November 3rd, 2019
Today’s gospel gives us another example of Jesus reaching out to a person who was seen to be on the borders of respectable society. Tax collectors were at the bottom of the totem pole of occupations. Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from tree telling him, ’I must stay at your house today.’ Zacchaeus opens his home to Jesus and as happened many times in the gospel people complain,’ he eats and drinks with sinners.’
Welcoming Jesus into his home and enjoying Jesus’ company sharing a meal with him turned Zacchaeus’ life around. He was graced to see the ways he’d wronged and hurt people. He faced the fact that he cheated and exploited people
Salvation came into Zacchaeus’ house and it turned his life around. He promised to right the wrongs, try to heal the hurts he brought on others. He’d give half his possessions to the poor and pay back fourfold whatever he defrauded others. He could end up broke himself. We’re told Zacchaeus was short in stature but by God’s grace he grew tall.
Looking into our own relationships is there anyone in our family or among our friends to whom we should make amends, set things right?
Is there anyone with whom we’d wish to make amends and say those words that stick in our throats; I’m sorry, I was wrong, I was thoughtless?
Could it be an estranged spouse or an estranged son or daughter we’re convinced wronged us and we’ve judged harshly? Could it be a neighbour we’ve harmed by our gossip and defrauded them of their reputation?
Are we willing to make amends to people we’ll never know but people, because of our wasteful lifestyles or worse still because of our indifference, live without adequate food or water? Would we ever think of making amends to our Mother Earth by acknowledging that because of our wonton consumerism we’ve exploited Earth’s limited resources, poisoned it’s seas and rivers and the very air we breathe?
In his visit to the home of Zacchaeus Christ wanted to bring out the best in Zacchaeus. In our hearing of this gospel can Christ bring out the best that is within us?
| Posted in Homily |
November 2nd, 2019
A Book 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 in the book. They will be remembered at all the Masses celebrated in November.
At all masses this weekend, Deacon Philip Allard will speak about CHALICE, a Canadian, Catholic sponsorship program. He will explain how you can help a destitute child at one of 56 mission sites in 15 developing countries.
Deacon Philip was ordained in 2000 for the Archdiocese of Toronto. He was raised in Toronto and has been married to Arlene for over 30 years. Arlene and Philip have 3 dependent children who are living at home and engaged in post-secondary education. Philip has served in the same Scarborough parish since his ordination, and also ministers in a residential treatment centre for women with addiction and emotional problems.
November 9th & 16th, 2019 – St. Gabriel’s Parish
The second of the two new ministries we are launching in our parish community is the Bereavement Ministry. The Bereavement Ministry is also known as the Ministry of Consolation. Training is required for those who are interested in becoming a part of Bereavement Ministry Team. The Bereavement Ministry Training is designed for those who are ministering to the bereaved in a parish setting. New and seasoned parish bereavement ministers and volunteers are invited to join others in an interactive, two-day faith-based educational and spiritual learning opportunity.
We are pleased to announce that the upcoming Bereavement Ministry Training this fall will be hosted by St. Gabriel’s Parish. The training dates will be held on November 9 and 16, 2019 (both Saturdays). The sessions will start from 9:30 AM and will finish at 4:00 PM on both dates. Participants are required to attend both Saturday sessions. Registration deadline is Monday, November 4th, 2019. There is no cost to attend the training sessions; however if you wish to purchase the optional participant workbook, that would be $45 (with the cheque made payable to RCEC). Refreshments will be provided but please bring your own lunch.
The training will explore ways to begin a Bereavement Ministry in the parish or enhance your present bereavement ministry programs. If anyone is interested to become part of the Bereavement Ministry Team of our parish, please contact Sr. Maria Lucia at our Parish Office no later than November 1st so that she can register you at the archdiocesan office responsible for the training program. Come, learn, and share how the Christian faithful comfort mourners with words of faith and support and with acts of kindness!
The St. Gabriel’s youth group is excited to share an update of the activities that have been going on in our ministry these past few weeks.
We had our first youth gathering in early October to kick-off the new school year and welcomed a number of new youth members. On October 20th, we took to the streets of downtown Toronto as part of our long-standing Street Patrol initiative to help those in need. We distributed 125 meal packages consisting of a homemade sandwich, granola bar, and juice box. It was truly a heart-warming experience as we were living out Jesus’s teachings in the Gospel. In keeping with our church’s care for creation, we also planted over 50 native shrubs and trees at Cedarvale Park through a Stewardship volunteer event run by the City of Toronto. This past Sunday we also planted tulip, snowdrop, grape hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs around our church property with the help of our church’s Gardening Ministry. We ended off the month of October with a Halloween movie night social.
