October 27th, 2013
I’d like to share a few thoughts on the second reading of today’s Mass, Paul’s letter to his friend and disciple Timothy. From Paul’s strange encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus until the day he died Paul cared for nothing else but to know Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. He said of himself, ’for me to live is Christ and he encouraged all of us to grow to full maturity in Christ. Paul’s life as a preacher of the gospel was not an easy life. He tells of the number of times he was whipped, the number of times he was stoned, the number of times he was run out of town, the number of times he was ship wrecked. But nothing could stop him from telling all those who entered his life about Jesus, crucified and risen. “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.” When he wrote this letter to Timothy Paul was in prison. He knew his days were numbered. As he wrote, ‘the time of my departure has come.’ If he had any regrets it was that he was given no more time to preach the good news of Jesus’ love for each one of us. Looking back of his life and ministry he said ’I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ What a way to sum up one’s life.
I spent some time with a woman the day before she died. She and her family came to Canada from Holland after the Second World War. They suffered severely during the German occupation of Holland. They came to Canada to start a new life. Their first years were not easy but with the help of others they found work and raised a family. She was the housekeeper and her husband was the grounds keeper of a well to do family. Talking about her life she had no regrets, she knew she did the best she could as wife and mother. She was a woman of faith and could honestly say,’ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ Death was no fright to her.
A German psychiatrist named Erik Erikson developed a theory of the seven stages of growth through which we live our lives. He named the final stage ‘integrity’. As we grow older we tend to slow down, we are not as productive as we used to be, and we don’t have the energy. It can be that at this time in our lives we look back on the lives we lived, the good we’ve done, the things we’ve left undone, the mistakes we’ve made. Because of good old Catholic guilt this can be a rough time for us. Mistakes, sins and failures blind us to the good things we’ve done in life. In times like this we feel our lives are unproductive and we are dissatisfied by the life we’ve lived, we may even fall into depression.
But if we have trust in the mercy and love of God, a love and mercy made visible for all to see in the passion and death of Christ crucified then, by God’s grace, we can see beyond our faults and weaknesses and acknowledge the good things we’ve done and acknowledge that when all is said and done, we are good people. We can say, ‘I did the best I could’ and look back on our lives with a sense of completeness and accept death without fear.
Paul the Apostle was not a perfect person. I think he would be a difficult person with whom to work. Like the rest of us Paul was a mistake making being trying to be faithful to his vocation as a preacher of the gospel.
Paul faced his imminent death with a sense of his own personal integrity he could truthfully say,’ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course I have kept the faith.’ Paul knew his reward would be great in heaven.
May we pray for one another that we be blessed with that gift of integrity that allows us to truthfully say,’ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race I have kept the faith’ and leave the rest to the mercy and love of God.
| Posted in Homily |
October 20th, 2013
FEAST DAY – OCTOBER 19th
St. Paul of the Cross was the founder of the Passionists (1720). Born in northern Italy in 1694, Paul experienced conversion at the age of 15 and began a lifetime of devotion to prayer and austerity. At age 20 he tried life as a soldier, but left after one year. Six years later, having had several visions, he determined that his vocation was to found an order dedicated to the passion of our Lord. Officials declared the visions authentic and Paul withdrew to write a rule. He was joined by his brother, who remained with him for the rest of his life. By 1747, the Passionists had three houses and were preaching missions throughout Italy. At his death in 1775, Paul was establishing a congregation for Passionist nuns.
October 21st to October 26th, 2013
MONDAY – KENG OWYONG Requested by Helen Owyong TUESDAY – ROMULO CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ Requested by his Parents WEDNESDAY – TRUDY CHAN Requested Mary Chan THURSDAY – HENRY JANG Requested by Bella Jang FRIDAY – WILLIAM & MOLLY BURKE Requested by the Burke family SATURDAY – PATRICK McGOVERN Requested by Margaret McGovern
This past Saturday, Oct.12th, 2013, four altar servers from St. Gabriel’s Parish received the “Bishop’s Altar Server Award for Service from the Most Reverend William McGrattan, Auxiliary Bishop – Central Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese of Toronto during the 28th Annual Bishop’s Altar Servers Awards Ceremony. We offer our sincere thanks and congratulations to the following altar servers:
Matthew Chan Gianna Jeyarajan Stefania Innocente Arianna Innocente
Each year, altar servers from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto are selected for this special recognition in light of their dedication, sense of responsibility and display of leadership in the performance of their duties.
The parish is truly grateful to all of its altar servers for their participation at the celebration of the Eucharist and ceremonies throughout the Church year.
The Altar Servers Awards Program is sponsored by the Serra Clubs of the Archdiocese of Toronto, a long established organization in the archdiocese whose purpose is to foster and promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
Wednesday, October 23rd , at 7:30 PM
On Wednesday, October 23rd at 7:30 there will be a meeting for parents only of children who will be receiving First Communion for the first time. The meeting will be held here in the Church.
