Inspire

All In A Family

Richard Beaulieu Inspire
All In A Family

All In A Family

Homily For the Feast of the Holy Family

of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

 

1 Samuel 1:20-28 “When Hannah had weaned him, she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.”

 

Psalm 84 “Blessed are those who live in your house, O Lord, ever singing your praise.”

 

1 John 3:1-2,21-24 “Whoever obeys his commandments abides in him, and he abides in them.”

 

Luke 2:41-52 “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? Then he went and was obedient.”

“Suddenly, mysteriously, the one holy God acts decisively. In what way? The birth of a child into a family. The Lamb of God begins in swaddling clothes in a manger. God’s saving actions now depend on the unfolding of ordinary, day to day family life.”

With this introduction, God Squad’s very own Deacon Stephen Robinson preaches on the meaning of the family, how it is under attack by the evil one and on the nurturing the family provides.  He presents Hanna as a type of Mary, just like a priestly ordination is like Hanna, where the parent gives the son to God.

 

Listen to Deacon as he teaches us how the Holy Family is a school for families, a school in Holiness.

Deacon invites us to join God’s family as sons and daughters.

 

“We do this by committing ourselves to embrace Mary as our comforter and nurturer, and Joseph as an earthly father who teaches his children faithful obedience to our heavenly Father. We do this by going to the house of the heavenly Father, from whom all families take their name. Let us go to the house of the Lord together as the family of God.“

Image of God the Father

Richard Beaulieu Inspire, Sean Lynn
Image of God the Father

Image of God the Father

My daughter Aileen was invited to return to Ireland as a missionary with NET Ministries for a second year. The only problem was how to do this with little time and no money.

 

Aileen decided to pray at the church and ask God if he wanted her to go, and if He did she needed $1000 within 24 hours.

 

Needless to say she ended up returning to Ireland with the understanding that God had provided the signs and means to confirm that she should return.

 

After she had left and I was settling up her cell phone service and making sure there were no outstanding debts left behind, I began to reflect on what had transpired in a few short weeks.

My wife offered her the 300 Euro that we bought from her when she had returned in June.

I called a cousin who offered a standby flight to London.

I paid for her flight to Ireland, and so on. 

 

I couldn’t help thinking that this was a personal cost to me.  Then my thoughts turned to my daughter’s trust in God and reflected upon my actions and sacrifice.

 

Did it help with building that trust? 

As fathers we are called to be that reflection of God The Father for our children. Our children don’t always see what goes on behind the scenes in making things happen for them.

The problem is that we do not see clearly what God does for us all the time.  Do we have that trust in God when we are asking for His help in our daily lives?

 

We have less than a month left in this Year of St. Joseph, a man who was the reflection of God The Father for the young Jesus.

 

Let us turn to Him as a powerful intercessor as we fulfill our roles as men, husbands and fathers in the world. 

 

Let us be witnesses of this kind of loving father so that the world trusts that God is present in their lives and cares deeply for them.

Sean Lynn

Oct 2021 Man Up-date Men of Generosity

Richard Beaulieu Inspire, Man-Update
Oct 2021 Man Up-date Men of Generosity

Be Men of Generosity

October 2021 Man Up-date

Father Jonathan Gibson records a message for us on the Memorial of Saint Padre Pio where he recounts how a vision of St. Padre Pio’s courage and generosity and how it leads to the promise of a splendid crown.

 

Quoting St. Paul VI, Father shows us the example of Padre Pio: 

 

“Look what fame he had.  What a world wide following gathered around him.  But why? Perhaps because he was a philosopher, because he was wise, because he had resources at his disposal?  No!  It was because he said Mass humbly,heard confessions from dawn to dusk and was one who bore the wounds of our Lord.  He was a man of prayer and suffering.”

Using the day’s first reading from Haggai 1:2-8, Father teaches that the Lord wants us to grow in generosity, by putting the eternal first and the temporal second. 

 

“Let us be men like the beautiful honeycomb, exuding a sweetness, a generosity and love that is a result of our combating the devil in our own lives with the help of Jesus so that we extend the nectar, the beauty of His Love.  

