CIRCULAR TO PARISHIONERS WEEK 79 - DEC 03, 2005
REJOICE AND BE MERRY! Twice over!
Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without it! Next weekend, on Sunday, December 11th our
(exiled) Choir’s Annual Christmas Concert will be at St. Gregory’s Church, Rathburn & Kipling.
The concert starts at 7.30 pm. A second Concert will take place at St. Mary, Star of the Sea
Church, Port Credit, on Sunday, 18th December, also at 7.30 pm. Come one, come all!
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PANETTONES ARE SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES!!
It’s a St. Martin’s Christmas tradition. Call 905-272-0067 now to order your panettones. They
will also be available at the Knights of Columbus December Dinner Dance and on the weekends of
Dec. 10/11, and Dec. 17/18 as you leave the church. The cost? Just $15 each. Profits will benefit
our Knights’ charities.
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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS DINNER DANCE
Don’t forget our (exiled) Knights of Columbus Dinner Dance on Saturday, 10th December, at St.
Martin’s High School. Tickets are $20 per person. Profits from this event will go towards repairs at
Martyrs Shrine in Midland. Do you have your tickets yet?
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QUE SERA?
Last Sunday was the First Sunday in Advent. The Gospel reference was: “Beware, keep alert; for
you know not the time... Therefore, keep awake - for you do not know when the master of the
house will come...” The homilist at some of the Masses last Sunday engaged the congregation in
questions/answers. Some people felt offended and insulted at the manipulation displayed.
What should we be doing to "keep awake"? The advice was to continue to do what we are doing, and
do it well; and let what be, be. But this begs some questions. Should those who are doing nothing
positive, do even more of nothing - an oxymoron? Should those who are mired in the inactivity of
“maintaining the status quo” now be actually cemented into inactivity? Should those who are sounding
gongs, sound them more loudly? Must we all obediently sing “Que Sera, Sera”, during Mass, as
bidden? Is everyone in one’s place, with the layers of control/obedience firmly fixed?
Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Christ is coming; he is on his way. The Baptist, quoting
Isaiah, in today’s Gospel, motivates us all to acts of major excavation and road building, and to other
acts of constructive preparation - not “let it be”, but work to help “make it happen”. The Baptist’s
cry in the wilderness, “Prepare a way for the Lord”, is more apt than Doris Day’s cry of “Que Sera,
Sera (whatever will be, will be)”.
For perspective, consider the message of Bishop Joseph Galante to parishioners of Our Lady Star of
the Sea, Cape May County, NJ, Tuesday 29th November, 2005: Galante said all the baptized are
equal in the eyes of the church. He urged all Catholics to "live out their baptismal
commitment.” "I'm not any more Catholic than anybody else here,' the Bishop told the crowd.
Galente said Catholics could do their part in simple ways, such as living within the sanctity of marriage,
or by taking a more active part in the ministry. He said those who are baptized are responsible
"for the life of that church.” Catholics tend to say, "The church must do this" or "The church must
do that.” "We must realize, we're talking about ourselves," Galante said. "When we are baptized, we
become the church, not members, we ARE the church. The early Christians understood this."
Full report on this link: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/capemay/story/5732619p-
5749925c.html
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NEED A REASON?
Hurricane Stan has caused an urgent need in Central America for dry foods, soap, candles,
bicycles, shoes, blankets, pencils, pens, clothes and tools. (Dr. Andrew Simone, Director,
Canadian Food for Children)
To donate, please contact (416) 231-2817, or email aasimone@rogers.com Cries from the
wilderness?
1. Dr. Simone’s Canadian Food for Children, 40 King George Rd. Toronto, ON M8X 1L3
2. Catholic Missions in Canada, 201-1155 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. M4T 1W2
3. Solidarite-Sud (Haiti), c/o Maison Alonzo Wright, 2425A St-Louis St., Gatineau QC J8V 1E7
4. St. Vincent de Paul Society, 240 Church St., Toronto, Ont. M5B 1Z2
5. Birthright Mississauga, 307-2600 Edenhurst, Mississauga, Ont. L5A 3Z8
6. Ian Anderson House, 430 Winston Churchill Blvd. Oakville, Ont. L6J 7X2
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Give us your feedback by email or phone call: Aisling Egan 416 671-4710
Pat DeAngelis 416 809-1819 Duncan Walker 905 277-9825
Lucy Pires 905 273-6093 Dunstan Bazely 905 275-3946
Judy Byrnes 905 275-1536 Patricia Russell 905 279-9205
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Email: bishop.boissonneau@rogers.com Fax: 416 207-4984
ambrozic@archtoronto.org Fax: 416 934-3452
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