Spirit
of risen Christ being felt in diocese: Bolen
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski
SASKATOON — The faithfulness of God in continually sustaining,
nourishing and renewing all things was proclaimed by Saskatoon’s
new bishop during a gala dinner in his honour May 7.
God provided
manna each day for his people as they wandered 40 years in the wilderness,
and God continues to sustain us, Bishop Donald Bolen said at the fourth
annual Bishop’s Dinner at TCU Place in Saskatoon. Some 300 people
attended the gala, with proceeds going to construction of a new cathedral
and Catholic Pastoral Centre in the diocese.
“God
is leading us on a journey, doing something with us,” Bolen said,
noting how constructing the new building is about more than a physical
structure.
When St.
Francis of Assisi was praying before a crucifix in the run-down church
of San Damiano he heard the voice of the Lord asking him to rebuild
his house, Bolen related. Thinking this meant the building itself, Francis
brought his companions to repair the structure. “But over the
course of time, Francis realizes it is not just the building itself
that God is talking about: he is talking about renewing the life of
the church. I think in this diocese, we are also doing both,”
said Bolen.
Across the
diocese, people have come together through the Uniting in Faith campaign
to contribute to the project and construction is well underway, the
bishop noted. “This is something that hasn’t happened in
a Catholic diocese in this country for a long time: a new cathedral
is being built,” he said.
“And
just as St. Francis was asked not only to build a building, but to help
build up the life of the church, so, too, many things are happening
in this diocese, where the Spirit of the risen Christ is being felt,”
Bolen said, reflecting on the lively, active faith community he is coming
to know since his ordination March 25.
Youth ministry,
vocations promotion, lay formation, prison ministry, hospital chaplaincy,
foundations and other ongoing adult faith formation, rural catechetics,
and justice and peace advocacy are among diocesan efforts co-ordinated
from the Catholic Pastoral Centre, he described, also citing ongoing
initiatives in parishes, schools and health care facilities, as well
as across the community at large, to provide care, to strengthen the
body of Christ, to seek justice and to reach out to those in need.
“God
is alive and speaking to us in hope, and the Spirit is very much at
work in us,” said Bolen, pointing to his episcopal motto, which
includes two statements that appear on his crest: Verbum Vitae,
or Word of Life, from the first letter of John, and a phrase from Thomas
Merton’s Book of Jonas describing God as “mercy within mercy
within mercy.”
“The
Word of God is alive and active, and we are being spoken to and being
addressed by that word,” Bolen said. “And the word that
God speaks to us is a word of mercy.”
The Bishop’s
Dinner began in May 2007 as a way to honour and express appreciation
and support to then Bishop Albert LeGatt, with organizers deciding proceeds
from the event would go to the new cathedral and pastoral centre.
Construction of the new Cathedral of the Holy Family began after a December groundbreaking, with concrete piles poured in January and February to support the 65,000-square-foot facility. By the end of the summer the framework for the new cathedral will be visible. Most of the building will be closed in before winter. Construction of the interiors, as well as interior and exterior finishing will require several additional months. The new cathedral is expected to be completed by November 2011, in time for the beginning of Advent and the new liturgical year.
 |
|