Given that my sister-in-law Madelaine is getting married next Saturday, Oct. 6 - the feast of St. Bruno (tip of the hat to the saintly old Fr. Bruno who does the Tridentine Mass in Saskatoon) - I thought it fitting that I bestow some timely advice regarding marriage and weddings. I am an expert after all. Or something.

1) First off, let me point out the obvious: The wedding day doesn’t really matter.

Now isn’t that a comforting thought? After months and months of stressful planning, spending a gazillion dollars (or someone else’s gazillion dollars), and all around nervousness, the fact is that the wedding day is just one day in a marriage. Actually, it’s technically less than a half day if you get married in the afternoon. So it’s more like a wedding half-day. Someday you will ask: “remember those hours when we got married?” To which the husband will probably reply: “how am I supposed to remember a few hours that occurred years ago?!” See, no big deal.

2) Nervous? You should be!

It’s only the biggest change of your life…

…until the first baby comes.

After that, your wedding day will seem like a piece of cake (not wedding cake though, those cakes are always complicated). So take comfort in the fact that no matter how big getting married is, that first child will infinitely exceed in magnitude the change getting married brings.

When you get married you have to give up those special things like watching T.V. while eating supper. When you have a baby you have to give up watching T.V. all together. When you get married you have to share your nice comfy bed with someone else. When you have a baby you have to give up your bed entirely to someone else. See, big differences! Getting married is just a small first step towards the bigger steps.

So no matter how nervous you get regarding this big change in life, take comfort in knowing it gets far worse (or better, I should say).

3) It’s actually not all about you.

Yes, of course there will be those people who will spend the entire half-wedding-day, or even just the Mass, staring just at the bride, or the groom… especially if they have an over-under bet on how many times he cries (not Becca and I, of course…)… This attention shouldn’t faze you though, if your attention is on the true reality of the Sacrament. If you go in thinking this day is all about you, you will feel the pressure of it being all about you. And that pressure is a wordly-imposed pressure. But, if you go in thinking that this is a Holy Sacrament of the Church (“what GOD has joined, let no man put asunder…”), that the ceremonies are invalid, meaningless, and fake without the Divine Head of Christ, through His Church, joining two lost and needy people together on a rainy Saturday afternoon (or sunny), there will be no pressure. There will be praise! Lots of praise! Praise to God for His wonderful and mighty work. The liturgy will be beautiful praise, a beautiful union, summed up by the greatest action of Divine to human unity, love, and praise known since the Incarnation: the Eucharist. It’s actually not all about you. Some of it is. But most of it isn’t. Advice for the day? Get lost in the Sacred Mysteries of the Mass/Liturgy. Follow the rubrics of the Liturgy perfectly. Totally immerse yourself in the true reality of what is going on. There is no pressure in that. Just love. And, in a way, you will forget about yourself. Even if other people don’t. You can bet on that.

4) The first full-day of marriage sucks.

Oops, I mean, that’s just in my experience. You’ll be tired. People won’t leave you alone. Someone will put a dent into your vehicle... Make sure to plan some quiet time away from people the Sunday after the wedding.

5) One picture, please.

Essentially you only need one good quality picture from the wedding. There should be a picture of the bride and groom standing together, preferably smiling. This is the clincher. All other pictures will not matter.

“Oh, but it would be cute if you guys were sitting on a bench kissing, and the bridal party was peeking though some bushes and looking!”

Yeah, ok.

“Here grandma, here’s a copy of our wedding picture. It’s of us kissing on a bench while everyone looks…”

You get the idea.

6) “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry”

These are the words of St. Padre Pio: “pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Feel nervous? People not leaving you alone? They’re not following your directions?! The flowers are not off-white? There’s a 10% chance of rain? The choir sang the wrong Agnus Dei? Ben won’t take off his hot pink sunglasses for the pictures?

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

There is a precedent for this. Remember this?

“They have no more wine…”

Trust me, between Jesus and Mary… they’ll figure it out. Just pray, hope, and don’t worry….

And have fun.

I bet you will.

Get'r Done!

