Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers

Marie-Louise accepted the invitation to come to our parish and lead us in a three day Advent mission. Each day she helped us to shift our focus to what is important – the coming of Christ. With each session Marie-Louise lifted our thoughts and spirit to a higher level of appreciation for the Advent season. She spoke forcefully and clearly. She was well prepared and her presentations flowed smoothly and captured our attention. Marie-Louise knew her material and presented it well. She held our attention from start to finish. This was her second mission at our parish. It proved once again to be a blessed time for all who attended.

Bev. Eilers & Norma Tibbits-Fefchak 
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish
Virden, MB

 

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Marie-Louise, 

Thank you for the great message you shared with us about Ruth -- it was really wonderful to see people engaging with you, and the story! I got a piece of feedback from some visitors; they really enjoyed the service - the message, the music, the hospitality- and you were a HUGE part of that! Can't wait until the next time:)
You rock! 
~Mark Zielke, Worship Arts Director
St. Paul's United Church
Saskatoon, SK

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Marie Louise Ternier has worked with our School and our Parish team for the past number of years. We have been very fortunate to have her working with our staff and sharing her faith and many insights with us. She is a pleasure to work with and our staff appreciated her knowledge and organizational skills. She was available to staff and students on a regular basis and she was a key person in Sacramental prep classes here at the school. Regular prayer meetings with teachers were always insightful and refreshing and her background in our Catholic Faith was awesome. In short I feel any group that has the opportunity to work with a person like Marie Louise is truly blessed. We wish her all the best in whatever her future brings and we will truly miss her here at St Dominic.
Dennis Spence
Principal, St Dominic School
Humboldt, SK

 

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La session était confirmation qu’il y a plusieurs “vérités” et qu’on ne doit pas forcément nous soucier des différences. Mais, comment pouvons-nous nous mettre à l’aise et être confortable entourés de toutes ces vérités? On vient à voir que c’est en se concentrant sur Dieu et non pas sur les différentes façons d’interpréter. J’ai beaucoup aime la façon dont vous avez relie le tout. J’ai appris que je peux suivre le chemin de Dieu en m’ouvrant aux autres.La présentation de Marie-Louise était pour moi un moment d’inspiration et même de retrouvaille de ma foi. Quand elle a élaboré aux « attributs de Dieu » et les mots de Jésus « Je suis le voie, la vérité et la vie » c’était pour moi un moment « aha. » Les liens avec la réalité contemporaine étaient riches et unique. Merci de votre sagesse et votre inspiration.Two participants in the Parish Lenten Retreat in FrenchTheme `Qu'est-ce que la vérité? -- What is Truth?`

Paroisse Martyrs Canadiens Parish

Saskatoon, SK

 

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Marie-Louise, when I despaired that The Prairie Does Flourish -- Sisters of St. Elizabeth, 100 Years of Blooming on Canadian Soil would ever be written, given that the work was stalled for almost five months because the congregation’s committee members all suffered incapacitating illness, you stepped to the plate not only finding an awesome story-teller to write our history but also inspiring and motivating the newly formed, dispirited committee. As chair you kept the committee on track and gave invaluable advice and encouragement especially to me as I dug through the archives to flesh out the story with original sources. Your compiled interviews of each Sister proved invaluable in making this book truly our story. Your suggestion of the title and the introduction you wrote was brilliant. I am so grateful to you on behalf of our Congregation for your leadership and wisdom in a project that became very dear to my heart. 
Sr. Viola Bens, OSE

 

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Dear Marie-Louise,
I enjoyed working with you during the five years we were together in St. Augustine’s Parish in Humboldt. Your work as pastoral associate was not only very valuable to the parish and to me personally but it was also impressive. I particularly was impressed with your creativity and passion. Your mix of words and images was always striking. Perhaps your most valuable contribution was in working with small groups preparing the participants to be catechists, lay presiders or teachers in our catholic schools, or just good parent teachers to prepare their children for the sacraments of initiation. The main reason I invited you to work with us, as I remember, was to organize and facilitate the Oblate mission. The Oblates were great leaders but it was your work that made everything run so smoothly both from the point of view of organization and also with regards to training participants for their different roles.
So I want to thank you for the fruitful collaboration in our pastoral work at St. Augustine Parish and wish you well in your new endeavours.
In Christ Jesus, 
Fr. Emile April

