December 18th, 2011
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.
Fr. Henri J.M. Nouwen
December 19th – December 23rd, 2011 MONDAY – BARRY BRADBURY Requested by Peggy & Family TUESDAY – DONATO & GRAZIA DI CIAULA Requested by the Virgilio Family WEDNESDAY – UMBERTO INTINI Requested by the Family THURSDAY – FR. AMBROSE McINNES Requested by Marie Calderone FRIDAY – VU VAN LIEN Requested by the Doan Vu Family
Dress Rehearsal: This Sunday, December 18th 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
S.K. to Grade 5 children are invited to participate in the pageant. Please call Susan McGlynn at 416-512-8460.
MASSES CHRISTMAS EVE Saturday, December 24th No 4:30 PM Mass Office Open 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM only
CHRISTMAS DAY Sunday, December 25th Office Closed
MONDAY, DECEMBER 26th No Mass, Office Closed
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27th No Mass, Office Closed
NEW YEAR’S EVE Saturday, December 31st Office Closed
NEW YEAR’S DAY – FEAST OF MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD Sunday, January 1st Office Closed
MONDAY, JANUARY 2nd No Mass, Office Closed
Parking
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 at Elkhorn Public School. Again, please follow the instructions of the attendant. The school requests that we do not park on the grass.
Many thanks to Paul Farrel, the Principal of Elkhorn Public School, for allowing us the use of the school property.
Rehearsal: Sunday, December 18th 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Each year, young people, Grade 3 and up, form a special choir for the Family Mass on Christmas Eve. Children must be at the Church by 6:00 PM. One rehearsal, which is mandatory, will be held this Sunday, December 18th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Please call Marilyn Calderone at 416-618-2041 for more information.
“Moments of Grace from Dark Days” Wednesday, December 21 at 7:30 PM
The annual Advent/Winter Solstice Evening of Reflection will be held on Wednesday, December 21 at 7:30 PM in the Gabriel Room. Because the feast of Christmas was deliberately timed to coincide with the darkness of the winter’s solstice, there is a link between theological meaning and cosmological setting. Join us for a guided exploration of the relevance of these theological and cosmological connections to today’s ecological challenges. Please contact Dennis O’Hara at dennis.ohara@utoronto.ca or 416-926-1300, ext. 3408 to register or for more information.
Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room
Eco- Sabbath, normally held on the first Sunday of the month, will not take place on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2012. It will be held instead on Sunday, January 8th at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room. All are welcome.
Our operating expenses average $14,000 per week. Last week’s collection: Loose Change – $1,100 Envelopes (366) – $7,724 Weekly Portion of Pre-Authorized Giving (163) – $3,194 Total – $12,018
The “Pre-Authorized Giving” Plan (PAG), authorized and supported by the Archdiocese of Toronto, is a direct debit program. It allows parishioners to make their regular offertory donations by automatic monthly bank withdrawal on or about the 20th of each month. Participation in the PAG provides a regular dependable cash flow of contributions to the parish and enables us to better manage the Parish finances. PAG brochures and sign-up forms are available in the Parish Office and on the tables at the back of the Church.
The 2012 Offertory Boxed Envelopes are now available in the Gathering Space. If you are not currently using parish envelopes and wish to have a set issued for next year, please contact the Parish Office. This is the most effective way to keep track of your donations. If you have recently changed your address or phone number, it would be helpful if you would let us know at this time.
We would like to remind you not to use envelopes from previous years as this number has been reassigned to another family. 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.
Be a Sign of Christ’s Charity –“A work of charity speaks of God. It announces a hope and induces us to ask questions. Such works are born of the faith. They are works of the Church, expressions of her concern for those who suffer most.” Pope Benedict XVI (VIS 20111124 530)
The Archdiocese of Toronto is pleased to announce that as of December 1st, 2011, you can support your parish or favourite charity of the Archdiocese by making a gift over the internet using your credit card. One way you can live your faith and give hope to people in need is by making an online gift. Go to www.archtoronto.org and click on the “DONATE NOW” button to learn more.
