June 22nd, 2008
Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2008 from St. Gabriel’s School. We wish them a happy, healthy and bright future.
Attention: Those who are Interested in learning about the Catholic Faith
This is an invitation to come to our first meeting on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 7:30 in the Library Come with your questions, your curiosity, and your point of view. They will be the basis of our discussion.
To Our Parishioners: Because our Parish Community is considered the official teacher and guide for possible new members, it is important that some of you help by being present and by sharing your faith in various ways that are comfortable to you.
Adult Catholics who wish to celebrate the sacraments of Eucharist and /or Confirmation are also welcome. For more information, please call Mary Landry at 416 – 221 – 8866, Ext. 224 after Monday, September 8th, 2008.
A camera was left in the Church following the celebration of Confirmation on May 4th. It may be picked up in the Parish Office. If you have any information which might help us to get it back to it’s owner, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
Your prepared chicken rice casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses next weekend for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. More volunteers are encouraged to get a copy of the casserole recipe and a pan and give it a try. For more information, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
Sunday, June 29TH 1:30 PM Mark your calendars for this special day with family and friends. Please bring your lawn chairs and umbrellas. We do need volunteers. If you are able to give some of your time to help organize this great event, please contact Linda Law at 416 – 918 – 8029 after 6:00 PM. There are also sign-up sheets on the tables at the back of the Church.
The 10:30 Senior Choir and the 12:30 Junior Choir will be taking a well earned break for July and August. We want to thank all of these gifted participants for their Ministry of Music. We would like to invite others to consider this important leadership role. The Senior Choir practices Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 and sings at the 10:30 Mass. The Junior Choir practices Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 and sings at the 12:30 Mass. We invite all to consider joining! For more information, please call Marilyn Calderone at 416 – 618 – 2041.
Remember “Those who sing pray twice!”
Total: $7,442.62
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I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your very generous support of this year’s ShareLife Campaign. Fr. Paul
2007 ShareLife Total: $164,652.60 2008 ShareLife total to date: $154,280.00
The Sharelife Office will be accepting donations to support humanitarian relief efforts underway in China, assisting in the care for those injured or displaced from their homes. All contributions received by ShareLife will be forwarded to the appropriate relief partners. Please note that ShareLife does not apply administrative fees to humanitarian relief contributions – 100% of the funds collected go directly to the agencies involved.
As announced last week, please note that ShareLife continues to receive contributions for the ongoing relief efforts in Myanmar/Burma following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis on May 3rd in that country. Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
Through the parish, making cheques payable to: ShareLife – St Gabriel’s – Chinese Earthquake Relief or ShareLife – St Gabriel’s – Cyclone Nargis relief
We offer our prayers for the thousands of families affected by these natural disasters. Thank you for your ongoing efforts to serve those in crisis around the world.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides an annual receipt for tax purposes for all known donors. This is usually achieved by the donors giving cheques from which all relevant information can be obtained. However, some donors have been putting significant amounts in the Poor Box for which no receipt can be given since their identity is not known. St. Vincent de Paul envelopes are now available on the tables by the doors of the Church for use by those giving cash, if they would like a receipt. Either their name and address or envelope number must be filled in on the envelope so that the amounts can be recorded.
Catholic Family Services of Toronto is looking to expand our team of volunteers beginning with the planning and preparation of a special Wine Tasting fundraising event this fall. We are currently looking for volunteers who would like to assist us in our preparations for this event. Any parishioners interested should contact Mark at 416 – 921 – 1163 or by email at mevans@cfsofto.org.
Volunteers are wanted for Carefree Lodge, a Metro Home for the Aged. Carefree Lodge is located on the North-West corner of Finch and Bayview. Please contact Francine Cohen at 416-397-1525 or fcohen@toronto.ca
A big thank you to all those good people who filled the St. Vincent de Paul truck with their donations last weekend. The response was incredible!
For those of you who missed this opportunity, a list of the upcoming collection dates in other parishes is posted on the bulletin board in the Gathering Space.
The Office of Catholic Youth (OCY) of the Archdiocese of Toronto is calling all young people between the ages of 14 and 35 to attend their World Youth Day celebration to be held at Martyr’s Shrine in Midland from July 17th to July 20th. Please register immediately by visiting www.ocytoronto.org or by calling John Dawson at 416-599-7676 Ext. 226.
