February 9th, 2014
This Sunday, February 9th after 12:30 PM Mass
Friday January 31st marked the beginning of Lunar New Year. For many years, the Asian community in our parish has gifted our parish community with a wonderful New Year Party. This year is the Year of the Horse. Our Lunar New Year Party will take place this Sunday, February 9th after the 12:30 PM Mass in the Gathering Space. All are welcome.
Volunteers and donations are also welcome. Please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
St. Gabriel’s Church, Gabriel Room Saturday, February 22nd from 8:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.
On February 22nd, a Lifesaving Course, including CPR and the correct use of our defibrillator will be offered here at St. Gabriel’s. This course is a 3 year certification course via the Lifesaving Society.
The course is 7 hours long (including lunch and breaks) and will run from 8:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. It is recommended that participants bring lunch to avoid leaving the premises.
All participants must have 100 percent attendance and participation, pass the written test and perform all exercises as instructed. Participants must be able to get down on the floor.
The cost per person is $95 which includes all course materials and certificates. If interested, please sign up on the sign-up sheet which can be found in the sacristy.
Elkhorn Public School very graciously allows parishioners to use their bus loop to park when our lot is full on Sundays.
However, it is important that we not park there after a snowfall since they are under strict time constraints to have the lot cleared for their parents and students.
Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
February 10th – February 15th, 2014
MONDAY – RUTH, GERRY & CHRIS LEAVER – Requested by Sylvia & Frank Leaver TUESDAY – CLEMENTINA & VINCENT ROSANOVA – Requested by Sylvia & Frank Leaver WEDNESDAY – DAVID OBINA – Requested by Terisita Magpayo THURSDAY – TONINO DI DIODATO – Requested by the Family FRIDAY – SATURDAY – GUS CALDERONE – Requested by the Family
Sunday, February 9th at 4:00 P.M.
St. Paul’s Basilica 83 Power Street, Toronto
Cardinal Collins has designated the weekend of February 8th/9th, 2014 as Marriage Sunday in the Archdiocese of Toronto. A special Mass will be celebrated this Sunday, February 9th at 4:00 P.M. for couples celebrating their 25th, 40th, 50th or 60+ wedding anniversaries in 2014.
The event provides an opportunity to honour husband and wife while saluting the faithfulness, sacrifice and joy that comes with the marriage covenant. To those preparing for marriage, newlyweds and those that have been companions on the journey for decades, we offer our prayers and best wishes in a special way this weekend. All are welcome to join in this celebration
No RSVP is necessary. For more information, please visit www.archtoronto.org/marriage/.
We are still collecting Canadian Tire money in support of Matercare International which is an association of Catholic Obstetricians and Gynecologists working in developing countries. This organization is dedicated to improving the lives and health of mothers and their children, both unborn and born, through initiatives of service, training, research and advocacy. Please support this worthwhile campaign by dropping your Canadian Tire money in the collection basket or bringing it to the Parish Office.
Fair trade organic coffees will be on sale after all the Masses next weekend.
Regular ground coffee: $5.50 Decaffeinated: $6 Whole Beans: $5.50 Chocolate Bars: $4 incl. Taxes Hot Chocolate and Cocoa: $4.75 Teas: $4.25
Did you know that the plastic, outer bags from four litres of milk can be woven into quick-dry, bug-resistant bed mats for flood-ravaged areas of the third world, like Haiti. This gives them a practical use since they take 40 – 100 years to decompose.
A bin has been placed in the gathering space for the collection of bags. Please remember to rinse out and dry bags before depositing them. Thank you.
The Paulist Ministry Centre 830 Bathurst St., Toronto
Thursday, February 13th at 7:00 P.M.
We live in a sea of media. From Tweets to your daily newspaper, 24-hour news channels to Facebook. In the 21st century, we’re all consumers, producers and critics of the media. So what do we mean by media ethics now?
With extensive experience in the media, Michael Swan, Associate Editor of the Catholic Register will expose us to a Catholic perspective on media ethics.
