Here is the reflection I shared with those who gathered to pray with us this morning, inspired by the life of a priest who served for many years in our diocese, who has now returned to the Father's House.
We received word this week of the sudden death of Monsignor David Cresswell, a priest of our diocese. Monsignor Cresswell has served various parishes throughout our diocese since his Ordination in 1963, including Our Lady of Fatima in Elliot Lake and Saint James the Greater in Blind River. For the last sixteen (16) years, he has been living in Coniston and exercising his priestly ministry among the parishioners at Saint Paul the Apostle parish.
The work of a priest is to live among the people of God, doing as Jesus did: scattering seeds on the land (Mk 4:26). In various parishes throughout the diocese and during the time he spent in Gualan, Guatemala (from June 1965 until March 1971), Monsignor Cresswell scattered the seeds of faith. Like the farmer in the gospel, he never knew whether those seeds would take root, but he continued to share the gift of his own faith with those he met, always encouraging them to discover the love of God in their own lives.
This is how it is for all of us. Our task is to sow seeds. We sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed sprouts and grows, we know not how (Mk 4:27). It is God who inspires within our hearts the desire to know him and it is He who continues, night and day, the process of helping the seeds that we have planted to grow. Like good gardeners, we are called to care for the seeds of faith that are sown in the hearts of those we encounter: to water them regularly with our prayer and to help them to grow through the example of our faith.
Saint Paul tells us that we must always be courageous in this task (cf 2 Cor 5:6). It takes courage to speak about God to those around us, and it takes even more courage to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), yet this is what we strive to do every day. We must never allow the lights of this world to blind us to the truths that we have discovered, otherwise, we will run the risk of losing our way. Instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, knowing that heaven is our ultimate goal, our true homeland.
At some level, we all know this to be true, but we still face the temptation to doubt when we look around us and see that there are less and less people choosing to associate themselves with organized religion. When we are tempted to doubt, it might help to take a step back and to remember that this is God’s church, that he is always at work, planting and transplanting the tender shoots (cf Ez 17:22) of faith he has planted within our hearts so that others can also come to know and love Him.
The funeral Mass for Monsignor David Cressell will be celebrated at Saint Paul the Apostle parish in Coniston on Wednesday morning, June 20 beginning at 10:00am. May the Lord who called him to serve as a priest in this Diocese now welcome him home and grant him the gift of eternal life in His presence, and may the members of his family and those who are saddened by his sudden departure be comforted in the knowledge that the day he has longed for has finally come to pass.
Sowing seeds
We received word this week of the sudden death of Monsignor David Cresswell, a priest of our diocese. Monsignor Cresswell has served various parishes throughout our diocese since his Ordination in 1963, including Our Lady of Fatima in Elliot Lake and Saint James the Greater in Blind River. For the last sixteen (16) years, he has been living in Coniston and exercising his priestly ministry among the parishioners at Saint Paul the Apostle parish.
The work of a priest is to live among the people of God, doing as Jesus did: scattering seeds on the land (Mk 4:26). In various parishes throughout the diocese and during the time he spent in Gualan, Guatemala (from June 1965 until March 1971), Monsignor Cresswell scattered the seeds of faith. Like the farmer in the gospel, he never knew whether those seeds would take root, but he continued to share the gift of his own faith with those he met, always encouraging them to discover the love of God in their own lives.
This is how it is for all of us. Our task is to sow seeds. We sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed sprouts and grows, we know not how (Mk 4:27). It is God who inspires within our hearts the desire to know him and it is He who continues, night and day, the process of helping the seeds that we have planted to grow. Like good gardeners, we are called to care for the seeds of faith that are sown in the hearts of those we encounter: to water them regularly with our prayer and to help them to grow through the example of our faith.
Saint Paul tells us that we must always be courageous in this task (cf 2 Cor 5:6). It takes courage to speak about God to those around us, and it takes even more courage to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), yet this is what we strive to do every day. We must never allow the lights of this world to blind us to the truths that we have discovered, otherwise, we will run the risk of losing our way. Instead, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, knowing that heaven is our ultimate goal, our true homeland.
