Bulletin – October 1, 2023

SACRAMENTAL REGISTRATION

October 5th from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM

There will be registration for the Sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation on October 5th from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM in the gathering space of the church.

Please Note:
A copy of the child’s Baptismal Certificate is required if registering for First Communion or Confirmation. Registration forms will not be accepted without it.

A Baptism certificate is not required for Reconciliation.

A fee of $30 is required at registration for Confirmation to defray related costs.

PLEASE NOTE:
The deadline for registration for all sacraments is October 8th. No registrations will be accepted after that date.

ALTAR SERVERS

The Altar Server Ministry invites children, 10 and above, who are interested in learning how to serve at Mass, to please email stgabrielsaltarservers@gmailcom

ANNOUNCED MASSES

October 2nd to October 8th t 2023

MONDAY – PETER VALA VI ✞ – Requested by the Valavi Family
TUESDAY – MARIA VU THI LAI ✞ – Requested by the Nguyen Family
WEDNESDAY – INTENTIONS OF OPEYEMI NDUKWE – Requested by Opeyemi Ndukwe
THURSDAY –
FRIDAY – HOLY SOULS – Requested by Mark DesRoches
SATURDAY – KWAI FUN KO ✞ – Requested by Lucille Yeung
SUNDAY – 8:30 – MASS FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – BRUNO COTESE ✞ – Requested by his Family
SUNDAY – 12:30 PM – MOK TING MIN ✞ – Requested by Kok Yau Lam

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS

The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome the following children who received the Sacrament of Baptism this month.

Jasmine – Rei Pallasigui
Victoria Siu
Chimdindu Testimony Uche-Okafor

Congratulations to all!

SHARELIFE

Combating hunger through your compassion

Many of our brothers and sisters grapple with the daily challenge of putting food on the table. In response to their urgent need, ShareLife has launched the Food Security Grants – dedicating over half a million dollars to combat hunger.

Your compassionate support of our parish’s ShareLife Campaign will make possible this bold action. We have currently raised $151,276 towards our suggested goal of $192,000. Please support our fight against hunger at sharelife.org/donate or by giving at the parish with a ShareLife envelope. Thank you for heeding the Lord’s call to feed the hungry in our community and beyond.

THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE

For the Good Shepherd Centre and Rosalie Hall

You can make a difference in the lives of the hungry and homeless this Thanksgiving by helping to provide meals for the homeless and at-risk individuals in our community.
Urgently needed items include:

Tuna and canned meats tomato sauce
canned tomatoes chick peas, beans
soups, stews mayonnaise
granola/protein bars mustard
canned corn & vegetables bagged rice
breakfast cereals peanut butter
tea bags & coffee jams

Please check the expiry date as we cannot pass on expired foods. Please no fresh or frozen foods.

We thank you for your generous support!

THE CANADIAN LIBRARY PROJECT

The Justice & Peace & the Integrity of Creation Committee

This past weekend, September 23-24 and up to the end of this weekend, our parish through the Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Committee and in collaboration with the Canadian Library Project has had a micro gallery display in our Gathering Space. Hopefully this has assisted us in observing and commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day which is normally observed on September 30th each year.

The micro gallery display consists of books that have been “individually covered in Indigenous-inspired fabric, and arranged on bookshelves. The names of lives lost, printed in gold letters, are placed on the spines of these books to individually respect and honour the thousands of murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls and children.”

It is the hope of TLC and the JPIC at St. Gabriel’s that “the visual representation of the books covered in glorious Indigenous fabrics and the names of those lost, printed on the spines of the books, will evoke in us a sense of empathy, understanding & desire to see change.”

Coincidentally, the Archdiocese of Toronto holding a special collection this weekend to support the Indigenous Healing & Reconciliation Fund. “The fund will support both local and national programs proposed by Indigenous communities to nurture the ongoing reconciliation journey.”

