FORT FRANCES — Father Gino Mathias, the parish priest at St. Mary’s and Our Lady of Lourdes Church says his mother decided before his eyes were even opened that her baby would one day become a priest.
Although many around the world are given the freedom to decide which religion to live by, Father Mathias reflects on his personal journey to the Catholic faith and says it wasn’t much of a journey at all but rather a predetermined decision made by his parents.
“From that day on when she would just tell me, Gino, you are going to become a priest. Which means every other door shut, there is not even a window opening for you. If you see a light, that light is for the priesthood; you're looking at that light; focus on that,” he said.
Thankfully, Father Mathias believes it was the best decision ever made for him.
“I became a priest, and I am very grateful to my mama because I enjoy my priesthood, I enjoy serving people, I enjoy being with people, I enjoy praying for people; that's my ministry.”
In India, those from the Catholic and Christian faith make it an integral aspect of their lives. It comprises their psyches, their social fabric, and how life is run. Rich or poor, people turn to the church in every situation.
Despite coming from a very devoted background, Father Mathias was inspired when he came to Fort Frances and witnessed the parishioners and families’ “strong, rock-solid faith” at St. Mary’s Church.
As part of his role, Father Mathias spends his time in preparation for mass, conducting services, attending to emergencies, visiting the community and participating in spiritual exercises.
Father Mathias believes that spiritual health is an indispensable part of physical, mental, and emotional health—however, he says that not many are aware of it.
“You don't think about breathing; you breathe. But people are not aware of it,” he said. “But they have to be aware that spiritual health is an indispensable part of health. You can't just compartmentalize and say, ‘You can have pretty good physical health, you can have emotional [and] mental health, but not worry about the spiritual health’—there’s no way. That's my opinion.”
Similar to how a good diet is required for good physical health and how surrounding oneself with negativity can impact mental health, people should be mindful of what they feed their spirit, says Father Mathias.
“Your spirituality depends on you, and what you feed yourself,” he said. “Just like your physical world, spirituality needs to have exercise. Sit someplace quietly, look into your own self breathe, and analyze your thoughts and analyze your fears and analyze your mood and mood swings. And finally, you say, ‘Well, this is where I'm going. And I need to stop this, I need to do this.’”
Noting that spiritual health is beyond what the eye can see, Father Mathias said that many may look good on the outside but struggle deeply on the inside.
Surprisingly, although he follows the Catholic faith, Father Mathias notes that spirituality does not need to correlate with religion and recommends that people begin their spiritual journey first by digging deep into themselves.
Although attending a church can be helpful and surround the individual with people with similar goals. When deciding which church to attend, he advises people to think about “whatever is convincing for them, and whatever is good for them.”
The difference between happiness and joy is also a key theme in spirituality. Father Mathias differentiates the two by saying that happiness is often attached to temporary, material items, whereas joy is an inside job.
“A spiritually healthy person doesn’t need anything to be joyful. It comes from within, it is inherent, and a person can be joyful with absolutely nothing,” he said.
“The joy comes from serving people, being with people, relating with people, but without expecting anything, expecting nothing, and getting detached from everything. And suddenly you'll find that there is meaning in life, finding purpose in life, and in being helpful to others, you will find you're getting slowly into the first steps of spiritual health.”
The Fort Frances Times / Local Journalism Initiative
