January 14th, 2018
We are looking for several individuals who may consider acting as Ministers of Hospitality at the Saturday and Sunday Masses. Duties would include greeting parishioners before Mass starts, taking the collections, taking our gifts to the priest at the altar and distributing our bulletin at the end of Mass.
If interested, please leave your name and phone number with staff in the parish office. One of the hospitality ministers will contact you.
Through your generosity, our parish has sponsored a total of three refugee families in the last few years. Here is a quick update on them.
The Saoor family of 5 from Mosul, Iraq whom we sponsored in 2012 now have a home in Brampton. The younger son was married in the summer of 2016 and late last year welcomed the birth of his daughter. Sixteen members of the parish refugee committee attended the baptism. All family members either have or are in the process of getting their Canadian citizenship.
The Bezgian family of 4 from Aleppo, Syria whom we sponsored in 2015 are living in Scarborough. The children enjoy their school and both parents are working. They recently bought a car which has made getting to and from work much easier. They are trying to bring Christine’s mother to Canada for a visit. She has not seen the family in 6 years.
The Alkajela family of 6 from Mosul, Iraq whom we sponsored in 2016 have settled in Brampton. Ishan, the father, recently got his truck driver licence and is enjoying driving large trucks all over Ontario. The children enjoy their school and are currently all taking swimming lessons which are the highlight of their week.
Pope Francis asks us to “Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate Migrants and Refugees.” Our Parish has answered that call.
January 15th – January 20th, 2018
MONDAY – ANA MARIE LOPEZ – Requested by Estrella Gavietta TUESDAY – JENNY & WALTER WILCHYNSKI – Requested by Fran Moscal WEDNESDAY – ETHEL MAGEE – Requested by Janet Candido THURSDAY – MAURICE MICHAEL – Requested by Charmaine Michael FRIDAY – SPECIAL INTENTION – Requested by the Ng family SATURDAY – PAULINE WONG – Requested by Anda Li
The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome Mariano Lucas Tan who received the Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday, December 31st 2017. Congratulations!
Weekend of January 20th/21st
Fair trade organic coffees will be on sale after all the Masses next weekend. Regular ground coffee: $5.50 Decaffeinated: $6.00 Whole Beans: $5.50 Chocolate Bars: $4.50 incl. Taxes Hot Chocolate and Cocoa: $6.00 Teas: $4.25
Wednesday, January 17th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Gabriel Room
Did you know that milk bags can be cut, looped and woven into sleep mats for individuals or families in developing countries? . Please drop the colourful outer bags in the bin located in the gathering space. Please make sure that the bags are clean, dry and flat.
Volunteer milk bag weavers will be meeting Wednesday afternoon, January 17th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the Gabriel Room. All are welcome!
The ShareLife Office has released a Report to Donors sharing the results of the 2017 campaign and demonstrating how our support has made a difference. Copies of the report are available at the parish, or can be downloaded from the ShareLife website at www.sharelife.org.
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.
Sunday, January 28th 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 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 see posters on the bulletin board or go to www.worldleprosyday.ca.
Catholic Family Services of Toronto offers walk-In counseling services at two locations. The single-session consultation is aimed at helping individuals, couples, or family clients address their concerns. No appointment is required. Counseling is available at Central office, 1155 Yonge St. Suite 100, Toronto every Tuesday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. To contact, phone 416 921-1163. Counseling is also available at North office, 5799 Yonge Street, Suite 300, North York every Thursday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Contact 416 222-0048 or email: info@cfstoronto.com for more information.
Sunday January 14th at 1:00 PM
Good Shepherd Chaldean Catholic Church, 2 High Meadow Place, North York
The theme announced by His Holiness Pope Francis for the 2018 World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Welcoming, Protecting, Promoting and Integrating Migrants and Refugees.” In his message, Pope Francis reminds us that “every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age…”
A special Mass commemorating the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on Sunday, January 14th, 2018 at 1:00 PM at the Good Shepherd Chaldean Catholic Cathedral, located at 2 High Meadow Place in North York. Bishop Kirkpatrick will be the homilist for this liturgy. A reception will follow with a number of dignitaries in attendance. All are welcome to attend!