Here are some of our accomplishments for the past month or so:

The Rink

The side boards on our rink needed replacement this year. So, the boards recycled from the chicken coop (before it was lit on fire), are now in place as side boards.
See, I'm pointing to the boards:

Joseph and Emma inspect:

We also needed a new board for one of our nets. I decided to add some brightness to the rink by painting it. This way, if the NHL lockout continues all winter, we can take out our frustration by firing slapshots at it.

The Wood Rack

What? You mean you don't have a Pro-life covered wood rack?
Given the couple dozen inches of rain this summer, we decided we needed something to put our wood in to keep it dry for bonfires. So I swiped some scrap material from the Co-op, found an old pro-life sign in our garage, and put the two together.

Joseph is so modest... he's trying to crawl out of the picture:

The Chair

Ok, this really didn't require much work, apart from a few minutes of fool-proof assembly. Here's my new chair for working at the computer. My back continually aches so I said "enough is enough", or maybe Becca said that (?), and got a new chair. Thankfully there was a big sale on at Staples. It turns out that the cheaper worker chairs are way more comfy than the big expensive manager chairs. The Manager chairs are more suited for sitting back, whereas these chairs are for actively working at a computer.

Joseph working hard:

The Garage

Through the smoke and flames of the chicken coop burning to the ground, a vision of a new garage going up in its place could be witnessed.

Here is the concrete truck.

For some reason I kept thinking of the 10 Commandments movie while packing down the concrete:

Only a few hours later it was finished. This is better than the 2-3 days it would have taken by mixing the concrete on our own. It was hot and so the concrete set super fast. Unfortunately, there is a tiny set of footprints in one of the corners. I think Joseph left his mark.

Now Joseph has been the foreman throughout the whole project. Here is a rare smile of the work being done. Usually he is gruff and demanding. He frequently comes over to check on little details.

Walls:


Trimming a header for a door:

After trying unsuccessfully to put up rafters while using shaky old step ladders, I invoked my free-rentals benefits at the Co-op and got us some scaffolding to use.

And then it was time to sheet the roof:

Mr. Foreman with another rare smile:


Shingling is always fun. Too bad I had to miss it while at work...

Doors going in:

Co-op Flexguard housewrap:

The Co-op symbol glistens in the sun:

View from the inside:

Mr. Foreman is happy!

Genuflect to Show Respect


Is it just me or does hardly anyone genuflect anymore? Be it Nipawin or Ancaster, it has become an epidemic where people can't be bothered to reverence the tabernacle properly before sliding into their pew. I see it not only at Mass but also during adoration as well (which begs the question: "what the heck am I doing looking at other people enter a pew while I am 'adoring'?").

It started with the downgrade of genuflecting to a simple bow. "Afterall", liberals have stated, "we are an Easter people, and so we have to remain standing."

Oh? And do you sleep standing up too? When you watch T.V. do you stand, even if you're watching the Lord of the Rings extended version? Should women stand up when they go to the bathroom? Men wouldn't have to worry about leaving the toilet seat up I guess.

Christ did not come to resolve the toilet seat issue. He came to save us. And by golly we should reverence him! The bow, though I am sure heartfelt and meaningful for some, is a watered-down, easier action to make than a genuflection. Genuflecting has an element of risk to it...

“Will I be able to make it back up when I’m down there?”
“Is that new hip of mine going to hold up?”
“Where the heck is the tabernacle in this church?”
“Ahh crap! I just genuflected to my wife who walked in front of me. I’ll bet she’ll love that…”

By transitioning from genuflecting to bowing, a deep sense of reverence has been lost. Now some might say that it is better to make a reverent bow than an irreverent genuflection. True! Very true! An act of reverence should be both bodily and spiritual, for man is both a body and soul. On a side note, an old man in Nipawin (since deceased) used to genuflect facing the wrong way every time. He meant well though… Anyway, I say that a reverent genuflection is better than a reverent bow, for the very act of genuflecting is objectively higher.

Now Pope Benedict, as then Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote in "The Spirit of the Liturgy" on the importance of kneeling before almighty God: “When a man kneels, he lowers himself, but his eyes still look forward and upward” (p. 197). Kneeling, or genuflecting, then has an element of humility before God that also involves man’s earnest desire and striving for God. One neat thing Ratzinger says is that in ancient times devils are depicted in art as being without knees. The reason is that knees are long considered a source of power and strength. Just ask a football player such as three time knee-injured Rob Bagg. They are only as good as their knees. So devils were depicted without knees to show that they were powerless. Thus, when we genuflect, we are also lowering our knees as a sign of giving power to God. Genuflecting also signifies best the Incarnation, for our knees come down to touch the earth, just as Christ came down to dwell on earth (hence we genuflect during the Nicene Creed and the Angelus).

