Jun 18, 20225 min read

June 19th Parish Life

Find out what's been going on in the Parish

In this issue

Testimony
Prayer Apps
CWL Mothers Day Breakfast
Young Adults BBQ
Homilies

Testimony

Testimonies are powerful tools for evangelization. Over the next few months, we want to inspire you with people's stories about how they came to know Jesus!

Here's a testimony from John Joseph

My name is John Joseph, and I am excited to share with you my faith journey. It's my sincere hope that my story will help others on their faith journey.

I am a cradle Catholic and have always been active in the Church community has had the privilege of serving in many roles. However, these roles were mostly given to me and not something I actively sought out as a result of prayer and discernment. Needless to say, I was coasting through life as a Catholic and an avid Liverpool football club supporter. Just doing what I was asked but never really performing duties or acts that took me outside of my comfort zone.

Having an Indian heritage and being an immigrant to Canada, my biggest goal in life was to become financially secure and be an adequate provider for my wife and two children. It's not far from the truth, the saying that all Indian parents insist their kids become a doctor, an engineer, an accountant or a lawyer. I followed this message to a tee and became an accountant!!

I was blessed with several great roles in a fantastic company that accelerated my career path through several promotions and corporate relocations. Each new role provided a handsome increase in income. Of course, I took this as just reward for my efforts and talents and only briefly paused to thank Jesus for such blessings. However, a bigger pay cheque brought nicer material stuff and more exotic holidays but also the desire for more. Often finances were a source of friction with my lovely wife. One can never have enough money was my attitude! Money was at the center of my life!

Then God decided to play a joke on me in the hope I would see the futility of my ways. Around the late 2000s, my Parish priest asked that I co-chair the Project Advance appeal for the Parish. As part of the campaign, I had to make several appeals on “sharing one's time, talent and treasure.” To assist with the campaign, our parish priest shared several scripture passages to reflect on and use in the appeal. This is when I realized that God was speaking to me through scripture, and my initial reaction was one of surprise at how relevant it was to my life. Then came the emotions- embarrassment, anger and finally confusion and hypocrisy. How could I be asking others to donate when my life was centred around earning and having more and more money?

It wasn't rocket science to figure out that I needed a complete paradigm shift in my attitude, thinking and actions to what being a disciple of Christ is called to do. With prayer and reflection, I also came to the conclusion that my primary life goal had to change. That was hard and confusing. Did it mean that my standards and drive as a valued employee change? Would my employer notice? Through lots of prayers and the guidance of my wife, I began to understand the gospel message that Jesus always provides. It may not be what we want or ask, but it is what is best for us at the time.

So I began my conversion journey of placing Christ at the center of my life, having a more prayerful life and getting involved in discipleship activity. There were many good days and bad days when I doubted this path. Fast forward to today, The Holy Spirit finally has me leading participants through faith study and experiencing their faith growth has been more rewarding than anything work has offered. All this is only possible with the Holy Spirit as my advocate, guiding me and providing opportunities to grow my faith. While the journey hasn't been straightforward, the holy spirit has blessed my family and me abundantly. I'm in awe of how things have worked out and now have a new goal of spreading the gospel that is far more rewarding than anything I've experienced before. God has continued to abundantly bless my career and provide opportunities that allow me to be far more giving in various needs. Clearly, God is using my talents to support his divine plan to bring the gospel to everyone

So next time Fr Don taps you on the shoulder for a favour or asks for assistance, reflect and pray on it. It could be the Holy Spirit calling you to join in the start of the greatest journey of joy in your life. If you would like to participate in faith formation, please sign up for Alpha in the fall or any of the CCO faith studies when they become available.

Thank you, and God bless

Prayer Apps

Have you been struggling to pray? Does prayer seem like an intimidating task and you don’t know where to start? Or has your daily prayer life felt stale? Try using these prayer apps to spark your prayer life!

AMEN

Through a variety of faithful prayers, trusted meditations, daily devotionals, and nourishing Scripture, Amen guides you to deepen your life of prayer and find rest in God. Amen assembles the most trusted Catholic minds and theologians to offer you peace through prayer, from the moment you wake to when you go to sleep!

Click here to download

Hallow

Hallow is a Catholic prayer app that offers audio-guided meditation sessions to help us grow in our Christian faith & spiritual lives and find peace in God. Explore over 1,000 different sessions on contemplative prayer, meditation, Catholic Holy Bible readings, music, and more.

Click here to get three months free

CWL Mothers Day Breakfast

On April 30th, the CWL hosted its long-awaited, highly anticipated annual Mothers Day tea fundraiser to a sell-out crowd of 120 women! Women were excited to gather, socialize and catch up with old friends. The event, which included a very popular 50-50 draw, raised almost $5000! Proceeds will be going to the Ukraine Support Fund via the Ukrainian CWL of Canada, along with supporting our other charities. Many thanks to all those who organized, worked and supported the event!