News & Views Assumption Province

Transcription

1 News & Views Assumption Province On April 2, 2014 we celebrated the first John Paul II Day in Ontario Page 4 CROCUS On March 10-16, 2014, Fr. Provincial and Fr. Wojciech Kowal attended a CROCUS meeting. The meeting was held first in Ponchatoula, Louisiana (working session at the Dominican Sisters Retreat House) and then in New Orleans visiting the US Oblate Mission Centre at St. Jude Parish. A good portion of the CROCUS meeting was occupied by discussing the joint session of the region with the General Administration, which will take place at Notre Dame du Cap from November 9-14, Both Fathers were very much impressed by the ministry provided to street people and different ethnic groups at St. Jude Parish and Our Lady of Guadeloupe Shrine. Contents Page 1 CROCUS Page 3 John Paul II Coins Page 5 Mission Coop Page 6 Canonization Page 8 Perpetual Vows "Your destiny is to be apostles, and so tend within your hearts the sacred fire that the Holy Spirit lights there..." - St. Eugene de Mazenod -

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3 Royal Canadian Mint Commemorates John Paul II On March 27, 2014, at the John Paul II Cultural Centre in Mississauga, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled collector coins to commemorate the canonization of Pope John Paul II. This first public presentation of the two most recent coins included a gold coin ($25) and a silver coin ($10) which went on sale April 1 st, The ceremony was attended by Simon Kamel (Vice President of the Royal Canadian Mint), Wladyslaw Lizon (MP from Mississauga), Teresa Berezowska (President of the Polish Canadian Congress), Fr. Janusz Blazejak (Chairman of the Canadian Conference of Polish Priests in Eastern Canada) and Ted Fujarczuk (President of the Maximilian Kolbe Foundation). The unveiling ceremony was attended by many people, including media. Representing Cardinal Collins, Fr. Janusz said, this is an amazing event not only for the Polish community living in Canada, but for all Catholics. John Paul II was the first pope who so bravely spoke about human freedoms and rights, respect for others. He was able to notice people who were the most in need, his eyes had the charism of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and his heart that of St. Francis of Assisi. He was the first pilgrim pope, who was not afraid to visit even the most difficult places in the world and speak about the most difficult human issues. We are very proud of this celebration and in the name of Cardinal Collins whom I am representing today, on behalf of all Polish priests and the Polish community in Canada, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Royal Canadian Mint for this fabulous idea and gift to us all. 3

4 A few days earlier, the Ontario Provincial Parliament unanimously passed a private members bill, presented by Dipika Damerla from the Mississauga East Cooksville riding, declaring John Paul II Day in the Province of Ontario every April 2 nd. Demerla convinced the members of the Ontario Parliament that April 2 nd is not only an important day for Catholics, but for all Ontarians. She emphasized that the Pope s message of peace, equality, respect for others is transcending and always alive, even today. Statements of support were given by the Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins and the Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne. On April 2, 2014 we celebrated the first John Paul II Day in Ontario at the JPII Polish Cultural Center. The event was attended by representatives of various Polish organizations, clergy, scout youth and numerous politicians. Dipika Damerla gladly gave a quick synopsis of the path this bill has travelled through Ontario parliament bureaucracy it is fact that this new law was relatively easily carried out. She expressed that although she is neither a Catholic nor a Pole, John Paul II was an important figure to her. She denoted that faith is a very important facet of everyone s life. She recalled the Pope's words "be not afraid" that inspired millions of Poles. Stalin once asked how many divisions the Pope has and these words answered his questions, confirming that the Pope does not need military divisions because faith is much stronger. It is the MP s belief that even today we should be inspired by the Pope s words, to act correctly in the face of political and military violence. 4

