February 10th, 2008
There is a story told of a young priest asking a senior priest, ‘when do temptations cease?’ The senior priest answered, ‘a half an hour after you’re dead.’
Today’s scripture reading are all about temptations. A temptation is an allurement to something wrong under the aspect of it being good. In giving in to a temptation we are deluding ourselves into thinking that what we are about to do or say is really a good thing when in truth it is the wrong thing. We heard in our first reading that the fruit of the tree of good and evil was a delight to the eye, it was desired to make one wise and the really alluring part of this whole drama was that if one ate this fruit one would be like God, knowing good and evil. Surrounded by so many blessings the woman wanted more. She was not satisfied with being herself, who she was, she wanted to be someone else – she wanted to be like God.
So often our unhappiness comes when we fail to recognize how blessed we are, when we fail to appreciate our own selves and we try to be who we are not. We allow ourselves to be enticed into trying to be who we are not in the hope that this will fulfill us, bring us happiness. And it doesn’t work. We end up betraying ourselves, our own integrity. We allow ourselves to be enticed into relationships that are really not life giving but become the source of guilt and unhappiness. Someone described temptations as ‘truthy lies’.
After His baptism in the Jordan by His cousin John the Baptist, Jesus went into a time of prayer and fasting to sort out the full meaning of the words ‘this is my son the beloved with whom I am well pleased.’ In this self searching Jesus comes to realize that what His Father calls Him to be and do will not be easy. It will cost Him. He is to bear witness to the truth and justice of God to powerful people who will not want to hear what He has to say. He is to bear witness to the truth that the people need to change their ways of living life, change their external religious observances into something more of the spirit. He is to bear witness to the truth of the evil of political and religious oppression.
From the very beginning Jesus wondered, could His Father’s will be done in another way, a less demanding, less painful way. Even the night before He was to die Jesus prayed, ‘if it’s possible let this chalice pass me by.’ Jesus is tempted; He is enticed by the possibility of doing His Father’s will differently. Maybe He would change stones into bread and feed the hungry of the land. This would certainly bring the people back to God. Maybe He could bring the people back to God by doing spectacular things, do amazing feats that would mesmerize the people. This could be a way of bringing people to the Father. Or power, maybe He could have such a power, even political power among the people that He could overpower the powers that be. This would certainly attract the people and then He could lead them to God.
Jesus saw through these allurements. They called Him to be someone He was not. They would lure Him away from being the suffering servant of God Who would be faithful to His Father’s will to preach the good news, the challenging news, the demanding news of God’s love and mercy. Jesus rejected these enticing ideas. He saw through their emptiness. He would be what He was meant to be, God’s faithful Son. He would do what He was called to do, call the people to change their lives and return to God no matter the cost.
Temptation is part of all our lives. Every day we are conditioned to be consumers. We are enticed into believing our lives are not fulfilled if we don’t have the latest gadget, or wear the latest fashion, dine at a trendy restaurant, drive the latest automobile, use the latest ipod or blackberry. We are conditioned every day through the TV programs we watch to believe that uncommitted relationships are perfectly normal and can be easily trashed. No commitment means no one gets hurt. In work and social situations we can be tempted to look the other way, not get involved, and keep our thoughts to ourselves, when we see good people hurt by injustice or unfairness.
I read this little thought just recently, “we sit at our desks working hard, worrying about meetings and deadlines, wondering if we can live up to our own expectations and those of others. Right now we are important, everyone needs us.” I see this as the usual temptation to a god complex. It’s a temptation that has brought on many a heart attack. In so many ways, some subtle, some blatant, we will be tempted into relationships, lifestyles, attitudes, thoughts and actions that lure us away from who we really are, that diminish our true selves – under the guise of being good. It’s our reality.
Our second reading is a link between the tragedy of Eden and the faithfulness of the desert. Paul sees Jesus as the new Adam and His obedience, his faithfulness to the Father stands in sharp contrast to the disobedience of the first Adam. Where sin abounded grace did more abound. We are told Christ was tempted in all things, but did not sin. This is our hope and strength. We are not alone; Christ is with us in all our struggles. As we continue this Mass, we pray for ourselves and for each other that no matter what the allurement of the day or the hour, by God’s grace we find the strength to be faithful to who we are and what we are, brothers and sisters of the Christ Who was obedience, faithful, even unto death, even death on the cross.
| Posted in Homily |
Join us as we follow the path of Christ each Friday in Lent at 7:30 PM.
During Lent we encourage your attendance at our weekday Masses on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:00 AM.
Thursday, February 14, 21, 28, March 6, 13 at 7:30 PM
Join us on Thursday evenings as we watch and discuss a video series entitled THE MYSTERY OF FAITH presented by Father Michael Himes, a teacher at Boston College. If you are interested in attending, it would be helpful for set-up if you would phone Mary Landry at 416-221-8866, Ext. 224 and leave a message.
