December 6th, 2020
Each Sunday during Advent, Fr. Brando and Fr. Paul will celebrate Mass. This will be carried on line at www.stgabrielsparish.ca. Please join us and pass the word to friends in the parish who may not know. This is a beautiful way of being together during this temporary closing of the church.
Thank you to everyone who registered participated or sent in comments regarding the future development of 680 and 688 Sheppard Avenue East. Please continue to check Toronto’s website, http://app.toronto.ca and St. Gabriel’s website for further updates.
Your parish has been there for you and your family during the most important moments of your lives. Help you’re your Catholic community active and alive for years to come.
November is “Make a Will’ month! Please consider your parish in your will or through a planned gift. A bequest is a beautiful way to express your faith and gratitude for a lifetime of blessings – a lasting legacy of love that will help the Church continue with its many ministries.
For more details, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 or contact Peter Okonski, Manager of Planned Giving and Personal Gifts at 416 934 3400 Ext. 519 or by email at development@archtoronto.org.
All calls are confidential.
November December 7th to December 13th
MONDAY – LISA CALLAHAN – Requested by Patti & Pat Callahan TUESDAY – DELFIN REYES SR. – Requested by the Reyes Family WEDNESDAY – SUNGIM KANG ANGELA – Requested by Veronica Do THURSDAY – VERA LUCIA MEIRA FURTADO – Requested by Humberto Holanda FRIDAY – JUNG SUNG SUK – Requested by Veronica Do SATURDAY – EVA GULBINOWICZ – Requested by Kathleen Olden Powell SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – REYNALDO SAZON – Requested by Linda Majanta & Family SUNDAY – 12:30 PM – THANKSGIVING – Requested by Nora Lagula & Family
From December 8th to December 11th
Fr. Brando will hear confessions from December 8th to December 11th by Appointment Only. Please call Fr. Brando to set up an appointment at 416 221 8866.
Examine your conscience by reflecting on your sins.
Tips for making a good confession: Don’t be too general (like, “I haven’t been a good person”), but a lot of detail isn’t necessary either (you don’t need to tell the whole story of how a sin came about).
If you’re not sure if something is a sin, just ask the priest.
This isn’t counseling, so unless you ask, the priest likely won’t give you advice.
Begin: “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been [length of time] since my last confession. These are my sins…”
When you finish: The priest will suggest something for you to do or pray (penance) as a response to God’s mercy. Remember what it is, because you’ll have to do it after the confession is over.
The priest will then ask you to pray the Act of Contrition out loud, demonstrating your sorrow for your sins:
“My God My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Saviour Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy. Amen.”
When you finish, the priest will extend his hands in your direction and pray the Prayer of Absolution. You respond “Amen.”
The priest will then likely say “God has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.” You can respond “Thanks be to God.”
Don’t forget to do your penance. If it’s saying certain prayers, it’s best to do it right away in the church before you forget.
Stay tuned….
We are excited to announce several programs that parish Ministry with Maturing Adults Committee will be starting in the next two months. All sessions will be offered virtually. Please watch this space for further information.
Due to the pandemic and the limitations of our regular partners that support the St. Gabriel Conference our focus is limited to receipts of gift cards for the children instead of toys. Donations of gift cards between $25 and $50 dollars from Walmart, The Bay, Winners, Marshalls etc. will be much appreciated. Please drop off gift cards for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to the parish office by December 14, 2020. Thank you very much and God Bless.
This year Rosalie Hall is caring for about 80 children and their Moms. Due to Covid 19, our giving tree campaign this year will look a little different.
Since there will be no public Masses, please consider dropping off your gift at the Parish Office as soon as possible.
Needed are: pajamas for children age newborn to 4 years old Gift cards for the Moms at Rosalie Hall
Please call the Parish Office before you come to ensure that someone will be there to accept your gifts. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Saturday November 28th to Tuesday, December 8th
We will be having a Christmas Toy Drive again this year for the Catholic Children’s Aid Foundation. You can help by dropping off an unwrapped new toy for a child, age newborn to 12 years old. Containers will be set up in the gathering space until Tuesday, December 8th.
