posted on May 1, 04:41 PM by Kathy McMerty
The legacy of the Indian Residential School System was the focus of prayer, reflection and discussion during a diocesan Congress Day in three locations: Saskatoon, Humboldt and Kindersley.
A diocesan committee has been established by Bishop Donald Bolen to encourage and prepare for diocesan involvement in a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) national event this summer in Saskatoon. Members of the committee –…
posted on May 1, 04:35 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Steve Morrisey, C.Ss.R.
These next few paragraphs are all about a great weekend in Northern Saskatchewan. This year, I had the wonderful and unforgettable opportunity to celebrate the Easter Triduum in Fond du Lac, SK. Fond du Lac is a beautiful native reserve in the McKenzie- Fort Smith Diocese, the true North of Canada. It was a true gift that I will always cherish in my heart.
Prior to the season…
posted on Apr 2, 02:05 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Gary Laurenstein, C.Ss.R.
On Sunday, March 4, 2012, the North American Interprovincial Novitiate Board met at 426 St. Germain for its semi-annual gathering. The North American Interprovincial Novitiate has been in existence since 1996, previously located at Villa Redeemer in Glenview, IL. Since 2010, it has been located at the Provincial House in Toronto. The Board gathers to direct and oversee the…
posted on Apr 2, 01:24 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Paul Hansen, C.Ss.R.
They were exciting times and, for me personally, inspirational.
The newly elected Pope John XXIII had asked that Western Europe and North America send missionaries to the Global South, especially Latin America. Religious Orders and Communities responded positively to the degree they could.
Pope John called for a new Vatican Council. It began in 1962 and ended in 1965. The hope, dre…
posted on Feb 1, 09:45 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Jon Hansen, C.Ss.R.
Tulita, NT is a small village located 200 km south of the Arctic Circle where the Great Bear River intersects the Mackenzie on its course north to the Arctic Ocean. In North Slavey, the language of the Dené who live here, Tulita means, “Where the waters meet”.
I arrived in Tulita, at the invitation of Murray Chatlain, Bishop of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese, to be with the peopl…
posted on Feb 1, 09:33 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. David Purcell, C.Ss.R.
In August I moved to the city of Québec. I registered in a program called French as a Second Language, at the University of Laval. In English, there is a saying, “You can never teach an old dog new tricks.” But, I am already able to speak and to write a few words in French!?
My classmates are very interesting. Some students speak German, Japanese, and Chinese. Most students…
posted on Jan 4, 10:44 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by M.C. Havey from archival files and the death notice in The Edmonton Journal
Many confreres, family and friends gathered to celebrate the life of Rev. John Molnar, who died on November 27.
A dedicated, energetic Redemptorist, Fr. Molnar died in Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital on November 27 three months after his 60th anniversary of his priesthood. He was 86.
The wake and Mass of the Resurrection was held…
posted on Jan 4, 10:39 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. James Mason, C.Ss.R.
In the small mining town of Deloro northeast of Marmora, Ontario, Margaret Reid was born to Thomas James Reid and Mary Gillen Reid on March 8, 1921. The second of three girls and one boy, Margaret had not begun to walk before the family moved to Milton, Ontario, northwest of Toronto. Thomas and Mary bought a farm there and from there all four of the Reid children went forth. Mary…
posted on Dec 5, 03:49 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by M.C. Havey
MC has worked as an archivist for the Sisters of Service for 15 years and the Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists since 2000.
An active era of service is ending.
In mid-November at the General Assembly, the Sisters of Service (SOS) signed a sponsorship agreement with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, who will provide Leadership in the closing years of the community.
All but four of the 20 SOS live in…
posted on Dec 5, 03:20 PM by Kathy McMerty
Our new 2012-2014 calendar is now available. The Perpetual Help TV Devotions is now in its 17th year. Twice each year we send out two mailings to more than 6,000 homes. We are told that there are 50,000-60,000 people who watch our Wednesday broadcasts. Every week we respond to an average of 25 letters a day. In June and October the number swells to 100 letters a day.
