July 3rd, 2016
This weekend Canada and the US are celebrating their national holidays. We will all be thanking God for the blessings that are ours as we live in free and prosperous homelands. We will celebrate these days with family and friends. As the saying goes, “It is rightly so to do.”
We are blessed with freedoms lacking is so many other lands. First of all, thank God, we are free from war and civil strife. A situation that plagues so many nations today. We are free to worship God, free to speak our mind, free to vote, we have freedom of movement. We can live and work wherever we choose. Here in Canada we are blessed with a good health care system and our education systems are among the best. Both here and in the US we must know we are a blessed people.
It is good to remember that our freedoms also carry responsibilities. If we do not enjoy these freedoms to the same degree; we are not all equally blessed.
Some of us have it made; we may own our own home, we may have a good job or a good pension, we may be blessed with good health, we may have been able to give our children a good education. Things are good. Thank God.
But both our countries have a shadow side. Both our countries have men and women who are numbered among the working poor. Both our countries have businesses that ‘practice deceit and exploit the poor. We’ve read articles in the paper about workers being cheated out their wages by unscrupulous employers. Sweat shops are not limited to foreign lands. In both our countries families survive on Food Banks and we both have our homeless street people. Both are countries continue to contribute to the diminishment of the environmental and ecological health of Mother Earth.
Our many blessings carry with them responsibilities.
We are our brothers and sisters keeper and our lives will be judged on how we were present to the least of them. Both our countries are in need of a deeper sense of social justice and a respect for men and women different than ourselves. In our celebrations of our national holidays can we look to our personal attitudes toward ‘The other’ and our personal lifestyles and make our own commitment to ‘live simply that others may simply live.’
Poor Francis speaks of the globalization of indifference. We can develop a crisis fatigue as day after day we are bombarded by scenes of refugees seeking safety, of floods and fire destroying people’s homes.
Pope Francis offers us a sobering thought as we celebrate our blessed homelands and our good fortune;
Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure … Our heart grows cold. As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference. It is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass we give thanks for the blessings that are ours and pray for the gift to be always mindful of the needs of others.
| Posted in Homily |
June 26th, 2016
We have to situate today’s gospel. Jesus was finishing his work in Galilee and was heading for Jerusalem knowing full well what he was to face there. He would be betrayed by one friend, denied by another and abandoned by all. He would be handed over to the Jewish authorities who would have him condemned to death and he would be executed by the Romans. Peter tried to talk him out of all this saying, ‘this must never happen to you Lord.’ Jesus told his disciples earlier, ‘I have a baptism with which I am to be baptized and how I am straightened until it is accomplished.’
There was intensity about Jesus. Nothing could turn him away from what was ahead. He demanded that same intensity, that same commitment from those who followed him.
When these two men wanted to follow him but not right now Jesus basically said, ‘it’s now or never.’ We might wonder whatever happened to, ‘honor your father and your mother’? This was a reasonable request, ’ let me first bury my father’ but Jesus was unbending. ‘Let the dead bury the dead.’ Get on with what you want to do. Jesus had no time for procrastinators, people who second guessed their commitments.
What today’s gospel is telling us is that in our commitment to following Jesus, the Christ who suffered and died for us, there is no room for hanging back, no room for fudging our response.
Each one of us here has been called to follow Jesus, to turn our back on our own sins, to live a life of love and holiness. We are to try to live a life in which we accept and respect as a brother or a sister any person who comes into our lives, regardless of their race, religion, their social standing or the sexual orientation. We all know it isn’t easy to love as we’ve been loved, accept as we’ve been accepted with all our faults and failings, to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. We may have generously put our hand to the plow but often we’ve failed to plow in a straight line. We’ve all looked back, we have failed, and we’ve made our own mistakes. We live with the fact that we are mistake making beings. Only the saints possessed the intensity Jesus demands in today’s gospel, the rest of us struggle along and some days we win and some days we lose.
Every time we pray the Our Father we recognize our need of God’s grace. We pray, ‘thy kingdom come’, thy kingdom come to that part of me which has yet to be redeemed. We pray, Give us this day our daily bread, the bread that strengthens us be faithful to you and accepting of others, the bread that strengthens us to get up when we fall and give it another try. St. Paul encourages us to never grow weary of doing what is good. Let this be our prayer of each other as we continue to celebrate our Mass today, may we never grow weary.
June 25th, 2016
This is the last bulletin until the Labour Day Weekend in September. We wish you all a happy and safe summer! July 1st is Canada Day. The office will be closed on Friday, July 1st for the holiday. There will be no 9:00 AM Mass.
