St. Jean Baptiste Day

The Fête nationale du Québec, the official holiday of Quebec, is celebrated on June 24th. It honours both the summer solstice and the patron saint of French Canadians, St. John the Baptist. Over the years it has evolved into a vibrant celebration of Quebec’s language, traditions and community spirit.

Saint John the Baptist, a 1540 painting by Titian

St John the Baptist is a major figure and recognized as the last Old Testament prophet and the precursor to Jesus. The French however are far from the only ones who venerate St. John the Baptist. He is honoured as a prophet in Islam, a significant figure in various Christian traditions, including Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches. Bahai, Druze and Mandaeism also venerate him and remember his messages of repentance, preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven and baptism. It is widely held that he baptized his cousin, Jesus.

The church has set aside two feast days regarding his legacy, June 24th,to celebrate his birth and August 29th to honour his martyrdom at the hands of Herod Antipas at the request of his daughter Salome.

Pray for us great St John the Baptist that we may lead other’s to oneness with Jesus.

-Maureen Condon, Associate

National Indigenous People’s Day

National Indigenous People’s Day in Canada takes place on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. It is a time to celebrate the cultures, languages, traditions and spirituality of First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities. Below is one experience of the beautiful spirituality.

Almost a year ago a friend of mine lost her husband. He was an Indigenous elder, sweat lodge keeper, pipe carrier and very generous with his cultural knowledge. A sacred fire was lit and people were invited to come and spend some time there to honour his spirit. I accepted that invitation.

Image: Toa Heftiba/Unsplash

Never having been to a sacred fire I had no idea what a lasting gift it would turn out to be for me. As I approached the property a woman dressed in a ribbon skirt welcomed me and assisted me to the location of the fire. Then a young man approached me with a bowl of smoldering sage and assisted me in a smudging ritual intended to purify, heal, and connect one with the spirit world. Another young man invited me to the opening of a large circle, gifted me with cedar and tobacco, invited me to have a moment of reflection then enter the circle and offer those gifts into the sacred fire. Following that I proceeded around the circle to greet my friend and her family. We visited for a while then I moved on as more people entered this very sacred space. I sat in the circle for some time noticing with great admiration the community spirit demonstrated in action. Several young men volunteered to tend the sacred fire, 24/7 for the 4 days. All the wood for the fire was donated. Food was available outside the circle, again donated by the community. There was storytelling, laughter, and peace within the circle.

If you have the opportunity to gain experience from your Indigenous neighbours, I encourage you to do so where peace and wisdom await you.

-Maureen Condon, CSJ Associate

Palm Sunday Memories

I have wonderful memories of Palm Sundays past. My friend and I for many years went to visit her Dad on Palm Sunday weekend in a rural village in eastern Ontario. The village was small; the parish smaller but the spirit was alive and well. I could see Jesus being very comfortable here riding through town on his wee donkey, a sign of peace rather than dominance in His day.

Sadly, short days later his celebration of welcome turned to one of scorn, the suffering servant was about to be revealed. (Isaiah 50:4-7) He accepted this treatment with faith in His loving Father. With humility, putting others before Himself, (Phil 2:6-11) Jesus submitted to the torture of the cross. Luke’s passion narrative (Luke 22: 14-23, 56) reminds us of Judas’s betrayal, Peter’s denial and repentance, the women’s faithfulness  and centurion’s acknowledgement that Jesus was “this was a great & good Man”.                  

As we move into this most Holy of weeks, let us remind ourselves, daily, of our own faithfulness, our own weaknesses and our belief that Jesus was and is truly our God who loves us especially in our admitted weakness. May you have a blessed Holy Week my friends.

-Maureen Condon, CSJ Associate

Images from Unsplash: Brooke Lark/Alessandro Bellone

Saint Valentine's Day

I recall with fondness those Valentine’s Days of my youth. How exciting it was to fill out little Valentine cards for all my classmates and then to receive so many in return. Art class was dedicated to making hearts & flowers, cards for Moms & Dads. And of course, there had to be treats; little hearts with messages on them or chocolate, or both if one was very lucky.

The fact that the feast was originally named after the 3rd century martyr St. Valentine of Terni paled with the excitement of the day. History remembers him as a priest, some say bishop, who died at the command of Emperor Claudius II Gothicus because he would not renounce his faith. He is remembered as the patron saint of healing and epilepsy. I’ll share one lovely story of how our practice of sending Valentine cards may have started.

St. Valentine is said to have healed a young girl of her blindness. On the day of his execution legend has it that he wrote a letter to that young girl and signed “from your Valentine”. Sounds like a loving soul, doesn’t he?

May you feel loved and offer love to all you meet this Valentines Day, and maybe some treats!

-Maureen Condon, Associate

Images: Becca Tapert/ Unsplash

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - January 18-January 25, 2025

As children we were invited to learn what it meant to be Christian: who we believe in and why. As a young Catholic I didn’t know we were Christians! We generally learned about our religion for marks or holy cards in school, stars in Sunday School or pats on the back at home. Memory work is a wonderful skill but when did we start really believing in what we have learned?

The theme this year for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites us to answer the same question Jesus asked both Martha and Mary as they grieved their brother Lazarus “Do you believe this?” (John 11:11-26) He was of course asking if they believed that HE IS the Resurrection and the Life. They did.

As children, our knowledge of that phrase was rote memory. As an adult, what is the deeper meaning for me today? What did I learn in the past that made sense or didn’t make sense. What do I truly believe in my heart of hearts about Jesus, unity, resurrection and life now? Do those beliefs guide my daily interaction with all God’s creation?

To start the week of Christian Unity this year I will be joining many others at a Sing, Sing, Sing event at a local United Church; after all, those who sing pray twice! 😊 For the rest of the week I will rest with Jesus and answer, Yes Jesus I believe, help my unbelief; there is still so much room for growth.

-Maureen Condon, Associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph

Image: Amaury Gutierrez @amaury_guti/Unsplash