Parish Bulletin « St Leo's Parish Brooklin Ontario - St. Leo's Parish

It would not have even occurred to me that parishioners would prefer to know what music groups in our parish will be playing at which Masses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but apparently some do, so here goes….

CHRISTMAS EVE - 5:00 P.M. MASS (Warning: Packed!)
Sunday 9:00 a.m. Mass Group
with guitars and voices (May & Johann leaders)
CHRISTMAS EVE – 9:00 P.M. MASS
(Saturday 5:00 p.m. Mass Group )
John VonZuben (guitar) and choir
Carols will begin at 8:30 p.m. before Mass
CHRISTMAS EVE – MIDNIGHT MASS
(11:00 A.M. Sunday Mass Choir)
The Midnight Mass will be preceded with Carols by choir, organ and brass or strings at 11:30 pm
The brass/strings will accompany all of the
music of the Midnight Mass as well
CHRISTMAS DAY – 11:00 A.M. MASS (No 9 a.m. Mass)
11:00 A.M. MASS GROUP with Organ
and (possibly) choir

NOTE TO ALL PEOPLE WHO BREATHE

We plan to use incense at all Masses of Christmas

…AND SADNESS FLEE AWAY
These are the last words in our well-known Advent song “O Come Divine Messiah!” There is no avoiding, I suppose, a sense of “let’s get Advent out of the way to prepare for the 25th”, but the wisdom of the Church in choosing its scriptures for this Sunday reminds us to continue to be ready, to make straight our paths to the Lord. “Who” Jesus is perplexed not only John the Baptist but confronts us still as we seek to follow him.
Aside from the four Sundays when the scriptures tell us to be ready and prepared for the coming of the Lord, this season of joyful preparedness can be a very difficult time for so many people: for those who are poor or marginalized; for those who have to face the holiday season alone with memories of better times and the loss of a loved one who is no longer with them; those who are experiencing the breakup of a relationship; those who are coping with an illness or poor health; those who are fearful, worried or faced with much anxiety. The holiday season can be the worst of times at a time that is supposed to be joyous, festive, celebratory and fun.
Now, it’s not that I want to address this Advent season with a “downer” of an article, but I really feel, as I think we all do, for those who are sad, lonely, perplexed, vexed with the constant onslaught of too many things to do, but especially for those who are suffering from what can seem to be an immovable sense of sorrow, loss and relentless sadness at this time when everyone else may seem to have it all.
For me, if I should ever be sad, it is not mindless games that can shake me from my mood, but rather the work of the artist who can paint the scenes I see and feel inwardly, the poet who can speak of what I sense, the composer and the musician who can lead me to think that they know what it is to feel as I feel. I turn to that great poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote Day Is Done.

DAY IS DONE

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o’er me
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And tonight I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have power to quiet.
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.
And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

Ah, the music of words from the poets experience, perception, pen and mind. While sadness is real just as physical pain is real, they are not in and of themselves all powerful. We need to recognize them for what they are, temporary feelings and sensations that will pass in time. Here I am not talking about people who suffer from depression due to a chemical imbalance, as real and as awful as this can be, for these can sometimes be treated with therapy and medical treatment. But I am addressing those whose sadness comes from the helplessness of their life situations whose symptoms cannot be readily remedied with a pat on the back and a “there, there, now – everything’s going to be all right”. There is a need for those who are sad to face their pain and work through what they feel in order to one day be able to move o, especially when moving on seems the hardest thing to do. When, for example, someone is suffering from the death of a life-partner in a husband, or wife, or in the death of a child, while grief is real it is something to journey through towards a sense of healing so that while the one we have lost and the loss we feel will never truly go away, time itself can bring about that healing with the aid, support and love of others who have been through the same things we have.
In the Christian context, suffering is not something to be avoided or swept under the carpet as if it were all in our minds: it is rather to be confronted. Sometimes in the face of great sorrow, sadness and grief, there is a tendency to think that if we just busy ourselves with other things and other thoughts and even other people, the sadness will go away and the pain will disappear. However, this is not true and avoidance is not healthy. If we bury things or deny them they still go somewhere and will no doubt surface again when our resistance is down. Christ tells us that in this life, in our human existence, we will experience sorrow and sadness, pain, suffering and grief, and that these will be real just as his suffering and death on the Cross were real. But Jesus also tells us that our “sorrow will be turned to joy” as His was! Yet it is not “pie in the sky when you die” that Jesus addresses here, rather it is the truth that even in this life here on earth are we meant to experience the “abundant life” he spoke of. The abundant life is not a life of ease and mindless bliss that we might project into our thoughts of retirement, but it is living in and having the perspective and truth of what life really is all about, and having this truth touch the realities of the ups and downs of our lives.
The real sadness of this world is found in those who do not know or will not allow the reality and presence of God and His plan for their lives now and always to penetrate their being. There is a new world coming and its truth is meant not only to touch but also colour our perception and understanding of this world that is, in fact, passing away. Love cannot eliminate pain but it certainly can soften it, and there is no other love that is like that of our God. We will only understand fully the redemptive character in pain and suffering when we are with the Lord forever in the fullness of the life that is to come, for then we shall see.
O come divine Messiah.
The world in silence waits the day,
when hope shall sing its triumph,
and sadness flee away!
(Blessed Advent! Fr. Charles)

IN THE PARISH THIS WEEK:

St. Vincent de Paul Meeting on Tuesday, December 14^th at 7:30 a.m.

