Church of The Holy Spirit

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, Oct. 10, 2004
28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Luke 17:11-19

Another parable and what a story this one is! Ten lepers, who must have heard about the great prophet about to pass through their area, approach Jesus and beg for mercy. It is important to remember that in the time of Jesus, lepers were exiled from their villages, contact with their families was over, and they were left to waste away in their illness in the confines of what amounted to virtual prisons. Life, for all intents and purposes, was over for them. For their families and friends, they were as if dead to them.

For these ten to even approach Jesus was a chance to feel the wrath, the fear of both the disciples and any followers Jesus has gathered around him. Imagine the sheer desperation driving them to take such a risk. While modern medicine can now control this devastating disease, there are still parts of the world that isolation and sure death face those who contract the disease. For us today, the effects and the reaction to the disease would be most closely mirrored by the devastation of AIDS. Still such a feared and despised disease in our modern day and age, we can surely see many examples of our own in the treatment of AIDS to prevent us from judging those who feared what they did not understand.

For many, this parable is about gratitude. Only one of the lepers returns to Jesus to thank him, and that one is a hated outsider, a Samaritan. This particular person must have been truly shocked that he was the recipient of such a gift. Once again, Luke introduces a foreigner to show the disciples and each one of us that the gift of God's love and mercy is a gift for all with no questions asked.

Certainly, the Samaritan experienced a healing; certainly he returned to Jesus to offer thanks; and just as certainly, Jesus recognizes that the Samaritan has experienced a full healing in that he knows he has been offered new life and joyfully accepts the gift given to him. In joy and in hope he returns to offer praise and glory to God for this new chance to live life and live it fully. No longer a rejected member of the community, he is free to return to his family and take up his life in the community.

So often the healings of Jesus lead us to reflect on the restoring of the sufferer to dignity and a place in the community. It is up to the recipient to determine what he or she is going to do with such a gift. Often we ourselves pray for the healing of physical ailments and what we receive in response is an inner healing allowing us to be set free from the bondage that illness and suffering can have in our lives.

Perhaps, like us, the other nine were not quite sure what to do with the gift and needed time to think. We don't know; we only know that they did not return to offer Jesus thanks. Perhaps they were anxious to return to their families. Maybe they were plain scared silly of this newfound freedom.

And yet it is clear from the story that healing was offered and received. God's mercy knows no bounds. God offers us new life and we need only open our hearts and our minds to the gift. Sometimes, that is what stops us cold – that opening to the new life and all that new life implies.

We too can be bound by fear and cannot accept the change of heart so necessary for disciples. Not just once, but throughout our faith journey. Perhaps this is the hook for this particular parable. Mercy and love is extended to all and, as disciples, we too are called to show that same mercy and love to each other. Not just to our friends, but to all people we meet. Let us pray today for the courage to accept this challenge and the wisdom to know when we meet the challenge in the ordinariness of our lives.

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

Mass Intentions for the week

MONDAY, Oct. 11
Thanksgiving Day
9:00 a.m.– Mass

TUESDAY, Oct.12
Weekday
12 Noon † William Bebluk
Requested by Maria Sara

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 13
Weekday
Noon † Johanna Sheahan
Requested by Margaret

THURSDAY, Oct. 14
Weekday
Noon – Intentions of Larocque family

FRIDAY, Oct. 15
St. Teresa of Jesus
8:30 a.m. – Intentions of Margaret

SATURDAY, Oct. 16
St. Marguerite d'Youville
9:15 a.m. Morning Prayer
(Office Of The Blessed Virgin)

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, Oct. 17, 2004

29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Luke 18:1- 8

This parable is unusual in that the writer, Luke, tells us at the outset what message Jesus is teaching. Normally, we are left to figure it out for ourselves. Yet the message is so important that we are told right away what the story will reveal. For disciples in all time, the message is clear; pray always and don't lose heart. In other words, it is faith in God's love that will lead us to the answers we seek. They are not always the answers we expect and, in some cases, the answers we want. Nevertheless, God will answer our prayers.

