SLOVENSKA ŽUPNIJA SV. GREGORIJA VELIKEGA | ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SLOVENIAN CHURCH 1/60 Številka - Number / Leto - Year 7.1. 2024 GOSPODOVO RAZGLAŠENJE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD 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 HALL RENTALS 905-561-5971, ext. 2 E-MAIL hallrental@ stgregoryhamilton.ca Praznik Gospodovega razglašenja prebuja v naših srcih veliko radost, ker je to tudi naš praznik. To je praznik poklicanosti vseh narodov in ljudstev h krščanski veri in po njej k deležnosti polnosti božjega življenja. Modri z vzhoda so prvi med pogani, ki so se prišli priklonit Božjemu Sinu in so tako vnaprejšnja izpolnitev božjega načrta, ki se bo dopolnil z Jezusovo smrtjo in vstajenjem. Premišljujmo torej o modrih, ki so nam vzorniki pri iskanju Gospoda. Iščejo luč, ki prihaja od Boga, iščejo Mesija, Izraelovega kralja. Brez oklevanja zapustijo svoje dežele in se odpravijo na dolgo pot do Jeruzalema. Doma so z vzhoda, iz dežel, kjer je močno udomačena astrologija, veda onebesnih telesih. Na voljo so nam zelo stara pričevanja o raziskovanjih Kaldejcev. Ti so raziskovali nebo in se dokopali do vedno globljih spoznanj o zvezdah. Modri so prišli v Jeruzalem in so vpraševali: »Kje se je rodil judovski kralj? Videli smo njegovo zvezdo in smo se mu prišli poklonit.« Prehodili so dolgo pot, da bi se poklonili judovskemu kralju, ki se je rodil. Ne vemo kako, vendar so prepoznali na nebesnem svodu božje znamenje, ki je oznanjalo rojstvo tega kralja. Stara zaveza govori o Jakobovi zvezdi, ki mora vstati (prim., 2 Mz 24,17). Morda so jim bila znana ta besedila prerokov. Evangelist piše, da so prepoznali božje znamenje in so se takoj odpravili na pot, da bi prišli do novorojenega Mesija. Modri se ne samo pripravijo za pot, marveč na vse načine želijo najti kraj, kjer bodo videli Mesija. V Jeruzalemu se obrnejo na kralja Heroda, ta pa prosi velike duhovnike in pismouke za pojasnilo glede kraja, v katerem bi se moral Mesija roditi. Takšna skrb modrih je povsem v nasprotju z neprizadetostjo velikih duhovnikov in pismoukov. Ti poznajo Pisma in lahko takoj dajo točen odgovor: »V Betlehemu v Judeji, kajti tako je VESTNIK 2024 | pisano pri prerokih.« Ob tem se sami ne potrudijo, da bi šli iskat Mesija. Ne bi bilo treba iti na dolgo potovanje, da bi prišli v Betlehem, vendar se ne premaknejo. Še bolj negativno je Herodovo zadržanje. Zaskrbljen na skrivaj pokliče modre in jih izprašal o času, v katerem se je zvezda prikazala; pošlje jih v Betlehem, da bi mu sporoči vse o detetu. Herod Deteta ne išče zato, da bi se mu šel poklonit, marveč da bi ga usmrtil. Boji se, da bi to dete, če je resnični Izraelov kralj, prevzelo njegov položaj. Meni, da ga je treba kot nasprotnika umakniti. Iz zgodovine vemo, da je kralj Herod brez oklevanja pobil tudi ljudi iz lastne družine, ki jih je imel za tekmece svoji oblasti. Tako so nam v pripovedi predstavljena tri zelo različna ravnanja. Moramo se odločiti, kateremu bomo sledili. Jezusov vstop v naše življenje je mogoče sprejeti kot nekakšno nevarnost. Lahko smo, tako kot veliki duhovniki in pismouki, v skušnjavi, da zapademo v neprizadetost. Vemo, da je Jezus Gospod, Odrešenik, toda raje živimo tako, kot da ni tako. Slediti moramo zgledu modrih; to pomeni, biti pripravljeni za pot, na kateri bomo srečali Gospoda Jezusa, biti z njim, da bi ga počastili, to je priznati, da je on naš Gospod, tisti, ki nam kaže pravo pot življenja. Če tako ravnamo, nas Jezus resnično odrešuje. Tedaj lahko živimo svoje človeško dostojanstvo, tisto polnost življenja, ki nam jo Bog pripravlja. Prvo berilo iz preroka Izaija govori o luči v Jeruzalemu: »Tema pokriva zemljo in ljudstva mrak, nad teboj pa sije Gospod in njegovo veličastvo sveti nad teboj.« Z Jezusovim rojstvom v resnici luč sveti nad Jeruzalemom, točneje - nad Betlehemom. Ta luč priteguje poganske narode: »Narodi pojdejo k tvoji luči in kralji k siju, ki vstaja nad teboj ...« Evangelij poroča, da modri prinašajo Mesiju zlato in kadilo; dostavi pa tudi miro, ki simbolizira skrivnost Jezusovega trpljenja. Izaijeva prerokba napove spreobrnitev številnih ljudstev: »Narodi pojdejo k tvoji luči ... Povzdigni oči naokrog in poglej: vsi se zbirajo in prihajajo k tebi.