{"id":1831,"date":"2016-06-16T16:14:12","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T20:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2016-06-16T16:14:12","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T20:14:12","slug":"100th-anniversary-of-the-diocese-of-timmins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/100th-anniversary-of-the-diocese-of-timmins\/","title":{"rendered":"100th Anniversary of the Diocese of Timmins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Homily of the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr Luigi Bonazzi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Timmins, June 12, 2016<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My dear brother bishops,<\/p>\n

Dear brothers and sisters of the Diocese of Timmins,<\/p>\n

I cordially thank your dear Bishop, Msgr. Poitras, who kindly invited me to be a part of and to share with you, this special anniversary of the Centenary of your Diocese, erected on January 7, 1916.<\/p>\n

By my presence, I wish to bring you the greeting, friendship, closeness \u2013 in a word \u2013 the spiritual participation in your celebration, of His Holiness Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Church; together let us reaffirm our filial affection and fidelity towards the Holy Father.\u00a0\u00a0 In this moment I also wish to transmit to each and every one of you, to those closest to you, to your families and in particular to the young and to the aged, and to those who have a great need to be encouraged and helped, the prayer and the blessing of Pope Francis.\u00a0 I assure you of his prayer and I ask you in return, not to forget to pray for him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. One hundred years of history.\u00a0 It is an anniversary which we celebrate on the very day of your Patronal Feast of St. Anthony of Padua.\u00a0 You do not see him with your physical sight but he is here.\u00a0 Yes, St. Anthony is here with us.\u00a0 He is present among us in that consoling truth, unfortunately often overlooked, which we profess in the Creed:\u00a0 the communion of saints.\u00a0 Yes, dear brothers and sisters, faith assures us that there is a vital link between the Church triumphant in heaven and the Church militant on earth; the inhabitants of heaven continue to take care of things on earth; they are interested in what we do, our needs, world events, the life of the Church.\u00a0 Consequently, as we celebrate the centenary of the Diocese, St. Anthony is with us!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With him there is also a great multitude of friends, relatives, consecrated men and women, priests, persons known and those we were not able to know and who, through their generosity and sacrifice, have helped give birth to what is now in your hands:\u00a0 this community of faith, hope and charity which is the Diocese of Timmins, present throughout the territory in its parishes, associations, its communities, in its educational and charitable works.<\/p>\n

    This great multitude accompanies us actively, interceding for us before the Lord, asking the graces that you \u2013 who are their heirs \u2013 have need of in order to continue the mission that the Diocese of Timmins is called to carry out in this beautiful part of Northern Ontario.\u00a0\u00a0 Grateful for the legacy you have received, you can have the confidence necessary to preserve, develop and \u2013 if you remain faithful to Jesus and his Gospel \u2013 to perform \u201ceven greater works\u201d (John 14:12).<\/p>\n

    One hundred years, in communion with all those who have come before us and who are here with us, especially in communion with St. Anthony of Padua, your heavenly Patron.\u00a0 I like to recall the title by which he is honored as a \u201cDoctor of the Church\u201d, with the specific title \u201cEvangelical Doctor\u201d.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Precisely because in St. Anthony the Gospel was his very life.\u00a0 When he was speaking he was always using the words of the Gospel.\u00a0 He was deeply convinced that \u201cman does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God\u201d (Matthew 4:4).\u00a0 We can understand why St. Anthony of Padua is represented as holding the Child Jesus in his arms:\u00a0 not only did Anthony hold Jesus in his arms but imitated him in his entire life.\u00a0 He was, in a manner of speaking \u201cAnthony-Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Like Jesus who was always in prayerful dialogue with the Father in order to understand and fulfill the Father\u2019s will, Anthony considered prayer as a fundamental aspect of an authentic Christian life.\u00a0 He taught that prayer consisted of lifting the heart towards God.\u00a0 It is a relationship of love between the Creator and the creature, a dialogue full of affection between the person who loves and the one who is loved.\u00a0 When praying, St. Anthony invites us first of all to seek \u201cGod from God\u201d; to ask not only for health or for the goods of the earth, but \u201cto ask God from God\u201d because with God we receive everything.\u00a0 \u201cSeek first the Kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things will be given to you as well<\/em>\u201d (Matthew 6:33).<\/p>\n