We look forward to all that is in store for our ministry in the coming months, especially our annual Talent Show this February, and our other future fundraisers to support our attendance at the annual Steubenville Catholic Conference. Thank you to our parishioners for all your ongoing support for our ministry!
We are always welcoming new members from Grades 6 to 12. If you are interested in joining our dynamic, passionate group of young people, send us an email at sgpyouthgroup@gmail.com.
November 4th to November 10th
MONDAY – VLADO PETRANOVIC – Requested by Mira Petranovic TUESDAY – WAHIBA BALADI – Requested by Mary Zakher WEDNESDAY – VICTOR, ROSIE & POONA JOSEPH – Requested by Margaret Joseph THURSDAY – JOAN RUEST – Requested by her Family FRIDAY – DECEASED MEMBERS OF MINNAN WONG FAMILY – Requested by the Family SATURDAY – ALL WHO HAVE DIED – Requested by Chara & Tina Intini SUNDAY – 10:30 AM DORIS YUNG – Requested by Paul & Wai Chin Huang & Family SUNDAY – 12:30 PM VERNON MULHALL – Requested by Vivian Mulhall McDonough
Thursday, November 7th at 7:30 PM St. Gabriel’s Church
There will be a meeting here at the Church on Thursday, November 7th at 7:30 PM for parents of children wishing to receive First Communion in 2020.
Thursday, November 14th at 7:30 PM St. Gabriel’s Church
There will be a meeting here at the Church on Thursday, November 14th at 7:30 PM for parents of children wishing to have their First Reconciliation in 2020.
The R.C.I.A. (Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults) sessions have commenced. Please pray for all our R.C.I.A. participants that they may patiently persevere in their spiritual journey. You may use this short prayer.
Prayer for the Journey of Faith: Loving God, bless those who are moving forward into the fullness of faith in You and full communion in the life of our Catholic Family. Protect them on their journey. Reveal to them the love of Your Son Jesus. Empower them with the gifts of Your Holy Spirit. May their journey to deepen their faith be fruitful and enriching. We offer this sacrifice of prayer for them, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
If you have, or know of, school age children (ages 7 to 14) who wish to prepare for Baptism, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866. Classes for them will begin soon.
Thank you to the volunteers who prepared 48 casseroles for October. For November, your prepared frozen casseroles will be collected at the Masses on the weekend of November 23rd / 24th for delivery to the Good Shepherd Centre.
More volunteers are needed to become active in helping to feed our less fortunate sisters and brothers. Three different recipes are available in the Parish Office or online at the Parish website. Casserole pans are also available in the Parish Office. If you require more information please contact Irene Albrecht at 416-221-2791.
Thank you for your generous support of Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre. Your food donations are very much appreciated.
Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city. Rosalie Hall provides a wide range of child services for young parents and their children.
Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Thank you for your ongoing support of these important centres.
Sunday, November 3rd, at 3:00 PM
St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power Street
The Mass of Memory is dedicated in memory of the many victims of the Irish Famine of 1847 who died of typhus on arrival in Toronto. 861 people were buried in the then St. Paul’s Catholic Cemetery and 281 were buried in St. James Anglican Cemetery.
Sacred/Celtic music prelude by The Irish Choral Society of Canada starts at 2:30 PM with a reception to follow after the Mass.
Proceeds from this celebration go to the Children’s Breakfast Club Program of St. Paul’s Basilica.
The installation of the south garden is now over 90% complete. Originally anticipated to finish on October 31, 2019, completion will now be delayed until the spring of 2020.
St. Gabriel’s garden has now been “put to bed” and the final event of 2019, during which members of the Youth Group planted bulbs for next spring, has been held. We, in the Garden Ministry, now move into planning mode for next season. Please check this space for future announcements of planning sessions in which you might like to take part. Thank you for your donations and support over the past year!
The next meeting of the Garden Ministry is on November 10, at 1:30 PM, in the Library.
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.
Cardinal Collins has written a letter of gratitude to pastors and their communities for their hard work and generosity toward the ShareLife Campaign.
| Posted in Bulletin |
October 27th, 2019
The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds and it will not rest until it reaches its goal. Today’s gospel speaks for itself and warns about thinking we are better than other people.
The fact is the Pharisee and the tax collector was telling the truth about themselves. The Pharisee fasted twice a week whereas the Law required fasting only one day of the year. He was a generous supporter of the Temple. He should have stopped there.