Several confreres within the Provinces have…
posted on Nov 8, 01:18 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Steve Morrisey
It really is a great gift to be able to experience so much of our wonderful country. It is often said, with a smile, that we are “Redemp-TOURISTS” and sometimes that may be true but there is so much more to that simple expression than a smile and laugh. If I could, for but a brief moment, I would like to share a little of what travelling across this great country has provided for me. T…
posted on Oct 14, 02:34 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Sarath Maddenini, C.Ss.R.
I am Sarath Maddineni C.Ss.R. from the Province of Bangalore – India. I was born on January 5th, 1977, in the State of Andhra Pradesh in India. On June 8, 2000 I made my profession and was ordained on May 18th, 2005. After finishing a year of Pastoral in Bangalore, I went to Kenya in 2006. From 2006 to 2008, I was assisting at our Holy Redeemer Parish in Iruma and also goi…
posted on Oct 14, 02:34 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Jim Mason, C.Ss.R.
On July 31st, 2011 we Redemptorists lost one of our close associates and a dear friend when Yvonne Meehan died. Yvonne is known to many of us as the wife of Dr. Joe Meehan, as sister-in-law of Father Matt Meehan, as mother of 6 children and as a parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption in her family’s early years. In the eighties and there after she readily and happily gave of her…
posted on Sep 9, 10:41 AM by Kathy McMerty
Note: this article was written by Pat Csinos for Plug Into Christ the Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorist Young Adult Newsletter.
Pictured at left: Father General Michael Brehl and past Father General Lasso in Granada at the Alhambra Palace
I didn’t attend World Youth Day 2012 in Madrid but Fr. Michael Brehl, Superior General of the Redemptorists, sent me pictures of his experience of this incredible event. The heat, emoti…
posted on Sep 9, 10:20 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by M.C. Havey, Archivist
A standing-room only congregation attended a Mass on August 21 celebrating the 60 years of Our Lady of Assumption Church in North Toronto.
Although established in 1946, the Redemptorists assumed responsibility in 1950 of the parish — but without a church. Rev. Francis Cunerty Sr., the first CSsR pastor, was the driving force to get the shovels into the ground. The construction of the…
posted on Aug 4, 03:48 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Gary Lauenstein, C.Ss.R.
On July 28, 2011, four men arrived to begin their Novitiate year at the Interprovincial Novitiate in Toronto, Canada. These include (left to right in the photo) Quy Duong, Kevin Zubel, Graham Hill and Tomás Murray. In the middle of the photo, in habit, is Carmelo Gonzalez, who continues his Novitiate, having started on Sep. 13, 2010. He has about six more weeks to go.
Quy is f…
posted on Aug 4, 03:20 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. Ed Eherer, C.Ss.R.
Artistic directors (left to right, Jeannie Pernal (musicial director), Ed Eherer, Stacy Berg (theatrical director))
On the evenings of April 1 and 2 of this year, St. Joseph’s parish hall was magically transformed into a medieval dining hall, offering a feast for the eyes and ears, as well as for the stomach. It was all part of a fundraiser for the Grande Prairie Boys’ Choir, where gu…
posted on Jul 4, 11:50 AM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Fr. James Mason, C.Ss.R.
From left to right: Gerry Carroll, Fr. Gary Lauenstein, David Verghese, Peter Morris, Fr. Ray Douziech, Br. Jeffrey Rolle, Bishop John Pazak, Fr. Mike Brehl, Charles Randall, Fr. Juvy Andrade, Anthony Michalik, Carmelo Gonzalez, Ashford St. Romain and Calvin Auguiste.
