The Life of a Catholic

by Christopher Robinson

a short autobiography

od knew me even before the beginning of time. When the time had come for him to create me, God saw to it that I was conceived in the womb of a prayerful woman (my mother Zella Marie née Barnum) who was married to a devout man (my father William Bernard). My older sister was already four years old when I was born; my younger sister was born when I was five years old and in grade 1. We were blessed by God to have been born to Catholic parents who took their faith seriously.    Our parents taught us about God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and they took us to Mass on Sundays, regardless of the weather. They had us baptised as infants (Praise God) and they sent us to Catholic schools where we learned more about God and his great love for us. My mother tells me that before I started school, she often found me standing on the sidewalk telling people about Jesus. I made my First Confession and First Communion in grade 2; I was Confirmed in grade 5. By the time I graduated from high school, I was well on the road to developing a good relationship with the Lord. School life    In school, we were taught by priests, nuns and lay teachers. I remember learning that Jesus loved me very much and that he died on the Cross so that I might be released from my sins and spend eternity with him. During one Catechism class about grade 2 or 3, the teacher said that Jesus wanted to be my best friend in addition to being my Lord and Saviour. That has really stayed with me although it became buried for several years in later life.    When I was in grade 8, the priest from the nearby cathedral asked me to consider becoming an altar boy. After a few days thinking and praying about it, I said "yes" to that call to serve. It was quite awesome to be that close to the altar and to the priest every time I served Mass. WOW! -- a great mystery taking place just beyond my fingertips.    During my last few years of high school, I was a senior altar boy and I had to serve whenever the Bishop was there. I particularly enjoyed that duty because we used incense on solemnities and I love incense. The high point of my duties was to incense the congregation during the Offertory.    Ahh! yes, those were the years; Holy Communion regularly, Mass every Sunday and often during the week; Confession every month or so. Thank you Jesus!    Upon graduation from high school, I was sworn into the Canadian Armed Forces to undergo officer training. I needed to study at Military College to earn a degree and to complete Basic Officer Training. The four years in College were tough but, I prepared myself for the challenge during the six weeks between the end of high school and the start of Recruit Camp by attending daily Mass at the Cathedral.    Just about every morning while on my way home from Mass (by this time we lived three miles from the cathedral instead of three blocks), I would meet one of my acquaintances. They always asked me why I was so full of joy; my only answer was to say that I had just been to Mass! I did not understand my joy, I just felt like I was floating six inches above the ground. Military University    During my four years at the Canadian Military Colleges, I was faithful about praying each morning and going to Mass every Sunday, although this did engender much teasing and criticism from my peers. Indeed, military service was a big challenge to my faith life. However, one particular anecdote stands out in my memory.    As April drew near in third year, I was concerned about finding a date for the Graduation Ball. I prayed, asking God to help me find a date. My preference was for a blonde about my age, in university, and she had to be Catholic.    For Easter weekend, I headed home to London by train. As is my habit, I made a tour of the train shortly after it departed the station. I was riding in the first of fifteen coaches that night and the train was full for the long weekend. I happened to notice one empty seat in the sixth coach and sitting beside it was a gorgeous young woman.    Near Kingston, the train stopped for a long time because a lightning strike had wiped out the railroad signal system, so I went to the vestibule of my coach to get some fresh air. A few minutes later, that blonde arrived at my elbow and chatted with me for quite a while. When she returned to her coach she invited me to visit with her.    About an hour later, I went back to visit her. Her boyfriend lived in Calgary, she was Catholic, she was studying at McGill University, and yes, she would love to go to the Grad Ball with me!! YEAH! Thank you, Lord! We had a great time at the Ball. She then returned to Calgary and, as far as I know, lived happily ever after. Pilot training    After completing my science degree, I was posted to CFB Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for a year of pilot training. We flew the CT-114 Tutor jet trainer built by Canadair for the Canadian Air Force. This, at last, was what I had wanted to do for a long time. I was MOTIVATED! I WANTED TO SUCCEED!    Even before my course started, I began praying in earnest that I would be successful in my flying training. Every morning I said a short prayer of thanksgiving for the peaceful, restful night and I asked for a safe day; at night I thanked God for the safe day and asked him for a peaceful, restful night. Every time I walked out to an airplane, I asked my guardian angel to stick really close beside me during the flight.    Twelve times (after which I stopped counting) during the first six months of flying at Moose Jaw, I came within inches of making a fireball in the sky with another Tutor. The scary thing was that I never saw the other airplane. It happened each time like this: I would be flying along and abruptly become very agitated and start looking hard for other airplanes. "Who's out there? Who's going to hit me? Lord, HE-E-E-ELP!!!!!" was the cry of my heart. Suddenly, I would find myself taking violent evasive action; then and only then did I see the other aircraft, while simultaneously realizing that the evasive action I had just taken was the only way to avoid a collision. Wow! Thank you, Lord!! Thank you, Guardian Angels!    Those near-collisions certainly got my attention. The following Sunday at Mass, I would profusely thank our Lord for his saving grace during that moment of distress.    Thus went my year of Basic Flying Training at Moose Jaw. During the stress of that year, the Lord made himself very close to me and showed his loving providence. I graduated on 8 September 1978 among the top five in my class of 27. For my first posting I chose to be a Flying Instructor at the Air Force's Primary Flying School in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.    During the next fifteen years, I served on several Bases across the country. At each Base I somehow became involved in the music ministry at the Catholic Chapel and sometimes also at the Protestant Chapel. God really developed my gift for music through these experiences.    My last flying posting was at CFB Winnipeg from August 1989 to August 1992. While on my house-hunting trip for that posting, I attended Sunday Mass at the Air Force chapel. The music was beautiful and the preaching was excellent. At the end of Mass, a lady named Janet turned around, introduced herself and welcomed me to the Parish. I decided then and there to make Ste Marguerite Bourgeois Chapel my home Parish in Winnipeg.    Janet also invited me to attend the prayer meeting at St John Brebeuf Church on Friday nights. After I settled into my new home (in September), I started attending the prayer meeting and I participated in the Life in the Spirit Seminars which they offered that autumn. WOW! God certainly moved in my life during and after the Seminars; I developed a real thirst for the Scriptures and for prayer. That was a big turning point in my life.    While in Winnipeg, I took advantage of two opportunities to go on short missionary holidays to South America to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people on the streets. Those were terrific experiences. Nothing can compare to the power of proclaiming the Gospel to people who have never heard it. It was awesome! Retirement    From Winnipeg, the Air Force sent me to the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre in Sudbury, Ontario. I completed my twentieth year of service while there and, at the advanced age of 38, decided to exercise my early retirement option. Two years after retiring, I moved back to Winnipeg; I have settled here in the North End with A People of Peace Community. Although trained as a warrior, the Lord Jesus is forming me into a man of peace. God continues to do marvellous things in my life; I can only stand back and look on in awe. Praise God for ever. Amen.