Parish Bulletin for Sunday, Novmber 6, 2005

32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The Wisdom of God

If we are very fortunate, we have recognized a person in our lives who has been gifted with the gift of wisdom. This person is the one to whom we turn when we are seeking answers.

What is the right thing to do? What do I need to do in this situation? How do I deal with this reality that is facing me? Sometimes what we are seeking are words of comfort; other times we are looking for a clearer picture so that our actions can make sense to us.

The wise person has that unique ability to see beyond the facts of a situation and illuminate the inner meaning. The wise person can give us advice that will lead us to the right thing to do and, if we are smart, we take that advice.

How ever do these individuals come to know so much? Is wisdom bottled in a certain course or contained on a web site? Have they read certain books that feed them the answers? Is a wise person also one with multiple degrees with a plethora of knowledge just waiting to spiel forth? Wisdom is certainly acquired, but only comes to one who is willing to seek it.

In today's parable, Jesus describes the bridesmaids who brought along extra oil as wise. This word wise points to a central theme in the whole Bible and is one associated in a special way with the life and mission of Jesus. The first reading today emphasizes the beauty and radiance of wisdom. She offers those who seek her understanding and insight both about themselves and about God and God's ways. The New Testament presents Jesus as a teacher of wisdom.

Today, as with all years as we approach the end of the liturgical cycle, we are reminded of the end times. We do not know when final judgment will take place. The gospel story ends with Jesus calling us to remain awake for we do not know "the day nor the hour." For the readers of Matthew, confusion over this question of timing was the result of thinking that Jesus' second coming was just around the corner.

When disciples started to die, people began to worry. Would they miss out on the opportunity to enter God's kingdom and be with the Lord Jesus once again? Paul's reading reassures his readers that God is not limited by time and space; God's love crosses all boundaries, including death, and no one is left out.

The parable in today's gospel also encourages us to be faithful. The focus of our lives is to be attentive to the God who is present to us in all our experiences. The foolish virgins just are. Life just happens to them. No oil in the lamp means no thought to being present to the moment, no preparation, no reflection on what should be very obvious to them. Wisdom is lacking and life skills are non-existent. The wise virgins have thought it out and are ready. For us, this means that we too must prepare by living lives that are God-centred. Each and every experience can be life-giving – the difficult and the joy-filled in equal measure. We too must be resourceful and attentive to the Spirit within us.

Wisdom has to do with who we are as moral and spiritual beings. Wisdom can help us to discern values and make decisions about the things that really matter. Wisdom can be pursued and nurtured. It is also something for which we can pray. It is a gift of God.

TUESDAY, Nov. 8

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Amelia Couvinha

Requested by Kim Luu

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9

Dedication of St. John Lateran

8:30 a.m. - † James Sheahan

THURSDAY, Nov. 10

St. Leo the Great

8:30 a.m. - † Kathleen Morrell

FRIDAY, Nov. 11

St. Martin of Tours

8:30 a.m. - † Amelia Couvinha

Requested by Helena Sousa

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, November 13, 2005

33rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The parable in today's gospel has to do with the return of Christ at the end of time and with the judgment that his coming entails. The meaning behind the parable deals with how we are called to act while we are waiting; for the people of the early gospel times, the talent referred to in the story meant a rather considerable sum of money.

Today, we understand talents in a slightly different fashion, but the story and its message bring home the same message. What have we done with the gifts bestowed upon us? Do we ignore them and hope they go away, do we bring them out when they will be visible, or are we productively using them in a creative and responsible way? Will our meeting with the Lord of all time be one filled with hope and expectation?

The parable tells us that the landowner divides his holdings into varying amounts and entrusts them to three of his servants according to their abilities. Two of them double their investments and the third, paralysed by the fear of failure, buries what he has been given and is able to give back only what was given to him in the first place. The master returns with words of praise and reward for the two who have used their gifts successfully and condemns the one who did nothing at all. He is cast out of the household into the outer darkness.

This parable hits us where we are as individuals as well as collectively in our various communities, civic, national and in our communities of faith. Life has been entrusted to us to live to its fullest and to work at developing those gifts and talents so that we can be more than just the safe-keepers, but the builders of the kingdom of God.

The very creation story entrusts the human race with stewardship for the world. Our church is entrusted with the message of the gospel and the gift of Christ's Spirit so that it can bring them into fruitful relationship with all peoples and the whole of human history.

Our God is a living God, a God of life who calls each and every one of us forward into life. To be alive is to grow and develop and to contribute to the well being of our families and of all humanity. We have different gifts, different abilities; what we all have in common is the responsibility to develop them and to put them all at the service of the larger community.

As believers, we have been gifted in a special way with God's Spirit. One day, we will be called into account for what we have done or what we have failed to do with the gifts entrusted to us. Let us not be fearful or lazy but rather creative and generous in our use of them.

TUESDAY, Nov. 15

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Diniz Raposo

Requested by wife and family

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Johanna Sheahan

THURSDAY, Nov. 17

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

8:30 a.m. - † Bela Szamosi

Requested by family

FRIDAY, Nov. 18

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Joyce D'Souza

Requested by Janette Milne and family

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, November 20, 2005

34th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

The solemnity of Christ the King always raises a critical question for believers; what does it mean to call Christ a king? What kind of king is he? What are we really celebrating here today? It is immediately obvious that Christ is not a king in the usual sense of the word. He is a king who acts more like a servant. He is a king who welcomes the poor and the outcast. His kingdom is one of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace.

