October 24th, 2020
October 26th to November 1st
MONDAY – UNBORN SOULS – Requested by Nguyen Family TUESDAY – YANG PILL BUN – Requested by Veronica Do WEDNESDAY – MARGARET NORONHA – Requested by Alcuin Noronha THURSDAY – DRAGICA PETRANOVIC – Requested by Mira Petranovic FRIDAY – LAU KOON TING – Requested by Linda Law & Family SATURDAY – VINCENZA & LORENZO GRECH – Requested by The Family SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – THERESE & VED MEHARCHAND – Requested by The Meharchand Family SUNDAY – 12:30 PM – SOULS IN PURGATORY – Requested by Mirian Fabra
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. It has been developed to encourage independence and social contact parishioners, especially those who live alone.
Our goal is to help people who have limited social networks to maintain healthy community living. Using regular contact, via the telephone or email, friendship and support are provided to encourage independence and social contact. The method of contact and frequency can be determined by the participants for.
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.
No one should feel alone… Each of us are weathering this storm in a different way, but we are all part of the same storm. Let us know if we can help!
Registration Began on October 19th
The 2020-2021 Children’s Faith Program will follow a home-school model with email resource support from volunteer catechist. At registration, you will receive a textbook for use as a primary resource. Parents will home school the child, with guidance from the textbook material and email resources from the catechist. Registration forms are available on line or in the Parish Office.
Meetings in preparation for the R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults) will begin in October. These meetings are normally in person but, due to Covid 19, they will be online. They are for persons interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith. The exploration may lead the candidate to seek baptism, and become a member of the Catholic Christian community; or for Christians already baptized into another Christian denomination, the reception into the Catholic Church.
Adult Catholics who have not received the sacrament of Confirmation but who wish to do so are also encouraged to attend these sessions.
As well, these meetings may be an opportunity for “Born Catholics” to deepen their understanding of our faith. Very often, especially for those of us who received our religious instruction at an early age, we tend to grow physically, mentally, psychologically etc., but the understanding of our faith does not grow correspondingly. The RCIA may serve as a good opportunity for us to ask questions and to develop a more adult understanding of our faith.
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.
Thank you so much for your overwhelming support of our Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Good Shepherd Centre and Rosalie Hall. They were extremely grateful for the donations they received.
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!
Monday October 26th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
The speaker for this online event is Lisette Romero, BAS, B.Ed. Lisette enthusiastically works as a Youth Minister and a Lay Pastoral Assistant in two parishes of the Diocese of Peterborough. She invites us to share in her passion for the Catholic Faith and rich knowledge of Saints and Sainthood.
Please join her for a night of learning, fellowship, and sharing! Space is limited. Please contact faithconnections@csj-to.ca for more information.
October 29th at 8:00 PM
Join the deVeber Institute for their first virtual lecture! The featured speaker, Dr. Jane Pritchard, will discuss the affect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on already marginalized individuals in Toronto. In addition, bioethicist Bob Parke will present on the urgent need to improve palliative care for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It is sure to be a thought-provoking evening of incredible discussion and research. They hope to see you there!
For more information, please contact bioethics@deveber.org or by phone at 416-256-0555.
WEB: www.deveber.org
Friday, October 30th from 8:00 PM until 9:00 PM
Faith Connections and Newman Young Adult Ministry invite all young adults aged 18-39 to a virtual murder mystery evening! Ten strangers arrive on an island invited by an unknown host. Each of them has a secret … and then someone dies. Join them online to solve this murder.
For more information, contact Faith Connections at 416 886 8412 or by email at faithconnections@csj-to.ca
REGISTER at http://bit.ly/NewmanMysteryNight
November 5th at 7:00 PM
Salt & Light TV and www.facebook.com/archtoronto
The 41st annual Cardinal’s Dinner will be celebrated as a virtual event, open to all, on Thursday, November 5th at 7:00 PM
Join them on Salt & Light TV and the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/archtoronto) for an inspiring 60-minute program that will include musical performances, profiles of Cardinal’s Dinner beneficiaries, an interview with Cardinal Collins, greetings from dignitaries and a special thank you to volunteers who have been assisting parishes throughout the pandemic.
There is no cost to attend the event however the goal is to continue to support the Cardinal’s Dinner charities during these challenging days. For more information or to donate in support of the dinner, visit: www.archtoronto.org/cardinalsdinner.