It was twelve noon, and with but ten minutes to start time, all was ready for the ordinary Noon Mass on Sunday, May…
posted on Jun 20, 03:41 PM by Kathy McMerty
After years of fine-tuning, the Redemptorists of English Canada (Edmonton-Toronto province) last week unveiled their new on-line religious education TV channel: www.redemptorist.tv. (RTV) to a group of young people attending S.E.R.V.E. (Summer Endeavour in a Redemptorist Volunteer Experience).
In the attached photo: RTV introduced to S.E.R.V.E. group:
Front: Meredith Gillis, Mike Crate, Darren Kinash (Villagers), Mi…
posted on Jun 9, 03:00 PM by Kathy McMerty
Article by Br. Ray Pierce
Helen McCarthy has been the coordinator of the Redemptorists Mission Stamp Burse for more than 40 years and expects to retire someday. She is looking for a volunteer to carry on the work for the Stamp Burse when she does.
This work involves receiving packages of stamps (mailed and hand delivered), sorting them, cutting them to the proper size (leaving ¼” around the stamp), boxing them for sa…
posted on Mar 25, 09:14 AM by Kathy McMerty
Dear Confreres, Sisters and Lay Associates,
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ who calls us to preach the Gospel ever anew and sends us with joy to the most abandoned and the poor!
I write this letter to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Nepomucene Neumann. He was born on March 28, 1811 in Prachatitz, Bohemia. In his homily on the day of John Neumann’s beatification, Paul VI summarized his lif…
posted on Mar 24, 11:18 AM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
Article by Fr. Tom O’Rouke, C.Ss.R
It is both an honour and privilege to have been asked to speak briefly about Brother Francis, and on behalf of the Redemptorists, to express our affection, offer our congratulations and blessing as he marks 60 years of Profession.
I lived with Brother Francis at Holy Redeemer Parish in Sudbury for almost eight years before he moved to the St. Patrick’s community 3 years ago. That i…
posted on Jan 18, 04:12 PM by Ruth McDonnell
In 1836, a young seminarian named John Neumann arrived in the U.S. from his native Bohemia. He left his family in the dead of night to become a missionary in America. His one goal was to bring the love of God to forgotten and neglected souls.
He joined the Redemptorists in 1842, and in 1852, at the age of 41, he was named the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. In the eight short years bef…
posted on Jan 14, 04:43 PM by Ruth McDonnell
Article by: M.C. Havey, Archivist, Edmonton-Toronto Province
The Redemptorists of the Edmonton-Toronto have donated the media records of Rev. Matthew Meehan, their prominent religious broadcaster, to the Archives of Ontario.
Fr. Meehan’s 46-year career in religious broadcasting is likely the longest in Canada. After an examination of his media records, staff at the Archives of Ontario deemed them significance to the…
posted on Nov 29, 03:02 PM by Ruth McDonnell
*Article by Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R. published in the November edition of SCALA Redemptorist Newsletter*
For two weeks in November, from the 5th to the 15th, Redemptorists, deacons and Lay Missionaries from the Denver Province, the Baltimore Province, the St Anne de Beaupre Province, the Edmonton-Toronto Province, and the Yorkton Province travelled to the Archdiocese of Grouard/McLennan in Alberta, Canada to preach miss…
posted on Nov 12, 01:47 PM by Ruth McDonnell
Rev. Raymond Corriveau C.Ss.R. passed away at noon on November 12, 2010.
May Corry’s prayers now support us as we continue in the vision he so faithfully lived.
Born in 1936 and grew up near Zurich, Ontario, he attended local schools until18 years old when he entered the juvenate St. Mary’s College in Brockville, ON. He was in the graduating class of 1955.
Entering the novitiate at L’Abord-a-Plouffe, Quebec under Novi…
posted on Oct 22, 02:11 PM by Ruth McDonnell
Rev. James Davis, C.Ss.R. 1926-2010
Born in Grand Falls, NL on October 14, 1926, James Aloysius Davis was the eleventh child of Gertrude Hatch and John Davis and educated by Irish Presentation Sisters, graduating from high school there.
