SLOVENSKA ŽUPNIJA SV. GREGORIJA VELIKEGA | ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SLOVENIAN CHURCH

9/59
Številka - Number / Leto - Year

26.2. 2023
1. POSTNA NEDELJA
1ST SUNDAY OF
LENT

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

Skušnjave
Na današnjo prvo postno nedeljo nam liturgija govori o skušnjavah, o bojevanju s hudim duhom.
Post naj bo torej čas duhovnega
boja, da bi mogli napredovati na
Gospodovi poti, da bi se mogli bolj
odločno pridružiti božji volji, ki je
ljubezen; odločneje naj bi se torej
bojevali proti svojemu samoljubju,
ki se razodeva na najrazličnejše
načine.
Prvo berilo nam prikazuje, kako sta Adam in Eva podlegla skušnjavcu; nasprotno pa evangelij izpričuje, kako se je Jezus skušnjavcu upiral
in zmagal. Drugo berilo pa govori o zmagi milosti nad grehom; vse to
dokaj optimistično: Jezus je skušnjavca premagal za nas in prav zato
lahko k zmagi hodimo tudi sami, pogumno in z velikim zaupanjem.
Pripoved o izvirnem grehu je zelo znana. Že takoj lahko ugotovimo,
da skušnjavec od vsega začetka navaja stvari, ki niso resnične. Prvo
vprašanje: »Ali je res, da je Bog rekel: 'Ne smeta jesti od nobenega drevesa v vrtu?'« Že s tem vprašanjem je hotel podtakniti sumničenje Boga.
Na to prvo vprašanje je Eva znala odgovoriti.
Zatem skušnjavec zatrjuje, da ni res tisto, kar je Bog povedal. Bog je
naročil Adamu in Evi, da ne smeta jesti od drevesa, ki je na sredini vrta,
sicer bosta morala umreti; vendar pa skušnjavec pravi: »Nikakor ne
bosta umrla! Nasprotno, Bog ve, da bi se vama tisti dan, ko bi jedla z
njega, odprle oči in bi postala kakor Bog, poznala bi dobro in hudo«.
Satan tukaj cilja na željo postati pomemben in pravi: »Postala bi kakor
Bog, poznala bi dobro in hudo.«
Dejansko pa je res, da kdor podleže skušnjavi, nikakor ne postane
kakor Bog, temveč postane vsega usmiljenja vreden. Preberimo si namreč besedilo: »Tedaj so se obema odprle oči in spoznala sta, da sta naga.« Adam in Eva sta se ovedela svoje krhkosti, slabotnosti in nesposobVESTNIK 2023 |

nosti obrambe; namesto da bi postala kakor Bog, sta
spoznala človeško slabotnost, krhkost in umrljivost.
V evangeliju pa Jezus nasprotuje skušnjavcu. Ta
začenja z dokaj prefinjeno skušnjavo: »Če si Božji Sin,
reci, naj ti kamni postanejo kruh.«
Jezus je Božji Sin. Ob njegovem krstu tik pred bivanjem v puščavi ga je Bog razglasil za svojega Sina.
Ker je Božji Sin, more delati čudeže. Hudič mu ponuja,
da bi mu kot uslugo naredil čudež. Prav v tem je skušnjava. Dejansko je moč »delati čudeže« - ki jo ima
Jezus kot Božji Sin - v službi Boga in bratov, ne pa, da
bi z njo zadovoljeval svoje želje. - Ta skušnjava velja
tudi za nas. Vsi imamo dragocene darove in sposobnosti, s katerimi si lahko pridobimo mnogotere prednosti. Če jih uporabljamo za svoj dobiček, živimo pač
v samoljubju, ne pa po božjem načrtu. Naš življenje
postaja nerodovitno.
Jezus zavrne to prvo skušnjavo in odgovarja:
»Pisano je: 'Človek ne živi samo od kruha, ampak od
vsake besede, ki prihaja iz Božjih ust.'«. Jezus navaja
odlomek iz 2. Mojzesove knjige, ki prikazuje, da za
človeka ni najpomembnejša materialna hrana, temveč je to pripadnost hotenju božje ljubezni.
Hudič je spreten. V odgovoru na prvo skušnjavo je
Jezus navedel Sveto pismo; v drugi skušnjavi tudi hudič navaja Sveto pismo, s katerim predlaga dejanje, ki
se zdi kot popolno zaupanje v Boga: »Če si Božji Sin,
se vrzi dol, kajti pisano je: »'Svojim angelom bo zate
zapovedoval' in: 'Na rokah te bodo nosili, da z nogo
ne zadeneš ob kamen.' « Kje je tu skušnjava? Jezus jo
prepozna in tudi razkrinka: »Pisano je tudi: 'Ne preizkušaj Gospoda, svojega Boga!'« Nazadnje hudič predloži še skušnjavo, ki zadeva samo Jezusovo poslanstvo. Hudič mu ponuja zelo preprosto pot, da bi dosegel vse to. Pokaže mu vsa kraljestva sveta in njihovo
slavo in mu pravi: »Vse to ti bom dal, če padeš predme in me moliš.«
Na to skušnjavo Jezus odgovori še odločneje:
»Poberi se, satan, kajti pisano je: 'Gospoda, svojega
Boga, moli in njemu samemu služil'«. Jezus ne pusti,
da bi ga hudič prekanil, in mu odgovori: »Pisano je:
'Gospoda, svojega Boga, moli in njemu samemu služil'« Moliti Boga in le njemu služiti: tu gre za temeljni
odnos. - (Primerjaj: Oznanjevalec 2008 )
78 | VESTNIK 2023