Friday, November 6th at 7:00 PM to Sunday, November 8th at 1:00 PM
Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre 2325 Liverpool Rd., Pickering
Learn the basics of praying in the Jesuit tradition. Understand the essential elements of Jesuit spirituality, a spirituality for busy, active people. St. Ignatius Loyola wanted Jesuits to be “contemplatives in action” but the busyness of our lives is often the thing that distracts us most from God. Learn to develop your awareness of God’s presence in your life. Develop the tools for deepening your relationship with God while maintaining all your usual commitments to family and work.
Facilitated by Fr. Michael Rosinski, SJ. A suggested offering of $225 per person. Includes two-nights of accommodation, meals, program and spiritual direction.
REGISTER: manresa-canada.ca CONTACT: registration@manresa.ca PHONE: 905-839-2864.
Saturday, November 14th from10:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Ending Poverty Together is an interactive workshop designed to help redefine your understanding of poverty — both causes and solutions — in Canada and abroad. Connect with individuals in your community while gaining a healthy, hope-filled approach to poverty alleviation. Join thousands of Canadians who have enjoyed the interactive content, videos and discussion.
REGISTER: http://bit.ly/EndingPovertyWorkshop CONTACT: lenita.lopes@newmantoronto.com
COVID restrictions and anxiety weigh heavily on our hearts, minds and bodies. The COVID walk has become a daily ritual for many of us and the only escape from isolation for some. For your next walk, consider the garden as your destination.
It offers a healing oasis of calm and quiet and a smorgasbord of sensory enrichment: tweets, scurryings, rustles, golden leaves gliding on breezes, a visual salad of leafy greens, spruce spires piercing a brilliant blue sky, and here and there spots of pinks, purples and whites proffered by enduring yarrow and hyssop. Let it refresh you.
| Posted in Bulletin |
In our opening prayer we make this simple request; ‘make us love what you command so that we may merit what you promise.’
Our gospel brings us back to the basics – the great commandment – love God above and before everything – and love the man, woman or child standing before you as you love and cherish yourself… another way of putting it – do unto others as you would have done to you.
It all seems so simple – why do we mess it up so often.
Jesus quotes to the Pharisees the Shema (“Hear!”). It is so named after the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which begins, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
This the daily prayer of an observant Jewish person as they touch the muzuzah on their doorpost.
I remember in our social studies in the seminary. Our prof was Fr. Fergus MacDonald from Nova Scotia. The first day of class he comes in and writes on the blackboard in capital letters OS.
He tells us that everything we’ll be studying this coming year; social justice and social injustice all are the result of OS. That moment unknown in time or place when the human species fell for the fake promise that if we didn’t listen to God we would become like God..The Book of Genesis tells us it was downhill from then on.
Subjects such as social justice, exploitation of indigenous people and the earth’s limited resources, slavery, racism, white privilege, sweat shops, child labor; inadequate housing and health care, the list is endless but all the result of original sin.
When Cain asked God; am I my brother’s keeper? The answer was and is still the same; yes. Recently Pope Francis said;
To not recognize the human person as an image of God is a sacrilege, an abomination, the worst offense that can be directed toward the temple and the altar,”
As Jesus said; ‘whatever you do to one of these the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me.’ You shared your food, you shared your water, you shared your clothing, you shared your clothing, you shared your home, your homeland; you shared.
Whenever you did these things to one of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. Come enter the kingdom prepared for you.
The reality is we are to love others, not like others. We know there are some people who just turn us off; they’re brass, in your face, know it all, just not nice people. Its all about personalities. We just don’t like them but Christ challenges us to look beyond their foibles and see them as they are; sons and daughters of God, as we all are. Mistake making beings as we all are. We are to wish them well,
We go back to our opening prayer. Make us love what you command so that we may merit what you promise. Love one another as you’ve been loved… enter the joy of my kingdom.
| Posted in Homily |
October 17th, 2020
October 19th to October 25th
MONDAY – ROMULO CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ – Requested by Rosa Gonzalez TUESDAY – KENG OWYONG – Requested by Helen Owyong WEDNESDAY – INTENTIONS OF URSULA MARTINS – Requested by Tony Fernandes THURSDAY – AMY YOO – Requested by John Choi FRIDAY – THE JACK TA FAMILY – Requested by Veronica Do SATURDAY – VICTOR PAUL – Requested by Sophie & Candida Pereira SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – KRYSTYNA SIELECKA – Requested by Hanna Wisniowska SUNDAY 12:30 PM – ALONSO VARGAS – Requested by Mirian Fabra
While the first wave of Covid 19 was trying for everyone it was particularly difficult for anyone who was living by themselves or for those living with others but not feeling included, valued or welcome. As we prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic, 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.
