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Bishop Murray Chatlain and his mother, Kathy Chatlain

Chatlain addresses CWL convention

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski

SASKATOON — Bishop Murray Chatlain of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith gave a reflective talk about prayer, love, faithfulness and acceptance to CWL members gathered at St. Patrick’s Parish in Saskatoon April 26 for the 75th annual diocesan Catholic Women’s League convention.

After an introduction by his mother, Kathy Chatlain of Saskatoon (see related article), the bishop reflected on the CWL theme of becoming people of peace and hope, stressing the importance of prayer in the Christian journey.

“That’s where it all needs to start,” he said. Centring prayer, in which a person spends time in silence, “focused on wasting time with God,” is a form that’s helpful, particularly “when one is getting a little too busy, a little too driven, a little too purpose-oriented,” Chatlain described.

Mentioning the work of Rev. Kevin McGee of Saskatoon in promoting centring prayer, Chatlain described elements of the process, including paying attention to breathing, and using a sacred word as a way to re-focus after inevitable distractions.

Becoming people of peace and hope also requires acts of love, he said. “The prayer needs to be put again and again into action.”

In love and service, we must be ready to acquire our own set of wounds, said Chatlain, describing how every faith journey is going to involve woundedness.

Some of the wounds we carry come from having to watch someone we love make mistakes,” he said, “while others might come from forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply. Scars can be a sign that we are trying to walk in the steps of Jesus.

Acts of love and faithfulness are ways of “preaching” the Gospel, he stressed.

As an example, Chatlain told of a man in Fort Simpson who was left partially paralyzed by a stroke but who uses a tricycle and a cart to collect bottles and other recyclables to raise money for a new church. “Every day he’s out there with his bicycle, and every day that there’s mass, his bike is parked at the church. Everyone who drives by knows where Billy is: he is preaching to the people of Fort Simpson” through his actions.

Chatlain encouraged CWL members to discuss the scars of their own Christian journey and consider how their acts of love are preaching the Gospel to families, friends and communities.

Chatlain also spoke of the sexual abuse of children and how that has been handled in the church. “This is a scar for our church,” he noted, calling for humble and honest admission that these cases have not always been dealt with properly.

In order to move forward, it’s necessary to respond to those who have been hurt “as generously and as lovingly as we possibly can,” he said. Our dioceses are now addressing this issue “with much more openness, honesty and integrity,” Chatlain added.

“Many other churches and organizations have struggled with this, but how we are today, how we respond to this in honesty and humility as a scar, a wound, is important. And it is important that we keep allowing God’s grace to work through this.”

Chatlain explored the importance of acceptance in the spiritual journey, calling on his listeners to be “people who can accept life on life’s terms,” being open to what life brings, and accepting people as they are.

“It’s important to keep talking to each other, to keep communication happening,” Chatlain said. “Acceptance of people as they are and situations as they are is a very important thing for our health, and is a gift to those people.”