« (...) Kristjani se moramo veseliti, da lahko sodelujemo pri uresničitvi božjega načrta. Cerkev je vedno priznavala, da njene prednosti niso namenjene samo nekaterim posameznikom, marveč morajo biti razširjene na ves svet. Bog kliče vse ljudi, oznanja jim, da tudi njih Bog ljubi in jih kliče k polnosti življenja. (prim. Oznanjevalec 2009, št. 1) 2 | VESTNIK 2024 EPIPHANY OF THE LORD R: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. First Reading Isaiah 60:1-6 Arise, shine out Jerusalem, for your light has come. Second Reading Ephesians 3:2-3.5-6 All people share in the promise and salvation of God. Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 “And falling to their knees, they did him homage.” “We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.” Illustration Twelfth Night is the night when people traditionally take down the Christmas trees and put away the time-honoured decorations for another year. It is a moment often tinged with sadness as families and visitors have now departed. Many decorations have stood the test of time and tell a story of a family, sometimes joyful, other times marked by tears. The missing Christmas cards record the stories of bereavement and lost friends. The Three Kings, who have been moving towards the crib, now take their proud place near Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This intimate scene is explained to children who wonder at the sight of the crib. Caspar bears the gold for a king, Melchior the frankincense for a deity, Balthasar the myrrh whose scent is already leading us to- St Joseph. They pay homage to the new king. They see both a baby and a king. There is a poverty in the simple scene but also a richness, because the presence of the Christ Child fills the whole room. They recognise him as their God. T.S. Eliot writes in his poem The Journey of the Magi about their homeward journey: “We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.” wards the tomb at Easter. In the well-known carol We Three Kings we sing, They know that their world has been changed and they no longer fit into the world in the same way. “Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume They are not sure what this will mean for their future. Breathes a life of gathering gloom; They begin to find the meaning of the Messiah who Sorrowing, sighing, will save his people in the Jewish scriptures. They Bleeding, dying, know in their hearts that this is the child they have Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.” met. All people have been sent a redeemer who will Yet the cold of the tomb will give way to Christ’s free them from their sins. He has been born in povglorious rising from the dead. erty in Bethlehem and will proclaim the coming of In the Christmas story, we discover our identity God’s kingdom. The Magi learn that he will save all as a people who follow Jesus and are his disciples. people by his death and resurrection and that they The beauty of the scene at the manger captures the will have life in this world and eternal life in the next. hope of the Christ Child and the joy that is proApplication claimed each Christmas. As we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, we Gospel Teaching affirm our belief in Jesus Christ, true God and true The Magi bearing their gifts have followed the man, light of the nations. We confess our belief that star that appeared as a mysterious sign in the night he is the Saviour of all people. We unite as Christians sky. They travelled from the East over mountain of East and West in our belief that the message of and desert. In their longing to understand the Christ gives hope and joy to all who believe. We bow meaning of this twinkling light, they persevered on down and pay him homage. their hard journey through very long, cold nights We thank God for the faith that has been handed and short days. Tiredness and weariness must have down to us, whether from grandparents, within famibeen part of their wintry journey. lies, by friends, or by helpful priests and religious. We They enter the house of the Holy Family where name in prayer those people who have sustained us they see the Child with his mother Mary and his in our faith and helped us in the difficult times. protector Joseph. Their house has the welcome and As we move into the new year, let us make our warmth