May 25th, 2008
According to the teaching of the church the Mass or Eucharist is the most important prayer of the church. Right here, right now we are giving God the greatest glory. Other prayers and devotions pale in significance to what we are about this morning.
Every Sunday the first announcement from the pulpit in the Cathedral in Saint John, where I grew up was; “it is a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sunday. One also sins who misses any part of the Mass through their own fault.” If a person arrived at Mass after the sermon they were expected to stay for the next Mass and be present for what we call today, the liturgy of the word. People made sure they were on time for Mass. In those days the word ‘dialog’ was not in the dictionary. Young people were not given a choice as to whether we went to Mass. We did what we were told.
Have we lost that sense of importance, even the magnitude and awesomeness of the Mass? Here, within this short hour we are touched with the truth; the cup of blessing which we bless is a sharing in the blood of Christ – the bread we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.
In this short hour we are touched with the truth, “those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me and I live in them.” Ideally, at this Mass and at every Mass when we hear the words of Jesus ‘this is my body, this is my blood’ we respond ‘this is my body, this is my blood, as You give yourself to me, I give my self to You.”
At this Mass, at every Mass we re-present – make present here and now – the sacrifice, the gift, Jesus made of His life on the altar of the cross on Calvary. We offer this sacrifice, this gift to the Father in thanksgiving for that first sacrifice and in thanksgiving for all the blessings of our lives. The Mass is all about ‘thanksgiving’. To every Mass we bring our needs, our frights and fears but most importantly we bring our attitude of gratitude. Ideally we are here because we know ‘it is good to give God thanks and praise.’ Ideally we are here not because we have to be here but because we want to be here to say ‘thank you’. Together we make this Mass all that it could and should be by our full and active participation in the prayers and hymns of the Mass.
Back in 1994 a German theologian named Karl Rahner wrote these words about the Mass – the Eucharist we are now celebrating: “We commonplace people make this mystery of eternal life so ordinary. Look how the priest performs his sublime office morosely, impelled by objective duty as though he were carrying out some chore and not the liturgy in which the light and blessedness of heaven are contained – and we in the pews – we receive the sacrament as if nothing were happening. Weary and lazy we take the same heart back home from the table of God into the narrow rooms of our lives where we are more at home than in God’s upper room. We offer the Son in sacrifice but we refuse to offer our own hearts. We play the divine game of the liturgy but we are not in earnest about it. Nevertheless Jesus welcomes us all, even if he does not find in our eyes radiant joy and eager longing. Jesus welcomes us as partners in love and companions at the table he provides.
These are disturbing and consoling words. Disturbing when we hear words such as the priest being morose and treating the Mass as if it were chore – or the congregation being weary and lazy and not really be in the spirit of it all.
Yet these are consoling words as well, consoling in the thought that for all our pre-occupations and distractions, for all our lack of radiant joy and eager longings, Jesus welcomes us all, priest and people, as His partners in love and companions at the table he provides for us Sunday after Sunday. One time the Pharisees complained that Jesus ate and drank with sinners. He still does and He enjoys our company as companions at His table of life.
As we continue to celebrate this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ we can pray for ourselves and for each other that as we receive the bread of life in communion we will be blessed with a deeper appreciation of why we are here together – and as Jesus gives Himself to us as our food we will be willing to give ourselves to Him in thanksgiving for His great love Has shown for each one of us by His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
| Posted in Homily |
In 1988, Les Centre D’Acueil Heritage began receiving funding from ShareLife. This agency not only provides residential services but also provides home help and social interventions. Les Centres D’Acueil is the only Francophone agency supported by ShareLife funding. They house residents who are ill, immigrants and people who have a great need of the social services provided. Because you give… ShareLife is able to provide the centres with the funds they require to help those in need.
Next week is ShareLife’s third and final collection. Remember, your gift to ShareLife can provide hope and make a difference to those in need!
For more information about the 34 Agencies funded by ShareLife visit our website at www.sharelife.org
2007 ShareLife Total: $164,652.60 2008 ShareLife to Date: $128,633.00
Total: $11,006.74
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The parish of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome Darrin Nesmerak who was baptized on Sunday, May 18, 2008.
Sunday, June 1 at 11:30 AM in the 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. This guided reflection brings an ecological perspective to the readings.
Wednesday morning, June 4 at 10:30 AM Topic: St. Paul – Pastor and Theologian
Friday, June 6 from 9:30 AM – 12 Noon Please see the time schedule on the table inside the Church.
Saturday, June 7 at 3:15 PM in the Library For information, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
Vision TV – Monday, May 26 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 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 3 in that country. Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
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.
Two of our young parishioners, high school students Robin Ivory and Colleen Shea, will be traveling to Kenya this summer as part of a volunteer group organized by the Toronto Catholic District School Board in conjunction with Free the Children. They will be helping to build and supply a school in a remote tribal area, and are selling raffle tickets for a variety of great prizes to help offset the cost of materials. Robin and Colleen and their families have been active parishioners of St. Gabriel’s for many years, and we encourage you to support their efforts. Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25 and will be available after all the Masses on May31/June 1.
