February 1st, 2009
Just a few words on our strange second reading and Paul’s advice to those who were thinking of getting married. Can you remember what it was like planning your own wedding? Remember the chaos. There was the date, the hall, the church, the dress, the tux, the wedding party, the guests; the list goes on and on. These are the anxieties Paul is writing about. For Paul, in the big scheme of things, these were non issues. He wanted people to be focused. The unmarried person is focused on God and the things of God whereas the married person is scattered, how to please his wife, how deal with the world around him.
We really have to put all this in the context of the times. Paul and most of the early Christians expected the world as they knew it to end soon. Paul expected to welcome the returning Jesus in his own life time. It was this firm expectation that made him caution people from entering into long-term relationships that might distract them from developing the most important relationship of their lives, their unhindered devotion to Christ. Paul was not against marriage or family life but because of his conviction of the imminent return of Jesus, marriage or planning for marriage was not a primary concern.
But let’s go back to the opening words of our second reading; “I want you to be free from anxieties.” The dictionary defines anxiety as a state of tension or uneasiness caused by apprehension of possible future misfortune. Does that sound familiar?
Imagine the anxiety of people living in communities facing the closure of auto plants and all the associated industries. Imagine the anxiety caused by the word, ‘downsizing’. Imagine the anxiety of retired men and women as they see their investments dwindle in value or see their pensions diminished. Imagine the anxiety of young couples with mortgages they may not able to carry. Imagine the anxiety of men and women who know their companies are planning lay offs. Imagine the anxiety of students at York University as they face the possibility of losing their academic year.
The financial melt down that impacts just about every country on the planet has united people of every land in one common reality: anxiety – a state of tension or uneasiness caused by apprehension of possible future misfortune. We can add to the definition, apprehension about present misfortune.
Paul’s wish for the church in Corinth would be the same wish he would have for each of us; ” I want you to be free from anxieties.” Can we ever be? After we say the Our Father we pray; “protect us from all anxiety,” but can we ever live a day without being anxious about something; our health, our job, our family, our relationships?
I have a friend called Anxious Annie. If she didn’t have something to worry about, she’d worry.
“I want you to be free from anxieties.” Paul wants us to stay focused on what is really important. Paul expected his world would end soon and for many people that’s exactly what is happening, their world is coming to an end, things are falling apart, their old securities are gone, and they face an uncertain future.
Let’s go back in our imagination to a night long ago when Jesus shared his last meal with his closest friends. It was a happy meal but it was an anxious meal. There was a sense of foreboding in the air. Jesus knew what the next day would bring, He would be betrayed, denied, abandoned and He would die. There must have been tension in the air. What does Jesus say to them, “Let not your hearts be troubles, trust in God, trust in me.” Time and again Jesus promises us He will be with us to see us through our anxious times. He will be with us to help us find our way. He promised us we would never be alone.
That’s what we have to hold on to, that trust. We will face these troubled times, we will face our disappointments, and with the presence and help of God we will see our way through. We will find strength and wisdom to do our own downsizing in our personal lifestyles and set for ourselves new priorities, new values and maybe live more lightly upon the earth.
To deny these are anxious times would be an insult, but these are not hopeless times. As we continue the Mass we pray for ourselves and for each other that we be free from anxieties and filled with trust in the Christ Who promised, “I am with you always.”
| Posted in Homily |
Rev. Joe Jones, Provincial Superior of the Passionist Community, with the approval of Archbishop Thomas Collins, has appointed Fr. Brando Racana to be Associate Pastor of St. Gabriel’s Parish. For the past two years, Fr. Brando has been studying at St. Michael’s School of Theology and helping out in the Parish on weekends. We welcome him now as our Associate Pastor.
Total: $10,690
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Number of Envelopes Issued: 1,136 Number of Envelopes Used: 531
Friday February 6th from 9:30 AM to 12:00 Noon. Please see the time schedule on the table inside the Church.
The Family Mass will take place on Sunday, February 8th at the 12:30 Mass. All are welcome.
Saturday, February 7th at 3:15 PM in the Library For information, please contact Linda Law at 416 -918-8029.
Sunday, February 8th, 2009.
