Road Test - Nissan Versa

I recently rented a Nissan Versa at the airport when I landed for a sales trip to Ottawa. This was going to be a 3 day supertrip with lots of around-town appointments, and with no plans for long distance driving at all. I chose to rent a smaller car because I was trying to keep fuel costs down, and because the parking garage at my favourite Gatineau hotel is extremely tight. Hard to believe we were all driving gas guzzling boats back when this hotel was built - not sure how anyone made the corners. That, of course, was before Al Gore invented global warming (damn you Al Gore!)

Great - gas mileage of course. Beyond that, though, is the thoughtful design, including really very large squared off rear doors. It looks quite comfortable back there, with lots of leg room. That extra door space would be appreciated by young parents hoisting little ones in and out of car seats, although this might not be the right car for them - read on...

Good - climate control system. This thing chilled down in some pretty intense heat very quickly, although the smallness of the car contributed to that. The visibility all around is very good - and I especially appreciate the little triangle shaped window in the A-Pillar. Parallel parking gets easier when you're not guessing where the end of his bumper is, you can actually see it past your own side view mirror.

Room for Growth: Well, it's a commuter car so it's great around town and it handles well, but rapid acceleration for a quick merge onto the 417 when the air conditioner is blasting - not gonna happen. Trunk space is practically non-existent with the rear seats up, enough room for a bag or two of groceries or a set of golf clubs. This is definitely not a car for a single-car family with a couple of small kids, even if the price is right.

Overall - I really liked it, fun to drive, economical, well made and well designed. The car competes with and holds it's own against the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Civic, the Chevy Aveo, the Mazda 3 - but it's a limited use vehicle best for those who must drive to work everyday in the big city, with limited highway driving and very limited cargo needs.

The Other Lesson from The Good Samaritan

"...the Samaritan took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.' "

Just this week I got an call from Hospice of Windsor asking me if I could go visit a man in hospital who was going to die very soon, in fact it was an urgent plea to get to him right away as waiting even a day might be too late. The nurses had called Hospice because this man had seen no visitors, no family members, nobody had come to visit him at all, ever, and they didn’t want him to die alone. Truly this man had been kicked to the curb by his illness and by his life circumstances and left to die alone, like the victim in the story of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)

I went and spent some time with the patient. I held his hand, talked and prayed with him, I did my best to make sure he was comfortable, and when he was asleep, and I went home to my family.

Had that man died later in that evening with no one else in the room at the time of his passing, he would not have died alone. Someone who cared for him, a Hospice volunteer in this case, was with him as he closed this chapter of his life.

Many times I see families and friends keeping a round-the-clock vigil and it can be gruelling. Sometimes, though, in spite of their continuing vigilance and care, the family steps out for a moment or goes home to look after their own family, and while they’re away the loved one dies. I’ve seen people quite burdened with guilt about that. I understand that guilt. Just today after I had finished preaching about it and had a chance to practice some Good Samaratinisms, I learned the man I'm writing about had died this morning, probably while I was at church.

I remind family and friends and clergy and Hospice volunteers who feel guilty of the other lesson from the parable of the Good Samaritan.

He came to the assistance of someone in need, he cared for him, he found him continuing care with the innkeeper, and then, and this is important, he went on his way. The Samaritan did not sit in vigil and frankly, we don’t know if the victim recovered or eventually succumbed to his injuries. We do know that the Good Samaritan cared for and arranged care for him, and then went about his business with the intent to return and follow up on the care.

Christ finishes the parable and tells the listener and us to "go and do likewise", not just in caring for our brothers and sisters, but also in knowing when to step back and care for ourselves.

Claire Tyrrell: Parent Council Member of the Year (in my opinion)

This week at my son's Grade 12 Graduation there was an award given in honour of a former member of the Parent Council. I misunderstood the whole concept of the award, thinking it was meant for a parent who had served the school community on the Parent Council, when it fact it was an annual bursary awarded to a worthy student, now in the name of our deceased friend.

So as I waited for the winner to be announced, I secretly prayed that finally someone was recognizing my wife's commitment over the past 22 plus years, since our oldest started Senior Kindergarten. He's 27 now.

