Finding Light in the Darkness

St. Matthew’s is pleased to bring back our in-person Man’s Destiny Conference.

The theme for this year is "Finding Light in the Darkness." We want to invite every man, father and son to attend this conference for an opportunity to step deeper into our faith, discerning the reality around us and affirming a faith-based approach to dealing with the chaos we witness daily in our world.

Outline for the Day

The conference will start with mass at 9am at the parish, followed by a Continental breakfast in our Parish Center.

SESSION ONE

Following breakfast, together with one of our keynote speakers, Fr. Nick Meisl, we will scrutinize the “signs of the times” and interpret them in the light of the Gospel. Together we will explore the following questions:

• How do various biblical paradigms for interacting with the world guide us in living our mission from God?
• What does the kingdom of God Jesus established look like and how can we build it up?

• Amid various challenges, how can we live the “joy of the Gospel”?

There will be an interactive breakout at the end of session 1

Lunch will be served, with an opportunity for Benediction / Adoration and the

Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession).

We will then pray together the Rosary of The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

SESSION TWO

The second talk of the day will start with the Rosary and then focus on how we can find the light in the darkness and embrace the truth that Jesus has shown us.

What are the obstacles to completing this life's journey: Social Media and the Evil One. We will look at examples of everyday situations designed to change our beliefs to buy into another's agenda.

• What beliefs and behaviours are necessary to realize our God given destiny?

• Explore how the deep richness of our faith and the tools Jesus provided to help us Find Light in the Darkness and prevail

• Understand how we can rely on our unique and privileged place in God's church.

The day will end with a Q&A session where attendees' questions can be answered by our panel of speakers.

Space is limited, and registration in advance to this event is highly encouraged.

The $25 registration fee includes breakfast, a hot lunch, snacks, refreshments and blessings throughout the day.

About the Speakers:

Fr. Nicholas Meisl

Fr. Nick was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 2013. He is Pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in New Westminster. Fr. Nick teaches Scripture at Corpus Christi and St. Mark’s Colleges at UBC and at the Seminary of Christ the King. He completed his License from the Pontifical Biblical Institute and is currently a PhD candidate at Durham University.

James Borkowski

Over the past 25 years, James has specialized in operations, product development and strategic communications for clients including 7-Eleven, Caesar’s Palace and Fairmont Hotels. He currently serves as the Archbishop’s Delegate for Operations at the Archdiocese of Vancouver where he oversees operational teams and ministry projects that serve our homeless population, refugees and people in prison. Most importantly, he is somehow married to an incredible woman and is the father of seven children ranging in age from 22 down to 10. His hobbies include poker, scrabble, reading and making up for lost time by diving deeper into his faith life.

Registration in advance to this event is highly encouraged. The $25 dollar registration fee covers breakfast, hot lunch and snacks/refreshments throughout the day.

We hope to see you there!