I know, I know… how could I possibly have put up a more snooze-inducing title that this one? “Ad hoc sub-committee”? YAWN! And yet, this is part of being a bishop — there are a lot of meetings to go to for various committees and sub-committees. But don’t let the titles fool you: sometimes those committees, while having bureaucratic sounding names, actually reveal really interesting things. For instance…

Not long after the plenary meeting of the AECQ back in September, I got named to the Committee for Missions. This is composed of bishops, priests, and lay persons, and has the responsibility to promote a missionnary spirit in the church of Quebec. However, given that we are finding ourselves increasingly on the *receiving* end of the missionary drive of the Church, this committee is also responsible to examine how we welcome and integrate foreign priests into this province. Given that my previous experience in the Office for Pastoral Personnel at the Archdiocese of Montreal was precisely in this domain, it was a natural fit.

At my first meeting of the committee, it was agreed that the 2001 provincial guidelines for the welcoming and integration of foreign priests should be updated. A sub-committee was formed, and I was assigned to it. Our first meeting was today.

Now while this may not seem terribly exciting — after all, it’s just a document — a lot of good could, in fact, come from this. For example, we examined creating a structure that would make it easier for dioceses to have their priests receive higher education, and at the same time protect them from pressures to remain in Canada (such as from family back home). Upon returning to their countries, they would be sources of education and training for others. To be honest, this is kind of a dream of mine: imagine using our resources in this way to help built up the faculty of a new university somewhere in the developing world?

No bishop is an island. Bishops are joined together in a group called the “College of Bishops”, an international network joined by faith, brotherhood and a common mission. Today’s meeting wasn’t just about redoing documents: it is about finding a way to work together for the common good of the Church and, by extension, of humanity.

Shortly after having been called to be a bishop I received a copy of the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops. One of the recommendations made in that document (see paragraph 46) was that the bishop take time each month for prayer and recollection. I’ve been trying to apply that suggestion, despite all the work on my desk, because I think it is important in order to keep connected with the Lord.

So what is a “day of recollection”, you ask? More and more we hear of employees taking a “mental health day” from work, just to get a break from the hustle and bustle. Well, for me this was a “spiritual health day”, in which I rested, read, meditated, went to confession, spent time before the Blessed Sacrament, prayed Vespers in community, and shared with a couple of brother priests on our life and ministry. Oh, I should also mention the excellent supper we shared — never underestimate the renewing power of a good meal! :-)

Can I afford to take time out from all the expectations I face to have a day of recollection? Anyone judging with the standards of the world would take one look at my task list and say “Absolutely not!” I certainly feel that temptation myself. But looking at it from the standards of the Lord, and what it means to be a bishop, can I afford to NOT take a day of recollection? After all, he’s still the one in charge, and I owe it to him (and to the people of God) to stay in tune with his will.

This evening I had the honour and pleasure of presiding my very first diaconal ordination. A few weeks ago I got a call from the local Franciscan superior, asking me if I’d accept to preside the ordination of Brother Pierre Charland as a deacon. At the time I wasn’t even yet a bishop, just a bishop-elect, so I was quite surprised and honoured! Of course, I had to speak to Cardinal Turcotte first about it, and I remember his reaction: “they are getting you to start early!”. Well, why not!

The ceremony was in Saint Francis of Assisi parish, in a part of town called Park Extension (Park-Ex for us Montrealers). The Franciscans live in the rectory next door and animate the spiritual life of the parish community, while the episcopal vicar takes care of the administration in conjunction with a local council of churchwardens. I have presided liturgies in this parish in the past, one time even doing so on Easter Vigil, so it was nice to be back. The parish itself possesses an amazing blend of cultures, with people coming to pray in English, French, Spanish, Tamil and Vietnamese (not to mention the Greek Orthodox in the parish church next door). Representatives of many cultural groups were present at the ceremony, and of course the Franciscan themselves were out in full force. All in all, it was a true moment of grace.

I’ll post some pictures once I have some available. In the meantime, congratulations Deacon Pierre Charland!

UPDATE: Here are a couple of smiling faces!

This evening I was out for supper in Chinatown with a brother priest, sharing on his vision of his future ministry. Our conversation led us to discuss an important Catholic ministry in Montreal, the Maison du Père, a centre for homeless men. As the Maison du Père is no more that 10 minutes away on foot, we decided to walk over so I could show him at least where it could be found.

