Bulletin – February 1, 2015

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This weekend is the second Commitment Weekend for the Family of Faith campaign as mandated by the Archdiocese of Toronto. If you took a pledge form last week, please return it in a sealed envelope as soon as possible. Forms can be dropped into the collection basket or dropped off at the Parish Office.

The Parish 25% share of the Family of Faith campaign will be used to develop the potential of the youth of our parish as Catholic leaders of tomorrow. We hope to hire a youth minister as well as provide subsidy for the St. Gabriel’s delegation to attend World Youth Day in Poland in 2016.
I would ask you to be as generous as you always are to cover this special appeal.

Fr. Brando

ANNOUNCED MASSES

February 2nd to 7th, 2015

MONDAY – BERTHA RICKETTS – Requested by the Family
TUESDAY – BONNIE SOLMES – Requested by Jennifer
WEDNESDAY – BEN TAN – Requested by Annie Camarines
THURSDAY – MIRO FEDELE – Requested by Laura Fedele
FRIDAY – FR. DANIEL CHUI – Requested by a Friend
SATURDAY – RENATO BELLISARI – Requested by a Friend

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION – FIRST FRIDAY

Friday, February 6th from 9:30 AM – 12 Noon

ROSARY GROUPS

Chinese: Sunday, February 1st at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room.
English: Saturday, February 7th at 3:15 PM in the Gabriel Room

For information, please contact Linda Law at 416 -918-8029.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR CONSECRATED LIFE CELEBRATION

Sunday, February 1st at 3:00 PM

St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power Street

Monday, February 2nd the Church celebrates World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.

Please pray for all those who have made commitments in the consecrated life, and be sure to thank them on their special day. May they continue to be inspired by Jesus Christ and respond generously to God’s gift of their vocation.

All are welcome to come to a special Mass presided by His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins this Sunday, February 1st at 3:00 PM at St Paul’s Basilica to celebrate with and pray for these men and women religious who are such a vital and important part of the life and ministry of the Church in our Archdiocese.

MARRIAGE SUNDAY

Weekend of February 7th/8th

Cardinal Collins has designated the weekend of February 7th/8th as Marriage Sunday in the Archdiocese of Toronto. The event provides an opportunity to honour husband and wife while saluting the faithfulness, sacrifice and joy that comes with the marriage covenant. To those preparing for marriage, newlyweds and those that have been companions on the journey for decades, we offer our prayers and best wishes in a special way this weekend.

Let us celebrate the tremendous contributions of married couples who continue to strengthen our faith community. For more information and resources on marriage enrichment, visit: www.archtoronto.org/marriage.

GOOD SHEPHERD CENTRE CASSEROLES

Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 51 casseroles for January. For February, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of February 28th/March 1st for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. More volunteers are needed to help feed the hungry in our city. You may pick up a copy of a casserole recipe and a pan from the Parish Office.
Three recipes are also available on St. Gabriel’s web site. Please remember to mark the label on the pan lid with the name of the casserole. For more information, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.

A MESSAGE FROM EFFECT: HOPE

Dear Friends,

We are so fortunate to have friends like you. The stamps you have sent will bring us closer to a world without leprosy. Our goal is to raise $12,000 in 2015 which will provide the cure and care for 30 leprosy patients!

We are happy to accept any and all trimmed stamps, leaving no less than ¼ inch and no more than ½ inch paper border Your kindness and compassion are felt by the friends and staff of Effect: Hope and by the many people we serve. We look forward to your continued partnership with this mission of healing and hope.

Stamps may be deposited in the basket on the cabinet just outside the Parish Office.

SKATE AND PRAYER

Saturday, February 7th at 11:00 AM

Nathan Phillips Square
100 Queen Street West

Faith Connections invites all young adults 18-39 to join us for a Skate and Prayer, where we’ll reflect on “Simple Joys.” Children are welcome!

Nurture your spiritual life while exploring interesting areas of our beautiful city! It’s a chance to meet like-minded young adults who hope to find God through spiritual and physical activity.
Skate rentals are $10 (ID is required for deposit).

For more information, visit the Toronto Hike and Prayer web page, or contact John-Paul Markides by
e-mail at faithconnections@csj-to.ca, or phone 416-467-2645. RSVPs are appreciated.

CARDINAL COLLINS INVITES FEEDBACK IN PREPARATION FOR 2015 SYNOD OF BISHOPS

Cardinal Collins is inviting Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto to offer insights and feedback on issues that will be considered as part of the 2015 Synod of Bishops on “The Vocation and the Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World.”

Full details including background documents can be found at: www.archtoronto.org/synod – deadline for feedback is February 16th, 2015.

“AWAKENING TO THE SPIRIT IN TIMES OF SUFFERING – WHAT TO DO WITH MY EXPERIENCE?”

Monday, February 9th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM

The Catholic Pastoral Centre, 1155 Yonge Street

Catholic Family Services of Toronto – New Beginnings. will host an Inspirational talk entitled Awakening the Spirit in Times of Suffering on Monday February 9th at 7:00 PM.

The speaker will be Maureen McDonnell, D.Min.

For more information, please contact 416-921-1163 x2235 or email mbenincasa@cfstoronto.com.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION – ST. GABRIEL CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Kindergarten Registration has begun for all Elementary Schools. Parents/guardians with children born in 2011 or earlier and who will be enrolling in Kindergarten, have the opportunity to apply on-line using the “Student On-line Admission and Registration” platform known as S.O.A.R. and found at the following link: http://soar.tcdsb.org.

Parents will be able to complete an application for registration online 24 hours a day. The on-line application also offers access to translations in different languages with built-in help functions and features. Alternately, families may choose to register in person at our school.

As part of the registration process, school staff will meet with parents. These meetings may be scheduled on the electronic application or in person at the school. During the meeting, school staff will verify the original documentation required for registration. This consists of a Baptismal Certificate, Birth Certificate and/or Passport, Immunization record, proof of residence and Application for Direction of School support.

Applications to register children in grades other than Kindergarten can also be done on the online S.O.A.R. application. Please share this information with any parents/guardians with school aged children in the community.

For further information, please contact our school office at 416-393-5256. For general inquires or further information you may contact 416-222-8282 or visit our website at www.tcdsb.org

FINANCE CORNER

Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week.

Collection for Last Weekend

Envelopes 417 $ 7,709
Loose Change 802
Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 164 3,701
Total 581 $ 12,212

OFFERTORY ENVELOPES FOR 2015

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?

If you are not currently using parish envelopes and wish to have a set issued for 2015, please contact the Parish Office and we will prepare a box for you. This is the most effective way to keep track of your donations. If you have recently moved, please inform the Parish Office so that we may keep our parish records up to date.

In 2015, please do not use any envelopes from 2014 or any envelopes from previous years as the number on it may have been reassigned. Please put your name on your envelope to ensure that your donation is properly recorded.