Brother Eric Michel doesn’t celebrate Mass every Sunday because he is a chaplain.

Le frère Eric Michel ne dis pas la messe a chaque dimanche car il est aumônier

Easter catholic mass in South Lebanon with French contingent- 2004

A chaplain celebrates Mass in specific contexts, usually when they are tasked with providing spiritual support in places such as hospitals, prisons, military barracks, or other institutions where people may need religious guidance. In other words, a chaplain is a priest or minister who works outside of a traditional parish, often with isolated people or in institutional settings.

His primary role is to provide spiritual support and guidance to people in these settings, taking into account their specific needs.

Unlike parish priests, chaplains are not responsible for a specific parish but work in broader contexts.

There are different types of chaplains, for example, hospital chaplains, military chaplains, prison chaplains, etc.

He is a chaplain primarily for first responders, including police officers, firefighters, and paramedics. We also serve truck drivers, travelling salesmen, and tourists. Then there are prisons and mental health services, which we provide, and finally, like Saint Francis, we serve as an animal chaplain.

Le frère Eric Michel ne dis pas la messe a chaque dimanche car il est aumônier

Un aumônier dit une messe dans des contextes spécifiques, généralement lorsqu’il est chargé de fournir un soutien spirituel dans des lieux tels que les hôpitaux, les prisons, les casernes militaires, ou d’autres institutions où des personnes peuvent avoir besoin d’un accompagnement religieux. En d’autres termes, un aumônier est un prêtre ou un ministre du culte qui exerce sa fonction en dehors d’une paroisse traditionnelle, souvent auprès de personnes isolées ou dans des environnements institutionnels.

Son rôle principal est d’offrir un soutien spirituel et un accompagnement aux personnes qui se trouvent dans ces lieux, en tenant compte de leurs besoins spécifiques.

Contrairement aux prêtres paroissiaux, les aumôniers ne sont pas responsables d’une paroisse particulière mais interviennent dans des contextes plus larges.

Il existe différents types d’aumôniers, par exemple, des aumôniers d’hôpital, d’armée, de prison, etc.

Il est aumônier principalement au premier répondants, policiers, pompiers, ambulanciers, nous avons aussi les cammioneurs, les voyageurs de commerce, les voyageurs touristiques. Puis il y a les prisons et en santé mental que nous offrons des services et pour finir comme saint Francois, aumônier des annimaux.

The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the “falling asleep” (death) of Mary the Theotokos (“Mother of God”, literally translated as God-bearer), and her being taken up into heaven. The Feast of the Dormition is observed on August 15, which for the churches using the Julian calendar corresponds to August 28 on the Gregorian calendar. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest 15 August. In Western Churches, the corresponding feast is known as the Assumption of Mary, except the Scottish Episcopal Church, which has traditionally celebrated the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15.

Christian canonical scriptures do not record the death or Dormition of Mary. Hippolytus of Thebes, a 7th- or 8th-century author, writes in his partially preserved chronology of the New Testament that Mary lived for 11 years after the death of Jesus, dying in AD 41.

The use of the term dormition expresses the belief that the Virgin died without suffering, in a state of spiritual peace. This belief does not rest on any scriptural basis, but is affirmed by Orthodox sacred tradition. Some apocryphal writings testify to this opinion, though neither the Orthodox Church nor other Christians accord them scriptural authority. The Orthodox understanding of the Dormition is compatible with Roman Catholic teaching and was the dominant belief within the Western Church until late in the Middle Ages, when the slightly different belief in the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven began to gain ground.

Term
In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, in the language of the scripture, death is often called a sleeping or falling asleep (Greek κοίμησις; whence κοιμητήριον > coemetērium > cemetery, a place of sleeping; Latin: dormire, to sleep). A prominent example of this is the name of this feast; another is the Dormition of Saint Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary.

Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/20–403), If any think I am mistaken, moreover, let them search through the scriptures and neither find Mary’s death, nor whether or not she died, nor whether or not she was buried—even though John surely travelled throughout Asia. And yet, nowhere does he say that he took the holy Virgin with him. Scripture kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder, not to throw men’s minds into consternation. For I dare not say—though I have my suspicions, I keep silent. Perhaps, just as her death is not to be found, so I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed Virgin…The holy virgin may have died and been buried—her falling asleep was with honour, her death in purity, her crown in virginity. Or she may have been put to death—as the scripture says, ‘And a sword shall pierce through her soul’—her fame is among the martyrs and her holy body, by which light rose on the world, amid blessings. Or she may have remained alive, for God is not incapable of doing whatever he wills. No one knows her end.