Oft-injured Rob Bagg of the Riders

To get back to the genuflecting-versus-bowing. I am not saying that bowing is wrong. What I am saying is that replacing genuflecting with bowing will continue to water-down our sense of reverence for God. It is an easier action to make, not as theologically significant, and has been shown to lead to either a head-nod…
 “Yo Jesus, what up Bro?”…or nothing at all. Yes, a profound bow is better than a thoughtless genuflection. But we should strive to genuflect well. Just remember this little saying:

genuflect to show respect

And if your knees buckle and you’re stuck on the ground, just act as if you meant to give an extra long genuflection.

Above all, avoid this:

These Are a Few of His Favourite Things

Every time I talk to my dad on the phone, the inevitable question he asks is, "What's he doing?" Joseph's faraway Grandpa doesn't want to miss out on hearing about any little progress Joseph's made, although unfortunately he isn't really able to see him grow and change. Thankfully, we'll be visiting in 3 weeks, so he can see how much this once little baby has turned into a boy! This post is for you, Dad.

{Uh Oh}

It started with a simple "uh, uh, uh" when we'd express dismay when something was dropped. Now it's an all-out loud "uh oh". When he throws his book off the pew in church -- "uh oh", when he dumps his sippy-cup off the highchair tray spilling water all over the floor -- "uh oh". He hasn't yet figured out that the "uh oh" response if for a mistake, not something you do on purpose. Sometimes there's an adorable little pause between the "uh" and when he's reforming his mouth into an "oh".

{Backpack Carrier}

Within 2 days of telling Dan we should look for a backpack carrier, we found one at a garage sale for $3. We knew it was sold after I put Joseph into it on the spot to test it and he immediately started laughing and grinning. And seeing as he follows me around all the time and often wants to be up, the purchase came just in time.

{Cupboards}

Joseph's favourite places to go exploring. He will pull all the pots out of the cupboard now and bang lids together, squinting at the noise. Seeing as the main phone is right above the pot cupboard, we commonly hear Grandma saying to someone, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that" or "Oh, that's just my grandson." The same grandma recently commented to me, "I have no idea why I thought putting spices at floor level beside the stove was a good idea -- we built it when Lynda was still a baby." Cumin, Cinnamon, whatever it is, Joseph will take them all out and drop them on the floor. So far he hasn't broken any spice jars or sprinkled their contents everywhere, but they definitely aren't in alphabetical order like they were before he discovered that cupboard. Just last night as we were kneeling in the living room saying prayers, with Joseph walking around on top of our legs, he took a trip on over to the video cupboard. He opened it up, then looked at us -- for approval? Yeah right, we shook our heads. He looked back at the cupboard, then at us, then shook his head and grabbed some videos out. Our parenting sure goes a long way!

{Balls}

What boy doesn't like balls?? He loves to play mini-sticks on the kitchen floor and football with Dad's new kick-off tee. Inevitably, Joseph's favourite thing to do is knock the ball off the tee. One of his most-used words is something like "bahl" -- but it can apply to balls or books.

{Shoes}
Just this week, Joseph learned to turn around and back his way down the single step in the kitchen that leads to an entrance-way. It's a new-found freedom and easy access to the shoes. Although he loved shoes long before now, it is only recently that he's been trying on his auntie's high-heels and we've been finding one shoe far from its pair.

{John Deere} 

Grandma and Grandpa Millette bought him new toys for his birthday. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, you can check out for yourself how much this little boy loves his new green gear!

Photo credits: Fr. Darryl Millette and his great camera

NHL Lockout: A Lesson in Church Social Teaching

If people just followed the Catholic Church then the world's problems would just go away. One such problem that will soon have people losing sleep over is the impending NHL lockout. Actually, I think most people will manage without the NHL, until about November 25th at, oh say, 9:00pm. The Grey Cup game should be over by about then. Afterwards the reality of no NHL will really start to hit home.

"What? Wendy's Friday Night Foosball?"

