Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 12, 2013 MOSQUITO BITES Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" (Lk 17:11-19) Mass Times Weekday Eucharist Monday to Friday: 7:30 am Weekend Eucharist Saturday: 9 am Sunday Vigil: 5 pm Sunday: 8 am 10 am 12 pm 7:30 pm Civic Holidays: 9 am Ministry Centre Hours Monday Thursday 9 am to 4:30 pm Friday 9 am 3 pm Saturday 2 pm 6:30 pm Sunday 9 am 1:30 pm www.st-bonaventure.ca www.franciscans.org When grace enters, there is no choice humans must dance. W. H. Auden wrote those words and, beautiful as they sound, I wish they were true. When grace enters a room we should begin to dance but, sadly, more often than not we let some little thing, some minor mosquito bite, blind us to grace's presence. I say this with sympathy, not cynicism. We all know how mosquitoes can ruin a picnic. Here's an example: You are celebrating your birthday in your back yard, having a picnic with family and friends. The weather is perfect, the sun is warm, the mood is mellow, and everything around and within you is an invitation to be joyful and grateful. This is "Sabbath" in the biblical sense: You are celebrating life, your birthday. You are healthy, surrounded by family and friends who love you, enjoying leisure, time off the wheel of work, all with good food and good drink. Grace has entered and everything is wonderful, except for one thing, mosquitoes. As dusk begins to take hold they discreetly begin to infiltrate, inflicting a bite here and a bite there until eventually most everyone loses his or her focus and is preoccupied with keeping exposed parts of their flesh under vigilance. Eventually most of the good cheer and the gratitude evaporate and irritation at the mosquitoes effectively ends any inclination to dance. The picnic is brought down by a series of little bites! We could all recount a hundred kinds of incidences of this sort. Given the complexity and contingency within our everyday lives, mosquitoes of some type are invariably present. There is some rain on every parade, some irritation in virtually every situation in life, and some element challenging pure grace within almost every moment of life. Life rarely comes to us pure, free from all shadow. That's why former spiritualities said that we are "living in this valley of tears." In our lives we never experience a moment of clearcut, pure, joy. Everything comes with a shadow, a mosquito at the picnic. And so it is not always easy to dance, even in the clear presence of grace. Mosquito bites can easily cause us to lose perspective, to lose the big picture, the one that would have us see and celebrate grace, even in the face of some minor irritation. A minor irritation can make us lose sight of a huge grace. 1300 Leslie Street, Toronto, ON M3C 2K9 Tel: 416.447.5571 Fax: 416.447.4082
Today there is a rich spiritual and psychological literature that challenges us to try to live more fully inside the present moment and not let our heartaches about the past or our anxieties about tomorrow cheat us out of the riches of today. But, as we as know, that is easier said than done. Elements from our past half-remembered lullabies from childhood, an almost forgotten face, a past love, a humiliation on the playground deep in our past, a misstep that still haunts us, and thousand other things from our past impale themselves into our present. And the future, as well, colors our present as we anxiously worry about an impending decision, the meeting we must have tomorrow, what the doctor is going to tell us at our next visit, and how will meet our next mortgage bill. The present moment never comes to us pure. And yet the challenge remains, an important and healthy challenge: Don't let the mosquito bites within life blind you to the larger presence of grace! One of my favorite spiritual writers, David Steidl-Rast articulates this challenge very strongly, though he does it by emphasizing the positive. Here's an example from his writings: "You think this is just another day in your life. It's not just another day; it's the one day that is given to you today. It's given to you; it's a gift. It's the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if you learn to respond as if it were the first day of your life and very last day, then you will have spent this day very well." But that is a grace that does not come easily, it must be fervently prayed for. Mosquitoes will inevitably make their presence known at every picnic in our lives. That's a given. The challenge is to not lose sight of the larger presence of grace because of minor irritations. And it helps to keep one's sense of humor about this: I was trying to untie my shoe lace yesterday, a simple, rote act that I've performed blindly thousands of times. I tugged on a lace and, given how shoes are tied, it should be impossible for the laces not to open. But somehow a knot appeared instead! How can this happen? The answer lies in a simple, age-old, philosophical axiom: In the world of irritation there are no impossibilities, no limits of finitude, only infinite potentialities. Small wonder humans don't always dance when grace enters. Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us and who produces varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs... Canticle of the Sun, St. Francis of Assisi On Monday, October 13, our Thanksgiving Day mass celebration will be at 9:00 am. Please bring an item of non-perishable food to support our food drive. The Ministry Centre will be closed.