of a home that is full of love. They are of- new resolutions, perhaps to read the scriptures daily, fered hospitality in the Eastern custom. They bow to pray the rosary, maybe to be generous in almsgivlow and offer their gifts to the innocent and fragile ing. Let us choose to do something to deepen our child who is utterly dependent on his mother and faith and love this new year. VESTNIK 2024 | 3 Last week we celebrated together ringing in the New Year, 2024. The hall looked beautiful with a grey, black, and silver colour theme. Many hands worked hard to create a beautiful back drop for the New Years celebration. A huge thank you to Elka, Sidonia, Trish, Sue Case and her daughter Sarah and Derek for setup. Of course, the final touches were made by Mirko drilling a few holes for our Photo Booth back drop and Fr Drago who always makes sure every detail is considered and every moment captured on camera. A special thank you to Rob and Sue for staying with me until 3:30am to clean up and the helpers who came out for the final clean up on Tuesday - cleaning up truly is the toughest part of a party, but when it’s a good one, it seems to be a little bit easier! We would also like to thank Moya Financial who always supports our Slovenian Community in Hamilton. We may not always see their efforts, but they are always here to support us! We started our New Year’s Eve celebrations with a festive complimentary drink for all our guests which was created by Sidonia, followed by good food and excellent service by Nancy and her team of youth servers, a fully stocked bar by Tony and friendly bartending by Joe Pust and Derek. We had door prizes and a raffle table that was filled with handcrafted and valued gifts donated by Powerkure Electrical, Beamsville Home Hardware, Sue Case, Marlene and Joe Klanfar and Novak Landscaping - thank you to everyone who offered their support and thank you Sue for a great job assisting with the Raffle ticket sales! 4 | VESTNIK 2024 With Slo-Beat keeping the dance floor moving by playing many Slovenian favourites integrated with classic rock and roll this band created an amazing party vibe! Slo-Beat knew exactly what to do to keep the party energy in high gear. Slo-Beat had the crowd participating in games with prizes, singing to classics and dancing on the dance floor with the band in action! The shooting of t-shirts in the crowd certainly kept the excitement steady! At first, we had hoped for about 50 more guests, but the almost 90 guests that attended our New Year’s Eve Gala definitely knew how to ring in the new year! Na zdravje … Cheers to 2024! Heidy Novak! VESTNIK 2024 | 5 O BVESTILA - A NNOUNCEMENTS KOLEDAR DOGODKOV 7th - Jan. - Mass only at 10:00 a.m. - Jan. 8th to Jan. 12th - No mass in the parish - Jan. 14th - London - Mass at 3:00 p.m. - Jan. 14th - Bled - Annual General Meeting - Jan. 21st - Lipa Park - Koline Luncheon - Feb. 4th - Bled - Koline - Feb. 10th - St. Gregory - Pustovanje - Feb 14th - St. Gregory - Ash Wednesday Pepelnica - Feb 19th - Slovenski Park - Family Day - March 3rd - Lipa Park - Spring General Meeting - Election of New Executive - March 3rd - CWL_KŽZ - Bazaar CLEANING OF THE CHURCH - Jan. 13th - Gosgnach team BRALCI - READERS - JAN. 7 - 10:00 A.M. MASS Slovenian - Frank Novak English - Mary Miklavčič GIFT BEARERS AT MASSES - Jan 14st - 9:30 a.m. - Pamela Gosgnach in Terezija Sarjaš THE DIOCESAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MASS Are you celebrating your 25th, 40th, 50th, or 60+ Wedding Anniversary in the year 2024? If you are, you are cordially invited to join couples from across the Diocese of Hamilton for a Wedding Anniversary Mass on Sunday, May 26, 2024 at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King in Hamilton at 1:30 pm. (Space allows room for Anniversary couples 60th, only - those married 60 years or more may bring one guest if you require assistance). Registration is now available online at hamiltondiocese.com. 6 | VESTNIK 2024 CWL - KŽZ Our CWL wishes our parish community a blessed and happy new year. Srečno novo leto! - Our first general CWL meeting will go ahead as we decided on Wednesday, January 10th with a focus on discussing our bazaar. Since there will not be a Mass that evening we will meet an bit earlier than usual, at 6:30PM in