5 Following ordination, I was sent to serve at a parish in Ilawa as an associate pastor. After preparing to work in the missions, I arrived to Madagascar on October 16, The first 10 months I spent learning the Malgasy language. After completing a language course I was sent on my first mission to Masomeloka, on the eastern border of Madagascar. I worked there for 2 years after which I was moved to the mission in Mahanoro where I work to this day. I am the house bursar and am responsible for 42 parish in the bush. I also take care of parish groups such as altar servers, vocations, youth, I am the chaplain of a Catholic soccer league and provide ministry to fishermen. Mission Co-op Missionary My name is Piotr Koman. I was born on January 28, 1979 as the first child of Tadeusz and Grazyna Koman in Bilgoraj. I come from a working class family. I have 3 younger siblings, two brothers and one sister. After graduating from a mechanical agriculture technical high school in Rozaniec and passing my final exams, I entered into the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Noviciate in Swiety Krzyz in September of A year later I began my studies in the Oblate higher seminary in Obra. I professed my perpetual vows on September 8, 2004 in Obra. After completing my Masters, I was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 2006 at the hands of Bp. Stanislaw Gadecki. 5

6 Canonization of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II 6

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8 Bro. Paul Patrick Professes Perpetual Vows On May 1 st, 2014, Brother Paul Patrick professed his Perpetual Vows at the General House in Rome. The celebration was attended by Fr. Marian Gil OMI, Provincial, and Bro. Paul s mother and sister with husband. A few pictures from the event illustrate the beauty and festivities of this momentous occasion. The pictures are followed by Bro. Paul s vocation story. Congratulations Bro. Paul! 8

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10 I was born on May 17, 1986 in Etobicoke, Ontario in Canada, to Paul and Angela Patrick. In my family we are five siblings; I have two older married sisters and two younger brothers. With my father and mother we lived in rural Milton, where as a family we engaged in a small scale farming venture, running it in our spare time. Growing up I would have described my family is a devout Catholic family, close to each other, hardworking, and with an emphasis on family and religious traditions and education. Despite this environment however, although I attended Mass and was an altar server since after my First Communion, growing up I had no long held idea of pursuing a religious vocation. Rather, I always envisioned myself as a mechanical engineer, since I loved heavy machinery, operating tractors, and working with my hands on various equipment. I did however have a sense of admiration for the Oblates who served in my home parish of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Mississauga. Given my mindset and my plans for the future, it came as a shock to me when seemingly out of nowhere, the thought of becoming a priest entered my mind as a teenager. Although at the time I fiercely resisted the mere notion of a religious vocation, it kept returning even despite my best efforts to ignore it as stupidity or to negate it. Deciding to ignore it as an inconvenient passing phase, I chose instead to begin my studies to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering. During the time of my engineering studies, I enjoyed myself with friends and received good grades since I was passionate about the material. I also spent a considerable amount of free time playing ice hockey as a goaltender. To help offset the university and living fees, I started up my own agricultural business; which saw me buying my own tractor and equipment, renting land, and conducting custom tractor services for local agribusinesses. Yet, despite my passion for my chosen field of study and the success of my small business, I could not remove the thought that there was something lacking in my life. As time progressed, I gradually found myself admiring more and more the work of the Oblates, especially the example set forth by my late pastor, Fr. Stanislaw Kowal. As gradually my vocation grew, I found myself spending more time, almost unconsciously around and in the Church, whether It was offering my services as a volunteer to fix machinery or as a group leader. I developed a good relationship with Fr. Kowal who was instrumental in inspiring me to consider the possibility of a religious vocation. I have requested that the Oblate cross which I receive on that day would be the cross of the late Fr. Stan Kowal, as a way of being close to my mentor and ensuring that his charism and spirit live on. Eventually, I reached an inner decision and decided to take seriously my religious vocation and in the summer of 2007 I took the initiative to approach the Oblates of Assumption Province. In September of 2007, I began my initial preparation for Oblate life at the Prenovitiate in Buffalo NY, where I received a Bachelor s degree in Philosophy. Two years later, I entered the Oblate novitiate in Godfrey Illinois, professing first vows on August 1, After novitiate, I became a part of the George Sexton Community in San Antonio, Texas, and completed a year of theological studies at Oblate School of Theology. After the completion of one year in San Antonio, my vocational journey took me to become a part of the International Scholasticate Community in Rome, Italy where I am currently in my final year of theological studies at the Gregorian University. Studying theology in Rome has been a deeply enriching and humbling experience in multiple facets. I look back on my vocational journey with a great sense of gratitude to God and those people and circumstances through which I was able to meet him along the way, especially for the Missionary Oblates of Assumption Province for their witness and testimony of life. 10