YOUTH MINISTRY YOUTH FAITH FORMATION Altar Server Appreciation: Thank You! Thank you to everyone who made our Altar Server appreciation BBQ possible, especially Monica McDonald, our altar server coordinator, Jonathan Nix and Friar David. We would also like to extend our very special thanks to our local Catholic Women s League, especially Tracy MacInnis, Madeline Della Rocca and Mary Moyser, for the delicious gift of brownies and their amazing generosity in giving each of our altar servers a gift card as a token of appreciation. Of course, we wouldn t have done any of this without the awesome dedication and service of our fantastic crew of altar servers, THANK YOU! Knitting for the Homeless Once again we will be knitting for our less fortunate brothers and sisters help us prepare! Donate your leftover yarn and knitting needles Thick wool and size 6 needles would be ideal. Drop off your donations at the Ministry Centre or Sponsor a knitter Even with all of your generous donations last year, there wasn t quite enough yarn to go around. Please support our efforts to warm the hearts and bodies of those in need by purchasing a knitting kit: two skeins of 5 gauge yarn and one pair of size 6 knitting needles. Alternatively, a donation of $15 would ensure that everyone who wants to knit can knit! Don t forget to get one for yourself so you can join us. Contact Jonathan Nix at the Ministry Centre or jonathan@st-bonaventure.ca if you have questions. Celebrating Confirmation Sunday, June 8, 2014, 3 pm Young parishioners who want to celebrate Confirmation must register as candidates for the Sacrament and participate in our parish Sacramental Preparation Program. Registration forms are in the church. Meetings take place on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm in the Parish Centre. The first meeting is November 12. Contact Jonathan Nix or Friar David Suckling, 416.447.5571, if you have any questions.
STEWARDSHIP Stewardship A way of living Sunday Offertory Collection Thank you for your generous donations and support of our parish. Regular Collection: $ 10,916 + Pre-Authorized Giving: $2,980 = $ 13,896 Expenses: $ 14,750 St. Clare Inn: $6,250 SOCIAL MINISTRY SUPPORTING EACH OTHER IN PRAYER COMMUNITY LIFE St. Vincent de Paul News Bundle Sunday Weekend October 26/27 Focus: Clothing and household textiles. Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw His Mercy from us? ~St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Requests Private Prayer: contact Friar Boniface, 416.447.5571 x 500. Prayer Network: contact Cathy Swenson, 416.444.7446. Your request will be shared with over 20 parishioners who make up the Prayer Network. Members pray daily for requests and intentions are held in confidence. Please let the Prayer Network know when a situation has been resolved so that members can offer prayers of thanksgiving. New members are welcome; call Julie Flood, 416.391.0238. Remembering Loved Ones Lord Jesus, we place our beloved ones in your hands as we praise you for your mercy and love. Let us pray for all the deceased members of our parish and loved ones, especially Donald Kaufman, father of Janie Ryan, Robert Kulin and Reeta Thompson. May they rest in peace. Christians for 40 Days for Life Now through November 3 This is a peaceful movement of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion. You re invited to stand and peacefully pray during a 40-day vigil in the public right-of-way across the street from the Women s Care Clinic, 960 Lawrence Ave. W. Toronto, and to help spread the word about this important community outreach. For more information call Matt at 416.204.9749 or go to www.40daysforlife.com/toronto Thanks for Being Part of Franciscan Week.for it is in giving, that we receive. Many thanks for all who made Franciscan week possible: everyone who worked behind the scenes to prepare for our special liturgies and reception, those who collected and delivered donations to our local food bank, volunteers who worked at the altar server appreciation BBQ and those who delivered over 80+ special feast day cards to the homeboud. Thanks also to all the members of our Franciscan family who came out to celebrate.
