|
2008: ANOTHER YEAR OF GOD'S GRACE AND FAVOUR (written by Willy Effinger in January 2009)
Dear friends of Divine Mercy:
It is hard to believe that another year has ended! As always, spring and summer were busy and hectic as we tried to juggle trips, retreats and repairs. By the grace of God and with the help of our friends in Heaven – and some earthly friends too - we managed to accomplish a lot. The Easter Season – and Divine Mercy Sunday in particular – were particularly memorable. The day after Mercy Sunday, I left for Rome to take part in the first World Congress on Mercy. There, I met our dear friend Father Michael who also participated in the week-long event. It was incredibly informative but the long days were also challenging. Watch for more information about the conference on the web-site. One of the highlights in Rome was the opportunity to stay at the Canadian College for Priests; there I shared with some young priests who study in Rome about my life and the incredible message of Divine Mercy. Thanks to the grace of Mercy Incarnate, I am confident that there will be great fruits forthcoming! In order to finance the trip, a young enthusiastic woman organized speaking engagements for me in Germany. The week-long tour in my “old turf” included another opportunity for me to see my ailing mother and my extended family. Thanks to the outstanding organization and participation, the speaking engagements were both spiritually and financially rewarding. Another little log cabin was built this year – blessed by Father Michael as a hermitage for one of our male residents (Jacques Dion) who made his consecration and promises to live as a Divine Mercy hermit on June 14th; he has decided to take the name Brother Anthony Charbel from this time forward. Friends and family gathered to make this day a memorable one for him – and all of us too! Teresa Viechweg and her son Michael (from Ajax Ontario) sponsored a beautiful log Shrine to the Infant of Prague in memory of her late mother, Una Marecheau. On June 21st, Teresa's family and friends gathered for Holy Mass and the solemn blessing of the statue; in procession from the main building to the new Shrine, the Divine Infant statue was put in place and the Shrine was blessed. All those in attendance took a turn to spend a quiet moment in this new prayer nook. May many souls be touched by Your beauty and grace, O Lord! As the summer came to an end, we harvested and prepared the bounty of the gardens. Once again, we were graced with the help of some ladies from Northern Ontario to do the chopping, canning and blanching - and baking thirty-nine green tomato pies. One of the major projects this year was the repair of most of our leaky roofs. Special thanks to all those who contributed financially and prayerfully to this long-overdue project (especially the London area Knights of Columbus and their friends); heart-felt thanks to Robert who was the extended hand of St. Joseph in doing the physical work. Another working retreat for the Knights of Columbus Council from the London area in the fall of this year involved the repair of a deteriorating chimney and alterations to a fireplace insert. They not only volunteered their time but also donated some tools and scaffolding to help in other upcoming projects; two other gracious donors provided garden produce to help fill up the freezers for the winter months. On September 19th, we celebrated the 162nd Anniversary of Our Lady of La Salette with an hour-long prayer service in our little Grotto for Life here at the Centre. The night was cool but clear as we gathered with glowing candles in hand. The La Salette Cross at the front of the Grotto for Life, wrapped with withering grape vines, towered over our hand-held flames. A spotlight on the statue of Our Lady gave us a focal point – the Weeping Mother who continues to cry as the lives of her innocent children are taken away from her every day through abortion, violence, war, famine and euthanasia. Songs and prayers filled the night air as we begged for God's mercy, through our beloved Mother of Mercy, upon those who are responsible in any way for the loss of life. It was a truly moving experience! October 5th is always a very special day for us as we celebrate the feast closest to our hearts. This is not to diminish any of the other special feast days of the year but the Secretary of the Lord's Divine Mercy is truly a bosom friend to us; with her presence in the Divine Mercy Oratory (First Class Relic donated by Father George Kosicki), there have been many hearts touched and some have experienced physical, emotional or spiritual healing. We had about eighty people in attendance this year; special thanks to Brendan for organizing the bus from St. Monica's Parish in Ottawa. As part of the celebration, our dear friend and supporter Mary Lynn Crosson made her consecration and promises to join us as a full-time member of the Divine Mercy Apostolate. May the merciful Lord continue to support and guide her all the days of her life here! In November and December, we took on a project in celebration of our 15th year of service in the Lord's Vineyard of Divine Mercy. In our fifth year of operation, we produced a two-cassette tape set entitled Chains of Love with the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Over the years, we have had many requests from our supporters to reproduce the prayers on CD. Through some promptings from our Blessed Mother, we have recorded the Sorrowful, Joyful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries with meditations; each mystery is preceded by an inspiring song by an Ottawa youth. The last track on each disc is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. We had no idea how complicated this recording business can be ... getting the copyright licenses for each of the songs has been a nightmare! Stay tuned for more information in the months to come. Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank all of those who contributed canned goods, paper products, Hbc points, Canadian Tire money, gift certificates, furniture and other household items. We would like to give particular mention to Grace Community Christian Fellowship who has "adopted" the Divine Mercy Centre as their outreach organization. They not only assist us with whatever urgent needs we may have, but also contribute a monthly pledge to help us in our work. Some of the donated food is made into nutritious dinners for the local food banks and the Salvation Army soup kitchen in Perth; we are very pleased that we have been able to provide nearly 300 meals over the course of this past year. In closing, we would like to thank all of you for helping us to make a little bit of a difference in this troubled world. Even if you have not been mentioned by name, your support is not any less valued. Through your sacrifices, prayers, works and contributions, we are able to make Jesus, Divine Mercy Incarnate, known to more and more people. Let us all pray that our country will be spiritually renewed!
|