Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world.
-Jack Layton.
Mohawk Institute - Public Virtual Tour
June was designated as Indigenous History Month in 2009 and June 21st, (originally named National Aboriginal Day) in 1996 and renamed in 2019, as National Indigenous Peoples Day. Both are becoming more meaningful. Greater numbers of Canadians are taking concrete steps towards meaningful Truth and Reconciliation through the righting and building of relationships with Indigenous Peoples. One of the concrete ways we can do this is through truth-seeking and self-reflection on the under-told stories of our shared history with Indigenous Peoples.
The Woodland Cultural Centre is presenting a public screening of the Mohawk Institute Residential School on Wednesday, July 20/22 and Wednesday, August 17/22 at 7 p.m.
The cost is a small donation of $10. Your donation will support continued virtual programming at the Woodland Cultural Centre and ensure that we can continue to deliver the highest quality programs centered on a Hodinohsho:ni worldview, celebrating, and sharing Indigenous cultures, languages, and art.
This virtual tour video was created with local production company Thru the Reddoor, and it follows the guide, Lorrie Gallant, as she gives a tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School. During the video Lorrie provides the history of the institution over its 140- year history.
Viewers will get to see the different rooms in the school, from the girls’ and boys’ dormitories, the cafeteria, laundry room, and other rooms throughout the building, as well as hear interviews from five Survivors of the Mohawk Institute. To view: Register Here
-Sister Nancy Wales, csj
Credit: Text on Virtual Tour directly from https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/events/
St. Jean Baptiste Day
St. John the Baptist, an ascetic Jewish prophet, is most known to Christians as a blood relative of Jesus, Jesus’ forerunner and a preacher about God’s final judgement who offered a baptism of repentance. The Blessed Virgin Mary traveled approximately 81 miles to visit her cousin Elizabeth prior to both John and Jesus’ births. Given the times and the distances it is unlikely John and Jesus ever met until Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. Scripture tells us that on that encounter John recognized Jesus as the one who was to come.
Growing up in the parish of St. John the Baptist in Peterborough there was always great celebration on or about June 24th. Beginning with a special Mass, all then went ahead to the grounds of the church for our parish festival where there was entertainment by parishioners and the children from the school, games for children and adults, special draw prizes, home baking, tea-room, 50/50 draw and more. All of that was intended to honor our patron saint, raise enough to pay our insurance costs, and more importantly to build community. As recently as June 22nd the tradition continued after 72 years. One could say mission accomplished.
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day originated from celebrations of the summer solstice, an ancient pagan tradition in which fires were lit to celebrate light on the longest day of the year. In France, the Roman Catholic Church adapted this holiday and associated it with John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus. For our French Canadian brothers and sisters in Quebec and throughout Canada St. Jean-Baptiste Day has always been celebrated with great flourish often beginning the evening of the 23rd and filling the next 24 hours with religious celebrations, music, special food, bonfires and community-building fun. It is also a celebration of Canada’s francophone identity and of their incredibly rich and proud culture.
John the Baptist preaching
As a youth I had thought of St. John the Baptist as a holy and faithful man of God who preached repentance. I also thought his camel hair clothes and meals of locusts and wild honey were to say the least unusual. Today, on further reflection of his legacy of community and cultural celebrations in his honor, he has for me become a catalyst for religious reflection, celebration and relationship building.
Who is he for you?
Bonne Saint-Jean-Baptiste a tous !
-Maureen Condon, CSJ Associate
Like the Dawn You Come
Image: Unsplash/Jakob Owens
Like the dawn you come
my God
silently
nudging my fogginess awake
into consciousness
again
like the dawn you come.
Like the dawn you come
my God
slowly
painting my inner landscape
with colour
brushing away the dark
again
like the dawn you come.
Image: Unsplash/Hide Obara
Like the dawn you come
my God
faithfully
calling my wayward heart
home to you
again
like the dawn you come.
Like the dawn you come
my God
gently
opening the curtains of my soul
to new day’s light
again
like the dawn you come.
Image: Unsplash/Simon Wilkes
Like the dawn you come
my God
surely
gracing me to know
your Presence
again
once again
my God
Like the dawn you come.
-Sister Kathleen Lyons, csj