GOOD SHEPHERD VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Good Shepherd Centre has now reopened its dining room so that guests can enjoy having their meals inside. St. Gabriel’s volunteers help serve the meal every second Monday of each month with shifts from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. There is carpooling from the Church to the Centre. We are looking to add volunteers to this ministry starting the month of November. If you are interested, please contact the office for more details. Thank you.

MOROCCO & LIBYA HUMANITARIAN RELIEF

Two natural disasters have recently struck the region of North Africa with a devastating earthquake in Morocco followed by severe flooding in Libya caused by Storm Daniel.

On Friday, September 8th, 2023, in the High Atlas Mountain region of Morocco, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake – the largest in the country since 1969 – caused extreme damage to buildings and property and has claimed the lives of at least 2,900 to date with another 5,500 people injured. Since the region is not traditionally prone to large seismic activity, buildings are not built to withstand such large tremors.

Two days later, on Sunday, September 10th, a Mediterranean hurricane-type event known as a “medicane” struck shore and quickly overwhelmed the port town of Derna in Libya. “Storm Daniel” delivered more than 400mm of rain within 24-hours and swept away families, took down buildings and bridges and completely overwhelmed dams which burst allowing rain waters to flood the streets of the town. Entire neighbourhoods were washed out to sea due to the storm that displaced over 30,000 people, with 10,000 more missing or unaccounted for. As of today, the flood has taken the lives of more than 11,000 people.

While rescue operations are ongoing in both countries, the process is very slow and there is a strong likelihood that the death toll will rise exponentially in the coming days and weeks.

For those interested in supporting humanitarian relief efforts to help those in need, please note the following:

Humanitarian Aid for Morocco

The Archdiocese of Toronto will accept donations and channel funds through our Catholic partners in Morocco to support relief efforts underway. Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
Online through the Archdiocese of Toronto website – www.archtoronto.org

By phone through the Development Office – 416-934-3411

Through the parish, making cheques payable to: St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish, Morocco Earthquake – Humanitarian Relief

Humanitarian Aid for Libya

Currently, our Catholic partners are not present in Libya to coordinate relief efforts and as such we are unable to accept donations to aid those affected by the flooding at this time. For those wishing to offer support to the people of Libya, please consider a gift through the Canadian Red Cross in the following ways:

Online through the Red Cross website – www.redcross.ca

By phone through the Red Cross – 1-800-418-1111

Please continue to pray for those who have died, for those who are missing or displaced because of these tragic disasters in both Morocco and Libya and for all who are working hard to provide relief and rescue in both locations.

NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION September 30th, 2023

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation takes place each year on September 30th. At St. Ann’s parish in Toronto, home to the Native People’s Mission, a special Mass will be held this Sunday October 1st, 2023, at 12:30 PM. All are welcome to attend.

The special collection this weekend is to support the Indigenous Healing & Reconciliation Fund of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The fund will support both local and national programs proposed by Indigenous communities to nurture the ongoing reconciliation journey.

You can donate here at St. Gabriel’s or online anytime at: www.archtoronto.org/healingandreconciliation

QUEEN OF APOSTLES RENEWAL CENTRE – 2023 WOMEN TOGETHER RETREAT

Wednesday October 25th, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre
1617 Blythe Road, Mississauga

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre invites all women to the 2023 Women Together Retreat being held on Wednesday October 25, 2023 From 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM

The cost is $45 which includes coffee or tea with muffins and a hot lunch. Mass will be celebrated during the day.

For more information or to register, please call 905-278-5229 or go to office@qoa.ca

CWL WEDNESDAY – FAITH, LOVE AND LOSS

Wednesday October 11, 2023 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM

Virtual

The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, Toronto Diocesan Council will be holding their CWL Wednesday virtually on Wednesday October 11, 2023 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. This virtual presentation is titled: Faith, Love and Loss. Sustaining Hope amid Memory Loss and the Storms of Life. The presenters are Harry and Jennifer McAvoy. The presentation will be based on their book.

Registration deadline is Monday, October 9th, 2023. To register email Shaila D’Souza at shailaflavy@gmail.com

For inquiries contact Kate O’Quinn at kateoquinn@yahoo.ca