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT
Response: Have mercy, O Lord, for
we have sinned.
First Reading Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Adam and Eve yield to temptation in the
garden of Eden.
Second Reading Romans 5:12-19
Jesus’ gift of divine life more than outweighs the loss suffered by Adam when
he fell.
Gospel Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus sees off Satan in the wilderness
and shows us how to walk in the path of
life.

“All the kingdoms of the world.”

Illustration
Those of us of a certain age are often
struck by the skill with which young people
get to grips with new technology. Let’s suppose we’ve got ourselves a new television,
one of those that talks to the internet and is
connected to a satellite dish. It comes with an
instruction manual that seems to have been
translated badly out of Chinese. When we’ve
failed to figure out how it all works, what we
need is a teenager. They’ll know what to do,
and will be able to show us – and being
shown is much better than being told or reading the instructions.
As we enter upon our Lenten journey, our
instructions are clear: pray, fast and give alms.
We are told this in our liturgy, and we read it
in the scriptures and the teaching of the
Church. But who better than the one who
wrote our instructions – the Word of God himself – to actually show us what to do?

Gospel Teaching
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus living out the
instructions we have received in the way that he
resists the temptations of Satan. “Man does not
live on bread alone”: we don’t fast during Lent
because we want to make ourselves miserable –
Lent is, after all, a joyful season – but to direct our
minds and bodies towards the love of higher
things, the things of heaven. Notice how the devil begins his temptation of Jesus by saying, “If you
are the Son of God…” In other words, take advantage of being special; but Jesus’ reply places
himself in perfect solidarity with his fellow human beings: “man” – in other words, every human being – does not live on bread alone. In the
temptations in the wilderness, we see Jesus living
out what St Paul says about him in the letter to
the Philippians: he does not cling to his equality
with God, but empties himself, taking the form of
a servant. Notice that all of this happens in the
wilderness. In the scriptures, the wilderness or
desert is a place of temptation, of trial, but it is
also a place of revelation, where prophets like

Moses and Elijah encounter the living God. As we read
about Jesus’ temptations, we are encountering God
living as a human being, tempted in all things as we
are, and showing us how to live without sin.
To live like this is to walk the path that leads to
heaven, and so we must focus on God. Not putting God
to the test, we must instead worship God, serving God
alone. The goal of Jesus’ earthly life was to lead us to
heaven, and the goal of our lives, and of our Lenten
observances, is to follow in the path that he has trodden for us. When Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of
the earth, Jesus rejects that offer because he is laying
claim, on our behalf, to something much greater: the
kingdom of heaven. This last temptation of Jesus points
towards the very end of St Matthew’s Gospel, where
Jesus and the apostles find themselves not in the desert but on a high mountain – another place of revelation. Here Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.” By walking the way of the
cross, Christ has won, for himself and for us, far more
than Satan ever pretended to offer.