By providing us with your name, phone number or email, we will connect you with someone who would make periodical calls to check in on you at least once a week. These calls or emails could be used for a simple friendly chat, a chance to voice a concern to a compassionate ear, or a companion to pray with.
Registration is now open for the 2020-21 Catechist Formation Program. The program runs from Sunday, October 18th, 2020 to Saturday, June 19th, 2021. It consists of a combination of online courses, seminars, retreat morning, as well as a Mass and blessing of catechists by Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, at St. Augustine’s Seminary. There is a $250 deposit, refundable upon program completion, and the cost of books.
For more information see the brochure at http://bit.ly/OCFP-Brochure2020 or contact Connie Price at: cprice@archtoronto.org or 416-934-3400, ext. 513.
Meetings in preparation for the R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults) will begin in October. These meetings are normally in person but, due to Covid 19, they will probably be online. They are for persons interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith. The exploration may lead the candidate to seek baptism, and become a member of the Catholic Christian community; or for Christians already baptized into another Christian denomination, the reception into the Catholic Church.
Registration Begins October 19th
We anticipate that the 2020-2021 Children’s Faith Program will follow a home-school model with email resource support from volunteer catechist. At registration, you will receive a textbook for use as a primary resource. Parents will home school the child, with guidance from the textbook material and email resources from the catechist. Registration forms will be available on line or in the Parish Office beginning Monday, October 19th.
This Weekend, October 17th & 18th
World Mission Sunday takes place this weekend.
This national collection is given to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith who distributes the funds to every mission bishop to assist in the day to day expenses of operating the diocese as well as special projects, such as building churches/chapels, healthcare clinics, the training and support catechists.
Please be as generous as your means allow.
For Families of Parishioners
The Archdiocese Office for Refugees has a program to assist parishioners who would like to sponsor a family member that is in need of refugee sponsorship. This program is intended to assist parishioners only. If you are a parishioner, and would like to sponsor a family member, please contact the parish office to schedule a meeting with the pastor prior to November 15th. The Office for Refugees will look to the sponsoring family to provide the necessary funds for sponsorship.
Step 1: The Program is Announced at Parish by October 20th, 2020. Step 2: The Parishioner Meets with the Pastor – Interested parishioners are to arrange a meeting with the pastor by November 15th, 2020 Step 3: The Pastor Sends Request to ORAT by November 29th, 2020 Step 4: ORAT Invites Parishioner to an Information Session – Following the receipt of the request from the pastor, ORAT will extend an invitation to the parishioner, inviting them to attend the Introduction to Resettlement Information Session. This is a mandatory session for the parishioner. The session will take place on or before Saturday, December 12th, 2020.
Monday October 26th from 7:00 PM to 9:00PM
Our garden connects us to the natural world of which we are a part, not only in the present, but to our roots in the ancient past. If you walk the Stations of the Cosmic Earth in the south garden, and reflect on the third station, “Life Emerges,” consider adding to your reflection, an exploration of the east wall of the church, either the exterior and the interior. It is clad with Tyndall stone from Manitoba. This fossilized stone dates back 450 million years and reveals the imprint of life emerging on Earth. See how many of the fossilized remains of our ancestors you can find.
If you would like to participate in caring for our gardens, please email heathermjb@gmail.com.
October 11th, 2020
O, heavenly Father: We thank thee for food and remember the hungry. We thank thee for health and remember the sick. We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless. We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved. May these remembrances stir us to service, that thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.
Monday, October 12th is Thanksgiving Day.
There will be no 9:00 AM Mass and the Parish Office will be closed.
October 12th to October 18th
MONDAY – THANKSGIVING – No 9:00 AM Mass TUESDAY – NGUYEN THI MINH – Requested by Veronica Do WEDNESDAY – NANCY FABRA – Requested by Mirian Fabra THURSDAY – NADSA CORNELIO – Requested by Mark DesRoches FRIDAY – PASQUALE GATTI – Requested by Linda Gatti SATURDAY – GORDON OATWAY – Requested by Pat Oatway SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – KAZ SWIDERSKI – Requested by Irene Swiderski SUNDAY 12:30 PM – ANA LLANOS – Requested by Mirian Fabra
We anticipate that the 2020-2021 Children’s Faith Program will follow a home-school model with email resource support from volunteer catechist. At registration, you will receive a textbook for use as a primary resource. Parents will home school the child, with guidance from the textbook material and email resources from the catechist. Registration will open soon.