Thank you to those parishioners who prepared 21 casseroles for November. For December, your prepared frozen casseroles may be dropped off at the Parish Office by December 27th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
Let’s see if we can increase that number!
The need is very great especially right now with Covid19.
The casseroles are easy to make and we have the recipes and casserole pans right here in the Parish Office. The recipes are also available on the Parish website. If you require more information please contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
Offertory envelopes for 2021 are available at the parish Office. If you would like to pick yours up, please call before coming so that we will have them ready for you.
| Posted in Bulletin |
December 5th, 2020
Isaiah was active in his role of prophet about 550 years before the birth of Christ. The 70 years of exile of the Jews to Babylon were coming to a close. The Persian Empire was on the rise.
The Jewish people were struggling to re-establish themselves in their own land. Isaiah pleads with God, comfort oh comfort your people oh Lord, speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
We’re in the midst of our second lockdown and have no idea when it will end. There are neither Masses nor funerals. We have no idea if Christmas will be like Holy Week – no celebrations allowed. The needy families we’ve helped through the years with our food drive and toy drive will go without this Christmas.
As a parish family we join Isaiah as he pleads, comfort oh comfort your people o Lord, and speak tenderly to them.
How many people do we know who need to hear words of comfort, words of support and words on encouragement, but especially comfort? The first people who come to my mind are the nurses and doctors and hospital staff who are worn out caring for the victims of Covid 19 and see irresponsible people partying and refusing to wear face masks. Can you imagine their frustration?
Comfort oh comforts your people O Lord, especially those patients in hospitals, who are not allowed visitors, good people whose days and nights are long and lonely.
Comfort oh comfort your people Lord, especially the men and women in retirement homes who are deprived of any social life and family visits. Comfort O comfort your people O lord, especially men and women who through no fault of their own are laid off because the places where they work are closed down,
Comfort O comfort your people O Lord especially those who own a small business and are forced to shut down and face financial loss.
Imagine if you were in any of these circumstances. Maybe some of you are. Wouldn’t your spirits be lifted up and brightened if you got a call from a friend and heard encouraging and understanding words, letting you know you they are thinking and praying for you, you are not alone.
Comfort O comfort your people O lord, especially those struggling with discouragement or depression. Lift their spirits.
Comfort O comfort your people O Lord through each one of us as we write that e mail or make that phone call or write that note or set up that zoom and speak words of comfort in your name.
| Posted in Homily |
November 28th, 2020
| Posted in Events |
For more details, please call the Parish Office at 416-221-8866 or contact Peter Okonski, Manager of Planned Giving and Personal Gifts at 416 934 3400 Ext. 519 or by email at development@archtoronto.org/development. All calls are confidential.
November 30th to December 6th
MONDAY – ORESTE & GIUSEPPINA SMERIGLIO – Requested by Linda Giannotta TUESDAY – CARL LEFEBOUR – Requested by the Yvonne Lefebour WEDNESDAY – DOREEN YOUNG – Requested by Noreen Chen THURSDAY – MARIA DIDIODATO – Requested by her Family FRIDAY – INTENTIONS OF ANGELA FERNANDES – Requested by Tony Fernandes SATURDAY – GUS & MARIE CALDERONE – Requested by their Family SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – NICOLA VUKOVIC – Requested by the Family SUNDAY – 12:30 PM – JOSEPH D’GAMA – Requested by his Family
A Box of Remembrance has been placed on the altar for the month of November. You are invited to write the names of your deceased relatives and friends on a sheet of paper and place it in the box. We will remember them at all the Masses celebrated in November.
Meetings in preparation for the R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults) have begun.
If you are interested in joining the RCIA meetings or if you would like to have more information about it, please contact Sr. Maria Lucia at 416-221-8866 by this Sunday, November 29th.
