June 2nd, 2019
Today we celebrate that moment in time when Christ returned to heaven after his death on a cross of shame and his glorious resurrection from the dead. Scholars say that the resurrection and the ascension are not two successive events but the church celebrates then separately in order to appreciate the deep meaning of the two aspects of the single indivisible event.
The core message of the Ascension is expressed in our opening prayer – ‘The Ascension of your Son is our exaltation for where he has gone before in glory we hope to follow.’ Christ’s resurrection from the dead is a pledge of our resurrection and his ascension in a pledge of our ascension; in God’s way and in God’s time.
There is a hymn sung on this feast that sings
Lo! the heaven its Lord receives, alleluia!
yet he loves the earth he leaves; alleluia!
though returning to his throne, alleluia!
still he calls mankind his own. alleluia!
Still for us he intercedes, alleluia!
his prevailing death he pleads, alleluia!
near himself prepares our place, alleluia!
he, the first-fruits of our race. alleluia!
We could see this feast as Christ saying to the Father, Mission accomplished. In other words what you sent me into the world I have done; I sacrificed myself for your sons and daughters, I have made peace between You and the human family through the blood of the cross. As St. Paul would say of himself as he knew his own death was near; ‘I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ Mission accomplished!
At one time or another we’ve all had that sense of accomplishment. We’ve finished exams, we’re graduating with a hard earned degree or we’ve just got a promotion. It could be something very simple such as we’ve made a difficult phone call or sent that difficult e mail or we’ve made a long delayed visit to a friend in a retirement home of hospital. We did it.
The question for each of us is, when the hour of our death comes can we look back over our life and say, ‘mission accomplished, maybe not perfectly, but we did the best we could. We did the best we could to accept people into our lives regardless of their race or religion, regardless of their life style or politics. We saw them as men and women loved by God as we are. We did our best to work for social justice, a living wage and adequate housing. We did our best to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus and his church. We did our best. We ran the race, the kept the faith. By God’s grace,Mission accomplished.
| Posted in Homily |
May 26th, 2019
As we know the first followers of Jesus were Jewish men and women who heard him preach on God’s love and mercy. Jewish men and women who witnessed some of his miracles, Jewish men and women who were scandalized by his shameful and humiliating death as a common criminal. Jewish men and women who believed the words of his apostles, Jesus is risen from the dead. Jewish men and women who knew they were God’s own people and Jesus was the promised one of God.
Gradually this early community of believers began to expand beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem to other Jewish communities. Bit by bit Gentiles joined the communities. The Jewish members of the community were convinced that these new believers had to be circumcised if there were to be true believers – if they were to be kosher they were to follow the way other men and women joined the Jewish faith; they would take on the practices of Torah and all males would be circumcised.
Word reached the community in Jerusalem that Paul of Tarsus, once an enemy of the followers of Jesus was accepting men into the Christian community without the obligation of the ritual of circumcision. This was unacceptable. Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses you cannot be saved.
This, in a nutshell, is the first major crisis of the early Church. It requires a conference of the leadership; Peter, James and John from Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas from Antioch. We read the decision of this meeting “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials, that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from fornication. Even though it was decided at this meeting that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised when joining the Christian community this issue bothered the community for years. Paul’s letters show how often he had to face and oppose the issue.
This meeting of Peter, James and John with Paul and Barnabas is known as the first council of Jerusalem. In the history of the church there have been 21 such councils. In our time we had the second Vatican Council from 1962 til 1965. Some 2800 bishops from 116 countries made decisions that changed to course and mentality of our church. A very important one was the change in attitude of the Church toward the Jewish people, the people of God, the first to receive the covenant and the promises. There was a strong condemnation of anti-Semitism. What affects us most is the way we celebrate Mass. It is celebrated in the language of the land. The priest faces the people as a sign that we are a community.
Someone once said that it takes about 50 years for the decisions of a Council to take root in the life of the church. Today there are men and women, bishops and priests who still resent and resist the changes of the Council, especially over the use of Latin. Some are of the opinion that Pope John Paul and Benedict tried to put the brakes on the movements of Vat, 2. They thought the Council went to far.