Or, maybe bowling will replace Hockey Night in Canada, with Don Cherry explaining why European bowlers don't have the toughness to handle the smaller Canadian lanes.

Will no hockey mean more spelling bees on T.V.?

More dog shows?

It never should come down to that. All that needs to be done is people should listen to the Church. In Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum he explains that socialism is bad, and pure capitalism is bad. Now the NHL is in a unique position. They actually employ both capitalism and socialism in full force. The owners hold a cartel and seek to maximize profits (on the backs of those who buy tickets and $250 jerseys). The players, on the other hand, have the typical socialist union which seriously wants an increase (as league revenues go up) on their average 2.4 million dollar earnings. What I find especially ridiculous is that whenever the NHLPA boss, Don Fehr, (player's association) conducts an interview, he gets the biggest stars in the NHL to stand behind him.

Nothing says "we're being treated unfair" like having half a billion dollars in contracts standing behind you. If they were smart they'd get the lowest paid players to stand behind Fehr. You know, the ones who are near the end of their career, make the league minimum, and might not ever play another game if there is a lockout this year. And have their kids stand with them too. Pinch the little babies a bit, so that they start crying. Mess up the hair of the little girls. Take away the little boys' favourite toys. Then have them stand behind Fehr.

Actually, nevermind. The half a billion dollar players above look more like babies than any group of little kids ever could.

What is the solution to this craziness? How about a blending of the two ideologies discussed, rather than the two ideologies trying to exist in full force on their own. Thus, there should be a true free market, where teams that consistently lose money *cough* Pheonix *cough* are shut down, or moved *cough* Saskatoon *cough*. Players should be able to sign for whatever amount they want in a free market as well. Competitiveness will ensure they are paid well (capitalism has some very good aspects to it). Yet there should be controls on the free market. And I don't mean a salary cap, because a salary cap does not get to the heart of the greediness. The heart of the greediness is actually the over-charging for tickets and merchandise. It's the fans who are being abused, not the players or league. How about a ticket cap! Teams can only charge so much per ticket. Salaries would be held in check. So too would league greed. And fans, the real victims here, would be protected. There would be free market, yet controls that protect the real victims.

Or fans could just stop buying tickets altogether...



Um, I don't think so.

3 Up, 3 Down

Here's a brief rundown of the past week or so. 3 up, 3 down. I'll start with a down, that way I can end on a positive note!

Down:

Jury Duty

Yesterday morning I drove to Melfort because I was summoned for Jury Duty. I waited in the courtroom, along with 70 or so other people, trying to think of any way possible I can get out of this event. Then some lawyers, two Native men, cops, and the judge walked in. I kept thinking, "gee those Natives look familiar... I think they're from Cumberland House." Sure enough, the case is explained that they are charged with arson stemming from an incident in October of 2010 in Cumberland House. Then the wheels started turning. I spent quite a bit of time in Cumberland House that fall doing deliveries with the Co-op. I remembered hearing this story, and how upset many people were. Heck, I even put the order together to rebuild the burnt house. Long story short, I had too much previous information on the case. I told the judge this, and he told me to get the heck out of there (not quite, but his looks said as much). I almost ran out of the courtroom, and didn't look back, lest they call me back...


Up:

Last Second Wins

Yay!!!! The Riders, instead of losing a heartbreaker, pulled a victory out of the hat with a dramatic last minute drive and last second 40 yard fieldgoal on Sunday. That sure put a smile on everyone's face. Everyone who isn't from Manitoba, that is.

Down:

Joseph a Lefty?

I know, I shouldn't put this as a negative, but he's been preferring his left hand more and more everyday. It's not that this is necessarily a bad thing. I just think of things like cost, ex. now I will need to buy left-handed golf clubs etc. On the other hand, often left-handed items are sold at blow-out prices at the end of the year. So if he is lefty... well, we'll just wait on this.

Up:

Cardinal Dolan

The American National Democratic Convention last week was mind-numbing. The convention was just about the most anti-Catholic, heck, anti-God, display you will ever see. Rational thought, virtue, foreward thinking, religion... they were all left behind. At one point I'm told they had three separate votes in which the party decided to do away with language that promoted God. Afterwards, Bill Clinton addressed the crowd. Thus, as one astute American political commentator stated: They denied Jesus three times, and then the cock crowed.