On Sunday, August 24th the Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows will be celebrated at Immaculate Conception Parish, 300 Ansley Grove Road in Woodbridge. Communal singing, prayers and confession will take place in the Church during the afternoon. A Procession and outdoor Mass will begin at 3:00 PM. Please inform all your friends.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has invited the universal church to celebrate a Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Paul, from June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009.
From September 21 to October 4 and October 15 to October 18, 2008, we will retrace St. Paul’s journeys in Greece, the Greek Isles and Turkey. Paul’s journeys and life are recorded in his letters and in the Acts of the Apostles.
For further information, please visit the Catholic Biblical Association website at www.cbac.org, email Sr. Jocelyn Monette at jocmon@sympatico.ca or call 416-406-4398
This is your last opportunity to get a copy of the mosaic above the doors of the old Church. The 10 remaining pictures, in a choice of frames, will be on sale after all the Masses for a reduced price of $45.
| Posted in Bulletin |
June 15th, 2008
In all three reading for today’s Mass we heard expressions and descriptions of God’s love for all of us. In the gospel we heard how Jesus had compassion for the people who came to hear him. He empathized with their life situation. They were harassed, stressed out, not knowing where to turn, like sheep without a shepherd, no one to lead them, guide them or protect them. In our first reading God’s love is described in memories of what God did for the people when he delivered them from harsh slavery. God is likened to a mother eagle that swoops beneath her faltering young and supports them on her outstretched wings.
But the best expression of God’s love for us is in our second reading, Paul’s uplifting letter to the Romans. There are times in all our lives when we wonder, not only is there a God but does God really love us, does he care one way or another about what is going on in our lives? Does God have any idea of how complex our lives have become? Like the people in the gospel we find ourselves stressed out, frazzled, and not knowing where to turn or what to do. There can be times when we get discouraged and depressed over our struggles with our faults and weaknesses. Will we ever be what we want to be? Then we hear a reading like Paul’s and it can lift us up on eagle’s wings. “While we were still weak, unfaithful, frail and stumbling, Christ died for us. Indeed rarely will a person die for a righteous person. Though perhaps for a good person, a deserving person, someone might actually dare to die.” And here comes the most important message, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” What greater proof do we need to convince us that we are precious to God? God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all. “While we were still enemies we were reconciled, made one with God, through the death of God’s Son.” In another part of this letter following his same theme, Paul declares, “nothing can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
To know love, to know God’s love we have only to look at Jesus, especially Jesus dying on the cross. We need to look at the Crucified, stripped of human dignity, treated as a common criminal, nailed to the cross, wearing a mock crown of kingship. We need to hear Him ask each of us, ‘what more could I have done for you that I have not done?’
Paul tells us, to know love, to know God’s love look at Jesus, especially Jesus crucified and risen. Having been given such dignity and worth by that love, having been justified and sanctified by that love, we are to become the channels for passing on that love to others, especially those weak and stumbling like ourselves.
There is a practical application for these thoughts. The big event, the historical event this past week was Prime Minister Harper’s apology to the peoples of our First Nations for the devastating harm and injustice done to them in and through the residential school system. A system and mind set that robbed the native people of their dignity, worth, language, culture and faith. An apology is one thing, healing is another. We can be part of that healing. We can all take a look at our personal attitudes toward the men, women and children of our First Nations. Do we ever think about them at all? Think on this, when, as a child, you are deprived of being raised by your mother and father, deprived of living a normal family life, you end up having no ability and skills of raising children of your own. As a result your wounds are handed on to the next generation and the next. I don’t think we have any idea of the impact all this has had on the present native people, especially those who have tried to make a life off the reservations. Do we see peoples of the first nations as kept people; people sustained by hand outs from our Federal Government? Do we imagine them to be lazy, unwilling to find a job?
How can we say we are sorry for past sins when native peoples live on reservations lacking adequate housing, lacking safe drinking water, lacking schools, lacking job opportunities, plagued by alcoholism and family violence and a high suicide rate among the young people? How can we say we are sorry for past sins when we still act unjustly by refusing to respect and keep land treaties made long ago?
Can we have the same empathy, sensitivity and compassion toward our brothers and sisters of the first nations as Jesus, Who died on the cross for them as much as for us?
As we continue to celebrate this Eucharist we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we be graced to be more concerned about and sensitive to the first people of this land we call home. We pray for the success of the Truth and Reconciliation program. We pray that the historical event of Wednesday be just the beginning of the process of healing and reconciliation between ourselves and them so that we can be a people restored to justice and peace.
| Posted in Homily |
Congratulations to those children from St. Gabriel’s School who received their First Communion on Sunday, June 8th. It was a beautiful celebration. We promise to support them with our prayers as they continue on their journey of faith.
