Slovenska župnija sv. Gregorija Velikega | St. Gregory the Great Slovenian Church
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Številka - Number / Leto - Year
15. 9. 2019
24. NEDELJA MED LETOM
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Drago Gačnik, sdb
župnik - pastor
Naslov - Address 125 Centennial Pkwy N. Hamilton, ON L8E 1H8
Phone: 905-561-5971 Cell: 905-520-2014 E-mail
gregory_sdb@ stgregoryhamilton.ca
Web page
www.carantha.com
Hall rentals Cell: 905-518-6159
E-mail
hallrental@
stgregoryhamilton.ca
Oče, poln ljubezni in usmiljenja
Da je Luka med vsemi evangelisti uporabljal grščino na prefinjen način ni potrebo posebej poudarjati. Izbral nekatere izmed mnogih prilik, ki jih je povedal Jezus na svojih potih po Palestini - in to so popolne mojstrovine glede na literarno lepoto in duhovno moč. Gre za priliko o sinu, izgubljenem v grehu, ali bolje o očetu, polnem ljubezni in usmiljenja.
Zgodba je resnični in pravi »minievangelij usmiljenja in veselja zaradi odpuščanja«, ki ga Bog podarja grešniku. Zgodba ni toliko pripoved o neki krizi, ampak veliko bolj o vrnitvi. Biblični glagol za spreobrniti se pomeni dobesedno »vrniti se«, kaže na popolno preusmeritev hoje po zgrešeni poti. Vrhunec zgodbe ni v grenki zgodbi mladeniča, ki pade v grešno življenje, ampak v odločitvi: »Vstal bom in šel k očetu.«
V drugem delu zgodbe vidimo nekega človeka, ki budno gleda na puščavsko pot: to je oče, ki upa proti upanju, ki brez prestanka pričakuje potepuškega in zgubljenega sina. On je glavna osebnost prilike, zgodbe nepremagljive ljubezni in čudeža usmiljenja. Komaj se na obzorju prikaže podoba žalostnega in osamljenega
sina, že mu teče naproti, da bi ga objel. Kakor povedo njegove prve besede - je smrt, ki postane življenje, je blodnja po žalostnih poteh, ki se spremeni v veselo najdenje, je slavljenje polno sprave, ki zbriše preteklost.
V tretjem delu prilike, v katerem prevlada podoba starejšega brata. Samovšečen in zadovoljen s svojo poštenostjo prezirljivo gleda na usmiljenja vredni svet, ki ga obdaja. Njegova ledeno mrzla reakcija je tipična za nekatere hudo pobožne vernike, ki pa ne poznajo ljubezni. Njihova drža je farizejska, znana iz neke druge slavne
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Lukove prilike »bili so prepričani, da so pravični, in so zaničevali druge«. Prepričani so, da so upniki v odnosu do Boga in predvsem da so se povzpeli na piedestal, s katerega lahko sodijo druge in se baha-jo. Nasprotno, tudi zanje, ki so ostali vedno v Očetovi hiši, bi ne bilo slabo, da bi se spomnili Pavlovih besed: »Vsi so postali grešniki, saj so vsi grešili in so brez Božje slave» (Rim 5, 19; 3, 23). Vsi morajo prositi za odpuščanje, predvsem pa morajo deliti veselje z Bogom vedno, ko ta objame spreobrnjenega sina.
Podlaga vse pripovedi je pravi razlog za veselje, »ker je treba praznovati ob vrnitvi sina v življenje«. Tudi priliki, ki sta neposredno pred priliko o izgubljenem sinu, tista o izgubljeni ovci in drahmi, so polne tega božjega veselja, ki mora preiti v vso krščansko skupnost: »Veselite se z menoj... Prav tako bo v nebesih večje veselje nad enim grešnikom, ki se spreobrne, kakor nad devetindevetdesetimi pravičnimi, ki ne potrebujejo spreobrnjenja.«
Prilika o izgubljenem sinu je torej čudovita pesem, v kateri se srečajo nekatere osnovne evan-geljske teme: božja ljubezen, veselje, spreobrnjenje, odpuščanje, upanje, boj proti hinavščini in ošab-nosti. Čut za greh je gotovo stvar, ki bi morala zacve-teti v današnji puščavi površnosti in brezbrižnosti.
Vse velike religije govorijo o grehu že od pradav-nine. Poglejmo primer iz neke egiptovske molitve iz 13. stoletja pred Kristusom, naslovljene na boga sonca Ra: »Ne kaznuj me za moje številne grehe, ker ne uspem spoznati samega sebe, tako zdelanega od zla. Zgubil sem čut za samega sebe, cel dan porabim, da bi »sledil« samemu sebi kakor krava travi.«
Vendar za evangelij to ni zadnji in odločilen dejavnik. Glavna oseba je tukaj oče, ki čaka, ki objema, ki briše preteklost, ki ponovno rodi svojega sina v ljubezni in veselju. Brat Hieronim Savonarola je razlagal: »Strah zaradi greha, ki ga odkrijem v sebi, me spravlja v obup. Toda upanje na tvoje usmiljenje je večje kot moja revščina. Zato ne bom nikoli nehal upati in peti tvoji ljubezni.« Zadnja božja beseda je odpuščanje, zadnja njegova kretnja je objem.
