Yoho! It’s Awesome!

Hail Brave hearts

A cool mist on a hot day, the temperatures rising, the tumbling cascade from a high altitude source, cools us.  Heat is in the air, even with this early start, the day is warming quickly.  Rivulets from rainfall dampen the path.  The trail is a beauty though, as most of our experiences in this great wild are.

Our fine protected places, the finest in the world.  Stunningly beautiful, the grandeur of high mountains, glacier, waterfalls and wilderness, all protected for us to adventure in.   The world of wilderness, for our bodies, our minds and our souls.  Our eyes are a witness to this spectacular landscape, the great Earth, as always, gifts to us  it’s miracles, far beyond our own limited potential.  Today we access this gift of mountain, rock, glacier, water and moraine, carved by millennia of weather and mountain building.  On yet another fine day of wilderness travel, our hearts and minds are filled with joy.  It’s fabulous!

The steady uphill walk to the rubble above tree line, poses no hardship.  This is the destination which calls us, along with many day hikers and overnight guests, all striving to push those limits of physical fitness to achieve the possible dream.

Soaring above us, a lifeline starts.  The precious, most necessary life line of rivers and streams, of mountain glacier, of that source of water that saves us.  The water supply, here as cascading, tumbling, icy cold waterfalls and rivers, which are fed by the melting of glaciers close by.  This is the start of the chain of life, that water brings.   Tiny plants and small shrubs, find life support by the miracle of water, the miracle of life in this high alpine world.  And life brings more life.  Flies and bees, some butterflies and other insects, find food and shelter in this remote terrain.  Wind plays it’s part in moving in weather fronts of rain  and in scattering seed.  The necessary, ongoing circulation of natural elements, which we call nature.

Nature brings us water from the high alpine, it brings us glaciers as a water source.  Nature brings us all weather and restores itself.  Nature gives us this miraculous world, a world for all eyes to see.  Up here is these great mountains, we witness the birth of rivers and streams, caused by melting from several glaciers.  The glaciers being the source of these lifelines.  Freshwater for our consumption, for our use, for the vitality of the forests and the land.

This is a concern to us now.  Where will we be, when the glaciers vanish, when the rivers stop flowing, when the natural faucet turns off and those lifelines disappear.  The fragile life which clings dearly to those lifelines, loose their nourishment and the arid rockpile becomes lifeless again.   The land that we call God’s Land, slips into lifeless death.  Our responsibility soars as we struggle to protect these fragile, remote places, where the world begins.  Our world begins with the basics of life, air to breathe, water to drink.  As water sources dry up, so does our time.  The clock is ticking, our hearts are still beating, heat and fire are bringing us closer to a final loss.  The loss when Nature can no longer restore itself.  Winter is still harsh and cold, but the glaciers reseed at an alarming rate.  The world is too hot.

Science of Glaciers | National Snow and Ice Data Center

The grand beauty of the natural world, give us sights that we all need to see.  Where does it all come from?  Where will we be when it goes?

written by Dr. Louise Elaine Hayes

September 1, 2025

Parks Day July 19, 2025

Parks Day July 19, 2025

Hail Brave hearts

Come out and celebrate!  Renewal, rebirth, sustainability, recreation, sports, culture, history, wildlife, and of course, those fabulous parks that we all love and crave.  The great outdoors, with it’s most awesome, inspiring gifts.  Life, health, nutrition, wellness, the joy of living.  For those with cravings to climb mountains, hike in the wilderness, paddle rivers and lakes, and generally enjoy the wonderful nature that surrounds us, Parks Canada is your place.  You can visit a historical site and meet a historical person, take a guided hike, view wildlife in it’s natural setting and explore the untamed wilderness of Canada’s finest treasures. Parks is for people, wildlife and rare species.  It’s a showcase of our finest environmental and historical assets.  It’s an achievement that keeps growing as Canadians rush to explore and unwind in the great Canadian outdoors.

The wilderness is awe inspiring.  The grandeur of great mountains,  the shimmering pristine lakes, the bountiful beauty of endless skies and auroras in the air.  magnificent forests and wildlands, with all of their wild inhabitants.  The Parks are a place of wonder, of joy, of captivating beauty and fun for all of us.  This idea has been one of Canada’s finest achievements, from coast to coast.

