Owen Sound, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

It has been a very interesting couple of days here in Canada! It all started Saturday, when we took a day trip up to Owen Sound, ON, which turned into driving up the entire Bruce Peninsula, all the way up to Tobermory, ON.  It was a great trip, and great to see the beauty of Ontario, including Lake Huron, and some of the former Basilian Missions.  It was also great to hear some of the history from Fr. George, who was our guide for the day.    It was a long day, but very nice.  The weather wasn't the greatest, but I want to go back on a nice day, and maybe enjoy Sauble Beach!

Today, however was the most interesting day of all, because I got to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert! When I was asked earlier today if I would like to go, I honestly think I was more shocked than anything else. Here is the one group that I have wanted to see perform live for a good majority of my life, and I’m being given the opportunity to hear them mere minutes before the concert is scheduled to start.

Allow me to explain how this transpired. Salt and Light CEO, Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, had been asked to conduct the choir’s encore at the afternoon concert, and it just so happened that when he got there, he had an
extra ticket. So he called back to the S+L studios, and asked if anyone else wanted to come hear the
choir. Being that my background is in music, and since I have conducted choirs for the past two years,
I naturally jumped at the opportunity. Knowing that I had mere minutes to get to Roy Thomson Hall
made the journey seem like an eternity, but thankfully, I arrived just as the choir was beginning their
first number.

I think there is only one word that can describe the Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Perfection. Absolute
Perfection. Here you have a 360 voice choir, and yet they sing so flawlessly that not one voice sticks out
over another. The mixture of repertoire that they sing is incredible, ranging from Sacred, to spirituals, to
folk hymns- even some Broadway tunes thrown in for good measure!

Of course the reason that we were all there was to see Fr. Rosica conduct the choir in their encore
piece: This Land is Your Land (with the Canadian words, of course.) I have to say that he did quite well,

and I am sure that it is an experience that he will not soon forget. Nor will I forget it, for that matter!

Top: Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, Conducts the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Bottom: The Choir performs in Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, ON.

Thoughts on Relationships

What exactly constitutes a relationship?  This is a question that has been on my mind a lot recently, especially as I continue my discernment of the Priesthood with the Basilians. 

In today’s society, we see relationships everywhere: on TV, in the movies, and even in the news.  But is this the model for relationship that we should be following?  In an age where sex has become so pervasive that it is mentioned in almost every TV show and movie without so much as a second thought, it is very easy for one to be lead to believe that they are not in a “successful” relationship unless they are exemplifying what they see on TV.

So often when we hear the term “relationship” our first thought is of a couple, and when people ask us about our relationships, we tend to talk in this narrow view, because that is how relationships are so often portrayed.  But a relationship is so much more than that.  In fact, the first definition given for the word relationship is “The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.”  It isn’t until definition number four that the concept of a sexual relationship is even mentioned.

What this means is that ALL our interactions with other people, whether they are family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, students, teachers, and so on, are all different types of relationships.  Of course, the context of the relationship varies depending on who is involved, but the very core of a relationship, which is a connection between people, is present in all of them.  It may be deeper in some instances than others, but that depends on how the relationship is nurtured, and if it is allowed to grow. 

Of course, one cannot mention relationships, without mentioning the most important relationship of all: the one between us and God.  This is the relationship that is often neglected, but is the basis for all of our other relationships.  If we nurture our relationship of God through prayer and reception of the Sacraments on a regular basis, we begin to see God in all the people that we meet.  We begin to strive not only to grow closer to God, but to also reach out to others, and let the Light of Christ shine through us.  And that leads us into an even deeper sense of relationship.

If we as Christians allow ourselves to be rooted in Christ, then we will find that our relationships with others will flourish and grow stronger, especially when we stop seeking for our own satisfaction out of our relationships, and instead seek for God’s will.    So often, our struggles with relationships persist because we try to mold our relationships into what we want them to be, which often leads to the relationship “falling apart.”  I’ve seen this happen many times in my own life, and it has been very frustrating, but recently, several of my relationships have grown very strong, because I have stopped worrying about what I want to get out of the relationship, and I’ve just let the relationship flow naturally, allowing God to take it in the direction that He would like to see it go.  How blessed we are to have a God who will never let us be alone, if only we put our trust in Him!

And so, let our prayer always be that God will draw us closer to the people in this life who will help us to draw closer to Him, so that all of our relationships may be strengthened, and rooted in Christ.  Amen.

Working, Working, Working....

It's been an interesting week here in Toronto!  I've started my Summer internship at Salt and Light, we've started our weekly Associate "Lecture series" at the House, and with the arrival of Jose last Monday, all the Associates that will be here for the Summer are in Toronto... we're not all in the same house yet, because Mario is still living at the High School House till the end of June, but it's nice to be connecting with people again!

I've quickly found that when living in community, it is sometimes a struggle to adapt to different habits of your housemates.  Everybody does things a different way, and it can sometimes be frustrating.  I guess that's one of the things that you learn how to deal with, so that you can learn to live together as a successful community. I'll learn how to do this successfully in time, I imagine, but it's something that is taking some getting used to, more than any other aspect of being here in Canada.  I guess it has more to do with differences in personality than anything else, but I need to figure out to overcome that, so that I can survive living in Community.

Things are going well at Salt and Light.  Still getting the hang of just what it is I'm supposed to be doing, but It's neat to see how much goes into not only keeping the network on the air (fundraising, etc.) but also to creating the programming, and getting it from the studio to the airwaves, not only through in-house production, but through recording other Catholic TV feeds, and things like that.  We did have a bit of an interesting experience on Friday, when the power went out around lunchtime. (insert cheesy joke about the lights being out at Salt and Light here).  With one lone extension cord run from a part of the building that has power, we got the master controls back up so that we could continue broadcasting, but it definitely made for an interesting afternoon!