(prim. Oznanjevalec 2004)
Why Should Your Child Learn Slovenian?
Our lives are busy. Our children's lives seem to be even busier than our own. Parents spend several evenings a week at music lessons, dance class, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, hockey rinks, pools, and volleyball courts. They spend several weekends every month at games and tournaments, meets, or recitals. They do this without blinking an eye because there is a benefit to children learning instruments or playing sports.
Yet, when someone suggests that a child attend a language class for a few hours on a Saturday morning, everyone is "too busy" or doesn't see the worth in doing so. You may wonder why should you wake up early on Saturday mornings to take your son or daughter to school when you could be sleeping-in instead? Several studies have been done looking at children who learn a second or third language in comparison with those who don't. These studies show that there are clear benefits to children learning their mother tongue. I'm going to tell you about six:
Greater Connection to their Cultural Background and Heritage:
Learning your mother tongue allows the speaker to have a closer tie to their own cultural and linguistic community. Language and culture go hand in hand; you cannot learn one without the other. This is particularly important in smaller communities like ours. The greater the tie to the community, the stronger the community grows, and the longer it
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lasts. Learning Slovenian allows our children to develop a connection to our small community and allows them to learn the value of their culture and heritage. It fosters a sense of belonging and teaches children the importance of cultural diversity to society as a whole. Our cultural uniqueness should be celebrated, not ignored.
Better Brain Development:
This is particularly true for young children. Learning additional languages plays a huge role in the development of the executive functioning of the brain: multi-tasking, concentration, and focus. Studies have shown that children who learn multiple languages are better able to complete multiple tasks at the same time, are better able to focus their attention, and are better able to problem solve when compared to children who speak a single language. Brain scans of children who speak multiple languages show more grey matter (the good stuff) in the regions of executive functions.
Improved Academic Performance:
Children who are bilingual or multilingual also perform better on school standardized tests. They have higher literacy rates and are more creative in their thinking. Greater creativity in thinking leads to better problem-solving skills as they are better able to see multiple viewpoints. The ability to see a problem from different sides is the cornerstone of problem-solving.
Better Future Career and Earning Opportunities:
The ability to speak languages other than English literally opens doors for your child in his or her future. It increases your child's future career opportunities as ability to speak other languages will distinguish your child from other applicants. Studies have also shown that bilingual/multilingual children earn on average 2% more per year than their single-language counterparts. That may not sound like a lot, but it adds up over your child's future working years.
Long-Term Health Benefits:
All those benefits regarding brain development also have long-term health benefits for your child. They help prevent or delay age-related cognitive decline in your child's later years. This would have a positive impact on any future Alzheimer's or dementia.
Most Importantly... It's FUN!! For parents too!
This is the most important reason!!! Slovenian School is fun!! Your child will make new friends within their own cultural community. Our classes are not like it was 20-30 years ago. We try to make them fun with games. The best learning happens when children don't realize they're learning and that's what we try to do. There is of course the usual seat-work, but we also use games and singing to teach our students the Slovenian language and culture. If you don't believe me, just ask some of our kids! It's also fun for parents! You get 3.5 child-free hours to do whatever you want.. .literally! Go grocery shopping (imagine how much faster that will go without
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the kids!), go to the gym, enjoy a coffee without squabbling siblings, or just revel in the sound of a quiet home.
Now that I've told you about all the benefits, here are the disadvantages of your child learning their mother tongue: NONE! Yup, zero disadvantages! Your child may not want to go to school on Saturdays. They'll want to stay home and sleep-in, play video games, or pretty much anything else. But there's a reason that kids generally can't make decisions for themselves: they don't know what's in their best interest. It's the same reason why you make your kids eat their veggies even if they don't like them: because it's good for them. In a similar way, learning Slovenian is also good for them. They don't know it now, but they will understand when they're older and they will appreciate it. I know this from personal experience. I hated going to Šola but now I'm glad my mom kicked my butt into the car every Saturday morning as a child. She knew better than I did. You know better than your child does.
Registration for Slovenian School will be on Saturdays in September 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $75.00 for 1 child, $140.00 for 2 children ($70.00 per child), and $195.00 for 3 children ($65.00 per child). The cost is for 1 full school year.