the rectory. DRUŠTVO SV. JOŽEFA - ČLANARINA Villa Slovenia - Tuesday’s night social gatherings restarted on Jan. 2nd. Torkovi večeri so zopet v polnem teku. Vabljeni, da pridete skupaj in preživite nekaj uric v dobri družbi prijateljev. Na mizi v cerkveni veži so kuverte za članarino. V kuverti je članska izkaznica za leto 2024. Dajte denar za članarino ($15) v kuverto in kuverto oddajte v nabiralnik za nedeljsko nabirko. ŽUPNIJSKA STATISTIKA ZA LETO 2023 Krsti - Baptisms 1. Gianna Maria, Nunnari (Giuseppe Nunnari & Lana Vanderham 2. Brianna Paula, Hočevar (Johnny Paul Hočevar & Kristina Francesca Kure) 3. Iya Aaliyah, Grandy (Kyle Grandy & Leqa Alsherees) 4. Mia, Jelić (Toni Jelić & Leqa Alsherees) 5. Josie Novak, Pace (Jesse RobertManning Pace & Jessica Novak) 6. Emilia Susan, Orr (Eric Orr & Alicia Giansante) 7. Malcolm Louie, Foster (Matthew Richard Foster & Melanie Jessica Kopač) 17. Ivan Zelko 18. Frank Leopold Gimpelj 19. Matthew Škerl 20. Rozalija Kolenko 21. Anton (Tony) Ferko Prvo obhajilo - First Communion 1. Liliana Lunn 2. Leonard Manning 3. Brayder Pettem 4. Chessa Rozich 5. Nina Rozich Children’s Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great Slovenian Church Pogrebi - Funerals 1. Cecilija Sobočan 2. Julijana Sagadin 3. Marija Glavač 4. Rozina Doma 5. Gabriela Kish 6. Jožef Tompa 7. Norma Doreen Tompa 8. Maksimilian Pavličič 9. Nataša Maria Prilesnik 10. Leopold Kline 11. Branko Blazon 12. Ana Doma 13. Marjan Svoljšak 14. Anton Vinčec 15. Frank Radivoj Marušich 16. Thea Giorgia Marušich Svete maše - Masses GOSPODOVO †† †† EPIPHANY OF THE LORD † RAZGLAŠENJE 7. JANUAR Rajmund, duhovnik DON BOSCO † Za žive in rajne župljane Za zdravje Pok. starši Radovičevič Pok. iz družine Tompa Marija Joželj, obl. V zahvalo Bogu in M. Božji Joe Prša We invite you for Children’s Liturgy of the Word next Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Mass. V tem tednu so naslednje obletnice smrti faranov, ki so zapisani v naših knjigah: Zorko Bolko Žerdin Simčič Polc Hozian Luthar Dundek Kobe Renate Anton Ivan Vinko Ivan Joseph Andre Marija Štefan John January 8, 1985 January 9, 2003 January 9, 2009 January 10, 2008 January 12, 1990 January 12, 1997 January 12, 1998 January 12, 2019 January 13, 2002 10:00 A.M. - - - - - - N. N. Hči Angela Kobe z družino Marija Horvat z družino Hči Sonja Langenfus Ivka Pašalić Emilia, Ivan Mertuk & Kathy Prša SV. MAŠE - MASSES: Mon. to Fri.: 7:00 P.M.; Saturday: 5:30 P.M. (Slo); Sunday: 9:30 A.M. (Slo); 11:00 A.M (Eng) - From July to Fall Banquet only 10:00 A.M. - KRSTI / BAPTISMS: For an appointment, call one month before. POROKE / MARRIAGE: By appointment, call one year before the wedding date. SPOVED / CONFESSIONS: First Friday of the month 6 to 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 or Cell: 905-520-2014 VESTNIK 2024 | 7 SVETE MAŠE - MASSES PONEDELJEK - MONDAY 8. JANUAR Ni maše v župniji - No Mass in the Church TOREK - TUESDAY 9. JANUAR Ni maše v župniji - No Mass in the Church SREDA - WEDNESDAY 10. JANUAR Ni maše v župniji - No Mass in the Church ČETRTEK - THURSDAY 11. JANUAR Ni maše v župniji - No Mass in the Church Maksim, škof Julijan, muč. Gregor Niški, škof Pavlin Oglejski, škof PETEK - FRIDAY Ni maše v župniji - No Mass in the Church 12. JANUAR Tatjana, mučenka SOBOTA - SATURDAY 13. JANUAR Hilarij, škof Veronika, devica † † † † †† † †† †† † † Cecilia Sobočan, obl. Joe Prša Joe Prša Ignac Korošec Za nasilno umorjene Frank L. Gimpelj Jr. Pok iz družine Oberman Julijana, obl. in Štefan Gabor Ivan Zelko Štefan Dundek, obl. Za žive in rajne župljane Paula in Franc Pelcar Pok. sorodniki in prijatelji Rozalija Kolenko, 30. dan Frank L. Gimpelj Jr. Po namenu †† Paula Pelcar in Marija Zelko †† Tony in Elizabeth Ferko 9:00 A.M. - - - - - - Stan Pelcar & Josie Dubé z družino Angela Kobe z družino Marija in Toni Franc Družina Volčanšek Ivka Pašalič 11:00 A.M. Cvetka Milosavljevič Ivan Mertuk †† Pokojni Slovenci iz Londona 3:00 P.M. St. Joh the Divine Church † 2. NEDELJA MED LETOM †† 2ND SUNDAY IN † † ORDINARY TIME 14. JANUAR Oton, redovnik 8 | VESTNIK 2024 5:30 P.M. Family Sobočan Kathy, Emilia in Ivan Marija Korošec z družino Marija Korošec z družino Marija Košir Martin in Regina Nedelko Stanka Malevič z družino Hči Angela Antolin Ivan Antolin z družino Aranka z družino