Speaking Out

It’s unavoidable and it’s everywhere. In our newspapers, on our televisions and computers. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it will always find a way to pop up. When it comes to bad news, we’re going to hear it one way or another.

Leadership positions in campus ministry are invariably rewarding. They nurture relationships between peers that are rooted in faith and create a comfortable space where students can feel open to grow in confidence in their devotion to Christ.

“Are you an engineer?” I ask, pointing to the slim, shiny ring on his pinky finger.

“No,” he replies. “This is my promise ring.”

I went into the theatre expecting explosions, fast cars and over-the-top action; I got all of that and then some in Furious 7.
Furious 7 is the latest instalment in the Fast and Furious film series. The series has built itself around street racing and daring heists and Furious 7 has it all.

For the first time in months, I was feeling nervous about going to Confession. I had a sense of dread as I imagined reading my lengthy examination of conscience to my confessor. The worry of never again being able to look my priest in the eye lingered at the back of my mind as I scrambled to prepare to receive the sacrament.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Most people think education is a rather simple process: you go to high school and graduate, then move on to college and graduate, and ultimately find a job and start living your life. However, it often isn’t that straightforward.

“Some people are starving around the world,” I used to say to myself, when an unfinished meal was thrown away. In the couple times I let this comment slip to other friends, the response was usually the same.

“It’s not like I can send them my food,” or “It’s my meal, I can do what I want with it,” both of which are valid points.

One of the hardest things about moving to a small town is integrating into the community. After my last column was published, I was offered a job in northeastern Alberta and found myself moving to the town of St. Paul. It’s the centre of the diocese and at approximately 6,000 people it’s the smallest municipality I’ve ever called home.

“What are you?”

That is a great question — and it is not one that I am asked much. Honestly, I am glad people do not ask this of me often, because I rarely know what people want to know when they ask.