This is the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Summer vacation has passed. We are gearing up to resume regular activities, whether at work, at school, or at home.
The beginning of September brings with it a surge of excitement, maybe also some apprehension, as the summer draws to a close, and a regular schedule returns.
In the psalm refrain for this Sunday, we sung “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations”. At the beginning of this new school and academic year, let us take a look at our spiritual dwelling place – St. Hedwig’s parish.
St. Hedwig’s parish, under the spiritual patronage of St. Hedwig of Silesia, is the local territorial parish for Barry’s Bay and area. St. Hedwig’s has a neighbouring parish in town, the church of St. Lawrence O’Toole, which shares in the mission of ministering to local residents, visitors, and others. St. Hedwig’s mission territory is the territory of Barry’s Bay and surroundings. The parish was established in 1914. The Polish-Kashub settlers, who came to these rugged lands, constructed St. Hedwig’s at a great personal cost. Some in the congregation can still say, “my grandfather donated the tree for this pillar over there”. The parish has been in existence for over 100 years, and for most of its history, it served people of Polish-Kashub heritage. The vast majority of priests who served here were of local Polish-Kashub ancestry. So, the Polish-Kashubs are the founding fathers of St. Hedwig’s church. The local Polish-Kashub people still have ties to this church, to the Polish language, and are keenly interested in what happens at the parish that their ancestors founded.
Over the years, St. Hedwig’s came to attract members of other groups, who moved into Barry’s Bay, Combermere, and the wider Valley area. Large home-schooling families arrived, as well as people looking to escape the city, and try their hand at a more pioneering lifestyle. People looking to retire moved in. Cottagers and summer visitors came, enjoying the beauty of the landscape. The Bay is also home to active Catholic groups and organizations. In the early 2000’s, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College came to the Bay, and settled at St. Joseph’s building, at the invitation of Monsignor Ambrose Pick. Faculty, staff and students followed. For those who have arrived here recently, I invite you to get to know the parish, and its culture. The book “Sto Lat”, produced for St. Hedwig’s one hundredth anniversary, recounts the parish’s history well. It is available in the parish office.
The face of St. Hedwig’s is changing. I’ve been here for four full years now, year five began a few days ago, on September 1st. Just in that time St. Hedwig’s has had almost 130 burials. That is basically enough for one full Sunday Mass. We are becoming more diverse, culturally, ecclesially, and philosophically. The church is attracting new members, new parishioners, as well as visitors. Also, for the first time in its history, the parish is not under the care of diocesan priests, but a religious congregation – the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate – who are assisted by a member of the Companions of the Cross.
Our Lord stated in the Gospel for this Sunday: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and estimate the cost?” We too face a task of building. The strong, solid walls of St. Hedwig’s have already been constructed. The foundation and the roof are secure, thanks to the efforts of the pioneers. Now our task is building the local ecclesia, the local church, the communion of the faithful, here in Barry’s Bay and area. As St. Peter says, “like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). When a house is built, timber is trimmed, pieces that did not fit together, are made to fit together, other materials are cut down to size. We too, in our being a local church, will face the spiritual task of being adjusted, of being formed, so that the spiritual house can have straight walls, and a level floor. The important thing to keep in mind is that Christ is our cornerstone – all other stones are set in reference to the cornerstone. Christ, the cornerstone, determines our position in the spiritual home. As important as our culture, our language, our vision of Church, or our vision of the liturgy may be, the most important thing – the most important element – is your, and mine, relationship to Christ. He is the one, who in the Gospel, asks us to love him more than “father and mother, spouse and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even…life itself.” The challenge for us this year, is answering that call. Our Lord says to you, to me – will you love me more? More than your relationships, possessions, family connections, more than even your life? Will you love me more? The task of loving our Lord more will require that we allow ourselves to be formed, to be shaped, as living stones of a spiritual dwelling.
Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, can help us to become living stones. She can mold our hearts and minds. She is the one who was completely docile to the Holy Spirit. She too can help us discern and act upon the inspirations flowing from the Holy Spirit. And it is Her Nativity that we observe this week, as we step into the month of September.
This is the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Summer vacation has passed. A regular rhythm of life is on our doorstep. Let us allow ourselves to be formed, as spiritual stones, into the local church, the ecclesia of Barry’s Bay and area.
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, Sept. 4, 2022)