Free will offerings accepted. For more information call 416-534-2326 or email Fr. John Duffy, CSP at jfdcsp1@cs.com.
Weekend of February 21st to 23rd
Another honeymoon is a perfect way for a couple to celebrate their marriage. Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre offers married couples the privacy, comfort, hospitality and inspiring program that encourage couples to continue exploring their lives together. The next weekend is February 21st to 23rd 2014….
For information telephone: Father Tomy at 905-278-5229 ex. 225 or Visit our website: https://sites.google.com/site/queenofapostles.ca
Wednesday, February 26th at 7:00 P.M.
Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill 580 Progress Ave., Scarborough,
Faith Connections, the Office of Catholic Youth, and the local parishes invite young adults (19-39) to join us for an evening of thought-provoking conversation on theological topics! The special guest will be Fr. Chris Valka.
Munchies will be provided and a cash bar is available. Come and bring a friend! For more information: visit our Toronto Theology on Tap web page, or contact OCY by e-mail youth@ocytoronto.org, or phone 416-599-7676.
RSVPs appreciated!
Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week.
Collection for February 2nd, 2014
Envelopes 397 $7,895 Loose Change $906 Weekly Portion of PAG 177 $3,307 (Pre-Authorized Giving) Total $12,108
Maintenance Collection: $6,831
Please pick up your 2014 Offertory Boxed Envelopes as soon as possible. If you are on the Pre- Authorized Giving Plan, you will still receive a smaller green box of envelopes since these include Initial, New Year’s, Christmas, Easter and Maintenance envelopes. You may contact the Parish Office if you do not have envelopes but would like a box for 2014.
Tax receipts for donations made in 2013 will be mailed to you by the end of February. If you have changed your address or are moving out of the Parish, please notify the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
We would like to remind you not to use envelopes from previous years as this number may have been reassigned to another family.
| Posted in Bulletin |
Pope Francis’ first important letter to the Church titled ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ echoes the words of Isaiah in our first reading; “ Is not this the fast I want, to lose the bonds of injustice, let the oppressed go free, share your bread with the hungry, cover the naked, bring the homeless poor into your home.’
Pope Francis tells it like it is when he writes, ‘today we have to say thou shalt not kill to an economy of exclusion and inequality for such an economy kills. The Holy Father wants us to have a deep and active concern for the plight of the poor who suffer so many injustices from an economy that puts profit above people.
He writes, “Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
“Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded.”
This is especially true in the corporate world, where often benefits are cut, wages remain stagnant, workforces are slashed — putting more work on fewer people — and unions are suppressed.’
Not satisfied with these unjust cost-cutting measures, which produce profits for upper management executives and stockholders, corporate greed sinks even lower by often taking advantage of production facilities in poor nations where desperately impoverished people are ruthlessly exploited in corporate sponsored sweatshops.
“Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
In today’s gospel from Mark Jesus tells us that his followers, we who bear his name, are to make a difference in the societies in which we live. Jesus tells us ‘you are the salt of the Earth; you are the light of the world.’ In other words by following his teaching and example we are meant to give a special flavor to the way people treat other people, friend or stranger. By the way we live our lives we are to light up the lives of all those whose lives we touch.
Our world is in a bit of a mess, especially economically. As individuals we look at it and are convinced there’s nothing we can do to change it. But there is.
We can speak up and object when people put down the men and women of our First Nations claiming they are all drunks and lazy and we should stop giving them handouts. We can object when we hear sexist or racist remarks in a conversation. We can speak out or write letters to tell our government it does not speak for us when it cuts back on programs that help the poor, the homeless, the handicapped, our veterans, people trying to come to Canada. We can let our politicians know we don’t agree when they ignore environmental issues and end programs that seek to protect and enhance the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat.
We know we won’t be listened to. But we will have done something. We will have made our own little effort to give a different flavor, shed a different light of these issues and matters that affect all our lives.