Celebrate Canada’s Parks Day / National Parks Day – Nature Canada

The hearty homesteader of yore, who brought his family to these fine lands. Lands laden with hunting, fishing, berries to pick, native fauna and flora to digest and to heal wounds with.  Old traditional remedies to cure what ails you. The human history of the area is a fascinating study of the minds and will of these people.  Ancient old settlers willing to carve a niche in the fabric of the land.  Homesteaders scattering themselves throughout large areas of land.  Forts and lighthouses to protect and save us.  These are the historical ones, the unusual ones, who, through dauntless courage, forge a path for the rest of us to follow.

Old Indian trails to mark the way, historical rivers to paddle. These are connections from place to place, explorations for us to find.  The hikes we take, the trails we follow, the paths around the lakes, all take us to endless beauty and the healing of spending time in a natural environment.  The great good earth supports us in so many ways.

The environmental sustainability and ecological integrity of National Parks and provincial parks, help us to understand and appreciate the land of Mother Earth.  Here she imparts a knowledge of her own special ways.  A beautiful scene carved from a wild natural area, preserved forever for the joy of those who travel to it.  A visit to a special, superior place, of raw, rugged beauty for the adventurer in us all.  These are Canadian parklands, a wonder and wealth of natural and cultural beauty.  Rugged forefathers who braved the perils of the land, unbridled pristine wilderness for us to enjoy.  The National Parks are a wonder of natures finest and the brilliance of those who preserve these fine places.

Come and visit.  Celebrate with us.  Parks Day is a joy of celebration for us all.

Parks Day | Alberta Parks

Written by  Dr Louise Hayes

July 18, 2025

Bunnies and Eggs

Bunnies and Eggs

Good Day Brave Hearts

Happy Easter to all.

The Easter Bunny is hop, hop, hopping into our world again, to help us celebrate the Easter story, with a twist.  An animal twist that supports the rabbit as a part of the celebration of life.  The resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday and the traditional Easter Egg hunt.

Regardless of your faith, Easter is celebrated by most of us, in a manner of religion, or fun.  The furry animal, with eggs and candies kind of fun.  A bunny, or a rabbit, maybe a hare, of noteworthy cuteness, bringing Easter eggs in many colours and many candy forms.  Chocolate, for the chocoholics, who cherish the world of chocolate treats.  Chocolate bunnies and eggs, hollow or filled,  jelly beans and cream centred eggs, a dietary delight of candy.   Lovely candy, full of richness and sugar, the confectioners delight.  Easter is a booming business in the candy trade.

Of course, there’s also flowers, with the traditional flower of Easter being the  Calla Lily, which blooms at Easter time and gives us a  festive tradition to participate in, whether you believe in the Christian story of resurrection or not.

Spring is here, the wild crocuses are in bloom and the Easter bunny is hopping along, spreading Easter eggs in hiding places for us to find.  It’s a fun story, which capitalizes on an ancient story of death and resurrection.  The rise of Jesus of Nazareth from the tomb, which  coincides with the passing of winter into spring.  A symbolic passing from the dead of winter to the new life of spring, immortalized by the death of the Savior on the cross, to the revelation of a vacant tomb and new life.  The new life of rebirth, of being reborn, of the passing of death to life.  It’s a symbolic time, a holy time, a time to cherish the Lord and the representation that all life will live.

Easter Symbols and Traditions – Easter Bunny, Eggs & Lilies | HISTORY

Julius Caesar noticed that in old England, no one would eat hares.  Hares had been connected to the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the Holy family.  The prolific rabbit, sends a message of fertility to us, with large families.  So does the egg.  Painting eggs is part of the Easter past time and egg painting is a celebrated art in some countries. The tradition of painting eggs in bright colours, so that we can find them under pillows, in the yard, hiding in trees and in plants, is a joyous part of Easter celebrations, but it also sends a message.  Eggs are fertility  It’s spring and rebirth is all around us.

The fabulous Savior, who survives death and is resurrected into this world, only to ascend to Heaven, is a story of awesome wonder at the miraculous life of Jesus.  The miracle of death and resurrection, life and death, rebirth.   It is also a time of family holiday and a celebration of the impossible.  Rising from the dead, speaking to people, walking streets.  It’s a mystery still unsolved.  It’s a mystery of faith.

The easy way to resolve Easter, is to paint Easter eggs and adore the bunny, who comes hop, hop, hopping along.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 30, 2024

 

It’s in the Inspiration

Hail Brave Hearts

Happy New Year!  It’s 2024.

The inspiration  is here   It’s in joy, happiness, thrills and excitement.  The new year brings in a new resolution.  Decide on the need, the necessity, the challenge.  What will you be this year?