Sunday, June 29TH 1:30 PM Mark your calendars for this special day with family and friends. Please bring your lawn chairs and umbrellas. We do need volunteers. If you are able to give some of your time to help organize this great event, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029 after 6:00 PM. There are also sign-up sheets on the tables at the back of the Church.
Our journey of life and journey of faith are meant to converge at an early age. For many of us, however, we tend to grow physically, mentally, psychologically etc., but remain at a childish level of understanding our faith. The following information is for those who wish to keep growing, to be able to enjoy the Good news of God’s love for us as members of God’s Church.
R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) meetings begin on Monday, September 15th at 7:30 PM. 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 Mary Landry at 416-221-8866, Ext.224.
The Barron Family thanks St. Gabriel’s Parish for sharing with them the simple joy of the outdoors by participating in the Butterfly Walk/Run. This successful event was held in memory of their daughter Olivia’s passion to LIVERight.
As announced last week, please note that ShareLife continues to receive contributions for the ongoing relief efforts in Myanmar/Burma following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis on May 3 in that country. Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
Catholic Parents of Lesbian Daughters and Gay Sons Day of Reflection Saturday, June 21, 2008. 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM 40.00 (includes lunch) Scarboro Missions , 2685 Kingston Road, Toronto.
A tridium in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help will be held at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (St. Patrick’s Church) on June 25th, 26th and 27th. The Church is located on McCaul Street, immediately north of Dundas Street, 2 blocks west of University Avenue. Mass will be celebrated each evening at 7:00PM. Our celebrant and homilist for each evening is Archbishop G. Pettipas, C.Ss.R. All are welcome to attend.
Fair Trade organic coffees will be on sale after all the Masses next weekend.
Regular ground coffee: $5 Decaffeinated: $6 Whole beans: $5 Chocolate Bars: $4 incl. taxes Hot Chocolate and Cocoa: $4.50
Please note this will be the last sale until September.
What does it mean to be a missionary priest or a lay missioner? Is this something that has crossed your mind or something you may be curious about? If so, please join us for our Overnight Retreat on July 4th and 5th at Scarboro Missions, 2685 Kingston Rd., Scarborough. If you feel you are called by God to be a missionary priest or lay missionary, we invite you to walk with us…it may change your life forever! To register, please contact us at 416-261-7135 or lmo@scarboromissions.ca
From September 21 to October 4 and October 15 to October 18, 2008, we will retrace St. Paul’s journeys in Greece, the Greek Isles and Turkey. Paul’s journeys and life are recorded in his letters and in the Acts of the Apostles. For further information, please visit the Catholic Biblical Association website at www.cbac.org, email Sr. Jocelyn Monette at jocmon@sympatico.ca or call 416-406-4398
June 8th, 2008
The prophet Hosea is really giving the people ‘what for’ as he confronts them with their fickleness in their relationship with God. The fidelity of the tribe of Ephraim and Judah is like a morning cloud, like the dew on grass that goes away quickly. Hosea reminds them that God prefers their steadfast love over their sacrifices, sacrifices deaden by routine and lack of commitment.
Hosea encourages the people to ‘press on to know the Lord’. What he wants the people to do is to rediscover the God Who loves them and enables them to love others. His words are as true today as the day they were first spoken. Let us press on to know the Lord. Know the Lord through our reading of Scripture, know the Lord by finding a time in our busy day to be present to Him in prayer, know the Lord by being attentive to the different ways God works in our lives, intrudes into our lives by the different situations that may come our way in the course of a day. In one of the psalms we read, ‘if today you hear God’s voice harden not your hearts.’ If we are attuned to the presence of God in our lives, if we know that God enters our lives in every person we meet in the course of the day, if we are conscious of the fact that God is with us in all the events that make up our days, then we would appreciate the depth of the words, ‘press on to know the Lord.’
Many of you remember Fr. Luigi. He worked for years with the Italian community and held our St. Gabriel’s Festa every August. He died four years ago on May 18th. I keep in touch with his sister Sue. She is the last of his family. I called her last Sunday to see how she’s doing and she was telling me about her husband who is 85. Sue is 81. Her husband has Alzheimer’s disease and requires constant care. Sue won’t even consider the possibility of putting him into a long care facility. She knows she is wearing herself out caring for him but she said, ‘when I think of how hard he worked caring for this family, 15- 16 hours a day in the bakery, I just can’t hand him over to someone else. We owe him so much.’ To my mind, the sensible, the rational, the pragmatic thing for Sue to do is to put him into a home. She’ll be dead before he dies if she carries on like this. What I got out of that phone conversation of Sunday was a lesson in selfless love and dedication. Sue lives the vows she took at her wedding 61 years ago, ‘for better, for worse, in sickness and in health til death.’ Other spouses in similar situations have made other decisions and they can’t be second guessed – but I was really daunted by Sue’s commitment to her husband. That conversation really made me question my own sense of generosity. If today you hear God’s voice.