 

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First of all, Marie-Louise, thank you for accepting my invitation to come to Edmonton with Rev. Ron Baerg to lead the retreat for the clergy of the Dioceses of Edmonton and Athabasca. Secondly, thank you for being in our midst at Star of the North Retreat House with your practical, common-sense approach. Thirdly, thank you for your insights into the Word. Insights from the prophets as well as the Gospels. Insights that remind us who we are what we are called to be in the name of Christ and the power of the Spirit. 
In Christ, 
Bishop Victoria Matthews 

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Every year, Small Christian Communities host a Fall Retreat in St. Luke’s Parish. It is a time for spiritual uplifting, rejuvenation and recommitment. This year we were privileged to have Marie-Louise as facilitator who presented a well-balanced program of talks, small group discussions and half-hour periods for private meditation which were enriched by a beautiful Fall day for walking, praying and thinking out-of-doors. Her excellent and thought-provoking presentation made for easy listening, contained plenty of humor and stories with a very down-to-earth approach. We left the retreat with a deep sense of being spiritually enriched, rejuvenated and hoping for a return visit. Thank you, Marie-Louise for being with us and sharing your wealth of knowledge, experience and deep spirituality. 
Betty La Pointe, SCC Coordinator, St. Luke’s Parish Calgary, AB

 

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When the mission began on Sunday evening, I sat in the pew and said a little prayer -- "Dear God, please do not let me fall asleep during the preaching." Well, not only did I not fall asleep, I was AWAKENED!! Awakened to a fuller realization of the wonderful gift of life in God that Baptism gives us, of the transforming power of the cross and of God's great love for us, and the challenge to respond wholeheartedly to this bounty, to be real ambassadors for Christ. Marie-Louise and Bernadette, for the last four evenings you have taught us from the wealth of your own knowledge and experience, but more than that, MUCH more than that, by your own firm conviction and shining faith. Like Melanie, we approach the life-giving waters of the font, more aware than ever, of who Jesus is in our lives, and who we are in relation to God. As a parish, we are sincerely grateful. Marie-Louise and Bernadette Teresa (without the H ), we thank you! 
Marie Phillips 
Chair Liturgy Committee St. Charles Parish, Edmonton 
Lenten Parish Mission Theme: Becoming the Story, Living the Mystery 
Preachers: Bernadette Gasslein & Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers

 

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I gained some fresh insights into the craft of preaching from Marie-Louise's book. The author's unique perspective helped me to see some things from a different angle than I had as a male, Lutheran preacher. She has an ability to probe a text deeply than many preachers may and yet she models a way of drawing on these experiences to universalize them rather than causing the hearer to focus on the preacher. I also gained some understanding of what it means for a Roman Catholic to be part of that church, particularly the importance of sacramental life. She also models a different approach to reform than has been much of the Lutheran experience -- a willingness to struggle within the church one has been a part of rather than leaving it. We Lutherans sometimes forget that Luther did not willingly depart Roman Catholicism but was forced out. Instead we tend to jump ship and form a new faction whenever the going gets tough, thinking that we are emulating Luther's courageous stand. 
Rev. Kenn Ward Editor, Canada Lutheran - ELCIC 
Winnipeg, MB

 

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For 4 years, Marie-Louise, you responded graciously and generously to the suggestion and offer from the Missionary Oblates of the editorship of the OUR FAMILY Magazine. You have undertaken the task and the ministry with courage and faith, with energy and profession-alism. You have shown a heart for the family, ecumenism and the Church. You have well fulfilled the expectations the Oblates had of you as editor. 
Fr. Leo Mann, OMI Provincial Superior 
St. Mary's Province Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate 
Saskatoon, SK

