Bulletin – March 3, 2013

In this week’s bulletin, the Lenten and Easter mass schedule, the Remembrance Meal of the Passover, and a Conversation on Native Issues.

LENTEN AND EASTER SCHEDULE 2013

Stations of the Cross – Friday Evenings at 7:30 PM

Reconciliation Service Wednesday, March 20th at 7:30 PM

Palm Sunday March 24th
Masses Sat. -4:30 PM, Sun. – 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM

Holy Thursday March 28th
No 9:00 AM Mass
7:30 PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper followed by Adoration until 10 PM

Good Friday March 29th
10:00 AM Morning Prayer
3:00 PM Solemn Passion of Our Lord
7:30 PM Stations of the Cross

Holy Saturday March 30th
Confessions 11:00 AM to 12 Noon
No 4:30 PM Mass
8:30 PM Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday March 31st
Masses 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM

Easter Monday April 1st
No 9:00 AM Mass
Office closed

Extra parking at Elkhorn Public School

ANNOUNCED MASSES

March 4th – March 9th, 2013

MONDAY –  THERESA KANG Requested by Peter & Gemma Baik
TUESDAY – JOSEPHINE LEUNG Requested by Paul & Wai Chin Hwang
WEDNESDAY – THANKSGIVING Requested by the Tan Family
THURSDAY – JOHN BRODIE Requested by Bruce Grantier
FRIDAY – MARTIN SMEE Requested by the Smee Family
SATURDAY – WILLIAM ANDERSON Requested by Eva Anderson

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Stations of the Cross will take place each Friday evening during Lent at 7:30 PM. We also encourage your attendance at our daily Mass throughout Lent.

DAY OF CONFESSION

Wednesday, March 6th
4:00 to 5:00 and 7:30 to 8:30

Cardinal Collins has designated Wednesday, March 6th as the Archdiocesan Day of Confession. Every parish in the Archdiocese is making time available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation on that day. Frs. Paul and Brando will be available for this important sacrament from 4:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon and from 7:30 to 8:30 in the evening of March 6th. All are encouraged and welcomed to receive this sacrament of pardon and peace.

REMEMBRANCE MEAL OF THE PASSOVER

Wednesday, March 27th at 7:00 PM in the Gabriel Room

Passover is the oldest festival of the Hebrew liturgical calendar. It has been observed by the Jewish people for more than 3,000 years. It celebrates the freeing of the Jews who were slaves during the time of Moses. It occurs in the spring, the time of renewal in “Nissan”, the first month of the Hebrew year, and it lasts for eight days. At this time, their meals celebrate this momentous historical Jewish Event. Why do we Christians celebrate this “meal” at St. Gabriel’s? First, this celebration helps us to understand our religious roots, which are Jewish. Second, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate our growth as a community and be together with families and friends at this most special time during Holy Week. The menu is identical to the Seder supper’s menu and the meal is “pot luck” – each person brings a dish for their table. Please call Mary Landry at 416-293-3760 by Friday, March 22nd to book your table of 6 or 8, or to have your name added to a table.

SHARELIFE

Working wonders for families…

Young John had spent far too many years of his young life in terror about what would happen to his mom, himself and his siblings, because of the violence in his home. At 12 years of age, he felt alone and he felt responsible. It was John who called 911, which lead to his mom leaving the abusive situation, and it was that incident that got his family involved with our Safer Families Program for help. Through our domestic violence programming, John learned that he was not the only kid who had this happening in his home… and most importantly, he learned that it was not his fault. He was able to get his feelings out, and learn new ways of coping… different from what he had witnessed in his home, so that he could have a chance at a different kind of life than that to which he had been exposed to in his first 12 years. Our network of Catholic Family Services offices collectively reach over 125,000 clients, serving them in more than 25 languages.

First ShareLife Sunday – March 17, 2013
Together, we can work wonders!

JUST A REMINDER

Daylight Savings Time begins next weekend. Please remember to set your clocks forward 1 hour on Saturday evening.

GOOD SHEPHERD CASSEROLES

Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 41 casseroles for February. For March, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of March 23rd/24th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. Please note that this is a week earlier than usual because of Easter. There are now 3 different recipes available in the Parish Office or online at the Church website.

More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. If you require more information or would like to get a copy of the recipes and a casserole pan, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.

A CONVERSATION ON NATIVE ISSUES:

Laws and Treaties: How they may impact the lives of Canada’s First Nations people today
Saturday, March 9th, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM,
Gabriel Room

Recently there has been a growing clamor from First Nations people — among them the Idle No More Movement, the hunger strike of Chief Theresa Spence, and the meeting of some Aboriginal leaders with our Prime Minister. There seem to be grievances which are crying out to be addressed.

As Christians we are committed to follow the example of Jesus, to love our neighbours — especially those who are poor and marginalized. We continually hear in the media the plight of First Nations people. We must have often wondered how they ended up in their present situation. As it turns out, laws and treaties of our country may play a significant role.

On Saturday, March 9th, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, our parish will be holding a workshop entitled A Conversation on Native Issues. This workshop will focus on laws and treaties that affect the everyday lives of Canada’s native peoples. The speaker will be Senwung Luk, a young lawyer who grew up at St. Gabriel’s. Senwung is an Associate at Olthuis, Kleer and Townshend – LLP. His practice focuses on Aboriginal title litigation and treaty claims.

The workshop aims mainly at information – for participants to become better acquainted with possible root causes of the situation of Canada’s First Nations people. A light lunch will be provided. To register, please call (416) 221-8866, or email fatimalee@bellnet.ca. Admission is free. However, donations will be gratefully accepted to help defray the cost of the event.

BIBLE FOR BEGINNERS

Monday, March 4th at 7:30 PM or
Thursday, March 7th at 10:30 AM

Topic: An Overview of the Old Testament –  now known as the ‘Hebrew Scriptures’. For information please call Mary at 416-293-3760

THANK YOU TO OUR ASIAN COMMUNITY

We want to say a special word of thanks to our Asian Community for the wonderful Lunar New Year celebration. This is one of the nicest events we have though the year and it was, once again, a wonderful success. Many thanks to those good people who donated food and those who worked so hard to make the celebration a memorable event. The food was plentiful and awesome! All who attended the celebration thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Fr. Paul and Fr. Brando

WOMEN’S LENTEN RETREAT WEEKEND

Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga.
March 8th to-10th, 2013

The year of faith and the season of Lent is a perfect time to consider a retreat experience.
For further information or to register please call 905-278-5229.

FERTILITYCARE TORONTO EASTER EGG SALE

Weekend of March 16th/17th

To raise funds for FertilityCare Toronto formerly known as the Marguerite Bourgeoys Family Centre, the St. Gabriel’s Youth Group will once again be selling hand-made dark chocolate Easter eggs for $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00 before and after all the Masses on March16th/17th. Your support will help the Centre promote and maintain their service in the Diocese.

FINANCE CORNER

Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week.

Collection for February 24th, 2013

Envelopes (405) – $7,682
Loose Change – $1,246
Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving (184) – $3,474
Total – $12,402