April 6th, 2007
In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us that Jesus did not consider being equal to God as something to be clung to, He emptied Himself, taking to Himself the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
God, in Jesus accepted the limitations of human life, including suffering and death, but in doing this, he had not ceased being God. God the creator chose to live as a creature; The Creator had come under the power of his creation. Thus the suffering servant, repulsive in appearance – despised and rejected, diminished, a person of suffering, struck down and afflicted – a person of no account, ridiculed, wounded, crushed, punished, bruised, oppressed, cut off from the land of the living, silently slaughtered and buried with the wicked – Jesus becomes the companion of all who suffer.
Because of this day we call Good Friday and all that happened on this day we know ours is the God of our Calvary’s – ours is the God of the emergency room, ours is the God of the AIDS hospice, the homeless shelter, our is the God of the food bank, ours is the God of the broken family and the abused child. Because of this Friday we call ‘good’ ours is the God of failed relationships, the God of fragile bodies and faltering steps and shattered hearts. Because of this Friday we call Good, God has been and always is in our darkest place, God is in even those places we are sure God is not.
Last year I had a number of young people from Temple Sinai visit St. Gabriel’s. They wanted to learn more about our Catholic faith. One of the students asked the question “why do you call it Good Friday?” All I could answer was, “It was rough on Jesus but good for us.” His was the punishment that made us whole and by His wounds we are healed.
Jesus spent three years teaching love and living love. This Friday we call ‘good’ is the final witness of God’s love for all creation. Greater love than this no one has than that one lay down one’s life for one’s friends – but what proves God’s love for us is that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
The crucified Christ is not a symbol of a failed life – the crucified Christ is the end term of a life of unlimited love.
At the last meal with His friends Jesus taught them, ‘as I have loved you, so you love one another.’ These simple words call us to relieve suffering in all its forms whether we meet that suffering in broken hearts or broken homes, among our own or among strangers.
As followers of the crucified we cannot be insensitive to the suffering of others. We can be concerned about the sufferings in such places as Darbur or Iraq but the strange thing is, we can be oblivious to the sufferings under our own roofs, in our own lives. Christ suffers in our own homes in those wounded by abusive language or psychological abuse. Christ is rejected today in those alienated by family feuds, those we exclude from our lives because of racism or sexism. Christ suffers today in those good people, who because of our indifference, our lack of sympathy and our insensitivity, are shut out of our lives. Because we are inundated every day of the week by scenes of human sufferings around the globe, Christ suffers today in our brothers and sisters, at home and abroad when we allow ourselves to be desensitized to their suffering. Christ, the first born of all creation, suffers today in the ruination of planet Earth, the pollution of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the very soil that sustains us. Christ suffers today in the diminishment of our very home, planet Earth.
On this Friday we call good, with the suffering of Christ before us, as we come to reverence His cross at the end of our service – as we touch the cross we can ask Jesus Crucified to give us the grace to see Him in the men, women and children we see to be suffering – and ask Him to give us the generosity to come to their aid and relieve their pain in any way we can and may the passion of Christ be always in our minds and hearts.
| Posted in Homily |
April 5th, 2007
Henri Nouwen has a beautiful reflection that can set the tone for this evening’s reflection. He writes, “Every time we take bread, bless it, break it and give it, we summarize the whole movement of God’s love. And during your lifetime Jesus will take you, bless you, break you and give you. We must grow to realize and accept that before we are broken, we have been blessed. We are not broken because of fault but because we are blessed sons and daughter, like Jesus. Our brokenness allows for us to be given to the world as bread for the world and in solidarity with all our brothers and sisters. We constantly see Jesus doing this, he takes, he blesses, he breaks and he gives. That’s what he does. Let’s not forget that. Like Jesus, we have been taken, blest, broken and given because we are beloved sons and daughters from our very beginning.
In our second reading we have Paul taking us back to that holy meal in which Jesus, takes, blesses, breaks and gives the bread that is his very self – taking, blessing and giving wine that is his very self and commanding us to do this – this blessing, breaking and giving in His memory.
In the gospel we see Jesus acting as a servant and inviting us to be servants to each other – you also should do as I have done to you.
But how do we come to such a sense of service, of being there when others need us? How do come to that awareness of being so much a part of the parish family that we want to offer our gifts in service to the parish family, in service to the church. How do we come to see those in need as our brothers and sisters and meet their needs by being involved in public service?
Like the bread used at Mass we need to be blessed, broken and given. We are blessed – before the world began God chose us in Christ to be his adopted sons and daughters – we are blessed in the life giving waters of baptisms which witnesses to our being chosen.
We are broken – unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a grain. When through the grace of God the hard shell of our selfishness and self-centeredness is broken, then we are able to come to life and serve the needs of others – knowing them as brothers and sisters.
