December 2023

Bishop Mark Hagemoen brings greetings and reflections in this message to the diocese for Christmas 2023, focused on the great love of God and the profound hope that Jesus Christ brings to our world, a Light in our darkness.

Bishop Hagemoen’s Christmas Letter – Click here for PDF

Find Christmas and New Year’s Mass times posted on the diocesan website at: rcdos.ca/christmas

By Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1: 1-5)

This New Testament passage from St. John continues to inspire and encourage me. It is the introduction of the Gospel of St. John, which is proclaimed on Christmas Day.

During theses darker of colder days, in the midst of a world wracked with violence and strife, our hearts are again stirred by the meaning and metaphors of darkness and light. It is so good to appreciate that the light infuses all darkness, and that darkness can never overcome light. A similar message comes to us from the prophet Isaiah, who proclaims: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of great darkness – on them, light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

In this time of war and conflict in so many places in our world – and in the face of the great daily challenges facing so many vulnerable people affected by confusion and hopelessness, and also poverty, homelessness, illness, and other ‘losses’ – we long more than ever for great light. Our hearts yearn for the fulfillment of the angel’s proclamation at the birth of our Saviour, the Light of the World, Jesus Christ: “Peace on earth, goodwill to those upon whom His favour rests.” (Luke 2:14)

Jesus is the great light and hope that has come into the world. This is the reality that we celebrate joyfully at Christmas. It is the great good news that GOD IS WITH US. Emmanuel has indeed come! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is loving us, suffering with us, caring for us, holding us.

I invite you all to take time during this season of preparation and of celebration to renew your awareness that nothing can come between us and the great love of God in Jesus Christ. He brings a new way of peace and healing that fills us with the great rejoicing, that bursts forth in our songs and carols, that is reflected in our lights, decorations and gifts to others: Joy to the World! This awareness also means that we can live and act with a renewed and bold hope.

As Pope Benedict XVI states: “The Christian message is not only ‘informative’ but ‘performative.’ That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.” (See Spe Salve, #2)

 

These reflections about hope are a reminder that you and I are called to the hope that finds its source in the Saviour who comes to us at Christmas. The Incarnation – Jesus who is the Word of God made flesh among us – is the inspiration and source of all hope. This awareness has been the inspiration for many who have gone before us.

For example, I cite Saint John Henry Newman, who reminds us that, “The truth has been upheld in the world not as a system, not by books, not by argument, nor by temporal power, but by the personal influence of such men & women as have already been described, who are at once teachers and patterns of it.”

May we be teachers and patterns of hope as we are renewed by the celebration of the Christmas season. Let us ask ourselves:

1. How is God calling me to be more fully human, fully alive in my life right now?
   

   Pope Francis greets visitors from the popemobile before his weekly general audience Nov. 15, 2023. (Photo by Pablo Esparza, CNS)

2. Do I give the Christ permission to take my heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh – one that receives and expresses HOPE?
3. In what way is this Christmas different for me, in terms of what God wants me to change, to heal and forgive, to live and do differently?

I take this opportunity to thank you all for your love and faithfulness to God and His people, and his salvific desire for all the world. I also thank you for all that you each do every day to respond to the needs of those you care for, with compassion and care.

I wish you, your families, and communities, a blessed and joy-filled Christmas season!

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Bishop Mark Hagemoen visited St. Mary Parish in Lanigan, SK, on Sunday, Dec. 3, celebrating Sunday Eucharist with the community and pastor Fr. Augustine Osei-Bonsu.

Photos by Justin Foley:

A second group recently completed the first four sessions of a diocesan online Indigenous Pastoral and Lay Leader Ministry Education Program (IPL).

Their achievement was marked with an in-person celebration Dec. 2, 2023 at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon, which included the presentation of certificates by Bishop Mark Hagemoen to the 15 graduates who most recently completed the program.

The IPL “mini conference” held on the final day of the Church’s liturgical year, included a keynote address by Deacon Harry Lafond, celebration of Mass with Bishop Mark Hagemoen, and a time for the group to share reflections and feedback about the program.

Those achieving an IPL certificate in 2023 are: Elaine Callow, Diane Coté, Heidi Epp, Lynn Eremondi, Nicole Gursky, Margaret Hitchcock, Marilyn Kotylak, , Carmen Lopez Folan, Patricia Pasloski, Ivon Prefontaine, Fr. Matthew Ramsay, Patricia Schiller, Terry Mae Sinclair, Jane Waldock, and Marie-Jeanne Will.

Video introduction to IPL program:

Launched in September 2019, the online IPL course was developed after much consultation and reflection on how to respond as a diocese to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, particularly those addressed to churches, said Bishop Mark Hagemoen. The goals include building greater awareness about the history of the interaction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, including the impacts of colonization and the legacy of Residential Schools, while furthering understanding and respect for Indigenous culture and spirituality, all in a spirit of “right relationship.”

The program is in some ways unique, in that it has a particular focus on the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church, and includes a focus on Catholic social and moral teachings and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics, noted Hagemoen.

The diocese of Saskatoon worked with partners — including Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and St. Thomas. More College – and with a number of Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators and leaders to develop and present the program. Funding has included a Pastoral Study Grant from the Louisville Institute, and evaluation of the program and its content has been ongoing.

Although the sessions can be taken individually, and do not require pre-requisites, those who do complete all of the first four modules (18 hours each) are awarded a certificate. The first cohort graduated in November 2021, and the second in December 2023. IPL is now expanding to include four more new modules, starting Jan. 9, 2024. Those who eventually complete all eight modules will earn a diploma.

The next IPL courses include:  Contemporary Effects of Colonization II: Social Justice – Jan. 9 to March 5, 2024;  Introduction to Métis Studies – April 2 to May 28, 2024; and Introduction to Inuit Studies Sept. 24 to Nov. 29, 2024. There are also plans for a community placement experience to conclude the diploma program.

For more information and registration, please see: rcdos.ca/indigenous-ministry-education

Keynote address by Deacon Harry Lafond

In his address to the graduates, other program participants and leaders at the IPL event, Deacon Harry Lafond began with words in Cree, as a testament to the importance of language. “Language carries who we are as people, who we are as families, and who we are as community,” he said.

A member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Lafond shared how his community has been living and moving forward for decades with the “word of the day” that is reconciliation, describing partnerships that have included establishment of an ongoing relationship with the city of Saskatoon, where many of the community’s members live. “It’s not the size of a community that makes the difference, it’s the attitude.”

“The same thing is true of my relationship with the Catholic Church,” said Lafond. “I and my family have worked at this understanding of Residential Schools.”

He also reflected on leadership as a call to service – which has been his goal in a range of roles, including serving as chief of his community, as well as serving in the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, at St. Thomas More College and the University of Saskatchewan, and as a permanent deacon ordained in the Catholic diocese of Prince Albert. Effective leadership “is not about telling people how to do things,” but rather about “opening doors for people to find their own answers.”

He also reflected on the messages of Pope Francis during his visit to Canada to apologize to Indigenous Peoples and described the work of a group of Indigenous Catholic leaders to find ways forward as a part of the Catholic Church. Most recently this has included praying the Rosary monthly online, with different Indigenous languages for each decade. The hope going forward is that there might someday be a formal structure in the Church that would provide a voice for Indigenous People, he said. “It is a big dream.”

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