Beginning January 17th
The Toronto Catholic District School Board welcomes families with kindergarten-aged children to register for the September 2018 school year beginning on Wednesday, January 17th, 2018. Your local Catholic school will offer one evening of extended registration hours during the month of January. Please contact your local school for this date.
Parents may also complete an application at http://soar.tcdsb.org. The TCDSB is proud to provide a wide range of programs and services to students in 201 publicly-funded Catholic schools from kindergarten to Grade 12.
For registration information, please call 416-222-8282, ext. 5314
Saturday, January 20th from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM
St. Augustine’s Seminary, 2661 Kingston Rd., Scarborough
Join them for a day to learn about “The Faces of Christ in the Book of Revelation.” This seminar will be held in the Ambrozic Room, St. Augustine’s Seminary from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Mass will be celebrated in the seminary chapel followed by lunch.
Please contact St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto by phone at 416-261-7207 or by email at ioft@sastoronto.org or visit www.tcdsb.org.
Sunday, January 28th, at 3:00 PM.
St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power St., Toronto
On Friday, February 2nd, the Church celebrates the World Day for Consecrated Life.
In the Archdiocese of Toronto we are blessed to have living and serving among us more than 900 religious men and women of 100 different religious congregations. This World Day for Consecrated Life is a wonderful opportunity for us to thank God for the gifts of these religious sisters, brothers and priests and to pray for God’s blessing upon them in their efforts to faithfully live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick will preside at a special Mass on Sunday, January 28th, at 3:00 PM. at St. Paul’s Basilica,
83 Power St., Toronto in celebration of the vocation and witness of these special men and women religious who are such a vital and important part of the life and ministry of the Church in our Archdiocese. All are welcome to attend.
Wednesday, February 7th from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Mary Ward Centre, 70 St. Mary’s Street
Professor Heather Eaton, professor at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, will hold a public lecture on Wednesday, February 7th from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the Mary Ward Centre. She will speak on “Flourishing of Life for All: How are we called to be a prophetic voice for action on climate change?”
February 13th to April 3rd from 4:30 to 6:30
Central Office, 1155 Yonge Street
Catholic Family Services of Toronto is offering a psycho-educational program for those dealing with the stress of the ending of a relationship.
The sessions facilitated by a clinical social worker will be held February 13th to April 3rd, 2018 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. at 1155 Yonge St. There is a $30 fee per session.
Please contact Alpana Das at 416-921-1163 x2232 or email adas@cfstoronto.com for more information.
| Posted in Bulletin |
January 7th, 2018
The Epiphany of Christ is a shining light set at the turning of the year to illuminate all that has gone before and to guide us through the year ahead.
Fr. Brando will be away this month spending time with his family. We wish him a safe trip and a relaxing visit.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Thank you, good people, for your overwhelming generosity this Christmas season. Thanks to you, St. Gabriel’s was able to provide toys, food and gifts to Rosalie Hall, the Catholic Children’s Aid, the Good Shepherd Centre and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
A special thank you to our neighbours the St. Gabriel’s Village Condos for their generous support of our food and toy drives. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated!
January 8th – January 13th 2018
MONDAY – RENATO BELLISARI – Requested by Chiara & Tina Intini TUESDAY – ESTHER RODRIGUEZ – Requested by the Family WEDNESDAY – SALLY BEN – Requested by Stephen Previdsa THURSDAY – DELPHINE OAKIE – Requested by the Oakie Family FRIDAY – SHIRLEY ROSALES – Requested by Her Family SATURDAY – GEORGE OLDEN – Requested by Kathleen Olden Powell
Catholic Family Services of Toronto offers walk-in counseling services at two locations. The single-session consultation is aimed at helping individuals, couples, or family clients address their concerns. No appointment is required. For more information, contact 416 222-0048 or email: info@cfstoronto.com
Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 41 casseroles for December. For January, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of January 27th/28th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
More volunteers are urgently 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.