It starts with joy and merriment.  Drink, feast, music, dance,,,, dance the night away.  A sense of change, fellowship and fun and always the hope for something new, perhaps catastrophic, a change.  So what will the resolution be?  Self discipline?  Courage?  How to make this change, to transform to a new being, to be the butterfly from the caterpillar.  Both are beautiful, but what is the preference, to fly, or to crawl?

Both are beautiful.

Both have advantages.

The dilemma is decided in the insect world, emerge from a  cocoon and fly.   For us, the decision is ours.  Or so they say.  Inspiration is a dream, work is a reality,   You just have to get there, from here.

Snowboard Legend Rides 20,000 Ft. First Descent (youtube.com)

The dream is in the mind, to rise to the challenge is also in the mind.  Inspiration is everywhere.  Focus.  Focus and built.  Each day is a new day.  Each day is a day to commit to the dream.  To focus on creating the reality.  Make a plan, consult, build relationships and work.  Each day is the dream in progress.  But dreaming is not the reality.   Work is what is needed and hard work for excellence and achievement is always the reality.

There’s competition in this fine world.  So many brilliant achievers, with such dedication to their goals.  Striving and struggling, building and working, some so desperate, their pleas are in agony.  Help us!

Top 10 Extreme Sports (youtube.com)

Choose wisely, you heroes.  Your finest aptitude is your preferred focus.  To win at such an intense game as life, you need to choose properly.  A fine mind, well educated.  A fine body, well nourished and exercised.  A fine society to spend your life with.  The tangible goals and the far reaching goals, all part of the plan.  A well executed plan is a life goal.

Living by chance is a challenging game.  Not really knowing where to go, what to do, who to associate with, presents many difficulties.  It’s much easier to choose appropriately, find likeminded colleagues, adapt to change and build necessary skills.  It’s much easier to be pleased with achievements, than to live in the sorrow of incompetence.  Choose correct aptitudes and focus on the natural gift.  It’s there.  So is the social bond of classmates, colleagues, family and friends.  The mutual support group.

This call to action is for an adventure.  This is the adventure of your life!

There are many worlds to live in, on this fine planet.  Each world nurtures the craving aptitude that relishes in it.  The aptitude that relies on it.

It’s a fine world, full of fabulous brilliance.  The sun shines brightly on the great planet.  The Earth and it’s inhabitants are a mission of impossible reality.  Each tiny footprint of ours makes a mark on the surface.  Marks of greatness or marks of insignificance.

Plan your adventure.  This is your life, live in reality.  This is your greatest adventure.

written by  Dr.  Louise Hayes

January 2, 2024

 

Pandemic Bliss

Hail Brave hearts

Joy to you, with this awful isolation. Joy to you, to overcome perils. The hardship of disease brings a new life of solitude and self exploration. Change and be healthy. All obstacles can be overcome. This is a time to refresh, rejuvenate, recharge and become new. Take advantage of this crisis and the gift that it gives us, we may never pass this way again.

Look forward to those long days of learning a new skill, or to improve the old ones. The time that it takes to reinvent and refurbish a dowdy room or area. Plant a new garden, try new seeds, adventure into the known by unexplored worlds outside your doorstep. A chance to be a tourist in your own country. Those old familiar trails, which should be vacant, are full of Canadians travelling. We climb a familiar scramble to a peak just outside of town. Usually this one is lightly travelled, since it’s somewhat obscure, but today it’s full of people. The parking lot is full, the trail is full. It’s unusual to see this.

The earnest quest for adventure takes us to new destinations annually.  We strive to fulfill the ambition of discovery, of learning, of knowledge of this world and the fabulous fortune that it holds for us.  The fortune of personal development, of personal achievement, of conquering new lands by tourism, adventure, eco tourism and insightful gain.  The path to follow is new to each of us.  A daring land of plenty to explore just outside out borders.  The world is full of wonder and grateful hearts eagerly plundered the wilds of this planet, always seeking more.  Our human endevour is to know it all.  Each step on an unknown path is the thrill and excitement of discovery.  So many kilometers to travel, so many peaks to climb, the essential fun filled holiday is a yearly dream come true.