In the gospel we hear of Jesus interrupting Matthew at his work collecting taxes. We have no idea whether or not they ever met before. Imagine this total stranger coming into Matthew’s life and saying ‘follow me’. Stranger yet is the fact that Matthew did just that. He left his tax booth and followed Jesus. Whatever happened between them certainly turned Matthew’s life around. To celebrate his transformation Matthew threw a party. He wanted to show off his new found friend, Jesus. Of course the only friends he had were tax collectors and sinners like himself.
When the Pharisees, who certainly weren’t invited and would never think of attending such a ‘do’ saw this, they could not understand how a holy rabbi could be seen with such a rabble. And we have their famous question, “why does your teacher, your rabbi, eat with tax collectors and sinners”? Its scandalous. He should be ashamed of himself.
Press on to know the Lord. The Pharisees learned nothing from the act of Jesus eating with these sinners. When you stop to think of it Jesus does this same thing at every Mass we celebrate. Here we are, sinners all. The first thing we do as we prepare to celebrate this Eucharist is to admit our failures to be grateful for the blessing that enrich our lives. But Jesus delights in our company, He is glad to be with us as our companion and our food. The sadness is, the Pharisees were so convinced of their own righteousness, their own closeness to God they couldn’t understand why Jesus would waste his time with the likes of Matthew and his friends. All the frustrated Jesus could say to them was ‘go and learn what this means,’ I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ If they really understood their Scriptures they would have known this. Time and again God told the people their mercy and justice toward one another was far more important than all the temple sacrifices. In fact their temple sacrifices were useless without mercy and justice.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass having heard the word of God inviting us to ‘press on to know the Lord’ and understanding that God makes Himself and His will known to us in all the events of our lives, and that He delights in our company, we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we always ‘press on to know the Lord’ as Jesus makes His love, his mercy, his compassion and his healing known to us in the ordinary living of our ordinary lives.
Recently the president of our local conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Mr. Phil Taylor, was asked to take on the duties of President of the Toronto North York Particular Council. As of June 1st the new president of the St. Gabriel’s Conference will be Frances Murphy. We congratulate them both and thank them for their efforts in the ever important work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Total: $9,987.79
Sunday, June 29TH 1:30 PM Mark your calendars for this special day with family and friends. Please bring your lawn chairs and umbrellas. We do need volunteers. If you are able to give some of your time to help organize this great event, please contact Linda Law at 416-981-8029 after 6:00 PM. There are also sign-up sheets on the tables at the back of the Church.
Congratulations to those children from the Children’s Faith Program who received their First Communion on Sunday, June 1st. It was a beautiful celebration. We promise to support them with our prayers as they continue on their journey of faith.
Vision TV Friday, June 13 at 10:30 PM (repeated Monday, June 16 at 3:30 PM)
Extreme Clergy is a new documentary series which premiered on May 16 on Vision TV. Filmed in hotspots around the world, the series offers a rare glimpse of challenges faced and met by spiritual people struggling to better the lives of the poor, the embattled and the desperate. In each half hour episode, you will meet a member of the clergy with extreme dedication to helping people in extraordinary and often dangerous circumstances. For a list of episodes visit: www.extremeclergy.com
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be collecting gently used clothing and household linens for those in need on the weekend of June 14th and 15th. There is a particular need for textiles and footwear. A St. Vincent de Paul truck will be parked on the upper parking lot opposite the garden. Volunteers will assist with loading before and after each of the Masses on Saturday and Sunday.
1,100 less fortunate girls will be attending the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Marygrove Camp this summer. Marygrove is funded by an annual collection which will be taken up the weekend of June 14th and 15th. Please remember to support Marygrove and help send a child to camp.
Catholic Parents of Lesbian Daughters and Gay Sons Day of Reflection Saturday, June 21, 2008 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM $40.00 (includes lunch) Scarboro Missions 2685 Kingston Road, Toronto For Brochure and information call John Montague at 416-523-644
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