June 29th, 2008
Total: $9,511.89
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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 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 after Monday, September 8th, 2008.
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!”
Catholic Cemeteries – Archdiocese of Toronto wishes to invite all families within the Archdiocese of Toronto to participate in the Annual Mass for the Faithful Departed on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 7:00PM. Cemetery locations and celebrants for this year’s annual Mass are as follows: Holy Cross, Thornhill – Most Rev. Richard Grecco Mount Hope, Toronto – Rev. Msgr. Marco Laurencic
A Marriage Preparation Course will take place at St. Gabriel’s Church on the weekend of October 24th to 26th. If you are interested, please contact the Parish Office. Register early as space is limited.
During the summer, casseroles will be collected on the weekends of July 26/27 and August 30/31. More volunteers are encouraged to get a copy of the recipe and a pan and give it a try. For more information, please call Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
We thank the parishioners of the Archdiocese who have contributed to the recent relief efforts in China and Myanmar (Burma). A total of $181,123 was reported for Myanmar. A final total for China is not yet available.
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.
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 by visiting www.ocytoronto.org or 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. 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
2007 ShareLife Total: $164,652.60 2008 ShareLife to Date: $157,860.00
| Posted in Bulletin |
June 22nd, 2008
Just a few words on today’s gospel. Jesus is sending His disciples to proclaim the Good News. In a way He wants them to be like Jeremiah, to be of good courage and speak all the louder when the powers that be demand silence. He gives His disciples and the future church the task of moving from the private to the public forum, from the whisper to the proclamation, from the dark to the light. This would be a costly task but they were to trust the truth that they would never be alone – He would be with them, they were of more value than sparrows and the very hairs on their head were numbered.
Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. What is it in our day that can destroy our souls, deaden our spirits?
You probably heard this example before: if you take a frog and put it in a pot of boiling water the frog will immediately leap out of the pot. If you take that same frog and put it in a pot of lukewarm water and then gradually turn up the heat you will end up boiling the frog.
I think that what can kill our souls, our spirits is not something that shocks and alarms us, it is something more sinister, more devious. What can destroy our souls could a pervading mind set or attitude that we never have the courage to question and gradually may have become our own. We can ask ourselves have we become desensitized to ways of thinking, acting and relating that are basically unchristian, un-Christ-like.
Take these examples: We can loose our Christian sense of justice when we allow ourselves to get used to the reality of men and women living on the streets, when we accept homelessness as something normal, when we are not bothered by the number of working poor in our city, when we think food banks are here to stay. These are the mind sets that can steal our souls of any sense of care and concern for our brothers and sisters in need.
We lose our Christian sense of the dignity and worth of the human person when we allow ourselves to become numb to wrongness of the recreational sex seen on so many TV shows, when we see as normal using and abusing other people, not as persons worthy of respect, but as objects to be used for pleasure, and when we see as normal or typical, relationships devoid of any sense of commitment or loyalty.
We loose our Christian sense of honesty and integrity when imagine it to be ok to cheat on expense accounts or taxes, when we betray the trust others put in us, when we see advantages as there for the taking because that’s just the way things are done in business or politics.
We lose our sense of our own worth when we see human life as disposable, when we see the number of abortions in the country as just another statistic or when we buy into the mind set that our seniors, who have contributed so much to our community through the years, as financial burdens on our health system, and the chronically ill as people who should be, for want of a better term, put down. We lose our sense of human worth and dignity when we find ourselves in favor of the death penalty.
We lose our sense of integrity when we are not bothered that commitments and vows are so lightly broken and lives are broken.
Mindsets, these attitudes such as these, that are so common in our society are like the lukewarm water that slowly boils the souls right out of us and we lose our identity as Christian men and women.
The important thing here is to face head on the attitudes and mindsets that are hurting our souls, killing our spirits. What present day powers are dominating our hearts, our ways of choosing and acting? How we live our lives as Christian men and women should actually insult and assault the pretending powers of our times. Jesus always meant us to be a cut above and counter-culture to the times. “You have heard it said by the ancients, love your neighbour and hate your enemies … but I say to you”. Jesus is always calling us to new ways of living, loving and relating.
Let’s face it, there are all kinds of attitudes and mindsets, ways of acting and relating to others, that if we let them become our own, can deaden any Christian value and virtue that we have.
So as we continue to celebrate this Mass we can pray for ourselves and for each other that by the mindsets and attitudes by which we live, our lives may always bear witness to the teaching of Jesus so that we always acknowledge him before others.
| Posted in Homily |
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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