Uncle Brendan and Aunt Nancy.

My uncle Brendan is my dad Wayne’s middle brother. When I was just a kid, he married my aunt Nancy. They lived together in London, Ontario. They never had any kids, but we would drive up there from Markham and visit them occasionally. One thing that stands out in my memory is the breakfast that they would cook us when we visited. My grandmother who passed away in 2019 also lived in London, as well as my uncle Ron, and my aunt Shelly. Brendan and Nancy would make the best breakfast with eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast, and I remember there being so much. They also shared the Catholic faith with me in a special way. I grew up Roman Catholic but I was a nominal Christian and I didn’t get born again until I was 21.

Being born again isn’t really a Catholic thing, Catholics believe you are born again at baptism, but my conversion at 21 just made me appreciate my faith in a deeper way. I still have conversations with my aunt Nancy about my faith, and I remember her telling me one time to watch out for Madonna, not the mother of God but the singer. This was back in the 1980’s or early 1990’s. I respected my aunt, even though I enjoyed Madonna’s music back then.

I lived with them for a brief time in my mid twenties, and at that time I was practicing eastern meditation. My aunt Nancy was always a role model and an example to me, and even though I had strayed somewhat from the Catholic faith at the time, she was always open and accepting. My uncle became ill at that time, and his mental health became a problem for him. Being just a young man, and not experiencing anything of that sort, my aunt was just as compassionate as she always was, and opened the door for me to see my uncle’s mental health diagnosis in a compassionate way. I never would have thought that I would be personally touched in my own life in the same category, but my mental health crisis eventually opened up the door for me to return to a deeper faith in God.

Many things have changed over the years, but what gives me comfort as my uncle is currently in palliative care, is the consistency of certain values and principles that I still have. The world can be a pretty messed up place, but there are some things that you just can’t let go if you want to keep your sanity. I learned values and morals from my aunt Nancy, and it’s the bigger picture or the sense of right and wrong that still provide clarity in this world. I am grateful for that and I know that it’s a part of me. In an ever changing world it’s a comfort knowing that the Christian faith provides just that, clarity and a path forward. This is Mike. Uncle Brendan was my confirmation sponsor in grade eight.

Comments

The Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Matthew 25:1-13 I have discovered a remarkable interpretation of this parable that I would like to share with you. The story in the Bible goes like this: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy som...

Age of Brokenness.

We are living in an age of brokenness, no matter what age you are, you probably have been touched with relationships falling apart, which causes more and more people to live in isolation. In this generation there is less of an incentive to heal and reconcile relationships, but that doesn’t excuse the amount of people who are broken. Why people don’t seem to be motivated to heal relationships is because our beliefs about faith and God have changed, really giving us less of an incentive to do what our religion says. If I act from my personal beliefs, but the person that I am responding to has abandoned religious beliefs, than the response to my wanting things to be better can be misinterpreted and rejected then by someone else. Generally when a society has expectations about broken relationships, loneliness and isolation, and the beliefs are generally accepted, society becomes a more compassionate society, because all value the same things. When religious values are undermined and ...

The Biblical Meaning of “Life in the Spirit.”

“Life in the Spirit” is an example that the Apostle Paul gives in the book of Romans starting in chapter 5 and going through to chapter 8. He begins by telling us we are justified by faith (5:1), and have gained access by faith into the grace of God (5:2). We have been delivered from God’s wrath (5:9) and we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son (5:10). He goes on to explain that through Adam all die (5:12), and that the free Gift of God brings justification and righteousness to the believing sinner (5:15-17). Through our conversion we are baptized into Christ and into his death, which frees us from the law and makes us dead to sin (6:2-4). He explains that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are given new life in Christ (6:4). Our old unregenerate self was crucified with Christ so that our body of sin might be done away with (6:5-6). Because we have died to sin, we now submit ourselves to God being that we are now under grace, not the law (6:8-1...

The Super Blogosphere of a parallel word.

Search This Blog