The last time you heard Handel’s Messiah presented by members of the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra and B.C.’s celebrated vocal ensemble Belle Voci was in 2019. Together with members of the CSO’s Baroque ensemble, this glorious music, a musical rite of the holiday season, will be heard again Dec. 9-12.
One of the special challenges in performing Messiah year after year is to keep the work sounding fresh, as if one had just discovered it. Those in attendance can expect to hear a more detailed, articulate style and quicker tempos based on Baroque dance rhythms and speech patterns.
During the pandemic, members of Belle Voci have been blessed with opportunities to keep their music alive through sharing their gifts at the Traditional Latin Mass at the Holy Rosary Cathedral downtown Vancouver. Joined with members of the CSO, they recently sang Mozart’s Requiem as an integral part of the All Souls Mass at the cathedral.
You have four opportunities to join us and four amazing soloists, Sinaéd White, Shane Hansen, Thomas Lamont, and Dave Rosbourough. Each venue has stunning esthetics and beautiful acoustics. Tickets are for sale at chilliwacksymphony.com.
Thursday, Dec. 9
Holy Rosary Cathedral
646 Richards Street, Vancouver
Friday, Dec. 10
St. James Catholic Church
2777 Townline Road, Abbotsford
Saturday, Dec. 11
St. Joseph Catholic Church
20676 Fraser Highway, Langley
Sunday, Dec. 12
Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church
9165 160 Street, Surrey
Paula DeWit
Musician/conductor
Belle Vocci
We received the following letter in response to the current readership survey we are conducting.
I am a B.C. Catholic subscriber who looks forward to its arrival at my mailbox.
The faith-based articles are uplifting and challenging. The contents are grounded in the faith, and, yes, they uplift my spirit.
The community activities in the various parishes, especially those involving parish schools and children, provide ideas to take back to my parish community.
We can trust the articles covering current news and issues by the newspaper’s reporters to draw our attention to what we need to do and pray for.
Of course, Life in the Schratz Lane often carries a special message for readers who are seeking a deeper outlook for living out their faith in these troubled times.
Many thanks to you and your team for establishing a voice for the faith community, one we can trust and depend on! May the Lord bless you and your team as you bless others!
Nancy Lim
Coquitlam
I am moved by the pain and dismay my sibling in Christ letter writer Leslie Michael expresses in the Nov. 15 B.C. Catholic.
We heard similar concerns in the reconciliation roundtables our pastor, Father Gary Franken, drew together over the past several months at St. Anthony’s West Vancouver. I experienced important moments of insight and healing in those conversations. The sessions we had with Deacon Rennie Nahanee, Squamish Elder Wendy Charbonneau, and Fr. Garry LaBoucane, OMI, were especially blessed.
In preparation for these discussions, I created for the parish two posters.
The first set out a quote from Pope Paul III’s Sublimus Dei (1537) ruling that the Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere [added emphasis] are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved.
The second poster quotes Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia (2020). In keeping with his immediate predecessors and indeed Pope Paul III, the Holy Father writes [added emphasis] […] I express my shame and once more “I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the Church herself, but for the crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America as well as for the terrible crimes that followed throughout the history of the Amazon region. I thank the members of the original peoples and I repeat: “Your lives cry out … You are living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home.”
I believe Catholic social teaching can and should anchor our healing, informing us to walk more closely and humbly with Christ in answering his call to reconciliation and decolonization.
Dr. Michael Markwick
West Vancouver
I was interested to read Sophia Lee’s Nov. 29 letter about the need for faith formation for Catholic students in public schools.
Catholic Voices Canada is working with parents and students in parish PREP classes to help them understand the ideology (known as “Diversity, Inclusivity, Equity,” “anti-racism training,” “Critical Theory” or “Wokeness”) that public schools, sadly, are submerged in.
Our presentations (in English, Spanish, and Cantonese) explain the philosophy behind these programs and teach parents how to have conversations about them with their children as well as with teachers and school administrators.
Please contact us at catholicvoices.ca/contact for more information.
Peter Nation
Catholic Voices Canada
Several years ago during confession I mentioned to the priest that I did not really like a particular person. I felt compelled to confess this since I was breaking the second commandment. I expected to receive three Hail Marys and one Our Father for my penance but was quite surprised at the priest’s reaction. He told me that I should love this person and make this person happy.
Did you not just hear what I said? I thought. I don’t like this person so how am I supposed to love this person?, my inner voice carried on.
The priest said a few more things and I slowly started to smile, feeling I had been tricked. I thought I should confess this sin, but it never occurred to me what would be next. I felt compelled to carry out my penance and so I started doing things differently. I did little things for this person, and I did big things for this person. A few things took several hours, and other things were little but more of a daily thing.
Things changed. My dislike and annoyance disappeared and understanding and tolerance and even a “love your neighbour” feeling took over. Many years of bitterness disappeared, and a sense of peace took its place.
I was completely surprised how this turned out. I wanted to share my story so that maybe others will try acts of kindness toward those they do not like and will see how their own life can be so much better.
Ann Jones
New Westminster