The tax collector told the truth about himself. Tax collectors had friends in low places. They made their money by over -charging people. He was a cheat, an exploiter, a sinner. The prayers of this honest sinner pierced the heavens.
The Pharisee was a sinner as well but he preferred to boast about the good he did instead of admitting his faults. He was the centre of his prayer not God. He saw himself as a self- made saint. He blew it when he thanked God he was not other people, thieves, rogues, adulterers and tax collectors; the riftraths of society.
The tax collector knew he was a bad lot, he didn’t fudge his faults. His simple prayer was, ’Lord be merciful to a sinner. He threw himself on the mercy of God and was embraced by God.
The Apostle Paul knew he was a sinner, a persecutor of the church until Christ entered his life. He said of himself, by God grace I am what I am and his grace in me has not been in vain.
We all are blessed in one way or another with different gifts and talents. Being humble does not mean putting ourselves down, belittling the gifts we’re given. Our gifts and talents are gifts from God, gifts given to be shared with other people and be willing to rejoice with them and the gifts with which they’ve been blessed. Prayer that puts other people down I s not prayer at all. Our blessed mother was truly humble when she said, ‘He who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.’
We can continue to celebrate our Mass thanking God we are like the rest of those around us, mistake making beings who live with our daily struggle; the good that we would we do not and the evil that we would not do, that we do. We all need God’s guidance , help and forgiveness. Admitting that we can leave here ‘justified’ which means we are in a right relationship with God and one another.
On Saturday, October 26th seven altar servers from St. Gabriel’s Parish received the “Bishop’s Altar Server Award for Service” during the 34th Annual Altar Servers Awards Ceremony at St. Paul’s Basilica. We offer our sincere thanks and congratulations to the following altar servers: Ian Saldivar-Brittain, Aidan Cologna, Joonho Kim, Luke Kim, Ugo Ogumanam, Mark Viado, Michaella Viado
The parish is truly grateful to all of its altar servers for their participation at the celebration of the Eucharist and ceremonies throughout the Church year.
Those parishioners who registered for this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (October 29th, 30th & 31st) to have their portrait taken for the 2020 Photo Directory should have received an email notification during the last week. Please ensure that you fulfill your commitment to attend so that all allocated appointments are kept.
We are pleased to announce that the upcoming Bereavement Ministry Training this fall will be hosted by St. Gabriel’s Parish. The training dates will be held on November 9 and 16, 2019 (both Saturdays). The sessions will start from 9:30 AM and will finish at 4:00 PM on both dates. Participants are required to attend both Saturday sessions. Registration deadline is Saturday, November 9th, 2019. There is no cost to attend the training sessions; however if you wish to purchase the optional participant workbook, that would be $45 (with the cheque made payable to R.C.E.C.) Refreshments will be provided but please bring your own lunch.
At all masses next weekend, November 2nd & 3rd, Deacon Philip Allard will speak about CHALICE, a Canadian, Catholic sponsorship program. He will explain how you can help a destitute child at one of 56 mission sites in 15 developing countries.
Remember to set your clocks back one hour next Saturday evening before you go to bed!
Cardinal Collins has requested that a weekend Mass attendance count be conducted annually in all parishes and missions of the Archdiocese. The attendance count will continue this weekend. The purpose of the count is to have a more accurate assessment of the number of people attending Mass on a weekend.
As with last year, when you come in for Mass, you may notice a few “counters” clicking on tally counters at the doors of the church. The counters will be doing their jobs in a way as discreetly and non-intrusively as possible.
The Parish Family of St. Gabriel’s would like to welcome the following children who received the Sacrament of Baptism on:
September 15, 2019 Ryan James DaRosa Isla Elizabeth Keenan Kennedy Tatiana TinYu Lau Benjamin Robert Matthews Keira Margaret Matthews Henry Alexander Rutka Marcus Daniel Yu
October 20, 2019 Danielle Rosaline Kong Noah James Macaraeg Anne-Marie Oluwatoni Ndukwe Montserrat Rosales-Castro
October 28th to November 3rd
MONDAY – ALICE MICHAEL – Requested by Charmaine Michael TUESDAY – DRAGICA PETRANOVIC – Requested by Mira Petranovic WEDNESDAY – JOHN HUYBERS – Requested by the Family THURSDAY – MARGARET MARY NORONHA – Requested by her Husband & Children FRIDAY – ALL SOULS IN PURGATORY – Requested by John Chan SATURDAY – GUS & MARIE CALDERONE – Requested by the Family SUNDAY – 10:30 AM SUNDAY – 12:30 PM AGNES NATCHATHIRAM – Requested by Felix and Family
Thursday, November 7th at 7:30 PM
St. Gabriel’s Church
Friday, November 1st from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon
English: Rosary – Saturday, November 2nd at 3:15 PM in the Gabriel Room. Chinese Rosary -, Sunday November 3rd at 3:30 PM in the Gabriel Room For information, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
Sunday, November 3rd at 11:30 AM in the Gabriel Room
On the first Sunday of each month, the Passionist Centre for Ecology and Spirituality facilitates a 30 minute reflection and discussion prompted by the readings for that Sunday’s liturgy. All are welcome to attend.