We are given when, through God’s grace we are willing to live this Mass inside and outside these walls in the lives we live, in the work we do, in the prayers we pray and in the service we give. And we have the strengthen and generosity to do that when we are nourished by the life giving bread of life, Jesus – who is blessed, broken and given for us at every Mass we celebrate.
In the gospel we hear how Jesus took off his outer robe and wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the feet of his friends. Tonight we can take off our outer robes of self importance, pride, haughtiness, superiority and instead of washing the feet of a few we wash the hands of all. When your hands are washed we ask you to take the towel and wait for the next person to have his/her hands washed and then you dry their hands.
As we continue to celebrate this holy night we can pray for ourselves and each other that like Jesus before us we may open our lives to be blessed, broken and given for the life of the world.
April 1st, 2007
Today is April Fool’s Day. It’s appropriate that we celebrate Palm Sunday on this day. In the gospel for the blessing of the palms, we hear of Jesus’ triumphal entry into the holy city. As they spread palm branches on the road to hold down the dust as they sang these beautiful words, ‘Blessed is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord.’
The reading of the Passion shows us just how shallow was the triumph of Palm Sunday. Within days the Jesus they welcomed would be the Jesus they rejected. Within days the King they welcomed would be crowned with thorns, draped in a purple army cloak, his scepter and empty reed. April Fool. Jesus would be mocked, ridiculed and shamed. Those He treated as friends, companions would deny, betray and abandon Him. Years later, reflecting on all these events, St. Paul would write, ‘it’s the foolish things God has chosen to confound the wise, the weak things God has chosen to confound the powerful.’ It is through the foolishness, this weakness, this humiliation of Jesus we have come to the wisdom of God, the power of God and the glory of God.
As we begin this Holy Week St. Paul encourages us to ‘have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus Who was obedient even to death on the cross.’ Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Who was fool enough to say to the Father, ‘not my will but Your’s be done.’ Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus Who was fool enough to trust His Father no matter how desperate things became, no matter how cruelly friends deserted Him, no matter how abandoned He felt, even on the cross.
Be foolish enough to hand our lives over to God, be foolish enough to try to live our lives as Jesus lived His, be foolish enough to love as He loved, forgive as He forgave – be foolish enough to see through the shame and emptiness of the values and life styles our times see as so important, so with it.
There are those who see us as fools, hood winked for being so naïve as to believe in God, believe in Jesus, believe in His resurrection – especially for believing in the church – how dumb can we be?
As we continue to celebrate this Mass on April Fools Day we can pray for ourselves and for each other that we be blessed with the mind of Christ and be foolish enough to hand our hopes and fears and all our lives over to God and in great trust in God’s love for us echo the words of Jesus -‘not my will but your will be done.’
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Total: $10,063
Wednesday, April 11th 7:30 – 9:00 PM This meeting is for the parents of children receiving Communion for the first time. (Gabriel Room)
Wednesday, April 11th 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM in St. Gabriel’s School Gym All candidates please attend.
Wednesday, April 18th 7:30 – 9:00 PM This meeting is for the parents of children receiving Confirmation. (Gabriel Room)
Tuesday, April 24th 7:30 PM at St. Gabriel’s Church
Vivian Ng has been the Program Coordinator of our Children’s Faith Program for the past 7 years. She has done an outstanding job and on behalf of the students and parents of our Children’s Faith Program, I want to thank her. Vivian is retiring at the end of this school year. We are in need of a replacement. Our Children’s Faith Program consists of about 20 classes, held at St. Gabriel’s School during the school year. The classes run from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM every other Sunday morning. We are hoping that some of the parents whose children benefit from this program will come forward to co-ordinate the program. If you are interested in helping, please call the parish office and we will send you a job description of what is involved. Please give this appeal serious consideration, especially if your child is in the Children’s Faith Program. Fr. Paul
A huge thank you to Marianne Zin-Orlowski, Suzanne Kilgore, Joseph Orlowski and Alex Seredenko for the marvelous concert on March 4th. It was a splendid program that was well attended and received.
Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 55 casseroles for the Centre in March. For April, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of April 28/29 for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. More volunteers are encouraged to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. If you require more information or would like to get a copy of the recipe and a casserole pan, contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
April 10th 7:30 – 9:00PM Library TOPIC: “OTHER SEPARATIONS FROM THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH”
April 18th 10:30AM – 12 NOON Library TOPIC: VATICAN II – THEN AND NOW
April 19th 7:30PM Gabriel Room TOPIC: WATER
organized by MOSAIC INTERFAITH takes place on EARTH DAY, April 22nd from 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM. This is for youth aged 13 – 16 years old. Workshops will be on how to “green” your faith community. Material & curriculum will be provided by “Faith and the Common Good”. The program will begin at Temple Har Zion; lunch at Ja’ffari Islamic Centre; then to St. Gabriel’s for a tour and wrap up sessions. Participants would commit to a follow-up visit to a MOSAIC congregation. To register call Nora at 416-218-0680. Registration is limited. Further info is also on the bulletin boards.