There will be a second collection this weekend for the Evangelization of the Nations, otherwise known as “World Mission Sunday.” This is a worldwide collection for the missionary church. World Mission Sunday is our opportunity to assist at-need Catholic communities throughout the world. Thank you for your support of this important work.
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 to100 years to decompose. A bin has been placed in the Gathering Space for the collection of clean, dry bags. Thank you.
We are 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.
Your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses next weekend for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. More volunteers are needed to help feed the hungry in our city. Please get 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. 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.
Wednesday, November 6th at 7:30 PM
St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish
For many years, St. Gabriel’s Parish has participated in Holocaust Education Week. On Wednesday, November 6th at 7:30 P.M. we will present the film Conspiracy. Conspiracy dramatizes the 1942 Wannsee Conference and delves into the psychology of Nazi officials involved in the “Final Solution” implementing Adolf Hitler’s policy to make Europe free of the Jews during the Second World War. All are encouraged to attend.
Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 P.M.
Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Catholic Family Services of Toronto and Our Lady of Sorrows Church will host the 4th Annual Mass to End Woman Abuse on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 P.M. The Mass will be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Church – 3055 Bloor St. W. (west of Royal York Rd.) in Etobicoke. Light refreshments will follow. Please join us as we gather to pray for all families who are affected by violence. Woman Abuse Hurts Us All.
Holy Rosary Hall Saturday, October 26th, 9:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
You are invited to attend the Toronto launch of Development and Peace’s new education and action campaign. The Campaign has been approved by the Canadian Catholic Bishops. The launch will be held on Saturday, October 26th, 9:00-12:30 in Holy Rosary Parish hall, steps from the TTC’s St. Clair West Subway Station (just east of Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue). RSVP to Keith Gauntlett at keithgca@yahoo.com
Saturday, October 26th, 9:30 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. 1300 Leslie Street
Great buys on good used clothing, small appliances, jewellery, china, linens, books, decorations, toys, baked goods and tons more.
Wednesday, October 30th at 7:00 P.M.
St. Joseph’s Morrow Park is holding an Information Night for students who are entering high school on Wednesday October 30th at 7:00 P.M.
Parents/Guardians and students are cordially invited to attend. Join them at 3379 Bayview Avenue, just south of Steeles Avenue on the east side. For more information, please call 416-393-5679.
Saturday, November 16th at 2:30 PM
A reception will be hosted for our new parishioners who registered with us in the past year on Saturday, November 16th at 2:30 P.M.here at the parish. Invitations will be sent out. If you are new to the parish, and have not yet registered, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
St. Paul Basilica, 83 Power St., Toronto.
The celebration commences at 2.30 P.M. with a 30 minute Prelude of Sacred/Celtic Music by The Irish Choral Society. The Mass of Memory begins at 3.00 P.M. Principal Celebrant will be Fr. Jerry Scott; the Homeliest Fr. Patrick Fitzpatrick. Reception to follow in church hall.
The Mass id dedicated to The Memory of our Irish Ancestors, Victims of the Great Famine of 1847 who died here in Toronto and were buried in St. Paul’s Catholic Cemetery which is now the school yard east of the basilica. To the Memory of Michael Power, the First Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto. To the Memory of the Doctors, Nurses, Lay People who died here in Toronto serving the Famine Irish. In Memory of Family and Friends who passed away this year.
For information phone Norita Fleming 905 881 5012 or email noritasbb@rogers.com
Sunday October 27th from 2:00 to-5:00 PM Mullah Asghar Research Centre, Door #4 Jaffari Village, 9000 Bathurst Street, Thornhill.
The program theme is “Advocacy: Where Politics And Religion Can Mix”. We will hear from speakers from faith-based organizations working for those in need and those lobbying for change. There will also be information displays and a children’s programme. Jaffari Village will generously provide a vegan supper at the end of the programme. All are welcome. Please RSVP to Nora at 416-218-0680 by October 21 or call for more information. See the poster on the bulletin board.
Our operating expenses average $14,550 per week. Collection for October 13th,, 2013
Envelopes 386 $8,849 Loose Change $977 Weekly Portion of PAG 182 $3,519 (Pre-Authorized Giving) Total $13,345
Please remember to print your full name on your Offertory envelope and then seal it.
If you are moving out of the Parish or have a change of address, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 so that we can update our records. Thank you.
| Posted in Bulletin |
Today’s parable is meant for people like us – people who grow weary of trying to do good and are tempted to give up on praying. How often have we had the experience of asking and are convinced we are not being heard? How often have we knocked til are knuckles were bare and no door was opened? How often have we searched and never found? How often have we asked ourselves,’ what’s the use, is anyone there?
How often do we read reports of people demanding an inquest into the cause of someone’s suspicious death, or a suspected misuse of influence by a politician and they get stone walled by those in authority? But, like the widow in our gospel they will not go away, they pester and cajole and finally get what they want?