What does that mean for us, the people who are invited to be members of his court? We are called to recommit ourselves to working for the kingdom that Christ desires. Today's readings emphasize the end times and the final triumph of Christ and our sharing in it. Matthew's account of the coming in glory of the Son of Man and of the judgment on all peoples everywhere is both majestic and challenging.

Once again we find Jesus using the image of the shepherd; this time, the shepherd is intent on separating the sheep from the goats. God's gracious mercy and compassion is not incompatible with and even calls out for a judgment. This is one of the great paradoxes of the gospel. God's love and forgiveness is revealed fully in the ministry of Jesus and we call this good news.

So too is the judgment: otherwise, our freedom and responsibility lose much of their significance. In the end, we will be judged on the way we have treated those who hunger and thirst, those who lack clothes and shelter, those who are sick or in prison. What Jesus asks of us is to be good to one another, especially to those who are in need. Love demands action and that action is meant to produce change for the better. What we actually do or fail to do becomes the stick by which our lives are measured. Jesus goes one step further. He completely identifies himself those who are in need by stating that what we do or fail to do is done to him.

This proclamation is a pressing and present invitation. It challenges us here and now to think about what kind of people we are and how we act toward one another. Do we recognize the face of Christ in one another? Do we allow ourselves to be touched by need? Compassionate and just behaviour to others is an essential element of true worship and true religion. Jesus invites us to join in the struggle to overcome the greatest of all powers to oppose God: human selfishness.

TUESDAY, Nov. 22

St. Cecilia

8:30 a.m. - † Frank Topping

Requested by wife Patricia

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 23

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † James Sheahan

THURSDAY, Nov. 24

St. Andrew Dung-Lac

8:30 a.m. - † Guiseppe Pierri

Requested by wife Frances

FRIDAY, Nov. 25

Weekday

8:30 a.m. - † Daniel Jude Florentino

Requested by family

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, November 27, 2005

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Why, you may ask, do we have a season called Advent? What does it mean? The word makes us think of preparation and, translated from its Latin root, means "before coming". This liturgical season starts our new year and brings us into the preparation for the great winter festival of Christmastime. We move ever closer to this feast through days that are getting shorter and shorter and our world gets darker, colder, and more desolate as all the trees lose their leaves and we prepare for the first snowfall.

Advent is a time of expectation and renewal. The gospels over the next four weeks talk to us about the historical coming of Jesus as well as his return at the end of time. They warn us to be awake, to pay attention, to prepare and to welcome the Risen Lord into our midst – right here and right now!

Jesus himself encourages us to be morally and spiritually awake as we await the time of his coming. Not only awake, but also living in a way that follows Jesus: care for the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the homeless must be a way of life for us all year and not just at this time of year. Paul tells us the same thing; we must put on Christ. We are called to put away the works of darkness and live in the light of the gospel. Anything that undermines and destroys life will also mean that we will be caught short. We will not be ready. Our destiny is to be with Christ for eternity.

Advent tells us that our God is a God who comes. He has come in the course of our individual and collective histories. He came in a unique and definitive way in Jesus. As the God of the future, he will continue to come into our lives both now and at the end of time. If we believe, then we will choose to live open to his comings and ready for them at all times and in all places.

Advent readings tell us to prepare for God's coming. The light that opens our path is the teaching and example of none other than Jesus himself. We need Advent. Without it, we stop being what we are: a people who are waiting. We need the gospel's terrifying announcement of the end of time. We need the prophet's consolations and threats. We learn who we are in the uneasy ravings of John the Baptist and in the gentleness and strength of Mary.

Let Us Pray

The liturgy is both timeless and timely. Most of the prayers of the Mass are set, written down, canonized. The Prayers of the Faithful are the exception. These prayers are intended to be immediate, specific and very, very real. They are neither canonized or canned. They are, as it were, the incarnate prayer of the Mass – Word made here and now.

These prayers, or litanies, have a history. Their roots are found in the synagogue word service and follow the pattern we know today. Over time, we lost the prayers of the faithful and only regained them as a result of the reforms of Vatican II. A good prayer is hard to write. It takes time to craft words that can be understood upon one hearing and that can be read by several different ministers. If the prayers ignore the very thing on people's minds, they become irrelevant and just so much pious talk. Prayers must be non partisan and unbiased, but meaty. Real, but respectful. Every member of the assembly must be able to pray these prayers.

The restoration of these ancient prayers is a signal to us that the church is all the people of God standing together and that all of us hold the obligation to enter into the work of those same prayers. It is in these prayers that today's headlines meet the Gospel and where today's suffering is brought before the worshipping community. Food for thought the next time we answer: Lord hear our prayer – isn't it?

TUESDAY, Nov. 29

Advent

8:30 a.m. - † John Fernandez

Requested by wife and family

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30

St. Andrew

8:30 a.m. - † Johanna Sheahan

THURSDAY, Dec. 1

Advent

8:30 a.m. - † James Sheahan

FRIDAY, Dec. 2

Advent

8:30 a.m. - † Amelia Couvinha

Requested by Helena Souza