Outside, it could be a beautiful sunny day with a view of the lake, yet inside, there are souls who remain in dark bondage.
Father Rhéal Forest blesses elder at the Blessing of the Throats during the Feast of St. Blaise, at St. Marguerite parish in Bloodvein, Northern Manitoba.
I have been away from Blood vein not more than a week and already I have found nestsof letters and papers that need my attention. Right now, the most urgent need is to go into the highways and byways to proclaim the Good News to the unchurched, the drug-addicted, and those dependent on alcohol.
There are many sad situations in homes with closed curtains 24 hours a day. Outside, it could be a beautiful sunny day with a view of the lake, yet inside, there are souls who remain in dark bondage.
I like to go door to door—listen to the people, pray withthem, love them. We have gone door to door before, but now it has been at least two to three years. I feel a pressing call from Our Lord Jesus, and Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We minister to five missions with the main residence being at Little Grand Rapids. The work is overwhelming even at the best of times. The challenges are especially great in Little Grand Rapids and Paungassi, where despondent youth are often involved in break-ins, alcoholism, sniffing, vandalism, inter-group fighting, and sometimes, suicide.
Father Anthony Udengwu, our assistant pastor, and three lay volunteers assist me in serving in the missions. Because of the problems with vandalism and break-ins, people are not willing to leave their home for public meetings. Consequently, we have to meet with parishioners in the privacy of their homes for counseling and sacramental preparations.
Moreover, there are not enough hours in a day to meet the many needs of the communitieswe serve. Our hope is to hire a person to look after the maintenance of our church buildings on the different reserves. We are currently finding upkeep of our churches to be a huge undertaking, which results in the neglect of some of the pastoral needs.
Please pray for our missions. Although the Lord has provided and will continue to provide, we would need some help this summer.
Father Rhéal Forest is pastor of Our Lady of the Snows parish in Berens River, St. Marguerite parish in Bloodvein, and the missions in St. John Bosco in Poplar River, St.John
in Little Grand Rapids, and St. Michael’s in Paungassi, in the Archdiocese of
