The Catholic Women s League of Canada St. Joseph Highland Creek Parish Council Proudly Celebrating 60 Years of Service For God and Canada 1953-2013 St. Joseph's Parish 200 Morrish Road Toronto, Ontario http://stjosephs.ch/church/ Spiritual Advisor Fr. Francis Folleh, CSSp. 2013-2014 Executive President Mary President Elect/ Organization & Membership Denise Treasurer Therese Secretary Barbara Spiritual Development Tania Christian Family Life Irene Community Life Collette Communications Katie A Message from the Spiritual Advisor May - June 2014 Fr. Francis Folleh, CSSp. On behalf on Fr. Francis, he would like to wish everyone all the best for spring growth and renewal! A Message from the President Mary Happy Easter to you all!! As I am approaching the final 6 months of my Presidency, I am very humbled and grateful for the friendships I have made in the past year and a half on this Council. What a blessing it is to be a part of our strong Community. We must now be thinking into the future for our Council and to keep it strong in Spirit and faith. I will be selecting an Elections Committee which will be comprised of three experienced members of our Council. This committee will organize the election of the New Executive Team for 2015 2016. Elections will take place at the November General Meeting/Elections Night (November 10 th ). Now is the time for YOU to be thinking of serving our council and our Sisters in the League. Nomination forms will be forthcoming in September along with a list of members who are eligible to stand for Executive positions. At that time, if you are nominated and a committee member calls you, I urge you to say YES and accept the nomination with confidence and joy. At St. Joseph s we are blessed with a large membership and if YOU are nominated out of all these wonderful ladies, then someone has seen a special gift in you. In the meantime, we have the summer to consider who; from our membership has that special something to lead us as an executive member in service For God and Canada. God Bless you. Education & Health Jackie Resolution & Legislation Eileen
A Message from the President Elect/ Organization & Membership Denise New Members A special welcome to our new member: Marjorie Our Lady of Good Counsel Celebration On Friday, April 25th, we celebrated the Feast of our Patroness, Our Lady of Good Counsel at St. Joseph s Parish. During the Mass, which was celebrated by our Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Francis Folleh, new members participated in a special ceremony in which they were officially welcomed into the CWL. The Mass was followed by a reception with family and friends. Thank you for supporting your new sisters in the league and for your generous contributions towards the refreshments. The names are as follows from left to right: Mary C, Marjorie H, Charmaine R, Mary M, Jackie J, Juann M, Karen H, Denise G 67th Annual Ontario Provincial Convention Saturday July 6th July 9th This year s convention will take place in Cobourg at the Best Western Cobourg Inn and Convention Center (930 Burnham Street). The theme is entitled We Have Seen the Lord-As People of Faith ). This is a great opportunity to meet our CWL Sisters at the Provincial level, Please go to www.cwl.on.ca/events 94rd Annual National Convention Sunday, August 10th August 13th, 2014 This CWL National Convention will take place in FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK at the Crowne Plaza Fredericton Hotel Lord Beaverbrook -659 Queen Street). This is your invitation to attend this event. You can find the details on the www.cwl.ca. Highland Creek Heritage Festival Saturday, June 14th, 2014. This annual event is one of our two fundraisers for our charities. We need your support with the various activities to make this a successful day. Please contact Mary if you can contribute, join the committee or participate in some way. Setup for this event is on Friday, June 13th from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm. We also need your help on Saturday, June 14th from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. We need you to participate, even for a few hours, so that everyone can enjoy the festivities of the day. 2
Bake Table: We need your contribution of baked goodies for this table. So start baking your favourite dessert! We would like to see this table overflowing with goodies. Drop off is on Friday, June 13 th. Plant Sale: Our plants are the best! If you love plants and have a green thumb, you can join us at this table. We will accept potted plants a few days before or the night before the event on Friday, June 13 th 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Drop off is at the back of the Hall (next to the garage/patio) Tea Room: Enjoy our selection of foods, sandwiches, drinks, coffee etc and our famous strawberry shortcakes will be on sale. All at a very reasonable price. Yard Sale: Your gently used items are someone else s treasures. We will not accept soiled or broken items. Treasures will be accepted on Friday, June 13 th between 6:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Raffle (Baskets): We are looking for donations of bottles of wine, cheese, chocolates, and cookies. Quality items for this table will be accepted on Friday, June 14 th. Thank you. Vendors: We have many vendors joining us again this year. JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION; it s a great way to meet your Sisters in the