LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Sunday, February 5th after 12:30 PM Mass
Saturday, January 28th marks the beginning of Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Rooster.
For many years, the Asian community in our parish has gifted our parish community with a wonderful Lunar New Year Party.
Our Lunar New Year Celebration will take place on Sunday, February 5th after the 12:30 PM Mass in the Gathering Space. All are welcome. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!
Volunteers and donations are also welcome.
Please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
ANNOUNCED MASSES
January 30th – February 4th , 2017
MONDAY – IN THANKSGIVING FOR CLARA TZAU – Requested by Theresa Tzau
TUESDAY – ABANDONED SOULS – Requested by the Nguyen Family
WEDNESDAY – JOSEPH BOYLE – Requested by Jack & Margaret Murray
THURSDAY – BERTHA RICKETTS – Requested by her Family
FRIDAY – META O’DONNELL – Requested by Nora Kerr
SATURDAY – GUS CALDERONE – Requested by Marie Calderone
MASS FOR THE SICK
Saturday, February 11th at 12:00 Noon
St. Gabriel’s Parish
A Mass for the Sick will be celebrated at St. Gabriel’s Parish on Saturday, February 11th at 12:00 Noon. If you have a loved one who is sick and wishes to receive the blessing of the sick, please invite them to be a part of this beautiful sacrament.
A reception will follow in the Gathering Space.
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2017
ECUMENICAL PRAYER SERVICE
Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 P.M.
St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, 65 Bond Street
An ecumenical prayer service will be held at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica this Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 PM. It will be led by His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Chaldean Catholic Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, Coptic Orthodox Bishop Anba Mina, Anglican Suffregan Bishop Peter Fenty accompanied by other city-wide religious leaders.
The homilist will be His Rev. Peter Holmes. Refreshments will follow in the parish hall. Parking is available. All are welcome.
ROSARY GROUPS
Gabriel Room
English: Saturday, February 4th at 3:15 PM
Chinese: Sunday, February 5th at 3:30 PM
For further information, please contact Linda Law at 416 -918-8029.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION – FIRST FRIDAY
Friday, February 3rd from 9:30 AM – 12 Noon
ECO-SABBATH
Sunday, February 12th at 11:30 AM
Gabriel Room
On Sunday, February 12th, the Passionist Centre for Ecology and Spirituality will facilitate 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. Please note that this is one week later than usual due to the Lunar New Year celebration. All are welcome.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR CONSECRATED LIFE
Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 PM
St. Paul’s Basilica
World Day for Consecrated Life will be celebrated in the Church on Thursday, February 2nd, 2017 and in parishes on the weekend of January 28th/29th, 2017. 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 Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick this Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 PM. at St. Paul’s Basilica, Toronto 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.
LEPROSY MISSION OF CANADA
Collecting Stamps
This is a wonderful time of year to collect stamps from your Christmas cards and letters to give to the Leprosy Mission of Canada, who are renowned for their effectiveness in the prevention, detection and treatment of leprosy. Stamps may be left in the basket outside of the office.
WORLD LEPROSY DAY USED STAMP COLLECTION
This Sunday, January 29th is World Leprosy Day. When leprosy is diagnosed and treated early, the healing time is much faster and permanent disabilities are prevented. The average person can be diagnosed and cured for just $99.
Please bring us your used postage stamps. These are passed on to the Effect Hope helping them work towards the day when leprosy is eradicated. They are happy to accept any and all trimmed stamps, leaving no less than ¼ inch and no more than ½ inch paper border. Stamps may be deposited in the basket on the cabinet just outside the Parish Office. For more information please go to worldleprosyday.ca.
FOOD FOR ROSALIE HALL & GOOD SHEPHERD CENTRE
Each month food we collect is sent to Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre.
Rosalie Hall assists young parents and their children to realize their potential through the provision of a wide range of child development, community, residential and educational services.
Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city as well as a chance to start again through the Resettlement or DARE Programs
With everyone struggling at this time, your food donations are more important than ever. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Thank you for your generous support.
YOUTH GROUP NEWS
During Advent, our youth group partook in a celebration of Adoration. The evening of reflection and prayer was led by Father Brando, along with witness talks and worship music provided by some of the youth group’s core team members. Here are the responses of two youth group members and their experiences.
“At first, I thought that Adoration would be boring but then as soon as they started talking about increasing our faith to God, I listened and I felt strongly attached to him. The part that I liked was when stories were being shared. It was sad to listen to them but then at the end, it made me realize that no matter what, never lose faith and always believe that there is someone up there looking and taking care of us. I also liked the part where they sang songs and we got to sing along. I hope to do Adoration again.” – Elia Grade 8
“It was a very nice thing to experience for the first time. What was great about it was that I got to learn so much in just one hour. Everything that the readers said just made sense when I really thought about it. What I liked the most was when it got emotional just listening to the stories and songs. It made me feel bad that I should not be complaining about what I have, but instead I should be thankful for my wonderful friends, family, a place to live in, and so on. It was all perfect and very touching.” – Carlos Grade 8
On January 8th, we welcomed a group of 6 young missionaries called RE: GENERATION, from the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth.
These young people taught Theology of the Body to the Grade 7 – 12 students and spoke about authentic love and chastity.
The youth group is excited to announce a Youth Talent Show on Saturday, February 25th to celebrate the feast of St. Gabriel, the Patron Saint of our youth. We also have been working on a CD for the past few months, which will be released at the concert. More information will be provided in the weeks ahead!
TCDSB KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Imagine the Possibilities!
Parents can now apply online at SOAR.tcdsb.org and follow up with a visit to the school to present required documents. Or they can register at their local school with the required documents.
For more information phone 416-222-8282 ext. 5314 or go to www.tcdsb.org/kindergartenregistration.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE
Weekend of April 21st, 22nd and 23rd, 2017
St. Gabriel’s Parish
A Marriage Preparation course will be offered here at St. Gabriel’s the weekend of April 21st to 23rd, 2017.
The course will be held Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Saturday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM. For a registration package please email Marie Deans at deansm@sympatico.ca.
“JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE: A STORY FOR OUR TIMES.”
Online courses from Yale, open to all who are interested.
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, experts on Religion and Ecology, and Senior Lecturers and Research Scholars at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies are currently offering four six-week online courses. These are featured as a specialization under the theme of “Journey of the Universe: A Story for our Times.” These are the first MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) for the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The MOOCs are available on courser.org to anyone, anywhere on the planet.
Those interested may audit these courses free of charge (with the exception of the capstone course). The courses do not have to be completed within the six week period, rather, learners may finish at their own pace.
Courses:
• Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life
• Journey Conversations: Weaving Knowledge and Action
• The Worldview of Thomas Berry: The Flourishing of the Earth Community
• Integrating Capstone: Living Cosmology
For more details and to register, please go to:
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/journey-of-the-universe
FINANCE CORNER
Weekly Offertory
December 25th $ 14,293
Christmas Collection $ 32,352
New Year’s Day $ 3,692
Collection for January 1st, 2017 last week:
Envelopes 388 $ 6,937
Loose Change 1,154
Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 167 3,084
Total 555 $ 11,175
TAX RECEIPTS FOR 2016
Tax receipts for 2016 have been mailed out. Tax receipts for the Family of Faith Campaign or for any donations made by credit card through the Archdiocese will be receipted by the Archdiocese in February.
OFFERTORY ENVELOPES FOR 2017
There are still many parishioners who have not picked up their 2017 Offertory Envelopes. Please pick yours up in the hallway outside the Gabriel Room if you have not already done so.
If you are contributing cash to the Offertory Collection without any identification, you will not receive credit for your contribution. You must provide your full name and address.
Please do not use envelopes from previous years since that envelope number may have been reassigned to another parishioner.
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.