As we continue this Mass we pray that we always be mindful of the men and women of this city, this country who find themselves in desperate straits because of unemployment, lack of housing, lack of opportunity of any other cause that robs them of their human dignity and reduces them to commodities to be used and then discarded. Life is not fair for so many people but if we commit ourselves to try to be salt and light we can in our own small way make a difference.
| Posted in Homily |
February 2nd, 2014
Sunday, February 9th after 12:30 PM Mass
Friday January 31st marked the beginning of Lunar New Year. For many years, the Asian community in our parish has gifted our parish community with a wonderful New Year Party. This year is the Year of the Horse. Our Lunar New Year Party will take place on Sunday, February 9th 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.
February 3rd – February 8th, 2014
MONDAY – BONNIE SOLMES – Requested by Jennifer Peters TUESDAY – MURVIN BROWN – Requested by Marjorie Lague WEDNESDAY – IN THANKSGIVING – Requested by Carolyn Thomas THURSDAY – STEVEN McDONNELL – Requested by Helen Tackaberry FRIDAY – CELINA DELFIN – Requested by Kathi Leah SATURDAY – DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE CHUCHRA & WROBEL FAMILIES – Requested by the Families
Friday, February 7th from 9:30 AM – 12 Noon
Please see the time schedule on the table inside the Church for sign up.
This Sunday, February 2nd 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.
Sunday, February 2nd at 3:00 P.M. St. Paul’s Basilica
On Sunday, February 2nd, the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. The purpose of this day is “to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels” as well as “to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the fervor which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord.” – Blessed Pope John Paul II, 1997 message.
In the Archdiocese of Toronto, we are blessed to have living and serving among us more than 1,000 religious men and women of over 100 different religious congregations. This World Day of Prayer 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.
This Sunday, February 2nd at 3:00 P.M. at St. Paul’s Basilica, there will be a special Mass 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.
Sunday, February 9th at 4:00 P.M. St. Paul’s Basilica 83 Power Street, Toronto
Cardinal Collins has designated the weekend of February 8th/9th, 2014 as Marriage Sunday in the Archdiocese of Toronto. A special Mass will be celebrated on February 9th at 4:00 P.M. for couples celebrating their 25th, 40th, 50th or 60+ wedding anniversaries in 2014. The event provides an opportunity to honour husband and wife while saluting the faithfulness, sacrifice and joy that comes with the marriage covenant. To those preparing for marriage, newlyweds and those that have been companions on the journey for decades, we offer our prayers and best wishes in a special way this weekend. All are welcome to join in this celebration For more information, please visit www.archtoronto.org/marriage/.
“Presence: Opening Up to God’s Love in Our Experience of Loss.” Catholic Pastoral Centre, 1155 Yonge Street, 4th Floor Tuesday February 4th at 7:00 P.M.
On Tuesday, February 4th at 7:00 P.M. Catholic Family Services of Toronto and New Beginnings invite you to an inspirational talk with Maureen McDonnell, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Regis College, and the Jesuit School of Theology at the University of Toronto.
The event will take place at the Catholic Pastoral Centre: 1155 Yonge St (at Shaftesbury Ave. next to the Summerhill Subway station) – 4th Floor. The topic will be “Presence: Opening Up to God’s Love in Our Experience of Loss.” Free underground parking is available. Pre registration is NOT required. For further information, please contact Deacon James Shaughnessy MSW., RSW., Psyn.D. at 416-921-1163 ext 2227 or by email at jshaughn@cfstoronto.com.
Friday, February 7th at 7:00 P.M. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West
This question will be explored at the inaugural event of the Chesterton Debate Series, sponsored by the Office of Catholic Youth and the Archdiocese of Toronto. The debate takes place on Friday, February 7th at 7:00 P.M. at the Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street West).