League A Message from Spiritual Development World Day of Prayer for Vocation 3 Tania Becoming a priest or a man or woman religious is not primarily our own decision... Rather it is the response to a call and to a call of love. Pope Francis, Address to Seminarians and Novices, July 6, 2013 On May 11, 2014 the Church will mark the 51 st World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Please say the Prayer for Vocation which was released by the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life & Vocation. The canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II April 27 marked a historic moment for the Catholic Church.Canonizing two recent popes in the presence of his immediate predecessor emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis praised the new saints John XXIII and John Paul II as men of courage and mercy, who responded to challenges of their time by modernizing the Catholic Church in fidelity to its ancient traditions. "They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century," the pope said April 27, in his homily during Mass in St. Peter's Square. "They
lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful." As you all know, the month of May is dedicated to Our Mother Mary with many masses, rosaries, prayers and devotions offered. Here are a couple of websites which give you information and a variety of prayers to recite during this month of May. The following website is from the Catholic News Agency and it offers daily prayers to Our Mother Mary for the month of May. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/prayers/devotions/to-the-blessed-virginmary/month-of-mary-may-devotions/ This website has the many prayers offered to Our Mother Mary: http://www.marypages.com/prayerstomary.htm 30 th Rosary Sunday: The 30 th Rosary Sunday will be on 21 st September 2014 at Martyrs' Shrine, Midland, On. His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins will be the Celebrant and Homilist. The program will be as follows: 12.00 p.m. Outdoor Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa (the Polish altar). There will be outdoor confessions prior to Mass 2.30 p.m. Procession of the Blessed Sacrament with the Living Rosary and Benediction at the Papal Altar. There will be a bus available. Information regarding that will be given later. A Message from Christian Family Life Irene The annual National March for Life will be held May 8 th 2014 in Ottawa. This years theme is RU-4Life.Approximately 25,000 took part in the march last year. There will be a day long workshop for young people on May 9 th 2014. For more information go to www.campaignlifecoalition.com. May 11, 2014 the Church will mark the 51 st World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We need to continue to pray for the ordinandi, priests and religious. The Bishop Pappin Memorial Fund is a very important place to direct some of our CWL funds and some of our personal donations. Provincial Council plans to award ten $300.00 bursaries annually to assist those discerning their vocations. Our parish is blessed with two priests and three deacons. Priests are overworked and many serve a number of parishes. We are truly blessed! You can get more information at www.cwl.ca A Christian family life is something we all strive to achieve.this includes traditional family (Mom, Dad, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins). Pope Francis continually pleads for us to include everyone in our Christian family. We need to be thinking of single parent families, widows,widowers, separated, divorced,homeless, disadvantaged and of course the elderly. Many people do not have someone close to care about them, if we could see it in our hearts to include all in some manner it would be a wonderful world. The elderly need special care and attention. There is a special place in our heart and our world for all. A Grade One child told me Jesus washed the feet of the disciples to show that we are all the same and no one is more special Something to really practice in everyday life. A Message from Community Life Collette Bullying A plague to combat together At a recent Bullying Awareness Campaign it was confirmed that bullying is an ongoing concern in many schools across Canada. It also occurs in the workplace and within families. Cyber bullying is also becoming 4
increasingly common due to the multitude of social media sites and electronic devices that make it so easy to do. The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) says that more than 425,000 Canadian students are bullied daily at school. COLF has recently released a booklet entitled Bullying: A Plague to Combat Together. They can be ordered online at www.colf.ca at 40 per copy. On January 9th Minister of Justice Peter MacKay announced a national campaign Stop Hating Online to raise awareness about cyber bullying and the possible legal consequences of tormenting people. The first phase of the campaign includes television and online ads that focus on when cyber bullying amounts to criminal activity. A Message from Education & Health This is the poem that was submitted for the Mary Dobell Pro-Life Essay and Poetry Contest. Sheltered What is a life defined as? Is it a certain number, the dash above or below one s epitaph? Is it a life defined by age? The time from our inception till when we decay? But then again, when is the inception of life? What makes a human truly certified? Life starts