VESTNIK 2020 | 22. NEDELJA MED LETOM 22 ND SUNDA Y IN ORDINARY TIME SLOVENSKA ŽUPNIJA SV. GREGORIJA VELIKEGA | ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SLOVENIAN CHURCH 35/56 Številka - Number / Leto - Year 30. 8. 2020 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 Po poti križa do novega življenja Cerkev nam danes predstavi Jezusovo pot križa. V življenju je marsikdaj težko razumeti božje načrte in njegovo ljubezen, ki išče različne poti, da bi nas nagovorila. Jezus je Učitelj in Gospod, mi pa smo njegovi učenci. Še tako globoka vera in izkustvo božje bližine nas ne sme- jo odvrniti od te hoje za Jezusom. Apostol Peter je pred učenci izpovedal vero vanj, ni pa še v celoti sprejel križa in vstajenja. Tudi Jeremija, o njem govori prvo berilo, se je v hudih okoliščinah pritoževal nad Bogom, da ga je preslepil s preroškim poklicem in so se mu ljudje posmehovali, ker je prerokoval le nasilje, zatiranje in nemilost. Jeremija ni mogel odvreči te notranje napetosti, ker je nosil v svojem srcu Gospodovo bese- do, ki mu ni dala miru. Podobno Jezus v sebi nosi to bolečino, ki jo je želel predstaviti apostolu Petru in jo želi kot temeljno modrost posredo- vati tudi nam. Kljub vsej njegovi veličini in uspehom se je zavedal, da bo moralo iti vse njegovo odrešenjsko delo skozi preizkušnjo križa, ki jo bo moral prestati v neznosnih bolečinah in zasramovanju. Jezus je šel zave- stno naproti trpljenju in se ni pritoževal kot Jeremija, pritoževali pa so se njegovi učenci, ki niso imeli take vere in zaupanja v božji načrt. Današnji evangelij razkriva spor med Jezusom in Petrom. Petra je Jezus poklical tako kot druge apostole in mu rekel, naj hodi za njim. Ko pa ga je Peter priznal za Mesija in izpričal njegov božanski izvir, se je vanj prikradla skušnjava, v kateri je pozabil na svojo odvisnost in poniž- nost do Učitelja in Gospoda. Bog je namreč večji od vseh človekovih pogledov. Marsikdaj sedimo na stolu in dajemo nasvete na vse strani, namesto da bi pokleknili, poslušali in uresničili, kar Bog predlaga. Uče- nec je tisti, ki hodi za svojim Gospodom, v vsem sledi njegovemu zgledu in uresničuje njegov nauk. Jezus je ob Petrovi izpovedi želel Petru poka- zati, da je vse njegovo življenje razodevanje Boga, ki je ljubezen. Učlove- čeni Sin uresničuje svoje poslanstvo kot križana ljubezen znotraj človeš- ke zgodovine, da bi jo odrešil od vsemogočnosti greha in zla ter jo pripe- ljal k izpolnitvi v veliki noči. 394 | VESTNIK 2020 Illustration “No wonder you have so few friends, Lord: you treat them all so badly.” It was St Teresa of Avila who made that remark. It’s a remark that’s widely known, because it rings a bell for so many of us. Often those who strive generously to serve God seem to get more than their fair share of suffering and hardship. Take Jeremiah. He never wanted to be a prophet, but found there was no way of evading the divine call. To use his own bold, even shocking, lan- guage: God seduced him, overpowered him, de- ceived him. He finds himself addressing people who won't listen to him, who ridicule him, even punish him in the stocks. No wonder he’s tempted to say: “I’ll just not think about God any more.” But he can’t do it, because, as he explains, “There seemed to be a 22 ND SUNDA Y IN OT Res pon s e: My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God! First Reading - Jer emi ah 20 : 7 - 9 Tho u g h Jer emi a h f e els t h a t th e Lor d ha s dec ei v ed h i m, h e kn o ws t h at h e m u s t pr o - cl ai m t h e pr o ph et i c me ss ag e o f w h at i s t o co me . Second Reading - R o mans 12 :1 - 2 Pau l u r g es u s t o f o ll o w t h e wi ll o f G o d , not th e f as h i o n s o f th e wo r l d. Gospel - M at t h e w 1 