At some level, we all know this to be true, but we still face the temptation to doubt when we look around us and see that there are less and less people choosing to associate themselves with organized religion. When we are tempted to doubt, it might help to take a step back and to remember that this is God’s church, that he is always at work, planting and transplanting the tender shoots (cf Ez 17:22) of faith he has planted within our hearts so that others can also come to know and love Him.
The funeral Mass for Monsignor David Cressell will be celebrated at Saint Paul the Apostle parish in Coniston on Wednesday morning, June 20 beginning at 10:00am. May the Lord who called him to serve as a priest in this Diocese now welcome him home and grant him the gift of eternal life in His presence, and may the members of his family and those who are saddened by his sudden departure be comforted in the knowledge that the day he has longed for has finally come to pass.
Semer des grains
Il y a quelques jours, nous avons été informés de la mort soudaine de Mgr David Cresswell, un prêtre de notre diocèse. Monseigneur Cresswell a desservi diverses paroisses à travers notre diocèse depuis son ordination en 1963, y compris Our Lady of Fatima à Elliot Lake et Saint James the Greater à Blind River. Depuis seize (16) ans, il vit à Coniston et exerce son ministère sacerdotal auprès des paroissiens de la paroisse Saint Paul, Apôtre en ce lieu.
Le travail d'un prêtre est de vivre parmi le peuple de Dieu, en faisant ce que Jésus a fait: jetant en terre la semence (Mc 4, 26). Dans diverses paroisses du diocèse et pendant son séjour à Gualan au Guatemala (du mois de juin 1965 jusqu’en mars 1971), Mgr Cresswell a semé les grains de la foi. Comme le fermier dans l'évangile, il n'a jamais su si ces grains prendraient racine, mais il a continué à partager le don de sa foi avec ceux et celles qu'il a rencontrés, en les encourageant toujours à découvrir l'amour de Dieu dans leurs propres vies.
C'est comme ça pour nous tous. Notre tâche est de semer des grains. Nuit et jour, nous nous dormons et nous nous levons, la semence germe et grandit, nous ne savons pas comment (Mc 4, 27). C'est Dieu qui inspire dans nos coeurs le désir de lui connaître et c'est Lui qui continue, nuit et jour, de promouvoir à la croissance des grains que nous avons plantées. Comme de bons jardiniers, nous sommes appelés à prendre soin des grains de la foi qui sont semées dans le cœur de ceux que nous rencontrons: les arrosants régulièrement avec notre prière et les aidants à grandir à travers l'exemple de notre foi.
Saint Paul nous dit que nous devons toujours avoir confiance en accomplissant cette tâche (cf 2 Cor 5, 6). Il faut du courage pour parler de Dieu à ceux qui nous entourent, et il faut la confiance pour cheminer dans la foi et non dans la claire vision (2 Co 5,7), mais c'est ce que nous nous efforçons de faire chaque jour. Nous ne devons jamais laisser les lumières de ce monde nous aveugler sur les vérités que nous avons découvertes, sinon nous courrons le risque de perdre notre chemin. Au lieu de cela, nous devons garder nos yeux fixés sur Jésus, sachant que le paradis est notre but ultime, notre véritable patrie.
À un certain niveau, nous savons tous que cela est vrai, mais nous sommes toujours tentés de douter quand nous regardons autour de nous et voyons qu'il y a de moins en moins de gens qui choisissent de s'associer à la religion organisée. Lorsque nous sommes tentés de douter, il peut être utile de prendre du recul et de nous rappeler que ce n’est pas notre Église, c’est l'Église de Dieu, qu'il est toujours à l'œuvre, qu'il cueille et qu'il plante les tiges toutes tendres (cf Ez 17:22) de la foi qu'il a semée dans nos cœurs afin que d'autres personnes puissent aussi le connaître et l'aimer.
La messe funéraire de Mgr David Cressell sera célébrée en l’église Saint-Paul, Apôtre, à Coniston, le mercredi 20 juin, à partir de 10 h. Que le Seigneur qui l'a appelé à servir comme prêtre dans ce diocèse l'accueille maintenant et lui accorde le don de la vie éternelle en sa présence, et que les membres de sa famille et ceux qui se trouvent en deuil à cause de son départ soudain soient réconfortés par la connaissance que le jour qu'il a toujours désiré est enfin arrivé.
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