Now to the reality of disease and pandemic perish.  Open your parks and swing on the swings, stay home and build new dreams.  The fortunate can venture into the wilds of Canadian parks and enjoy the stimulation of an adventure in this awesome land.  So many kilometers to travel, so many paths to walk.  The never ending landscape of discovery in this fine land, became the national dream of Canadian holiday seekers this year.  Back to action packed fun, wherever it may be.  What is new to us is old to us, but new again.  Every square kilometer travelled?  Oh such awesome human to have done so much.  So much time to explore, so much money to spend, so much curiosity and initiative.  It’s immense.  It’s WOW!  What a fortune to spend.  Especially in other lands.  

Work and work and work, you mighty relentless souls.  Build your estates, compound it annually and spend and spend and spend it all, frolicking around the world.  Have a good time, enjoy yourselves, squander it all away.  Until this mighty pandemic hit, now it’s a Canadian holiday you say?  We’ll buy ourselves a trailer now and pay the camping fees and praise ourselves immensely for surviving the disease.

As we open up this country with caution to continue to  wear our masks, we breath for the days of flu season and to put the pandemic in our past.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 2, 2020

Happy Birthday to Us

Good Day Brave hearts

A Happy Canada Day to you.

Today we celebrate the birthday of this great country. A village from the forest. A dream of national identity. A work of unity of life and lifestyle in a land so vast and diverse. The land, the people, the projects, all individually styled for an outcome of diversity and praises for all of it. The great land with its majestic mountains, it’s sweeping prairie, it’s thousands of lakes, it’s forests, it’s tundra, it’s landscapes so unique and awesome. The great land, filled with great people, great places, great adventure and great belonging.

Fill your cup, with the endless opportunity of Canada! The opportunity for exploration is immense, with so much enjoy. We are the second largest country in the world and have so much to see and to discover. The valuable history of sharing and caring for each other. The widespread plains of homesteaders striving to build a country from sea to shining sea. The great north, so wild and free.

This is our Canada. A vast and brilliant home to us. A place of nurturing our spirits, of learning, of wisdom. This is the country that we made ourselves, from our skills, our intelligence, our passions, and our sense of community. We built this. We chose this. We collectively decided that this is the Canada that we want, that we love and that is our home. We made this place special to us, ourselves.

This fabulous world of the wilderness and the great wild, is home for us. We save it because we adore it. It speaks to us, to adventure, to explore, to challenge ourselves to be smart, educated, strong and daring. This great land calls us to retain ancestral roots which tie us to a past time of athletic adventure, community and ingenuity. It calls us to the present, of eco tourism, the food supply, the great cities. It calls us to our future, to retain it all, to be proud, to learn from each other and to share our knowledge with each other. It calls us. Each and every Canadian, to do our duty of care for this great nation. This great country that we call our home.

It is with great pleasure that we celebrate this birthday. 133 years of a community of people spread out over a vast countryside of unique places to live in and to visit. The differences in cultures, in heritage, in ties that bind us. We are not all the same, but we are. We are all different, but we are one. We are all diverse, but we are the same. This is how we choose to be. Individual, healthy, strong, with a courage to be culturally diverse and still be united. To live together in multicultural unity. This is our goal and one of our freedoms. Respect for each other and for the intellect that brings us peace and opportunity under a flag that flies so freely.

Happy Birthday Canada. May our dreams remain alive. May our hopes be fulfilled. May our way of life survive us. May we be filled with the glory of this great nation. Happy Birthday, Canada. May you live forever!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

Canada Day, 2020

Mother Dearest

Hail You Awesome Human

It’s a day for mothers. To remember them, to honor them and to celebrate the great joy of mothers.

The gift of comfort, of compassion and caring, the gift of time and love. The devotion of raising an offspring.  The wonder of creation and the joy of living.  Gifts.  These are gifts to us and to all of the living creatures on this magnificent planet.

And as all mothers do, it’s nurture and care.  Care or us, almighty great planet.  Care for us oh great divine.  Your powers are almighty and immense.  The spellbinding beauty, the magnificence of the creativity, the countless opportunity for learning and exploration.  Praises to you, oh great mother.  You and you alone in this cold and obscure universe.  You and you alone, so warm and fragile, so brilliant and inventive.  The fabulous great planet,  spinning its magical web of life and living, for all of us to enjoy.

The secrets of motherhood are to guide their offspring wisely.  Guide them to safety, guide them to security, help them to build a future on a strong, solid past.  The secrets of mothers is a love neverending, love eternally,  love with all of your heart.   

The joy of an offspring, so tender and tiny.  A cherished blessing from God.  The pride of their accomplishments, so few and so many.  They are yours.  They are from the great divine.  They are special.  That is a child.