Leo’s Lunch is a Christmas Dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 15^th at 12:30 p.m.

Next Sunday is Coffee Sunday. Coffee and Christmas refreshments will be served after the 9 & 11 a.m. masses.

Dishwasher Needed

The parish is looking to buy one or two commercial dishwashers for use in our parish hall kitchen. If anyone has any connections to a new commercial dishwasher (Hobart, etc.) please speak to Fr. Charles.

CALLING ALL ST. LEO’S BAKERS

Christmas Cookies are available for purchase this weekend and Dec. 18/19 weekend. When you are doing your Christmas baking, would you consider making some cookies for our campaign. Cookies should be dropped off on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. in the parish hall. If you have any questions please call Jeananne at (905) 579-6118.

MASS INTENTIONS

Tuesday, Dec. 14 – 8:30 a.m. – Mrs. Tonnie Vonk+
Wednesday, Dec. 15 – 7:00 p.m. – Teresa Berezowski+
Thursday, Dec. 16 – 8:30 a.m. –
Friday, Dec. 17 – 8:30 a.m. –
Saturday, . 18 – 5:00 p.m. – Michael & Anna Tomas+
Sunday, Dec. 19 - 9:00 a.m. – Mass for the children to be
Baptized on January 16, 2011
- 11:00 a.m. – Rita McCanny+

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT CHURCH - 194 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa – A Family Christmas Concert, Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Come and join Paul, Michelle, David and their friends in a joyful celebration of the Christmas Season and Family. Tickets are available at the Masses beginning Nov. 27. Please see the poster on the Church Bulletin board for detailed information.

ST. ISAAC JOGUES ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 2011 MARRIAGE PREPARATION COURSE begins January 21^st and finishes February 25^th. Sessions are from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The cost is $150.00 per couple. Please phone the Church Office at (905) 831-3353 Ext. 221.

SERRA CLUB

COME PRAY WITH US

EVERY FRIDAY FROM 2 PM TO 3 PM IN THE CHAPEL

AT ST. JOSEPH’S THE WORKER PARISH, OSHAWA

January 5, 2010 Club Meeting at St. Joseph’s the Worker Parish at 7 p.m. Mass followed by refreshments. The guest speaker is Sister Jocelyn.

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Sunday, December 05, 2010

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Just Who Is St. Nicholas?

On Saturday December 4th our parish will be hosting a
Breakfast With St. Nicholas in the parish hall. Formerly, this same gathering of children was known as Breakfast With Santa, but in our planning this year I felt it more appropriate to emphasize a saint of the Church who is associated by the Church with the true spirit of Christmas. Santa, that jolly, happy man who gives toys to children on December 24th the world over, only seeks to draw our attention to Christmas by the great work that he does on Christmas Eve. Before that time he asks children to be good and to avoid being ‘naughty’. Santa has often been exploited by those who want to make money on his good and generous reputation. Santa was made popular by Coca Cola years ago as they showed him consuming their product while leaving presents in children’s homes instead of drinking the more traditional milk and eating cookies.
The Church reminds us that Advent is about waiting whereas the commercial side of Christmas, which Santa never intended, wants to make us think about Christmas months before it takes place. It is not and should not be viewed as Santa verses St. Nicholas – they are the same man and person. In our celebration on December 4th we will focus on St. Nicholas as the Bishop of Myra.
Bishop Nicholas lived in the 4th Century, and therefore, it is apparent to see how challenging it would be to have an accurate historical picture of a man who lived almost 1700 years ago. Even the exact year of his death is presented as 345 and 352.
Legends about St. Nicholas grew into the story and legend of Santa Claus, but really they are one and the same person. Nicholas was a Catholic Christian born in the village of Patara in what is now the southern coast of Turkey. According to the legends about Nicholas, his parents were wealthy but both his parents died when he was young, leaving Nicholas with the family fortune, which he gave away to assist the needy and those who were sick and suffering. He later dedicated his life to serving God and became known throughout the land for his love for children and those in need. He has been considered as the Patron Saint of Children.
Even if much of what we know about St. Nicholas has been fashioned from story to fill in the gaps of what we don’t really know about him historically, the figure of this man who became a bishop of the Church has endured the ages and his popularity has grown in many countries all over the world. His life points powerfully to Jesus Christ and the selflessness Jesus calls us all to live.
Children grow up learning about Santa. What the legend of St. Nicholas and Santa presents to us who believe in Jesus is about the power of giving rather than receiving. Jesus gave so much to so many – in fact to all people – and ultimately gave His life for us. He gives us a share in His life and promises us that we will share in the fullness of the life that is to come and will last forever. Both St. Nicholas and Santa love Jesus and would only desire that people would love him too.
They lived their lives in imitation of the Saviour.
In 1822, one of the most enduring and endearing poems was written by Clement Clarke Moore. It is known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” but was originally known as “A Visit From St. Nicholas”. Three times, in this popular and well known rhyme associated with Christmas, is the name St. Nicholas used and once his nick name “St. Nick” is cited. The poem never mentions Santa once because, for the author, St. Nicholas and the work Santa does are the same.
Part of the legend of St. Nicholas holds the story about one family who were about to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three separate occasions, bags of gold were tossed through an open window into their house and were said to have landed into stockings or shoes left by the fireplace to dry. This led to the practice of children hanging stockings by the fireplace to be filled at Christmas.
Over the generations the things found in Christmas stockings varied greatly. In more humbler times children might find an orange and a dime or quarter in their stocking, but to them it was a great and treasured gift, while today the items might be different and more expensive.
Someone once said that “the only things you get to keep are the things you give away”, and I believe this to be not only true but a central message of Christian faith. We discover true happiness when we forget ourselves and do some thing, small or greater, for someone else. If Christmas for children is only about getting things without regard for others then both St. Nicholas and Santa would be so disappointed.
Happy Advent! (Fr. Charles)
A NEW MUSIC DIRECTOR
I am pleased to announce that our parish has acquired a new Music Director for the 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning Mass. Dave Fernihough and his wife, Janice both recently retired their positions as organist/director/cantor after faithfully serving our parish for fourteen years. We are grateful to them for their dedication and gifts shared these many years and recognize their devotion to the liturgy of the Church.
Our new Music Director is Mr. Bill Targett who brings with him tremendous experience, ability and a love for liturgical music. He is both an organist and choir director and we both welcome both he and his wife Kay as we anticipate Bill’s worthy contribution to the celebration of Mass and all things liturgical. Welcome Bill! (Fr. Charles)

