[Sundaycommunity] Thanks

Sun Nov 29 11:38:32 PST 2020

Hi Greg
Thanks for your personal sharing this morning at Mass. I was very moved.
Our little Sunday community may not be big but it is important and brings
together good thoughtful reflective Catholics. When Covid is over, I look
forward to seeing you and your 2 boys back downtown at the school.
Have a good week
Blessings
Fr Paul

On Thu, Nov 26, 2020 at 8:25 PM Greg Gillis <greg.j.gillis at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you Paul, for your generosity and willingness to share your own
> vulnerability around faith with us in community!  It is so refreshing to
> experience such honesty and openness from a faith leader such as yourself
> and sets a great example of how to compassionately deal with all our
> struggles around, faith, church, relating to God and just being human!
> Talk about incarnational theology! Beautiful brother!
>
> Greg
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 26, 2020 at 4:10 PM Paul McAuley <bursar at spiritans.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear Rosemary
>> Nice to hear from you and know you are still connected in a way with the
>> Sunday community and certainly involved in St. Catherine’s with your United
>> church. The spiritans used to have a parish in st. Catherine’s but had to
>> give it up. I only got down there about once a year.
>> Have a blessed Christmas in whatever way that will take place at home and
>> in church
>> Peace
>> Paul
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 5:19 PM Dave Snelgrove <snelgrovedave at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Paul, Although I am geographically long-gone from the Sunday
>>> Community, I still feel a connection and a lot of affection for people with
>>> whom I worshipped there.  And sang.  And clanged my tambourine.  I've
>>> always enjoyed your homilies.  And there you are, still ministering to me,
>>>  I am a kind of lost sheep, having joined a United Church here in St.
>>> Catharines.  Been Chair of the Worship Committee, on the Personnel
>>> Committee, on the Church Council, editor of a new Constitution and Handbook
>>> of Church Governance, so in the tradition of the Protestants, have had my
>>> say quite often about what's going on.  But did get a taste of that with
>>> the Sunday Community, where there is great inclusion of anyone willing to
>>> volunteer and put some work into planning.
>>>
>>> There's not a great point to this message apart from wanting you to know
>>> that your words have travelled here into Niagara.  And your openness
>>> touched my heart. The question of how we experience and relate to God,
>>> Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is a continual one being posed here with the
>>> little circle of good friends I have made.  I'm a big Holy Spirit fan,
>>> having spent 20 years among the R.C. Charismatics.  My comments
>>> and interventions often lead to the confusion of cradle United Churchers.
>>> The term 'reserved' and 'contained' describes the religious fervour of the
>>> community.  But they are kind and pretty serious and humourous folks and I
>>> believe do try to adhere to the teachings of Christ.  In effect, the Church
>>> is just about all of my community here, and I'm grateful for it.  I
>>> regularly miss the sense of the sacred that is part of Catholicism.  And
>>> the willingness to discuss - as you are doing - the living of faith.
>>>
>>> God knows.  This may not be my last stop.  Wishing you a blessed
>>> Advent.  Rosemary Gray-Snelgrove
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:33 PM Paul McAuley <bursar at spiritans.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> November 25, 2020
>>>>
>>>> Hi Sunday Community,
>>>>
>>>> Hope everyone is doing well.
>>>>
>>>> I see from my emails from some in the Sunday community a little debate
>>>> on relating to God. Well, I don’t want to throw fuel on the fire, but here
>>>> is my little two cents contribution.
>>>>
>>>> When I think of God, by default, I think in male terms even though I
>>>> know intellectually God is neither male or female.
>>>> I recognize that I am a privileged, educated, economically stable,
>>>> white, male cleric - at the top of the food chain so to speak.
>>>> I don’t actually relate to “God” much - too vague, and the Trinity is a
>>>> bit much to grasp, but we try.
>>>>
>>>> If I think of the term “God”, by default, I think of the Father. Lucky
>>>> for me, I had a lovely relationship with my own Dad, so the Father is not a
>>>> big stretch. However, I have heard from many people over the years who have
>>>> had either no father present in their lives or difficult or even abusive
>>>> relationships, that both God and Father are real barriers to faith. We
>>>> should be sensitive to this.
>>>>
>>>> As a “Spiritan”, to tell you the truth, I don’t really relate to the
>>>> Holy Spirit (he or she) - a bit too nebulous.
>>>>
>>>> Years ago, I was on a retreat and told my spiritual director I could
>>>> not relate to “God” or the “Holy Spirit” even though I believe but the
>>>> terms don’t speak to me. I relate to Jesus - Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus
>>>> the Christ. My spiritual director who was a lay woman was wonderful and
>>>> told me not to feel guilty or worried. Each person has to relate to the
>>>> Divine as she or he can. I never feel worried or guilty anymore.
>>>>
>>>> Just as an aside, Pat Smiley brought up Mary. As a cradle Catholic, I
>>>> really enjoy and get fulfilled from some of our Church’s so called Marian
>>>> devotions. I have been fortunate to go on pilgrimages to various Marian
>>>> shrines around the world and have felt such peace, and almost mystical
>>>> connections with “God” through Mary. I think much of this has to do with
>>>> the community of faith at these shrines. People of incredible faith, that
>>>> puts my faith to shame,.... they inspire me. Also these are places of
>>>> profound peace and to a certain extent, equality...we are all in the same
>>>> boat.
>>>>
>>>> Mary is the confused teenager who found out she is pregnant, asked
>>>> questions but had great faith. Mary is the powerful, outspoken young woman
>>>> who prophetically prayed the Magnificat, a topsy turvey prayer in keeping
>>>> with the Hebrew Scriptures of God overturning the mighty and lifting the
>>>> lowly. Mary is the middle aged woman who experiences the death of a child,
>>>> her son Jesus. There is much more I could say about Mary but suffice to
>>>> say, I often relate to God through her.
>>>>
>>>> Saints too! I find inspiration in our Catholic tradition of saints. To
>>>> tell you the truth, often during daily Mass here at Shanahan House, when
>>>> the priest is giving the homily, I am not really listening much, but
>>>> reading the saint of the day at the back of the Living With Christ booklet,
>>>> hahaha.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, nothing I wrote above is profoundly new or theological but just
>>>> some of my reflections.
>>>>
>>>> See you all on Zoom this Sunday at 11:00 AM for the 1st Sunday of
>>>> Advent, our happy Church New Year.
>>>>
>>>> Peace and Blessings,
>>>>
>>>> Fr. Paul McAuley, CSSp
>>>> bursar at spiritans.com
>>>> or
>>>> ckedobw at gmail.com
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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