March 21st, 2008
The Good Friday service is so simple and yet so solemn. We begin in silence – then we listen to Isaiah’s account of Israel’s suffering servant, a man despised and rejected, a man acquainted with suffering and infirmity, a man wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, by whose bruises we are healed.
After the somber words of Isaiah we have the uplifting words of Paul – “for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weakness, but we have one who in every aspect has been tempted as we all are, let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
We’ve just heard John’s telling of the passion of Jesus, a story filled with the best and the worst of human nature – the betrayal of Judas, the denial of Peter, the desertion of friends, the abuse of power by religious and political rulers – all this set against the integrity and strength of Jesus, Who would bear witness to the truth even though it would mean His death. He showed He would not allow Himself to be diminished by all the hatred that surrounded Him; He would love and forgive til His dying breath.
As Mary and John and Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene and other friends lowered the broken body of Jesus from the cross and prepared Him for a quick burial, their situation must have seemed hopeless. Everything had coming crashing down around them, their hopes were shattered. Only darkness lay ahead – for them there was no light at the end of the tunnel, only tomb darkness.
There can be times in many of our lives when we know the darkness and the hopelessness of that late Friday afternoon on Calvary. It could be a crisis that’s suddenly shattered our lives, the death of one we loved so much, it could be a long standing, chronic illness, or the frightful news, “you have cancer”. It could be a treasured relationship that’s gone sour or the loss of a sense of purpose. Situations in our lives can be so dark we find ourselves on the brink of despair; we lose any sense of hope. Some people would tell us that hope is the denial of reality. They would have us believe hope is wishful thinking of a better tomorrow that will never come. They are wrong. Hope springs from our memories.
Hope springs from our ability to remember with new understanding other times in our lives when we were just as desperate, just as distressed and bewildered as we may be now. We remember situations that we were sure would crush us to the grave, we even wondered if we could face the next day. We remember too that we were not crushed, we did survive, we did prevail, we did go on to live another day. With such memories in mind we know that whatever difficulties we are wrestling with right now we will surmount, we will overcome.
When tragedy strikes, when troubles come, when life disappoints us, as it often does, we find ourselves, torn and hurting, standing at the cross roads between hope and despair. We rise above despair when we remember we have overcome past desperate times and we, with God’s grace, do it again.
So many of the Hebrew psalms are songs composed in times of crisis, but they are songs that remembered God past mercies. Fortified with these memories they sing too of future victory. Jesus’ cry from the cross,”My God, my God why have You forsaken me?” are words from the beginning of the 22nd psalm, a psalm in which past mercies are remembered, a psalm that ends with the words of hope, “dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations”.
There is an old Latin hymn that sings, Ave Crux, spes unica. Behold the cross, our only hope. This hymn calls us to remember that on the cross Jesus loved us even unto death, death on the cross. On the cross Jesus gave His life for each of us. No matter what we may think of ourselves, Jesus thought enough of us to die for us. By His wounds we are healed. This memory, this reality is our only hope. Fortified by this memory we approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The motto of our Passionist community is, “may the Passion of Christ be always in our hearts.” If we keep in mind, if we remember the love of Christ crucified for each of us, if we keep in mind the things He suffered for each of us, then these very memories are the sources we need to face our future in hope – we remember Christ was with us in the past pain, we know Christ will be with us in present struggles and see us through them. May the passion of Christ be always in our hearts and minds as we behold and reverence the cross, our only hope.
| Posted in Homily |
March 20th, 2008
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was written long before any of the gospels. His is the first recounting of what this ‘last supper’ was all about. “I receive from the Lord what I also handed on to you..” then Paul describes what Jesus did and said, He took bread, He gave thanks, broke it and handed to his friends saying “this is my body that is for you. Do this is remembrance of me” – and then Jesus takes the cup saying, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Paul explains the meaning of every Eucharist, “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.”
It’s a bit of a wonder the church doesn’t use the gospel of Matthew and his description of the last supper to round out Paul’s words. Instead we have this surprising action of Jesus and his insistence that He wash the feet of his friends.
The custom of the time was that the host would have his servants make his guests more comfortable by cleansing their feet before they reclined at table for the meal. Hosting this Passover meal, Jesus takes the role of a servant and begins to wash his disciples feet. They are uncomfortable with this – Peter will have none of it, “You will never wash my feet”. Jesus insists, “unless I wash you, you will have no share with me.”
Jesus means this action to be a teaching moment no only for those at table but for all generations to come. “I have set an example for you, that you also should do as I have done for you”. As the host of this Passover meal Jesus, by His example, teaches His disciples and us that we are to be servants one to the other. It was only after this act of humble service that Jesus continued the meal at which He will do us another service, hand Himself over to us as our food and drink, as our nourishment.