6:2 1 - 27 Jes u s mak es i t cle ar th at t h er e i s a pr i ce to be pai d f o r f o ll o wi ng h i m. “There seemed to be a fire burning in my heart.” Jezus je moral izreči svoj 'da' Očetu in do kraja izpričati zvestobo, potem ko je nosil vso težo človeškega greha in zla. To je hotel pove- dati Petru, ko mu je naznanil, da bo šel v Jeruza- lem. Kdor ljubi, mora biti z ljubljenim v dobrem in slabem. Ljubezenski dar tako predstavlja pot in prehod v novo, polno življenje. Vendar tu člo- veški in božji ljubezni prihajata nasproti člo- veški napuh in sebičnost. Ljudje hočejo takojšnje zadovoljitve svojih potreb. V evangeliju je tako polno zahtev, ki se zdijo nasprotne: da bi rešili življenje, ga moramo izgubiti, da bi dosegli sla- vo, moramo sprejeti pot ponižanja in se izpraz- niti od vsega svojega. Ključ rešitve pa je vedno isti, ljubezen, ki naredi prvi korak in gre do kon- ca. Jezus je s svojo križano ljubeznijo stopil v človeško zlo in ga osvobodil njegove teže ter strahu. V tem se je razodel drugačen obraz Boga, kot si ga je predstavljal apostol Peter. To je spoznal šele v samem Jezusovem trpljenju, ko se je srečal z njegovim usmiljenim pogledom in odkril v njem odrešitev od svojega greha. Božji Sin mora iti v Jeruzalem in z darom svojih ran pripraviti svetu odrešenje. Podobno kot za uči- telja velja tudi za učenca. Petrovo pričakovanje je nasprotno Jezusove- mu. On, ki je Življenje samo, ne more trpeti in biti umorjen. Bog ni umrljiv in kako bi mogel biti Sin živega Boga, ki je delal take čudeže in oznanjal skrivnosti božjega kraljestva, deležen tako sramotnega konca. Peter je bil navdušen nad Jezusom, želel mu je dobro, toda ni še vedel, kdo je Jezus. Zato ni mogel molčati ob njegovi napovedi trpljenja. lz vljudnosti do drugih ga je vzel vstran in mu povedal, da se to ne more zgoditi. Toda Jezus je moral v tem trenutku dati Petru jasno lekcijo: »Poberi se, umakni se, v spotiko si mi«. Z besedo »poberi se« je namreč Jezus izganjal hudobne duhove. Pomen krščanskega darovanja in žrtve je v tem, da postavimo vse svoje življenje v božjo ljubezen, da more vse, kar smo in kar delamo, postati rodovitno. Zato hodi Jezus pred nami v naš Jeruzalem, mi pa hodimo za njim. (Prim. Oznanjevalec 2005) VESTNIK 2020 | 395 fire burning in my heart”; it was the fire of his love for God and it made the prophet carry on his appar- ently hopeless task. Gospel Teaching It isn’t only God’s friends who have to suffer, but even God’s own Son. In the Gospel we see Jesus revealing to the disciples the anguish he feels as he sets out for Jerusalem, knowing that opposition, rejection, an appalling death await him there. Peter is shocked and cries out: “Heaven preserve you, Lord… This must not happen to you.” Jesus’ re- sponse may seem harsh: “Get behind me, Satan… the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.” Je- sus had given his apostle Simon the new name of Peter, which means “rock”; but now he calls him “Satan”. The sharpness of the reply reveals how deeply Jesus dreads what lies ahead. “Can’t you see,” he seems to say, “my task is hard enough without you playing the devil’s game too?” Like Jeremiah before him, Jesus shrinks from the suffering his mission will entail. So why does he go through with it? It is be- cause of the fire of love for his Father and for us that burns in his heart; that’s what leads him to march steadfastly on to Jerusalem and to the cross. Application The cross slips into our lives, too, in all kinds of ways. Sometimes in small or predictable ones: like bad weather when we expected sunshine; the inevi- table aches and pains of getting old; the sacrifice and unselfishness involved in bringing up a family. At other times the cross