Pope Francis is loved by most of us. He is a breath of fresh air in the way he lives his life as Pope. No Vatican palace for him, no pomp and circumstances. He has an open heart and mind and sympathy toward men and women as they face their own issues in their lives. It’s not all black and white. He has to bear the brunt of the hostility directed at the Church as the result of the sexual abuses and their cover-ups. For some critics no matter what he does is not enough. He has been accused by some cardinals and bishops and laypersons of watering down the disciplines of the church with his words ‘who am I to judge? and his efforts to take a more humane way of being with people as they struggle with the complex issues of their lives.
The confusion and the struggles of the communities in Antioch and Jerusalem those centuries ago have always been part of the life of our church as the 21 ecumenical councils testify and they are part of our church today. How can we be faithful to the teachings of Jesus to love, to forgive, to heal and to grow.
As we continue to celebrate our Eucharist can we commit ourselves to praying for Pope Francis and all who are responsible for the well being of our church that they always have the mind and heart of Christ.
May 25th, 2019
The Linen Committee is responsible for keeping the linens used during the liturgy clean, ironed and returned to the parish in a conscientious and timely manner. We are in need of new volunteers to help with this important ministry. If you can help, please contact the Parish Office at 416-221-8866.
May 27th – June 1ST, 2019 MONDAY – FR. BERNAR – Requested by Nina Meyer & Family TUESDAY – SPECIAL INTENTIO – Requested by Cathy Badali WEDNESDAY – GERRY MEYE – Requested by Nina Meyer & Family THURSDAY – INTENTIONS OF JOHN BADAL – Requested by the Parish Team FRIDAY – CHRISTOPHER CIULL – Requested by Cheryle Ciulla SATURDAY – GUS & MARIE CALDERON – Requested by the Calderone Family SUNDAY, 10:30 – RICHARD LAZARO – Requested by his Family SUNDAY 12:30 –
English: Rosary – Saturday, June 1st at 3:15 PM in the Gabriel Room. Chinese Rosary – Sunday June 2nd in the Gabriel Room
For information, please contact Linda Law at 416-918-8029.
Friday, June 7th from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon
There will be no Eco-Sabbath in June, July or August. Eco-Sabbath will resume on September 8th, 2019.
It is important for you to know that to be hired to teach in any Catholic School Board in Ontario, as part of your application for employment, there must be a letter of reference from your pastor. If you are planning to apply to teach in a Catholic School, a contact with the pastor is highly recommended. Please plan to have a conversation with your pastor early in the process, well before applications are to be submitted.
Living the Gospel by supporting isolated seniors
In the span of three months, Debbie felt she had lost everything. Her partner of 33 years died, her leg was amputated, and she could no longer care for her beloved pets. She turned to the Society of Sharing, a ShareLife funded agency, who partnered her with a volunteer named Geof. Not only did Geof provide friendship, he used his teaching background to help Debbie fulfill a lifelong goal: learning how to properly read. Though it will be impossible for Debbie to regain all she has lost, her life is feeling full again.
Next Sunday, June 2 is the next ShareLife Sunday. Please give generously.
ShareLife Results for Previous Campaigns 2016 $190,334.25 2017 $217,507.08 2018 $172,230.78
OUR GOAL FOR 2019 $180,000 Collection to Date: $71,705
Thank you for your generous support of Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre. Your food donations are very much appreciated.
Rosalie Hall provides a wide range of child development, community, residential and educational services for young parents and their children.
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 everyone 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.
Weekend of June 22nd /23rd Spring Cleaning Year Round!
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be 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 June 22nd /23rd. They cannot accept books, dishes, furniture, appliances, mattresses, construction materials or videos and cassettes. Please 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.
The Space Between the Francis-es Monday May 27th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Duke of York Pub, 39 Prince Arthur Drive
A Laudato Si Check-In; as a Catholic community, in 4 years, how well have we responded to Pope Francis’ call to focus on our role as Stewards of Creation?
Our guest speaker will be Sabrina Chiefari an Environmental Educator and passionate advocate for ecological literacy and traditional ecological knowledge.
For more information, please call 416-467=2645 or email faithconnections@csj-to.ca.
Saturday, June 1st from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM St. Gabriel’s School
Come and enjoy a day of FUN!
Enjoy delicious fresh burgers (grass fed & sustainable meat, not frozen!) and other treats for the whole community. There will be inflatables, Zorb balls and a climbing wall. There will also be carnival games, crafts, snacks and a raffle. Please call the school at 416-393-5256 for more information. Thank you for your support.