Saturday, May 31, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM 396 Spring Garden Avenue (Raindate Sunday, June 1) $5.00 a wash The St. Gabriel’s Grade 8 Grads will be holding their annual Car Wash/BBQ to raise funds for their graduation celebrations. Your support is very much appreciated.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul operates Marygrove camp for disadvantaged girls ages 5 to 13. Over 1,100 children attend camp each summer. There will be a second collection for Marygrove Camp on June 15/16.
LIVERight and join our local community Butterfly 5K Run/Walk in the East Don River Park in memory of Olivia Barron. Join the fun and help raise awareness and funds for children’s liver disease research on Sunday, June 8. Register at www.runningroom.com. If you would like to contact us or pledge Olivia’s brother, please call 416-490-0134 or email us at p.barron@sympatico.ca.
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.
Fred Speed, a long-time parishioner, is offering to teach English to small groups of new immigrant women. The groups will be between four and six persons. It is anticipated that classes, with an initial focus on conversational English, will be offered one afternoon a week here at the parish. They will be targeted to immigrants with a beginner level of English. Details about the classes may be found on the bulletin boards. Those interested, please contact Fatima Lee at (416) 221-8866, Ext. 228 for further information and/or to register.
May 30 to June 1, 2008
Have you ever wondered seriously if you have a vocation to be a sister, brother, deacon or priest? Are you looking for an opportunity to get away for quiet prayer and reflection to explore this more seriously? Set aside a weekend for yourself and make a discernment retreat arranged specifically for this purpose. The retreat, intended for persons ages 18 to 35, will take place at the Scarboro Mission Centre, 2685 Kingston Road from May 30 to June 1. It is sponsored by the Toronto Area Vocation Directors Association.
For more Information, contact: Sr. Agnes Roger DJC 416-0536-5313 Email: srmagnes@bellnet.ca
Fr. Len Altilia S.J. 416-962-4500 Email: vocations@jesuits.ca
Sr. Kateri Beaudry CPS 416-558-5718 Email: srkatericps@hotmail.com
| Posted in Bulletin |
May 18th, 2008
Today we celebrate the basic mystery of our Christian faith, the mystery of the Trinity. Every time we make the sign of the cross we express our belief in the Blessed Trinity. After the Our Father and the Hail Mary our most common prayer is “glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.” We begin every Mass with the greeting Paul used in his letter to the Corinthians, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.” These are all expressions of our faith in this great mystery. In dealing with any of the mysteries of our faith we have to remember that a mystery is not something of which can know nothing, a mystery is something of which we cannot know everything. Even when we see God face to face we will still not be able to comprehend God. The lesser cannot contain the greater.
In the teachings of Jesus we come to know that the inner life of God is a life of relationships. The Father loves the Son and the love that binds them together is the Holy Spirit.
In our first reading God told Moses how he wanted to be known, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. God proved that steadfast love when God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn us but to embrace us and bring us to everlasting life. Last week we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit upon us all, a Spirit who would teach us the truths of God and keep us faithful to God.
All our lives we are involved in relationships. We are made in the image and likeness of God in that we are able to enter into loving and life giving relationship. In the beginning God said ‘it is not good for you to be alone’. As St. Paul reminds us, “the life and death of each of us has its influence on others.” We cannot go through life untouched or untouching. We are conceived in a relationship of love, we enjoy an intimate nine month relationship with our mother, we are born into a family, we grow up making and losing friends, we have neighbours and co-workers; we chose a life long friend and companion in the sacrament of marriage.
We are in relationship with all those who share our Christian Catholic faith. As we pray at Mass, “May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.”
As we all know relationships can be tricky things. There are loving and life giving relationships and there are manipulative and abusive relationships. There are relationships that help us grow and mature and relationships that can make us submissive and dependent.
The quality and health of our relationship with others determines the quality and health of our relationship with God. Love one another as I have loved you… by this all will know that you are mine, if you have love one for the other. As often as you did these things to one of these the least of my brothers and sisters you did it to me.
In recent times we come to have a deeper appreciation of the relationship we have with the rest of God’s good creation. We are a strand in the web of life that makes up the life systems of our home the Earth. We did not weave this web we are a strand in it and what we do to the web we do to ourselves. Slowly we are beginning to realize that we are family with the rest of life on earth, slowly we are beginning to realize the negative impact we are having on the life systems of the planet, and slowly we are beginning to realize the need we have to heal that relationship.
God made us to be relational as God is relational. As we celebrate this mystery of the Trinity we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we blessed to appreciate the mystery and the possibilities of our own relationships, with God, with the family of the church, with friends and strangers and with the family of life that vitalizes planet Earth. We pray that in all these relationships we will be sources of life, love, growth and healing.
