February 11th, 2007
On Tuesday when the staff was reflecting on today’s readings someone mentioned that Jeremiah wrote his words about 500 years before Christ and Luke wrote about the year 70, 30 years after the death of Christ – quite a stretch of time, yet Jeremiah’s message resonates with Luke’s; people who put their trust in mere mortals, people who think that riches and position and power are what it’s all about, people who see these as their sufficiency, their security, are in for a surprise. Jeremiah uses a biblical image of what we call tumbleweed – to describe such people. They are rootless and without direction, rolling through the desert, driven by whatever wind that blows.
People who put their trust in God and see their personal relationship with God – which involves a just and loving relationship with others – as something of first importance, they are like trees planted by a running stream – untouched by scorching heat or drought, always bearing fruit.
When Luke recorded what Jesus taught, 500 years after Jeremiah; blessed are the poor, blessed are the oppressed and the distressed – forgive your enemies, pray for those who persecuted them, turn the other cheek – people’s reaction was ‘you got to be kidding’? What do you mean blessed are the poor – the poor are losers – what do you mean ‘woe to you rich’ – we’ve always been taught riches are a sign of God’s favor.
From the beginning of his public life, which began in the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus meant to turn mindsets and value systems upside down. God sent Jesus into the world to bring new news, good news to the poor, to give sight to the blind, proclaim liberty to captives, set the downtrodden free. Jesus meant to reverse the mindsets of his time – that the poor were losers, the rich were favored by God.
Things don’t change – 500 years between Jeremiah and Jesus – 2000 years between Jesus and our time and still things are the same. Today there are the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Then as now the ‘haves’ often have what they have as the expense of the ‘have nots’, the working poor, the undeserving poor, good men and women struggling to get by on an inadequate minimum wage, working at two or three jobs just to get by.
Jeremiah and Jesus didn’t condemn ‘having’. Their concern was, does what you have, have you? Do you own the car, the house, the job, the career, and the investments – or do they own you? Is there any place for God, any place for others, especially men and women who are the ‘have nots’, is there any place for them in your life?
If you’ve been reading the articles on poverty that have been in the Star these past weeks or the articles about the bonuses CEOs have received or the severance packages offered chief executives, doesn’t it boggle your mind?
I’m not into Catholic guilt – but shouldn’t we be bothered at the widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, both here and around the world? Shouldn’t we be bothered with the fact that our North American society uses a disproportionate amount of Earth’s energy resources? Shouldn’t we be bothered by wasteful lifestyles? Shouldn’t we be bothered by our failure to live lightly on the Earth? Shouldn’t we be bothered by the truth that very often the clothes we wear, the food we eat come to us from the hard labor of the working poor and the sweat shops of the world? Shouldn’t we be bothered with the pittance that was just added to the minimum wage compared to the increase in salaries that other’s received?
Shouldn’t we be bothered with men and women sleeping on our city streets? Shouldn’t we be bothered with overextended food banks? Shouldn’t we be bothered with families who have no place to live? I don’t have any answers to the great social problems facing our city or the country, but shouldn’t we be bothered?
As we continue to celebrate this Mass maybe we can pray for ourselves and for each other for the grace to be bothered – and being bothered maybe we can do something to change our attitudes to what we have, and change our attitudes towards the ‘have nots’.
| Posted in Homily |
I wish to thank all those who had Masses offered for my brother George. He lived a good life and raised a wonderful family. Fr. Paul
As a family of faith, we welcome Archbishop Thomas Collins to the Archdiocese of Toronto! All are invited to meet the new Archbishop at BLESSED TRINITY PARISH on Thursday, February 15, 2007. Mass will begin at 7:00 PM, with a reception to follow.
Total: $8,126.97
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February 14th at 10:30 AM – 12 noon – BIBLE STUDY – The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ February 21st at 10:30 AM – 12 noon – Vatican II and how it is going
TUESDAY EVENING, February 13 7:30 – 9:00PM Library History of Sunni-Shiite Islamic relations. For more information on any of the above topics, please contact Mary Landry at 416-293-3760.
We are forming an environmental focus group here at St. Gabriel’s. Our first meeting will be on March 8, 2007 at 7:30 PM in the Gabriel Room. Everyone is welcome to join us and share their ideas. For more information please phone Mary Landry at 416-293-3760.
You are cordially invited to come and celebrate the Chinese New Year, which will take place on FEBRUARY 25th, after the 12:30 PM 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.
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 to $4 by variety
Sunday March 4th at 3:00 PM Parishioners Marianne Zim-Orlowski – Soprano Soloist, Joseph Orlowski – TSO Clarinettist, Alex Seredenko – Pianist, and Suzanne Kilgore – Soprano, are offering us “An Afternoon of Song”. Please join us for this delightful presentation. Admission $5 at the door (a portion will go to charity).
at St. Joseph’s Morrow Park: Is a ministry to help widowed, separated and divorced persons make a NEW BEGINNING in life. There are retreat weekends, monthly meetings and support groups.
