August 30th, 2020
In last week’s gospel we heard Jesus commending Peter for his answer to the question, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter answered; you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Today reveals a lot more about himself. He will go to Jerusalem where he will be rejected by the religious authorities, the priests and many of the people. He will be put to a shameful death. The disciples were stunned to silence. Not Peter. ‘God forbid Lord, this must never happen to you. Last week we heard Jesus call Peter a rock, this week we heard Jesus call Peter a stumbling block, a Satan. Just as Satan tried to lure Jesus away from his Father’s will at his temptations in the desert, Peter wanted Jesus to avoid his future rejection and death. Both tempters were rejected.
Jesus spells it all out for us; ‘if anyone wants to be a follower of mine let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. What will it profit anyone of us to win the lottery and lose his own integrity? Jesus was able to read the handwriting on the wall. He made an ever-growing of powerful enemies. Their desire to get rid of him was no secret. Like Jeremiah Jesus foretold the sufferings of those who worked for the coming of God’s kingdom; ‘All the day I am the object of laughter, everyone mocks me. The word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all day long.
The German Lutheran pastor Bonhoeffer wrote book titles, The Cost of Discipleship. Fidelity to Jesus demands a willingness to let go of security, approval and comfort and take us the cross of love and service and give ourselves away to family, friends and neighbours and strangers.
To be a follower of Jesus means we stand with the little people of Toronto. It all starts with the feet up. The challenge of the gospel, the grace of the gospel come from where we are. Toronto. The homeless street people, the men and women out of work, the families that depend on food banks, the wives and children hiding in women’s shelters, the family who can’t mourn for and honor their dead because of the virus.
We may not be able to do all that much but we can support church and government agencies who work to support these good people. May we not be part of what Pope Francis calls the global indifference that plagues so many people.
To be a follower of Jesus can mean we be ridiculed and mocked for being bleeding hearts, naïve socialist do gooders as we resist bigotry, racism and homophobia. Such stances could cost us friends but they will not cost us our lives.
Our personal Satans will tell us this is too hard, too costly, too naïve. Our answer must be; get behind me Satan, you are a stumbling block to my being a faithful follower of the Christ who loved and gave his life for me.
| Posted in Homily |
August 23rd, 2020
In today’s gospel Jesus is looking for feedback. He’s been preaching and teaching and curing people’s ills. So Jesus asks his friends, ‘who do people say I am?’ They share with him what they’ve heard. Some say you are John the Baptist, back from the dead. Some say you are Elijah others say you are Jeremiah, others see you as a prophet.
Then Jesus asks the most important question, ‘who am I to you? How deep, how solid is our relationship? Peter is the only one to answer;’ you are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. It would take Peter quite a while to come to see the full impact of his answer.
You’ve probably heard Protestant friends or Protestant preachers say that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior. This was a great theme of the preacher Billy Graham and his call to the Alter to accept Jesus.
Most of us are not comfortable with that kind of talk but it speaks of an intimacy people have with Jesus, the Jesus who suffered and died for each of us.
Our personal prayer offers us the time to think about that intimacy that closeness with him. They tell the story of a little guy talking about how he prays. Well first of all I tell Jesus how I’m doing and then I ask him how he’s doing. That’s the way we talk to one another, a familiarity; an at easiness.
Who do you say I am, who am I to you? As one spiritual writer wrote; ‘Jesus is always seeking a two-way liaison between himself and us, not just one-way. He wants us to have a relationship to the fullness of who he is. Besides being a charismatic leader or a good friend, he is the very reality of God’s love, present in the world, wide open to loving each of us. As St. Paul said, Jesus is the love of God made visible. He wants a mutual love-relationship with you and me, one in which we open up our hearts and let Godly love in. This is who Jesus is to us; He is the person who loved us even unto dying for us. He is the one who daily invites us to bring our burdens of anxiety, depression, grief, our weakness and failing to him for his support and understanding. He is the one who willing forgives our sins and failings. He is the healer of our wounds. He is the one who gives us the strength to face the uncertainty of a new day.
Our part in our relationship is to trust in who Jesus is to us.
In today’s short gospel the important question is asked of all of us; who am I to you. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit only we can answer that question, it’s that personal.
August 19th, 2020
Food collection for Good Shepherd and Rosalie Hall has resumed. Please bring your food donation and place them in the basket and box provided in the gathering space. Your help in bringing non-perishable food items such as rice, canned goods, pasta, sauces, soups, coffee, tea, sugar, and other similar items will go a long way in assisting the depleted food banks. Please check the expiry/use by dates on these items so we do not pass on food that has expired.
| Posted in Notice |
You may drop off your frozen casseroles the weekend of August 29/30, 2020 at the Masses for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre. Please remember to mark the label on the pan lid with the name of the casserole.
August 18th, 2020
We are all being encouraged to spend more time outdoors during this pandemic. So we hope this short video of St. Gabriel’s garden will entice you to do just that. If you are not able to visit the garden in person, then you can enjoy it virtually by clicking on the link provided. There are always plants in flower. Right now, Hairy Beardtongue is putting on quite a show in the south garden, with competition from Smooth Oxeye and Calendula and the Lily Walk in the north garden is at its peak. A stroll before or after mass is guaranteed to lift your spirits and calm your soul.
| Posted in Events |
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