Category: Social Action

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Faith family love Patience Social Action Social Awareness

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

What’s your story?        

For Mother’s Day I was given a gift by my family. Well, to be honest, I begged to be given this gift, acting like a little kid who had to have what her friend had gotten for her birthday. Storyworth is a gift of weekly questions. Each week you receive a question, sent by email and chosen by a member of your family. These questions come weekly for an entire year and at the end of it, your answers are compiled into a book for your family. The questions pertain to your life; some are fun and easy: What fads did you embrace growing up? Some really make you think: What is your favorite memory of your mother? …and some make you want to take serious stock of your life, like last week’s question: What is one of the most selfless things you have done in life?

The fact that your family members are posing the questions makes you feel, at times, as if you’re taking a test. An important grade hangs in the balance. Your answers should impart the wisdom of a life lived; and, most importantly for me – a life lived by faith. These answers pose an opportunity that we are not often given with our children and grandchildren, an opportunity to expound on those issues, beliefs and practices that have helped and guided us through our lives -.no eye-rolling, no talk-back, no walking away – they asked.

Back to last week’s question – though I did send in my response, I’m still pondering that one. I had to search long and hard for answers. Was I more selfish than selfless in my many years on this earth? Have I done enough in a selfless vein? Have I already done my most selfless thing, or is it yet to come? I don’t think we can live our lives believing we’ve accomplished our most selfless act – how do we grow, continue to care for and nurture this needy world if we’ve already been our most selfless?

Thought provoking and self-searching – I was the one who asked for this. Little did I realize where these questions would take me; searching my memory, recalling happy vignettes and not-so-pleasant experiences; much soul searching, coming up short at times, opening my eyes to more flaws than one would care to reveal. It’s a healthy practice, if you share with your family your honest look at the world and your place in it.

This is how I ended my answer to that soul-searching question: Life is made up of tiny, often going unnoticed, acts-of-love that we don’t even think twice about. Those are the best kinds of selfless acts. We should all strive for them every day!

And so we should!

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community Faith Lent love Social Action Social Awareness

Let Your Voice be Heard

When I was a student in university, in the States, back in the 70s, there were rallies and protests everywhere, against the Viet Nam war. I went to a lot of them, we all did. I haven’t joined many protests since then (any, I have not joined any since then). But I think it’s time to become a feisty senior citizen and get politically involved once again.

I like words, I like playing around with them, but lately I see words being played around with in a deceptively misleading manner. Point of fact – the abortion issue – when did the phraseology change from pro-life and abortionists to pro-choice and anti-abortionists? Did you catch it when it happened? It was a long time ago, and, because it was not met with much opposition, it stuck. The positive connotation of PRO carries a lot of weight.

Last week, while listening to the news I heard the term doctor assisted death, and I wondered when that had changed from doctor assisted suicide. Words can imperceptibly change our opinions in cunning ways. Are we just not paying attention? Are we not listening? Do we no longer care?

I think it’s time we made our voices heard. One need not stand on a picket line to be heard, though it is a good way to get a point across. Letter writing is another way – put the power of words to good use; get involved with organizations that support your beliefs, help them get their message out. Whether you’re vehemently opposed to doctor assisted suicide; whether you’re in support of gun control or pro-life organizations; maybe you’re passionate about saving the planet…do something to aid a good cause. Our right to vote is a privilege that gives us a voice and so many disregard this very powerful tool. When we sit around and lament the state of the world, yet take no responsibility; take no action to change things; when we remain silent, we are a part of the problem. Be part of the solution.

pebble 3Lent is coming. Let’s make a commitment to get involved in one of the many ways we can help to change the world in a positive, faith-filled way. A pebble dropped into a pond ripples outward and onward – be that pebble.

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community Faith love Mercy Patience Social Action Social Awareness Stength Uncategorized

Called to be Saints

I know a guy who is quite involved with a drop-in centre in downtown Owen Sound. Recently he found himself embroiled in an argument with a neighbour of the centre. The neighbour, a Torontonian, having purchased the property next door and possibly unhappy with the neighbouring clientele, was not in a good mood. This guy I know kept calm and cool (on the outside), despite the berating he received.

“You are nobody,”the man shouted. “you have nothing, you own nothing, you are a loser!” He clearly hoped to incite a violent response, but my friend would not fall into his trap. It was, in fact, an opportunity to demonstrate to those who attend the centre, a non-violent response to conflict. When he told me about this incident later, he nearly shook with the memory of it, but I know he felt proud too – not for how he handled the situation, but for an entirely different reason.

When this guy goes down to the drop-in centre, he does not stand out, not in his attire, nor in his speech. He becomes as those he serves and they love that about him. Actually, more than half the people he meets there haven’t a clue he’s the chairman of the board of directors – he’s just one of the guys, which is obviously what the angry new neighbour thought…and that pleased my friend to no end.

We read in the gospel that we should not draw attention to ourselves…when we fast, when we pray…and how about when we serve others? I marvel at this man and how he lives his faith. He does it far better than I, but the good news is – with open eyes, minds and hearts, we can learn from each other, growing closer to God in the process.

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Catholic love Social Action Stength

We Are But A Speck

It snowed overnight on our ascent. This was in 2012, but the memories are still vivid. (Fortunately, all physical pain is gone and forgotten!?
It snowed overnight on our ascent. This was in 2012, but the memories are still vivid. (Fortunately, all physical pain is gone and forgotten!)