from conception. When we as humans recreate God s beautiful invention. We satisfy God s expectations simply by living, When life seems intolerable, we must keep persevering. We must look away from death, As we are fortunate to have both a soul and flesh. How often do we count our blessings? Is not our life one worth possessing? If life is so treasured, Let the lives of the unborn be sheltered. By Thomas Alvares Gr. 11, Francis Libermann CHS Jackie Catholic Education Week was May 4 9, 2014. The first ever Province-Wide Mass was held on May 7, 2014 as part of Ontario s Catholic Education Week celebrations. This was part of a project entitled Strengthening Students through the Church, which was initiated by the Catholic Board Council of the Ontario Students Trustees Association. Pope Francis sent a personal message to Ontario students for this event. The TDCSB Student Trustees hosted a Mass at the Catholic Education Centre on May 7 th. Six student representatives and one staff member from each secondary school were invited. The event was webcast so that all students and members of the TCDSB could tune in and watch the proceedings live, or view an archival video of the Mass at some point during the week. In 2013 the Coady International Institute had 332 participants on campus, representing 48 countries. Money from the National Voluntary Fund, to which we contribute, funded 4 scholarships for citizen leaders to attend Coady development education programs. The successful recipients came from Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania and India. These women have now returned to their countries to help women to help others. 5
This is the last call for anyone one who wishes to apply for financial assistance from the National Bursary Fund for a variety of courses. Applications must be submitted to the National CWL office by May 31, 2014. Book Club May The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes June The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe Summer The Housemaid s Daughter by Barbara Mutch A Message from Resolution & Legislation Eileen The Two Resolutions which will be presented for consideration at this year s Toronto Diocesan Convention on May 29 and May 30, 2014 are as follows: 1) Toronto Diocesan 2014.01 Mandatory Labelling of Genetically Modified Food Products. 2) Toronto Diocesan 2014.02 Support for a National Dementia Strategy The Resolution Dialogue Session will take place on Thursday, May 29 th prior to the start of the convention at 10:00 a.m. before the opening Mass. 1) Toronto Diocesan 2014.01 Mandatory Labelling of Genetically Modified Food Products. The Resolutions will be read out in detail for a vote by our council on May 12, 2014 General Meeting. Prayers for our Sisters in the League For the Deceased Eternal Rest, grant unto them and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Our condolences to our Sisters in the League who have had a death in their family. Please note that the Funeral Mass for Rosalia will be held on Saturday, June 7th at 5:00 pm. Please Remember Members are encouraged to bring their own mugs to the meetings. Donations of extra blank cards and blank birthday cards are welcomed and appreciated. Donations of your extra Rosaries are welcomed. Milk bags are being collected and passed onto children at St. Brendan's school to be used in the project of making sleeping mats for people in Haiti. Contributions are appreciated. CWL Items for Purchase CWL Blue Scarves $23.00 - CWL White Name Tags $3.50 - CWL Insignia Pins $4.00 6
Dates to Remember May 29 & 30 th May 31 st (Saturday) June 7 th (Saturday) The 93 rd Annual Toronto Diocesan CWL Convention International Plaza Hotel 655 Dixon Road, Toronto. St. Joseph s 160 th Gala Celebration Dinner and Dance to be held at St. Peter & Paul Banquet Hall. Tickets are still available after each Mass on the weekends and at the Parish office. Please support our Parish by purchasing a ticket or two. Memorial Mass for Rosalia at 5 pm St. Joseph Church. June 9 th (Monday) Pot Luck Social starting at 7:00 pm. Bring a main dish or desert to share Ladies only this time We will invite the men at December Pot Luck. June 13th (Friday) June 14 th (Saturday) June 16 th (Monday) July 6-9 th August 10-13 Hall set up for Heritage Day, June 14 th. Please come and help with the set up of the Hall for our Annual Fundraiser from 2 to 9 pm. Please bring your potted plants, baked goods and slightly used treasurers on this day. Heritage Day Fundraiser 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. (access to hall at 8:00 am) We need all the help possible on this day to make our event another great success. Invite your friends and family. We will be walking in the Parade with our Banner. If you would like to walk with us, please let me know. Please wear our CWL colours Blue, yellow and white also could wear your scarf s if you have one. (now would be a good time to purchase one if you don t) Debrief meeting of Heritage day at 7:30 pm. Bring your suggestions for improvement or comments of the event. Annual Ontario Provincial Convention Cobourg, Ontario. If you are interested in attending this convention, please let me know as there are forms to be filled out and deadlines. 94 th Annual National CWL Convention, Fredicton, NB. If you are interested in attending this convention, please let me know as there are forms to be filled out and deadlines. Summer Break but see you in September! 7