Now the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan, was expected to give the concluding prayer at the convention (they boo God and then finish with a prayer...?). I was a little down on Dolan for this. It was such an awful place, I secretly wondered why he was going to participate in their anti-Godfest. But then Dolan came through. This meme says it best:

Dolan's final prayer was full of truth and wisdom. In other words, it went against the whole week of Democratic venom. It was beautiful. Well done Cardinal Dolan.


Down:

St. Eugene Liturgy

I don't want to get too fired up here. Let's just say that the music, and whole atmosphere, at church these days is nothing short of a joke. Songs about rivers, with slamming guitars and a guy who a paternity test might confirm is Elvis' kid, community chat time as Mass begins, a never ending litany of bishop letters to read... Sorry, where's Jesus in all of this? The Mass here has not been spiritually enriching. Becca and I can't handle it much longer.

Up:

No Mosquitoes! Sort of...

I love fall. The weather is a little cooler, and the mosquitoes for the most part go away. Now we haven't been able to go outside since about mid-May here. A wet spring and summer has carried the mosquito season well into September. But the last few days have seen a drop in, what Joseph calls them, "the dumb ones." Hallelujah!

Better Late than Never

Have you ever ordered tickets to a Riders game long in advance, show up at the stadium plenty early, only to be told that the tickets have not arrived because some big ticket company out of Ontario hasn't shipped them out yet? So then you're waiting by Mosaic stadium while other fans continue to pour in. You wait and wait. Finally, as you can hear the game starting, your tickets arrive! You finally can enter! You rush in and, low and behold, your seats have been taken!... Now what?

no room at the inn

This has been how my summer has gone waiting for my teaching certification.

Now because I received my B.Ed. from an Ontario University, it has meant that I first needed to become certified to teach in Ontario, and then, and only then, could I become certified in Saskatchewan. The process has been long, expensive ($500+), and frustrating. What has made it difficult is what is known as the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT).

This agency regulates who can teach in Ontario, and it even has control over how many students can be accepted into Ontario teaching programs. What this actually translates into is they accept as many members as possible, even if such members are incompetent, because this makes them more money. In Ontario there are upwards of 230,000 teachers certified by the OCT, despite there being only 100,000 teaching positions. Yet, the OCT still certifies an alarming 11,000+ new teachers every year. Even if 50,000 teachers will be retiring in the next ten years, as projected, there will be well over 110,000 new teachers certified during that time. In other words, the backlog of teachers continues to grow at an alarming rate, but the OCT doesn't care, because they make a killing off of certification and membership fees. I recently heard that there is, in Ottawa, essentially a waiting list to get onto a waiting to list to get onto the substitute teaching list. Ridiculous.

Back to my story though. This past summer I finally was certified to teach in Ontario. The process took an extra 6-8 weeks. Why? Because my criminal record check had an initial missing. I then went to the local Nipawin RCMP to explain that I needed a new record check, and the staff sargeant couldn't believe that the OCT rejected my original copy. He just shook his head. But that's the OCT for you.
Now as I finally was certified to teach in Ontario, (their membership card is a small piece of paper... it's not even plastic or cardstock) I needed the OCT to send a letter to the Sask. ministry of Education saying that I am a member in good standing. Wait though! They said they had to wait a few weeks to send a letter. Why? Because in order to be in good standing it is necessary that I be a member for a little bit (?...um...why would you accept me as a member if I wasn't fit to teach?...). Finally, though, they sent that letter, for a small fee of $26. The letter just arrived in Saskatchewan, and I was promptly certified to teach here. And for the record, the Sask teacher certification card is actual plastic.

Now I just need my actual teaching certificate to come in the mail so that I can photocopy it and send it out with job applications. What a long process! What's worse is that obviously the teaching jobs have come and gone. It's hard to have an application taken seriously when instead of sending in a copy of a teaching certificate the best you can do is say: "um, I hope to be certified soon..." And so, just like my analogy with the football tickets, my teaching ticket has arrived late, and the stadium is now full.

But God has a reason for everything. That is one point I will never doubt. As long as we try our best, and trust, everything will turn out. Until then, though, there's always Joseph to cheer me up!

the stadium might be full, but we'll have our own little game outside