November 28th, 2020
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/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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
| Posted in Bulletin |
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.
| Posted in Homily |
November 21st, 2020
By Tuesday, November 24th, 2020, parishes in the Red Zone within the Archdiocese of Toronto must restrict all liturgical celebrations to 50 worshipers in the entire building. All other requirements, registering to attend the Mass, sanitizing, social distancing and other measures as outlined in the protocols shall remain the same. Please visit the parish website to register to come to Mass. No walk ins shall be permitted at the moment.
Virtual Meeting, Monday. November 23rd at 6:30 PM
A high rise 24 storey development to the east of the Church on 680 & 688 Sheppard Avenue East has the potential of casting a shadow long enough over the south garden and reducing the sun light in through our south window, and the skylight.
In addition to the above, the density of the development will increase traffic flow in the area. There is also an undesirable proposal to utilize our above ground parking lots as a passage to ease congestion due to this development.
A virtual public meeting for the proposed 680 & 688 Sheppard Ave. E. development will be on Monday November 23 at 6:30 PM. This will be the only public consultation meeting for this development and it is absolutely crucial that we have as many supporters as possible participate in the call to demonstrate to Councillor Carroll, the Planning Department and the developer that there is a very large group opposed to this project as it currently stands. To register, please go to https://shelleycarroll.ca/development-updates.
It is important that as many members of the Parish as possible also voice their opposition to the Applicants Development Plans. It is important that you state what your objection to the development, as a parishioner, neighbour, and someone who loves the Church in that you do not want:
If you cannot register and attend the virtual meeting, the following link to the City of Toronto’s development website for the application will allow you to register your comments under the applicants “public consultation section.”
http://app.toronto.ca/AIC/index.do?folderRsn=%2BWpO0cxYE15%2F0UwoUM%2BdRA%3D%3D#detail0
Additional details about the opportunity to oppose and send in your comments can be found in the Parish Office. If you would like a copy emailed to you which will provide all the necessary links, please contact the Parish Office stgabrielsparish@bellnet.ca.
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.
Available this weekend, November 21st and 22nd, 2020
Many of you met Bishop Jon Hansen, the Bishop of the Diocese of Mackenzie, when he led our parish retreat in early March.
Each year Bishop Jon puts together a unique calendar with a collection of beautiful photos from his past year’s travels around the North. All proceeds from the sale of these calendars support the missions of the diocese.
The calendars, at $20 each, will be available this weekend before and after each mass. Please consider supporting the Diocese of Mackenzie. Due to COVID-19, we ask that you please have the exact change ready, which you can deposit directly in a box, so as to minimize physical contact.
November 23rd to November 29th
MONDAY – JOSEPH LUAN NGUYEN – Requested by his Family TUESDAY – PETER PHUNG VAN NHIC – Requested by the Nguyen Family WEDNESDAY – FILOMENA DASILVA – Requested by Maria Da Silva THURSDAY – BERNIE O’BRIEN – Requested by Alex O’Brien & Family FRIDAY – ANTONIO GAREIA – Requested by Humberto Holanda SATURDAY – DOREEN YOUNG – Requested by Noreen Chen SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – ANGELO DI FLUMERI & FAMILY – Requested by Benito Tomaiuoli & Family SUNDAY – 12:30 PM – THANKSGIVING – Requested by Nora Lagula
Connecting with each other during the Pandemic
The St. Gabriel’s Friendly Connections is a program of the Ministry for Maturing Adults that being initiated during the second wave of COVID 19. Our goal is to help people who have limited social networks to maintain healthy community living. The method of contact and frequency can be determined by the participants.
The team members of the Ministry of Maturing Adults would like to invite anyone who would like a telephone pal or email pal to contact the parish office or email us directly at stgabrielmma@gmail.com. If you are interested, please let us know by this Sunday, November 22nd.
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 before Sunday November 29th.
Each month food we collect is sent to Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre. 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. Thank you for your generous support.
On the tables in the gathering space, you will find stockings labeled with the age and gender of a child. Please decide what you would like, choose a stocking and purchase pajamas or undershirts for little ones from newborn to 4 years. Items with the original stocking attached should be placed in the box provided no later than Sunday December 6th. Toys or books for these little ones would also be appreciated.
