September 1st, 2019
Fr. John Muthengi has been appointed to the United Nations as the representative of the Passionist Congregation. He will be leaving the Parish on September 10th and will be stationed at the Passionist Monastery in Jamaica, New York. We wish Fr. John all the best in his new appointment.
Wednesday September 11th, 18th, and 25th
9:45 AM to 12:00 Noon
We are excited to announce that our St. Gabriel Parish Community will be introducing two new ministries this fall. The first one we will usher in is the Ministry with Maturing Adults. This ministry will support the “lifelong faith development of women and men throughout all phases of the pre-retirement and retirement years.” Through this ministry, our parish will attempt to address the needs that arise as life changes and hopefully allow our parishioners who are in the second half of life (50+) to recognize that their “everyday life and experiences go hand-in-hand with our spiritual life.”
We will train a core group of parishioners who will constitute the Ministry with Maturing Adult Leadership Team (MMALT). The role and the goal of this ministry will initially be developed by the core leaders of this ministry. Sr. Mary Rose Marrin, CSJ who started the Ministry with Maturing Adults (MMA) in the Archdiocese of Toronto will conduct a visioning workshop for the MMALT so that they can articulate and identify the vision of our ministry at St. Gabriel. The visioning workshop series entitled “Creating a Vision for Ministry with Maturing Adults” will be held from 9:45 AM to 12:00 Noon for three successive Wednesdays: September 11th, 18th, and 25th, 2019.
Anyone who is interested to become part of the core group to start this ministry can join six of our parishioners who had agreed to be on the initial leadership team of the Ministry with Maturing Adults at St. Gabriel’s. Please contact Sr. Maria Lucia at our Parish Office no later than September 7th if you are interested to join the Leadership Team of this new ministry.
Welcome back to all our parishioners who have been away on holidays. We hope you have had an enjoyable summer.
For those young people who are off to university, we wish you every success as you begin a new stage of your life. For those students and teachers returning to elementary and secondary school, we wish you a very positive and rewarding year.
Monday September 2nd is Labour Day. There will be no 9:00 AM Mass that day. The Parish Office will be closed.
Sunday September 15th after the 12:30 Mass
On Sunday, September 15th there will be an altar server welcome back and retraining session after the 12:30 Mass. Every altar server is invited. Interested boys and girls, ages 9 and older, who are willing to train to be an altar server are very much welcome. Refreshments will be provided.
September 2nd to September 8th
MONDAY – LABOUR DAY – No 9:00 AM Mass TUESDAY – ROSARIO CORTEZ – Requested by Zenaida Cortez WEDNESDAY – BILL McNAMARA – Requested by the O’Mahony Family THURSDAY – FOR THE INTENTIONS OF FR. PAUL CUSACK – Requested by the Parish Team FRIDAY – GUS & MARIE CALDERONE – Requested by the Calderone Family SATURDAY – HYACINTH PAUL – Requested by Sophie & Candida Pereira SUNDAY – 10:30 AM – JUAN & CANDIDA VILLORIA – Requested by the Villoria, Hale & Kipp Families. SUNDAY 12:30 PM –
St. Gabriel’s Church September 19th, 24th 25th and 26th from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Registration for children who wish to receive the Sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation will be held at St. Gabriel’s Church on the following dates:
Thursday, September 19th from 7:30 to 9:00 PM Tuesday, September 24th from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Wednesday, September 25th from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Thursday, September 26th from 7.30 PM to 9:00 PM
Please Note: A copy of the child’s Baptismal Certificate is required if registering for First Communion or Confirmation.
A fee of $30 is required at registration for Confirmation to defray related costs.
Gabriel Room Saturday, September 28th at 2:00 PM
“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” Romans: 10:17
Are you a good story teller? Would you like to share your with others? On Saturday, September 28th at 2:00 PM join the Lectors to learn more about the ministry at a workshop in the Gabriel room. The workshop will provide time for lectors to share their experience and learn some of the best kept secrets of proclaiming the Word. Those who would like to join this ministry are asked to RSVP to the Parish office by September 23rd, 2019.
Sunday, September 8th at 10:00 AM
St Gabriel’s School
Registration forms for the Children’s Faith Program are available in the parish office. This program is for children of the Parish who attend public or private schools. Classes are held at St. Gabriel’s School every second Sunday beginning Sunday, September 8th at 10:00 AM.
Please note that a separate Sacramental registration form is required if your child will receive the sacraments of First Communion, Reconciliation or Confirmation during the 2019/20 year. These forms are also available in the parish office.
“Those who sing pray twice.”
The members of the choir always welcome new voices and hope you will consider joining them! The senior choir practices on Tuesday evenings, from 7:30 to 9:00 PM and leads community song at the 10:30 AM Sunday Mass.
The junior choir practices on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and leads the music at the 12:30 PM Mass.
For more information, please contact Marilyn Calderone at 416-618-2041
You can make a difference in the lives of the hungry and homeless this Thanksgiving by participating in the annual Good Shepherd Ministries Thanksgiving Food Drive.
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.