From the time Claire and I attended our first PTA meeting in Toronto, between us we have probably missed only 5 meetings through two cities, three schools, three kids, countless Principals (10 I think) and three incarnations of what exactly a PTA/School Council/Parent Advisory Council actually is and does. We've raised money for Commodore computers for the library and Smith machines for the football team, AV equipment for the drama department and playground equipment (always the playground in elementary school - it's like that's all anyone ever wants - new playground equipment).

Throughout it all, even after my own career and studies made it impossible for us to attend Parent Council meetings together anymore, Claire sat on committees, held office and made sure that the discussion always included a preferential option for the poor, and a reminder that it can't be about fundraising lunches if it isn't also about helping those who have no food at all. Claire kept the high school council on track so that at the beginning of the year the money was going to be there at the end of the year to provide a bursary to support a needy student going on to higher education. Claire pulled the elementary school out of working bingo (back when it was a cash-cow) when it became more about rolling in cash and using it to buy luxuries than it was about using our resources to help our students, and the students in the school down the street, and the students in the school across town. We learned to raise a lot less money the good old fashioned way, lessons that served us well when the bottom fell out of the bingo market.

So - congratulations Claire Tyrrell, who is in my opinion the Parent Council member of the last two decades. Take the summer off. Be happy that there aren't parent councils at the University level.

Meet the Old Guy

Well, it's official. I'm becoming an old man.

I just spent half an hour sorting light bulbs, seeing which ones work and which I have been saving to dispose of properly. Having separated the two, I then separated the working bulbs into types. Then I realized I had better call my oldest son and tell him to stop buying energy saving light bulbs as we have enough for his entire house, after years of buying them whenever I strolled through Canadian Tire and found them on sale, "just in case".

I then found every power bar and extension cord I had ever bought on sale and made a mental note to call my son and tell him not to buy an extension cord or power bar unless he checked with me first because I probably have just the right size and length, no matter what he needs. They are neatly stored and categorized.

Finally, I found my very first energy saving light bulb that I bought at Canadian Tire back in the early 90's, one of three that cost me $17 each. I couldn't afford to buy all three at once, so I bought them over the course of year. These original energy saving massive bulbs would take about half an hour to warm up and I thought that putting it in the bathroom, the most used room in the house, made sense. Of course, before it got bright enough so that I could actually find the toilet I'd already pissed all over the floor and was back in bed. Now my energy saving bulb lights up immediately.

I still piss all over the floor and I end up lying sleeplessly wondering why I keep getting up at 2 in the morning even though I've stopped drinking liquids at about noon.

And instead of recycling thie still functional light bulb or screwing it into a socket somewhere, I took this thing that weighs about a pound and put it neatly away, saving it like the museum piece that it is. One of my lucky children will get it when I die. I'll let them argue about who gets stuck with it.

Yup - I've turned into an old man. But I still start my day with consecutively pumping out one pushup for every year I've been puttering around the planet, at least I think I can. I've been losing count lately.

Some things can't be Outsourced - in Support of Public Employees

A tornado hit Leamington this weekend. The town is a wreck, by all accounts.

All available Municipality employees are pitching in to clean up the devastated areas of town. Employees who usually collect garbage are now working side by side with Parks and Rec and other outside workers to make it right in Leamington.

Would the low-paid employees of private contractors be first responders if Windsor outsources garbage collection as council is considering?

Here's what can't be outsourced to private interests. It's simple. If 100 of us got together to start our own village and pooled our resources for the good of all, what would we spend our money together on what separately we could never afford? These are not luxuries. What would we provide for all, the richest and the poorest alike?

Democracy - government, governance, elections, the public library
Administration - the public service, civil servants, tax and fines collection, by-law enforcement
Security - police, fire fighting
Sanitation - sewage processing, clean water, garbage removal
Roads - that we share
Electricity and power - the grid and infrastructure
Education - together we'd hire a teacher for our kids
Health - standards, basic medical care, emergency care, social services

For the good of our little village, we wouldn't leave these essential services in the hands of "for profit" enterprises who can just pack up and walk away if it's not profitable to stick around. Yesterday's tornado in Leamington is just one reason. Tomorrow's garbage collection in Windsor is another.

As we grew in size the list of things we'd buy together would grow. Attracting small businesses and tourism might be a good example of expenditures that can yield a remarkable return on investment.