CONFIRMATION 2011 – IMPORTANT INFO.

Parents with children who wish to prepare for and celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Leo in March of 2011 are asked to attend only one of the two meetings being offered. Please choose to attend one of the two meetings which best suits your schedule. Attendance at one of the meetings with your child is mandatory as at this meeting your child will be registered and full information about the sacrament will be disclosed by Fr. Charles to all parents and candidates. Please plan to attend either…

Confirmation Parent Meeting #1

Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Confirmation Parent Meeting #2

Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

Parents must bring a copy of your child’s baptismal certificate in order for registration to take place, even if your child was baptized at St. Leo Church. There is also a $50.00 Registration Fee for each candidate’s registration which helps cover parish costs.

Snow Date Only – If, due to severe weather, one of the Parent Meetings should have to be cancelled, there will be a replacement Confirmation Parent Meeting on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

There are two (2) MANDATORY CLASSES to prepare your child for Confirmation. You are asked to drop your child off before 1:00 p.m. and pick them up at 3:00 p.m. Enter by Parish Office doors or Carson Street entrance. YOUR CHILD MUST ATTEND BOTH CLASSES.

The two (2) mandatory classes are as follows:
#1 – Saturday, February 5, 2011 – 1 to 3 p.m.
#2 – Saturday, February 12, 2011 – 1 to 3 p.m.

Confirmation Retreat (NET Team) (MANDATORY)
Sunday, March 6, 2011 – 12 noon to 5:00 p.m.

Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation Mass #1
Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. – (St. Bridget Sch.)
Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation Mass #2
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. – (St. Leo School)

Knights of Columbus Breakfast – Sunday, Dec. 12^th at 10 am and 12 noon. It’s more affordable than you think! A full breakfast/brunch of eggs, sausage, pancakes, biscuits, coffee, tea and juices (as much as you would like) to start your day. Every second month, the Knights of Columbus offer you a chance to enjoy breakfast without the work of cooking at home, or the cost usually associated with taking the family out.

IN THE PARISH THIS WEEK:

C.W.L. Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 30^th at 7:30 p.m.

First Reconciliation for St. Leo and St. Bridget Catholic School candidates on Thursday, Dec. 2^nd at 7:00 p.m.

St. Leo the Great Breakfast with St. Nicholas on Saturday, Dec. 4^th at 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall.

Euchre Card Night on Saturday, Dec. 4^th at 7:00 p.m. Sharp.

CALLING ALL ST. LEO’S BAKERS

The Annual Christmas Cookie Campaign will take place on the Nov. 27/28, Dec. 4/5, Dec. 11/12 and Dec. 18/19 weekends. When you are doing your Christmas baking, would you consider making some cookies for our campaign. A sign-up sheet will be at the back of the church starting this weekend to cover all four weekends. Cookies should be dropped off on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. in the parish hall. If you have any questions please call Jeananne at (905) 579-6118.

COUNTY TOWN SINGERS PRESENT

SIGNS OF THE SEASON

Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4 at 8 p.m. at Simcoe St. United Church, Oshawa. Please see Church Bulletin Board for full details.