To register or for more information, please phone 416-222-1101 ext 107/258.
with Matthew Kelly and the St. Michael’s Choir School on Sunday February 11th and Monday February 12th at 7:15 PM at St. Basil’s Church located at 50 St. Joseph Street in Toronto. “Re-Discovering Catholicism” is a powerful message of inspiration and hope that your whole family should hear. For more information call the National Catholic Broadcasting Council at 905 – 884 – 6899.
is a fundraising project to raise funds for “b.r.a.i.n. Child” which supports research into brain cancer in children and the Meagan Bebenek Endowment Fund at SickKids.
Friday, February 23, 2007 at 6:00PM The Liberty Grand, Governor’s Ballroom 25 British Columbia Drive, Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario $100.00 per person Call 416-239 – 7843 or meganswalk.com
March 2 – 4, 2007 at Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga. The theme for this retreat is “EXPLORING THE GRACE OF THE CROSS”. The retreat includes delivered talks, private reflection, faith sharing, ritual, an opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation, Eucharist on Saturday and Sunday. This retreat is preached by the centre team. For reservations or further information please call 905 – 278 – 5229.
March 2-4, 2007 at Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre. “Marriage enrichment allows a married couple to rediscover their love that has been buried under years of daily work and household responsibilities”. For information and reservations please call our secretary Kathleen Smith at 905-278-5229.
on March 3, 2007 from 9:15 AM – 2:30 PM. Ever consider the possibility of becoming a lay missioner or a future priest? Scarboro Missions is offering a Mission Information Day at SCARBORO MISSION CENTER 2685 Kingston Road, Scarborough. Come and learn about the witness of faith and service of Scarboro priests and lay missioners in various areas of the world. It may change your life forever! To register, please call John MacInnis (Coordinator) at 416-261-7135 Ext. 213 or email macinnis@scarboromissions.ca. A $10.00 donation is asked for lunch.
| Posted in Bulletin |
February 4th, 2007
For a long time I had trouble with the prayer we pray right before receiving Holy Communion: Lord I’m not worthy to receive you, only say the word and I shall be healed. We all know we are not worthy to receive Christ, the Bread of Life. But we don’t come to communion because we are worthy, we come to communion because we are hungry, frightened, confused, struggling with a problem. Our extended empty hand is a symbol of our neediness, our dependency on God.
In today’s three readings we have people declaring themselves to be ‘unworthy.’ Isaiah is praying in the temple when he is blessed with a religious experience, an awareness of the holiness of God. God’s holiness makes Isaiah deeply aware of how far he is from such holiness and so he speaks the truth, “woe is me, I am lost, I am a man of unclean lips.”
In the second reading, we have Paul reminding the Christian community of Corinth what is of first importance: that Christ Jesus died for our sins was buried and on the third day He was raised from the dead. When Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the followers of Jesus he had his own religious experience. In the very depth of his soul Paul was gifted to know Jesus and the transforming wonder of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Changed by this experience Paul would say of himself, ‘I know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’ Still Paul would always say of himself, ‘I am not worthy.’ I am the least of the apostles; I persecuted the church of God.
In the gospel we have Peter, disappointed after a night of fruitless fishing now stunned by this bountiful catch of fish, saying to Jesus, ‘Stay away from me of Lord, I am a sinful man.’ In a way Peter was saying, “I don’t know who you are about but you’re way too much for me.” I don’t belong in your company.
Isaiah, Paul and Peter each had an experience, an awareness of the presence and the holiness of God. Each of them was overwhelmed by this experience. This experience helped them put things into perspective. Their experience made them humble.
How often do we think of humility as putting ourselves down, belittling ourselves, seeing nothing but the negatives in our lives. That’s not true humility. The Blessed Mother was being totally humble when she said, “He Who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is His name. Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” Mary recognized her place in God’s reality – God chose her.
Someone wrote of today’s readings, “Isaiah, Paul and Peter were forced to compare themselves directly with the presence of God. When they met the holiness of God head on, they saw their own humanness as full of holes. They were no longer able to pretend that they shone like the stars because they saw the real star bursting with light. Their experience of God let them see they are far, far less than God. And this is not bad, it is good. God will make us holy not our own sense of holiness. We can be proud to be unworthy if God’s love is the result.”
Sunday Mass can become so routine, even boring. Other than the different scripture readings at Sunday Mass things are pretty much the same. In a way we can become dull to the wonder of what we are about. At every Mass God makes present to us what is of first importance – “that Christ died for our sins, was buried and on the third day was raised from the dead.” At every Mass we are touched by Christ’s total giving of Himself for each of us -“this is My Body, this is My blood, and this is my life given for you – unconditionally, no holds barred.” At every Mass, Christ’s message to us is: ‘no matter how little you may think of yourself, no matter how down you may be on yourself – I think enough of you to give my life for you.’
If we could grasp this truth then we would see how far, far less is our love for Christ than is His love for us – how far, far less is our love for Christ as we meet Him in family, friend or stranger – than is His love for us.
