Never Forget This Day

“What great good will come if we heal this moral wound that 152 years of residential school has inflicted upon Canada’s Aboriginal peoples.” Aboriginal Bishop Mark MacDonald

I felt that Canada took a huge step in this healing process  on Sunday May 31^st when over ten thousand native peoples, members of mainline Christian churches and many other Canadians joined hearts and hands to make the five kilometer solidarity walk from Gatineau to Ottawa’s City Hall.  As the sea of people - youth, middle aged and elders made their way over Portage Bridge and overflowed into Marian Dewar Plaza, I sensed that we were all one.  Something much larger than ourselves was happening. As we walked together, respect, love and solidarity filled the air as our hearts pulsed in the rhythm of the native drumbeat along the route.

Once gathered in the plaza, a succession of dignitaries addressed the exuberant, colourful crowd:  local band chiefs, mayors, Kathleen Wynn as Premier of Ontario, Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson and T&R Chair Justice Murray Sinclair who held the assembly in the palm of his hand. Mr. Sinclair urged the people, “Never forget this day.  It is the day we began to move forward in Canada.”

As we reached out to each other in that gathering, I felt that all of Canada was present with us in that moment.  Surely great good will come from the resolve and determination of a nation bent upon healing the wound that residential school has inflicted on the people of the land.

Jean Moylan CSJ

Still Overwhelmed

It’s been four months and I’m still overwhelmed. I remain lost for words to describe my experience in Port au Prince, Haiti. In 2012, a then nineteen-year-old Emily Hime from Chatham, Ontario accepted the responsibility to provide a home for 9 children left abandoned by the devastating earthquake of 2010. Today that number has risen to 19 children ages five months to sixteen years.

After reading a compelling article in the Windsor Star which sent me to Emily’s website, Sister Janice Jonescu and I decided to help by sponsoring a child. Over the past three years, we have watched with pride as Wendel has grown and matured into a wonderful young man. I developed a deep desire to meet him. Fortunately, the opportunity arose when I was going to visit family in the Miami area.

Upon arrival in Port au Prince, I was astounded at my surroundings. As I left the airport, my senses were brutally attacked. The poverty was so intense that I could feel it, taste it, and smell it. I still struggle to find words to describe the scenes that welcomed me. Dead bodies are left in the streets because to touch them makes you responsible for them. Naked children walk beside their mothers who carry on their heads plastic bins containing the items they hope to sell to provide some measure of food for the day. The home’s rented accommodations are located in a part of the city shockingly devoid of basic infrastructure: no plumbing, running water or electricity. All garbage is burnt in the back yard. Contrast that with the recently opened Marriott Hotel, the Neiman Marcus Department Store and numerous first class restaurants all open in the heart of downtown.

At the house, razor wire runs along the top of the surrounding wall to discourage thieves. Three bedrooms accommodate the 19 children and two overnight nannies. Furniture is minimal. Bunk beds line the walls.  Suitcases act as dressers. Few chairs and tables mean that meals are served in shifts.

In spite of the grinding poverty, the children of Maison Ke Kontan are happy, playful, grateful and so loved by Emily. She is amazing!  With the help of sponsors, Emily tries to ensure that “her” children’s basic needs are met and they have uniforms and books to allow them to attend school – a privilege, not a right. It is Emily’s desire that these children grow up to be productive Haitian citizens who will contribute to the betterment of their society.

Having been to Haiti and Maison Ke Kontan, I can no longer act as if Haiti is separate from me. I am changed. My efforts to educate others about Emily’s situation as well as raising money to address urgent needs and sponsorships has become something of a passion.

For further information, go to http://www.himeforhelp.org/

Emily Hime -- A heart without borders

Jacqueline Janisse, CSJ

An Event of Global Significance

On June 2, 2015, I sat in the Delta hotel as the three commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation commission presented their findings and recommendations after 6 years, 7000 stories of survivors and several events across the nation. It struck me that in my lifetime, so far, I add this to two past events of global significance and heartfelt hope. The first is the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and all the oppression and separation that its presence signified. The second is the dismantling of apartheid which was heralded as Nelson Mandela took steps from prison into freedom.

