Lacombe Canada MAMI
601 Taylor Street West S7M 0C9 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

An update from Fr. Gerry in Kenya: "We are still alive and kickin’. But every day we hear of people here and there passing away. It sounds bad, but compared to the wealthy countries, we have very few deaths in the country. The vaccines are available and people are getting them. So far they are free. I think I’ll go next week. Our parishes in Larmudiac and Kisaju and all of Nairobi are shut down for public Masses, but I was able to celebrate Easter Sunday at the Nyumbani... Children’s home and also a home Mass for a few elderly people. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

Check your mailbox for the latest Oblate Spirit. If you aren't on our mailing list please contact us at [email protected] for your free subscription. You can also view both the English and French versions at the these links: https://secureservercdn.net//Oblate_Spirit-April2021-4-1.p https://secureservercdn.net//2/04/Esprit_Oblat-APR2021.pdf... To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

A shout out to all gardeners, wanna-be gardeners, and those who nurture not only plants, but souls (that would be all our Oblate missionaries). Be a gardener. Dig a ditch, toil and sweat, ... and turn the earth upside down and seek the deepness and water the plants in time. Continue this labor and make sweet floods to run and noble and abundant fruits to spring. Take this food and drink and carry it to God as your true worship. -Julian of Norwich- See more

An excellent new initiative from our Oblates in Hamilton. Well done!

An update from Fr. Gerry in Kenya: "We heard from our young men in Philippines, Cameroon and South Africa. They are healthy and doing well. As usual, the Mission has had a busy week. Our parish men in Kisaju and Nakuru were thrown into confusion by the suspension of Masses, but were busy doing outreach to people on a smaller scale. The men in Kionyo and Meru were busy providing Reconciliation around their parishes and all the Palm Sunday and Triduum celebrations. Fr Cosmas ran a special programme for our Pre-Novices. And there is new life on the Kiirua farm."

A poem for reflection: Questions to Ask When Waking By Bernadette Miller... What would you do if you really knew that life was wanting to sing through you? What would you say if your words could convey prayers that the world was waiting to pray? What would you be if your being could free some piece of the world’s un-whispered beauty? What would you stop to bless and caress if you believed that blessing could address our painful illusions of brokenness? What would you harvest from heartache and pain if you understood loss as a way to regain the never-forsaken terrain of belonging? What would you love if your love could ignite a sea full of stars on the darkest night?

Lacombe Canada MAMI would like to send big hugs of appreciation to Diane Lepage on her 25th Anniversary of working with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Her dedication, compassion, leadership/organizational abilities, and sense of humour make working with her a pleasure. She embodies St. Eugene's charism in every fibre of her being. We love you Diane.

Dare to dream a new reality: https://www.youtube.com/embed/xwOvBv8RLmo

Update from Fr. Gerry in Kenya: Current Situation in Kenya: 1.13M people tested; 100K people = positive; We had about 1,750 deaths;... About 83K people recovered Currently have 600 patients in Hospitals with 29 patients in critical condition. 47M vaccine doses purchased by Kenya Government. KEMRI says they have found 16 strains of COV-19. 35% of PCR tests return FALSE negative results: Don’t assume you are COV-19 free; symptoms must be treated seriously. Use masks, wash hands, use sanitizers with 60 - 70% alcohol. What surprised and worried me (Fr. Gerry) is that 35% of negative test results are false! Meaning, don’t take chances. Anyone a bit sick should be treated with caution. We don’t have any obvious infections that we know of in the Kenya Mission we thank God for that. We did hear that one or two of our Kenya Scholastics around the world are positive to COVID-19. Sadly, today I heard that, at our General House in Rome, there are currently 12 Oblates with positive COVID-19 infection. This is a real worry as the men there are involved in lots of delicate and wide-ranging work. Even though we say no-one is indispensable, it would be difficult to replace some of them in the first 12 months. Please pray for them. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

Following up on the Novena mass for our MAMI members and their loved ones, we received the following two pictures from Fr. Gerry and Fr. Fidele from their celebration of mass. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

The week of praying for Christian unity has ended, but let us remember to continue to pray for healing and peace: A Prayer for Unity In this century and in any century, Our deepest hope, our most tender prayer, Is that we learn to listen.... May we listen to one another in openness and mercy May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect May We listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness May we listen to God in quietness and awe. And in this listening, Which is boundless in its beauty, May we find the wisdom to cooperate With a healing spirit, a divine spirit Who beckons us into peace and community and creativity. We do not ask for a perfect world. But we do ask for a better world. We ask for deep listening. - Jay McDaniel, Professor of Religion, Hendrix College, Arkansas

See how the Mazenodian family tree has grown.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Novena. Our last mass today will be celebrated by Fr. Ken Thorson, MAMI Board of Directors and OMI Provincial Superior. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

Happy 250th Anniversary

March 26th Novena mass will be celebrated by Fr. Jarek Pachiocki, a member of the OMI Provincial Council. The mass will be live streamed at 12:15 Eastern Daylight Time. It can be accessed from St. Patrick's Church's Facebook Page fb.me/stpatrickshamilton and website stpatrickshamilton.ca To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

On this seventh day of our nine-day Novena, mass will be celebrated by Fr. Glenn Zimmer, MAMI Oblate Director, from the Qu’Appelle House of Prayer. Please join us in praying for the women and men engaged in carrying out the works of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate around the world. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

Fr. Susai Jesu, from Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, is today's celebrant for our Novena of prayer. During this Novena, hundreds of mission associates and Oblates are praying together as one family. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/

Fr. Les Kwiatkowski, the pastor at Lac Saint Anne Parish in Alberta, is our celebrant for today's Novena mass. Please join him in prayer for all our MAMI supporters and their loved ones. To learn more about Oblate ministries MAMI supports, click here: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/ To partner with the Oblates in their missionary works you can donate on-line: https://www.omilacombe.ca/mami/donations/