REFLECTION St Bonaventure Oldtimers Hockey begins Friday October 18 11 pm at Don Mills Civitan Arena New players age 21 and up are welcome to come out for the new season. Contact Paul Collins, 905.479.9885, for more information. CWL News & Events Support the CWL Flea Marlet Saturday, October 26, 9:30 am The Flea Market is the signature fundraising event of the St. Bonaventure CWL which supports various charities inlcuding our parish. Great bargains! Great fun! Donation Drop Off: Oct. 24 & 25. Contact: Tracy MacInnis, 416.751.2435 tmacinnis@trebnet.com. The Seven Blessings That Come With Aging Sister Joan Chittister, OSB The one certain dimension of US demographics these days is that the fastest growing segment of the American population is comprised of people above the age of 65. We, and all our institutions, as a result, are a greying breed. At the same time, we are, in fact, the healthiest, longest lived, most educated, most active body of elders the world has ever known. The only real problem with that is that we are doing it in the face of a youth culture left to drive a capitalist economy that thrives on sales. So, what we sell is either to youth, about youth, or for the sake of affecting youth. But after all the pictures of 60-looking 80 year olds going by on their bikes fade off the screen, the world is left with, at best, a very partial look at what it means to be an elder. Especially for those who never did like biking much to begin with. The truth of the matter is that all of life, at any age, is about ripening. Life is about doing every age well, learning what we are meant to learn from it and giving to it what we are meant to give back to it. The young give energy and wonder and enthusiasm and heartbreaking effort to becoming an accomplished, respected, recognized adult. And for their efforts they reap achievement and identity and self-determination. The middle-aged give commitment and leadership, imagination and generativity. They build and rebuild the world from one age to another. And for their efforts they get status, and some kind of power, however slight, and the satisfaction that comes from a sense of accomplishment. The elderly have different tasks entirely. The elderly come to this stage of life largely finished with a building block mentality. They have built all they want to build. It is their task in life now to evaluate what has become of it, what it did to them, what of good they can leave behind them. They bring to life the wisdom that comes from having failed as often as they succeeded, relinquished as much as they accumulated. And this stage of life comes with its own very clear blessings. PERSPECTIVE: Given the luxury of years, the elders in a society bring a perspective on life that is not possible to the young and of even less interest to the middle aged whose life is consumed
with concern for security and achievement. Instead the elders look back on the twists and turns of life with a more measured gaze. Some things, they know now, which they thought had great value at one age, they see little value in later. The elders know that what lasts in life, what counts in life, what remains in life after all the work has been completed are the relationships that sustained us, not the trophies we collected on the way. The Elders are blessed with insight TIME: For the first time in life, the elderly have time to enjoy the present. The morning air becomes the kind of elixir again that they have not known since childhood. The park has become an observation deck on the world. The library is now the crossroads of the world. The coffee shop becomes the social center of their lives. And small children a new delight and a companion, if not leaders, as they explore their way through life again. The blessing of this time is appreciation of the moment. FREEDOM: There is a kind of liberation that comes with being an elder. All the old expectations go to mist. The competition and stress that comes with trying to find a place in today's highly impersonal economy fade away and I can do what I like, wear what I like, say what I like without bartering my very survival for it. For the first time in years it is possible simply to be a person in search of a life rather than an economic pawn in search of a high-toned livelihood. The need to reek of competence and approval gives way to the need to enjoy life. The awareness of life as liberating rather than burdensome is the most refreshing blessing a soul can have. NEWNESS: The truism prevails that it is the young, that part of the social spectrum who stand on the brink of adulthood who have the opportunity to make the great choices of life: where to go, how to live, what to do with our one precious and fragile life. But if truth were told it is really the elderly who have the option to become new again. With the children on their own and the house paid for, with our dues paid to the social system and our identities stripped away from what we do to what we are, we have the world at our feet again. We can do all the things we've put aside for years: learn to play the guitar, go back to school, volunteer in areas we have always wanted to do more of like become a tour guide or a museum aid, go backpacking or become a children's reader at the local library. We can now get up every morning to begin life all over again. The blessing of life now lies in the realization that life is not over but beginning again in a whole new way. TALE TELLING: The elders in a society are its living history, its balladeers who tell the history of a people and the lessons of growth that come with them. The war veteran can talk now about the hell of war that belies its so-called glory. The mothers know what it means to raise children with less money than the process demands. The old couples know that marriage is a process not an event and that what draws people into marriage will not be what keeps them there. These are the ones who raise for the rest of us the beacons of hope that tell us the truth we need, on our own dark days, to hear: If these others could survive the depression, the losses, the breakups and breakdowns of life, we have living proof now, so can we. The process of past reflection is one of the major blessings an elder can have because it crystallizes the value of one's own life and blesses the rest of the world with wisdom at the same time.