Urgently needed items include: rice, pasta and pasta sauces, peanut butter, jam, cooking spices, hot chocolate, powdered milk, black/Orange Pekoe tea, ground or instant coffee, sugar, cookies and crackers, vegetable oil, jams, canned tuna, soups, stews, meats, fruits and vegetables.
Please no fresh or frozen foods. We thank you for your generous support!
Weekend of September 15th/16th
Spring Cleaning Year Round!
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is collecting gently used clothing, shoes, linens and household goods to support our neighbors in need or to be sold to help support their special works in the community on the weekend of September 15th/16th They cannot accept books, dishes, furniture, appliances, mattresses, construction materials or videos and cassettes. Please bring your donations and help others in your community.
The truck will be open Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Volunteers will be there to assist with loading before and after each Mass.
Thank you to all who prepared casseroles for the Good Shepherd Centre for the months of July (50) and August (24). If you forgot to bring your casserole in on the weekend, you may still do so as soon as possible.
For September, your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of September 29th/30th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
Casserole donations have fallen off considerably in the summer months. Many more volunteers are needed to help feed the hungry in our city. We encourage you to pick up a copy of a casserole recipe and a pan and give it a try. Three recipes are available on St. Gabriel’s web site and in the Parish Office.
For more information, you may contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
Wednesday, September 19th at 1:00 PM
The Milk Bag Workshops will begin again on Wednesday, September 19th. Please make sure the bags you bring are clean and flat in the box. This will be of great help to the weavers. For further information about this program please visit www.milkbagsunlimited.ca or contact Sharon Gusz at sharongusz@gmail.com
It has been a productive summer with the installation of the south garden nearing completion and ample harvests for the Good Shepherd continuing apace. The abundance of pollinators in both gardens continues to delight observers and gratify our efforts. Several events have been planned for September.
Sunday, September, 15th The Garden Ministry will be raffling a pie made with St. Gabriel’s own blueberries. Proceeds will go to the Garden Ministry for the purchase of tools and supplies for the Good Shepherd community garden.
Sunday, September 22nd from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM: In solidarity with Global Climate Strike Week, September 20th to 27th, Fr. Steve Dunn, of our local Passionist Community, will offer a virtual guided tour of the Cosmic Stations in the south garden. The stained glass originals of the Stations will be on display.
Sunday, September 29 from 1:30-3:00 PM There will be a Seed-Saving Workshop led by Cameron Couchman, a familiar face from previous workshops and on site in the gardens. Saving seeds from the garden’s lavender plants, as well as seeds from other plants will be explored.
For more information on the Garden Ministry, visit our website at https://stgabrielsparish.ca/ministries/garden-ministry/ or email Heather Bennett at heathermjb@gmail.com.
| Posted in Bulletin |
August 24th, 2019
Luke tells us Jesus preached in all the villages he passed through as he made his way to Jerusalem, the city in which he would be tried and condemned to the shameful and painful death of crucifixion. He encouraged the people to listen to what he had to say about God’s kingdom. He offered them the chance to be close to God, be faithful to God.
I wonder about the person who asked the question, ’Lord will only a few be saved?’ He was probably a very pious person. He might have been like the man Jesus used in his parable of the two men who went to the temple to pray. One boasted about how much he prayed and fasted and supported the temple. The other stood far back and simply prayed, ’Lord be merciful to me a sinner. Jesus tells us he went home justified.
Have you ever been asked, ‘have you been saved?’ There are people who brazenly ask that question of other people. They are convinced that unless you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you are lost, lost for all eternity. They are sure they are among the saved. But Jesus tells such people; many will come the east and the west and take their place in the kingdom of God. Outsiders will be saved.
We’re all saved by reason of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The reality we celebrate at the Mass. We’ll realize our salvation when we live our lives faithful to the teaching and example of Christ. We’ll realize our salvation when we live the great commandment, love one another as I’ve loved you. We’ll realize our salvation when give thanks to God for the blessings of our lives. We’ll realize our salvation when we are open to the stranger, when we are there for brothers and sisters in need
There is a prayer before a crucifix that prays; For how many ages have you hung upon you cross and still I pass you by and regard you not…..you stretch your hands to comfort me, to lift me up and I have taken those hands which might have struck me into hell and nailed the back, rigid and helpless on the cross, -yet I have but succeeded in engraving my name on your palms forever.
The message of the prayer is we are offered the love of our crucified Christ but it is up to us to accept that love, open our lives to that love and live that love. Christ’s love is a gift but no gift can be given unilaterally. Successful gift-giving takes two: one to offer the gift, and one to receive it. If we refuse the gift God offers us, the gift cannot be successfully given.
Are we saved – yes we are – if we say yes to this awesome gift.
It is our choice as to whether or not we are left to stand outside and knock and hear those dreadful words, ‘I do not know where you come from, go away.
| Posted in Homily |
August 18th, 2019
In the second reading of today’s Mass we have the words of support and encouragement that Paul wrote to the Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem. Paul wanted to exhort these good people to persevere in the face of persecution. At that time, certain believers were considering turning back to Judaism to escape being persecuted for accepting Christ as the Messiah. Jewish family members and neighbours saw them as traitors to the ancient faith. Paul reminded them of the great feats and struggles Jewish holy men and women had endured through the ages in their struggles to be faithful to God. Paul held these people up as examples of those who suffered even death for being faithful followers of the God of Israel.
