February 2006

Today is Shrove Tuesday, when we put out the call to be “shriven” of our sins during Lent. Of course, it also goes by other names: Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and Pancake Tuesday. The latter name had particular significance here at St. Luke’s, as during the evening we had two sittings of a community pancake supper.

A number of people have contact me regarding the “manifesto” published by 19 Quebec priests in the Montreal newspaper La Presse, condemning the Catholic Church for its teaching on same-sex marriage and its policy regarding the admission (or not) of homosexual persons to seminary. “What do think, Fr. Tom?”

Last July I had a most interesting exchange with “valiantmauz”, a self-described woman Canadian supporter of same-sex marriage who is gay (terms in order of importance). In reply to a comment she left in a comment box I wrote a post to suggest 5 ways that the supporters of same-sex marriage might nevertheless help create an atmosphere in which “religious rights and gay rights” (her terms) might be able to co-exist.

Today I attended a very special meeting between the Cardinal Archbishop and his younger priests. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the gathering, but I was pleasantly surprised. My brother priests expressed themselves quite openly regarding the challenges they face in their ministry, and the Cardinal himself spoke quite candidly regarding the current state of health of our presbyterium. Our topics were (1) our living out of the mission of the Church, and (2) the question of solidarity within the presbyterium, especially between generations of priests.

My phone rang at 7:45 am. “Fr. Tom, there is a man in Emergency who is dying, and the family has called for a priest.”

So I call the Emergency department at the hospital (I’m still in my pyjamas at this point) and they confirm this info. I ask, “How urgent is his case? For example, does he have a few days, or only a few hours?”

Response: “He could be gone within the next 5 minutes. Get over here.”

A message came in over the fax machine today: Montreal will soon have two new auxiliary bishops! Congrats to Frs. Lionel Gendron and André Gazaille.

I know both men. Fr. Gendron was one of my teachers in the seminary, and we kept in contact quite a bit afterwards. Fr. Gazaille I know a bit less, but as he is the pastor of my good friend Fr. Benoit Morrier we would run into each other from time to time.

When I was studying to be a priest I remember experiencing a call within my call: I was not only called to be a priest, but to be a priest for the Church of Montreal. This was actually quite significant, since my family does not live in this city. A few times I recall asking the Lord, “Are you sure you want me to be in Montreal?” and the answer I always received in prayer was “Your place is in Montreal.”