In reality, none of the characters in this story are particularly likable. The judge is lazy and prone to dispense a rather loose justice from his position of authority. The woman is persistent; we can imagine her nagging and whining for her just due. The opponent, who remains in the background, is quite obviously guilty. The judge admits as much when he declares that he can't stand another minute of the woman's badgering and agrees to give her "justice" so that she will "go away." The woman's persistence wins the day, even if her answer comes for all the wrong reasons.

Jesus calls us to accountability; pray with persistence and God will mete out swift justice. Pray in faith, even when we seem to be waiting a long time for our answers. Perhaps we have not prayed enough to recognize what God wants instead of concentrating on what we want.

Faith drives the woman to go after what is right. Faith allows us to persevere with patience and strength to find our answer. It is faith that brings us the salvation that we so desire. Faith gives our lives as disciples of the Lord a meaning and focus we cannot achieve on our own. It is only in faith that our worship at the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist can have meaning and purpose. Prayer without faith is empty and will not satisfy our deepest desires. For as followers of the Christ, our deepest desire is to live in union with him, in relationship that leads us to live out the reign of God – here and in the life everlasting.

So today, let us offer our prayers at the table and live in the hope and the trust that our God loves us and will answer our prayers. Let us ask for the wisdom and the grace to know when the answers are given and the perseverance of the woman who will not rest until justice is done.

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

Mass Intentions for the Week

MONDAY, Oct. 18
Weekday
No mass

TUESDAY, Oct.19
Weekday
12 Noon - Intentions thanksgiving
Requested by Philomena Lee

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 20
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Daniel Jude Florentino
Requested by Lyn Florentino

THURSDAY, Oct. 21
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Antonio Debaranis
Requested by wife and family

FRIDAY, Oct. 22
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – Mass

SATURDAY, Oct. 23
Weekday
9:15 a.m. Morning Prayer
(Office Of The Blessed Virgin)

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004
30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Claimed for Christ

Exciting news for the parish community of Holy Spirit! We have agreed to be a pilot parish for the revised Archdiocesan resource for the celebration of Baptism. As a "pilot parish" we have already started using the resources provided to us in order to prepare our families for the celebration of this sacrament of initiation.

As the initiating community of faith, it is our privilege and responsibility to welcome new members into our midst. The source and summit of our lives as Catholic Christians is the Sunday Eucharist. From this celebration, we are sent forth to live what we have heard and what we have shared at the table of the Lord in Eucharist.

It is therefore quite appropriate and, indeed, essential, to live out this commitment by celebrating sacraments of initiation within the celebration of Eucharist. Therefore, this community will begin to celebrate Baptism during the Saturday evening Eucharist at 4:30 p.m. once a month. The first celebration will take place on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the 4:30 p.m. Mass.

As part of the believing community, we all hold the responsibility to welcome our new members into the family – God's family. In Baptism, God shares His life with us. In the case of infants and young children, that sharing is based on the faith of both the parents and the believing community of faith. As that community of faith, we provide the means for the sharing of faith with those who ask for Baptism. Like all sacraments, Baptism is, first and foremost, a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love for each child He has created. He claims the child as His own.

At Baptism, God shares with the child His own divine life by imparting the gift of the Holy Spirit. At Baptism, Christ incorporates His own Paschal Mystery – His life, death, and resurrection – so that those who are baptized may live their lives in the same pattern. At Baptism, Christ initiates the child into His Mystical Body, the Church. This initiation will be completed by the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. At Baptism, Christ washes the child free from sin. At Baptism, Christ strengthens the child to live as one of His disciples. At Baptism, Christ calls on parents, godparents, and the believing community of faith to foster and nurture the life of faith and discipleship in the child. Awesome! We must admit, our God is awesome!

Small wonder, then, that Baptism can and should be celebrated within the Sunday Eucharist – the sign of our lives as Catholic Christians. Preparing and celebrating Baptism with families and their children is a time of joy, hope, and privilege in the life of our parish community. As with all the sacraments, Baptism is a communal celebration that takes place in the midst of the believing community. During the Eucharist, the actual Baptism of the children will take place following the homily. Welcoming rites and first signing and the anointing with the oil of catechumens will be anticipated before the opening procession. As we begin this new way of celebrating Baptism in our parish, remember that we are called to initiate new members by virtue of our own Baptism. Embrace this change with joy in your hearts and listen for the words used in the Rite of Baptism for Children.

