Congratulations and thanks to The B.C. Catholic’s editor and writers. I want to express my appreciation for three articles in the Oct. 10 issue: Nicholas Elbers’ report on the Man in the Arena men’s retreat, Lisa Rumpel’s “What saved my life during a hospital stay,” and Paul Schratz’s item on Father Joseph Soria.
All three are, in my opinion, excellent and I was glad to read them. While I could comment on each, what I wish to highlight is Nicholas Elbers’ report. I have worked many years within the United Church of Canada on men’s issues and have reported on several significant men’s gatherings. However I found his report on experiences he had at the men’s retreat very meaningful and astute.
All of us men must confront those chapters in our lives and experiences we’ve had which now appear to have clearly had serious side-effects which have resulted in a great deal of harm both to ourselves and to others both in our immediate families and communities.
Now we are confronting many toxic societal patterns and practices which are having a devastating influence on our culture and social environment, and unless we can address these practices there is a very great danger that we will be ushering in a dismal future, both for humankind and the whole global environment. Reading about very significant movements emerging from our Christian communities which can actually influence and animate all of us males is a wonderful testimony and must be affirmed. Thank you again for sharing this article with us.
Dale Perkins
Nanaimo
Father Joseph Soria was my spiritual director. When I arrived in Vancouver in 1986 I was invited to the monthly recollections that he gave. Whoever met him knows he was a saintly priest. I never heard him complain and on the contrary he was an example of humility. He had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary and taught us how to say everything with love.
He will be profoundly missed.
Laura Wein
West Vancouver
The death of Father Soria is a great loss. He was a wonderful man and priest. I went to him for spiritual direction in the 1980s and early ’90s in Toronto before moving to the U.S. Nuggets of advice he gave me then still come to me now, decades later. He marked me profoundly.
David Martin
Lewiston, N.Y.
Crisis Pregnancy Centres offer three choices: information about parenting, adoption, and abortion. Abortion clinics only offer one choice, abortion.
Pro-lifers offer two choices: parenting and adoption. Pro-abortion people offer only one choice, abortion.
Pro-lifers are for choice because we offer more choices. Pro-abortion people are anti-choice because they only offer one choice, abortion.
Dean Clark
Langley
Reading Father Hawkswell’s Sept. 19 homily “Know What You Believe” had a humbling effect spiritually. It made me realize how little I know about my faith even after serving our Lord in various capacities in my parish. I dread, too, of how little others may know about the Catholic faith, those who are not practising their faith and yet call themselves Catholics.
We are all called to stewardship, and as the saying goes, “we cannot give what we do not have.” To paraphrase it, “we cannot teach what we do not know”.
Teaching is the task of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom and knowledge are both gifts of the same Spirit and we can only grasp the teaching if we have the resolution to learn.
May the Holy Spirit guide us as we journey the road of learning and stewardship. God bless.
Maria Castillo
Vancouver
The Oct. 3 article about Robert P. George’s talk at UBC was great. Thank you for publishing this brave and discerning man’s intelligent message. Wokeness is indeed a scourge and the concerted effort to extinguish other worldviews is a scandal.
God bless you as you encourage your readers and pray for wider society to pursue truth and wisdom.
Angela Johnson
Mexico