    Without ever separating the love of God from the love of neighbor.\u00a0 In this regard, St. Anthony liked to recall a teaching of St. Isidore of Seville who calls our attention to the fact that having laid three eggs in its nest, the eagle throws one out since it knows that it could never feed three eaglets.\u00a0 \u00a0Similarly we cannot nurture the love of God and neighbor and self-love.\u00a0 Christians must banish self-love in order to mature the other two loves.\u00a0 St. Anthony concluded:\u00a0 \u201cTwo things make perfect the human being:\u00a0 love of God and love of neighbour.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Turning more directly towards all of you, gathered here in the name of your brothers and sisters scattered over the vast territory of this diocese and who could not join us today, you might ask: \u00a0what are the sentiments that should fill our hearts on this occasion?<\/p>\n

    The answer is obvious and spontaneous. Since the first and primary word of the Dictionary of the Christian Life is \u201cto receive\u201d; yes, to truly receive the love of God, to open ourselves to the love of God that always precedes us, in fact as St. John says:\u00a0 \u201cIn this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins\u2026We love because he first loved us<\/em>\u201d (1 John 4:10; 19).\u00a0 So for people who have \u201creceived\u201d (\u2026), the first word can only be \u201cthank-you\u201d.\u00a0 Thank-you Lord, for having created me; thank-you for everything!<\/p>\n

    In saying \u201cthank-you\u201d today we are called to make this inner act with maturity and increased responsibility.\u00a0 It is normal and in fact quite easy to say thank-you when we have received a gift, a piece of good news, when things are good and going well.\u00a0 But when a misfortune happens?\u00a0 When suffering enters our lives?\u00a0 In the one hundred year history of your Diocese there were indeed personal and family events known perhaps only to those who experienced them but there were also collective moments of great suffering and distress.\u00a0 We think of the fires of 1916 and 1922, the first devastated the region of Matheson and Val-Gagn\u00e9; the second destroyed most of the town of Haileybury.<\/p>\n

    Faced with these tragedies is it still possible to say \u201cthank-you\u201d?\u00a0 The matter is very delicate and the answer is not easy.\u00a0 A luminous response however is possible for those who have received the gift of faith, a faith that allows the light to shine through, even in the darkness.\u00a0 To illustrate this point I relate what I heard a few years ago from a great man of prayer.\u00a0 He said, \u201cIf you receive a grace, a consolation, a pleasant surprise, say \u201cthank-you!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 But if you are given a cross to bear, offer thanks twice for it.\u00a0 The first act of thanksgiving can be offered because the Lord, by having you meet the Cross, gives you a sign of the supreme love he had for you when, on the Cross, he loved you to the end (John 13:1).\u00a0 Then you can offer the second one because He calls you to open your heart to the measure of His love, to experience it, and to bear witness of it to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Dear friends, dear faithful of the Diocese of Timmins, on the occasion of your centennial celebration I hope and pray that the Lord will grant you the grace of \u201cthank-you\u201d said twice!\u00a0 May the memory of this day imprint itself upon your soul and give you by faith, the ability to \u201csay thank-you twice.\u201d\u00a0 In a word, what we are seeking is the grace to say thank you always, in all circumstances but especially when the Lord calls us to witness \u2013 as his disciples (cf. Mt 4:24; Mk 8:43; Lk 9:23) \u2013 a love capable of embracing sacrifice, willing to \u201crenounce self\u201d, in a word to live a love that goes even to the cross.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Each anniversary and in a special way, yours, is not only the occasion to give thanks for what has been received from the past, but becomes immediately a commitment, full of conscious responsibility, of building the future.\u00a0 I am confident that your Pastor, ably assisted by his collaborators (whom I greet and thank) will surely offer \u201cnew pathways\u201d to guide you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For my part, to help make this your diocese even more beautiful, I would like to leave you four programmatic words:\u00a0 communion, formation, participation and mission.\u00a0 They all revolve around the central understanding of \u201cthe Church as communion\u201d, of a Church that \u201clives together\u201d and in which all \u201cjourney together\u201d.\u00a0 These are words that call for each other and refer to each other:\u00a0 where one of them appears, the others also appear; when one is missing, the others disappear.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Communion <\/u><\/p>\n