MASS INTENTIONS

Tuesday, Nov. 30 – 8:45 a.m. – St. Leo School Mass
Wednesday, Dec. 1 – 7:00 p.m. – George McDonald+
Thursday, Dec. 2 – 8:30 a.m. –
Friday, Dec. 3 – 8:30 a.m. – Teresa Berezowski+
Saturday, Dec. 4 – 5:00 p.m. – William Latawiec+
Sunday, Dec. 5 - 9:00 a.m. – Juana De Avilez+
- 11:00 a.m. – In Thanksgiving

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Sunday, November 14, 2010

FINDING FAITH ON THE EARTH
(Continued from last week – Part III of a 3-part series)
FINDING FAITH ON THE EARTH
PART II
In the previous two weeks I have written in the bulletin about our need to read the signs of the times, taking stock of the world situation and how things in both nature and in humanity seem to be falling apart. While I wouldn’t want to sound like Henny Penny claiming hysterically that the sky is falling, one cannot but help take interested note that we are in trouble as a planet and a people with nature out of whack and the moral decline of us human beings who have been put “in charge of all creation”. (Hebrews 2:8) As stewards of the earth our modern times have not faired well with the things entrusted to us.
WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
As with anything, it is very easy to be critical and to point out the errors, pitfalls and troubles around us, but the message of the Gospels – the message of Christ – is clear as to what we should be doing and must be doing. As individuals we must do our part to take care of the planet in small and larger ways, wherever possible. I spoke with a woman a few summers ago when I was still living in Barrie. When out for walks with my dogs I often saw her walking down Baldwin Lane, which was the street our church was on. I noticed her because every once in a while she would swerve off of the sidewalk to pick up a pop can or a soft drink cup, or fast food take out box. She would stuff the discarded items in a bag and resume her walk. I was walking Bear and Jigs the first time I spoke to her, and thought her sudden movement from the sidewalk to the curb was out of fear for my dogs. I called out, “It’s okay, they’re friendly.”, but she smiled and responded, “Oh, I’m not afraid of your dogs, I’m just picking up garbage and litter.” She shared with me that every time she went out for a walk she noticed just how much garbage people throw out of their moving cars or was just dropped by pedestrians, left to lie on the ground until someone else picked it up. I joked with her, sharing my theory that the litter and grafitti culprits are, in my view, roving groups of seniors who can get away with their mischief and carelessness because no one would possibly suspect them. She is certainly doing what she can and perhaps even more on her part to take care of the environment that is immediately around her.
But it makes me think about the reality that our present generation of young people have been raised with a far keener sense of how we need to take care of the environment, to avoid litter, and take care of the planet, but my memory serves me in knowing that literally I have not seen so much litter and garbage lying around as in the last couple of years. And it’s the little things that point us to the bigger things. A generation that grows up thinking that someone else will clean up their mess is the same generation that will corporately do the same thing on a global scale when they start running things.
The same can be said of things on a moral plain. The informed opinions we hold and the ways in which we either neglect to inform our consciences can lead to moral decay.
In 2008, the local Catholic School Board adopted a Catholic Values emphasis to stand as the Board’s focus for the coming year. They listed nine values that are important to our Faith: faith, hope, love, compassion, service, forgiveness, justice, truth and family. It was a vision that hoped to realize and return to the principle values that sustain us and form our Catholic Faith, and was certainly a good start in trying to live out what distinguishes us as Catholics who value the opportunities and benefits that Catholic Education has always stood for. More and more, and within our Catholic school system, the pull of the world to become secular gains in power and strength with each new day. And while I applauded the school board’s initiative, I would have added that there are no Catholic values without Catholic Faith – and Catholic Faith that is centered on the Eucharist and the sacramental life of the Church. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once stated that every five hundred years in the Church and in the world, we go through a major shift. In the first 500 years of the Church’s history, the questions surrounded Christ; how many persons, intellects and wills. In this period the Church dealt with many heresies that had arisen as the Church was growing and spreading throughout more of the known world. In the second 500 years, he said that the crisis was over the head of the Church – the pope. The third 500 year period dealt with the body of the Church which resulted in the Protestant Reformation, when those who opposed the Church and the way the Church was living, left the Catholic Church and founded a new Christian Church which, history has shown, has continued to break off one from another to the present day. Sheen said that at the end of the second millennium the crisis we are now facing is the way that we as the Church answers the question of Christ, “Will you become secular – will you leave me?” I believe that Fulton Sheen was prophetic in his words for clearly we can see how our values as a society which were (in former times) built upon Christian values have been eroded to individual values but not values that are held in common. Common decency, common courtesy, even common sense is no longer common in civilized society and we have resurrected in so many ways the “me generation” that seeks to look out only for the good of self and not so much of others. I think that parents who are truly trying to raise their children with a respect for God and love of Him and others, and who strive to pass on to their children the importance of decency, respect, selflessness and love of others are growing more and more concerned for their children who are affronted by the coarseness and lack of compassion and love within society.
To the question, what are we to do?, I would respond, cling to Jesus. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to be manifest in your life, your work, your family life and your prayer, that you would more and more meet the challenges this life and this world presents with fresh love and an inner sense of God’s abiding peace. The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of war, but is a veritable peace that can and is to be ours in the midst of war and strife and stress. For two millennia the Church has known what it is to fight for what is right and good and wholesome in her members, her saints and martyrs and even to this present age. We can do our best with what we ask God for and God will equip us for another day. Let us in every time and season resolve to resist the temptation to accommodate ourselves with the temperature of the world and align ourselves with Christ, who never changes, but does by grace and openness change us. (Fr. Charles)