Sunday, July 3rd after the 12:30 Mass
The Parish BBQ Picnic will be held on Sunday, July 3rd after the 12:30 Mass in the parking lot. There will be hot dogs, games, face painting, lucky draws, music and more…..
Tickets are $2 each.
Please bring your families, friends and neighbours to enjoy a summer afternoon with your parishioners. We need volunteers to help and make this event happen. Please sign up by putting your name and phone number on the sheets at the back of church. For more information, you may call Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
As part of the mandate for the Archdiocese of Toronto to foster a safe and caring community, a policy of screening volunteers exists to ensure the protection and safety of the most vulnerable. St. Gabriel’s Parish Volunteer Screening Committee is entrusted with this task.
As some members are retiring, we are extending an invitation to St. Gabriel’s parishioners to join the Committee. If you are interested and want to know more about this responsibility, please contact the parish office at 416-221-8866.
You may have noticed the two new vegetable plots in the south garden. We need volunteers to help tend these plots. If you would like to help, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
The Youth Group bake sale raised a total of $1,703.15. The money will be used for the Group’s transportation costs to the Steubenville Catholic Conference in New York. Thank you for your generous support.
Registration forms for the Children’s Faith Program are now available in the parish office. This program is for children of the Parish who attend public or private schools. Classes are held at St. Gabriel’s School every second Sunday beginning September 11th, 2016.
Please note that a separate Sacramental registration form is required if your child will receive the sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation or Confirmation during the 2016/17 year. These forms are also available in the Parish Office.
June 27th to July 2nd, 2016
MONDAY – FR. DAN SANVIDO – Requested by Jeanne Robinson TUESDAY – FR. ADRIAN LEE – Requested by Jeanne Robinson WEDNESDAY – MARIA CHUNG & THERESA KANG – Requested by Peter & Gemma THURSDAY – BERNADETTE SEDGWICK – Requested by Teresa Sheldrick FRIDAY – CANADA DAY – No 9:00 AM Mass SATURDAY – EVELYN & WARD MARKLE – Requested by Bill & Carolyn Markle
Please see the insert in the parish bulletin or check the website or bulletin board for announced Masses during the summer months. The notices on the bulletin boards will be updated each week.
The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome:
Miguel Christian Donato Jordan Maddox Gunawan Alexia Fadia Homaidan Bernadette Husenia Malacaman Sydney Rose Masangkay Ezekiel Tariq Singh
These children received the Sacrament of Baptism on June 19th, 2016. Congratulations
R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) meetings begin in the fall. These evenings are for persons interested in learning about the Catholic Faith. Because the Parish Community itself is considered the official teacher and guide for potential new members, it is important that some parishioners participate by being present and by sharing their Faith in various ways. It is also an opportunity for “Born Catholics” to deepen their understanding of the faith. Adult Catholics who wish to celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist and/or Confirmation are welcome. For more information, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866
We encourage you to continue bringing non perishable foods for Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre during the summer months.
During July and August, food donations tend to drop off.
Your donations of canned foods, cereal rice and other non perishables are more important than ever as families struggle to make ends meet.
Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Thank you for your generous support.
Thank you to all who prepared casseroles for the Good Shepherd Centre for the month of June. Your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of July 30th/31st and August 27th/28th.
Each month, the casseroles are picked up early on Monday morning for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
Lately, many people are bringing in casseroles after the pick up day, meaning that they are left in our freezer for an additional month. Please try to get them in on time.
More volunteers are needed to help feed the hungry in our city. We encourage you to pick up a copy of a casserole recipe and a pan and give it a try. Three recipes are available on St. Gabriel’s web site. Printed copies of the recipes are also available in the Parish Office. Please remember to mark the label on the pan lid with the name of the casserole.
For more information, you may contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
Tuesdays, Central Office, 1155 Yonge Street, Suite 100 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM or Thursdays, North York Office – 5799 Yonge Street, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Catholic Family Services of Toronto is now offering walk-in counseling services at their two locations. Their staff is trained to offer same-day service to clients with urgent counseling needs. The single-session consultation is aimed at helping individuals, couples, or family clients address their concerns. No appointment required.
Please contact the Central office, 1155 Yonge St., Suite 100, Toronto (Yonge/Summerhill) Tuesdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 416 921-1163 or by email at info@cfstoronto.com.
On Thursdays, contact the North office, 5799 Yonge St., (Yonge/Finch) from 9:00 Am to 3:00 PM. at 416 222-0048 or by email at info@cfstoronto.com.
Thank you to all parishioners who are recycling their clean, flattened milk bags at the church.