can come in devastating form – a frightening outcome to an X-ray, the death of a dear one. A young woman of faith who lost her husband in a traffic accident cried out in her grief, “You sometimes wonder if God knows what he’s doing.” Most of us have experienced that feeling. We’d all like a Christianity without the cross, but a Christianity without the cross wouldn’t be Christiani- ty at all. Jesus tells us: “If anyone wants to be a fol- lower of mine, let him… take up his cross and fol- low me.” Not only is he indicating that, in one way or another, the shadow of the cross will fall across our lives, he is also reminding us that he has gone before us in the way of suffering. An early Christian writer compared Jesus to a mother who takes a spoonful of her child's medicine in order to encourage her little one to do the same; it’s her way of saying, “See, there is nothing to fear from the nasty-tasting concoction, in fact it’s going to do you good.” Jesus wants us to know that just as the cross is the supreme proof of his love, so our gracious acceptance of the cross in our lives can be the finest proof of our love for him. There may be times when, like Jeremiah, we rebel. But, please God, even then, like Jeremiah, we’ll experience that fire of love in our hearts which will lead us once again to fall in behind Jesus, our friend and leader. At every Mass, we celebrate the Jesus who not only died but also rose again (resurrection is the other side of the cross), and who we believe will one day, in St Paul’s words, “repay each one as [their] works deserve”. On that day his friends will discover what, deep down in their hearts, they have always known: that if at times God seems to treat them badly, yet God loves them dearly and holds in store for them a reward infinitely exceeding all that they have suffered in the Lord’s name. 396 | VESTNIK 2020 HELLO SLOVENSKI PARK MEMBERSHIP The summer is winding down. It has been something else this year - that's for sure! The effects of COVID-19 have left its mark on Slovenski Park. We have not been able to have any of our regularly scheduled events but that has not stopped the Board and the Executive from putting together Covid- friendly Member-only events to show our ap- preciation to the loyal membership. We thank the hard-working volunteers and generous A GOOD CONFESSION By Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB It’s time for a good confession. Why? Because we’ve received a “wake-up call” from God that the pre- sent way we have been going about the business of living our lives is not working out too well. Further- more, none of us is guaranteed a long life and all of us who read scripture are certainly reminded by Jesus to BE READY! “Therefore keep watch, for you do not know the day on which your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). We were created to live in loving communion with God. IT’S OUR PURPOSE. At baptism we received the gift of God’s life within us. It’s a wonderful amazing grace, a grace that we have been living off of ever since. Daily through prayer and God’s mercy we receive more grace – present grace/actual grace. This life of God within us, this source of joy and peace, this inti- mate relationship, is broken and wounded by sin. When we sin we need to set things right again. That’s accomplished by confession. That’s the way Christ comes to us and restores fully our baptismal grace (our soul’s garment) and gives us more actual graces to fight off sin in the future. A person who seeks to reconcile with God and the Church must show contrition and “… confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his coscence” (Catechi- sm of the Catholic Church § 1493). It’s