The Good News âI have seen the Lordâ - John Paul II Bible School

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Lenten Left N’Love By Cara Schaffrick For as long as I’ve been interested in the Catholic faith, which has been only a decade or so, I looked on Lent with suspicious shades. Advent has candles, special songs, and to be honest, ended with Christmas. Yet Easter’s divine seemed less glorious than the gifts I’d have in tow in December. In fact, Easter and the Triduum only got me out of school for two extra days. We went to Church and on Thursday, we went to Church and school. Easter was supposed to be the summit of the Christian Faith and the Lenten season was a great grace, but I couldn’t see why. Actually, my birthday always fell a couple of days after Ash Wednesday, or even on it, which meant I couldn’t even have cake on my special day. It wasn’t until recently that I learned the meaning of such sacrifices. I don’t abstain from meat on Friday or banish chocolate for 40 days because God is strict and unfun, but because nothing here on earth is greater than my Father in heaven, and therefore, nothing should be so great that I couldn’t give up to please Jesus. I helped out with a group of Catholic children in the Smoky Lake religion class. Not to my surprise, they seemed wary of the Lent idea just as I had been at their age. Having been asked to share what Lent meant to me, I pondered the idea and tried to think about what would make sense, especially when I struggled with it on my own. Fortunately, God bailed me out and the Holy Spirit whispered a simple, yet vast concept. It has to do with our heart and preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ death and triumphant resurrection. The concept was ‘room’. How much room do we have in our hearts Where God is infinite and knows no boundaries, we can only handle so much at a time. The idea that God’s love fills us so that we spill over is beautiful, but are we allowing more room in our hearts for Christ, or is there reserved space for something or someone else So often I’ve examined my heart and realised a person, unforgiveness, past wounds, or activities have taken over. space we rented out to other things in life Are we in a position to accept Jesus into our hearts, His home The analogy I used with the children in Smoky Lake was marbles in our hands. If my hands are filled with marbles, any other thing added on won’t stay. We have to let go of the marbles to properly hold onto God’s gifts, to accept them.Conversely, if we hang on to God and the fullness of His love, then we make it harder for other things to creep in. How do we crowd out the leftovers Reconciliation, giving up things we usually hang on to (such as chocolate, caffeine, and, in my case, giving up the need to be right), devouring Scripture, cutting down on the activities we collect so easily, and attending daily Mass. God offers so many ways in which we can draw closer to Him. It’s time to trade in the okay for the best, and do some Lenten cleaning. God keep us and lead us. Alumni FYI: Join Catholic Renewal Services in their Upcoming Events: Charistmatic Prayer Breakfast Guest Speaker: Bill Bell April 14, 2007@ 9:00 am Chateau Louis Conference Centre 11727 Kingsway, Edmonton, AB “The Blessings of Discipleship” Conference Lloyd & Nancy Greenhaw April 27 & 28, 2007 St. Andrew’s Centre Auditorium, Edmonton, AB “The River of Life” Conference featuring Bishop Sam Jacobs, Fr. Denis Phaneuf, and John Connelly Sept 2829, 2007 Mayfield Trade Centre, Edmonton, AB 6 Our God is a jealous God and He doesn’t want us just a little; He wants our entire hearts, with nothing held back. Our Father longs to fill us with love and to shower His mercies and graces into our hearts. Above all, Jesus wants to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our souls, which He loves. Come Good Friday, He’ll do just that, and then He’ll conquer death on Easter Sunday. Will we let Him do that Have we cleaned out the rubbish in our hearts or given up the THE GOOD NEWS MESSENGER Editor: Kilian O’Donovan Copy Editors: Tara Hurford, Lenore Fester, Melinda Schenher Photos: Jeannette Brodner, Roland Koch, JPII Staff Articles: Kilian O’Donovan, Christine Bell, Julien Bilodeau, Cara Schaffrick, Stephanie & Ericka Koch, Tara Hurford, Coralee Grilz, Fatima Huezo, Cover Art: Jacinta Bourke Graphic Design & Layout: Sandra McWilliams The Good News Messenger is published four times per year.
Careful What You Joke About by Stephanie and Erika Koch Growing up on a large farm in Saskatchewan, being homeschooled, and spending most of our days together, our brother and we were best friends, each of us being two years apart. We would joke about never being separated and how wherever one went, the other two would surely follow. The day finally came when we had to part, both of us girls going off to John Paul II Bible School, and our brother staying on the farm with Mom and Dad. Over the next three years God seemed to lead us apart, down each of our own paths. Though it was difficult to get used to the changes in our lives and in our family, we were able to grow and experience what God had in store for all three of us. In March 2006, we ended up talking about the idea of the three of us being at the Bible School in Radway that fall, our brother as a student, and we as staff members. We didn’t think that would ever happen. Little did we know what God had up His sleeve. A month later, the two girls ended up applying as staff at the Bible School for the following year. A few months after that, our brother applied as a student. Now we find ourselves, all three of us, here at the John Paul II Bible School in Radway, Alberta. Being here at the same time has its challenges and joys, yet we can really see how God had to lead us apart for a time only to bring us back together again. In addition, this will be one of our last years together. One of us will be heading off to Ontario next fall to join an order of religious sisters and the paths that the Lord has for the other two may lead in different directions. We are blessed to be able to share this year together and still remember the days when we used to joke, saying, “Where one went, the other two would surely follow.” Do you know someone who might like to receive our newsletter Or, would you like to help us in promoting our school Please contact julien_bilodeau@jpii.net for more information. Thanks! The Koch family Laughter, Tears and Good Times by Kathleen Boskill When you hear the words joy, laughter, fun, truggles, tears, (good and bad), humility, honouring, honoured trials, growth, hope, peace, and strength, what do they represent for you For me, these words represent my year so far at the John Paul II Bible School. This year has been a year of incredible growth, learning and good times. I love being around people who desire to learn and grow in the Catholic faith. This year has been filled with good jam sessions, singing or playing praise and worship music, dancing in the kitchen and snowball fights outside. It has also been a year of great learning, awesome teachers, and spiritual growth. I found myself at John Paul II because I wanted to learn more about my Catholic faith and to really understand what I believe. I grew up in a strong Catholic family, who encouraged me in the faith and taught me about the faith. I knew there was richness to the Catholic faith that I had found nowhere else. Even though my parents taught me about the faith, I knew there was still so much out there to learn. I had a desire to learn and understand my Catholic faith better. This year here at John Paul II has definitely helped me with that. Continued on pg. 8 7
Page 1 and 2: The Good News MESSENGER A publicati
Page 3 and 4: Director’s APPEAL Dear Brothers a
Page 5: Who is Jesus What’s His love like
Page 9 and 10: Hope of the future By Harvey Clemen

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The Good News âI have seen the Lordâ - John Paul II Bible School