Mothers everywhere, large and small, human and animal, raise their offspring dutifully, no matter what they are, or what they will become.  With praises and encouragement, with devotion and protection the babies are the center of our lives.  As they grow, we delight in their play, their growth and their childhood ways.  This is the devotion of mothers, to give encouragement and praises, to support and nurture, to always be there.  

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9791671/mothers-day-history-feminism

In praises of mothers, great and small, this very special day for you, in recognition and celebration of joy of motherhood.   Happy Mothers Day to us all.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 10, 2020

 

Missionaries

 

Hail Brave Hearts

This is your duty, this is your strength, this is your chosen life, the destiny of your path, the choice that you made.  Follow it with courage and determination.  Follow it with all of your heart, with your soul, with your passion, your intellect and your being.  Not all paths are easy, not all times will be grand, not all  will understand and not all will help, but persevere regardless.  Your story must be told.  Told by you.

Bravely travel into the unknown, seek the refuge of the place, contact the people and share their lives.  This mission has been accomplished before and will continue.

Venture into the lives of early Canada, the history of this great land.  A sharing of cultures, of exchange, of markets, of language and peace.  This is the fortitude of the people, the strength of their character, the bond that ties.  A familiarity must be established, with honest communication and negotiation.   These are the people, this is their land, their customs and their beliefs.  A common bond must be found.

Now is the time of the Jesuit.  Holy fathers of the faith, looking to convert the aboriginal people to follow the path of righteous and salvation.  Hail almighty ones.  It is your duty to persevere during these difficult times.  Sometimes it’s easy, but frequently the work is difficult and ardurous.  Not all of the people have an interest in these fine words.  Not everyone views the world from this perspective and not everyone will listen.  Of the thousands of people to preach to, the message is received slowly.  One by one, over many years, the aboriginals start to convert.  The faith must be accepted.  People must understand each other and the world must be saved.  Peace among us, oh fine nation.  Peace among us, to the glory of God.

But it is with great joy that we travel these unknown, rugged and fabulously beautiful lands.  It is with great joy that we meet these curious and eager people.  It is with great joy that we pursue our mission to convert these people to Christianity and to help them to serve the Lord.  The Jesuits are here as a dedicated group of missionaries, intent on fulfilling the directions of their education.  These are the soldiers of God, intent on bringing the scripture to the aboriginal people of Canada.  All united in the same faith, all members of the same church.  It is with great joy that they fulfill their mission, their aptitude and their duty.  It is with one call that they come forward, with the demand from their leader, that all peoples come to Christ.

Difficulties are met with gladness, for the challenge of the body is usurped by the spirit within. The spiritual awakening of the joy of bringing the faith to a people who are unknown to the world, but known by God. Come to the parish, learn and worship. The Call to the worlds peoples to unite! Unite as brothers and sisters of the faith. Be Christians! Make Jesus your Lord. Unite in the joy of the love of Jesus. Join us, we prey! Join us in gladness and in praises. Jesus went to the cross for you and rises again. Believe in the scripture and have faith. Be saved by the divine. Pray and be saved. Jesus is Lord.

The endless work to meet people, connect, converse and to find a common bond. The mission to bring the people under one church, with only one God

Be saved, all you mighty ones. Join together, worship together and be saved.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

April 12, 2020

Saint Marie Among the Hurons

Hail Brave hearts

It is with great courage that we settle this country, filled with new adventures and difficult times.  It is with bravery that we meet these new people in their own homeland and on their own terms.  It is with faith and prayer that we negotiate a peaceful settlement, and with determination and recognition of the mission, that is required, proceed to our duty.  To the new land, and to the people of it, we meet.

Such is the sturdy vow of the missionary, the Jesuits who landed to fulfill their duty.  Bring the people religion.  Bring them to Christianity.  It is the solemn vow of the faith, these people must be saved.  Saved in the eyes of God, save their everlasting soul.  Save the people, even in death.

The mission was built in Huron (Wendake) territory, 1200 kilometers from Quebec.  Started in 1639 and lasting only 10  years, it was the first settlement in New France, in the province that is now Ontario.   It was set on a large tract of land between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay, in  Huron territory.  The the mission itself was on the Wye River.

