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Deacons of Manitoba Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 8 February 2021

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Deacons of Manitoba Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 8 February 2021 Deacons of Manitoba Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 8 February 2021 Words from The Archbishops A day to honour grandparents and the elderly Dear Deacons and families, We are now comfortably in Lent. No, I retract that, Lent is not a time to be comfortable, it is a time for the soul to stir and new growth to occur. Only a few weeks ago, Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. In his homily he made mention of Simeon and Anna who were present that day when Mary and Joseph brought the child into the Temple. These two old and wise individuals who prophesized about the Christ Child, inspired Pope Francis to say: “…the Holy Spirit even today stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly”. The Holy Father was reflecting on the preciousness of our elders and how they preserve the cultural roots of people and link the different generations. Pope Francis has often referred to his relationship with his grandmother and how important she was in his own Christian and priestly formation. At the World day for the Meeting of Families a few years ago in Philadelphia, I heard the Pope speak very powerfully about respecting and valuing our grandparents and all older people. With this thought in mind, it is not difficult to understand why Pope Francis would dedicate a special day to honor grandparents and the elderly. He chose, in fact, the fourth Sunday in July every year to do this. It is an opportune choice as this Sunday falls close to the Feast Day of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of our Blessed Lord. To honor our grandparents and the elderly is to honor the special role of memory and wisdom which they have in relationship to the younger generation. In fact, Jesus would have loved and honored his grandparents in response to God’s Commandments. The 4th Commandment says: Honor your Father and your Mother, and this applies to grandparents as well. In the Pope’s encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, the Holy Father refers to the importance of caring for the elderly and that we must treasure the spiritual and human wealth that has been handed down from one generation to the next. Lent is a time for alms giving and our relationship with our grandparents and elderly persons in general should play a part in this. In fact, such an outreach should always be before us as was encouraged by our Synod. Blessings to all of our grandparents and elderly! +Richard Gagnon Archbishop of Winnipeg 1 Words from Deacon James Someone once asked me, why do we need more deacons? I answered with: Have we eliminated poverty? Have we eliminated mental illness? Have we eliminated loneliness? Have we eliminated hurting people? These things are present in our society today and the need for an emissary of the church to be available to the lonely, to the hungry, to the people struggling with mental illness, to the people struggling with addictions, and so forth. We need good people who are compassionate, prayerful, and formed in a deaconate understanding to love and be present with all of these things that hurt amongst society today. As deacons we are to be a presence of the love of Christ to the world and to bring the love of our bishops to the people hurting and in need. Deacons, with the support of their wives and families, are a presence to the congregation and hopefully an example to inspire people of the parish to become missionary disciples to society at large. We have a specific job and a three-part ministry in the church: service of the word, service of the liturgy, service of charity & justice. Deacons are to be an emissary of love beyond the physical walls of the church and to our parish at large. This makes the deaconate a unique and a vital part of the overall church. This publication of the newsletter has a letter of invitation and I am sure most of you have received a copy of it through your email I strongly encourage you, as deacons of the church, to pray over the letter and invite those in your parish that you might see have a calling to this vocation. I strongly encourage you to invite them to become part of the formation program during the discernment part. Many hands make light work. Blessings. Deacon Jim 2 Social Justice on The Elderly On February 3, 2021, a zoom forum was held to discuss the plight of our elderly in personal care homes. This pandemic has highlighted how we have neglected our elderly. In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis points out: “We have seen what happened with the elderly in certain places in our world as a result of the coronavirus. They did not have to die that way. Yet something similar had long been occurring during heat waves and in other situations: older people have found themselves cruelly abandoned. We fail to realize that, by isolating the elderly and leaving them in the care of others without the closeness and concern of family members, we disfigure and impoverish the family itself. We also end up depriving young people of a necessary connection to their roots and to a wisdom that the young cannot achieve on their own.” We must learn to honour our elderly and to take responsibility for them where they live. In Manitoba, of the more than 1,900 people admitted to hospital with COVID 19 less than 10% were personal care home residents and yet they represent nearly one-half of the COVID 19 deaths (Winnipeg Free Press, Feb.3, 2021). Our discussion at the zoom forum was lively and it was just a beginning. Questions were raised as to what our parishes are doing with personal care home residents in their area? How do we get the young involved? In an article entitled Old Age: Our Future by the Vatican on February 12, 2021 it was pointed out by the World Health Organization that by 2050 there will be 2 billion over-60s in the world, meaning that 1 in 5 individuals will be elderly. “The question becomes how do we make our cities inclusive and welcoming for the elderly, and in general, for fragility in all its manifestations” It was acknowledged by those attending the forum that we should be looking at monitoring, infrastructure, human rights code, medical care and education for the elderly to help them use technology. Staffing at personal care homes should be increased which means advocacy on their behalf with government. There is the question of profit v. not for profit personal care homes. The Maples Care Home Report released on February 4, 2021 had various recommendations which should be studied and monitored for compliance. We have to look at how other organizations are responding and see if we may help. All in all, there is a problem which cries for us to get involved with. Within our parishes we should be educating ourselves about the elderly and then discerning on how we can accompany them through this final stage of life. Our Catholic Social Teachings call us to respect the human dignity of all and to act for the common good. In becoming involved in advocacy on behalf of our elderly we begin to fulfill our call. Patti Fitzmaurice Social Justice Coordinator Archdiocese of Winnipeg 3 Prayer request Let us pray for the safe voyage of Pope Francis to Iraq. Suggestions or comments: Please do let us know how to do better with the newsletter through email: [email protected] or [email protected] 4 THE INTERDIOCESAN DIACONAL FORMATION PROGRAM OF THE ARCHDIOCESE’S OF SAINT BONIFACE, WINNIPEG, AND KEEWATIN LE PAS Winter 2021 Dearest Reverend Fathers and Deacons, Greetings! Over the past few months, the Diaconal Formation Committee has been meeting together to begin to invite men who may feel called to be a permanent deacon. We have enclosed a letter from Deacon Doug Cross, the Director of the Diaconate Formation Program for you to read and to copy if you would like. We are sure that there are many men who have thought about this over the years and now have an opportunity to “Come and See!” John 1:39 As Pastors and Deacons, we seem to be by our very vocation of service identifying and seeking out those men in our parishes that have that spark. Particularly as Deacons their swath is wide and deep. Ministry of Permanent Deacons exercise the three functions proper to his ministry which fosters the Church’s mission of service and communion.: 1. Service of the Word: Sharing in the Church’s mission of evangelization, the deacon is ordained to proclaim the Gospel and preach the word of God at the liturgy, as well as to teach this word to the faithful of the world. 2. Service of the Liturgy: In communion with the Bishop and the presbyterium, the deacon fosters the sanctification of the Christian community which has the “source and summit” of its life and worship in the Eucharist. 3. Service of Charity and Justice: Because the deacon’s ministry “is the Church’s service sacramentalized,” he dedicates himself to the works of charity and justice. Charity is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine. Justice has the responsibility to bring to the poor materially, spiritually, and culturally, to those who are marginalized and on the fringes of society. From: National Directory For The Ministry, Formation and Life of the Permanent Deacon’s in Canada, 2017 Please reach out to those who are quietly discerning a call to diaconal ministry, please meet with them, please show them charity, and please lead them to take a step into prayer with their family.
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