Day of Confession: Wednesday, December 10th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon and from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM Saturday, December 20th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon
CHRISTMAS EVE – Wednesday, December 24th No 9:00 AM Mass 7:00 PM: Family Mass – Carol Singing 9:00 PM: Contemporary Group 12:00 AM: Midnight Mass – Adult Choir, Carol Singing Office Open 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM only
CHRISTMAS DAY – Thursday, December 25th 10:30 AM 12:30 PM Office Open 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
BOXING DAY – Friday, December 26th No Mass, Office Closed
NEW YEAR’S EVE – Wednesday, December 31st No 9:00 AM Mass Mass at 4:30 PM for the Feast of Mary the Mother of God Office Open 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM only
NEW YEAR’S DAY – Thursday, January 1st FEAST OF MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD 10:30 AM 12:30 PM Office Closed
“Shifting from Darkness to Light: Not by Passive Hope.”
Sunday, December 21st from 7:30 to 9:30 PM
The hopeful expectation of the Advent season requires our active participation to effect change; it is not a passive hope. By examining the recent typhoon in the Philippines, we will seek signs of active hope and reflect on the Church’s calls for ecological justice.
Please contact Elliott Allen Institute for Theology & Ecology at eaite.contact@utoronto.ca or Dennis O’Hara at dennis.ohara@utoronto.ca or 416-926-1300, ext. 3408 to register or for more information.
Sunday, December 7th at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room
On the first Sunday of each month, the Passionist Centre for Ecology and Spirituality facilitates a 30 minute reflection and discussion prompted by the readings for that Sunday’s liturgy. The guided reflection brings an ecological perspective to the readings. All are welcome.
December 8th to December 13th, 2014
MONDAY – HUEN LAI – Requested by Hazel Lai TUESDAY – ALLWYN PINTO & ANGELA MURZELLO – Requested by Liberatta & Royston Pinto WEDNESDAY – IVY LYN – Requested by the Family THURSDAY – JEAN HARMON – Requested by the Scanga Family FRIDAY – HARRY LEUNG – Requested by Mary Leung SATURDAY – MIKE CHUCHRA – Requested by the Family
Wednesday, December 10th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon and from 3:30 to 6:00 PM
On Wednesday, December 10th, we will all have the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Archdiocesan Day of Confessions. At this time, let us make the journey into the heart of our relationship with God. Take a long, loving look at the ways God calls us to grow. Take this challenge and hold it in readiness for the rich blessing that is manifest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In our parish, confessions will be heard on Wednesday, December 10th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 Noon and from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM.
Rehearsal: Sunday, December 21st 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Each year, young people, Grade 3 and up, form a special choir for the Family Mass on Christmas Eve. Children must be at the Church by 6:00 PM. One rehearsal, which is mandatory, will be held on Sunday, December 21st from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Please call Marilyn Calderone at 416-618-2041 for more information.
Dress Rehearsal: Sunday, December 21st 2:00 to 4:00 PM
S.K. to Grade 5 children are invited to participate in the pageant. Please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 for more information.
Thank you so much to the volunteers who prepared 61 casseroles for November! For December, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of January 3rd/4th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. There are now 3 different recipes available in the Parish Office or online at the Church website.If you require more information, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
During Advent, the Society of St.Vincent de Paul will have a Giving Tree in the Gathering Space. The tree will be decorated with gift tags. Each tag will have the gender and age of a child. We invite you to take a tag, buy a gift of about $25.00 for that child and return the unwrapped gift, with the tag attached, to the box provided in the Gathering Space.
If you are a knitter, there will be mitten tags. Please take one and return mitts to the box in the Gathering Space.
For many years, St Gabriel’s has had a close relationship with Rosalie Hall. At this time of the year, we are thinking of the young mothers and babies in need of assistance. If you wish, to help, you may choose a “Christmas Stocking” from the Christmas tree in the Gathering Space to purchase pyjamas or undershirts, for little ones sizes 6 months to 4 years. If you wish to buy a toy, please take a”Gingerbread Boy” tag. Unwrapped items with the original tag attached can be left in the box provided near the Giving Tree no later than December 14th.