Friday, March & at 2:00 PM
The theme for this year’s service is “God’s Wisdom Provides new Understanding.” written by the women of Guyana. This celebration takes place throughout the world in Christian Churches. This year we are hosting this ecumenical service on Friday, March 7 at 2:00 PM
Wednesday, February 27th at 7:30 PM
This is an opportunity to spend some time in peace and quiet, to reflect upon how we are responding to our call to be sons and daughters of God. Recognizing the fact that we are “good people” we also accept the fact that good people can sin. Through an examination of conscience we face those sins, admit them and are reconciled to God. For those who wish, individual confessions will be celebrated after the service. We encourage you to take advantage of this celebration.
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 from 7:30 – 9:00PM Please note the new date.
Parents of children receiving Reconciliation for the first time are invited to attend a Parents’ Only meeting in the Gabriel Room.
Total: $8,133
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Tax receipts for donations made in 2007 are currently being prepared and will be mailed out by the end of February.
March 3 & 4, 2008 on VISIONTV.
Father Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I. will be the guest preacher for this year’s National televised Mission. His topic: Keeping a Mellow Heart in a Bitter Time. A powerful testimonial on this topic will be given by a father and his daughter, Tom and Barbara Zanig.
Monday, March 3 – Show #1: 7:00 PM, 11:00 PM (repeat) Tuesday, March 4 – Show # 2: 7:00 PM, 11:00 PM (repeat)
Tuesday evening, February 19th at 7:30 PM
Wednesday morning, February 13th at 10:30 AM
Topic: Vocations by Father Michael Himes
Just a reminder to the altar servers/ parents that the altar serving schedule for March 1 to June 29. 2008 and Holy Week is now available. Please pick it up as soon as possible.
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 Teas: $3.25 by variety
Monday February 18th 2:30 – 7:00 St. Gabriel’s Parish – Gathering Space. Please note the change in date from the last Monday of the month forward to the third Monday. This is for the month of February only.
When your children were born, you started on a path of faith development and life-long learning. Let Toronto’s Catholic schools continue this educational and spiritual journey with you and your family.
Registration begins in February 2008 for Kindergarten and French Immersion at all Catholic elementary schools throughout the City of Toronto. For your convenience, extended registration hours will take place on February 7th from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Catholic school nearest you or 416-222-8282, extension 5314 or visit the Board’s website at www.tcdsb.org.
St. Bonaventure Parish Centre Tuesday, February 26, 7:30 PM Join Syd and Ellen Kessler for this free workshop and learn pragmatic solutions for parent-child challenges.
Mosaic has been invited to partner with the Bayview Corridor of Synagogues group in a Sunday, Habitat for Humanity Build on April 6th. This is open to anyone aged 16 on the day of the build and older. You must wear a hard hat and safety boots on the site at all times. If you do not own them, there are loaners available. It is suggested that you bring your own work gloves. The site is on Kingston Road. Participants are requested to raise $50 in donations to Habitat for Humanity. Tax receipts will be provided. Full details and the necessary pledge sheets and forms will be mailed to those interested. Contact thisisfran@yahoo.com. The deadline for registration is March 10th.
CREATING A CIRCLE OF HOPE is named in honour of Meagan Bebenek who died of a malignant brain tumour. The seventh annual Dinner and Dance Gala will take place at the Liberty Grand Governor’s Ballroom at Exhibition Place. Cocktails at 6:00PM, Dinner at 7:00PM. Tickets are $150 per person. For tickets please visit www.meaganswalk.com or call 416-239-7843
| Posted in Bulletin |
February 3rd, 2008
One scripture scholar has this to say about this beautiful Sermon on the Mount to which we’ve just listened. He says, “Jesus did not preach this so called sermon. Jesus didn’t slave over his sermons the way I do. He simply said whatever was on his mind at the moment and reacted to his listener’s questions. Jesus probably said all these things in some way or other at sometime or other. But it was Matthew who brought them together as one sermon. Then Luke modified them to suit his own gospel agenda. So, seeing any special meaning in the sequence of the beatitudes might tell us something about Matthew and Luke, but perhaps nothing about how Jesus ordered His separate sayings.”
Every time we hear this sermon, this collection of the sayings of Jesus, we are struck by the fact that this is not the way we see things. What Jesus is trying to teach us is what He taught the people of His own time – the values of the kingdom He came to establish will always be at odds with the values that are constantly shaping our lives. Jesus and His teachings will always be counter-culture. We are conditioned to ‘do unto others before they do it unto us’. Its hard for us to get our heads around the idea expressed in the Beatitudes, that there is some kind of hidden purpose in sorrow, some unknown value in poverty, some precious ingredient in humility. As that scripture scholar says, “the beatitudes offer hope to disenfranchised people, and a promise that God does notice their plight and will take care of them.”
Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians long before Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels, but the sayings of Jesus were passed around from community to community. Paul probably heard many of them. He may have had such sayings of Jesus in mind when he wrote his encouraging words to the Corinthians about God choosing the foolish to confound the wise, the weak of the world to shame the strong, the things that are not to reduce to nothing the things that are, so that God’s will and work will be accomplished in ways that confound the wise, the rich and the powerful.
When we watch the news and see the tragedies the plague the world and even our own city and country we can be overcome by a sense of helplessness. We see the tribal violence in Kenya, we see miles upon miles of flimsy tents housing hundred of thousands of refugees in Darfur; closer to home we hear of the plight of our own Native People enduring winter in inadequate housing, deprived of safe drinking water, sending their children to rundown schools. Global warming and its inevitable effects on future generations are always in the news as we hear of governments setting up another ‘commission’ to study the issue.
We tire of it all; we get numb, swamped by the dimensions of it all. We wish it would all go away. We ask ourselves, “What can I do? I’m not the government, I’m not the UN. I have enough trouble holding my head above water, coping with sending a son or daughter to college, paying a mortgage, caring for a sick parent, dealing with the uncertainty as to whether I’ll have job next week. Give me a break.”
Certainly Paul’s people weren’t dealing with such issues, but they had their own. They weren’t all that educated, they didn’t have positions of power, they were not well connected. They were just ordinary people struggling to make a living, dealing with internal factions in their community, facing the hostility of their pagan neighbours. But God chose them to be that yeast that would permeate their society with the love and truth of Jesus. God chose them, dim candles that they were, to be a light to those in darkness.
The other week there was story on the news about this grade eight student in Florida who was confused by the fact that at the end of the evening restaurants threw out whatever cooked food was let over in the kitchen. He knew there was any number of hungry people in the State. Why couldn’t that good food be given to them? He was told, it is against the law. He made up his mind to do what he could to change the law. And he did. Just recently the State Legislature in Florida passed a law allowing restaurants to pass on unused food to agencies feeding the poor. We call it the power of one. God chose this young boy, not wise, not powerful, but a boy sensitive to the needs of others, a boy willing to take a change to make a change. And he did.
Most of us can identify with the limited, the powerless, the unconnected Corinthians and with the underdogs of the Beatitudes. What can we do about social justice or world peace? As my mother used to remind us, “I’ve only got two hands.” But with those two hands she feed and clothed a family of eight. But can we open our lives and our hearts to trust the truth that in some mysterious and yet ordinary way God can use any one of us to make a difference. It may not be a global difference, a socially noticeable difference, a world shattering difference, but a difference none the less. In the ordinary living of our ordinary lives we could ease someone’s sorrow, lighten someone’s burden of loneliness or depression, heal a long festering wounded relationship, change someone’s attitude of racism or bigotry, deepen someone’s awareness of the beauty of creation, help restore faith to someone estranged from the church.
Like the Corinthians, not many of us are wise by human standards, not many of us are powerful or well connected but remember God has done wonderful things through the foolish, the weak, the lowly like ourselves if only we open our lives to the working of God’s grace and power and wisdom.
January 27th, 2008
In today’s gospel Matthew tells of how Jesus began His public life. From the very beginning it was troubled. Herod had beheaded John. Nazareth was not a safe place so Jesus went beyond the Jordan to Capernaum and made his home there. As usual Matthew sees in this decision a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah about people who walked in darkness seeing the great light.
Matthew’s description of how Jesus called Peter and Andrew, John and James seems a bit unreal. Can’t you just hear Peter’s wife saying, “What do you mean you’re going to join a wandering rabbi? You get back in that fishing boat; you have a family to feed.” I can imagine Zebedee saying the same things to John and Andrew, ‘there’s no way you’re taking off and leaving me alone, get back to mending these nets.’ These were all practical people living with practical people. These men weren’t with Jesus 24/7.
But it was from Capernaum Jesus began his long journey to Jerusalem. He travelled from town to town, city to city teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of God’s love for all people, calling people back to God, giving them the encouraging news God’s kingdom was near, even in their midst.
We’ve heard many times before about the expectations of the people about a liberating Messiah who would expel the occupying Romans and establish a new kingdom. They would be ruled by their own. We’ve heard of how disappointed many people were when they realized this was not what Jesus was about. As Jesus told Pilate, “my kingdom is not of this world”. I’m not about power and force and domination. In the end the Roman soldiers made a joke of this kingdom by crowning Jesus with thorns, dressing him in mock purple and offering Him an empty reed as His scepter.