 

St. Padre Pio, pray for us and help us be men of generosity.”

Rolling Thunder

Richard Beaulieu GS Motorcycle Ride, Inspire, News, Outreach, Sean Lynn
Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder

I was praying that God would use this opportunity to bring our group leaders together with a renewed direction.


Direction he gave!

Kevin Philip, Regina

“You gotta meet Sean Lynn and the God Squad.” 5 years ago, a good friend of mine encouraged me to reach out to Sean. His name was Gerald Montpetit and he was about to lead worship at our first annual men’s retreat in Regina. Our keynote speaker was the indomitable Jim “Butch” Murphy from Michigan (another excellent friend and mentor of mine–and a fantastic public speaker, FYI). I told Gerald that I wanted to host a men’s retreat and that I just had to serve a BBQ’d Pig on a Spit. Gerald said that Sean was the guy I needed to talk to.

 

Who would’ve known that 5 years later (in 2021) our small men’s ministry, Made for Greatness, would still be kickin’ around and that Sean would be rolling thunder through Regina with 5 other exceptional men to meet us–right when I needed it the most. I knew that God was calling our wee ministry to go deeper, I just didn’t know exactly how. While Sean was graciously coordinating when they were going to arrive, I was praying that God would use this opportunity to bring our group leaders together with a renewed direction.

 

Direction he gave!

 

The men from God Squad were such good men, and we had a great time together. The best, though, was their exhortation to Preach the Gospel–it was like they heard my cry to God for a clear path! They even used the same words I used in my prayer: Kerygma, Rekindle the Flame, Go Deeper with God. On a personal level, it was so cool for me to meet these exceptional men and hear God’s voice through their sharing. The Regina men who came to meet them were so impressed to hear from their God Squad brothers … as their Brothers with a shared goal: forming men into Disciples of Jesus.

 

Sean wanted me to be brief, so I’ll wrap it up with this: myself and our Regina Brothers are so grateful to have met Sean and the other men who came to Regina. We are so grateful that they rolled the Thunder of God into our hearts and into our city.

The Need Exists Everywhere

Richard Beaulieu GS Motorcycle Ride, Inspire
The Need Exists Everywhere

The Need Exists Everywhere

There’s so many places and so many people waiting to hear the word of God.  Someone starts out talking about motorcycles and minutes later, about God. Before you know it they will ask you to hear their confession.

Father Mariusz Sztuk, SDS

If you have ever been on a motorcycle you know what counts. It is the road not so much the destination. Beautiful views meeting people, the fascination of motorcycles is a way to evangelize, and this is what attracts me and other people to motorcycle trips.

 

The need for the gospel exists everywhere. There’s so many places and so many people waiting to hear the word of God, there are situations where someone starts out about motorcycles and minutes later, may start talking about God and before you know it they will ask you to hear their confession. And in many instances it has been ten or even twenty years since their last reconciliation.

 

I remember one time where I met a couple at a campground and we started a simple conversation. This conversation turned into a discussion about cohabitation. For them it was the only opportunity to talk to a priest because they had not gone to church for many years. This is why a priest is needed in different circumstances and different places.

 

Let me tell you something about our last pilgrimage.

 

It was in the afternoon when Sean called me and said “Fr. we need to have a Plan B in case the border isn’t open” and I do have to say I wasn’t surprised by the statement, given the information about the pandemic. However, I felt a little bit sorry to realize that quite a few of our friends on the other side of the border would not be able to join us this year.

 

Consequently, after a few face-to-face meetings and several ZOOM conferences, we came up with a plan. We set off on our motorcycles to preach the gospel and experience the wonderful fellowship that came with God squad members.

 

Our adventure started in Buck Lake where we were welcomed by “JP”, a long-time friend of God Squad. Early in the morning of the next day we set off towards Bruno Saskatchewan where once again a wonderful family and their friends welcomed us into their homes. However, time was chasing us and we had to carry on in our journey to The Pas, MB, to be welcomed by Archbishop Murray and Fr. James Fiori OMI.