      We can give many definitions and descriptions of the Church.\u00a0 For me, the most simple and also the most beautiful and real:\u00a0 The Church is \u201ccommunion\u201d, a family of sons and daughters of God who live with \u201cone heart and one soul\u201d (Acts 4:32), in perfect agreement, in sympathy, brotherly love, compassion and the spirit of humility (1 Pt 3:8).\u00a0 The solid foundation of the \u201cChurch of communion\u201d are the four main works that describe the first Christian community and which should characterize each Christian community:\u00a0 \u201cThey devoted themselves to the Apostles\u2019 teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers\u201d (Acts 2:42).\u00a0 This is what your Bishop recalled in his homily at the inauguration of the Centenary celebrations.<\/p>\n

      \u201cEcclesial communion\u201d should not be confused with human friendship.\u00a0 In fact ecclesial communion includes and demands human friendship but also infinitely exceeds it.\u00a0 \u201cCommunion\u201d is a gift that comes from above. \u201cCommunion is the fruit and demonstration of that love which springs from the heart of the Eternal Father and is poured out upon us through the Spirit which Jesus gives us\u201d (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, no. 42).\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0This is an immense grace which enables us to live \u201con earth as in heaven\u201d (cf. Mt 6:10), and which manifests itself in an amazing network of human-divine relationships, animated by faith, hope and charity.\u00a0 Thus, the mobilization of the best human resources is essential to communion but human effort alone cannot generate Evangelical unity (cf. 1 Cor 3:9).\u00a0 It is the work of the Spirit, invoked humbly and perseveringly, following the example of Mary.<\/p>\n

      According to your heavenly patron, St. Anthony of Padua, communion or unity requires knowing how to live the virtue of patience.\u00a0 He taught:\u00a0 \u201cIf on the altar of our heart there is no patience, the wind will come to disperse the sacrifice of good works.\u00a0 Where you do not lose patience, there unity is preserved<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 Therefore, asking the gift of communion means also asking for the gift of that patient love which \u201cbears all things, believes all things hopes all things, endures all things<\/em>\u201d (1 Cor 13:7).\u00a0 Basically, it is asking the gift of mercy.\u00a0 There is no communion without mercy, without being merciful.\u00a0 In this Year or Mercy let us ask St. Anthony to obtain for us the gift of Mercy.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Formation<\/u><\/p>\n

      \u201cThe formation of the lay faithful must be placed among the priorities of a diocese.\u00a0 It ought to be so placed within the plan of pastoral action that the efforts of the whole community (clergy, faithful and religious) converge on this goal<\/em>\u201d (Christifideles Laici<\/em>, no. 57).<\/p>\n

      The esteem and respect for the \u201cpopular religiosity\u201d that characterizes our communities and many of our faithful must be accompanied by an educational wisdom and intelligent catechetical animation that helps to mature an adult faith, conscious, capable of finding in the Gospel the responses to the cultural challenges of the contemporary world.<\/p>\n

      We must educate ourselves, therefore, \u201cto account for the hope that is within us<\/em>\u201d (1 Pt 3:15), knowing that the Christian community, building up the Kingdom of God, equally contributes to building up the \u201ccity of man.\u201d\u00a0 To meet these needs which cannot be deferred, it is necessary to activate a \u201ccreativity in charity\u201d, a wise spirit in the catechetical approach in order to generate new forms of education in the faith and in pastoral care, always within the logic of ecclesial communion.<\/p>\n

      Never forgetting that the Church\u2019s commitment to formation, when it is authentic, always results in seeking a \u201chigh standard of ordinary Christian living<\/em>\u201d (Novo Millennio Ineunte<\/em>, no. 31):\u00a0 that is, striving daily for holiness and the consequent fight against all forms of spiritual mediocrity or complicity with evil in all its dark and seductive versions.<\/p>\n

      Christian holiness, as we know, finds its culmination in the perfection of charity towards God and neighbor.\u00a0 Therefore, it is always a \u2018holiness of communion\u2019:\u00a0 it is born from communion and builds communion.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Participation<\/u><\/p>\n

      For the Church entering into the Third Millennium, it is crucial to the life and apostolate of the Christian community to foster the full participation of the laity in the Church\u2019s mission.\u00a0 \u00a0In fact, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:\u00a0 \u201cChrist (\u2026) fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy (\u2026) but also by the laity.\u00a0 He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith and the grace of the word<\/em>\u201d (CCC, 904).<\/p>\n