Fr. Philip Cleevely, CO, an Oxford and Cambridge educated philosophy professor at St. Philip’s Seminary, will argue the Catholic position. Representing the atheist position is Justin Trottier, the founder of the Centre for Inquiry Canada and one of the country’s foremost advocates of secularism and skeptical inquiry. Stephen LeDrew, longtime host and commentator of CP24, will moderate the debate.
Tickets cost $10 and can be obtained through online registration at www.ocytoronto.org.
February 7th to 9th Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga
Rev. Fr. Ron Rolheiser will be conducting a retreat at the Queen of Apostles renewal Centre next weekend. The theme is “entering the soul through stories.” Call 905-278-5229 to register.
Faith Connections, the Office of Catholic Youth, and the local parishes invite young adults (19-39) to join us for an evening of thought-provoking conversation on theological topics! The special guest will be Fr. Chris Valka. Munchies will be provided and a cash bar is available. Come and bring a friend! For more information: visit our Toronto Theology on Tap web page, or contact OCY by e-mail youth@ocytoronto.org, or phone 416-599-7676. RSVPs appreciated!
Thank you so much to the volunteers who prepared 76 casseroles for January! For February, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of February 22nd /23rd for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. There are now 3 different recipes available in the Parish Office or online at the Church website. If you require more information, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
Collection for January 26th, 2014 Envelopes 397 $7,895 Loose Change $906 Weekly Portion of PAG 177 $3,307 (Pre-Authorized Giving) Total $12,108
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus. We heard of the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove and the mysterious voice from heaven testifying ‘this is my son the beloved in whom I am well pleased.’
Today we celebrate another feast that recalls another event in the infancy of Jesus. By the Law of Moses every first born son was to be dedicated to God. Forty days, days required by the Law for the purification of a mother after the birth of a child, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to present or offer him to the Lord. Then they made the offering the poor make on this occasion, two pigeons as was stated in the Law of Moses.
It was a simple ceremony but it was also a time for the parents and extended family to celebrate the new life that had come into their lives. In a way it would be something like our baptism as infants. At baptisms the child is always the center of attention. He or she wears a special baptismal dress, maybe one used in the family for years. After the baptism pictures are taken and there is a party.
The presentation of Jesus in the temple was a happy occasion, a serious occasion as Jesus, the first born, was dedicated to God. Mary and Joseph were people of the law as was Jesus – born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. As he grew up Jesus was a man of the law even though his enemies accused him breaking the law, especially the law of the Sabbath. In his teachings and by the way he lived Jesus opposed the flawed and hollow ways the religious leaders and authorities used the law to control and oppress the lives of the ordinary men and women who looked to them for guidance.
Simeon was that old stranger who ruined the happy event of Jesus’ dedication to God by telling his proud mother that her child was destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel a sign to be opposed so that the thoughts of many will be revealed and Mary too would suffer because of her child.
We all know what happened to Jesus as the result of his teaching and his exposing the shallowness of the religious authorities of his day especially in their observance of the law. He was betrayed by one of his own, arrested, endured a phoney trial, made a fool of by his guards, crowned with thorns, whipped and marched through the streets to his place of execution and endured the painful and humiliating death of crucifixion. All this because he was a man of the law; “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all you mind and all your strength.” We know too that the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
We know that the night before Jesus died while sharing his last meal with those he loved Jesus said, ‘a new commandment, a new law, I give you that you love one another as I have loved you.’ We all know from life experience that this is a difficult law to live; to love as we’ve been loved. We rub shoulders with so many people each day; spouses, children, parents, fellow workers, strangers, people we like, people who rub us wrong, people who annoy us and are in our face. And we try to live this new, difficult law and as I’ve said so often, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose but always we keep trying.
Each day we try to overcome our prejudices and preconceived ideas about a person’s race or religion, social background or life style. We know it is difficult to see beyond these issues and acknowledge the human dignity and worth of the stranger, the ‘different’ as one loved by God the same as we are, and a person for whom Christ died as he died for us.
So we pray for ourselves and for each other that we will always be men and women of the law. We try as best we can to live the great law of love.