Application
When we undertake our Lenten penances, let us
remember that we are doing so in imitation of Christ.
He has shown us how to live, how to fulfil the instructions that God has been offering since the call of Abraham. If we forget this, there is a danger that Lent can
be for us a moment of temptation: the temptation to
think that if we work hard enough, if we pray hard
enough, if we make ourselves miserable enough, we
can earn ourselves a place in heaven.
Imitating Christ means letting go of pride, letting
go of a sense of our own achievements. Instead, everything has been achieved for us by Jesus, and in particular by his death and resurrection. In a few weeks we will
be celebrating that paschal mystery on Good Friday
and Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is to prepare us
for that celebration by reminding us that through this
mystery he has opened for us the gate of paradise. Letting go of pride and rejoicing to share in the path of life
opened up for us by Jesus is the real meaning of our
Lenten observances
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CWL - KŽZ: BAZAAR
We are exciting that the Bazaar is
just around the corner. To ensure
you have a spot, call and make
your table reservations and join
our long tradition of enjoying our CWL Bazaar. Lunch, Raffle, Penny Sale, Pecivo, Strudel and Noodles will all be available. As per
usual, we will have a children’s center for kids
of all ages to enjoy. Remember to reserve
your noodles - 1 bag limit unless there are
noodles still available on the day of the bazaar! Noodles are $20 per bag and made
with the TLC of our ladies!
Please call Pamela Gosgnach or Terezija
Sarjaš for your order and reservations!
We also welcome participation from our
parish community. If you have any prizes,
gifts or toys that you can donate to our
cause, please bring them on Saturday morning (March 4th) - the day before the bazaar. If
you are able to do any baking, Pecivo will
also be accepted and appreciated on Sunday
morning - March 5th before mass. This is our
Slovenian Parish event and hope that you will
all not only help with donations, but participate and enjoy the day with us!
See you all at our Parish Bazaar on March 5th!

50th Wedding
Anniversary

Koloman & Kristina
Mes
Čestitke za 50 let skupnega življenja.
Naj vaju še naprej
spremlja božji blagoslov in priprošnja nebeške Matere Marije.
VESTNIK 2023 | 81

Sunday, February 19, Slovenski Park held
its annual Family Day celebration. It was a
beautiful sunny afternoon, and even though a
bit chilly, it was not quite wintry enough for
ice skating or snowballs! Thanks to our member volunteers, we were still able to enjoy
some great food, drink and entertaining activities, both indoors and outdoors.
Our amazing event organizers started the
afternoon off with a pie eating contest. The
first place winner was very hardcore, unshakable and strongly competitive! Determined to
win this contest, which was obvious with the
runaway win she achieved, was Amanda Purdon! Honorable mentions to Cam Bellemore,
who came in second, and the rest of our pastry pounding players, Joe Pust, Dan Demšar,
Leah Škerl, Heidy Novak and Laura Pinter. I
think Laura still hasn’t got all the blueberries
out of her hair. That’s what I heard.

Next up was an outdoor Scavenger Hunt.
Six diehard teams participated. The team that
came in first place was not really much of a
82 | VESTNIK 2023

surprise, but this team finished SO QUICKLY,
the judge could not believe they actually
managed to find everything on the Scavenger
Hunt list! The athletic and energetic, baš-nisogrdi, Team “Grdi Brothers”, consisting of Aaron, Lucas and Thomas
Grdadolnik, SMOKED
the remaining 5 teams.
Our second place winners were definitely
not kitten around
when they entered this
competition! The cat’s
meow of all teams, the
ameowzing “Team Josie and the Pussycats”,
which included Heidy
Novak, Leah Skerl and
Josie Dubeé.
Adorable mention goes to baby Emma
Chlan, great granddaughter of long-time
member, Ljudmila Pinter. Emma was our
youngest, and by far sweetest and most fashionably dressed participant at only 18 months
old! Kudos as well to those Scavenger Hunt
participants who were forcefully compelled
by their younger and noticeably more-fit
teammates, to actually “run” while engaging
in this competition, and who may have subsequently suffered from stinging lungs and shin
splints. Good effort everyone.

Annual General Meeting and Elections
Sunday March 5, 2023
Please note that the meeting and elections
will take place on a Sunday this year in order to
encourage participation. Only active members
in good standing will be eligible to vote.
The meeting is restricted to members only,
however, membership renewals and new memberships will be available that day.
A complimentary lunch will be served at
12:00 p.m., and the Annual General Meeting and
Elections will begin at 1:00 p.m.
Thankyou for your continued support/

The kitchen, bar and event coordinating
volunteers did a terrific job as usual, although
little Jax Pace tried to sneak in a nap while on
kitchen duty so we took away his applesauce
and gave him a good talking to. Appreciation
and acknowledgement as well to all those
unseen members who reliably and consistently work in the background, cleaning, prepping, stocking...
There is so much that happens behindthe-scenes that most members are not even
aware of to make our events successful. Our
sincerest thanks to you all for your hard work!
We had a great turnout of members and
their families this year! Na zdravje vsem, and
sincere gratitude to everyone who was able
to join us and make this day a successful one!

