Slovenska župnija sv. Gregorija Velikega | St. Gregory the Great Slovenian Church 49/55 Številka - Number / Leto - Year 1. 12. 2019 1. Adventna NEDELJA 1st Sunday of Advent 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 UPANJE Adventni čas, v katerega to nedeljo stopamo, nas vabi, da bi si znali vzeti nekaj trenutkov čisto zase. Dandanes smo navajeni, da vedno nekaj delamo, če drugega ne beremo knjigo, gledamo TV ali pregledujemo zadnje novice na telefonu. Skoraj bi lahko rekli, da se bojimo tišine, saj ta v nas razkriva naš notranji nemir. Ustaviti se je treba, da odpremo svoje srce. To je namreč čas priprave, ko je treba urediti vse potrebno za sprejem gosta, ki ga pričakujemo - Boga samega. Boste rekli: saj smo že napravili adventne venčke, uredili vse za božične nakupe, pripravljamo se na postavitev jaslic, morda smo si zadali celo kakšno duhovno nalogo, da jo izvršimo v teh štirih tednih priprave. Vse to je prav. Ker se adventni čas vsako leto ponavlja nas, žal, mnogokrat pušča hladne. Na koncu nimamo občutka, da smo prihajajočemu Bogu odprli vrata. Utrujeni, naveličani, s kupom daril in prazno denarnico smo hvaležni, da so prazniki za nami in se spet začenja vsakdanje življenje. Namesto da bi prazniki pomagali k boljšemu življenju, nas obremenjujejo. Smisel adventnega časa je vendarle v tistem, kar prinaša bogastvo za poznejše vsakdanje življenje. K temu nas vabi tudi današnji evangelij. Kristus nas noče strašiti z vesoljnim potopom, saj se že dovolj bojimo, da bo naše življenje šlo v prazno. Morda je nemir v trenutkih brezdelja opozorilo, da še nimamo vsega urejenega za Njegov prihod. Bog naj bi vstopil v naše življenje, zato nas poziva k budnosti, kajti ne vemo ne ure ne dneva. Koliko ljudi je že napovedovalo dan, ko bo prišel Bog med nas. Mnoge skupnosti so verjele lažnim prerokom, trepetale pred podobami konca časov, in vendar gre svet svojo pot, ne da bi se izpolnile njihove besede. Nič posebnega se ni zgodilo in se ne dogaja. Nobena grozota nas več ne preseneti, dobre stvari pa tako in tako ne morejo zakriti vsega slabega, kar se dogaja. Zdi se, da je človeštvo ravno tako, kot je bilo pred tisoč leti, in bo tako še naprej: ujeto v svojo sebičnost, v krog nasilja in svojega prav. Le redki posamezniki temu kljubujejo in zmorejo biti priče česa boljšega. Vendar so ti dobri in pogumni VESTNIK 2019 | 547 ljudje, svetniki, le kaplja v morje človeške brezbrižnosti. Čas gre svojo pot in nič novega ne prinaša. In vendar smo danes slišali prav to, da ne vemo ne ure ne dneva in kot dobri gospodarji ne moremo pustiti, da se zgodi kaj takega, kar bi nam škodilo. Ali smo vsi mi, ki se zbiramo v tem adventnem času in poslušamo, kako nas Cerkev z božjo besedo vabi, naj se pripravimo na ponovni božji prihod, naivni ljudje, kot mnogi v zgodovini človeštva, ki sem jim pametna večina le pomilovalno nasmehne? Jezus nas ne poziva, naj začnemo graditi rešilne ladje ali da pustimo svoje delo, ne grozi s strašnimi dogodki. Dnevi božjega prihoda ne bodo nič drugačni, taki bodo, kot je že vsak dan. Kot je ob Noetovem času in času Jezusa Kristusa teklo vsakdanje življenje svojo pot, tako bo tudi tistega dne, ko pride Gospod. Nobenih prepričljivih in strašnih znamenj ne bo, samo On bo tukaj. Se vam ne zdi, da je ta vsakdanji čas že tu, da Bog prihaja vsak dan med nas? Dva bosta na polju, eden bo izbran, drugi ne. Koliko nas je na polju življenja in eni vidimo in verjamemo, drugi pa žanje in briše svoj pot brezupa naprej. Koliko poto-pov je na svetu, koliko gorja in eni zmoremo to videti in vedno znova graditi ladjo odrešenja, drugi pa ustvarjajo vesoljni potop zla še naprej. Se nam ne dogaja to vsak dan in na vsakem kraju? Nič posebnega ni treba za božji prihod, kajti Bog je že tu. Vprašanje je le, ali mu pustimo, da se nam razodene. Božje razodetje, njegov prihod med nas ni nekaj strašnega in posebnega. Kakor nekoč prihaja tudi danes nevsiljivo in neopazno. Trka na naša vrata kot Marija in Jožef in mi z lahkoto spregledamo, da je sam Bog, ki prihaja. Adventni čas je čas pričakovanja, ne nečesa, ampak tega, kar se dogaja. Bog prihaja vsak trenutek, je že med nami. Razodeva se nam, kot se nam razodeva naše življenje. Znova in znova nam je razo-detega več o nas in svetu okrog nas. Vsakoletna priprava na Jezusov prihod ni le spominjanje, ampak je predvsem rast k vedno jasnejšemu odkrivanju Boga. - (Prim. Oznanjevalec 2005) 1. Sunday of Advent Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. (Ps122) First Reading Isaiah 2:1-5 We climb the mountain of God separately, but we meet at the summit. Second Reading Romans 13:11-14 We are in the night, but we can see the dawn is coming. Gospel Matthew 24:37-44 Pray, think, care, and