Each month food we collect is sent to Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre.
Rosalie Hall assists young parents and their children to realize their potential through the provision of a wide range of child development, community, residential and educational services.
Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city as well as a chance to start again through the Resettlement or DARE Programs.
With so many out of work and struggling at this time, your food donations are more important than ever. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Please no fresh or frozen foods. Thank you for your generous support!
“Due to the pandemic and the limitations of our regular partners that support the St. Gabriel Conference our focus is limited to receipts of gift cards for the children instead of toys. Donations of gift cards between $25 and $50 dollars from Walmart, The Bay, Winners, Marshalls etc. will be much appreciated. Please drop off gift cards for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to the parish office by December 14, 2020. Thank you very much and God Bless
Begins November 29th, Ends December 6th
Since there will be no public Masses, please consider dropping off your gift at the Parish Office.
For November, your prepared frozen casseroles may be dropped off at the Parish Office They will be picked up and delivered to the Good Shepherd Centre on Monday, November 30th. Let’s see if we can increase that number!
Synodality: The Endless Road to Emmaus With Speaker: Fr. Greg Kennedy, SJ Monday November 30 from 7:00 PM to 9:00PM
The next Synod of Bishops has been called for 2022. It’s theme: synodality. This idea and, even more so, the practice of synodality is one of most exciting currents in the Catholic Church today.
With Fr. Greg Kennedy, you will explore how synodality is already invigorating the Church and how it further summons the creative participation of all its members. By the end of the evening, participants will aspire to a working understanding of what Pope Francis means when he claims, “it is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church in the third millennium”. Join Fr. Kennedy and the Sisters of St. Joseph for a night of learning, fellowship, and sharing! For more information and a link to the meeting, please visit faithconnections@csj-to.ca.
The Jewish people waited for centuries for their promised Messiah, their savior who would restore the Jewish nation to its past glory and Jerusalem would become the centre of the religious life of all nations. At times the prophets could use impressive descriptions of this longed for event. Isaiah pleas that God would tear opens the heavens and come down, the mountains would quake at such an event.
The promised Messiah would be a liberator. The Maccabee brothers have freed the Jews from the Greek occupation but then the Jewish political leaders made a pact with the Romans, trading their independence for Roman’s protection, a protection that became very oppressive. Again the notion that the Messiah would a liberator, a deliverer from oppression became part of the people’s imagination. The people had great expectations of their Messiah.
When Jesus came He was born in poverty in Bethlehem, raised in a little unknown town of Nazareth, trained as a carpenter, a no body. He died a disgraceful death as a common criminal. Death by crucifixion.
Those who followed Jesus and stayed faithful to him believed Jesus to be the Messiah, not the one who would deliver them from the oppression of a foreign power but the one who delivered them from sin and their estrangement from God. Jesus made our peace with God thru his blood on the cross.
The first followers of Jesus eagerly awaited the fulfillment of his promise, ’I shall return to take you with me so that where I am you may be too. We are still waiting. Maybe we expect him to come to us in a moment of prayer or in the practice of a favorite devotion. We look for him as he tears opens the heavens and come into our life blessing us with an intense awareness of his presence. Don’t hold your breathe.
Jesus, our savior, our messiah intrudes into our lives in every person who comes into our lives; the home-bound who long for a phone call. Jesus is that person who wants us to listen as they tell us about their aches and pains, or the person that wants to share with us their personal secret pains. Jesus is that man or woman who makes us face our bigotry or innate racism. Jesus is that homeless person, the street person, the man or woman looking for an ‘out of the cold’ place to spend the night.
All these men and women can be our Messiahs, our liberators, sent to free us from our mindsets of exclusion, bigotry, racism, homophobia, mindsets that hold us back from seeing the good, the bravery, the generosity of other people. They can liberate us to be true followers of our Messiah who liberated each of us and brought us into the family of the church.
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