After attending a Redemptorist mission, he came for a year of studies (1942-1943) at the Redemptorist juvenate, which was located in Toronto during part of the Second World War.
In 1…
posted on Oct 11, 07:48 PM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
Former Redemptorist Superior General, Fr. Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R. was ordained an Archbishop in Rome on Saturday October 9, 2010.
In August , Father Tobin was named as the secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Archbishop Joseph Tobin, we join with you in prayer as you begin this new service within the Church, especially for our religious brothers an…
posted on Jun 19, 07:56 PM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
Father Jim is a Cape Bretoner born on December 19th, 1933. He attended Constantine Catholic school, where a picture of that Roman Emperor was hung in a prominent place. His first contact with the Redemptorists was through Fr. Cameron MacDonald whose brother was married to Jim’s sister. He did three years at St. Mary’s College, Brockville, where this skin-and-bones kid put on the pounds as a result of the regular orde…
posted on Jun 18, 07:47 PM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
Father Jim Davis was born in Grand Falls, NF, on October 14th, 1926, the 11th child of John Davis and Gertrude Hatch. His early schooling was with the Presentation Sisters in Grande Falls and at St. Michael’s High in Toronto. He lived at St. Clements Juvenate on St. George Street in Toronto. In 1956 he received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor and eventually earned an MA in French from Laval Univer…
posted on Jun 1, 07:51 PM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
The summer 0f 2010 would have been an eventful one for our Father Stoeckel. He would have celebrated three anniversaries- that of his birth on August 15th, of his 78th as a Redemptorist on August 2nd, and his 73rd as a priest on June 20th. Instead, since he died on May 13th this year, he will celebrate these events with our Redeeming Saviour as he takes his place in heaven.
Father Stockel’s life story has been told se…
posted on Jun 1, 07:42 PM by Fr. Santo Arrigo C.Ss.R.
The best way I can describe Father Jim Farrell is to say that from his birth some 93 years ago to this day, he has been a joyful man and a happy priest of the people, for the people and with the people. Caring moves deeply in his Irish blood.
Jim grew up in Montreal in the glory days of old St. Ann’s. The family moved to Rosemont for a few years but returned often to St. Ann’s for Irish celebrations. When Jim’s dad di…
posted on May 1, 06:51 PM by Fr. Paul Hansen, C.Ss.R.
written by Betty Clermont, published by Clarity Press USA 2009
Recently I heard the retired Archbishop of San Francisco, John Quinn, say that for the first time in American history the U.S. bishops had sided with the Republican Party. He also wrote an open letter to the U.S. church to this affect. This book examines how hawks and neoconservatives in the Republican Party forged a nexus with powerful rightwing Catholics…
posted on May 1, 06:48 PM by Fr. Paul Hansen, C.Ss.R.
written by Chris Hedges, published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada 2009
A culture that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion dies. And we are dying now it seems. We will either awake from our induced childishness, one where trivia and gossip pass for News and information, one where our goal is not justice but an illusive and unattainable happiness, to confront the stark limitations before us, or we will continue o…
posted on May 1, 06:47 PM by Fr. Eugene (Red) O’Reilly, C.Ss.R.
I was talking to a young girl in the sacristy before Mass. I asked her how old she was and she said she was 10.“What grade are you in”? she said grade 5. I then asked her what she liked most about school apart from lunch and recess. She replied that she liked Gym, and then she said, “Jim sits in the desk in front of me in class, and I like him a lot!!”
Out of the mouth’s of the innocent ones!
posted on May 1, 06:42 PM by Fr. Mark Miller, C.Ss.R.
I thought I would take the opportunity of this issue of Community Connections to continue to update all of you about the renovations at St. Patrick’s Monastery. As most of you know, we began last fall because we needed a new heating system. The over-100-year-old pipes would no longer do. We prepared to install a heating/air conditioning system that would allow individual control in each room. However, as always happe…