First Reconciliation Preparation Classes (Mandatory)

(Held in Parish Hall)

Class #2 – Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

IN THE PARISH THIS WEEK:

Leo’s Lunch on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Parish Breakfast after the 9 & 11 a.m. masses today in the Parish Hall.

ST. LEO’S SOCIAL COMMITTEE NEWS

SOCIAL COMMITTEE is selling tickets for the Scugog Choral Society’s performance of the musical White Christmas on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall 1873 in Port Perry. Tickets are $20 each. Please see a member of the Social Committee in the Church vestibule to purchase your ticket. For further info., please call Karen (905)-655-4945. Looking forward to seeing you at the theatre.

You are invited to the St. Leo the Great Catholic Church Breakfast with St. Nicholas on Saturday, December 4, 2010 – 9:30 a.m. To 11:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall. Please enter the Parish Hall from Carson St. The Cost is $15.00 per family, or $5.00 per person. Tickets go on sale this weekend. For more info. please contact: Kim (905) 655-1428 or Danielle (905) 655-4664.

THE NEW SUNDAY MISSALS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT THE WELCOME TABLE. THE COST IS $4.00 EACH.

Pilgrimage to Rome with Father Anthony Iacobelli

St. John the Evangelist Church – July 3-12, 2011

Father Anthony is again leading a Parish Pilgrimage to Rome next summer. Celebrate the 170 anniversary of our Archdiocese by visiting Rome on this guided tour. Please see the Church Bulletin Board for detailed information.

COUNTY TOWN SINGERS PRESENT SIGNS OF THE SEASON on Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4 at 8 pm at Simcoe St. United Church, Oshawa. Please see Church Bulletin Board for full details.

Holy Cross Church

373 Simcoe St. South, Oshawa

Bazaar:
Crafts & plants, tea room, lucky seven, penny table, white elephant, bake table, wool & novelties and bingo draws on Sunday, Nov. 14 – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Joyous Noel – County Town Singers Concert:
Sunday, Nov. 28 – 2:00 p.m.

MASS INTENTIONS

Tuesday, Nov. 16 – NO MASS
Wednesday, Nov. 17 – 7:00 p.m. – Bill Shields+
Thursday, Nov. 18 – 8:30 a.m. –
Friday, Nov. 19 – 8:30 a.m. –
Saturday, Nov. 20 – 5:00 pm – For the intentions of
Our Parish Community
Sunday, Nov. 21 – 9:00 a.m. –
11:00 a.m. – Stanley Liusz+

IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE

The Book of Remembrance, in which parishioners can record the names of their deceased family members, is on the lectern (on the right-side of the altar) in front of the statue of Mary. You may enter the names of those you wish remembered. During the month of November all the Holy Souls will be remembered at all the masses.

Please see the poster on the Church Bulletin Board re W.C. Town Funeral Chapel’s invitation to the Community Celebration of Life on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

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Sunday, November 7, 2010

FINDING FAITH ON THE EARTH
(Continued from last week…)
In a time of global unrest and in an era that has developed an aversion to the traditional and the authentically sacred, people are seeking solace in all kinds of ways and in all manner of places. New churches that display the name “Christian” are born with the rising of the sun each day, and the same sun sets on them as one by one they die off, since they have no foundation apart from a self-appointed human leader no matter how sincere they might be. Cafeteria Christianity is rampant as seekers go from church to church, religion to religion, looking for a comfortable pew, like children going from one door to the next on Halloween night. And though Catholic Education is a precious gift with inestimable possibilities we should never take for granted, we are doing just that – taking it for granted. One day, in this province, we may find ourselves without a Catholic education system as we are left standing in the road as parishes, parents and educators, wondering what happened, while the current writing on the wall is telling us what is happening right now.
This is the time, as in all ages before us, when we so desperately need the prophet’s voice to call us back to our senses and return us to what is good, upright and holy. We need that voice which both comforts and convicts us and disrupts our sleeping stupor to shock and awaken us back to Christ again. We are suffering from the poison of sin and darkness and death while ignoring the antidote that is before us and with us – Christ Jesus. Yet not just any “christ” who is plaster-cast and unable to save. No, it is the same Christ who called people to Himself twenty centuries before as He walked the earth, (and not really all that much of it), and is the same One who revealed Himself as the Bread of Life. The antidote is Baptism, the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The cure for the world’s ills is not yet another argument about truth and who is right, but the One who is the Truth itself made incarnate as the Son of God who, when we are authentically united to Him, reveals to our hearts and consciences what is right and gives us the needed strength to do it.
In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks the question – “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” This is not a question that Jesus posed to the ungodly, but was a probing question that leads to a demand for an authentic faith among those people of His time who were God-fearing disciples and religious people. Following two millennia we could think that we can rest easy if we thought of ourselves as ‘insiders’ on the news and the truth of the Kingdom of God, but we would be deceiving ourselves, for rest is for those who have died and will enjoy it forever once their mission and work on earth is done. The Christian heart and soul, of which St. Augustine referred, is meant to be rest-less, for we have much work to do in ourselves and in influencing others in the Good News until the Kingdom of God is fully realized. Faith on the earth, despite 2000 years of world and Church history, will not be found in abundance upon the Lord’s return, otherwise, why would the Lord have asked the question? The tendency for people of faith to believe either that all is well or all is going to hell are both extreme and wrong. This question is meant to and must stir up within us a desire to share our faith with others and not be satisfied in keeping it to ourselves, assuming that we have what we profess. As an ending question posed by Jesus after his story of the widow and the unjust judge, it demands that we be a people not only of good actions but also a people of prayer who daily, always, stay in communication with our heavenly Father, who sent us Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We are playing with real fire! (Fr. Charles)