We look forward to seeing everyone come back and especially look forward to meeting our new students. We accept any child from kindergarten to Grade 8, regardless of how much/little Slovenian they know. It may seem hard at first, but the long-term rewards are worth the effort.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at sferletic@gmail.com or 905-9778464.	Sandy Ferletič
'-\
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Response:
I will get up and go to my Father.
First Reading Exodus 32:7-11. 13-14 In his mercy the Lord relents and does not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Second Reading 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Nobody should doubt that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Gospel Luke 15:1-32
There is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.
"This son of mine... was lost and is found."
Illustration
St Anthony is one of the most popular of the saints. Many of our churches are dedicated to him; many more possess a statue of him, perhaps with a stand in front of it to hold the candles of the faithful. Why is he so popular? Because he specialises in finding things, and losing things is a very common human experience. We lose our keys, our purses, our glasses, our passports - and we call upon St Anthony to help find them for us. And many people believe that he does often seem to do it; there are numerous stories about it.
Talking about praying to St Anthony, one woman recalled a prayer that had been taught to her in her childhood by a nun: "Tony, Tony, turn around, something lost must be found." "This works more times than not," she went on to say, "and if I don't find it, at least I remembered to say a prayer to St Anthony." Another woman told the story of when she lost the precious stone out of her ring: "I noticed
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it gone on Sunday night. On the Monday we went back to the church and prayed to St Anthony for help, knowing it could have been lost anywhere. In the darkened building my husband shone a light under the pews... and there we found it. We had promised St Anthony that we would give a donation for the poor, and we were more than happy to give it."
Gospel Teaching
In today's Gospel, Jesus uses the very common human experience of losing things to give us a glimpse into the heart of God. We should appreciate what an astonishing thing Jesus is doing. We wonder: who can look into the mind of God? Who can possibly penetrate into the inner depths of the heart of God? It's easy, says Jesus. We can all think ourselves into the mind of a shepherd who has lost a sheep, or a housewife who has lost a coin, or maybe especially into the mind of a man who has lost a son. And if we can do this, we can think ourselves into the mind of God.
This is, after all, what we might expect, because the scriptures tell us that God made us in God's own image and likeness. This does not mean, of course, that our physical bodies resemble God, for God is pure spirit. So what else can the text mean except that we share something of God's mind, something of God's heart, something of God's spirit?
Application
These parables of Jesus teach us something of how God feels about sinners and about the repentance of sinners. But more than that, they tell us that if we can look into the heart of any human being, even into our own heart, we can look into the heart of God. Of course, human hearts can be embittered, hurt, twisted, and we must make allowance for this. But if we are willing to let our imagination sweeten the bitterness, soothe the hurt, straighten out what is twisted, then we can learn something of the love of God from everyone we meet. That offensive neighbour who gives us such grief; that annoying colleague who always irritates us; that person whose lifestyle seems so contrary to the teachings of our faith; even that violent and vicious criminal who has just received a very long stretch in prison -all have something to tell us about the love of God, if we look at them through the eyes of Jesus.
And if we are to do this effectively, we must remember a saying of Jesus: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged." It is not for us to judge these lost children of God our Father, who have wandered so far from him; it is our business to pray for them, that like the prodigal son they may turn back to their heavenly Father. And it is our business, too, to gaze into our own hearts, which are the hearts nearest and most accessible to us, to discern our deepest longings, our profoundest yearnings, and to see in them a reflection - distorted, no doubt, as if through a glass darkly, but still a likeness - of the yearning of God our Father to bring us, his dear children, into full union with the love of his own heart.
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Obvestila - Announcements
DOGODKI V BLIŽNJI PRIHODNOSTI ♦	15. september: Triglav-London - Mass 4:00 p.m. at St. John the Divine Church ♦	22. september: St. Gregory the Great - Mass 10:00 a.m.; Fall Banquet & Scholarship awards presentation to follow GIFT BEARERS - DAROVE PRINAŠAJO	Uradne ure za konzularne zadeve v Torontu -	torek, 24. sept., od 15.00 do 18.30 ure. -	torek, 22. okt., od 15.00 do 18.30 ure. -	torek, 19. nov., od 15.00 do 18.30 ure. -	torek, 17. dec., od 15.00 do 18.30 ure. Konzularne ure so v prostorih Generalnega konzulata na naslovu: 731 Brown's Line, Toronto, Ontario M8W 3V7. Priporočamo, da pred nameravanim obiskom konzularnih ur v Torontu, preverite termin na Veleposlaništvu v Ottawi. Telefon: + 1 613 565 5781 2019 Slovenian Canadian Scholarship Foundation Awards The Slovenian Canadian Scholarship Foundation was created to provide students of Slovenian-Canadian descent, c? whoarepursuingpost- P', secondary education, and reside with the Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth, or Niagara region, the opportunity to be recognized for their academic achievements, community involvement, and appreciation of their Slovenian heritage. Selected applicants will be granted a monetary award in the form of a scholarship or bursary from the foundation. This year's awards will be presented on Sunday, September 22, 2019 at St. Gregory the Great Parish's Fall Banquet. The deadline for completed applications was August 30th 2019. Thank you to all who submitted an application.