      From this perspective, the commitment of the laity is not only an added and therefore accidental element, but a \u201cco-essential and therefore indispensable factor in all aspects of pastoral life, so much so that in a passage from the Second Vatican Council we read:\u00a0 \u201cTheir activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness<\/em>\u201d (Apostolicam actuositatem, no. 10<\/em>).<\/p>\n

      We cannot forget that the effective exercise of co-responsibility in the Church is proportional to the degree that we learn \u201cto be together\u201d and \u201cact together\u201d:\u00a0 it requires the gradual liberation from private and egocentric tendencies that each of us harbour within ourselves.<\/p>\n

      The fruits of communion cannot be improvised; that is to say, it is not enough to assign tasks to the laity in order to build the Church as communion.\u00a0 It is essential to promote an ecclesial apprenticeship, a real pastoral training in order to form our people to live in unity, living the truth in love (cf. Eph 4:15).<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Mission<\/u><\/p>\n

      In the Gospel we have just heard earlier, Jesus calls and sends \u201cseventy-two disciples\u201d (Luke 10: 1ff).\u00a0 \u201cSeventy-two\u201d representing the peoples of the earth according to Genesis.\u00a0 We are sent to the entire world, to all, without exception. \u201cTwo-by-two.\u201d\u00a0 What is, in fact, the announcement that the disciples are called to bring?\u00a0 Peace:\u00a0 \u201cPeace be to this house.\u201d\u00a0 Peace is not just the absence of conflict but much more:\u00a0 it is the fullness of love, the fruit of the new commandment, the real novelty of Christianity, \u201cthat you love one another\u201d (John 13:34).\u00a0 For the announcement to be credible and not words only, it must come from the testimony of at least two.<\/p>\n

      As we know, the \u201cmissionary Church\u201d, \u201cthe Church that goes forth\u201d is the constant invitation extended to us by Pope Francis; this is the fundamental theme of his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium<\/em>.\u00a0 The Church going forth is a Church that does not look at itself and does not live for itself:\u00a0 \u201cAll of us are called to take part in this new missionary \u201cgoing forth<\/em>\u201d (EG 20).\u00a0 \u201cThe Church which goes forth is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice<\/em>\u201d (EG 24).\u00a0 These words evoke the image of Pope Francis among the people, embracing and being embraced by them, totally immersed, an icon of how he would like and how we would like, the Church to be.<\/p>\n

      The missionary dimension is expressed, consequently, in the commitment to announce at large, as far as possible, the saving Word, in the awareness that the first gift we owe our brothers and sisters is Christ, the Bread of Life.\u00a0 In this regard, we must always remember that the path of evangelization must go through the path of mutual love, of giving and of service (Christifideles Laici<\/em>, no. 10).\u00a0 This must be particularly witnessed with perseverance through the preferential love for the poor and little ones (cf. Mt 25:40).\u00a0 Without this concrete solidarity manifested in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy \u2013 so often recommended by Pope Francis in this Jubilee Year of Mercy \u2013 faith remains dead (cf. James 2:14-26).\u00a0 These good works require constant conversion of heart.\u00a0 In fact charity is much more demanding than occasional acts of kindness:\u00a0 Charity involves and creates bonds, while the latter limits itself to a gesture.<\/p>\n

      The world \u2013 yesterday, today and always \u2013 has need of Jesus. \u00a0\u201cSalvation is found in no one else\u201d (Acts 4:12).\u00a0 Today, more than ever, the Spirit calls us to be available for the task of building communion, of living \u201cthe Church as communion\u201d and which represents the necessary condition to build a \u201cMissionary Church\u201d.\u00a0 Indeed, \u201ccommunion<\/em> \u2013that is the testimony of fraternal love – gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion<\/em>\u201d (ChL<\/em> no. 32).<\/p>\n

      I entrust all of you to your patron, St. Anthony of Padua, and to Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church so that \u201ctogether you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>\u201d (Rom. 15:6).\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Homily of the Apostolic Nuncio, Timmins, June 12, 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[45,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1832,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions\/1832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}