then you will be awake, ready for God in all things. "You do not know the day". Illustration A priest was once teaching a course in apocalyptic literature. It meant travelling a lot and there were many difficulties, but every time he complained, people tended to made the same joke: "Never mind, Father, it's only teaching apocalyptic literature, it's not as if it's the end of the world." It was funny the first time. That's what people usually think "apocalyptic" means: something terrible and destructive, something horrible and yet fascinating at the same time. Well, terrible things have happened in history, and they will happen again, but actually in today's Gospel, which can rightly be called "apocalyptic", Jesus is saying something rather different about the end of the world. He is saying that when it happens, not much will have changed: "As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes." Life goes on, and good people and bad people will be sharing in the same ordinary tasks 546 | VESTNIK 2019 that we need to do throughout our lives, right up until the last day. Perhaps especially in our modern world, the way we live might seem to change radically. New technologies bring in new challenges and new temptations. Deep down, people will remain people. The ordinariness of life is the challenge for us, the believers and the hopers, who need to understand that in the ordinary ways of life, deep down, something extraordinary is happening. The little kindnesses we show to each other, as well as the petty little acts of meanness we are too often prone to in our lives, say something about the way we are to live in eternity. Every moment of our lives, we are choosing for or against heaven. It is always a matter of life and death. Gospel Teaching Accountancy might not seem like a profession concerned with the end of all things, but actually it is the fundamental idea of accountancy. An accountant's job is to measure the value of a company, a charity, or some other association involving money. The question the accountant asks is this: "If this firm was to close, how much would it be worth at that time?" That is a question we should ask about our own lives and about every human institution that has come into being. What would it be worth when it ends? But in this case, it is not a question about the financial worth, of course. The value we are concerned with is how much it is worth in the eyes of God. Earlier in the chapter of Matthew from which today's Gospel reading is taken, the warning of Christ is this: "false prophets... will deceive many and with, the increase of lawlessness, love in most men [and women] will grow cold". So the accountancy of life is measured in love. You notice that Jesus does not say that there will be no love; instead, love will have grown cold, which means that it no longer reaches out to others. It is a fire that warms only a few, and is not shared with the stranger. You might also notice that it is "lawlessness" that cools our love. Love and law are not opposites, but good law is the fuel of love. Application Here is how you can make life interesting. All you have to do is pay attention. When we get bored with life, it is because we don't take the trouble to understand its meaning. Every moment of our life we are making decisions about how to live: the most important of all is the decision to look for God's purpose in every moment of our lives, or the decision to ignore God. When we get bored, we start looking for some dramatic change in our lives; we want to get away from where we are. We can be so concerned with being somewhere else that we end up not being anywhere. Meanwhile life goes on. We are warned against looking for signs of the Lord's return. Then again, it would be foolish to think that anything on this earth lasts for ever. So Jesus is telling us to concentrate on the ordinary things of life, and to be at peace with our neighbour. He will come again; but he will come in his own good time. VESTNIK 2019 | 547 546 | VESTNIK 2019 Slovenski Park and St. Gregory the Great have joined forces again this year to work at creating the best New Year's celebration ever. With a fabulous "A night at the Oscars - On the Red Carpet" theme, so many ideas are going around that it is impossible for this night to win an Oscar itself! We've got décor that fits right in, a great band Sibaj that is going to create great music for the evening, a delicious meal, raffle prizes to be won, a complimentary drink on entry along with a surprise guest appearance that will have us all mesmerized. So if you're ready for a great evening... make your reservations, purchase your tickets and get ready to have a once in