WE REMEMBER OUR CANADIAN WAR DEAD

Canadians pause today in silence to remember those who died in war and to pray for the victims of aggression and inhumanity throughout the world.
This is a day to pray for peace, to consider what we are doing as individuals, as a community and as a nation to bring God’s peace into the world.
This is a day when a believing community should rededicate itself to prayer and action to the ideals Jesus gives us in the beatitudes.
Annually our nation recalls the memory of all those men and women who fought in wars past and gave their lives for love of our country, yet we also at present, aware of a war that goes on where our troops are being killed still, we acknowledge with profound respect the 152 soldiers who have died since April 18, 2002, when Private Nathan Smith became the first Canadian casualty of that war.
World War I:
1. 628,736 Canadians served.
2. 66,573 died and 138,166 were wounded.
3. 2,818 were taken prisoner of war.
4. 175 merchant seamen died by enemy action.
World War II:
1. 1,031,902 Canadian men and 49,963 Canadian women served.
2. 44,927 died and 43,145 were wounded.
3. 8,271 were taken prisoner of war.
4. 1,146 merchant seamen died by enemy action.
Korea:
1. 26,791 Canadians served.
2. 516 died and 1,558 were wounded.
3. 33 were taken prisoner of war.
The Gulf War:
1. 3,837 Canadian men and 237 Canadian women served.
2. There were no Canadian casualties or prisoners of war during the Gulf War
The Afghanistan War: (which still goes on)
Many Canadian soldiers have served and continue to serve.
Many have been injured and 152 have died.
We acknowledge and pray for the many who have sustained minor or more serious injury and who will live with these injuries and the loss of their fellow soldiers for the rest of their lives.
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. (Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army)

First Reconciliation Preparation Classes (Mandatory)

(Held in Parish Hall)

Class #1– Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010 from 1:00 p.m.to 3:00 p.m.
Class #2 – Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

FEAST OF ST. LEO THE GREAT

THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2010

Come to celebrate our parish patron’s feast day with Mass at 7:00 p.m. We ask all parishioners attending to meet in the parish hall before the Mass and then we will process to the church at 7 p.m. for Mass. After Mass there will be a reception in the parish hall.

IN THE PARISH THIS WEEK:

St. Vincent de Paul Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 9th at 7:30 p.m.

ST. LEO’S SOCIAL COMMITTEE NEWS

The next Leo’s Lunch is on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. Please purchase your tickets in the Church vestibule this weekend.

The Parish Breakfast is next Sunday, Nov. 14 after the 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Masses. Please purchase your tickets in the Church vestibule this weekend.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE is selling tickets for the Scugog Choral Society’s performance of the musical White Christmas on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall 1873 in Port Perry. Tickets are $20 each. Please see a member of the Social Committee in the Church vestibule to purchase your ticket. For further info., please call Karen (905)-655-4945. Looking forward to seeing you at the theatre.

St. Mary of the People Catholic Women’s League will be hosting their annual “Tree Lights Bazaar” on Saturday, Nov. 13 from 9:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall at 532 Stevenson Rd., N., Oshawa. Events featured will be Baking, Penny Sale, Flea Market & Tea Room.

MASS INTENTIONS

Tuesday, Nov. 9 – 8:30 a.m. – Kurt Schmid+
Wednesday , Nov. 10 – 7:00 p.m. - FEAST OF ST. LEO THE GREAT
Thursday, Nov. 11 – 8:30 a.m. – Harold Forbes+
Friday, Nov. 12 – 8:30 a.m. – For the Souls in Purgatory
Saturday, Nov. 13 – 5:00 pm – For the intentions of our
Parish Community
Sunday, Nov. 14 – 9:00 a.m. –
11:00 a.m. – For the deceased members
of the Hotner & Gutherc Families

THE NEW SUNDAY MISSALS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT THE WELCOME TABLE. THE COST IS $4.00 EACH.

IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE

Help for Troubled Marriages: Retrouvaille

Retrovaille is a program to help married couples through difficult times in their marriage relationships. It is designed to provide the tools to help get your marriage back on track. It will give you the opportunity to rediscover one another and examine your lives together in a new and positive way. For confidential information or to register for the Nov. 12-14 weekend, call (416) 281-6007 or visit the website at www.torontoretrouvaille.com

Religious Vocation Discernment Weekend for young women No v. 26-28, 2010, given by a team of Sisters of St. Joseph. For information, contact Sister Dorothy at 416-927-072 or dschweitzer@csj-to.ca. Also, see flyer on the Church bulletin board.

Please see the poster on the Parish Bulletin Board – Calling All Laity – Institute of Theology of St. Augustine’s Seminary – Applications are now being accepted for the Master of Religious Education, Master of Theological Studies, Diploma in Lay Ministry and Diploma in Theological Studies. Our next semester begins January 2011.

__________________________________________________

Sunday, October 31, 2010

ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO

POLICY & PROCEDURE – FOR MISCONDUCT

The Archdiocese of Toronto has completed the revised Policy & Procedure for the cases of Alleged Misconduct. In April 2010, Archbishop Collins announced that the Archdiocese would establish a group of lay experts to review current practices. The group has concluded their work and in September 2010, meetings were held with priests, deacons and lay staff of the Archdiocese to review the document.
The safe environment protocol can be accessed anytime, along with additional resources, through the Archdioceses’ website: www.archtoronto.org.
The Archdiocese remains committed to the protection of all who are within its spiritual and physical care, especially the most vulnerable. We continue to pray for anyone who has suffered violence or abuse, in the church, in their family, or in society.
FINDING FAITH ON THE EARTH
Two weeks ago the Gospel ended with a question from Jesus, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” I’d have to admit that we Catholic priests don’t often speak about the end of the world or the need for Christians to watch the signs of the times, though we generally do preach about the Kingdom of God and our ongoing need for conversion as revealed through the word of God. Yet we would be utterly foolish to think that the Second Coming of Christ has been and always will belong to another age far beyond our own. Anyone, even with the faintest semblance of the spiritual, should be able to see that throughout the world storm clouds are gathering. The planet is in trouble and all nature appears to increasingly be in upheaval. While I believe this to be the result of what we humans have done to the planet, God has allowed us through our own choices, often motivated by greed and gross selfishness, to wreak havoc on the earth, and nature is rebelling against us and we against nature and God. And we look around and ask why these things are happening as if they were occurrences apart from ourselves and our own actions. Why is the mammal population beginning more and more to die off, with many species on the verge of extinction? Why is the polar ice melting at such astonishing rates as to baffle even the scientists who have been studying it so closely? Why are things seemingly shutting down? Why, in the midst of technological advances and medical and research break-through’s, are more and more of us getting sick with strange and new diseases and less immunity to them? Of course, the answers lie not within nature itself but in the hearts, minds and souls of human beings – we have been and are doing this. Increasingly, and with such speed as has scarcely been seen before, the world is in rebellion against God. Evil, whose existence has been generally denied by recent generations, no longer has a mock look of a sinister, red face with horns, a beard and a long tail with pitch fork in hand, but is the every day stuff of the evening news if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Just when you think things could not get worse, they do. Events of the everyday are rife with the preposterous, the indecent, the lewd, the unthinkable, the unimagineable, and all too often, the blood of innocence.
A generation of hypersensitive people who have become so easily offended with everything, have grown insensitive to the needs of others in the poor, the needy, the helpless and most subtly in the unborn, and a people that should take offense at the immoral and the perverse, just don’t. The teachers and catechists of the modern era are no longer the universities and places of higher learning nor are they the Church, whose ancient and time-honoured voice was capable of passing on the fullness of faith and revelation in times past since Her founding by Christ. No, the modern teachers are Dan Brown, Oprah and Dr. Phil. They are the raised voices of those who once had and lost the faith or those who never really had it at all. They are the screen idols whose lives, so often empty and sad, are the envy of their adoring following. Movies, and in particular sitcoms, make light of the spiritual and religion; of God, Christ, and Mary, the Mother of God. One South Park episode featured a blatant and despicable mockery of the Virgin Mary (that sensibility and decency wouldn’t allow a printing in the parish bulletin) while networks and the producers of the program refused to pull its showing in the face of protests from both Catholics and Muslims.
On Good Friday of 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, during his meditation on the Third Station of the Cross, “Jesus Falls the First Time”, stated: “Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication.”
From the wider scope of the world stage to our own place of living, we can see our own problems and lack of faith, perhaps most clearly and on our own doorstep, in the sacramental life of the Church. The loss of a sense of sin is evidenced in few confessions to the ratio of sinners. (As I write this I am only too aware of my own sin and selfishness and the daily temptation to accommodate myself to the world rather than to Christ.) Parents who are either too busy for Church or for God, busy with Sunday shopping, (which has resulted in much of our economy being open on Sunday’s), or too busy to give their children the practice of their faith which they promised both God and the Church on their child’s baptismal day, ultimately approach the Church and the Sacramental life as consumers and not communicants. This is not a condemnation of them but is a visible and growing sign of a great spiritual poverty in those who just do not understand what Christ is offering to them and the children they are responsible for before God. Christ so wants them to know of his love and mercy, and of His desire for them to come home to Him. Yet, the Lord’s voice is drowned out by the murmur, the noise and the busyness and clamour of living and getting God-knows where and for what. And statistically, this is the second generation in history that is largely being raised without religion.
Think now of the world economy and how quickly everything seems to have changed in just a few weeks past few two years ago. The U.S. bail-out of financial institutions and banks at 700 billion dollars should have given us pause to consider just how much money that is. A friend of mine who works for one of the major banks told me that it is generally believed that 180 billion dollars, (roughly ¼ of the amount of the U.S. bail-out), could cure world hunger! We can’t find it in ourselves to bail-out the hungry and starving who die everyday, but we can take care of business.
(To be continued next week…. Fr. Charles)