The third is the releasing of the Truth and Reconciliation report with its clear naming of a century of cultural apartheid in Canada. The systemic racism and colonialism represented by the residential school system deadened the spirit of our country. Children were taken from families, parents were left childless, aboriginal spirituality was deemed inferior. Seven generations of children went through this system and the losses and dislocation at such a young age played out in their lives with their own children. As one survivor named it, “We fed our experiences to our children,"

Over and over, we heard that this is not an aboriginal problem. It is the crisis of a whole country seeking to rediscover its spirit...its soul.

There were representatives from indigenous communities from around the world. They know the experience of radical disrespect for their culture, spirituality and languages.

The mood here is one of hope, commitment to take responsibility, gratitude for those who bore the burden of the residential school experience. Most of all we all left knowing that reconciliation shows its face through changed mindsets and hearts and through changed policies and practices.

Margo Ritchie, CSJ

I hate “laters”!

Once on the occasion of a visit to Casa Loma in Toronto I had the opportunity to overhear a verbal exchange between a woman and I presume her young son. A back and forth conversation ensued between the two. From my vantage point, some distance from the pair, I became aware that the mother was being pestered by the youth to provide him something he desired at that very moment. It seemed neither one was making much headway in convincing the other. The son growing increasingly frustrated with the way things were progressing raised his voice and uttered emphatically “I hate laters.”

A Little Bit of Tree Wisdom

“There is a tree that grows in Japan that is truly unique. It is called the Asunaro tree. This tree is planted as a seedling under the ground and must be carefully watered every day without fail otherwise it will die. However, it remains under the ground, out of sight, for 5 full years. After this time it bursts forth from the soil and grows up to 120 feet and with a huge girth and reaches the tree’s potential within the sixth year of its planting. The hope-filled gardener must patiently attend to its watering every day for 5 years before the results of tremendous devotion, commitment and trust can be seen.” 

Author Unknown

There is something inside most of us which abhors waiting. Perhaps we are least patient with biding our time while we nurture our own inner transformations. I find myself not easily identifying with the planter who awaits the mysterious germination of the Asunaro tree. However, I can find wisdom in the caretaker’s faithful attention to what he can only trust is happening supported by his efforts. Only after years of waiting and watering does the gardener have the benefit of seeing what his fidelity has nurtured. Perhaps in some unknown way, wrestling with the waiting, waters our own growth.

Nancy Wales, CSJ

Contemplative Prayer and Christian Meditation

Confronted with the question ‘what is prayer’, most adults initially hesitate, shrug, or say something like – well it’s talking to God, asking for a favour, sharing a serious concern. Children inevitably say it’s talking to God.

But what if the question is, ‘what is contemplative prayer’?  Most Western type people would say that it is the prevue of monks, priests or religious persons. However, every religious tradition has practiced some form of meditation for eons. Insight meditations are much favoured in Buddhist practices.  Mantras such as ‘Om padme’ of the Eastern tradition, or ‘La ilaha ill Allahu’ of the Islamic tradition are classic examples.

For the past several years the students at St. Brigid’s Elementary School, in Hamilton, have practiced Christian Meditation, or contemplative prayer, and look forward to these quiet moments in their school day.

Father John Main, a Benediction monk, reintroduced this ancient form of Christian prayer in 1975. It is a prayer of silence, simplicity, and discipline supported by a mantra or prayer word.   

Recently, I began Christian Meditation with students in some Catholic elementary schools in Hamilton. Children from Kindergarten to grade 8 have embraced this form of prayer whole heartedly. Comments range from: I feel so peaceful, happy, relaxed, I feel God loves me, I’m surprised when it is over, can we do it again.

The struggles most often noted are: it is hard to keep my eyes closed, to sit still, and to keep stuff out of my mind.  At the end of an initial period of meditation a 10 year old boy said quite spontaneously and obviously pleased with his insight, ‘now I know what I’m going to do when I get mad’.

Teachers notice a positive difference within the class, and the way the students are with one another.  In talking with a grade 3 class about meditation, for the first time, and explaining about listening with the ear of your heart, one student asked me ‘ how did God talk to your heart about becoming a Sister’.

Children get contemplative prayer, and will ask their teacher to make time to meditate. One grade 8 student volunteered that he prays with his family at home.  

For further information on this form of prayer visit The Canadian Christian Meditation Community

Ann Marshall CSJ