"My dear children, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Saviour by the sign of his cross."

(Parts of the above have been taken from Claimed for Christ Resource C.O.R.E. Archdiocese of Toronto with permission)

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

Mass Intentions for the Week

MONDAY, Oct. 25

Weekday
No mass

TUESDAY, Oct.26
Weekday
12 Noon - Mass

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 27
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Florencia Austriaco
Requested by Fe Nidoy

THURSDAY, Oct. 28
Saint Simon and Saint Jude
8:30 a.m. – † Martha and Michele Virgilio
Requested by daughter Frances

FRIDAY, Oct. 29
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Rita Gurczenski
Requested by Victoria and Veronica

SATURDAY, Oct. 30
Weekday
9:15 a.m. Morning Prayer
(Office Of The Blessed Virgin)

Parish Bulletin for Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004
31st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
The Parable of Zacchaeus

For those of you wondering why the gospel writers continue to document parables whose main character is a tax collector, let's look back at the times and explore why this would cause reactions in the crowds hearing the story.

Tax collectors in Jesus' time came from among the Jewish people themselves and worked for the Roman Empire. Rome taxed the Jewish population very heavily in order to finance their conquering of more and more of the provinces. It was also a method to control the occupied territories – people labouring under the burden of heavy taxes would not be prone to revolt. Tax collectors, therefore, were considered traitors to their own people and were both feared and hated. No one in their right mind would associate with these men and they became outcasts in their own land. Often, the tax collector would profit from their taxes and add in their own share. In the story of Zacchaeus, that is exactly the scene that has been set.

Jesus is approaching the city of Jericho on his way to Jerusalem when a crowd surrounds him to listen to him speak. Zacchaeus, curious to hear the prophet, climbs a tree to get a better view. We are told that he was a very short man, but the average height at the time would be considered short by our standards. Quite possibly, Zacchaeus did not want to be noticed by the very people who must pay him their taxes!

Jesus not only notices Zacchaeus, he goes over to the tree and invites himself to dinner. "I must stay at your house today." For those surrounding Jesus, this would not be seen as good news at all. Can you imagine the mutterings and carrying on? What's he got that we haven't got? How come he gets to entertain the Master? Does this man know who he wants to eat with? Mutterings, grumblings, jealousy, and a great uproar strikes the crowd.

Zacchaeus, however, responds from a change of heart. He promises to make amends for past wrongs and he commits to following the ways of the law concerning the poor. Jesus answers him with the promise of salvation and brings him into right relationship.

The story has a hook, as do all parables. Just when we think we know the mind of God, He reveals a dynamic and new way of thinking. Jesus' mission is to bring the Reign of God into the world. That reign means change of heart to all disciples. The expected becomes the unexpected and the accepted becomes the unaccepted. Jesus extends the love and mercy of God to Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus responds with a change of heart.

Over and over we see Jesus sharing meals with the outcast, the forgotten, the lost, and the sinner. Breaking bread with someone in the Jewish tradition is the highest form of honour. For those surrounding Jesus, the sharing with people considered unworthy was an affront to their sense of honour. Jesus acts to change their hearts – to become more forgiving, more loving, more accepting of one another.

Yes, the story is one of forgiveness, mercy, and love; not only for Zacchaeus, but also for the people of Jericho and for those listening to the story today. As followers of the Christ, we too are meant to experience a change of heart towards those we consider unworthy. For Jesus, no one is to be left out of the invitation to experience salvation. Let us pray today for the courage to persevere on this journey of faith and to answer the call to discipleship with joy and openness.

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

Mass Intentions for the Week

MONDAY, Nov. 1
Feast of All Saints
No mass

TUESDAY, Nov. 2
Feast of All the Faithful Departed
12 Noon - † Mass

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 3
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Frank Topping
Requested by the Topping family

THURSDAY, Nov. 4
St. Charles Borromeo
8:30 a.m. – † Vincent Sara
Requested by wife Maria

FRIDAY, Nov.5
Weekday
8:30 a.m. – † Alfredo and Ersilia Gallucci
Requested by daughter Catarina

SATURDAY, Nov. 6
Weekday
9:15 a.m. Morning Prayer
(Office Of The Blessed Virgin)