Jesus told us, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” When you stop to think of it, we serve in so many ways. The parish family is kept alive by the service of so many people in the different ministries of the parish. Our outreach to Good Shepherd Centre and Development and Peace and the St. Vincent de Paul and NYGH would not be possible but for the willingness of good people to be of service to others. When you come right down to it our lives will be judged on how willing we were to serve others. I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you came to me, you were there for me.
As is our custom, instead of washing the feet of a few we will wash the hands of all – as a way to celebrate the service done by the good people of the parish and as a way to challenge us all to imitate as best we can Jesus the Christ, Who came not to be served but to serve and give his life for all of us. Let that be our prayer for each other as we continue this celebration.
When you hands are washed – take the towel and dry the hands of the person following you.
March 16th, 2008
Today we begin our Holy Week. We are not just celebrating another Sunday. We are entering into the whole drama of our salvation. This is a week of two parades. Today we join in the triumphant entry of Jesus into the Holy City. Riding on a donkey, as the kings of Israel always did Jesus is greeted by an enthusiastic crowd calling out “Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Our procession with the palms re-enacts that wonderful moment. Five days from now we will join in another parade, the way of the cross. We will walk with Jesus as he stumbles through the streets of Jerusalem dragging a cross, ridiculed and made the fool, winding His way outside the city walls to the place of the skull where He will be crucified and die a shameful death.
As we begin this Holy Week the Apostle Paul encourages us, “have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus Who did not consider being equal to God as something to be clung to but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave and being obedient even to death upon a cross.”
What is this ‘mind of Jesus’ we are called to make our own? First of all Jesus is motivated by love, what proves Christ loved us is that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. He was obedient to His Father’s will – let this chalice pass me by, yet not my will but your will be done. He forgave friends and enemies. Father forgive them for they know not what they do. He entrusted His life to God, “into your hands I commend my spirit”.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass and enter as fully as we can into this Holy Week we can pray for ourselves and for each other that when we face critical and painful times in our lives we will have that loving, trusting, faithful mind of Christ putting our pains and struggles and hurts into the hands of God – trusting that as God vindicated Jesus by raising Him from the dead, He will bring us to life and love even through the most difficult times of our lives.
Friday evenings at 7:30 PM. While remembering the passion of Jesus, we also prayerfully reflect on the passion of Christ as it is experienced in the sufferings of our brothers and sisters today. Please try to join us at least once during this Lenten season.
During Lent we encourage your attendance at our weekday Masses on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:00 AM.
Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 PM in the Gabriel Room
This annual parish event is again being sponsored by the Pastoral team. Passover is the oldest festival of the Hebrew liturgical calendar. It has been observed by Jewish people for more than 3,000 years. Passover is a religious family meal celebrating Jewish freedom from slavery. It occurs in the spring, the time of renewal in “Nissan”, the first month of the Hebrew year, and it lasts for eight days. Why do we celebrate this “meal” at St. Gabriel’s? First, this celebration helps us to understand our religious roots, which are Jewish. Second, it is an opportunity for us to celebrate our growth as a community, and be together with families and friends at this most special time during Holy Week. Please call the Parish Office at 416 – 221 – 8866 by Friday, March 14 to book your table of 6 or 8, or to have your name added to a table.
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Total: $5,207.92
Extra Parking at Elkhorn Public School
Tuesday evening, March 25 at 7:30 PM Topic: Catholics in Nazi Germany
Wednesday morning, March 26 at 10:30 AM Topic: St. Paul – Pastor and Theologian
Do you feel like Lent is passing you by? Take the time to pause, reflect and give back in thanksgiving during the final days between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday. Enter into the spirit of this sacrificial season by taking time to think about the Lord’s presence in your life and how you can give back to Him.
200,000 people in need are waiting for a light to shine in their lives. Will you share your gifts?
Together, let’s ShareLife!
ShareLife is now receiving funds for our relief partners at the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace as they respond to the crisis in Kenya. If parishioners wish to contribute to the relief effort, they can do so here at St. Gabriel’s or on the ShareLife website, www.sharelife.org
Good Shepherd Centre, a multi-service charitable agency providing services to homeless and disadvantaged individuals, needs your help!
Good Shepherd Centre is in need of the following items:
Volunteer Opportunity Thursday morning (6:30 – 7:30 AM) Kitchen volunteer to help set up and serve breakfast For more information, please contact Kanwaljeet Biln at 416-869-3619, Ext. 262. Good Shepherd Centre is located at 412 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario. M5A 1T3 Phone: 416-869-3619 Fax: 416-869-0510
Your prepared chicken rice casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on March 29/30, the weekend following Easter, 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.