Conversely, there's a list a mile long we'd probably opt not to spend our collective resources (tax money) on. Let's hope the elected officials in our little village would discern the difference.

'Nuff said

I'm just glad that someone at the Windsor Star can see through Councillor Headlines.

Road Test - Mitsubishi Lancer

I rented a Mitsubishi Lancer for a quick in and out to the big smoke. The car was pretty zippy and a little buzzy, but a pretty smooth ride to Toronto and back the next day.

Great - handling and responsiveness. This car will get you through the multiple lane changes at top speeds, especially when you make the curve at Milton and the pace picks up so you can blow out the speed limit until you hit that dead crawl by the airport. It's well balanced and firm, and a comfortable ride.

Good - the mileage. Just under 9 litres per 100 km on the way to Toronto with full air blasting, and just under 8 litres per 100 km on the way back to Windsor with air off and defrost and wipers working. The rent-a-car dude insists that heating uses more fuel than A/C, and I'll buy that because he said so and who likes to argues with a twenty-something in a tie?

Room for growth? Interior design. The cockpit is bland and the dashboard is flat. Reaching the buttons for the radio has you reaching across almost to the passenger zone, and necessarily taking your eyes off the road to do it. The inside is boring and not driver-centric, and that electronic display is small and neon orange. It makes all the typical Japanese tweets and bleeps if you're into that sort of thing.

Would I buy it? Nope. Nice car, good quality no doubt, and it will be past it's design expiry date and headed towards yesterday's look before you pay it off.

Priestly Retirements and Vocations

Love one Another, About Vocations and Priestly Retirements

Fifth Sunday of Easter 2010 Year C John 13.1, 33-33a, 34-45

May3, 2010

This is the year of the priest. We’ve mentioned that a few times over the course of the year, and from time to time we’ve taken time out for a special prayer for priests, but never really talked about it. Let’s. Perhaps, as the year winds down, we should talk about it today. It’s appropriate to today’s Gospel of visible love for all believers, a love that can be seen even by outsiders. A love that sets us apart.

We’ve had plenty of reason to think about Priests lately, particularly with the ordination of two men last weekend. Father Patrick Beneteau and Father David Butler were Ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral in London, and a good number of the faithful showed up to, well, quite frankly, cheer them on. It has been four years since the last priestly ordination in our Diocese, so having two bright young men called to Holy Orders was a welcome relief, and quite a celebration. After the Ordination you could hear people saying things like “alleluia” and “thanks be to God.” We value our Priests and we know how important they are to our faith lives.

Perhaps you read about Father David and Father Patrick in the Windsor Star last Monday. It was quite a nice article and they both articulated their vocation in what I hope is a very inspiring way. Young men today would do well than to follow their example of courage and determination. Catholic families today would do well to emulate the Butler and Beneteau families in offering the Priesthood as a possible answer to God’s call in the hearts of their sons.

In our Diocese there is a place for the call to be realized in St Peter’s Seminary.

In fact, in this particular crop of seminarians there are still 4 more to be Ordained by the end of June; men who studied in London but will be ordained by their own Bishops in Calgary, in Thunder Bay, in Hamilton and at the Chaldean Church here in Windsor (the former Immaculate Conception).

A couple of weeks ago I spent my annual retreat with the Seminarians at the Holy Family Retreat House in Oxley, one of the other jewels of our Diocese. IN the London Diocese we offer the faithful many ways to celebrate, nurture and grow the faith that most Dioceses across Canada can’t match, the Seminary and the Retreat house being just two of the unique legacies left to our care by the faithful who came before us.

During the retreat we spent almost 8 days in complete silence, except for each day at Mass and at morning prayer, or praying the Rosary together at sunset, and at our our daily meeting with our Retreat Director.

It’s funny, but even when you are in total silence, when you can’t say a word, when even meals are shared in complete silence without even eye contact or a little smile, a wave, a gesture – all forms of communication that could interrupt another’s prayer – even with all that silence a great fellowship is formed.

I tried to keep fairly close to the guys who were going to be Ordained while in the Chapel when they would be deep in prayer. My friend Father Mickey Prieur puts it this way, “when the Holy Spirit’s at work, it’s good to be in the neighbourhood!”