You are cordially invited to come and celebrate Chinese New Year which will take place on February 8th after the 12:30 PM Mass in the Gathering Space. This is an event organized for the whole parish community. Please mark your calendars! We need volunteers. Donations are also welcome. Please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029 for more information.
Wednesday, February 4th at 10:30 AM Topic: Come and pick from a list of topics what we will study next.
Tuesday, February 10th at 7:30 PM Topic: How the Bible Was Written In case of inclement weather, please call Mary Landry at 416-293-3760.
Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 46 casseroles for the Good Shepherd Centre for January. For February, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at all the Masses on the weekend of February 21st and 22nd for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. 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.
Registration for Junior Kindergarten children for September, 2009 will begin in our school on February 1st. We are offering extended registration hours on Thursday, February 12th from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Children must be four years of age by December 31st, 2009. Please call the school at 416-393-5256 to book an appointment.
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The Christian Jewish Dialogue of Toronto is again sponsoring the Walking in God’s Path Series this year. The series seeks to stimulate real conversation between Jewish and Christian congregations. As in last year, St. Gabriel’s will be one of the participating institutions. The themes to be explored this year are:
February 11th at 7:30 PM. St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish Church
February 18th, at 7:30 PM Adath Israel Congregation 37 Southbourne (Bathurst & Wilson)
This series will include the participation of Newtonbrook United Church.
March 4th at 7:30 PM St. Phillip the Apostle Anglican Church 201 Caribou Road (Bathurst & Lawrence)
March 11th at 7:30 PM Beth Tzedec Congregation 1700 Bathurst Street (south of Eglinton)
March 18th at 7:30 PM Beth Tzedec Congregation
The closing program will feature a panel discussion between Fr. Paul McGill, retired Anglican Archbishop, Terrence Finlay and Rabbi Erwin Schild, to be moderated by Mr. Frank Faulke, producer of the CBC Series, Tapestry.
These meetings will allow us to further explore the Jewish roots of our Christian faith. It will also offer a good opportunity, for those interested, to meet some of our Jewish friends and to visit different synagogues.
As a partner institution, St. Gabriel’s will be hosting the first meeting of the series. The focus, very appropriately for our parish, will be on ecological justice. The discussion will be lead by Father Paul, our pastor.
For further information on this series of events, please contact Fatima Lee at 416-221-8866.
Tax receipts for donations made in 2008 will be mailed to you by the end of February. If you have changed your address, please notify the Parish Office at 416-221-8866
The St. Vincent de Paul Society is in urgent need of the following items:
If you can help, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866
Pray to know how God wants to use your talents and abilities. Could it be He is calling you to consider priesthood or religious life? If God is calling you to a Church vocation, call Fr. Liborio at 416-968-0997.
Email: vocation@vocations.ca Website: www.vocationstoronto.ca
On Monday February 2nd the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. In the Archdiocese of Toronto, we are blessed to have living and serving among us more than 1,100 religious men and women of over 90 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 councils of poverty, chastity and obedience.
All are welcome to come to a special Mass this Sunday, February 1st at 2:30 PM at St. Michael’s Cathedral to celebrate with and pray for 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.
| Posted in Bulletin |
January 25th, 2009
The Holy Father designated the year 2008-09 as the year of Jubilee for St. Paul the Apostle. Today we celebrate the feast of the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus. It was a pivotal event in the life of Paul of Tarsus and in the development of Christian faith. There is a saying that “every saint has a history and every sinner has a future.” This is certainly true of Paul. He had his history. He was an intense follower of his Jewish faith. He was convinced that those Jews who followed Jesus were unfaithful to their heritage. He was determined to stamp them out. As we heard in the first reading – “I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” Every sinner has a future. Again this is certainly true of Paul. Christ made Paul the persecutor a vessel of election and His disciple to the Gentiles.
In his letter to the Galatians Paul wanted everyone to know that the good news he preached was not a human message that he was given by others, even the other Apostles, it was something he learned only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. After his conversion experience he went off to Arabia and in prayer and solitude sought out the meaning of what his own relationship with Christ was all about and what it demanded of him. From the insights he gained in that time we can learn what our own relationship with Christ can be. We can make our own Paul’s great wish, “For me, to live is Christ and all I want is to know is Christ and the power of His resurrection.” Again Paul testifies, “I live now not I but Christ lives in me and the life I live, I live trusting in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me.” That trust is what saw Paul through all the struggles and opposition to his ministry.