 

The following day after a good breakfast we continued our journey to Thunder Bay and finally to Ottawa, where we said goodbye to Bishop Scott who returned back to his duties with the Military Ordinariate in Canada. Saying goodbye to Bishop Scott, there’s only five of us going back to Calgary. Spiritually, there were many more of us. The whole time we were accompanied by friends on both sides of the border, who for many different reasons did not join us this year. My hope and prayer is that for the coming years our group will be much larger, both physical riders and spiritual support.

 

Returning through the graphical centre of Canada, we met with a bunch of Catholic men to share the experience of evangelization in our parishes as well as to support one another in the building of the kingdom of God in our local communities.

 

Our motorcycle trips are not only meetings with people, but above all an encounter with God. Every day starts with the Holy Eucharist and then during our journey there is plenty of time to pray the rosary, do meditation, and even have a religious discussion over the internet.

 

As you can imagine our trip has to be planned, organized, with a lot of trust in God. Many times we have found ourselves in a situation where something was lacking, where we needed help. It was enough to say a prayer and God provided. What we needed to do was trust God.

 

Thank you to all who supported us this year.

 

God Bless!
Fr. Mariusz Sztuk, SDS

ADW Deacon Harold

Richard Beaulieu Inspire, News
ADW Deacon Harold

ADW Deacon Harold

Episode 44

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers – Portland, Oregon, United States

In this week’s episode of a Dram With Friends, Deacon Harold joins Sean in the pub to discuss his journey from the monastery to Law Enforcement to service to the Church, being ordained as a Deacon.

Deacon Harold shares some of his passions in engaging with people both in his time as a Police Chief and as a Deacon, and treating each person always with dignity and respect, and getting to know each person’s story.

Fallen – the 4th commandment

Richard Beaulieu Inspire , , , , ,
Fallen – the 4th commandment

I've fallen and I can't get up, the 4th commandment

That famous catchphrase from 80s is one most of us are familiar with, even finding it in memes and online jokes. And it was one I remember hearing on TV commercials while growing up, but it truly struck home when recently one night I was startled awake from my sleep by my mother calling out, “Stephen, my legs gave out and I can’t get up. Help.”

A few years ago, I decided to give up my place and move back in with my mom; she was living alone (my brother and niece had moved away a few years prior) and she was finding it increasingly difficult to live by herself, both financially and emotionally. She was still very active and strong at that time, but this past year has seen her physical strength shockingly diminish over a relatively short period of time. She went from still working at 76 (part-time) to starting to have to use a cane to help her balance by mid-summer, to now using a walker continually just to get around. She even needs help going up and down stairs; all this dramatic change in less than 10 months time. And her greatest frustration is not knowing why this is happening to her.

The 4th Commandment states: “Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

— Deuteronomy 5:16 – 

This is something that has become of a much greater reality to me over this past year with what it means to love and honour my parents, especially my mom in particular. For those of us who are parents, we understand the sacrifices we must make for our children: our time, attention, love, finances, heartache and so on. But it really did not become clear to me until this past year just how much the tables would turn, of how much I would have to sacrifice to help my mom as she struggles with her failing strength and the unknowns as to why it is happening.

The pain I see her in, the heartache, the anxiety and the struggle with depression, when she says, “you should trade me in,” or “maybe I should just go live in a nursing home,” or when she will say, “I’m so useless.” Each time it tears my heart a little, but I keep giving to her, trying to lift her up and help, to make each day a bit easier for her. I do not want her to feel abandoned or a burden; she is not that to me, even when I must sacrifice each day of my self for her. She’s worth it and so much more.

So, to me the 4th Commandment has taken on even deeper meaning this past year. Yes, it would be easier just ‘put her in a home’, to pass on the responsibility I have towards her, but I have come to realize that this is my cross that I am willingly accept out of love for her, just as Jesus bore his cross out of love for me.

Recently, Father Mike Schmitz did a video on “How to Love your Difficult Parents”. This was poignant for me considering some of what I’ve journeyed with recently, especially with his final reflections on dealing with an aging parent:

I pray that this helps you too on your own journey with aging parents.

 

In service,

Stephen M. Cross

God Squad