PREVIOUS PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
A 4 Week Group Retreat via Zoom meeting every Monday evenings from 7 to 8:30pm. Through prayer, input, and sharing, participants will attend all sessions and share the highlights of their prayertime.
Participants will be expected to spend 30 to 40 minutes in prayer each day and be open to sharing highlights of their prayer experiences with the group. Each Monday evening, we will provide material for prayers for the coming week and provide time in small groups and in larger group to share our experiences of praying on the Scripture passages of the previous week.
A 4-week series looking at the different aspects of how God reveals His love and how we can participate in receiving and giving it to all of Creation.
Week 1 will look at Creation as a reflection of God’s love for us and how we can engage in loving and caring for our common home.
Week 2 will look into the self and how God created each of us out of love and for a unique purpose. We will also look at our identity rooted in Christ, and how that impacts our day to day living.
Week 3 will examine the importance of community and how we can participate in loving and serving others.
Week 4 will summarize and point to how learning and loving all these aspects (Creation, self, and others) lead to a deeper love and understanding of God.
Pristine is a new addition to the Outreach Team at FCJ Christian Life Centre. Pristine is a former nurse with experience in research and education, as well as over 10 years of experience in pastoral care and ministry. Pristine is passionate about providing a holistic approach and responding to the growing needs of the youth and environment.
We see Jesus’ example of fasting to teach us how we can draw closer into union with Him. His example has been followed by His faithful disciples during the 40 days of Lent. We know that we have succumbed to the temptations of self-indulgence, pride, seeking popularity, power or control, or some type of idolatry where we elevate our own will and desires over what Jesus wants of us. Yes Lord, please forgive us. During Lent we are invited to think deeply about this. This practice is not meant as a personal challenge of willpower or a punishing deprivation of our self, but rather a spiritual tool to clear and make space in our minds, hearts, and make time for more of Jesus, and the values of His holy reign in our lives, to become more and more like Him by walking with Him during Lent.
Some questions to ask as you prepare for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent:
· What is your current greatest desire when it comes to your faith life?
· What aspects of your life are you willing to abandon entirely to His grace?
· Are there any activities or habits you would like to surrender to focus on Jesus to become more like Him in this Holy Season of conversion and union with Him?
When we talk about the Paschal Mystery we are referring to God’s plan of salvation which was ultimately fulfilled through four events in Christ’s life. Those four events are His Passion, his suffering and crucifixion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension.
The Paschal Mystery is at the heart of the Catholic faith. It is about what Jesus did to save us. The word “Paschal” comes from the Jewish feast of Passover. In the same way that God saved His people in the Old Testament, Jesus saves us in the New Testament.
Through Jesus’ suffering, death, and rising from the dead, we are offered new life. This is not just a story from the past. The Paschal Mystery affects our lives today. It brings us closer to Jesus and gives us hope.
They also remind us that suffering and death are not the end. Because of the Paschal Mystery, we have hope of eternal life with God. This is the center of our faith and why we follow Jesus. Let’s take some time off before we enter into Lent and learn how we can live the Pascal Mystery in our daily lives.
Take time to slow down this Lent and walk with Jesus, to deepen your relationship with Him and see anew the gift He gave us through His passion, death and resurrection.
Each week will include input, group sharing and prayer material for the coming week as we walk together in hope.
This program explores the relevance of suffering and challenges in our everyday life. It aims to transform the way we look at pain and suffering and to provide useful and practical tools that will help growth and reflection.
In line with the Lenten Season, we will be focusing on the passion and suffering of Jesus and the many Scriptures and teachings that can be applied to our present environment and day-to-day struggles.
Pristine is a new addition to the Outreach Team at FCJ Christian Life Centre. Pristine is a former nurse with experience in research and education, as well as over 10 years of experience in pastoral care and ministry. Pristine is passionate about providing a holistic approach and responding to the growing needs of the youth and environment.
As we journey with Christ through Lent, may we take this opportunity to listen the deep connections Indigenous Christians have made between their original teachings and the teachings of the Gospel.
Rev Tony Snow (Stoney Nakoda First Nation) is an Indigenous Minister ordained in the United Church of Canada (UCC). He works as the regional minister on Indigenous Reconciliation issues in southern Alberta. His late father, Dr. Rev. Chief John Snow Sr., was the first ordained minister in the UCC in Alberta in 1963. Tony continues his post graduate studies at the Vancouver School of Theology focused on the PhD in Practical Theology program between VST and the University of Pretoria. He volunteers on many environmental and ecclesiastical boards such as Can-Rac Canada, For The Love Of Creation Campaign, Interfaith Fast For The Climate, the Calgary Climate Hub and the Calgary Interfaith Council.
Would you like a spiritual companion on your faith journey but you're not quite sure how to go about it or even what it would entail? Spiritual Direction may be exactly what you have been looking for. The purpose to meet with a Spiritual Director are many and unique to the spiritual needs of each person. Come and learn more about this beneficial profession and how it can be an encouraging and supportive accompaniment to your spiritual life.
Sonya is a trained Spiritual Director for 16 years and offers individual and group Spiritual Direction (“SD”), SD Supervision, and retreats with a focus on Silence, Nature, Scripture, Music, Contemplation and Prayer. She is one of the leaders of the Spiritual Direction Training Program (SDTP) and a member of the Resource Team at the FCJ Centre. Sonya’s background includes Master degrees in Divinity, Leadership and Ministry as well as advanced degrees in Music and Theology. She has been a music instructor and animal sitter for over 25 years and loves the beneficial healing attributes that naturally flow from both. Her deep passion for hospitality, faith-formation, and living an unconventional contemplative non-busy lifestyle exude through her charism and ministry style.
Sr. Theresa (Terry) Smith, FCJ, will lead a Nature Walk that will be followed by some time of reflection on Thursday, May 1, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Come prepared to look for signs of new life outside and within.