Few people realize that the letters of Paul to several early Christian churches were written long before the Gospels. In these letters we find the earliest understandings of whom and what Jesus Christ was all about and what was demanded of those who would be His followers.
Before the gospels were written Paul taught us about the mystery of Christ becoming human, quoting a hymn sung at that time in Christian communities which says, “Christ did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as we are; and being as we all are, he humbled himself even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high and gave him a name which is above all other names, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This short hymn is about the shameful death and glorious resurrection of Jesus.
Paul gives us the first scriptural teaching on the Eucharist we celebrate today. In his letter to the Corinthians he writes, “For this is what I received from the Lord and in turn pass on to you; that on the same night on which he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘this is my body which is for you, do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it do this as a memorial of me. Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.'”
For Paul the reality of the crucified Christ was the love of God made visible. Christ Crucified was central to Paul’s life. To those converts in Galatia who slipped back into seeking their holiness in keeping the Law he asked, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you before whom Jesus Christ was shown as crucified?” Paul would say of himself, “All I want to know is Christ crucified and the power of His resurrection.” Through his prayer and ministry Paul sought to “put on Christ and grow to full maturity in Christ.” In the end Paul gave his life bearing witness to his faith in and his love for his crucified Lord.
In one of his letters Paul, speaking of himself, describes the struggle all of us deal with throughout our lives when he writes, “the good that I would, that I do not, the evil that I would not do, that I do.” But Paul could count of the grace of Christ to see him through all his struggles, just as we can.
As we continue to celebrate this feast of the Conversion of St. Paul we can pray for ourselves and for each other that our life time effort will be as was Paul’s – to be as Christ like as we can in the daily living of our lives. May the living of our lives echo the desire of Paul, “I live now, not I but Christ lives in me – for me, to live is Christ.”
The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome Abaigal May O’Connor who received the Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday, January 18th. Congratulations!
Total: $8,303
Please pick up your 2009 Offertory Envelopes in the Gathering Space today. If you do not have envelopes and would like a box, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
Tax receipts for donations made in 2008 will be mailed to you by the end of February. If you have changed your address, please notify the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
Tuesday, January 27th at 7:30 PM Topic: How the Bible Was Written
Wednesday, February 4th at 10:30 AM Topic: To be Decided
In case of inclement weather, please call Mary Landry at 416-293-3760
Saturday, February 7th at 3:15 PM in the Library. For information, please contact Linda Law at 416 -918-8029.
Sunday, February 1st at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room. For information, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
Sunday, February 1st at 11:30 AM 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.
There is a single mother, with two sons, who needs a place to stay until the end of March when she will be moving into her own place. Can you help? If you can, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 and leave your name and phone number.
Wednesday, January 28th 7:30 – 9:00 PM Parents of children receiving First Communion are invited to attend a Parents Only meeting in the Gabriel Room on Wednesday, January 28th at 7:30 PM. In the case of bad weather, the meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29th.
You are cordially invited to come and celebrate Chinese New Year which will take place on February 8th after the 12:30 PM Mass in the Gathering Space. This is an event organized for the whole parish community. Please mark your calendars! We need volunteers. Donations are also welcome. Please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029
6 Left – $65 Each
The remaining souvenir mosaic pictures will be on sale on Sunday, February 1st after all the Masses. Money from the sales will go to care for children in the first and only special education schools in Sri Lanka. See www.GodsOwnChildren.com for more information.
Saturday, January 31st, 2009 at 6:00 PM Annual Dinner Dance “Mardi Gras”
Tickets ($45 per person) are now available for the Blessed Trinity C.W.L. Dinner Dance. The evening will include a delicious catered roast beef dinner and many door and raffle prizes. Come and enjoy a fun evening of socializing and dancing to a fabulous mix of music.
For tickets, contact Joyce Egberts at 416-223-2471 or Camila Nowakowski at 905-763-7670
Blessed Trinity Parish Hall Tuesday, January 27, 2009
In timing with the federal budget, John Stregger’s talk “After the Meltdown: Investment Strategies With Guarantees” should be very interesting.
