December 24th 2017: Fourth Sunday of Advent Year A
- Posted On 14th Dec 2017
New to the Parish? Welcome!
You can register only by filling in this online Registration Form.
If you would prefer to fill in a paper Registration Form, these can be found at the Church’s entrances. You can drop off your completed form in an offertory basket.
Don’t forget we have a website that provides information about our parish.
Christmas & New Year Schedule
The 2017 Christmas & New Year’s Schedule is now available!
Masses for the Week
Sat. Dec. 23
- 9:00 am † Hannoriah Fitzgerald
- 5:00 pm Intention of Royce D’Souza & Family
Sun. Dec. 24
- 9:00 am † Gino Ondrato Colangelo
- 11:00 am For the People of our Parish
- 7:00 pm † Abramo DeAcetis
Mon. Dec. 25 The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord
- 9:00 am † Deceased members of DiNova Family
- 11:00 am For the People of our Parish
Tues. Dec. 26 St. Stephen “the promartyr”
- 9:00 am † Joan Williams
Wed. Dec. 27 St. John Apostle and Evangelist
- 9:00 am † John Rodrigues
Thurs. Dec. 28
- 9:00 am † Casmir D’Silva
Fri. Dec. 29
- 9:00 am
- Intention of Gabrielle Laberinto
- Intention of Ngoc Vu
- Intention of Baby Damian
- † Cristino Balin & Enrico Aguilar
- † Evarista Aguilar
Sat. Dec. 30
- 9:00 am Intention of Mario & Maria Simao
- 5:00 pm † Simonne Beirne
Reflection
God, Emmanuel, is with us. The promise made long ago to King Ahaz is fulfilled. That king lacked trust in God, and feared to ask for a sign. Matthew applies this ancient prophecy to Jesus’ birth, of a virgin who at last put total faith in God. But what was Mary’s predicament? We must not let false piety obscure what an earlier age saw clearly. Matthew tells the story from Joseph’s point of view. We hear of an angel’s visit to him rather than to Mary, for she was misunderstood and Joseph faced a dilemma. As a just man, he must obey the Law and repudiate his pregnant fiancée; as compassionate, he did not want to expose her to disgrace or punishment. He was about to divorce Mary quietly when God revealed his design. This child to be born, who will save from sin, shares with those closest to him the uncertainties and anguish of human life. Even his parents must learn to trust God completely. As Christmas nears, let us pray for trust like Mary’s and Joseph’s that God may work out his plan in each of us.
(Sunday Mass Book For Canada)
Good Shepherd – Provide A Meal Program 2018
Sacramental Ministry – Welcome to our 2017-18 season!
See the Reconciliation & First Holy Communion sacrament page for more details
See the Confirmation sacrament page for more details
ArchDiocese of Toronto – Win Great Prizes!!!
By participating in the Friars’ Student Writing Award Students aged 14-18 are invited to write a 500 word essay on the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated January 18—25, 2018.
The theme for this coming year is “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power” (cf. Exodus 15:6).
Students should read the Scripture passage Exodus 15:1-21 and respond to the following question in the essay:
Just as the Israelites sought deliverance from enslavement, in contemporary society the dignity of all people is threatened by new enslavements to poverty, violence, injustice and addictions. In what ways can Christians of all denominations work together to stave off these assaults to human dignity? Explain.
First prize is an IPad Pro (128 GB), second prize is a Kobo Aura H2O Edition2 and third to sixth prizes are a one year subscription to The Catholic Register and other prizes.Essays will be edited and published in The Catholic Register.
Deadline for entries is January 8, 2018. E-mail your essay to editor@catholicregister.org or FAX it to 416-934-3409 (please include your full name, email address, phone number and the name of your school on the front page of the essay).
For further information please call 416-934-3400 ext. 344 or 416-934-3410 ext. 403 or 1-855-441-4077.
An opportunity you should not miss!
Family of Faith
Thank you for your commitment to our parish’s Family of Faith Campaign. The efforts that we make together will further the Pastoral Plan and Mission of our Church. Please remember to honour the pledge that you made. As payments are made, funds will be deposited into our account to help us repay our parish loan, grow our youth ministry and hopefully pave our parking lot.
Knights of Columbus #11525
Inviting all parishioners to participate in our organization’s 5th Sunday Rosary Program. This will occur after the 9:00 a.m. mass on Sunday December 31
Toronto Serra Club
From the angel Gabriel, Mary heard God’s plan for her life and she said “Yes!”….and so the Saviour came into the world. Pray to know God’s Will for your life, so as to help bring Jesus to our world.
If you think God is calling you to do this as a priest, religious or deacon, call Father Chris Lemieux, Vocation Director, Archdiocese of Toronto 416-968-0997 or email at vocations@archtoronto.org
Holiday Office Hours
On Friday, December 22nd the office will close at 12:30 p.m. We will reopen on Wednesday, December 27th.
We are closed on Monday January 1st and will reopen on Tuesday January 2nd @ 9:00 a.m.
Christmas Mass Broadcast
For those who cannot make it to Church, please join the Catholic Community this Christmas.
Watch the Daily T.V. Mass:
- Christmas Eve on…
- Vision T.V. at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- yesTV at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- Christmas Day on…
- VisionT.V. at 8:00 a.m. and 12:00p.m. Eastern Time
- Salt & Light at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- yesTV at 1:00 p.m. EasternTime
You can also watch on the web at www.dailytvmass.com
Catholic Women's League Reminder
Membership renewal for 2018 is taking place now. Please contact Lucia Vacca for information at 416-283-3536
St. Martin de Porres
We welcome you to attend our opening Mass on December 24th Christmas Vigil at 6:00 p.m.It’s a joyous occasion as we celebrate as a community of faith and have an opportunity to socialize with friends, new and old.
Father Anthony Gonsalves
Food for Thought
I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.
(Norman Vincent Peale)