RELATIONSHIPS: In the lexicon of elders, all too often and all too late, a new event begins to take front and center where once work and the social whirl had held sway. Elders wake up in the morning aware that the only thing really left in life after all the schedules have disappeared are the people that have been left out of them for far too long: the adult children they haven't talked to for weeks--no, months--now. They remember the last old friend they met in the market who said "We really have to have coffee together some day" and begin to look around for the phone number. They recall with a pang the grandchildren they promised to take to the zoo and wonder with a pang whether or not the zoo is still open for the season--and whether the children still remember grandpa and the promise. Elders have the luxury of attending to people now rather than to things. And out of that attention comes a new sense of being really important to the world. One of the great blessings of being elderly is not that it isolates us but that, ironically, it ties us more tightly to the people around us. TRANSCENDENCE: Finally, it is the elders in a society who distill for the rest of it the real meaning of life--and right before our eyes. The quality of their reflections on life are so different than ours, they must certainly be listened to. The serenity of their souls in the face of total change--both physical and social--give promise that behind all the hurly-burly lies a deep pool of peace. The devotion they bring to the transcendentals of life--to solitude, to prayer, to reading, to the arts, to the simple work of gardening, to the great questions of the age, to their continuing commitment to building a city, a country, a world that will be better for us when they move on, may be the greatest spiritual lesson of life a younger generation may ever get as well as the greatest insight they every have. Indeed, to find ourselves on the edge of elderhood, is to find ourselves in an entirely new and exciting point in life. It is blessing upon blessing and it invites those around them to live more thoughtfully themselves by listening to them carefully now--while we all still have time. THIS WEEK IN OUR PARISH 9:00 am Doris Friedman Monday October 14 7:30 am Richard Gougeon Tuesday October 15 7:30 am Antonio Horta Wednesday October 16 7:30 am Elizabeth Fleming Thursday October 17 7:30 am Personal Intention Friday 9:00 am The Friars Clare Logel All Souls Reconciliation Regina Sxhulz Parishioners Melvina Gagute Jose Bettencourt October 18 Saturday October 19 9:30 am Theology & Tea/FR 7:30 pm Scripture Sharing/OR 8:00 pm Alcoholics Anonymous/FR 7:00 pm RCIA/MC 9:30 am 10:00 am Christian Meditation/OR Al-Anon/BR 4:00 pm 5:00 pm 8:00 am Sunday 11:00 am Sunday Coffee/MH 10:00 am October 20 12:00 pm 7:30 pm Vincent Giuffre BR Bonaventure Room FR Francis Room MH Main Hall OR Oak Room MC Ministry Centre Sanctuary Lamp Personal Intention Vigil Lamp Tina Lamantia
MINISTRY CENTRE CONTACTS ARE YOU REGISTERED? ON EVERY WEEK GROWING IN Spirit, Community, and Service HELP ELIMINATE HUNGER Bring a donation of non-perishable food to church for our local Food Bank. There is an ongoing need for: canned vegetables, meat, fruit, fish, soups & stews; powdered milk; fruit juice; chicken & beef soup bases; rice & pasta; pasta sauce; cold cereal; peanut butter; sugar; cooking oil; tea; instant & ground coffee. SCRIPTURE SHARING An opportunity to share faith & life experience. THEOLOGY & TEA Join the faith discussion. September to May. CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GROUP Follow the ancient tradition of the prayer of silence to attain harmony of body, mind & spirit. RCIA INQUIRY PROGRAM An opportunity to discern & discuss the call to become Catholic. SUNDAY COFFEE Join us after the 10 am mass for coffee. It s a great opportunity to meet other parishioners. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS The only requirement for members is a desire to stop drinking. The purpose is to stay sober & help others achieve sobriety. AL-ANON FAMILY GROUP A fellowship of men, women & children whose lives are affected by the compulsive drinking of a family member or friend. Members share experiences, strengths & hopes. Pastor Friar Paul Lininger, OFM Conv. friarpaul@st-bonaventure.ca Associate Pastor Friar Dan Quackenbush OFM Conv friar.dan@st-bonaventure.ca Pastoral Associate Friar David Suckling OFM Conv friar.david@st-bonaventure.ca Sacramental Minister Friar Canice Connors OFM Conv caniceofmc@aol.com Deacon Rev. Sal Badali deaconsal1994@hotmail.com Parish Manager Connie Durante connie.durante@st-bonaventure.ca Pastoral Assistant Jeanette Williams jeanette.williams@st-bonaventure.ca Youth Minister Jonathan Nix jonathan@st-bonaventure.ca Franciscans Business Administrator Norman Bell norman.bell@st-bonaventure.ca It is important to register in our parish community. Registration identifies you as a member of our parish. Only registered and active parish members can celebrate the sacraments of Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and Marriage at St. Bonaventure. Recommendations to be a baptism or confirmation sponsor or for a position in the Toronto Catholic School board can only be provided to parishioners who are registered and participating in our parish community. Registration forms are at the back of the church. Please take one and complete it today. UPDATE YOUR PARISH INFORMATION Please call the Ministry Centre, 416.447.5571, if you have any changes to your mailing address, email or phone number.