Each month the food we collect is sent to Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre.
Good Shepherd provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless in our city. Please check the expiry dates before donating since we cannot pass on food that has expired. Thank you for your ongoing support of these important centres.
Sunday, October 27th (2:30 PM)
Mosaic Interfaith invites you to attend the next presentation in their series “From Abraham: Three Faiths” to take place in St. Luke’s Catholic Church, 39 Green Lane, Thornhill on Sunday October 27 from 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM.
The subject is “How can we reform our tradition and still be loyal to that tradition?” Panelists, as before, are Rev. Canon John Hill, Rabbi Michael Stroh and Dr. Liyakat Takim from Christianity, Judaism and Islam respectively. See flyer on bulletin boards. For more information or to RSVP, call Nora 416-218-0680.
Sunday, October 27th (7:00 PM)
Temple Har Zion invites Mosaic Interfaith to celebrate Simchat Torah at 7360 Bayview Avenue, Thornhill at 7:00 PM on Sunday, October 27th.
Simchat Torah literally means “Rejoicing of?[with the] Torah” and is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of new cycle This is a joyous occasion and there will be music, dancing and singing.
For more information, call Nora 416-218-0680.
Friday, November 1st to Sunday, November 3rd
at St. Augustine’s Seminary
Inviting single Catholic men 17 years and older, to cultivate a deeper prayer life and relationship with Jesus Christ; leading to a better discernment of God’s call for their lives. A time for prayer, reflection and information on the process of becoming one of Christ’s disciples as a Catholic priest. The weekend begins at 7:00 PM on Friday and ends at 1:30 PM on Sunday. Register online at www.vocationstoronto.ca. Registrants 17 years old require parental consent.
For more information, please contact the Office of Vocations at 416-968-0997 or email vocations@archtoronto.org.
Sunday, October 27th after 10:30 AM Mass
The last harvest delivery for 2019, of beets, was made to the Good Shepherd Ministries this week. Thank you for your support throughout our community garden’s first growing season!
The Garden Ministry will be teaming up with the Youth Group on October 27th after the 10:30 AM mass to plant tulip, daffodil, snowdrop, and grape hyacinth bulbs in various locations around the property. Look for bursts of colour in the early spring!
October 20th, 2019
As the Israelites crossed the Jordon they really were invading other people’s land; today we’d call it a land grab’. So it’s not surprising that the local people resisted them. Amalek, their local leader fought to protect their land. Our first reading tells of this battle between Joshua and Amalek and the role Moses played in the battle.
We’re told that as long as Moses, who was watching the battle, held up his staff the battle favored the Israelites. Eventually Moses grew tired and arms slipped and then things went in favor of Amalek.
Moses’ friends Aaron and Hur sat him down and held up his arms the rest of the day and Joshua won the battle.
What can this short reading say to us, what can it ask of us? Simply put, are we there for those who need our support, our understanding or our strength?
Think for a second; are there family members or friends who could use our presence, our understanding and support in their times of struggle? It could be a student, stressed out by overdue assignments or exams or a friend with a hard earned college of university degree who can’t find the job in his or her field. Do you know of a friend desperate to find a work and needs some encouragement? Is there a family member of friend who has just gone through a divorce and would appreciate you just being there? Or do you know someone struggling with a debilitating disease of any description? Do you know of anyone struggling with an addiction? Do you have a neighbour who is homebound and would love a visit? Do you know of a grieving parent, a grieving spouse or a grieving son or daughter who is at a loss to accept the death of the one they loved
Any of these people are like the weary Moses who needs his or her Aaron and Hur to steady and support them as they face their struggles, their hurts or their disappointments. Our words or advice may not be needed but our presence is.
There was a song out years ago that sang this challenging question; ‘where you when I needed you?’ A question; could a family member of a friend sing these words to anyone of us?
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