Temple Har Zion, 7360 Bayview Avenue Sunday January 14th from 2:00 PM to- 4:00 PM
MOSAIC Interfaith invites you to attend their annual program in honour of Martin Luther King’s birthday at Temple Har Zion, 7360 Bayview Avenue on Sunday January 14th, 2018 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The program will include a presentation “ A Caring Village” by Clovis Grant, CEO of 360 Kids and will focus on how we as a caring community work together to wrap our arms around young people particularly the most vulnerable to help them achieve their full potential. To RSVP or for more information contact Nora at 416 218 0680 by Jan 12th. See also the posters on the bulletin boards.
Parents may also complete an application at http://soar.tcdsb.org. The TCDSB is proud to provide a wide range of programs and services to students in 201 publicly-funded Catholic schools from kindergarten to Grade 12. For registration information, please call 416-222-8282, ext. 5314 or visit www.tcdsb.org.
December 31st, 2017
This is the season of too many feasts. Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, the gospel event tells of Mary’s purification in the temple forty days after the birth of Jesus. Tomorrow we celebrate the circumcision of Jesus eight days after his birth. Things get out of cynic this time of year.
On a feast like today scripture holds up models of what holds families together. Christian art has done a great disservice to the Holy Family. They were struggling working class people and life could be rough. All we see is a tranquil setting, angels all around, everything is perfect. Not so.
Have you ever watched the TV series ‘Modern Family’? It follows the stories of three families living in the same neighborhood. They are in and out of one another’s homes all the time. One family is a traditional family; mother, father, son and daughter. One family is interracial, made up of a divorced couple and the child of a first marriage and the third couple consists of two gays and their adopted son. A true picture of the complexities found in family life today and far removed from what we’ve always thought of what family life is all about.
These three families have all the joys and stresses of family life. They cope with good times and bad. They deal with stress and misunderstandings. They deal with the conflicts between parents and children. All of them in one way or another have financial worries. For all their differences they have so much in common with all those living the community life of families.
What holds them together is that each family finds a way to be faithful to the teachings we heard in our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians; they face their difficulties trying to be compassionate and kind and patient with one another. They find ways to be forgiving of one another. Harmony is the goal of each family and even after all the blowups and misunderstanding that are found in every family they strive for peace and harmony as they live out their differences.
You’ve probably heard of a letter from Pope Francis titled the Joy of Love. It is the Pope’s reflection on the Synod on the Family held a couple of years ago by bishops from around the world. Pope Francis makes clear that the causes of the family’s distresses are diverse, and that no single response to them will prove a silver bullet. The Pope makes clear that the Church has too often been content “simply decrying present-day evils,” and sought “to impose rules by its sheer authority. Pope Francis tells it like it is.
Francis wants us to In turn away from such attitudes by constantly redirecting our attention to the beauty and joy of married life and the family. He says we’ve been wasting pastoral energy on denouncing a decadent world instead of being proactive in supporting those struggling with the challenges of family life.
Francis makes a crucial point: “The Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their daily troubles and struggles, joys and hopes.” God is with all of us, not only the sinless and so the Church is called to accompany the weak, to discern with them and to integrate them into the life of Church. He calls Bishops and priests to look beyond laws and regulations, important as these may be, and take a more pastoral approach to the complexities of the reality of divorced couples and walk with husbands and wives helping them to find a way back into the life of the church.
On this feast of the Holy Family we pray for all the families in our parish family; the solid, the broken, the struggling and the searching, remembering the words of Pope Francis, “The Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their daily troubles and struggles, joys and hopes.” God is always present to them though they may not be always present to God.
| Posted in Homily |
The greatest blessing you bring to your family is the presence of God in your life. The fragrance of His presence sweetens the atmosphere of your home. The beauty of His presence warms the relationships within its walls. The joy of His presence lightens every heart. The glory of His presence fills all its chambers with rare and precious treasures. “From God’s Heart to Yours” by Roy Leesin
Let us pray for one another. May God bless you and yours throughout this Christmas Season. We wish you a happy and peaceful New Year and always try to remember…
“Holiness is in the ordinary.”