As you know, on March 29, cities around the world will be celebrating Earth Hour. By the simple action of turning off the lights, Earth Hour intends to reinforce the powerful message about the need for action on global warming. Participating cities are encouraging their citizens to turn off their lights from 8:00 to 9:00 PM.
As parishioners of Canada’s First Green Church, we at St Gabriel’s will also be celebrating Earth Hour here in our Church during that time. We encourage all of you to participate in this important gesture. More about the event next week.
Many, many thanks to all of you who helped prepare for the World Day of Prayer. Thanks, also, to those who participated in the service last Friday. It was a prayerful, enjoyable event. Mary Landry
The 2008 Ching Ming Remembrance Mass will be held in the Holy Family Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery in Thornhill on April 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM. The Mass, which is held in Chinese, is organized by Catholic Cemeteries – Archdiocese of Toronto with the support of the four Chinese parishes. For further details, please see the poster in the foyer.
Married couples: You deserve a weekend to celebrate being together; to rediscover each other and focus on ways to make your relationship even better. A Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend offers this opportunity. Consider giving each other or another couple that you know the gift of a weekend away from daily pressures; time to be with each other and with God on a Marriage Encounter Weekend.
Upcoming Weekend date: April 4 – 6, 2008 For further information, please contact David & Lucy Adams at 905-470-9590 or email: adams@rogers.com
| Posted in Bulletin |
March 9th, 2008
A long gospel calls for a short sermon.
In spirit let’s be with those who gathered at the tomb of Lazarus. We are with Jesus, who wept at the death of his friend. We are with Martha and Mary and their friends and probably with a few curious people anxious to see what was going on. Jesus makes this strange request – take the stone away – open the tomb. The ever practical Martha says “not a good idea, he’s beginning to smell.” But Jesus insists, “take the stone away” and then He makes that chilling call, “Lazarus come out”. And he who was dead came out and Jesus tells them, “Unbind him and let him go free.”
Amazing. To see someone called back from the dead. What a wonder. But if we stop to think about it, every day of life we have the opportunity to call some one to life. Through our care, understanding, compassion, encouragement we may be able to call someone out of the deadly tombs of depression, discouragement, disappointment or despair. It may take just a few words, a phone call, and a card. Just enough to let someone know we are there for them.
I’d like to take another approach to this wonderful gospel. This past week on Monday and Wednesday evenings Dr. Dennis O’Hara led us in evening reflections titled ‘Critical Choices – Passion Responses Then and Now’. He took us back to the Passion of Jesus and the choice Jesus had to make to go on with his mission knowing that in doing so He would pay the price with His life. He then brought us to our time of crisis, our time of choice as we face the serious consequences of what is happening in our time – the reality of climate change.
Dennis used a lot of material from Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. To tell you the truth I found his first presentation overwhelming as we considered the future results of our present climate changes. The present results are frightening: melting glaciers and ice caps, spreading deserts, the loss of forests. What was even more distressing was the impact on those places in the planet that are undergoing these changes, mostly the underdeveloped areas of the world, especially Africa.
Here in Canada we have yet to feel the impact of climate change. We can complain about all the snow we’ve had this winter but it’s nothing compared to what other people are facing in other parts of the globe as their rivers and wells dry up and their lands can no longer grow food. We have to ask the question, ‘what kind of a planet are we leaving to future generations who will have to live with the consequences of our excesses’?
The frightening truth about climate change is that the very life systems of the planet are under assault. We can say that the Passion of Jesus is present in our time in the sufferings of humanity and in the destruction of our planet, St. Paul tells us that Christ is the first born of all creation and in Him all creation holds together. The pain of humanity is the pain of Christ and the pain of the planet is the pain of Christ.
This is a time of our crisis – we may not want to face it but it is not going to go away. You know while I was working on this sermon I came across an article on the Internet; the founder of the weather channel is suing Al Gore for fraud. He calls global warming the greatest scam in history claiming some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulate long term data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Unbelievable. As I said, this is our time of crisis, denying it is not going to make it go away. Our critical choice today is; are we willing to make changes in how we live – how we consume – how we waste – how we conserve – that can help call the planet out of the tomb into which we are now placing it?
The whole thing is so complex. Not everyone is listening to, or even believes the inconvenient truth of the stress the planet is under. Unfortunately, Europe and North America have set a standard of living to which so many other nations strive: China, India, Latin America. But the planet cannot sustain a second North America; it is collapsing under the weight of such a demand.
Back to the song, ‘Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me’. Let there be life on earth and let it begin with me. Ours may be a weak voice but it is a voice nonetheless as each of us in our own way is willing to call the Earth back to life even as we call ourselves to live more lightly upon the Earth.
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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Companion for the Walk of the Stations of the Cosmic Earth
St. Gabriel’s Garden – Guided Sensory Reflective Walk