For the Moms we are suggesting gift cards from Tim Hortons, Walmart or McDonalds these can be placed in the envelope provided and brought to the Parish Office Thank you so much for your generosity.
“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”
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 to12 years old. Containers will be set up in the gathering space on Saturday, November 26th and will remain there until Tuesday, December 8th.
The Finance Council wishes to share this with all who come together as our worshipping community.
The financial burden of the Parish is the responsibility of each and all parishioners to the extent that your means allow. Please consider giving your offertory by picking up Envelopes, enrolling in Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG), or Donate Now (through the Archdiocese of Toronto website). Please come by the parish office if you have any questions.
Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. I can’t remember the number of people who’ve asked me if I’m watching The Royals on Netflix. Of all the series it’s supposed to be the best yet.
In today’s gospel our king was hungry, thirsty, naked, a stranger, a prisoner and ill treated. No crown except thorns, no royal robes but naked, no throne but a cross, no jewels but the gaping wounds in his hands and feet and side.
Who are this king’s loyal subjects? Ordinary men and women like ourselves who give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, who welcomed strangers and clothe the naked, who comforted the ill and visited prisoners.
Our king’s kingdom is not of this world, it is not a threat or challenge to the Caesars of our time. His kingdom is “a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.” Those who respect truth and life, who live in holiness and grace, and who work to bring justice, love and peace, will “inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the creation of the world.”
When we think of the essentials of the Christian faith we generally associate these with belief in a certain creed, acceptance of various dogmas, adherence to a certain moral code, especially as it pertains to private morality,
Jesus, our king, would add something else. For him, a criterion, in fact the criterion, in the practice of our Christian faith is the exercise of the corporal works of mercy.
Feed the hungry? Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked., be there for the sick, the person in prison, welcomed the stranger to your neighbourhood And remember, faith without good works is dead. Are you getting tired of or numbed by the daily reporting of the victims of Corid 19 or the daily reports of the soap opera south of the border? But these are the realities of our lives. We can’t ignore them. They won’t go away.
The same can be true of the reality of the plight of world’s hungry or the desperation of the world’s countless refugees, the exploitation of the working poor or our avoidance of and our denial of climate change. We can get angry or we get numb. We can ask, what can I do about all this and throw up our hands.
The answer is ‘we be mindful’ of these harsh facts that wound the body of our crucified King and make a mockery of his love for the world.
Pope Francis urges us to avoid the anesthetizing allure of indifference and none involvement. We can’t look the other way, we can’t walk away. When all is said and done it comes down to this – whatever you did to these, the least of mine, you do to me.
An Argentinian folk musician who sang during the time of Argentine’s dirty war put it this way – all I ask of God is that I not be indifferent to sorrow – that death not find me empty and alone without having done enough.
Whatever we do or don’t do is what matters.
We remain grateful and want to thank all the parishioners of St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish for their ongoing support during this period of great difficulty and uncertainty.
Effective immediately, the Province of Ontario limits attendance at Masses to 15% capacity of the church. Therefore, public Mass can resume but with a limit on attendance. Weekend Masses will resume the weekend of March 20/21, 2021. Weekday Masses will resume on Thursday, March 18, 2021.
In order to attend Sunday masses, a reservation for each attendee is required. Please review the Protocol for Sunday Mass celebrations before making any reservations. Please click Sunday Mass Reservations to make your reservations on Eventbrite. Due to the limited capacity, there will be no walk-ins allowed. If you have any difficulty in registering, please call the parish office during regular office hours.
There is no reservation required for the 9:00 am Monday to Friday weekday Mass but sign in upon arrival is required.
For the safety and health of our community, please remain home if you show or have any signs or symptoms of Covid-19. Under a City of Toronto by-law, all attendees are required to wear non-medical grade masks or face coverings throughout their entire time of attendance at church while at the same time respecting the physically distance rules of 2 metres (6 feet). We are looking forward to seeing you.
| Posted in Notice |
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