The Holy Spirit was indeed at work, not just in the men to be ordained, but in the 20 or more Seminarians from across Canada discerning their call, and in the Permanent Deacons who were on retreat as well. My friends, make no mistake. There may be cause of concern for our church, but it’s reason for prayer, but not for despair. Hope abounds.

Sure, I know that the press hasn’t been favourable for the Catholic Church, our Holy Father and for our Priests lately, but have you noticed a turn in the right direction lately? Last weekend an honest but supportive editorial in favour of the Catholic Church, and then the article about the Ordination, and just this weekend a letter from a reader in support of the many, many, many good priests out there, and my friends, right here with our own Pastor, Father Kornacker.

Pope Benedict XVI, in proclaiming a year for Priests, quoted a real priest’s priest, St. John Vianney when he said “A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy”.

Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the sacraments, Saint John would say: “Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest.” These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the sacrament of the priesthood. “The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you”.

This Priest, a priest not for himself, but for us, Father Bill Kornacker has been a priest for 42 years, a real priest’s priest in the most humble sense of the word that I can imagine. He is infused with a love for the poor through his love for Christ, and his personal mentorship as I studied to be a Deacon has been invaluable. Father Bill has just this weekend officially announced his retirement from active parish and pastoral ministry. There will be plenty of opportunity to formally express our gratitude between now and the beginning of July, but if you pick up today’s bulletin you will notice a beautifully written letter from Father Bill announcing his retirement. As he reminds us, a Priest never really retires from his vocation, but there does come a time to serve God in other ways that include a well deserved rest. I invite you to pray on those words.

Today’s Gospel speaks of love. Christ says he gives us a “new” commandment. Why does he say it is new, when it is clearly so old? Or is the commandment new because it divests us of our former selves and renews us? Love does indeed renew the person who hears and obeys its command, but only that love which Jesus distinguished by the qualification, “as I have loved you.” Our Priests, our Bishops, live their lives and sometimes give their lives in that very love, expressed for us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Archbishop Tom Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto, I am told, is known to end every homily he gives for special occasions such as confirmations or high school graduations by holding up his cell phone. He gives out his number, and invites any young man who is considering a vocation to priesthood to give him a call. He does it so often that quite often the parishioners laugh and say it along with him. He promises to take time out to meet with any young man who is considering God’s call to the Priesthood over breakfast, and as he says, “you’ll get your fill of pancakes.”

I do invite any young man in this parish who is considering a vocation to the Priesthood, or for that matter any man who may be feel called to learn more about the Permanent Diaconate, to grab a bulletin, my email address is on the front page. Send me an email. I’m good for breakfast. I hope you like pancakes.

Reserved parking for Hybrids at IKEA

I saw this in the IKEA parking lot - how uber-cool of them - reserved parking for hybrid vehicles.

Frankly, I think there should be preferred parking for Swedish cars at IKEA.

This Just In: Christ is Risen

Easter 2010 Year C Luke 24:13-35 April 4, 2010

“Christ is Risen, Alleluia!”

If we were editors of the local paper back in the time of the Gospel, that might be the headline in tomorrow’s paper. “Christ is Risen!” (headline)–and under that, the introductory headline “Mary Magdalene finds Empty Tomb.” It would be a darned sight better than the press we’re getting these days.

But of course, it’s not that simple. First of all, there’s the fact of the Roman Occupation and that they didn’t take well to anything that seemed like insurrection, hence, the crucifixion of Barabbas. Well, the almost crucifixion of Barabbas – he was released at the request of the people as it was the custom to pardon one prisoner, and even though he was a really bad guy, the mob decided it was safer to let him roam free than to let Jesus continue preaching His gospel of love and forgiveness. So the headline on Monday morning might read “Barabbas set Free”, subheadline “Peacenik Preacher pays the Price”.

Well, maybe not the Monday paper. That’s far too soon to understand what’s taken place. We’ve had 2000 years to mull it over, and it still remains the mystery of our faith. Christ has died, Christ is risen...and we know how it ends up...Christ will come again.

So – new headline – “Empty tomb”, lead headline underneath the banner; “Woman says dead man is alive.”

It’s a little strange isn’t it? That empty tomb is cause for great joy for all of us. It is, because we know how the story turns out. Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. We don’t know how or when, but we know how the story turns out. That’s why we’re here.