Hiking down into (and, more importantly, back out of) the Grand Canyon is, for many of us, a monumental feat.   It’s certainly not one I’d ever take lightly – again.  For the five of us who made this trek in February – two experienced hikers…three not – it was a bonding experience; a test of character and will.  It was a delight to the eyes, the ears, the soul.  Majestic, transcending all other visual experiences in my life!

With some distance now between me and the physical pain of this adventure, I can truly say it was an opportunity that I would not pass up if given the chance to do it again.

Our bodies groaned the day after our six hour hike down into the Canyon.  The constant jarring on knees and feet, pounding down an unrelentingly steep grade, had major consequences.  Our heavy packs adding insult to injury.  While in the canyon, we hiked day after day after day, just to keep those joints moving and soon they were repaired enough to tackle the hike up and out.

I loved the day hikes most of all.  The weather was mild, with cloudless skies, once the sun had climbed high enough to show itself over the canyon walls.  No heavy packs on the day hikes, just a bit of lunch, lots of water and much camaraderie.  On one of these hikes, as we headed back to our campsite, I got way ahead of everyone else.  I’m not sure how or why it happened, but I continued on, alone with my thoughts.  I would stop every now and then to photograph some awesome sight.  Over and over, this one thought kept coming to my mind – we are but a speck…and a moment in time.  Surrounded by this massive expanse of rock, billions of years in formation, I could think of little else.  And yet, there I was, this speck, wandering around a mile below where normal people stood, and I was filled with God’s love – for me…this tiny, inconsequential speck that God loves.  That will put strength in your stride and add height to your stature.  I smiled at the thought process that took me from feeling so small…to so important.  Not filled with self-importance, but a sense of being important enough to be so loved.

Still, in a geographical and geological sense, there’s no denying… we are but a speck and a moment in time.  I concluded, on this independent hike, therefore, that there’s no time to waste.  I must get busy!  But busy how?  Doing what?  Sometimes it’s all so confusing – and then it’s not.  The answer came, bouncing off the rock walls that encompassed me – love.  Just love.  If I feel such love, I must give such love.  That’s where you begin – a simple way to live one’s life – with love.  I’ve always tried to live this way, but not always with success.  When I gossip, I’m not loving; when I judge, I do not love…So, I’ll pick myself up, dust myself off and try harder.

After a time, the others caught up with me and the chattering and laughter filled the air once again – but I felt changed.  Nature, God’s creation, has a powerfully spiritual effect on me.

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Social Action Social Awareness Uncategorized

Knock and the Door Shall be Opened…

safe n soundPoverty surrounds us, and many who hold down jobs, manage to pay their bills, and put food on the table, don’t have a clear understanding of how poverty happens and why people can’t simply pull themselves out of it.

Imagine yourself a young man who has grown up in the system, finally deciding to break the cycle. You get yourself a job interview, but it’s not here in town. You don’t have a vehicle, the buses don’t travel there either, but you do manage to get to the interview. You get the job, a construction job. Your life is finally going to turn around, you are ready to do this. It’s summer, and it’s hot, working  in the blazing sun; working from 6:00 in the morning till 6:00 at night. After two long days, you quit. ‘Lazy,’ people say; ‘afraid of a little hard work,’ they say. They don’t know, and you don’t tell them that you have no money for food. You work a 12 hour day in the hot sun, with only water to drink. OSHaRE, the local soup kitchen, is closed by the time you get home and you go to bed hungry. You work another 12 hour day, in the hot sun, with no food, and you can’t take any more.

Poverty is complicated. There’s no one-size fits all image and consequently no one solution to alleviate it. The complexity of it all has created a plethora of government agencies and departments, as well as various organizations all aimed at ridding our society of poverty. Are they working? Do they help? Government workers have become weighted down filing reports that take up more of their time than the people they supposedly serve. And still, out in the real world, the general opinion is, “They’re lazy…they don’t want to work…”

Safe ‘N Sound, as the name implies, offers a safe place to come in out of the cold (in summer – out of the heat); a place to gather with others for a noon meal – a community within a community. It’s a place where everyone is welcome, accepted and respected. For the homeless, it’s a place to take a shower, do laundry, replace old, worn clothing with gently used; a place for those with uncertain futures to receive direction and guidance, and nothing is charged for the services provided. Overall, it is a community of hope.

This is the vision for The Space, at 310 8th St East, in Owen Sound, the center operated by Safe ‘N Sound, its staff and its board.  This is the work being done by day, Monday to Friday. By night they operate an after hours phone line, providing emergency shelter seven days a week.

Safe ‘N Sound needs to be recognized for what it does and what it provides. It is not government run and operates on meager funds. Consequently, Safe ‘N Sound is always in need of donations – clothing (especially men’s), towels, bedding (as they are always aiding those needing to furnish new living quarters). Donations of food and coffee, laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo and toothpaste. Things that so many people take for granted, become luxuries when one is homeless, or in danger of becoming homeless. Can you help – serving on the Board, contributing financially or with needed donations?  Drop in around noon one week day and see for yourself, the work that is being done there. Find it in your heart to make a difference, no matter how small, because one way or another, we all pay for the tragedy of homelessness.