Saturday, March 25, 2023
3-piece Breaded Chicken with Potatoes
and Coleslaw
OR
Meatloaf with Potatoes and Vegetables
$25
Also: Apple Strudel $20
and Potica (limited... call for price)
Call to place your order
from March 13 to 23:
Anica Orešar 905-684-0036
Mary Verhovšek 905-682-7055

Martina Malevich Bellemore
Reporting on Behalf of Your 2023 Executive Committee

Pickup time to be advised...come inside
to pick up your order
Cases of beer available for purchase
on pickup day, for details call Frank Chermaz
at 905-964-6055
VESTNIK 2023 | 83

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Pustovanje at St Gregory the Great was a fun event as always. We had little kids and we had big kids all dressed up! It
was amazing to see so much creativity and imagination in one
room. There were princesses, beauty queens, goblins, priests,
monsters, scarecrows, shepherds, cowboys, cowgirls and so
many more creative costumes who came together to celebrate
before the start of the Lenten season!
Congratulations to all our costume winners, and thanks to
everyone who joined in the fun. Thanks to everyone who made
this event happen - from set up to clean up - from kitchen to
bar help! - Thank you Elka, Marianne Š. Mary M. Tony, Nancy,
Alyssa, Joe P., Dragica and Lojze F.
And let’s not forget to thank our band Slo-Beat who never
disappoint! They had the costumes marching in the judges parade and kept the dance floor grooving all night long. Looking
forward to seeing you all at our next parish event! - Heidy N.

VESTNIK 2023 | 85

O BVESTILA - A NNOUNCEMENTS
DRUŠTVO SV. JOŽEFA

KOLEDAR DOGODKOV

Villa Slovenia - Tuesday’s night social gatherings from 7:00 p.m. to
10:00 p.m. V Villa Slovenia se nadaljujejo »torkovi večeri«. 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 2023. Dajte denar
za članarino ($15) v kuverto in kuverto oddajte v nabiralnik za nedeljsko nabirko.
St. Joseph Society Meeting - Annual
General Meeting will be held on Sunday
March 5th after the 10 AM Mass at the Villa.
The Annual St. Joseph's Banquet will be
held on Sunday March 19th. Please join us for
lunch after the 10:00 a.m. Mass.
Tickets ($25.00) Students ($10.00) will be
available before and after Mass on Sunday
March 12, Tuesday nights at Villa Slovenia or
call Peter Novak 905-928-9984. Ticket deadline is Thursday March 17th.
No sales at the door. - Peter Novak

- March 5, 2023 - CWL-KŽZ - Bazaar - Mass at
10:00 a.m.
- March 19, 2023 - Društvo sv. Jožefa - Banquet - Mass: 10:00 a.m.
- March 26, 2023 - Breslau - Maša za Slovensko skupnost ob 1:00 p.m.

READERS - BRALCI BERIL
February 26th, 2023:
Slovenian Mass - Frank Novak
English Mass - Mary Ann Demšar

GIFT BEARERS - SLOVENIAN MASS
Feb. 26th - Sue & Zdravko Augustin
March 5th - CWL members
March 12th - Albina in Jože Antolin
March 19th - St. Joseph’s Society
86 | VESTNIK 2023

CLEANING OF THE CHURCH - ČIŠČENJE CERKVE
March 4th - Gosgnach team
March 11th - Lukežič, Volčanšek team

PRVI PETEK - FIRST FRIDAY
V sredo začnemo mesec marec. Prvi petek
je 3. marca in zvečer bo priložnost za spoved
in molitev pred Najsvetejšim. Tokrat bo prilika
za spoved že ob 5:30 p.m., ob 6:00 p.m. rožni
venec, ob 6:30 p.m. križev pot in ob 7:00 p.m.
sveta masa.

VEČNA LUČ
V mesecu marcu bo večna luč svetila po
namenu Olge Hanc in družine za pokojnega
moža Joe Hanc.

CWL - KŽZ
Please note that we will not be having a
general CWL meeting on March 1st. The date
of our next meeting will be posted in the Vestnik.