For the Moms, we are suggesting gift cards from Shoppers Drug Mart, Tim Horton’s, Walmart or MacDonald’s. These can be placed in the envelopes provided and brought to the Parish Office.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Rosalie Hall.
We are having a Christmas Toy Drive for the Catholic Children’s Aid Society. Can you help by dropping off an unwrapped new toy for a child 0 to12 years old? Containers are set up at the doors of the Church and will remain until Sunday, December 14th.
There but for the Grace of God…..
Please help feed the hungry and homeless this Christmas by participating in the St. Gabriel’s annual Christmas Food Drive. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Food collected will be sent to the Good Shepherd Centre and Rosalie Hall. Thank you for your generous support.
Saturday, December 13th at 7:30 PM
St. Bonaventure Parish
Christmas, Christmas time is near! Come join the Seraphim Men’s and the Cherubim Women’s Chorus’ singing the Christmas songs you love to hear as part of their “All I Want for Christmas” concert series. A mix of old favourites and twists on classics, with a bit of Disney flare! Please join us at St. Bonaventure on December 13th at 7:30 PM. Advanced tickets are available online at www.seraphimchorus.ca. Proceeds will go to support of the St. Clare Inn.”
Weekend of December 13th/14th
St. Gabriel’s Church
The St. Gabriel’s School Me to We Committee will be selling rafiki chains for $10 in the Gathering Space after all the Masses on the weekend of December 13th/14th. In Swahili, the word rafiki means friend. Every rafiki friend chain is handmade by a “mama” in Kenya. $5 will go back to the “mamas” to help their families. The rest will be donated by the school towards clean water. Rafiki chains make great gifts for Christmas! For more information, please visit www.metowe.com
There will be catalogues available in the Gathering Space for those who wish to make a larger donation. The catalogues offer options such as buying a goat, which would provide milk for a family or a source of income to buy food and necessities.
A Humanitarian Voice For Syria Tuesday, December 16th at 7:00 PM
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 520 Sherbourne Street
Please join Development and Peace in welcoming Fr. Nawras Sammour, Country Director of Jesuit Refugee Services, Syria who will speak about his experiences in managing relief efforts for a refugee crisis of over 3 million people, a crisis which continues to be perpetuated through ongoing violence. For further details or to RSVP, please contact Sam Jeffrey at sam.jeffrey@devp.org or by phone at 416-922 1592, Ext. 242.
The Parish’s 2014 budgeted operating expenses average $14,550 per week.
Offertory Collection for last weekend: Envelopes 410 $9,893 Loose Change 977 Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 163 3,057 Total 573 $13,927 Shepherd’s Trust Updated $12,968
If you are a regular Parish member and you do not contribute to the Offertory collection, the Finance Council reminds you that “the financial burden of the Parish is the responsibility of each and all parishioners to the extent that your means allow”.
For those parishioners who contribute to the offertory on a regular weekly basis, we thank you for your constant support.
Have you considered using PAG or Donate Now?
The 2015 Offertory Boxed Envelopes are available in the Gathering Space. Please pick yours up as soon as possible. If you have a PAG or Donate Now account, you will still receive a smaller green box of envelopes since these include Initial, New Year’s, Christmas, Easter and Maintenance envelopes. You may contact the Parish Office if you do not have envelopes but would like a box for 2015.
If you are moving out of the Parish or have a change of address, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 so that we can update our records. Thank you.
This Bulletin entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2014.
Founded by St. Paul of the Cross, every Passionist takes a special vow to spend his or her energies in promoting remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus, the memory of the Cross, and reflection of the meaning of the Cross for the world.
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Listen to the audio
Watch Fr. Paul Cusack’s Funeral Mass (video)
Companion for the Walk of the Stations of the Cosmic Earth
St. Gabriel’s Garden – Guided Sensory Reflective Walk