time! It’s time to do it now. It’s a great time to make a General Confes- sion. The Confession of “Grave” Sins So... what we must confess are the “grave” sins, the ones that have destroyed and seriously wounded our communion with God. There are three conditions that define a “grave” sin: - Serious violation of the Lord’s commandments - Our clear awareness of the gravity of the act - Our freely willed choice to sin We are responsible for maintaining a well-formed conscience, so that we are aware of what constitutes grave sin. The Confession of “Venial” Sins Without actually breaking our bond with God, some sins still lead to estrangement. While these ac- tions or omissions do not fundamentally undermine our goodwill toward the Lord, they progressively re- move us from His presence. Venial sins are offenses against charity, God’s love for us and our love for our neighbor. Such selfishness through pride, anger, jealousy, intemperance, laziness and lust, though not fatal to the life of grace, weaken our love for God. We should confess these so-called “venial” sins because they do damage to our relation- ship with God and with others. What’s more, “the reg- ular confession of our venial sins helps us to form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, and lets our- selves be healed by Christ so that we can progress in the life of the Spirit” (Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1458). So DO IT! It’s time. It’s time to make our relation- ship with God our number one priority. We must total- ly transform the way we think and act, so that God is first. When we have unconfessed sins on our soul, we are stuck and can’t become all we are called to be. A good confession – a general confession – is the way to get the ball rolling, to set things right. In the next issue I hope to share with you a good examination of con- science to help you make such a confession. Think about it. VESTNIK 2020 | 397 members who have made these events fun and memorable. And I think you can all join me in saying that we have made the best of the pandemic by being able to escape to our little piece of heaven, Slovenski Park, our home away from home, and feel safe during these unprecedented times. We will be celebrating the end of sum- mer 2020 on the September Long Week- end! On Sunday Sept 6 th , 2020 at 1:00 pm we will have a Members-only outdoor Mass at the chapel with Father Drago. It will be streamed online on Facebook for those una- ble to attend. For those of you who would like to participate, please contact Mary Ann at m_demsar@hotmail.com. Following mass we will once again make available Roasted Lunch for Take-Out. This time we will offer a new item - Pečeno Jagnje / Roast lamb. Lamb is expensive so we have only ordered one - so quantities are limited - so if you want lamb - please place your order asap - so you will not be disappointed. Please see the attached poster for details. Pre-order for pick up and take away. Plans are underway for Saturday Sept 5 filled with fun for children and adults. The first ever SLO TRIATHLON for kids and adults dur- ing the day and MOVIE NIGHT under the stars for families in the evening. Stay tuned for de- tails. L ep pozdrav , Mary A n n Dem s ar, Chair, Board of Directors, Slovenski Park 398 | VESTNIK 2020 VESTNIK 2020 | 399 O BVESTILA - A NNOUNCEMENTS SVETE MAŠE - 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 / MAR- RIAGE: 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. DON BOSCO V t em t edn u s o n as l edn j e ob letnic e s m rt i faranov , k i s o zap i s ani v n as i h kn j i g ah : Lobo Lyn Lynessa August 31, 2016 Zorko Alojz September 1, 2005 Pelcar Paula September 4, 2018 Zver John