January 2nd – January 6th 2018
TUESDAY – FR. ADRIAN LEE – Requested by Jeanne Robinson WEDNESDAY – FR. DON SANVIDO – Requested by Jeanne Robinson THURSDAY – CELINA DELFIN – Requested by Her Family FRIDAY – SISTERS OF OUR LADY IMMACULATE – Requested by Jeanne Robinson SATURDAY – GUS CALDERONE – Requested by Marie Calderone
REGULAR SUNDAY MASSES
Saturday December 30th Vigil Mass 4:30 PM Sunday, December 31st Feast of the Holy Family 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM
Office Open – 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM
NEW YEAR’S EVE Sunday, December 31st 5:00 PM Mass Vigil for Feast of Mary the Mother of God
NEW YEAR’S DAY Monday, January 1st Feast of Mary the Mother of God
10:30 AM, 12:30 PM
Office Open – 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM
Sunday, January 7th at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room
On the first Sunday of each month, the Passionist Centre for Ecology and Spirituality facilitates 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. All are welcome.
Friday, January 5th from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon
English: Saturday, January 6th at 3:15 PM in the Library Chinese: Sunday, January 7th at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room.
For further information, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
Mary treasured all that God had done for her, and pondered these things in her heart. Do you treasure God’s gifts and ponder what He wants from you? You may have a vocation to a life in the Church serving Christ. If you think God is calling you to be a priest, religious, or permanent deacon, call Fr. Chris Lemieux, Vocation Director, Archdiocese of Toronto at 416-968-0997 or email vocations@archtoronto.org.
Wednesday, January 10th at 7:00 PM
St. Timothy’s Parish, 21 Leith Hill Rd., Toronto
The Prayer and Life Workshops are a series of sessions that help you learn and deepen your art of prayer. This learning has a very practical character, like a workshop: by praying we learn to pray. Sessions include prayer methods such as prayerful reading, prayer of surrendering, adoration, and contemplative prayer. In every session, we meditate on readings of the Word and listen to a message from Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga, OFM Cap., our founder. The Workshop consists of 15 weekly sessions of 2 hours each, and a final one-day retreat. Instruction is free and all materials have a total cost of $15. For more information and to pre-register call Chandra at 647-980-6800 or Pablo at 416-346-7580. You can also send an email to: ontario@tovpil.ca or visit them on the web at tovpil.ca/Ontario.
All donations for 2017 must be received in the Parish Office by this Sunday, December 31st, 2017 to be included in your 2017 Tax Receipt.
December 26th, 2017
CHRISTMAS EVE – Sunday, December 24th
Regular Sunday Masses 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM 5:00 PM Family Mass – Carol Singing 9:00 PM Adult Choir – Carol Singing 12:00 AM Midnight Mass – Contemporary Group
CHRISTMAS DAY – Monday, December 25th
10:30 AM 12:30 PM
BOXING DAY – Tuesday, December 26th
Office Closed
No 9:00 AM Mass
NEW YEAR’S EVE – Sunday, December 31st
Regular Masses 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 5:00 PM Mass Vigil for Feast of Mary the Mother of God
NEW YEAR’S DAY – Monday, January 1st
Feast of Mary the Mother of God 10:30 AM 12:30 PM
Office open – 9:30 to 2:00 PM
While parking at ground level is limited to 51 spaces, there is plenty of space in the underground parking lot. Please follow the instructions of the attendants. Do not park in front of the Church since this is a fire route and must be kept clear.
Additional parking is available on the east side of Elkhorn Public School and in the bus loop. Again, please follow the instructions of the attendant. The school requests that we do not park on the grass. Many thanks to Holly Richards, the Principal of Elkhorn Public School, for allowing us the use of the school property.
| Posted in Events |
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.
Learn about Passionists and our insignia »
Companion for the Walk of the Stations of the Cosmic Earth
St. Gabriel’s Garden – Guided Sensory Reflective Walk