Covenant House is the country’s largest emergency shelter for street kids. With your support of ShareLife, 2224 young people were reached through Covenant House in 2007, providing food, clothing, counseling and recreation programs.
With your support, 22 people graduated from the long-term housing program at Covenant house, with 4 moving on to University and 18 moving into independent or supportive housing. For more information about the 34 Agencies funded by ShareLife visit our website at www.sharelife.org
Tuesday evening, May 20 at 7:30 PM Topic: Catholics in Nazi Germany
Wednesday morning, May 21 at 10:30 AM Topic: St. Paul – Pastor and Theologian
On Monday, May 19, the Parish Office will be closed for Victoria Day.
This coming week, Fr. Bernard, Fr. Steve and I will be in Hartford Conn. attending a very important meeting of the Passionist Community. Like every religious community, the Passionists are faced with aging members and aging buildings and must make decisions as regards both. Please pray for the Passionists as they meet this coming week. Fr. Paul
Thank you for your generosity to the Collection for the Pope’s Pastoral Works. $2,474.74 has been collected and will be used wherever the Pope feels it is most needed.
Total: $7,425.61
St Gabriel’s Parish will again be taking part in this year’s Doors Open Toronto on Sunday, May 25th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. For more information, please call the Parish Office.
Our new activities kick off on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 with a day of golf for all parishioners at the glorious Glen Eagle Golf Club. Individual players as well as foursomes are welcome and we have a great mix of both men and women players. The event is open to both casual and competitive golfers and is followed by a magnificent Dinner and Awards Banquet.
Catholic Family Services are looking for volunteers to help with fundraising events and to serve on the Board of Directors. For more information, please contact Mark Evans at Catholic Family Services by phone at 416-921-1163 or by email at mevans@cfsofto.org.
As news reports continue to filter out of Myanmar (Burma) following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis on May 3, more than 20,000 people are already confirmed dead. More than 40,000 more are reported missing and as many as 1 million people have been left homeless, according to the World Food Program.
The ShareLife office will be accepting donations to support humanitarian relief efforts underway in Myanmar, assisting in the provision of food, shelter, clean water, and medical assistance. The Catholic Church’s official relief body, Caritas Internationalis, is coordinating the efforts for its 162 national members, working with staff in the region. As has been the case in the past, contributions will be channelled through the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace, the Caritas representative organization in Canada. Those wishing to help may do so in the following ways:
We offer our prayers for the thousands of families affected by this natural disaster. Thank you for your ongoing efforts to serve the poor and marginalized both here at home and around the world.
Be assured that ShareLife does not apply any administrative fees to humanitarian relief contributions, ensuring as much money as possible is directed toward assistance of those in crisis.
Archbishop Collins Auxiliary Bishops Mr. John McGrath
Two of our young parishioners, high school students Robin Ivory and Colleen Shea, will be traveling to Kenya this summer as part of a volunteer group organized by the Toronto Catholic District School Board in conjunction with Free the Children. They will be helping to build and supply a school in a remote tribal area, and are selling raffle tickets for a variety of great prizes to help offset the cost of materials. Robin and Colleen and their families have been active parishioners of St. Gabriel’s for many years, and we encourage you to support their efforts.
Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25 and will be available after all the Masses May 24/25 and May31/June 1.
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.
Every four years, Catholic faithful from around the world are invited to gather together to reflect on and celebrate the great mystery of the Eucharist during the International Eucharistic Congress. From June 15-22, 2008, it is expected that between 12,000 to 15,000 bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay people will gather in Quebec City to come to a deeper appreciation of “the eucharist, gift of God for the life of the world,” the theme of this 49th Congress. There will be a special collection for this Congress on May 24/25. Envelopes are in the pews.
LIVERight and join our local community Butterfly 5K Run/Walk in the East Don River Park in memory of Olivia Barron. Join the fun and help raise awareness and funds for children’s liver disease research on Sunday, June 8. Register at www.runningroom.com. If you would like to contact us or pledge Olivia’s brother, please call 416 – 490 – 0134 or email us at p.barron@sympatico.ca.
Fred Speed, a long-time parishioner, is offering to teach English to small groups of new immigrant women. The groups will be between four and six persons. It is anticipated that classes, with an initial focus on conversational English, will be offered one afternoon a week here at the parish. They will be targeted to immigrants with a beginner level of English. Details about the classes may be found on the bulletin boards. Those interested, please contact Fatima Lee at (416) 221 – 8866, Ext. 228 for further information and/or to register.
May 12th, 2008
On May 6, 2008, some of the classes from St. Gabriel’s school visited the Jaffari Islamic Centre and Temple Har Zion in Thornhill. They had an enjoyable time with the Iman and Rabbi Cory Weiss. Temple Har Zion had its beginnings at St. Gabriel’s lower church back in 1997 and St. Gabriel’s and Har Zion have had an ongoing relationship ever since.
| Posted in Events |
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