VICAR GENERAL’S MESSAGE

JUNE 2, 2023

Creation of the ISECL

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I am pleased to announce the creation of the new Integrated Service for Evangelization and Christian Life (ISECL) at the Archdiocese of Montreal, whose Senior Director is Mrs. Isabel Correa.

The mission of the Service for Evangelization and Christian Life focuses on promoting and nurturing the faith, individuals, families, communities, and parishes. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the spread of the Gospel message and support the development of vibrant Christian lives among the faithful at all stages of their life, whatever their vocation.

In support of those actively engaged in evangelization, it endeavors to facilitate a personal journey of faith by providing opportunities to truly know Jesus Christ. Through ongoing accompaniment and support, it nurtures individuals in their growth and development of a vibrant faith. Moreover, the Service strives to foster a deep sense of belonging and active engagement in the life and mission of the Church.

Under the guidance of the Archbishop and his leadership team the Service works closely with parishes and communities in the diocese to develop strategies, programs, and resources for evangelization and the development and accompaniment of Christian Life at all stages of development. It offers training and formation opportunities for pastoral leaders, ordained and lay ministers, members of consecrated life, to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively share the faith and accompany others on their spiritual journeys.

Aligned with diocesan orientation and policies, the diocesan Service of Evangelization and Christian Life brings together a diverse range of ministries and initiatives that work in synergy and enrich each other. In the new overall dynamic, each of the founding components of this new Service (Diocesan Center for Marriage-Life-Family; Office of Faith Education; Youth Ministry Office; Office of Consecrated Life; Priestly Vocations Pastoral Service) retains its leadership in its area of competency and the primary responsibility for spreading the Good News in the various pastoral fields and ministries attached to it.

You are therefore invited to maintain and enrich your links with one or other of these departments, and to develop new ones within the Integrated Service.

As Senior Director, and in conjunction with the Department Directors of the new Service, Ms. Isabel Correa will provide strategic leadership, vision and direction to ensure that the Service’s programs and initiatives align with the overall mission of the Archdiocese and contribute to the growth, development and enrichment of Christian life.

Her responsibilities include strategic planning of pastoral projects, coordinating and overseeing internal departmental operations, ensuring resources are managed effectively and efficiently, helping to build strong external relationships with parishes, optimizing the diocese’s operational performance, and helping to achieve the archdiocese’s pastoral and financial goals.

The Senior Director supports the Archbishop and the Vicar General Pastoral Coordinator in their overall pastoral responsibilities.

The launch of ISECL this spring will require a great deal of pooling and creativity on the part of the coordination team and all the members of the various departments.

I encourage you to pay close attention to forthcoming communications from the new Service (ISECL) These updates will provide you with more information about the 2023-2024 program and the new synergy that will empower ISECL, together with you as the artisans of the Gospel, to more effectively present Christ in our pastoral settings.

I wish Isabel and all ISECL team members a fruitful ministry in the vast field of Evangelization. May the Lord bless their commitment and efforts for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.

In Jesus,

† Alain Faubert, VG
Pastoral Coordinator,
Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal 

march 31, 2023

Way of the Cross

The Communion and Liberation movement is once again be sponsoring
The Way of The Cross through the streets of Montreal, led by Archbishop Christian Lepine.

The walk will begin on Friday, April 7th at 9:30 a.m. from Notre-Dame-de Bon-Secours Chapel, 400 rue Saint-Paul Est.

For information, call 514-6678-5709.

march 31, 2023

— from Diocese Montreal

It might not always seem like it but, on Sundays, all the Christians of the world are celebrating. There are some assemblies that are very joyful, and others are quite timid, perhaps even a bit stiff…

No matter how they are, God is very much there, at the center of each church. He is often discreet, like a gentle breeze, but he can at times blow wildly like a storm!

Why do Catholics go to Mass each Sunday? For one good reason: to commune with Christ.

Okay… But what does communion mean? Of course, if we do not know what communion means then we cannot understand why Catholics would go to Mass on Sunday!

Mass is captivating, like a suspense movie, on the condition that we understand the intrigue.

God at work!

At Mass, we see, feel and hear God at work in and around us. When we feel this love of God very strongly, then we run to Mass as often as possible! When we don’t feel anything or we don’t see anything, well then, we still go! In faithfulness to that love.

It is like life as a couple! The passionate feeling of butterflies in the stomach may not always be there on a daily basis. Sometimes, we do not feel anything, but loving is a decision, because we have committed to it, and we want to stay true to that commitment, knowing that love is more a decision than a fluttering butterfly…

Then, in time, we realize that this loyalty is rewarded a hundredfold: we make this truth come true; we give, we receive, we live a life of sharing that heals all types of emotional wounds by filling up our great need to love and be loved.

That is what Communion with Christ is! In remaining true to Him, in making our hearts ready to receive His love and His life, in allowing him to get close to us, it is then that he teaches us, nourishes us, transforms us, and heals us…  All this during the Mass! And after the Mass, filled up, strengthened and certain of this love, we want to live out of it and share it with others.

The Mass is the celebration of the love between God and ourselves; after the Mass is when we are sent out on mission to learn to love and be loved.

This is how God acts through us… if we let him! To let him is the only condition required. Why? Because with Him, it is about free Love. Real love.

We are not angels

When God created us, he took great care in creating us man and woman, that is, with a body and spirit that cannot be separated. We are both body and spirit, contrary to the angels who are pure spirits.

God created us this way so that we could search for him with all of our senses, and not only with our intelligence. That is the reason why He offers us his love through tangible signs that we can see, touch, hear, taste and smell! All this for love of us and so that our body would be as fulfilled as our spirit.

We call these signs sacraments. Jesus left them for us when he walked on this earth with us.  He knew well our deep need for the beyond in our human life that often lacks depth and substance.

Thanks to the sacraments, our thirst for the infinite and the absolute is quenched. It is like when we were children; we needed to physically feel love from our parents. So, we would go climb into the arms of our mother, or go be cradled by our father…

Our Heavenly Father proceeds in the same way; so that we could physically feel his love, his Son Jesus gave us tangible signs of love: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, holy orders and marriage. Each time we “run” to Mass, to adoration, to an evening of prayer, or to any other celebration such as Easter, Christmas, the Body and Blood of Christ, Pentecost, etc. we run to be snuggled, strengthened and nourished. In short, we place ourselves on the receiving end of love.

There are lots of people in the pews!

Any celebration, whatever it be, is captivating provided that we have understood that we come together not only to socialize and have a good laugh! Each celebration is an invitation from God to participate in His work of love, that is not negligible…

It is captivating because we are actors with Him, surrounded by our brothers and sisters, by all the Saints and the angels in Heaven… there are lots of people in the pews, even if we cannot see them with our eyes.

Catholics celebrate someone or something every day. They love a good party! They sing, raise up their hands, kneel, get up, give each other the Peace of Christ. All over the world, the liturgy is the same, offering a space and time to stop and meet God and celebrate His love. This is how God makes our life fruitful; interiorly, personally, in our family and our cultural – we leave having been filled up, calmed and enlivened. Why would we want to pass that up? Sunday is all that, and it is sacred. Yes, we are truly created for love. That’s a good reason to celebrate, is it not?