I read somewhere that the word for widow in Hebrew means, silent one, and a voiceless person. But this widow certainly had a voice, she would not be silent. Every time this widow made her appeal for justice it was in a public gathering – an open court – she would be heard. For all his boasting and bluster the judge was aware of public opinion, he was concerned about his public image and it was probably public opinion that made him give in. For his own sake he had to get this voiceless woman off his back.
So often when it comes to praying we have our own needs in mind. We may be praying for our health, our family, our security, our peace of mind. As a parish family we pray every Sunday that we may live this Mass outside these walls. We do this when we make the concerns of others, civic and public concerns our own. We live this Mass outside these walls when we make ourselves aware of the issues of the blight of our first nations peoples living on the reserves, the homeless men, women and children of our city, the children of this city who go to school hungry, the many desperate young men and women who can’t find work, for all their education. And we make these concerns the object of our prayers. In so many ways these good people are the widows of our time – the voiceless. In so many ways they tend to lose heart, give up. They lack the stamina of the widow. We not only pray for these good people we try to stand with them and work to change public opinion. We can support movements such as Occupy Toronto or Idle No More or pro-life movements or the Peace Now movement. In whatever way we can we try to give voice to the voiceless. We can let our city counsellors know, our parliamentarians know that we seek justice for the have-nots of our society.
The widow of the gospel challenges all of us to give voice to our brothers and sisters who have lost heart.
We have a wonderful example of someone who would be heard in that young Pakistani high school student, Malala Yousafrai, who defied the Taliban order to put an end to the education of young girls. They tried to silence her by shooting her and their act of violence gave her a worldwide platform from which to plea her cause. She is voiceless no more.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass we ask for the courage and the stamina of our gospel widow. Like her may we never lose heart but keep on praying and working for justice and fairness for all, especially for those who have no voice to speak for themselves.
October 14th, 2013
Fr. Brando was installed on October 6, 2013
| Posted in Events |
October 13th, 2013
The leprosy we hear of in our first reading and in the gospel is not the Hanson’s disease we know to be true leprosy. Hanson’s disease is only mildly contagious. The leprosy of biblical times was feared not because it was contagious but because it was unclean, it was dirty and so a leper would cause the family or the whole community to become dirty, ritually unclean.
As we know lepers were not allowed to live in the family or community. They had to live apart. They had to warn people of their presence by calling out ‘unclean’. They knew their place, their social boundaries.
Anthropologists point out that a society concerned with maintaining safe and secure body boundaries is also concerned with safe and secure societal or geographical boundaries. Rules governing the physical body replicate rules governing the social or geographical body. So we have such sayings as ‘you’re in my face or you are invading my space. We want people to respect our boundaries. We set social boundaries for ourselves. We all know of the mentality, ‘NIMBY – not in my backyard – we have our restricting immigration laws and our restricted membership clubs.
We have those who wonder if we are saved, if we are within the restrictive boundaries they’ve set for God’s life and love.
In the gospel Jesus respected the boundaries of the time. On other occasions he touched people, laid his hands on them. In today’s gospel he didn’t invade the space of these ten men who kept their distance, who didn’t invade his space. Jesus simply told them “go and show yourselves to the priests”, which they did, even though one of them knew he would not be allowed into the temple grounds because he was not a Jew.
On their way they realized their leprosy was gone, they were clean and they were no longer confined to their unclean space. In their excitement they immediately thought of their own families, their homes, their friends. Being cleansed they knew they would be welcomed into their spaces. In their excitement they forgot the priests and the temple and they headed for those most important to them, their families.
Except for the Samaritan who knew he would always be an outsider, a leper in Jewish society. Jesus probably wasn’t surprised by the behavior of the nine. When you are raised to believe you are special to God, you end up taking God for granted, they would find time to thank God later. Not the Samaritan, his heart was filled with gratitude as he fell before Jesus and poured out his thanks.
Today’s scripture emphasize the importance of thanksgiving. We all have so many blessings for which we should be thankful. One of the saints said,’ If the only prayer we prayed was ‘thank you’ that would be enough.
But the gospel tells of the social and religious barriers of those days and with that in mind we might ask ourselves;
What are the barriers of our lives? Who do resent or resist entering our space? Who are the people we keep at a safe distance because of the way they live their lives, because of their racial or cultural or social status? Do we have open minds or closed and rigid mindsets? Are we willing to follow Pope Francis as he calls us to be a welcoming church, an understanding church rather than a judgemental church? Are we willing to remove any barriers that make us unresponsive to the needs of the poor, the un-employed or under employed? Are we willing to do away with barriers that hide from us the realities around us; hungry children, single mothers on welfare, victims of the civil strife, victims of the sweat shops of the world? These are the concerns of Pope Francis and he wants them to our concerns too.
As we continue to celebrate our Eucharist may we all be given the strength and willingness to tear down the barriers that separate us from family and strangers. May our hearts be open to all those who come into our live and be thankful for the blessing with which our lives are blessed.
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