michelmas. In the very early years of Christianity (2nd to the 4th century) February 2 was closely linked to the Old Testament and was guided by its opposition to paganism and polytheism. February 2 is exactly 40 days after Christmas, the birth of Jesus. St. Luke [2:22-40] carefully explains for us why this day was titled “The Day of Purification”. The Church, in order to offset the festivities of Lupercal in these days saw a great value in celebrating, instead, The Purification. In recent times, since that title has been regarded with some dislike, the Liturgy has upgraded the title of the day to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. In a very real sense the feast celebrates the visible beginning of the Priesthood of Jesus.
Pope Benedict has designated this year, 2010, as the year of the Priest. One of the finest descriptions of Priesthood is in the New Testament in the letter to The Hebrews. The theme of this letter reflects on (a) The Eternal Priesthood of Jesus; (b) His Priesthood in this world “according to the order of Melchisedek”; and (c) His continuation of that priesthood in His Body, The Church, the Priestly people of God.
It is this third part of the theme that captures attention today. I urge everyone to pursue a prayerful reading of The Letter to the Hebrews; for we are those new Hebrews, the priestly people of God, for each one of us was anointed into the family and Priesthood of God at our Baptism: “Just as Jesus was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King so may you...”: these were the words of the ministering person who anointed us, each of us, at the time of our Baptism. Imagine how marvelous it would be if we took this seriously. Then the changing of a diaper is a priestly action; the paying of a sincere compliment or a word of praise is a priestly sermon; waiting on table, or shoveling a neigbour’s driveway, or mopping a floor, or visiting an elderly or sick person is fully part of the only real priesthood: the Priesthood of Jesus, Our High Priest, presented in the Temple by His Mother Forty days after His birth.
Hence the powerful conclusions of St. Paul: (1 Cor. 10: 31) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory for God.” And (Col. 1:24) “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, for in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.”.
De Colores
Fr. Frank-X. Reitzel.C.R.
Please send me (drmilne@sympatico.ca) any talks you think should be published so we can publish a witness talk every month. Please realize that I will have to use my judgment on whether or not a talk is published so it's possible that not every talk will get published.
RODINA, John P. At St. Mary's Hospital on Thursday, January 7th, 2010, with his family by his side. John Paul Rodina, aged 81 years. Loving husband to the former Mildred Mosburger for almost 60 years, dear father to Colleen and her husband John Andruszkiewicz and beloved grandpa to Jody and his wife Jeanette and Justin and his fiancée Stephanie, brother to Elizabeth Kipfer of Kitchener. Predeceased by his parents Paul Rodina and Elizabeth Anton and two brothers Tony and Joe. John was a member of St. Louis Church and St. Louis Choirs, he was a member of Waterloo Knights of Columbus and the Waterloo Knights Retirees Club, a past Grand Knight and a Past State Deputy for Ontario, John was also a member of Fr. Funken General Assembly, Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus and a member of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, a member of the K-W Serra Club and was in the first Cursillo class for Hamilton Diocese. John shared his passion for sports with his wife and family and was a School Trustee for the Waterloo Regional Separate School Board for two terms.
As some of you already know my mother passed away on December 14th, 2009 at the age of 91. I thank God for all your prayers and condolences.
De Colores,
David Milne