SAINTS PARTY – MONDAY, NOV. 1^ST, 2010

In St. Leo’s Parish Hall – 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Dress as your favorite Saint or Angel and join in the festivity! Carve a pumpkin with your family in advance, and compete in the Godly Gourd contest. Please bring a heavenly inspired dish/treat for the Potluck. Candy donations welcome and bring your Halloween leftover.

IN THE PARISH THIS WEEK:

Knights of Columbus General Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2^nd at 8:00 p.m.
Social Committee Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Vendors’ Market, Sat., Nov. 6 in our parish hall.

C.W.L. (Catholic Women’s League)

The C.W.L. are taking orders for Christian greeting cards after each mass.

ST. LEO’S SOCIAL COMMITTEE is selling tickets for the Scugog Choral Society’s performance of the musical White Christmas on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall 1873 in Port Perry. Tickets are $20 each. Please see a member of the Social Committee in the Church vestibule to purchase your ticket. For further info., please call Karen (905)-655-4945. Looking forward to seeing you at the theatre.

BAZAAR NEWS

Thank you to all our parishioners and friends for your wonderful support of our Annual Bazaar. Our event was well attended and everyone enjoyed the day. Thank you to all the Bazaar volunteers for your generous gift of time and talents. Without you the Bazaar would not have been the success it was. A special thank you as well to all those who donated raffle prizes for the event. Your generous donations were greatly appreciated. Next week’s bulletin will have the Bazaar Reconciliation.

ST.THERESE PARISH IN COURTICE –

NEW YOUTH MINISTRY POSITION

St. Therese Parish in Courtice is searching for a youth minister for our Parish. Interested persons should submit to sttherese@bellnet.ca before November 5th at 4:00 pm, a cover letter, résumé and three letters of reference from those who have supervised your work experience with youth, in different settings. Applications will only be accepted by email. No mail or telephone calls please. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All applications will be kept confidential. More details are on the parish website at www.st-therese-church.com.

Monsignor Philip Coffey Catholic School will be celebrating its 50^th Anniversary on Sat., Nov. 13, 2010. There will be Mass at 2 p.m. at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church (1314 Oxford St., Oshawa) located next to the school. An Open House will follow at the school from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with refreshments. We look forward to having you celebrate this special day with our school community.

MASS INTENTIONS

Tuesday, Nov. 2 – 7:00 p.m. – All Souls Day
Wednesday , Nov. 3 – 7:00 p.m. - Ed Lowe+
Thursday, Nov. 4 – 8:30 a.m. – Joe Griffin+
Friday, Nov. 5 – 8:30 a.m. – For the intentions of Ania Szota
Saturday, Nov. 6 – 5:00 pm – For the intentions of our
Parish Community
Sunday, Nov. 7 – 9:00 a.m. – Juana De Avilez+
11:00 a.m. – Sam Ruscica+

HOLY SOULS MASS AT RESURRECTION CEMETERY ON SATURDAY, NOV. 6^th AT 2:00 P.M. FR. CHARLES FORGET THE CELEBRANT.

THE BAZAAR MAIN RAFFLE TICKET WINNERS

First Prize – Mary Fry

Second Prize – George Campbell

Third Prize – Don Orr

Fourth Prize – Heather Zepperi

Please join us for A Mass to Support Women Experiencing Violence & Abuse – Celebrant: His Grace, Archbishop Thomas Collins – Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power St., Toronto. Reception to follow. Please see poster on the Church Bulletin for detailed information.

THE NEW SUNDAY MISSALS ARE AVAILA BLE FOR PURCHASE AT THE WELCOME TABLE. THE COST IS $4.00 EACH.

ARE YOU A STUDENT ATTENDING

UOIT OR DURHAM COLLEGE?

Catholic students are invited to join the Campus Catholics. This fall we are meeting Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in C131. Archbishop Collins