Related sites
The Dormition tradition is associated with various places, most notably with Jerusalem, which contains Mary’s Tomb and the Basilica of the Dormition, and Ephesus, which contains the House of the Virgin Mary, and also with Constantinople, where the Cincture of the Theotokos was enshrined from the 5th through 14th centuries. 

St. Michael’s Lent is our chance to fight back as one Catholic Church. Not fight back with screams and arguments, but by living the beatitudes. It is a chance, like Lent, to quiet ourselves, deny ourselves, and silently pose the question to those around us, “Who is like God?”

Though St. Michael’s Lent has begun a resurgence, it is still unknown to the majority of Catholics. A term given to the period between the Assumption, August 15, and the feast of St. Michael, September 29, by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Michael’s Lent is another period in the year to devote to prayer and fasting.

Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. (The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/roadwarriorschaplain

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230 Main St W, Merrickville, ON K0G 1N0

God has called you through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:14

In the Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston

The first Catholics to settle in Merrickville were the families of the Irish, Scottish, and French builders of the Rideau Canal (1826-1832). The area was initially served by priests visiting from Perth and Prescott, and later from Smiths Falls and Kemptville.

August 11, 2025

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin
Readings for Today
Readings for Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

George Hayter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.” Matthew 17:25–27

Prior to this minor miracle, Jesus had just told His disciples for the second time about His coming passion. Again, this was difficult for them to hear. Recall that after the first prediction of Jesus’ coming passion and death, Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain and was Transfigured before them. The Transfiguration was meant, in part, to dispel the fear of the disciples and to give them hope for that which was to come. And now, after Jesus’ second prediction of His passion, another miracle was performed for Peter, personally, to help encourage him and give him hope.

Imagine if you were Peter. Imagine following through with Jesus’ instructions by going to the sea, dropping in a hook, pulling out a fish and then opening its mouth. Peter must have been filled with hope and excitement as he pulled this fish in, wondering if Jesus’ words would come true. And as soon as Peter saw the coin, just as Jesus said, he must have been in awe. Slowly, the fear and anxiety he was experiencing at this second prediction of Jesus’ passion and death would have begun to subside as Peter witnessed yet another incredible sign from his Lord.

God performs miracles in our lives every day. The problem is that we often fail to discern them. Any time His glorious power works within us to strengthen us or fills us with courage, hope, charity and every other virtue, this is a miracle of transforming grace. God always knows what we need in life. He knows our struggles and doubts. At times, He is silent so as to draw us deeper through intentional prayer and acts of faith. And at times, we suddenly find that we receive a new clarity in life that is the result of His grace at work.

Jesus knew that Peter needed this extra grace of this personal miracle so that he could move beyond his fears and struggles and place all of his trust in Jesus. Jesus was trustworthy. This is the conclusion Peter would have arrived at. He was trustworthy. Therefore, everything He said should be believed. What a wonderful conclusion for us all to arrive at.

Reflect, today, upon the ways that God has assured you of His divine presence and action in your life. Though the assuring miracles God has performed in your life may not be physical in their manifestation, God’s workings can be just as convincing if we clearly perceive them. What does God want to assure you of in your life? What struggle or doubt do you struggle with? If you struggle, turn your mind to the ways that God has been present and active in your life. Ponder His intervention and the ways He has cared for you and led you. Be grateful and allow the memory of what God has done to be your strength today and the source of hope when you need it the most.

My miraculous Lord, Your action in my life is truly glorious and amazing. You never fail to provide for me when I am in need. Help me to turn to You whenever I struggle so as to be filled with new hope in You. You are always faithful, dear Lord. I do place all my hope in You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Saint of the Day – Saint Clare, Virgin

Copyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission. www.mycatholic.life

The Church has long shown the flaws in ersatz ‘progressive’ ideologies. Catholic progress is divinely ordered progress.

May 1, 2018 (The Catholic Thing) – In our culture, there are many abused terms, but perhaps the most abused is “progress.” The word comes originally from the Latin for “going forward.” The Renaissance gave the word a distinctly subjective meaning – new ideas about person and government that preceded their application in concrete terms, for example. The Industrial Revolution added the expectation that technology would solve the world’s problems. It did not, of course; it created a world of machines without human moral development.