Then we would mean what we say when we say, “Lord I am not worthy.” Not a put down but recognition of our own reality. Then we could say, “I am so far away from you, nourish me with your body and blood – for you told us, those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me and I live in them, from Your love for me let me draw love for others.
As we continue to celebrate this Mass in which we remember what is of most importance; Christ died for our sins, was buried and on the third day was raised from the dead, we can pray for ourselves and for each other that when we say Lord I am not worthy to receive You we honestly acknowledge our distance from and our need of Christ the living bread. Nourished by this living bread may each of us live as we are meant to live, love as we are meant to love, imitating Jesus, Who loved us and gave His life for us.
Dear Father Paul: Thank you for rescuing us from a U.N. camp in Benin over a year ago now. We will be forever grateful to you and the parish of St. Gabriel. Blessings and prayers from my family. Ezechiel, Seraphine, Ange, Pacifique, and Elie Ntgulirwa.
Total: $9,107.87
on February 7th at 10:30AM we will decide on what we want to study next. Please come with your ideas! Everyone welcome. Please contact Mary Landry if you have any questions at: 416-293-3760.
TUESDAY EVENING, February 13 7:30 – 9:00PM Library History of Sunni-Shiite Islamic relations.
We are forming an environmental focus group here at St. Gabriel’s. We will meet once a month on the first Thursday of each month in the Gabriel Room. Everyone is welcome to join us and share your ideas. For more information please phone Mary Landry at 416-293-3760.
You are cordially invited to come and celebrate the Chinese New Year, which will take place on FEBRUARY 25th, after the 12:30 PM 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.
Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 61 casseroles in January. For February, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of February 24/25 for delivery to the 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, please contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
This is the first of a new five year education campaign on the promotion of sustainable human development. The action this year is on Canadian Mining companies operating in the Global South. Next weekend after the Masses, please sign a card asking the Canadian government to
More information is available at www.devp.org under Education Campaign.
January 28th, 2007
The past couple of weeks St. Paul has been telling us about how gifted is our Christian community. Some are called to be leaders, some preachers, some healers; some are even gifted with the gift of tongues. He tells us that all these gifts are for the common good, for building up the body of the church. He compared the church to a human body, Christ is its head and we are its members and no one member can say to another member, “I have no need of you’ we are all one, we are all important for the well being of the body.
Today Paul tells us that the most important gift with which we can be blessed is the gift of love. We can speak in tongues, we can have prophetic powers, we can be blessed with a great mind, with a faith that can toss mountains, we can be as pure as the angels – we can even die a martyr’s death, but if we lack love we have missed the boat.
I can hear today’s second reading in my sleep. It’s read at just about every wedding. It’s usually read by someone who has no experience in public reading, someone who is nervous and wants to get it over with. So they rush though these beautiful words, this powerful message and get back to their pew.
These words about love – a love that is kind, a love that avoids rudeness, a love that is patient, a love that supports the weakness of others, a love that endures, a love that believes and hopes and will not be overcome – these words are so beautiful to hear – and so difficult to live.
How many marriages could have been saved if the husband and wife had been able to keeps these words alive in their relationship instead of giving way to resentments, impatience? How did they come to lose the love that would have helped them live with the human weakness and foibles of their spouse or their children or even themselves?
How many marriages failed to reach their potential because one or other of the spouses insisted on their way or the high way or allowed their relationship to slip into bitterness and resentments?
Again these words of Paul are so beautiful to hear and so difficult to live.
These words on love can be applied to how we deal with our own selves, with our faults and failings, with our own willingness to be patient with ourselves as we struggle to be the kind of person we want to be. So many personal problems come from the lack of self esteem, a good self image. None of us is perfect, faultless. We are all mistake making beings so we need to be patient and kind and understanding and forgiving and supportive of ourselves. We are to love our neighbours as we love ourselves and if self love is lacking our ability to love others is weakened.
This past week I had the experience of loving people. I went to Saint John last Sunday for my brother’s 80th birthday. He was in the hospital but his good wife Sally planned on bringing to his party at least for a bit of time.
Unfortunately on Sunday morning he had a down turn. By the time I got to the hospital he really didn’t know I was there. He died peacefully on Monday evening. During that long vigil I kept saying to him, “come on George, its time to go.” Sally, his wife of 53 years simply said, “George was never one to hurry.” We had a great wake – George and Sally raised a wonderful family. I got to see people – old neighbours, old classmates I haven’t seen in years. People kept coming to the door with food, food and more food – it was a great Maritime time. We buried George at Holy Cross in an area known as Saint’s Rest, right on the Bay of Funday – with the temperature and the wind coming off the Bay it was about 30 below – so I said to George, you may never have been one to hurry but this will be quick.
When you stop to think of it, we are surrounded by good people, good people, who like ourselves are trying to live the love St. Paul praises in our second reading, good people we often take for granted. It’s at times like this past week that we come to realize how blessed we are with family and friends.
We can continue to celebrate this Mass praying for the grace we need to appreciate the good people who bless our lives – asking God for the grace we need no only to hear these words of love – but live these words on love.
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