Friday May 31st at 7:30 PM Saturday June 1st at 1:30 PM. Thursday, June 6th to Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 PM
Cardinal Carter Academy
TCDSB Staff Arts which features current and former Board teachers and staff, is presenting the Walt Disney Musical, ”The Little Mermaid” on May 31st, at 7:30 PM. June 1st at 1:30 PM, June 6th, 7th and 8th at 7:30 PM. All performances are at the Cardinal Carter Academy. For more information, please see the Posters on the bulletin boards or go to www.TCDSB.org/StaffArts.
Saturday, June 1st from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM St. Bonaventure’s Parish, 1300 Leslie Street
A workshop for maturing adults entitled “Stewarding the Fruits of Your Aging: Cultivating, Harvesting, and Feeding the Church with Your Gifts” will be held at St. Bonaventure’s Parish on June 1st. The guest speaker will be Robert L. Weber, Ph.D., M. Div., Clinical Psychologist and author. Registration includes lunch. To register, please contact Sr. Maria Lucia at 416-221-8866, Ext.228.
Catholic Parents of Lesbian Daughters and Gay Sons Saturday, June 8th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre, Pickering, Ontario
The Seeing with the Heart Day of Reflection for Catholic parents of Lesbian daughters and gay sons will be held on Saturday, June 8th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre, 2325 Liverpool Road in Pickering. The Cost is $50.00 which includes lunch. For questions and information call John Montague at 416-523-6449.
Please take a moment to visit St. Gabe’s new community garden on the small patio south of the window in the Gathering Space. The produce from the garden will benefit the Good Shepherd Ministries. If you would like to help with watering and weeding, contact me at my email address below or leave your telephone number in the office.
On June 9th, the Children’s Liturgy group will tour the community garden to see the progress of their seedlings and taste some of the produce.
On June 23rd, Paul Hayden, owner of Grow Wild Native Plant Nurseries, will provide a tour of the new south garden, identifying each plant, its growing information, cultural uses, and other characteristics.
For more information on the Garden Ministry, contact Heather Bennett at heathermjb@gmail.com.
| Posted in Bulletin |
May 19th, 2019
I imagine that many of you watched last Sunday’s basketball game between the Raptors and the Philadelphia. You watched that basketball pounce once and twice and three times before it fell through the hoop and the Raptors won their well- deserved victory. The place went wild.
The Rogers Centre was filled with men women and children wearing Raptor hats or sweaters and T Shirts showing the Raptors emblem. Everyone wanted to be identified with their team. It’s the same with the Blue Jays and the Leafs. It’s the same in all the cities who have teams in the major sports leagues. People want to be identified with their heroes and when they turn out to be losers, well there’s always next year.
In the early church Paul was annoyed with people who identified themselves with personalities instead of with Christ. Some people said ‘I am of Paul or I am of Apollos or I am of Peter.’ Paul challenges such people with the question, ‘has Christ been divided?’ Was Paul or Apollos or Peter crucified for you? We are all of Christ.
In today’s short gospel Christ lets us know how we are shown to be on his team, identified as being in his corner. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciple, if you love one for another.’ That love was not to be restricted to fellow Christians; it was meant to be for everyone who came into their lives, especially those who opposed them, even put them to death.
The greatest compliment they received from others was ‘see how these Christians love on another.’ People observing a Christian community are supposed to be impressed that their kind of mutual service and love can only be explained by a divine presence they came to know in the reality of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Our love for others, our respected for their beliefs, their culture their racial origin, their life style shows other people that we are on Jesus’ team, we want to be identified with him.
This isn’t easy. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. As one spiritual writer wrote; we are always both grand and petty. The world isn’t divided up between big-hearted and small-minded people. Rather our days are divided up between those moments when we are big-hearted, generous, warm, hospitable, unafraid, wanting to embrace everyone and those moments when we are petty, selfish, over-aware of the unfairness of life, frightened, and seeking only to protect ourselves and our own safety and interests. We are both tall and short at the same time and either of these can manifest itself from minute to minute.
That’s why we receive Holy Communion at the Mass. We need the grace and strength and healing power of Christ so that we may always be members of his winning team. May we try to live each day in Christ’s presence, in Christ’s love and in Christ’s
May 18th, 2019
Monday, May 20th is Victoria Day. The Parish Office will be closed. There will be no 9:00 AM Mass that day.