You can make a difference in the lives of the hungry and homeless this Thanksgiving by participating in the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city as well as a chance to start again.
Rosalie Hall provides a wide range of child development, community, residential and educational services.
Urgently needed items include: Rice, pasta, pasta sauces, curry, garlic powder Cereal, powdered milk, hot chocolate salad dressing, tea bags, coffee granola bars, protein bars, chocolate bars, hard candy cookies and crackers, sugar canned tuna, soups, stews, corned beef, fruits and vegetables
Please check the expiry date as we cannot pass on expired foods. Please no fresh or frozen foods. We thank you for your generous support!
The Process
For the foreseeable future, we are stopping the collection of milk bags. There are no workshops being scheduled at this time and Sharon has many more than she can use. We will let you know when we can begin collecting them once more.
Virtual Open House October 14th at 7:00 PM
St. Joseph Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School will be hosting a Virtual Open House for Grade 8 students and parents that includes the following:
Virtual Open House October 15th and 21st
Brebeuf College School is an All-Boys TCDSB Catholic School that focuses on Faith Development, Academics, Athletics, and Student Leadership. The applications for the 2021-2022 School Year are now available. To learn more, please join them at their Virtual Open House on October 15th and 21st. To register and further explore what Brebeuf can offer your son and family, please visit https://sites.google.com/tcdsb.ca/brebeufcollege and click on “Brebeuf Open House”. They look forward to seeing you then.
Shapes of Autumn
When leaves fall and flowers exhaust themselves in seed formation, it’s a great time to observe shapes in the garden. For example, in the north garden there are arching Goji’s and flame-shaped hyssop pods, while, in the south garden, there are globular black seed heads of Virginia Mountain Mint, pearls of Pearly Everlasting and seed discs of Smooth Oxeye.
Sharing
While it saves labour to cut back seed stalks in the fall, rather than wait for the spring when they will be partly decayed and soggy, we also share the garden with birds and other creatures that depend on its seeds. So, we cut back some of the plants, like Blazing Star and Hairy Beardtongue in the fall and leave others, like Virginia Mountain Mint, Verbena, Smooth Oxeye and Pearly Everlasting until the spring.
For more information on St. Gabriel’s gardens visit the Garden Ministry web-page on the parish website. If you would like to participate in caring for our gardens, please email heathermjb@gmail.com.
Scripture scholars maintain that today’s parable of the wedding feast is a mixture of two parables: the wedding invitation and the lack of the wedding garment. Matthew’s gospel was written for the Jewish Christian community. From 66-70 AD the Romans were busy putting down a Jewish revolt. In 70 A.D. the Romans captured Jerusalem and destroyed it. The Temple was looted and leveled to the ground and there was a slaughter of the citizens. Whoever remembered this parable of Jesus told it in the light of the destruction of Jerusalem and the people’s rejection of Jesus and their persecution of the Christian community.
He saw the punishment of the citizens of the Jerusalem like the punishment meted out to those who ignored the invitation to the banquet celebrating the king’s son’s wedding. This happens different times as the writers of the gospels remember Jesus’ parables and apply them to a situation in the early Christian community.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in a way we’d never dreamed of, today’s parable sets before us the danger of taking life’s blessing for granted and God’s graces for granted.
You’ve heard me talk many times about the importance of an ‘attitude of gratitude.’
We take so many of life’s blessings for granted. We got out of bed this morning, some maybe faster than others. A lot of people can’t. We’re gifted with health, sight, speech, hearing, mobility, we have a roof over our heads, a job, we’re surrounded by those we love and who love us and we have the freedom to come to church and worship God.
My constant memory at this time of year is from a novel I read. It was titled, ‘A Complicated Kindness’, by Mirian Teows. It’s the story of a young girl growing up in the prairies. She belonged to a strict, joyless old German Mennonite church. Her family life was totally dysfunctional, her mother and her older sister just took off to escape the oppression under which they lived. This young woman made her escape through drugs and booze, and sleeping around. In telling her of her crazy mixed up, dysfunctional life she made an interesting statement. She said, ‘my life has been an embarrassment of blessings.’ I had to read those words a couple of times to see if I was reading correctly. My life has been an embarrassment of blessings.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, with all its restrictions ,maybe we can remember that it is good to give God thanks and praise for the embarrassment of our blessing which we’ve been blessed.
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