This is the last weekend for the Christmas Toy Drive to benefit the Catholic Children’s Aid Society and Rosalie Hall. Unwrapped new toys for children 0 to 12 years old may be dropped off in the containers at the doors of the Church.
Your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of December 31st/January 1st for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. Please note that this is a week later than normal because of Christmas; also note the revised Mass schedule for January 1. More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. If you require more information or would like to get a copy of the recipe and a casserole pan, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
In the 60 years since the founding of our Parish, we have grown not only in numbers, but also in diversity. Today St. Gabriel’s is a community that is very multicultural. Our parishioners come from all corners of the world, yet we remain this One Body of Christ.
We are looking into organizing an international potluck dinner in January — to celebrate and experience this diversity of culture – provided that there is enough interest. Different ethnic groups will bring in their traditional foods to share with others. This way we hope to get to know and appreciate more one another’s culture.
If you are interested and/or wish to help organize this event, please contact Fatima Lee at (416) 221-8866 or email fatimalee@bellnet.ca. Hope we’ll get an array of cultures and traditions!
| Posted in Bulletin |
December 11th, 2011
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me.” We’ve heard these words before. Jesus spoke them in the first sermon he gave in his home synagogue in Nazareth. They were read over each of us when we were confirmed.
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| Posted in Homily |
In this week’s bulletin, the Advent scripture series, the Christmas service for those who mourn, and the children’s choir at the Christmas Eve family mass.
December 4th, 2011
I wonder what was going on in Palestine at the time of John the Baptist. Mark tells us that people from the Judean hill country and people from Jerusalem itself came out to listen to this strange preacher who came in out of the desert. Maybe there was at that time a general discontent with the way things were going. The oppressive Roman occupation didn’t make life easier. Graft and exploitation were part of life and life was hard unless you belonged to the rich and the powerful. It seems that true religious leadership was lacking and maybe the ordinary person has a sense that he/she lost their spiritual values, they were indifferent, uncaring about their ancient traditions and took for granted their relationship with God. Maybe there was a common consciousness of dissatisfaction with the way things were going. Maybe the ordinary struggling person was convinced that there’s got to be a better way, there had to be something better than the way things were and they were willing to listen to anyone who gave them the hope that things were meant to be different.
Then this stranger comes out of the desert calling people to get their act together. John’s message was not a soothing message. He called everyone, rich or poor, slave or free, to examine the way they lived their lives, especially the way they treated one another. John’s message was a message of hope; surely people had to change and if they made those effort things would be better. And hopeful people flocked to John as he called them back to basics.
I wonder if we as individuals, we as church, and we as a society might be reaching that critical mass of discontent with the way things are in our lives today. Hopefully the ‘occupy’ movements around the world can bring us to that critical mass of discontent with the unfair distribution of the world’s wealth and resources. Markets are up and down like a toilet seat. There is so much economic uncertainty. Ordinary people are facing lay offs and cut backs in their pensions. World governments will not face the reality of climate change, and are unwilling to make the changes necessary for the healing of Earth. The mindset is short term gain, read profit, let others worry about the long term pain. Time and again we’ve seen people in positions of trust who with giant salaries and rigged deals loot their companies as shamelessly as Third World dictators looted their impoverished countries.
Every year during this time of Advent we are offered an opportunity to examine and evaluate the way we live our lives as individuals, as church, as society. We are called to have the courage to stir up a holy discontent and a desire to make a difference in the way we live our lives.
The challenge of Advent is to clear a straight path for God: to end injustices and be more conscious of the needs of those less privileged than ourselves, to stop wars and the preparations for wars, to put discrimination and prejudice behind us, or in the words of an ancient prayer, to remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.
In this week’s bulletin, the Advent scripture series, the Christmas service for those who mourn, and the Christmas pageant.
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