January 26th, 2014
January 27th – February 1st, 2014
MONDAY – MANUEL COSTA – Requested by His Wife & Family TUESDAY – WINNIE LEE-CHAN – Requested by Julie Chiu WEDNESDAY – IRENE CHUCHRA – Requested by the Family THURSDAY – THANKSGIVING – Requested by John Chan FRIDAY – LIVING & DECEASED RELATIVES & FRIENDS OF THE CHIU-LEE FAMILY – Requested by Julie Chiu SATURDAY – HUI SOU LIN – Requested by Linda Law
The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome: Windel Jay Gapuz Tadios who was baptized on Sunday, January 12th, 2014
And Annie Marisa Lorra Alexander Samantha Bernadette Dizon Sean Philip Dizon Peregrine Alice Luxmore Madeleine Cecilia Meli
These children received the Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday, January 19th, 2014.
Congratulations!
Sunday, February 2nd at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room
English: Saturday, February 1st at 3:15 PM in the Gabriel Room Chinese: Sunday, February 2nd at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room.
For information, please contact Linda Law at 416 -918-8029.
February 2nd at 3:00 P.M. St. Paul’s Basilica
On Sunday, February 2nd at 3:00 P.M. at St. Paul’s Basilica, there will be a special Mass 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.
This Sunday, January 26th is World Leprosy Day. Leprosy affects the nervous system deadening the body to pain. As a result, cuts and burns go unnoticed and neglected leading to severe infections. Such conditions can lead to loss of function in the limbs and even result in amputation. Please take a few moments to remember the children, women and men living with leprosy.
Please remember to bring us your used postage stamps. These are passed on to the Leprosy Mission of Canada 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 on the Leprosy Mission of Canada, please see the brochures on the cabinet outside the Office.
Dear Friends, Thank you for making Christmas 2013 a joyous one for the hundreds of young mothers and children of Rosalie Hall. Celebrations were held and gifts of warm clothing, food, toiletries and toys were made possible by you. Your compassion was felt by all.
On behalf of everyone here at Rosalie Hall, thank you for generously sharing the Christmas spirit in such abundance. We wish you and yours a blessed and prosperous New Year!
Duke of York Pub 39 Prince Arthur Ave (near Bloor St W & Avenue Rd) Monday, January 27th from 7:00 P.M.to -9:00 P.M.
All young adults (19-39) are invited to join us for an evening of thought-provoking conversation on theological topics! The special guest will be the Most Rev. Gerard Paul Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines.
Bishop Bergie will explore the concept of friendship with God and how this influences our friendship with others. We will reflect on the importance of developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how this will influence all that we do and all that we are in this life and the next.
Munchies are provided and a cash bar is available. Come and bring a friend! For more information visit the Toronto Theology on Tap web page, or contact Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt by phone at 416-467-2645 or e-mail at faithconnections@csj-to.ca.
On Tuesday, February 4th at 7:00 P.M. Catholic Family Services of Toronto and New Beginnings invite you to an inspirational talk with Maureen McDonnell, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Regis College, The Jesuit School of Theology at the University of Toronto.
The event will take place at the Catholic Pastoral Centre: 1155 Yonge St (at Shaftesbury Ave. next to the Summerhill Subway station) – 4th Floor and the topic will be “Presence: Opening Up to God’s Love in Our Experience of Loss.”
Free underground parking is available. Pre registration is NOT required.
For further information, please contact Deacon James Shaughnessy MSW., RSW., Psyn.D. at 416-921-1163 ext 2227 or by email at jshaughn@cfstoronto.com.
The theme is “entering the soul through stories.” Call 905-278-5229 to register.
Tickets cost $10. Sales began January 10th through online registration at www.ocytoronto.org.
Collection for January 12th, 2014 Envelopes 412 $7,539 Loose Change $1,074 Weekly Portion of PAG 180 $3,461 (Pre-Authorized Giving) Total $12,074
There will be a Maintenance Collection at all the Masses next weekend.
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