 

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Marie Louise has been invited to do supply preaching at our church on several occasions over the course of many years. She is greatly appreciated and we keep inviting her back due to popular demand. Her sermons are well researched and delivered with passion and confidence. Thanks Marie Louise for your willingness to assist our congregation in this way. 
Kathy Johnson 
Worship Coordinator 
Battleford United Church, SK

 

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St. Joseph Calasanctius RC Parish contracted Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers to help us through the process of writing a Mission statement. We found the process led by Marie-Louise in four meetings to be a challenging and an exciting time for our Parish. We learned to see the vast differences in thinking between different parishioners and how even with these differences we still had the same set of goals. The process was completed in a prayerful and free flowing manner that made everyone feel at home. A process of guided meditation; based on scripture, Church documents, the life of our Patron Saint and our Constitution led us to a strongly agreed set of principles from which our Mission Statement evolved. Marie Louise's knowledge, skill and prayerful presence was an asset to the entire process. 
Keith Koberinski -- Past Chair, Pastoral Parish Council 
St. Joseph Calasanctius Parish, North Battleford, SK

 

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I have known Marie-Louise for the last few years when I first directed her in an individually directed Ignatian retreat. She is a very spiritual person. Her ability to preach is a critical source of grace for those who hear her words of wisdom and want to grow closer to God. 
Fr. George Morris, S.J. 
Gonzaga University Spokane, WA

 

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Marie-Louise was involved with our Volunteer &Spiritual Services programs for 6 years. She has been a presenter on various topics dealing with spirituality and wellness. She has also participated in workshops sponsored by the Volunteer & Spiritual Services Department, the SHNB Chaplaincy Committee and Battlefords Ministerial Association. Marie-Louise has served as a Chaplain and officated at our Sunday worship services. Marie-Louise is insightful, and a strong and thoughtful communicator. We appreciate and recognize the special gifts Marie-Louise has shared in her lectures, preaching and during her times of comforting commmunications and visits. 
Darlene Kingwell 
Volunteer & Spiritual Services/HR consultant 
Prairie North Regional Health Authority 
North Battleford, SK

 

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Marie-Louise addressed a group of Ursulines and Ursuline Associates on prayer. The content of her presentation was excellent. Marie-Louise has a way of translating her own experience of prayer, both painful and joy-filled, into concepts that others can easily and personally relate to and identify with. Thus, that part of her talk in which she shared her personal experience in prayer was especially relevant. Marie-Louise, as your sister in the church, I wish you much courage as you continue your efforts to acquire an ordained voice in the Roman Catholic Church. 
Sr. Marian Noll, OSU 
Congregational leader 
Ursulines of Bruno, SK

 

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What is my response to "Finding the Treasure Within?" Overwhelming gratitude, for this is not just a book; it has become an occasion of growth in my own faith journey. As I read Marie-Louise's superbly crafted prose, I am struck by many things. Her depth of sharing for one. The level of trust Marie-Louise demonstrates in presenting herself so openly to the reader can only come from a deep and abiding trust in our God. Through the experience of preaching which Marie-Louise describes so poignantly, she knows full well that she cannot predict how the reader will respond to her words. As with her preaching, all Marie-Louise knows is that God has invited her to this new ministry of writing. Her free response to God's invitation as revealed in "Finding the Treasure Within" testifies to the fact that a deep level of trust in God and in God's people is not only possible, but its fruits are both real and at times quite surprising. Hand in hand with this trust comes courage. Page after page, chapter upon chapter, we see Marie-Louise recognize all too clearly the risks involved in responding positively to God's compelling but mysterious invitation to the ministry of preaching. But respond she does; sometimes tentatively, sometimes fearfully, but respond she does. As a reader, my response is: "Where can this courage come from other than God's own Holy Spirit?"