Only a small group of men made the long journey from Quebec City to this remote place.  All martyred for their faith.  The Huron themselves, were curious and peaceful.  They allowed the mission on their land and allowed the Jesuits to preach to them.  Some converted, some did not, but pursue the faith is a must.  Fulfill the mission of their lives, they must.  Bring religion to the people.  Serve God.  No matter what the price is , it is not too high.  Serve God.  Bring Christianity to the people with the intention of everlasting peace.  Peace on Earth, goodwill to your fellow human.

Canada’s first Christmas Carol, the Huron Carol, written in 1642 probably by Jean de Brebeuf.

Saint Marie among the Huron is a historical place of hope, dreams, hardship and abandonment.  The security of the Jesuits, lost to the increasing hostility of the Iroquois in the insistent war with the Huron.  Iroquois with guns, Huron with bow and arrow, missionaries with prayer.  Peace among us, oh mighty human.  This territory belongs to the Huron, the land of the Wendake.

http://www.saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca/sm/en/HistoricalInformation/TheSainteMarieStory/index.htm

But the dreadful incessant war proved the Iroquois to be a stronger and more aggressive people.  Intent on murder, they continued their assault on the Huron and would not leave.  Some of the Huron  who survived  fled to neighboring tribes, and to Quebec to re-establish themselves, on Ile de Orleans , just east of Quebec city in 1650.  By 1649 the mission was in ruin, burned by the Jesuits so that the Iroquois couldn’t inhabit it.  The Huron had departed, the Jesuits were gone.  Gone, but saved.  Other peace remained.  The fur trade was still active, with trade and negotiation still intact.  With the loss of this mission is an uncanny coincidence.  The city of Montreal, founded in 1649.

 

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 10, 2020

Challenges of Discovery

Hail Brave Hearts

The never ending adventure to voyage and discovery to meet and greet the new people, to learn their ways.  Peace among us is a priority, gifts and exchange, routes of travel and a path to the new world.  Discover, trade and progress, learn the language, the customs, the society.  There are many peoples, many societies, many worlds to discover.  Come with this explorer into the heart of our land and meet the people, listen to their stories, share their passions, learn their wisdom.  This is New France, in 1615, with an exploration into the aboriginal territories of Ontario, as far as Georgian Bay and Lake Nippissing, in search of a route to the Orient.

The Orient.  That spell binding, alluring destination of dreams.  Silk, spices, riches.  The Orient!  Find the route through Canada, we know it’s there.  Yes, it is, but not this time.  Not in 1615, when the world was forested and filled with mighty, turbulent rivers, with rapids and waterfalls to portage.  Not in 1615 when every few hundred kilometers brought new nations of aboriginals to meet and negotiate with.  As skilled and brilliant as these explorers were, the land is too large, the peoples too many, the dangers too difficult and the demands too great.  Still, the path to the Orient exists, but the people need to know these explorers, before extending such a substantial gift as the whereabouts of this sought after trail.

Samuel de Champlain 1604-1616

Travel and travel and travel, is a must.  Explore the world around and before you.  Go to these uncharted lands.  Bring peace, negotiation and prosperity with you, if you can.  It’s a daunting mission, to be the explorer, to discover and collaborate with people of unknown character.  Meeting them in their own land, on their own terms.  Peace and skilled negotiation.  The intellect soars as the negotiations are successful and the peoples minds are set at ease, with this friend.  Gratitude for such necessary gifts, as some burdens are lifted and some work is eased.  Sharing and caring, the beginning of a new world.  The start of a new land.  This is now New France, being explored and documented and carefully mapped.  Each river that is traveled, each new tribe that is encountered, each new language that is spoken and the forest of trees, plants and animals to marvel at as well.  All carefully described, by this well educated person, who knew the land so well.

This is the life of a great explorer, Samuel de Champlain.  His mission of discovery was so successful that it formed peaceful and prosperous relations with several aboriginal tribes and the French people, who earnestly sought common bonds and  well intended relationships with the people of the new world.  The needs for these negotiations for the fur traders were high.  In the end Champlain died in Quebec city with only 150 settlers living in the colony.

With the explorer, came the missionaries.  Jesuit priests from France, intent on bringing Christianity to the people of Canada.  This seemed necessary for the aboriginals to understand the religion of the French people  so that they would have a common bond in humanity to share.  Peace among the people, brothers in Christ.  Although the aboriginals had their own religion, with their own after life, it was deemed essential to bring these people to Jesus.  Such was the quest of the Jesuits who pursued this mission to the ends of their lives.

https://routechamplain.ca/en/listings/carhagouha-1615-site-of-first-mass-in-ontario/

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 28, 2020