AVA SIANA MAMMOLITI MARCUS PALERMO EMILY SHEILAGH DEUEL MAXXIMUS TRAN XAVIER TRAN ADAMO NUNZIO MOGDAN HONG DUC CHENG KENNETH TYLER SAULNIER-WALTON CONNOR DUNCAN MacPHERSON JOSHUA PAUL MacPHERSON CAYDEN TREVOR LLOYD THOMAS SEBASTIAN CARRERO SHAYNA MIKELLA MANANGAN
| Posted in Bulletin |
March 25th, 2007
This Sunday is ShareLife Sunday. The ShareLife Appeal has been part of our lives as members of this Archdiocese. From the very beginning St. Gabriel’s Parish has been front and center in supporting this appeal which maintains the 34 Catholic agencies that serve the needs of thousands of men, women and children throughout the Archdiocese.
If you are registered with the parish then you have already received a letter from our new Archbishop, Thomas Collins asking you to support this year’s ShareLife Appeal.
I like the three stage approach he offers for you to consider as you decide how generously you will support ShareLife – Recognize, Reflect, and Respond.
Our second reading in today’s Mass gives us a great example of what a transformation can take place in our lives when we take the time to recognize, reflect and respond.
St. Paul is telling the Philippians about his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul was heading to that city to arrest any man or woman who followed the teaching of Jesus and dared to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. For Paul this was blasphemy. Without warning a blazing light blinds Paul. He hears the question, ‘Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ Naturally Paul asks, ‘who are you Lord? And Jesus gives the answer that will make all the difference in Paul’s life, ‘I am Jesus who you are persecuting.’
From that moment on Paul considered all things as loss, as nothing, compared to his knowing Jesus as his Lord. Paul could have had a very successful career as a Rabbi, a teacher. He was studying under a genius named Gamaliel; he was well connected with the Pharisees and the priests of the Temple. It was at their bidding he was persecuting those who followed Christ. He could have had a great future. And then he had that short encounter with Christ.
Paul came to recognize who Jesus is – the Christ, the Messiah. He spent years reflecting on this truth and how it touched his life. He would suffer the loss of all things, see them for the rubbish they were if order to gain Christ – to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Paul knew he would come to that power only if he was willing to share in the suffering of Christ – which Paul did as he lived through the joys and sufferings, the hopes and the disappointments through all those years he preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul responded to the gift he was offered on the road to Damascus by giving his life completely to Christ, so much so that Paul would say of himself – ‘I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me and the life I live, I live trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave His life for me.’
In reflecting on the words of Jesus on that road to Damascus – I am Jesus whom you are persecuting – Paul came to know that Jesus was in every person he met, man or woman, friend or foe – in that person Paul met and served and loved Jesus, his Lord.
ShareLife offers us the opportunity to meet, serve and love Jesus in all the men, women and children who are helped by your generosity to ShareLife. We are asked to recognize the poverty, and often the desperation that is part and parcel of others’ lives. We’re asked to recognize the great work done by the men and women who work for the 34 agencies of ShareLife – here and in the developing countries of the world. We’re asked to recognize these good people as our brothers and sisters in Christ, our brothers and sisters in need. We’re asked to recognize the truth – whatever you do to one of these the least of mine you do to me.
ShareLife asks us to reflect – reflect on how desperate, distressed and despairing are the lives of so many people – who are our brothers and sisters. ShareLife asks us to reflect on how blessed are our own lives.
And Share Life asks us to respond – to act upon our recognition and our reflection – as Paul did to his. If we take the time to recognize and reflect – take the time to read the ShareLife material we’ve received – take the time to realize how blessed we are – then we must respond, we must reach out and help all those less fortunate that ourselves.
Each year ShareLife sends me a summary of how St. Gabriel’s responded to the appeal. I’m always stunned when I see how so few people support ShareLife and all its good works. Last year the parish gave $163,160 to Share Life, down from the $176,612 donated in 2005. Both these amounts are impressive but – only 27% of the parish participated in Share Life. Good people, this is not good.
If you have already donated to ShareLife – thank you very much. If you have yet to donated, especially if you have never donated to ShareLife, then I suggest you donate no less than $50.00. You know your own needs, your own circumstances but read the ShareLife material and see the good works being done by ShareLife.
May we as a parish family – a blessed parish family – take the time to recognize, reflect and respond to this year’s ShareLife Appeal knowing that whatever we do to one of these the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to the Christ, Who loved us and gave His life for us.
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