God moments

On the first full day of meetings, the NFPC diocesan representatives were invited to reflect on the meaning of our theme - Honouring our Priesthood: Where We Meet God. We are grateful to Father Bill Brennan, a priest of the Diocese of Saint John (NB) for accepting our invitation to help us unpack this theme and begin to reflect on the 'God moments' in our lives.

Bill is well known to many of those who have worked with the NFPC for the past number of years. He currently resides in Woodstock (NB) and is pastor of Saint Gertrude's parish in that locale. Having devoted many years to the discipline of spiritual direction and specifically to spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Bill is well suited to address the challenge of finding God in the ordinary and sometimes not so ordinary moments of our day.

With his characteristic practicality and with both feet firmly planted on the ground, Bill spoke his personal truth of struggling at times to name the moments in his life when he is privileged to know that God is indeed very present. These moments are different for each priest, indeed for every person, but the truth is that sometimes we are so caught up in the fast pace of life that we miss the moment and must take time to allow these grace moments to catch up with the rest of our bodies, souls and psyches.

Using a series of scriptural references, he invited those present to explore the various seasons of the liturgical year as particular moments when we might be especially sensitive to the presence of God, and the many various ways that this divine presence is made known to us.

We often can find God in the very ordinary, sometimes mundane routines of our lives, if we have the eyes to see and the willingness to look. God is present to us in the anticipatory moments (Advent) as well as the birthing experiences (Christmas) of our lives. We can often identify the hand of God as being present in the sufferings (Lent) and joys (Easter) of our ministry, and we can even find God in the regular routines (Ordinary Time) of our lives. Like the treasure which is hidden in a field, God waits for us to discover the treasure which is beyond all price, the treasure which we are willing to sacrifice everything in order to obtain.

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Conscious of the need to care for our environment, participants at this year's NFPC National Assembly are going green. Each delegate received a coffee mug, a gift from the Island Catholic Schools, which we are encouraged to use during our stay here in Victoria. This is only one of a number of details which have definitely not been overlooked in an effort to make all of us most welcome here on Canada's West coast.

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One of the highlights of this afternoon's activities included the presentation of the NFPC's newest publication. Having published Reflections on Priesthood (2001) and Priestly Wellness (2004), the NFPC now adds the third publication to the public domain. This newest work is entitled The Priest as Servant Leader: Developing Values for Priestly Ministry.

All diocesan delegates who are present here in Victoria received copies of this document today. In the days, weeks and months following their return home at the end of this week, they will be invited to share this publication with the bishops, Presbyteral Councils and priests of their particular dioceses and eparchies.

Priestly Values has been four years in the making. If the sales of Priestly Wellness are any indication, this document too is destined to be on the best seller list of resources meant to help priests to reflect and understand our roles as servants called to model the life of faith for God's holy people.

Stay tuned ... more updates are coming soon.