What is this kingdom of God? We pray every day ‘thy kingdom come’ but what are we praying for? I think the kingdom Christ came to establish is best described in the preface of the Mass of Christ the King. It is to be an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.
Looking at the world around us, beginning with our own city and country we can see how far removed we are from such a kingdom. We see the ravages of useless wars, we hear of millions upon millions of uprooted peoples. We know that poverty, injustice and exploitation are part and parcel of people’s lives.
Remember the song, ‘let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me’? We can apply that same thought to our prayer, ‘thy kingdom come’. When we pray the Our Father and pray those words, could we mean to say – thy kingdom come to that part of me which has yet to be redeemed – thy kingdom come to that part of my life, my relationships, my family life, my work situation, my social involvement – which is lacking in justice, love and peace. Could we mean, Thy kingdom come to that part of my relationship with God, which hesitates or fears the holiness and grace to which God calls me. Could we mean thy kingdom come to anything in my life which holds me back following Christ with the same willingness and generosity of Andrew and Peter, James and John?
As we continue to celebrate this Mass we pray for ourselves and for each other that every time we pray the Our Father we will have the willingness to mean what we say when we pray, ‘thy kingdom come”. May the truth and life, the holiness and grace, the justice love and peace of thy kingdom come – and let it begin with me.
Special Masses will be celebrated at 9:00 AM and 7:30PM with the distribution of ashes. During Lent we encourage your attendance at our weekday Masses on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 9:00 AM.
DAYS OF FAST AND ABSTINENCE DURING LENT ARE ASH WEDNESDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY.
Friday evenings beginning Friday, February 8 at 7:30 PM
Total: $9,489
ALYCE LORRAINE DONOGHUE CARA LINH CHAN VALERIE PUIYIN WONG CHRISTIAN JOSEPH SORENSON TYRUS KHALEEL TYGHTER
Tuesday evening, February 5tth at 7:30 PM Wednesday morning, January 30th at 10:30 AM Topic: Reconciliation by Father Michael Himes
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 from 7:30 – 9:00 PM Parents of children receiving First Communion are invited to attend a Parents’ Only meeting in the Gabriel Room. In case of bad weather the meeting will be held on January 31st.
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 from 7:30 – 9:00PM Parents of children receiving Reconciliation for the first time are invited to attend a Parents’ Only meeting in the Gabriel Room.
Friday, February 1st at 9:30 AM – 12 Noon Please see the time schedule on the table inside the Church.
Tax receipts for donations made in 2007 will be available by the end of February.
Saturday February 2nd at 3:15 PM in the Library We welcome all who wish to share this time with us. For information contact Linda Law at 416 918-8029.
Sunday, February 3rd at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room. For information contact Linda Law at 416 918- 8029.
Sunday, February 3rd at 11:30 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. The guided reflection brings an ecological perspective to the readings. All are welcome.
There will be a Family Mass on February 3rd at 12:30 PM.
You are cordially invited to come and celebrate the Chinese New Year, which will take place on February 17th after the 12:30 Mass in the Gathering Space. This is an event organized for the whole parish community. Please mark your calendars! (Volunteers and donations are welcome. Please contact Linda Law at 416- 918-8029
Just a reminder to the altar servers/ parents that the altar serving schedule for March1 to June 29. 2008 and Holy Week is now available. Please pick it up in the Sacristy.
Registration begins in February 2008 for Kindergarten and French Immersion at all Catholic elementary schools throughout the City of Toronto. For your convenience, extended registration hours will take place on February 7th from 6:00 to 8:30 PM.
For more information, please contact the Catholic school nearest you or 416-222-8282, extension 5314 or visit the Board’s website at www.tcdsb.org.
This year we are hosting this ecumenical service, written by the Women of Guyana on Friday, March 7 at 2:00 PM.
Development and Peace promotes sustainable human development through participatory management, democratic control and the equitable distribution of resources. Development and Peace is asking you to sign an action card today after Mass at tables set up in the Gathering Space. To give a voice to the voiceless, a mining ombudsperson would hear the concerns of those in the Global South affected by Canadian mining companies. Information brochures and action cards are available at the entrance to the Church. Signed action cards can be left here if you missed us this weekend.
Thinking about the priesthood? Wondering what it might be like? Then “Come and See” is for you! February 1st to 3rd, 2008, there will be an opportunity for young men age 18 years or older to visit our Archdiocesan Seminary in Scarborough. This weekend will provide time for prayer, reflection and information on the process of becoming a Catholic priest. If God is calling you, say yes… and come and see. Those interested are asked to contact the Office of Vocations for further information at 416-968-0997.
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