The Milk Bag Workshops, held by Sharon Gusz this spring were very successful. Thank you to Sharon and all the milk bag weavers for their excellent work. Workshops will begin again in the fall.
Sharon recently shared some exciting news with us.
“I find it so rewarding to be part of this amazing project.
By the way the last few mats that we made are being sent to a homeless shelter in Newmarket. There are several people who are reluctant to sleep on the regular mattresses.. (bed bugs, smells, etc..). I gave them 15 mats to try out and got an email asking for 10 more!!!”
For further information about this program please visit www.milkbagsunlimited.ca or contact Sharon Gusz at sharongusz@gmail.com.
Together we are working wonders…
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the 2016 ShareLife Parish Campaign. For those who wish to make a contribution, you are still welcome to do so. You can drop your ShareLife envelopes in the offertory basket until July 31, 2016 or donate online at www.sharelife.org.
ShareLife to date: $130,183 Thank you for your generosity!
August 28th from 2:00 PM
Parish of the Immaculate Conception 300 Ansley Grove Road, Woodbridge, Ontario
The 50th annual celebration in honour of St. Gabriel, under the direction of the Passionist Community will be held on Sunday, August 28th from 2:00 PM at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in Woodbridge. All are welcome! Bring your own folding chair.
Thursday, July 28th at 6:00 PM
15 Laxton Ave, Toronto
In solidarity with World Youth Day activities, all young adults 18-39 (student, working professional, single, married, young parent) are invited to a house party and barbecue!
Meet and hang out with other young adults! Meet Catholic Sisters, Brothers and Priests and share life experiences! Enjoy a barbecue supper, laughter and fun in a casual and relaxed atmosphere! Please RSVP by July 15th to Faith Connections at faithconnections@csj-to.ca (so they know how much food to order)
Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week.
Collection for June 19th, 2016: Envelopes 380 $ 7,018 Loose Change 1,003 Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 165 3,034 Total 545 $ 11,055
Please inform the Parish Office if you have changed your address or are moving out of the Parish so that we may update our records.
Liturgical Publications has begun to set up the advertisements for our church bulletin. The advertising will begin in September 2015 and supports the bulletin service. Please support the bulletin and advertise your product or service.
Call Liturgical Publications at 905-624-4422.
| Posted in Bulletin |
June 18th, 2016
To all the Fathers, Grandfathers, Stepfathers, Single Fathers and Great Grandfathers we wish you a very happy Father’s Day.
May you be blessed with the graces you need, with courage, compassion, patience and peace.
This Weekend, June 18th and 19th
This weekend, June 18th and June 19th our Youth Group is holding a bake sale. The money raised will help cover the Youth Group’s transportation costs to the Steubenville Catholic Conference in New York from June 23rd to June 27th. Please support our Youth Group.
The Milk Bag Workshops, held by Sharon Gusz this spring were very successful. Thank you to Sharon and all the milk bag weavers for their excellent work. Workshops will begin again in the fall. Sharon recently shared some exciting news with us.
Please note that a separate Sacramental registration form is required if your child will receive the sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation or Confirmation during the 2016/17 year. These forms are available in the Parish Office.
June 20th to June 25th, 2016
MONDAY – LOURDES JANER – Requested by Marie Hartnel TUESDAY – BERNIE CABRERA – Requested by Olivia Cabrera WEDNESDAY – PARTICIA CLYDESDALE – Requested by Nora Kerr THURSDAY – ALL SOULS IN PURGATORY – Requested by Teresa Marchie FRIDAY – DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE FRIENDS OF SUFFERING SOULS – Requested by Agnes Wong SATURDAY – KENG OW YONG – Requested by Helen Ow Yong
R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) meetings begin in the fall. These evenings are for persons interested in learning about the Catholic Faith. Because the Parish Community itself is considered the official teacher and guide for potential new members, it is important that some parishioners participate by being present and by sharing their Faith in various ways. It is also an opportunity for “Born Catholics” to deepen their understanding of the faith. Adult Catholics who wish to celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist and/or Confirmation are welcome. For more information, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
Your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses next weekend. Each month, the casseroles are picked up early on Monday morning for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. Lately, we have noticed that many people are bringing in casseroles after the pick up day, meaning that they are left in our freezer for an additional month. Please try to get them in on time.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the 2016 ShareLife Parish Campaign. You have made a brighter future much easier for many of the most vulnerable in our communities by your generosity. For those who wish to make a contribution, you are still welcome to do so. You can drop your ShareLife envelopes in the offertory basket until July 3, 2016 or donate online at www.sharelife.org.
ShareLife to date: $129,393 Thank you for your generosity!