♦	15. sept. 9:30 a.m.: Zdravko in Sue Augustin ♦	22. sept. 10:00 a.m.: Poppa family ♦	29. sept. 9:30 a.m.: Zorka Rev & Sonja Peternel MASSES IN SEPTEMBER 2019	
On September 22nd is only ONE MASS at 10:00 a.m. because of our FALL BANQUET celebration. From Sunday, September 29th until December, Slovenian Masses are at 9:30 a.m. and English Masses are at 11:00 a.m. PEVSKE VAJE	
Za mešani pevski zbor so odslej vaje vsak četrtek po večerni maši. V septembru se pripravljamo za naš JESENSKI BANKET - ŽUPNIJSKO ŽEGNANJE, ki bo 22. septembra. Maša je ob 10:00 a.m. DAROVI - DONATIONS	
Za gradbeni sklad je darovala $100, Olga Hanc z družino, v spomin za pokojno Ano Nedelko. Hvala za vaš dar.	
Diocesan Newsletter For information about Activities and Events of interest in the Diocese of Hamilton, subscribe to the online Diocesan Newsletter at www.hamiltondiocese.com.	
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SVETE MASE - MASS TIMES: Monday: 8:00 a.m., Tuesday to Friday: 7:00 p.m., Saturday: 5:30 p.m. (Slovenian); Sunday: 9:30 a.m. (Slovenian), 11:00 a.m. (English); From Long weekend in July to the Long weekend of the September Sunday Mass is only at 10:00 a.m. (Slovenian-English) - KRSTI / BAPTISMS: For an appointment, call one month before. POROKE / MARRIAGE: For an appointment, call one year before the wedding date. SPOVED / CONFESSIONS: First Friday of the month 6 -7:00 p.m. (or by appointment) BOLNIKI - Sporočite, če je kdo bolan ali v bolnišnici, da ga obiščemo. You are welcome to call for a personal conversation with your priest - please call for an appointment. Tel: 905-561-5971,
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od 15. 9. 2019 do 22. 9. 2019	svete maše -	masses	
24. Nedelja med letom 24th Sunday in OT 15. September Žalostna Mati Božja	Za žive in rajne župljane f Irma Dorenčec f Jakob Muhič, Jr f Stane Napast f Ante Čule ff Pokojni člani društva Triqlav	9:30 a.m. - - - Terezija Dunko (TO) Družina Muhič Družina Pinter 11:00 a.m. Kathy in Joe Prša 4:00 p.m. St. John the Divine Church	
Ponedeljek - Monday 16. September Kornelij, papež	Ne bo maše v župniji		
Torek - Tuesday 17. September Robert Bellarmin, šk-uč.	ff Janez (obl.) in Marija Grebene ff Starši Ceklin ff Starši Svoljšak ff Sorodniki in prijatelji Bogu in Materi Božji v zahvalo	7:00 p.m.	Lojze Grebene Družina Svoljšak Družina Svoljšak Družina Žvan Marija Žvan z družino
Sreda - Wednesday 18. September Jožef Kupertinski, duh.	f Jože Lovšin f Irma Dorenčec f Ante Čule f Anica Nedelko	7:00 p.m.	Družina Pust Martin Škrban z družino Martin Škrban z družino Martin Škrban z družino
Četrtek - Thursday 19. September Januarij, šk-muč.	f Ana Nedelko f Irma Dorenčec V čast Materi Božji v zahvalo	7:00 p.m.	Kathy in Joe Prša Emilija Mertuk Dragica Dundraš
Petek - Friday 20. September Korejski mučenci	f Dominik Zorčič f Angela Ovčjak	7:00 p.m.	Sestra Jožica Vegelj z družino Manja Erzetič
Sobota Saturday 21. September Matej, ap. evangelist	f Drago Ferk, obl. ff Rudi in Terezija Hajdinjak f Joe Hanc f Ana Nedelko f Ana Nedelko f Ana Nedelko f Rudi Hanc	5:30 p.m.	Žena Irena z družino Dragica in Lojze Ferenčak Žena Olga z družino Lilian Ferenčak Gizela Žalik Mož z družino Ivan Kirec
25. Nedelja med letom 25th Sunday in OT 22. September Slomškova nedelja	Za žive in rajne župljane f Ivan Tompa f Matilda Berkovič, obl. f Frank Drvarič, obl, f Alojz Sampl FALL BANQUET	10:00 a.m........... Janez Lovrenčec Sin Zlatko z družino Hči Fani Adamič z družino 12:00 noon Parish Hall	
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