Dear Parishioners, I will be absent for the next few weeks for medical reasons. I am planning to be back sometime in June. Fr. John will assume my duties during my absence. Your prayers are very much appreciated.
Congratulations to the children from our parish attending our Children’s Faith Program and other Catholic schools who received their First Communion as a group on Sunday, May 12th, 2019 at the 12:30 Mass.
Malia Bumanglag Maverick Chang Oliver Chang Ying Dao Linh Cheng Hong Duc Cheng Alexander Chiu Suzy Choi Bella Da Rosa Nicole Felix Tristan Gsoll Braeden Kroetsch Madeline Wong Spencer Wong Tessa Young Aidan Yu
We wish these young people every blessing and promise to support them with our prayers as they continue on their journey of faith.
Our church youth ministry would like to thank all parishioners who supported our Mother’s Day Fundraiser last weekend. Around $1,200 was raised in support of the youth’s attendance at the annual Steubenville Catholic Conference this July.
We would also like to give a special thank you to the parishioners who donated religious articles and household items for our sale. We are extremely blessed by the support of our parish community!
May 19th – May 26th, 2019
MONDAY – VICTORIA DAY – No 9:00 AM Mass TUESDAY – CECILIA MANALANG – Requested by Plutarco Manalang WEDNESDAY – GERRY & EDNA HATCH – Requested by Their Family THURSDAY – FRANK COLANTONIO – Requested by Angela Colantonio FRIDAY – FOR THE INTENTIONS OF FR. BRANDO – Requested by The Parish Team SATURDAY – ANA SOFIA NASCIMENTO – Requested by the Nascimento Family SUNDAY 10:30 – ANTONIO BRANCATO – Requester by his Family SUNDAY 12:30 –
It is important for you to know that to be hired to teach in any Catholic School Board in Ontario, as part of your application for employment, there must be a letter of reference from your pastor. If you are planning to apply to teach in a Catholic School, a contact with the pastor is highly recommended.
Please plan to have a conversation with your pastor early in the process, well before applications are to be submitted.
Living the Gospel by supporting youth ministry in our parishes
What difference does training make for youth ministers? Consider that the 40+ youth ministers in the Archdiocese of Toronto collectively impact thousands of youth and their families. The Office of Catholic Youth (OCY), funded by ShareLife, visits parishes, equips youth ministers, and facilitates networking—including an archdiocesan training day attended by 200 youth ministers and volunteers. OCY helps ensure a vibrant church for future generations.
June 2nd is the next ShareLife Sunday. Please give generously.
OUR GOAL FOR 2019 $180,000 Collection to Date: $71,555
Thank you for your generous support of Rosalie Hall and the Good Shepherd Centre.
With everyone 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.
Your prepared casseroles (frozen please) will be collected at the Masses next weekend.
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. Printed copies of the recipes are also available in the Parish Office. For more information, you may contact Irene Albrecht at 416 221-2791.
Saturday, May 25th at 10:00 AM Blessed Trinity Church
Blessed Trinity Community invites you, your family and friends to receive God’s grace of peace, courage, strength, and healing at Holy Mass where those who are suffering from physical and mental illness may receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
The Mass will take place on Saturday, May 25th at 10:00 AM.
A reception will follow in the Church hall where you can gather for support and fellowship.
The Space Between the Francis-es
Monday May 27th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Duke of York Pub, 39 Prince Arthur Drive
Friday May 31st at 7:30 PM Saturday June 1st at 1:30 PM. Thursday, June 6th to Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 PM Cardinal Carter Academy
If you noticed that the celery, tomato, pepper, cabbage, kale and lettuce seedlings are no longer under the lights near the entrance from the church to the underground parking, it is because the weather has been fine and they have been planted in the garden along with bean, cucumber and green onion seeds. The south-most box had already been planted with spinach and radish seeds. In case of inclement weather on Saturday, we will be planting on Monday, May 20th at 10:00 AM.
The Garden Ministry welcomes two student volunteers from St. Joseph Morrow Park High School who will be helping in the garden.
Save the Date: On June 23rd, Paul Hayden, owner of Grow Wild Native Plant Nurseries, will provide a tour of the new south garden, identifying each plant, its growing information, cultural uses, and other characteristics.
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