Well, hopefully we'll be going up to Owen Sound this weekend, so if we do, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!  Take care, and God Bless!

Reborn in the Spirit, not in our beliefs

With the Solemnity of Pentecost come and gone, I have been doing a bit of thinking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the grace that these gifts give to us in our day to day lives.  I've begun to realize more and more how much it is necessary to ask God to send his spirit to us every day, to grace us with these gifts, and fill our lives with His holy presence. God's grace is a gift that must be constantly welcomed into our lives.  It is not a "one and done" deal, so to speak, where we ask God for grace once, and He blesses us with all the grace we need for the rest of our earthly lives.  If that was the case, churches would be empty, there would be no need for Priests, and I probably wouldn't be in Toronto right now!

Often, when I listen to Christan Radio stations, I hear so many people talking about being a "born again" believer, talking about that "one great moment" when they came back to God, or when they acknowledged Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and were saved.  Belief in God is definitely very important, and it must be the center of our daily lives, but belief in God alone isn't enough.  Jesus himself said "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21).

So what does that mean for us?  How do we know if we are doing the will of our Father in Heaven?  The answer is through the Spirit.  The Spirit is how God speaks to us, and unless we learn to listen for the Spirit, we will be unable to discern the will of our Heavenly Father.  This is a skill that takes great practice (and one that I am only beginning to learn), but through meditation and prayer, we begin to "tune in" more and more to the voice of the Spirit, and we learn to "tune out" the distractions of the flesh, or the things of the world that seek to lead us away from God.

As we seek to grow closer to God, we begin to realize more and more just how dependent we are on him.  Hence the constant need to ask for the Grace of the Spirit.  Therefore, our life in God becomes not about the one big rebirth in the spirit, but about a series of "little rebirths" that take place every day of our lives.  Through our Baptism, we ARE reborn in the Spirit (which is most definitely our "large" rebirth, along with Confirmation), but unless we always strive to live our lives in perpetual Communion with this Spirit, we are simply reborn in word only, and not in deed.  We can talk about how we were Baptized all we want, but unless we do something with the Grace we receive in Baptism, we are the proverbial "noisy gong" or "clashing cymbal" that St. Paul talks about in his First Letter to the Corinthians.  So let us always strive to let the Love of God shine through in all that we do.

I would like to conclude this post with words from the Letter of Saint James:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
-James 2:14-18

Lord Jesus, we pray that you would send us your Spirit, so that through the seven-fold gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, we may always seek to know, understand, and carry out your will for us.  May we always seek to grow closer to you, and place those things which seek to keep us from you at the foot of Your most Holy Cross, so that you may take them from us, and help us to draw ever closer to you.  Amen.

New Adventures

For the most part, my first 12 days in Canada haven't been full of much activity.  Sure, I've done some sightseeing, had lunch with another one of the Associates, and gotten to visit with many of the Basilians, but I've found lately that I'm kinda ready to be doing more than sitting around the house all day while everyone else is working, because there's only so much sightseeing that you can do by yourself!  I'm also glad to be doing something more since I spent four days sitting around at Southdown during my Vocation Assesment, and as I've learned, when I can't go anywhere, I get bored really easily.

So, that's why I'm glad that part of the summer program is an internship at Salt and Light.  For those of you who don't know what Salt and Light is, it is the Canadian Catholic TV network (similar to EWTN).  I don't know what I'll be doing, but it should prove to be both interesting and exciting, especially since I don't have any experience in that field!

It's also going to be nice because another one of the Associates is going to be arriving tomorrow for the rest of the summer.  So thankfully I'll have another person to hang out with, in addition to the 3 Priests that also live in my house.

That's pretty much it for right now.  I'll be sure to provide an update on my adventures at Salt and Light!

God Bless,
Steven

Settling in

Well, I've been in Toronto for 2 full days now, and my life hasn't exactly gotten into a routine yet, since I haven't started at Salt and Light, and I'm still waiting to go to Southdown for my Vocation Assessment (which I go for on Sunday.)  In the meantime, it's wake up in the morning for Mass at 7:30, breakfast, and then I have two choices- sit around all day and be bored, or go out and explore.  So, of course, I went out and explored.

The good thing is that I remember how to use the TTC (Toronto's mass transit system) from my previous visits here.  I also remember how to get to the University where the Seminary is, which will come in handy if I go to Mass at St. Basil's.

Most of today was spent exploring around Toronto Eaton Centre, the Harborfront, and the CN Tower.  Eaton Centre is the huge shopping center that is right in the heart of downtown Toronto.   There are so many different shops there, but it was also funny to see like 3 different Starbucks in the same place!

Right near Eaton Centre is Dundas Square, which is kind of like Toronto's version of Times Square.  There was what appeared to be an exhibition about travel in Ontario going on today, but I get the feeling that there's always something different going on there every day.

The Harborfront is another area that seems like it's pretty happening, with lots of restaurants, shops, and even a stage for concerts.  There are several boat tours you can take, and I may have to go take one one of these days, if I have the time!

The last thing I did today was to go up the CN tower.  The tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, and is the tallest structure in Toronto.  It was great to be able to look out over the city, and pick out all the places I've been to, and sites that I know.  I even found the house I'm staying at!  So overall it was a great day!  I'm looking forward to getting to spend more time with the Basilians, and get more of a feel for community life in the coming weeks.  Hopefully this continues to be a good experience!

Eaton Centre

 Dundas Square

 Harbor Front

 CN Tower

 looking towards our house-it's hard to see in this pic though...

 Air Canada Centre

 Rogers Centre