September 5, 1972 Šporer Elizabeth September 5, 1995 Kraševec Julija Marija September 6, 2002 BIRMA - CONFIRMATION V četrtek smo dobili novi datum za SVE- TO BIRMO, ki je zaradi epidemije koronavi- rusa odpadla - morala bi biti 29. marca letos. Novi datum za birmo je sobota, 17. oktober 2020 ob 10:30 a.m. Birmovalec bo naš škof Douglas Crosby. Morda ste že kaj slišali, da od letošnje- ga oktobra do dru- gega leta, do konca junija birme ne bodo med sveto mašo ampak kot samosto- jen obred - brez sve- te maše, samo z litur- gijo božje besede. Tudi potek same birme bo prilagojen novim razmeram. Starše birmancev, ki so bili na listi za birmo v marcu smo že obvestili o novem datumu. Če je pa še kdo od otrok, ki je sedaj v 6. razredu in bi rad šel k birmi pri nas, prosim pokličite, da jih bomo dodali na seznam za birmo letos v oktobru. Glede datuma PRVEGA SVETEGA OBHAJILA - FIRST COMMUNION - bomo počakali, da se začne šolsko leto in se bomo potem dogovorili za primerno nedeljo. PRIV PETEK Ta teden vstopamo v mesec september. V petek bo že prvi petek v tem mesecu. Zvečer ob šestih bo priložnost za sveto spo- ved, molitev pred Najsvetejšim in ob sed- mih zvečer, je kot običajno, sveta maša. VEČNA LUČ Večna luč bo v mesecu septembru sveti- la po namenu družine Slobodnik za pokoj- nega Alojza Slobodnika. DAROVI Za gradbeni sklad je darovala $100 Kathy Simončič v spomin na pokojno sose- do Ines Morelli. - Hvala za vaš dar. 400 | VESTNIK 2020 22. NEDELJA MED LETOM 30. AVGUST 22 ND SUNDA Y IN OT Feliks (Srečko), mučenec † † † † † † Za žive in rajne župljane Lyn Lobo, obl. Darinka Ferletič, obl. Ivan Sarjaš Marija Šlebič Marija Kelenc Pepi Kolmanič 10:00 A.M. ---------- Pevski zbor Milan in Sandy Ferletič Alojz Sarjaš z družino Toni in Marija Franc Toni in Marija Franc Mirko in Irena Kolmanič PONEDELJEK - MONDA Y 31. AVGUST Pavlin, škof † † Lyn Lobo, obl. V čast Frideriku Baragi Ljuba Babič, obl. 7:00 P.M. Dorothea Ježovnik H. Kwasniewska Dragica Đundraš TOREK - TUESDA Y 1. SEPTEMBER Egidij, opat †† † Ana in Franc Kozlar, obl. Alojz Zorko, obl. 7:00 P.M. Cecilija Sobočan z družino Milan in Sandy Ferletič SREDA - WEDNESDA Y 2. SEPTEMBER Marjeta, devica † † † †† Drago Kornhauzer Frank Verdinšek Gizella Ray Štefan in Gizella Ray 7:00 P.M. Gizela Hauzar z družino Ignac in Terezija Sarjaš CWL - KŽZ Štefan in Francka Antolin ČETRTEK - THURSDA Y 3. SEPTEMBER Gregor Velki, pp - c. učitelj † Po namenu Martin Simončič Na čast Kristusovi krvi 7:00 P.M. Ivan in Jožica Vegelj Žena Kathy Ana Tadić PRVI PETEK - FIRST FRIDAY 4. SEPTEMBER Rozalija (Zalka), devica † †† †† † † † Paula Pelcar, obl. Paula, obl. in Franc Pelcar Marija in Jože Zelko Marija Kociper Mary Hochevar Vlado Dim 7:00 P.M. Stan Pelcar, Josie Dubé z druž. Bernarda Milosavljevič z družino Bernarda Milosavljevič z družino Bernarda Milosavljevič z družino Mia Goodfellow Mia Goodfellow SOBOTA - SATURDA Y 5. SEPTEMBER Mati Terezija, redovnica Viktorin, mučenec †† † † † †† † †† †† Gizela in Štefan Ray Martin Simončič Martin Simončič Martin Simončič Terezija in Rudi Hajdinjak Joe Lackovič Terezija in Alojz Pelc Viktor, Ida, Angela in Lojze 5:30 P.M. Family Toni Ferko Marija Volf Martin in Regina Nedelko Martin in Regina Nedelko Žena z družino Hči Tereza Uduč Sestra Tereza Uduč 23. NEDELJA MED LETOM Angelska nedelja 6. SEPTEMBER 23 RD SUNDA Y IN OT Zaharija, prerok † †† † † † †† Za žive in rajne župljane Piotr Wystemp Viktorija in Marta Martin Simončič Martin Simončič Štefan Dundek Pokojni člani društva 10:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M. ---------- Janiak Family Sestra Zorka Rev Frank in Ljudmila Pinter Družina Raduha Žena Aranka Slovenski park SVETE MAŠE - MASSES od 30. 8. 2020 do 06. 9. 2020