Bulletin – February 26

In this week’s bulletin, the Feast of St. Gabriel, the parish Lenten Retreat, and the World Day of Prayer.

ANNOUNCED MASSES

February 28th – March 5th 2011

MONDAY – HARRY LEUNG Requested by Mary Leung
TUESDAY – THERESE DE RUITER Requested by Mary & Alec Chan
WEDNESDAY – SANTE FACCA Requested by the Family
THURSDAY – BENITO MERCADO Requested by the Mercado Family
FRIDAY – GUS CALDERONE Requested by Marie Calderone
SATURDAY – BASILISA PENAS Requested by Mimi

WELCOME! BAPTISM

The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome:

  • Sean Evans
  • Emma Samyu Leung
  • Adelaide Erika O`Brien

These children received the Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday, February 20th, 2011. Congratulations!

FEAST OF ST. GABRIEL

This weekend we celebrate the feast of St. Gabriel. St. Gabriel, a member of the Passionist Community, was born Francis Possenti on March 1, 1838 in Assisi, and died February 27, 1862 at the age of 24. He had a special devotion to Mary and chose as his religious name Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin. He is remembered for his enthusiasm in life and his extraordinary generosity. Pope John XXIII proclaimed him as a special Patron of Youth.

PARISH LENTEN RETREAT

March 21, 22, 23, 2011
7:30 to 9:00 PM

Where do you find the Sacred? How do you pay attention to God? During this year’s Lenten parish retreat Finding God in Everyday Places: Sharpening Your Spiritual Vision, we will investigate how to find God in the everyday, ordinary, normal, and even out-of-the-way and places of daily life. We will focus on what it means to embrace the world as a sacred reality.

Father Joseph Mitchell, a Passionist from Louisville, Kentucky, will be directing our Lenten retreat this year. He is the Director of the Earth & Spirit Centre there and the driving force behind the Lent 4.5 program, of which you will hear more throughout this Lenten season.

Our retreat will be held on March 21, 22, and 23 (Mon., Tues., and Wed.), from 7:30 to 9:00 PM.

  • March 21: Touching the Holy Within
  • March 22: Meeting God in our Everyday World
  • March 23: Encountering the Sacred through Our Spiritual Senses

Suggested donation for each evening $10, or whatever your means allows. Please mark your calendars and join us and sharpen your spiritual vision! Please call 416-221-8866 or email fatimalee@bellnet.ca to register.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

St. John’s York Mills Anglican Church,
19 Don Ridge Avenue
Friday, March 11th, 2011 at 1:30 PM

The theme for this year’s service is “Let How Many Loaves Have You?”written by the women of Chile. This celebration which takes place throughout the world in Christian Churches, will be hosted by St. John’s York Mills Anglican Church, 19 Don Ridge Avenue, on Friday, March 11th at 1:30 PM. All are welcome.

AN INVITATION TO LEARN!

The Story of the Mass
Tuesday March 8th at 7:30 PM
Wednesday, March 9th at 10:30 AM

RECOVERING A SACRED BALANCE

A Saturday Workshop
March 19, 2011 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

We live in a vibrant world of deep interconnections. Yet we can easily find ourselves weary and estranged from the world in which we live. Often, it seems, we are too busy to enjoy the gift of life and the simple abundance of the Earth. We have created a dangerous imbalance.

Join Father Joseph Mitchell, C.P., to explore how we arrived at this point in our human journey, how a modern mindset has created a sense of alienation, and how we can achieve peace of mind, by embracing the world in which we live. We have much to learn from our Catholic faith to bring about a human presence on this planet that is socially just, environmentally sustainable and spiritually fulfilling. It is about recovering a sacred balance.

The multi-media workshop will be held on March 19, 2011, from 9 am to 2:30 pm in the Gabriel Room. Bring a simple lunch. Beverage and dessert will be provided.
Please join us for what promises to be a lively and enlightening workshop!

Please call 416-221-8866 or email fatimalee@bellnet.ca to register

COFFEE AFTER MASS

Every week we see many familiar faces at church, but we never have a chance to get
to know them. This year as a pilot project, the parish is hosting four “coffee and cookies” gathering, one for each of the weekend masses, so that everyone can have the opportunity to mingle and chat, and be a part of community. These gatherings have been very well received.

The next gathering will be held after the 4:30 PM Mass next Saturday, March 5th, 2011. Since this will be before dinner, we’ll be serving snacks more appropriate for the time of day.
Please join us if you can! See you there.

MOSAIC: HOW TO BE A PERFECT STRANGER

Sunday March 6th, 2011 from 2:30 – 5:00 PM
St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish
670 Sheppard Ave. E. Toronto.

This is the first in a series of three information sessions offered by MOSAIC on the rites of passage of different religions. This event will cover birth through teen years, with Father Paul speaking on behalf of Christianity. Other speakers will discuss Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism.
See poster on bulletin boards. Please RSVP to lifebydesign@vitaeest.com by March 1, 2011.

TAX RECEIPTS

Tax receipts for donations made in 2010 have been mailed to you. Please notify the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 if any of your information is incorrect.

COLLECTION

Our operating expenses average $14,000 per week.

February 19th/20th
Loose Change – $898
Envelopes (433) – $8,928
Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving (146) – $2,950
Total $12,776

GREEN CORNER

The “4.5” in Lent 4.5

At present there are approximately 6.5 billion humans alive on the planet. If we divide the usable area of the planet evenly so that each of us receives a fair share, every person would be entitled to 4.5 acres.

From that 4.5 acres each of us would have to find the wherewithal to cultivate our food, the space and materials to construct our home, the energy to heat and cool it, the water for our lawns and toilets, … the petroleum for our transportation, and anything needed to make our gadgets and stuff. 4.5 acres would be each person’s fair share.

According to 2010 data, the average person in Canada uses 17.3 acres, in Haiti, it is 1.7 acres.