On Monday 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.”- Pope John Paul ll, 1997 message.
In the Archdiocese of Toronto, we are blessed to have living and serving among us more than 1,100 religious men and women of over 90 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.
There will be a special Mass next Sunday, February 1st at 2:30 PM at St. Michael’s Cathedral 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.
The call of the disciples is so familiar to us that we tend to miss the wonder of the disciples’ response, which was immediate and complete; they leave everything and follow Jesus. Can we do less if we feel that God is calling us to the priesthood or religious life?
If you think God is calling you to a Church vocation, call Fr. Liborio at 416-968-0997.
January 18th, 2009
I’d like to put today’s gospel into context. Last week we celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John. Shortly after this event John tells in his gospel that the disciples of John the Baptist came to him complaining, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going over to him.” Obviously they were very territorial and resented this intrusion of Jesus into John’s ministry. But the Baptist reminded them he never claimed to be the Messiah, but that one would come after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist makes his famous saying about his relationship with Jesus when he tells his disciples “I must decrease, he must increase.”
In today’s gospel we hear John the Baptist encouraging his loyal friends to move on, to follow Jesus. They do, at a distance. Jesus knows they are following Him and simply asks “what are you looking for?” In other words, “what is the hunger in your heart?”
They wanted to know where He was staying and, I think the most important words in today’s gospel are found in Jesus’ reply: “come and see.” It’s an open invitation to spend some time with Him, to listen to what He has to say and in that way get to know Him better. By responding to that simple invitation, “come and see” Andrew’s life was turned around. By taking the time to “come and see” Andrew came to a deeper knowledge of Jesus as a person and was touched by the teaching of his new friend. He couldn’t keep this to himself and went searching for his brother Simon convinced “we have found the Messiah” and Simon took the time to “come and see” and his life was changed forever.
So often in life Jesus offers each of us the invitation to “come and see” and spend a bit of time in peace and quiet with Him so that He can help us see how loved we are and appreciate the singular sacredness of each of us. Remember that song from the musical “The King and I”, Getting to Know You? Getting to know you getting to know more about you, day by day. It’s a variation of the invitation of Jesus, “come and see”. Jesus offers us the invitation ‘come and see’ with the simple hint that we spend a few minutes a day reading the scripture or attending a bible class with others who want to know Jesus in a new way. Come and see, take the time to get to know me better, take the time to let me show you how much you mean to me, take the time to let me show you the plans I have for you. We lose out on so much when we find ourselves too busy, too preoccupied, too involved in so many things that we don’t have time to accept His gracious invitation “come and see.”
When we stop to think of it our lives can be so enrich, enhanced, deepened, if we took the time to come and see. How often do we shut people out of our lives, how often to do shut our minds to new ideas and insights because we don’t care to “come and see”?
Because of our preconceived ideas or prejudices we close our minds and lives to other people, other cultures and other visions. Remember the saying, “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind’s made up”? We rob ourselves of getting to know the goodness, the richness of other people’s lives because we don’t have the open mind and heart that would let us “come and see”.
There is a story told of a young couple moving into a new neighbourhood. One morning while they were having breakfast the young woman sees her neighbour hanging out the wash. That laundry is not very clean she says to her husband. She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap. Her husband looked out the window but said nothing. Every time the neighbour hung out her laundry to dry the woman said the same thing. After a couple of weeks she was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “look, she’s learned to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her.” The husband said, “I got up early this morning and washed the kitchen windows.” The story is a variation of the invitation, “come and see”, in other words, “take the time to get to know me.”
Isn’t true that when we observe others and wonder who they are and what they do, so much depends on how we see them, so much depends on how clean our own window is? We can all ask ourselves “Do I allow the grime of stereotyping or prejudice dim my ability to see the goodness, the beauty, the generosity, the integrity of men and women of other faiths, cultures and life styles?” If we do then we are the losers.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass we pray for ourselves and for each other that we set aside rash judgments and be graced with the openness to take the time to “come and see” and allow ourselves to be enriched by the goodness and generosity that can be found in all of us.
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.
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St. Gabriel’s Garden – Guided Sensory Reflective Walk