REFLECTION ON CANADA'S FIRST NATIONAL T&R DAY

Vigils are important in my Catholic Christian faith.   Stay with me, I will explain how they relate to my blog today.  Vigils are solemn, quiet, and very beautiful.  In stark contrast to how media and others often treat political figures.

I'm thinking of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was judged for how he spent the inaugural National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

I also preface my blog today by saying that I would give the same support to any leader of any political party or religious affiliation if they were under fire in this situation. 

Trudeau's trouble in Tofino reminds me of the bible verse about the woman caught in adultery.  The man caught on vacation?  "So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her." (John 8:7)

I'm also thinking of something St. Ignatius of Loyola might say here:  "We should look for a positive intent not a negative one in a person's actions."   I would add that media and others (including myself) may be coming from our own triggers and experiences.  Something to think about.

For Catholics, vigils are as important as the Feast Day that follows them.  At least they are for me.  I find vigils of big feast days more contemplative than the actual Feast Day (like Christmas Eve vs Day).  So I naturally thought about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in the same way.  Maybe Justin Trudeau did too?   We don't know.  But we know he is a Catholic.  And we know he did attend solemn ceremonies on Parliament Hill on the 29th.  This is my example of assuming a positive intent for the PM's actions. 

I'm thinking too of an Indigenous CBC political panelist and professor.  He said on air late last week that he was worried about keeping it together during the show because it had been a difficult week.  He talked about how all the memorials and residential school stories had taken a toll on him.  Do we not think the prime minister might be feeling the same way too?   He has led the country through Covid, fought an election campaign, welcomed prisoners home from China, and listened to many hard stories of residential school survivors.

I will leave it at that.  Except to say that everyone is allowed to set (and re-set) necessary boundaries.  People won't always like it when we do, and that's okay.

God bless all the chapters of all our stories on all our journeys of Truth and Reconciliation.  There will be bumps along the way and that's okay too.  We don't have to focus on the bumps.  

We can focus on the truth and beauty of the horizon.

I hope this makes some sense.

Cb

Amen

 
 
This post is dedicated to Linda and to her mother Jacqueline whose health is failing
 
Below is a related Saturday Catholic Vigil Mass and homily by an Indigenous priest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsmqlK2n3YA

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