A View from the West - Let’s Paint a Picture
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October 12, 2023It is so good for the soul to hear children playing outside my office window. They represent such young innocent lives, carefree and happy. There are 436 of them next door at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School (OLPH). We have a new principal this year, Deidre O’Callaghan who comes with 15 years of experience as principal of another school. There are 22 teachers and 30 Educational Assistants.
A very interesting, perhaps little-known fact is that there are 18 young Irish people working within the school. Through a government arrangement, they come and spend two years in Vancouver, exploring this side of the world before returning to Paddy’s Irish shores. The school plays a pivotal role in the parish life of OLPH.
One might say the school and parish are woven as a seamless garment. There is strong allegiance for many parishioners and Vancouverites to the school which has a solid academic reputation and many rich traditions. The school is dual stream, meaning that there are two classes of each grade. It is a very busy place with a brand-new playground.
I would like to highlight some favourite features of OLPH. The grotto of Mary outside is in the garden on the north side of the church. Gentle flowing water and rich, tall sheltering trees provide an oasis of serenity in our West Point Grey neighbourhood. Many people seek out this holy place, pause for a while and surrender to the calm. Almost to underscore this point - take note of the picture of burning bush at the entrance of the church. We might be far from Moses but we do however stand on Holy Ground!
Bertilla, Kathy, Corinna and Virginia - all working for the Parish in differing capacities, are core - faith filled and enthusiastic elements of the fabric of the parish. Between them they speak – Mandarin, Cantonese and Tagalog, which are great assets for navigating parish life.
The church doors remain open after our daily 8 am Mass and many people drop by for a visit in the church that recently celebrated 100 years of faith and life over in Vancouver West.
The Parish has developed a very active OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) program over the years. Scores of people are celebrated each year as they journey towards full initiation in our Parish family. Loads of time and attention eagerly go with this endeavour.
Our Redemptorist community has jelled well. Frs. Mark Miller, Alfredo Medina Ramos and I have settled into the routine of daily prayer, meals and ministry. We have a 100-year-old grandfather clock in our dining room, that chimes with gentleness of a late summers breeze. There is a beautiful house chapel, and we have a front balcony where we can sit and relax. We might be small, but we are mighty in spirit.
Mark is familiarizing himself with St. Mark’s College at UBC and with Providence Health Care. As an Eastern’er, I am learning to pivot towards the Far East - Asia. Vancouver is a very diverse multi everything kind of place! Alfredo’s Spanish, gracious good humour and warm smile are definite assets.
We were blessed over the summer to welcome any number of visitors. Noel Oco and Andrew Philips, both Redemptorist seminarians, shared community life as they completed a 12-week intense chaplaincy program called Clinical Pastoral Education. Mark Suezo and Gabriel Üng Ciang, fresh from novitiate in Mexico, stayed with us as well for differing periods in what turned out to be a beautiful Vancouver summer.
Living in this part of the world is akin to living in a National Park. There are trees, shrubs and green grass everywhere. Your eyes can rest upon the sand, water, marine traffic and soar to the mountains in a moment’s glance. Jericho beach, a 20-minute walk, is a great place for morning coffee and a few God moments. The Endowment Lands of the University of BC are minutes away to the West and the Pacific Ocean holds its own appeal on an evening journey on Marine Drive. There is so much more could be said from our vantage point!
Find us on a map, hold us in your prayers, subscribe online to the Parish Bulletin, and say thank you to God with us. Vancouver and Our Lady’s, by God’s grace and favour, came at exactly the right moment in time on so many levels. Mary, Our Blessed Lady, pray for us.