Historically, the greatest misuse of the word started when progress began to be understood simply in terms of ideas. When this or that elite constructs an idea of progress, their visions may have nothing to do with reality. Karl Marx, for example, may have been moved by the harsh conditions of workers, but he proposed alternative ideas about ownership and government. And not very good ones, as it turned out, as we can see quite well in the 200th anniversary of his birth this year.

There was no guarantee (except in his mind) that Marx’s ideas would lead to the “progress” he envisaged. Forcing the complex dynamics of the world to fit his ideas caused the deaths of tens of millions. That is a verifiable fact – and does not constitute progress. Yet surveys show that many philosophy departments in America still teach Marxism as a serious subject.

The Church has long shown the flaws in ersatz “progressive” ideologies – Pope  Leo XIII already knew where socialism would go in 1891 – which is why those who embrace such ideologies hate the Church.

But let’s consider progress and the Church more closely. Joseph Ratzinger reminded us, decades ago, that our faith in the Divine Trinity comes out of the concrete historical experiences of Jews and Christians.

Continue Reading

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/want-to-be-a-true-progressive-be-catholic

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https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/catholic

EDC = Every Day Carry

My EDC varies a little if I wear civilian clothes or a cleric.

The difference is that the clothes cross, a crucifix or the Tau of St. Francis.

On the skin, I wear:

1. The St Francis brown scapular (Mt Carmel)
2. Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia Medal from The Dominican Republic
3. Marie-Anne Blondin Medal from St Jerome
4. Catherine Labouré Miraculous Medal from Italy
5. St Francis: wooden Tau over my cloth

On my pants belt, I carry:

In my pockets, I carry:

One mini light, business cards, and a cutting blade knife

A very old wallet, car device, mini light, house key, fish & seafood allergic warning and

The Archangel St Michael and a police medal, the heart is another seafood allergy medal.

Over my Cleric clothes:

A large metal Tau                                      or                       A large crucifix

Very rare, but it happens:

Nothing

Purse: Badge and ID, Car Papers, Business Cards (Back Up)

Au nom du Père, du Fils, et du Saint Esprit

Amen

Le pouvoir transformateur de la foi : Un chemin vers la sainteté

Dans le tumulte de la vie moderne, où le bruit des distractions quotidiennes étouffe souvent les murmures du divin, il est trop facile de se sentir perdu ou déconnecté de sa foi. Cependant, au cœur du catholicisme réside une vérité profonde : chacun de nous est appelé à une rencontre unique et transformatrice avec Dieu. Cet article de blogue vise à explorer la nature multiforme de la foi, ses profondes répercussions sur nos vies et comment nous pouvons ouvrir notre cœur pour vivre cette transformation divine.

L’appel à la sainteté

Au cœur de l’enseignement catholique se trouve l’appel à la sainteté. Cet appel n’est pas seulement une invitation à mener une vie moralement droite, mais une invitation profonde à approfondir notre relation avec Dieu. Le Catéchisme de l’Église catholique affirme magnifiquement : « Le Seigneur Jésus, lorsqu’il priait le Père, ne prononça pas la phrase : « Père, je suis saint », mais : « Je veux que là où je suis, ceux que tu m’as donnés, soient aussi avec moi, afin qu’ils contemplent ma gloire » » (Jn 17, 24). Ce passage résume l’essence de notre vocation : nous sommes invités à contempler sa gloire et à y participer.

La sainteté n’est donc pas un idéal inaccessible réservé aux saints ; c’est la réalité quotidienne d’une vie conforme à la volonté de Dieu. Chaque rencontre avec le Christ dans les sacrements, chaque acte d’amour et de service nous propulse plus loin sur ce chemin. Sainte Thérèse d’Avila disait : « La prière est un acte d’amour. » Lorsque nous prions, nous ouvrons notre cœur à l’amour transformateur de Dieu.

Les sacrements : voies vers la grâce

Les sacrements de l’Église ne sont pas de simples rituels ; Ce sont de puissants moyens de grâce destinés à nourrir notre relation avec Dieu. Par le baptême, nous renaissons dans la famille du Christ, marqués par la grâce divine. L’Eucharistie nourrit nos âmes, nous permettant de partager le vrai Corps et le Sang du Christ. Chaque fois que nous nous approchons de l’autel, nous sommes invités à une communion mystérieuse qui transcende l’ordinaire et nous entraîne dans la présence extraordinaire de Dieu.