Imagine it from Mary Magdalene’s point of view, from Simon Peter and the other apostle’s point of view. She comes to mourn and pay her respects, and finds what amounts to a grave that has been desecrated. How much more can one woman take?

She followed Him in faith, and in love, and ended up witnessing His brutal trial, scourging and execution, and then if that wasn’t enough, now they can’t even let Him rest in peace, the body is missing.

She’s near desperation when she confronts the gardener, or he whom she supposes to be the gardener. “If you know what’s happened to the body, let me know and I’ll take care of it, quietly. Just let us grieve our loss with dignity...”

Of course, the gardener is actually Christ, but something has prevented her from seeing him. Doesn’t that happen to us sometimes? We meet
Christ in our midst, not amongst the Kings and politicians, the rich and influential, but amongst the gardeners and labourers and carpenters and the sick and the homeless, and we don’t always recognize him. Mary, a woman of great faith, once she hears his voice, knows him for who he is.

Realizing who He is, I think she reacts the way any of us might. When we think of the loved ones whom we have lost, that we would love to have just one more day with...if that person showed up alive even for just one moment, we might be tempted to wrap our arms around them and never let go. Christ tells Mary Magdalene and He tells us not to hang on too tight. He tells her she has to let go. “If you do not let me go, I cannot ascend to the Father. You must let go.”

The wisdom or our times describes this as “closure”. We people of faith, who celebrate the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ the Lord know that true closure will come in end times, when He comes again as He said he would.

So, a newspaper story of the day might report on the empty tomb, the faithful woman, a reported sighting of the now very much alive Jesus, and no doubt a reference to the way he died, just for good measure.

The cross, in Christ’s time it was not a sign of love and peace, but a sign of fear and pain. If you were going about your daily business, even the business of preparing for the Passover, and the Roman authorities were busy erecting crosses on the landscape, you knew what that meant. It was a fairly common sight and not a very pleasant one.

Christ wasn’t the only person crucified that day, we know of at least two others and He wasn’t the last one ever crucified, we know of the saints who followed Him, and yet He is the one we remember. Out of hundreds, perhaps thousands of crucifixions over time, His is the one we remember. This is our faith.

If we could go back in time and walk around with a crucifix hanging from our neck, would it bring about a feeling of peace and security and hope as it does today, or would it strike terror into the hearts of the people?

Maybe that is the mystery of our faith. The empty tomb, the man on the cross, the linen cloths of burial discarded, these are the signs of our faith.

It’s unexplainable except through faith that these are the joy of our existence, because we know how the story ends up.

Christ lives. Not in the abstract, not in the “Christ lives in the hearts of each one of us” kind of way, although certainly that is true. Christ lives, in the flesh. His body was never found because He ascended, flesh and blood, into heaven. He rose from the grave this day, this Easter Sunday, not in some metaphoric or soothing fable or religious story; in the flesh.

We commemorate it in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and we remember Christ’s sacrifice for us in the here and now. Christ didn’t say at His last supper “this bread represents my body, this wine represents my blood”, He said “this IS my body, this IS my blood,” and further commanded “do THIS in memory of me.” And so we do, often.

This is what we celebrate, and what so many have trouble understanding. There’s a video out there in which actor Stephen Fry absolutely and brilliantly criticizes the Catholic faith by misstating the mystery of the Eucharist. He’s not a fan, but he makes a well reasoned argument and gets most of it wrong. At one point he says, and I quote, “(the priest) has the power to change the molecules of wine into blood, literally, to change the molecules of paste bread into flesh, literally” and the audience jeers and laughs, and I can’t help but think, well not quite, the power comes from God through the sacramental action of the Priest, but yes by George, he’s got it. This is Christ’s body, this is Christ’s blood, given up for us, for our salvation. It’s a shame Fry doesn’t get that he’s got it, but yes, that’s exactly what’s about to happen. Literally.

Despite the sins of our fathers, the errors of our own time yet to be revealed, our own doubts in the midst of suffering, with this broken and repenting Church amidst the bad press and society’s readiness to crucify Him once again on the cross of public opinion, we are here today.

He is Risen! Perhaps the story in tomorrow’s paper should quote St. Augustine who gives us faith’s answer to today’s questions. “If you understand him, he is not God.”