When we arrived at the Maison du Père we found the doors closed, as they had already shut down for the night. We decided to take a chance and went over the the house of the Trinitarians, who are the religious order that runs the Maison du Père, and simply rang at the door. We were greeted by Brother Marc, who let us in and introduced us to a couple of other people in the house. Normally they don’t let strangers into their home, but I guess my Roman collar and pectoral cross put him at ease. Now our goal wasn’t to make a detailed visit of the homeless shelter, but simply to introduce ourselves to the Trinitarians so that the brother priest with me could discover the work done there in more detail. Brother Marc, however, was a man clearly proud of his many years of service at the Maison, and so he proceeded to give us the grand tour.

In a word, the Maison du Père is a truly impressive work of charity. The homeless are a very special population to be called to serve, and with regard to typical social services they often fall through the cracks. For example, social assistance is usually distributed in the form of cheques — but how can you receive a cheque if you don’t have an address? The Maison du Père therefore operates a set of mailboxes, so that someone trying to change his situation can receive essential correspondence.

We had a chance to chat with a couple of the temporary residents at the Maison du Père, but not too much — there was a hockey game on that night, so all conversations had to happen between periods! By the time our visit was over it was getting quite late, so we called it a night and headed back to the local parish rectory where I had parked my car. Once again, I love how God’s providence never ceases to surprise: a nice dinner between brother priests wound up becoming a further glimpse into the charity of the Kingdom of God.

I’ve already written about my shifting of my e-presence to other media, but I’ll still a person occupying time and space (I’m not 100% virtual)! My new role means I’ve had to move office locations too, and try to get set up in that respect.

I must confess, I can’t stand moving. I am sure plenty of blog readers are with me on that. In my case, I don’t have to move my residence, just my office — but even that is quite enough! Thankfully, many amazing people have stepped up to give me a hand, with both the big stuff (furniture) and the little stuff (where to put the pens and post-it notes).

Of course, one of the positive sides to moving is you get a chance to take a look at all the stuff you’ve accumulated to see what you need to keep and what you can scrap. I’ve got myself a shredder and I’m not afraid to use it :-) so now what I need to do is run through the archives and decide what has past its best-before date. The sort of review process doubles as a good training exercise as well, especially for someone like me who is starting in a new role.

Finally, one of the fun sides of moving is the chance to put stuff up on your walls! A friend gave me an icon of Christ, the Good Shepherd, which I look forward to finding a place for, as a constant reminder of who the *real* shepherd is.

As those who know me are already aware, I have been involved in the ecumenical movement for many years. When my election to the episcopate was announced, I received many messages of congratulations from non-Catholics as well, which touched me deeply. During the time of preparation for the ordination the Montreal Commandery of the Order of Saint Lazarus offered to host a celebratory evening, which then evolved into the idea of organizing and hosting an ecumenical vespers service. The Liturgy of the Hours is, of course, a form of prayer common to many Christian traditions, and often provides an occasion for common prayer at major ecumenical summits or gatherings. It seemed perfect.

The event was held on Sunday, October 2, in Saint John the Evangelist Anglican Church here in Montreal, following an adapted order of service for Anglican evensong (this particular building, very well-known here in Montreal, is the official chapel of the Order of Saint Lazarus in this city). Clergy were present from multiple denominations (I counted at least representatives from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Orthodox traditions), as well as members from other orders of knighthood, including the Order of Saint John, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of Malta, and a couple of recipients of the Order of Saint Gregory.

Yours truly had a chance to preach the sermon, in which I had a chance to offer my “ecumenical vision”. To be honest, I didn’t have anything new to say: my vision is exactly that of Vatican II, as found in the document Unitatis Redintegratio. Still, it is good to be reminded of the details from time to time, so that Christian unity does not merely remain a pious wish of a few specialists. I do believe that this decree contains the Holy Spirit’s “game plan” for the ecumenical movement. I also think it has barely been implemented, which may go a long way to explaining why progress towards Christian unity can sometimes seem painfully slow. Let me conclude by offering one of my favourite passages from the decree of Vatican II:

The term “ecumenical movement” indicates the initiatives and activities planned and undertaken, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity. These are: first, every effort to avoid expressions, judgments and actions which do not represent the condition of our separated brethren with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations with them more difficult; then, “dialogue” between competent experts from different Churches and Communities. At these meetings, which are organized in a religious spirit, each explains the teaching of his Communion in greater depth and brings out clearly its distinctive features. In such dialogue, everyone gains a truer knowledge and more just appreciation of the teaching and religious life of both Communions. In addition, the way is prepared for cooperation between them in the duties for the common good of humanity which are demanded by every Christian conscience; and, wherever this is allowed, there is prayer in common. Finally, all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ’s will for the Church and accordingly to undertake with vigor the task of renewal and reform.