His last example for them to follow is Jesus who endured such hostility against himself; a hatred and hostility that brought him to the cross. Paul encourages these wavering people to run with perseverance the race that was set before them looking to Jesus, the crucified the pioneer and perfecter of their faith.
In the gospel we hear Jesus foretelling of the struggles those who follow him would have to face; rejection by their own families, and made social outcasts by their religious leaders, made to feel like lepers, unclean, unfaithful.
Following Jesus was never meant to be a walk in the park.
Years ago G.K. Chesterton wrote these words; Christianity is the only religion which worships a scapegoat, worships the one who is hated, excluded, spat upon, blamed for everything, ridiculed, shamed, and made expendable. Christianity is the only religion that focuses on imitating the victim and which sees God in the one who is surrounded by the halo of hatred.
There are men and women in our society today who for their own purposes marginalize and scapegoat the sick, the poor, the handicapped, the unborn, the unattractive, the non-productive, and the aged. We as Catholic/Christians are scapegoated and ridiculed when we stand up for such people.
We’re called bleeding hearts when insist Canada welcome refugees, people fleeing from war and persecution. We’re called lefties when we support a living wage, affordable housing and other social causes. In doing all these things we are one with our crucified Christ who writhed in pain and shed his blood for all of us, this man who wears a halo of hatred.
In all our efforts to work for peace and justice and bring a bit of love to our troubled world we look to Jesus, the crucified, the pioneer and perfector of our faith. God give us the courage to be faithful followers of our scapegoated Christ.
August 3rd, 2019
We know these words of Jesus to be true, ‘one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions’ but greed and our need to possess, collect and hoard things always seems to win out. The real danger of having many things, being financially secure robs us of our sense of our need, our dependency on our gracious God.
This self – satisfied farmer thought he had it made. His bountiful crop would be stored in bigger barns; his ample goods would see him through for many years. He was just going to sit back and enjoy his good fortune. He might even increase his wealth. He plans to be ready for future lean years when crops fail and the cost of grain rises. He plans to cash in during these hard times when needy neighbours come to him to borrow or buy grain. He plans to sell his grain at exorbitant prices putting his neighbours at his mercy. His future looks rosy.
We all heard the saying, ‘if you want to make God laugh tell God you plans.’ God had something else in mind for this man. That very night his soul would be demanded of him and the fortune he amassed would be left for his family to fight over, relatives who did not toil for it would be the ones to enjoy his wealth.
There is nothing wrong with financial security. There is nothing wrong with a secure stock portfolio or a solid pension plan.
St. Paul asks, ‘what have you that you have not received and if you have received it why do you carry on as if you had not received it?’ He also said, ‘our sufficiency is from God.’ The message of today’s scripture is simply this, our lives are ultimately futile and meaningless if viewed in and of themselves apart from God.
Life lived in love for God and others is the life well lived. Life lived in love for God and others is a life that will reap us an abundant harvest. God grant that each of us, in our own way, be blessed to live such a life, and we will if we always have an attitude of gratitude.
July 28th, 2019
Lord, teach us to pray. Most of us see ourselves as poor prayers. We’re so busy we find it hard to find the time to pray and when we do pray we find it hard to be still, our minds are like racing motors thinking of things we should be doing.
We’ve made Jesus’ lesson on how to pray into a prayer itself. Jesus’s first point in his teaching is that when we pray we are entering into a relationship, son or daughter with our father, our mother. The most basic of all relationships.
On another occasion when Jesus was talking about prayer he tells us not to babble like the gentiles do. They think that by using many words they will be heard. Then he tells us,’ your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.’ Our father/mother knows what we need. We know what we want. As has been said before, prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind to suit us as it is about changing our minds to suit God’s.
The Our Father is a series of petitions the first of which is ‘hallowed be thy name.’ It is the most important petition, that God’s name be glorified. We ask the God’s kingdom come to that part of our lives which have yet to be redeemed. We ask that our lives be open to God’s will for us rather than our own. We ask for the daily bread of God’s living giving grace. Our next petition is a bit frightening if we think about it; forgive us our offences as we forgive those who have offended us Finally we ask not to be put to the test of being separated from our father/mother.
There is a country western song that sings, sometimes God greatest gift is our unanswered prayers. He’d discovered that the love he so longed for would have been a disaster. The spiritual writer CS Lewis once quipped that we will spend most of eternity thanking God for those prayers of ours that he didn’t answer!
The greatest prayer we pray is a prayer of thanksgiving. That’s what we are praying right here, right now. When we begin our Eucharistic prayer, our prayer of thanksgiving we say, it is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks Lord holy father, almighty and eternal God. We give you thanks for the gift of ourselves, our lives, our faith, our sight, our hearing, our mobility, our family, our friends, our work, our food and so many other blessings we take so much for granted. No mattered what our problems and struggles we are a blessed people.
As we continue to celebrate this Eucharist, this prayer of thanksgiving may we know in our hearts that is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give our God to give you thanks.
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