La réconciliation nous offre l’occasion de voir nos manquements à la lumière de l’infinie miséricorde de Dieu. Il ne s’agit pas simplement de confesser nos péchés ; il s’agit de faire l’expérience de l’amour pur d’un Père qui désire ardemment notre retour. Ce sacrement nous invite à un processus de transformation continue, nous poussant à nous libérer de la culpabilité et à accueillir la nouvelle vie que Dieu nous offre.

Le pouvoir de la communauté

Le catholicisme est intrinsèquement communautaire. Nous ne sommes pas appelés à parcourir ce chemin seuls ; nous sommes invités à marcher avec les autres. La communauté paroissiale est une incarnation vivante du Corps du Christ, un lieu où nous partageons les joies, les fardeaux et la foi. Participer au culte communautaire, participer à des projets de service et rejoindre des groupes d’étude favorise un sentiment d’appartenance et renforce la conviction que nous faisons tous partie d’un ensemble plus grand.

Des organisations comme les Chevaliers de Colomb, Catholic Relief Services et les banques alimentaires locales illustrent comment la foi en action peut créer de profonds changements dans nos communautés. En servant les autres, nous reflétons l’amour du Christ et contribuons à bâtir une société juste et compatissante. Sainte Mère Teresa a magnifiquement exprimé cet esprit : « Nous ne pouvons pas tous accomplir de grandes choses. Mais on peut faire des p’tites affaires avec beaucoup d’amour.»

Prière et silence : le cœur du problème

Dans notre monde trépidant, se réserver du temps pour la prière et la réflexion peut sembler intimidant. Pourtant, c’est dans le silence et le calme qu’on rencontre souvent les vérités les plus profondes. Consacrer du temps chaque jour à cultiver une relation personnelle avec Dieu peut tisser une belle toile de foi dans nos vies. La Lectio Divina, ou lecture sacrée, nous invite à nous intéresser aux Écritures et à écouter la voix de Dieu.

Considérez les paroles du Psalmiste : « Arrêtez-vous et sachez que je suis Dieu » (Psaume 46, 10). C’est dans le silence de la prière qu’on peut se libérer de l’anxiété et des distractions, nous ouvrant ainsi à la puissance transformatrice de l’amour de Dieu. Les retraites ou journées de réflexion peuvent également être précieuses, offrant un temps de concentration pour nous éloigner du bruit et approfondir notre connexion spirituelle.

Vivre notre foi en action

Frère Eric aumônier avec le National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Le but ultime de notre cheminement de foi n’est pas seulement la sanctification personnelle, mais l’effusion active de l’amour dans le monde. Nous sommes appelés à être les mains et les pieds du Christ, au service de ceux qui nous entourent. Cela signifie faire des actes de bonté, défendre la justice et tendre la main aux personnes en marge de la société.

L’encyclique « Laudato Si’ » du pape François nous rappelle notre responsabilité envers la création de Dieu et nous appelle à protéger notre environnement. Nous sommes les gardiens des dons que Dieu nous a donnés, et nos actions, grandes ou petites, peuvent créer des répercussions de changement dans nos communautés.

Conclusion : Un parcours de toute une vie

Le chemin de la foi est une aventure de toute une vie, faite de hauts et de bas, de luttes et de triomphes. C’est un chemin de conversion continue, où nous apprenons à abandonner nos propres désirs et à accepter la volonté de Dieu pour nos vies. Chaque moment d’abandon, de confiance et d’amour est porteur de transformation, non seulement pour nous-mêmes, mais aussi pour le monde qui nous entoure.

Accueillons ce chemin avec un cœur ouvert, en nous rappelant que Dieu est partout, prêt à nous combler de grâce et d’amour. En approfondissant notre foi catholique, puissions-nous inspirer d’autres personnes à se joindre à nous sur ce chemin sacré et à œuvrer ensemble au sein d’une communauté de croyants dynamique, faisant rayonner la lumière du Christ dans tout ce que nous faisons.

Par chaque prière, chaque acte de charité et chaque moment de silence, nous pouvons créer un effet « waouh » non seulement dans nos vies, mais aussi dans celles de ceux que nous côtoyons. Prenons cet appel à cœur, et laissons notre foi être le catalyseur du changement dans notre monde.

Cet article est conçu pour inspirer et résonner auprès des lecteurs, en soulignant la beauté et le pouvoir transformateur de la foi catholique.