When such actions are undertaken prudently and patiently by the Catholic faithful, with the attentive guidance of their bishops, they promote justice and truth, concord and collaboration, as well as the spirit of brotherly love and unity. This is the way that, when the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually overcome, all Christians will at last, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, be gathered into the one and only Church in that unity which Christ bestowed on His Church from the beginning.

“A common celebration of the Eucharist.” Even if we are not there, it remains a beautiful dream! May all be one, in a genuine communion of truth, hope, and charity.

I recently wrote about having to move offices, but I’ve also found myself having to move things like my email account, my on-line calendar, and so on (my blog, of course, was already transferred some time ago). This has been trickier than it sounds, because I want to keep these things in sync with my portable devices (such as my cell phone). So I had to begin with making backups of everything, followed by software upgrades, and so on. And I have to say, migrating over 1200 contacts and 3300 calendar entries takes time! I’ll run a few days of tests, but so far everything seems to have been transferred successfully.

While all of this may seem terribly mundane, it is actually part of a recalibration of my entire “networked” existence. I don’t want to be trapped behind my desk; instead, I want to make sure I can get out visiting our parishes and clergy and lay people and organizations. To do so, though, I’ll need to be able to “bring my office” with me to some extent. Granted, when scripture speaks of the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean cloud computing. Still, the need is there, and I might as well start to get ready.

I was in the Eastern Townships today for the installation mass of Luc Cyr, formerly of the diocese of Valleyfield and now Archbishop of Sherbrooke. I was a passenger in Bishop Christian Lepine’s car, along with Bishop Jude Saint-Antoine (a retired auxiliary bishop of Montreal and one of the residents here at the Cathedral). With good company like that the trip in was very pleasant despite the rain — we took the opportunity to pray the rosary together, led by Bishop Saint-Antoine, something which I find is always a great way to stay focused on the Lord.

Our time in Sherbrooke began with an early celebratory banquet shared by the bishops present, as well as diocesan personnel and members of Archbishop Cyr’s family. After the meal we piled into a bus for the hop to the cathedral, where we had a chance to vest and see the archiepiscopal apartments. The installation service itself was done in the context of a mass, as the actual canonical requirements for “taking possession” of a diocese are actually quite minimal — technically, all you need to do is have the decree of appointment read in the presence of the diocesan College of Consulters, and it is done. But why let such an important moment in the life of a local church be simply confined to an office? Should it not be a time of thanksgiving for all the people of that diocese? And so it was — the church was packed and the enthusiasm was high for the welcoming of their new shepherd.

Bishop Lepine and I were alone for the ride home, so we got a chance to chat about how our lives and ministry have changed since the ordination. We also shared on our take on the state of the church in Canada, particularly in Quebec, and on the challenges we all face as Catholics today. Frankly, I found the discussion quite stimulating — the future can seem daunting, but it is also full of hope, something I believe we both recognize.

A friend sent me the following photo for my blog: a picture from my very first celebration of confirmation at a local parish!

Years ago I did my pastoral internship at Saint Augustine of Canterbury parish, so it was great to return for this first foray into this dimension of my new role. Congratulations to all the candidates and their families!

One of the aspects of my ministry that has brought me a lot of joy has been my married couples reunion. A couple of years after my ordination as a priest I decided to organize a BBQ for all the couples I had married up until then. You see, we would spend quite a bit of time together preparing for their big day, getting to know one another and (of course) sharing in the delight of the wedding itself. The idea of then drifting apart seemed to me to be a shame — hence the reunion. To my delight, many came that first time, and we had such a good time that the event has continued. This past Sunday (September 18) was the 7th marriage reunion, and as you can see from the photo it is turning into quite the family affair!

It was seeing all these friends again, and to see their kids running around and playing and having fun. I must add a special thank-you to those who organized things this year. Given my episcopal ordination I was not sure I’d be able to do it this year, as I knew I just would not have the time to organize things. To my delight, people took the initiative to contact me and offer to take care of it! I was very touched, and consider this to be one of the kindest gifts I have ever received. I am so glad to know that these bonds of friendship continue.