Please contact the Central office, 1155 Yonge St., Suite 100, Toronto (Yonge /Summerhill) Tuesdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 416 921-1163 or by email at info@cfstoronto.com.
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: $5.00
Please note that there are no Just Coffee sales during the months of July and August
Thank you for your generous support of Marygrove Camp. $3,564 was raised to support this important work of the Society for St. Vincent de Paul
Meet and hang out with other young adults! Meet Catholic Sisters, Brothers and Priests and share life experiences! Enjoy a barbecue supper, laughter and fun in a casual and relaxed atmosphere!
Please RSVP by July 15th to Faith Connections at faithconnections@csj-to.ca (so they know how much food to order)
St. Gabriel’s Parish Weekend of September 23rd to 25th, 2016
A Marriage Preparation course will be offered here at St. Gabriel’s the weekend of September 23rd to 25th, 2016.
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.
Note that this course usually fills up quickly and spaces are limited.
Liturgical Publications will be setting up the advertisements for our church bulletin. The advertising will begin in September 2015 and supports the bulletin service. Please support the bulletin and advertise your product or service.
Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week. Collection for June 12th, 2016: Envelopes 392 $ 7,303 Loose Change 1,047 Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving 165 3,009 Total 557 $ 11,359
If you have prior year’s offertory envelopes, please do not use them! Each year we go through the unused envelopes for which no donations have been received and may reassign that number to another parishioner.
| Posted in Uncategorized |
June 12th, 2016
In today’s scripture we hear two powerful stories of God’s willingness to forgive us our trespasses no matter how great they may be.
Someone once said that our greatest difficulty is not so much in believing that God exists but in believing that God forgives. We imagine God’s heart is as stingy as our own. We hold grudges, past hurts and slights, memories of betrayed relationships deep in our hearts. They just won’t leave us alone. May today’s reading give us deeper trust in God’s love and God’s willingness to forgive us, no matter what.
King David was a sleaze. God took him from minding his father’s sheep and made him king of the people of Israel. He was rich and powerful. Even with all he had, he wanted more. He wanted Bathsheba for his wife because he committed adultery with her and she was pregnant. He arranged to have her husband Uriah, a faithful soldier, killed in battle to get him out of the way. The prophet Nathan confronted him with his sins and David admitted ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan’s response was startling, ‘ the Lord has put away your sin, and you shall not die.’
These words sound so simple but they couldn’t have been spoken if David didn’t acknowledge he’d committed the great crimes and sins of adultery and murder and wanted to repent of these sins. These words couldn’t have been spoken unless Nathan, speaking for God, accepted David’s contrition and spoke words of forgiveness.
In the gospel we hear of this wonton woman of the streets who dared to crash the dinner party at Simon’s house. She had to see Jesus again to thank him for assuring her that her many, many sins were forgiven her. This no name woman wanted to show Jesus the great love she had for him because he showed her the love and forgiveness of God. It was not the case that the woman loved Jesus and therefore was deserving of forgiveness. It is just the opposite. He had already forgiven her sins and as a result she loved him. God’s love is always first no matter how sinful we are. That love remains personal and present for each of us, if we can let go of our guilt.
Simon, the host, felt that Jesus should be honored at being invited into his home so he didn’t bother to offer him the usual courtesies of having the servants wash the street dust from Jesus’ feet. Simon didn’t offered Jesus a kiss of welcome. Simon’s refusal to act like a host indicates that he has not experienced, perhaps not even thought that he might be in need of forgiveness. He was more interested in propriety.
There is a saying that even God can’t unscramble an egg. Fr. Ron Rolheiser offers this reflection on our scrambled eggs.
‘We need a theology which teaches us that even though God cannot unscramble an egg, God’s grace lets us live happily and with renewed innocence far beyond any egg we might have scrambled. We need a theology that teaches us that God does not just give us one chance, but that every time we close a door, God opens another one for us. We need a theology that challenges us not to make mistakes, that takes sin seriously, but which tells us that when we do sin, when we do make mistakes, we are given the chance to take our place among the broken, among those whose lives are not perfect, the loved sinners, those for whom Christ came.
We need a theology which tells us that a second, third, fourth, and fifth chance are just as valid as the first one. We need a theology that tells us that mistakes are not forever, that they are not even for a lifetime, that time and grace wash clean, that nothing is irrevocable. Finally, we need a theology which teaches us that God loves us as sinners and that the task of Christianity is not to teach us how to live, but to teach us how to live again, and again, and again.
We are all mistake making beings and that’s why, with today’s scripture readings in mind, we have to trust the words of Isaiah, ‘though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow, though they be red as crimson they shall become like wool,’ and live with and beyond our scrambled eggs.
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