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Father Timothy G. Canaan Year for Priests Page

Fr. Timothy G. CanaanDate of Ordination- May 22, 1993
Current Assignment- Pastor of Blessed John XXIII Newman Center and St.John the Baptist Church, Plattsburgh,NY, and
Diocesan Director of Campus Ministry

1.) What's your favorite prayer?
A prayer the priest says just before receiving Holy Communion at Mass - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living
God, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit your death brought life to the world. By your holy
body and blood free me from all my sins, and from every evil. Keep me faithful to your teaching, and never let me be
parted from you.

And the prayer that I sing after Holy Communion - O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All Praise
and All Thanksgiving, be every moment Thine.

2.) Favorite saint?
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and St. Joseph

3.) A holy moment in your priesthood:
There have been many holy moments in my life as a priest, but the one that comes to mind at this time was when I was visiting with a family who was keeping
vigil with a loved one who was preparing to go home to God. After administering the Sacrament of the Sick and praying the prayers of commendation
we continued to pray their loved one home to God with the recitation of the Hail Mary. It was truly a holy moment to be gathered with this family in prayer as their
loved one surrendered their body to the earth and gave their soul back to God.

4.) Something you've learned from your brother priests (or a particular priest):
On the day that I was ordained a deacon in the Basilica of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, MD, I had the privilege of being vested by Bishop Thomas
Costello, auxiliary bishop of Syracuse. When he finished vesting me with the stole and dalmatic he put both his hands on my shoulders and said: “be authentic!” I have
tried to implement this advice in every moment of my ordained life.

5.) Advice for young people considering a vocation
I had no desire to be priest. I already had a great uncle a priest (Fr. Leo O’Neill, CSsR) and a cousin a priest (Father Leo Wiley) so why would God
want another priest in the family? I wanted to be wealthy and have all the things that money could buy. However, I eventually came to the reality that my dream
and God’s dream for me were not one and the same. Although coming to that reality, I tried to convince God to change his mind, but that does not work. God always
wins. So when I decided to embrace God’s dream for me I found much, happiness, peace, joy, purpose and fulfillment. Thy will be done is a prayer that yields true happiness
in this life and in the life to come.

6.) Something about you that few people would know:
I love to play pinochle and I make the best yorkshire popovers in my family. I also I make my own butterscotch sauce from scratch.

7.) Favorite temporal (nonchurchy) things:
I love music; I have had the joy of several lead roles in musicals and have participated in many choral groups.

8.) Favorite food:
I love potatoes; my favorite comfort meal is meatloaf, mashed potatoes and carrots. My favorite meal to order on the menu is Beef Wellington.