a life time party on December 31st. Ticket prices until December 15th will be: $80 for adults, $55 for students. The cost of these tickets after December 15th will be: $99 for adults and $65 for students. So... to ensure your place at our 'New Year's Oscars/Red Carpet event', be sure to contact Heidy Novak at 905-3176002 or novakhsn@gmail.com. We are going to need many helping hands to make this a great night! So, volunteers, give me a call and sign up! Friends of our community, we need raffle prizes, so if you can help out with this, please let us know ahead of time - and thank you ahead of time for your generosity. - On behalf of your parish council, and Slovenski Park - We wish you all a wonderful and hopefully warm Sunday! Božič in Novo leto v društvu Sava Nedelja, 15. december 2019 - BOŽIČNICA Sveta maša ob 12:00 p.m. Po maši praznično kosilo in obisk Miklavža-Santa Claus Cena za kosilo: Člani ne plačajo; Nečlani $18, Mladina-študentje $10, za otroke od 12. leta navzdol je zastonj. Rezervacije najkasneje do 10. decembra sprejemata: Marija Prilesnik (519-884-4736) in Zinka Mirt (519-884-6194 Sreda, 1. januar 2020 - NOVO LETO Pričetek praznovanja ob 1:00 p.m. Za dobro razpoloženje bosta skrbela Ansambel Niagara Button Boxers in Walter Ostanek - Praznično kosilo bo samopostreženo ob 2:00 p.m. Obvezne rezervacije in plačilo najkasneje do 15. decembra. Cena vstopnice: odrasli $30, študentje $15, od 12 let navzdol prost vstop Rezervacije sprejemajo: Marija Prilesnik (519-884-4736) Angela Prilesnik (519-579-8620), Zinka Mirt (519-884-6194) VESTNIK 2019 | 547 546 | VESTNIK 2019 Week 1 Candle : Prophet's Candle Symbolizes: Hope [•-y-^ Reminds Us: Jesus is coming Verse: Romans 15:12-13 MH Prayer: O Lord, stir up Thy power, Owe pray Thee, and come; and with great might help us, that with H^H the help of Thy grace, Thy merciful ^^ forgiveness may hasten what our sins impede. k Who livest and reignest forever. M Amen. m Week 2 Candle: Bethlehem Candle Symbolizes: Faith Reminds Us: Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem Verse: Luke 3:4-6 Prayer: O Lord, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Thy only begotten Son, that through His coming we may be made worthy to serve Thee with pure minds. Who livest and reignest forever. Amen. The wreath's symbolism of the advent (coming) of Light into the world is clear. The gradual lighting of the four candles, one on each Sunday of the Advent season, combined with the liturgical colors of the candles (purple is the penitential color used during Advent and Lent; rose is a liturgical color used only on Gaudete Sunday in Advent and Laetare Sunday in Lent) help to symbolize not only our expectation and hope in Our Savior's first coming into the world, but also in his Second Coming as Judge at the end of the world. The wreath itself is also symbolic. The circle of evergreen in which the candles are placed represents everlasting life. On the first Sunday of Advent, you may sprinkle the wreath with holy water and bless it before the first purple candle is lit. The candle[s] are lit each day of the week, followed by the blessing before meals, if you use the wreath at mealtime. Week 3 Candle: Shepherd's Candle Symbolizes: Joy Reminds Us: The Joy the world experienced at the coming birth of Jesus. Verse: Luke 2:7-15 Prayer: O Lord, we beg Thee, incline Thy ear to our prayers and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the race of Thy visitation. Who livest and reignest forever. Amen. Week 4 Candle: Angel's Candle Symbolizes: Peace .. Reminds Us: The message of the ' angels: "Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men". L J Verse: John 3:16-17 Prayer: O Lord, stir up Thy power, we ^^ pray Thee, and come; and with great Q J might help us, that with the help of Thy grace, Thy merciful forgiveness may hasten what our sins impede. Who livest and reignest forever. Amen Children who are old enough can take turns lighting the candles. On Christmas Day the white candle, symbolizing Christ I lit. The Advent season is a good time to pray the Angelus at family meals. Blessing for the Advent Wreath: O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth thy blessing upon this wreath and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the Coming of Christ. You sent your Son to be the Light of the world and to spread his light of love to all. Bless us and may the ever increasing brightness of candles be a sign to us of the approaching nearness of your Son, that we might prepare in joy for his humble birth in a manger and be ready to receive him at his coming again in glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen VESTNIK 2019 | 547 St Jofvtis