February 19, 2023

Na račun »Eno Srce, Ena Duša« »One Heart, One
Soul« ste za našo
slovensko župnijo
sv. Gregorija Velikega do 17. februarja 2023:
- $146,620. - Obljubili / Pledged
- $140,660. - Vplačali / Paid
Hvala vsem, ki ste že prispevali.
Naš cilj je, da dosežemo vsoto 200.000,-

V tem tednu so naslednje obletnice smrti
faranov, ki so zapisani v naših knjigah:
Mozetič
Kovič
Slovenska skupnost v London pri maši v St
Pavlič
John the Divine cerkvi. Lepa priložnost za vse
Slovence v Londonu, da pridemo skoraj meseč- Tompa
Virant
no skupaj vsaj pri daritvi svete maše.
Gonza
Tompa

Svete maše - Masses
†
††
†
1. POSTNA NEDELJA †
†
1ST SUNDAY OF LENT †
††
26. FEBRUAR
†
Aleksander (Branko) †
†
škof
†
†
†

DON BOSCO

Za žive in rajne župljane
Maks Pavlič
Martin in Matija Zelko
Ann Božnar
Francka Pust
Marica Majzelj
Julijana Sagadin, 30. dan
Marija in Alojz Mes, obl.
Cecilia Sobočan
Cecilia Sobočan
Cecilia Sobočan
Ivan in Cecilia Sobočan
Joe Lackovič
Slavko Intihar

Ljudmila
Thu., February 27, 2003
Vinko
Thu., February 28, 2013
Maks
Fri., February 28, 2020
Eufemija
Fri., March 5, 1993
Sophia
Wed., March 5, 2014
Štefan
Thu., March 5, 2015
Joyce Helen
Thu., March 5, 2020

9:30 A.M. - - - - - - - Žena Milena z družino
Marija in Toni Franc
John Božnar z družino
Družina Pust
Tereza Prša
Družina Kisner (Slovenija)
Družina Mes
Družina Mes
11:00 A.M. Heidy, Adam in Rosemary
Mary in Ryan Tocher z družino
Vera Gonza z družino
Žena z družino
Jožica Novak z družino

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 2023 | 87

27. 2. 2023 - 5. 3. 2023
PONEDELJEK - MONDAY
27. FEBRUAR
Gabrijel Žal. M.B., red.

TOREK - TUESDAY
28. FEBRUAR
Roman, opat

SREDA - WEDNESDAY
1. MAREC
Albin (Zorko), škof

ČETRTEK - THURSDAY
2. MAREC
Neža Praška, dev.

SVETE MAŠE - MASSES
† Anton Vengar
† Tilka Vengar
†† Pok. sorodniki in prijatelji

7:00 P.M. Rose Marie & Tony Vengar z druž.
Rose Marie & Tony Vengar z druž.
Rose Marie & Tony Vengar z druž.

† Frank Pinter
† Julijana Sagadin
† Eileen MacKenzie
Po namenu

7:00 P.M. Društvo sv. Jožefa (5)
Marija Korošec z družino
N.N.
Ivka Pašalić

Po namenu CWL
† Cecilia Sobočan
† Na čast sv. Jožefu
† Bridge Mike Dazsco

7:00 P.M. CWL - KŽZ
Jožica Novak z družino
K.H.
Sonja Langenfus

† Marica Majzelj
†† Franc in Marija Rantaša
† Bronco Balažic, obl.

7:00 P.M. Family Štajduhar
Družina Miklavčič
Jenny Antolin z družino

Križev pot
6:30 P.M.
7:00 P.M.
PRVI PETEK - FIRST FRIDAY † Joe Hanc
Special intention
3. MAREC
Kunigunda, cesarica
Special intention
† Zoltan Gergyek
† Marija Bukvič
5:30 P.M.
SOBOTA - SATURDAY
† Manja Erzetič
4. MAREC
† Karel Volf
Kazimir, kralj
† Joe Kolenko
kvatre
Za zdravje
Za žive in rajne župljane
10:00 A.M.
† Cecilija Sobočan
† Louie Kopač
† Matija Petek
2. POSTNA NEDELJA † Marica Majzelj
†† Pok. Žumberger in Razpotnik
†† Bratje in Sestre Zupančič
2ND SUNDAY OF LENT † Štefan Gonza, obl.
† Julijana Sagadin
5. MAREC
Eufemija in Jožef Tompa
††
Hadrijan, mučenec
† Eddy Kodarin
† Mira Špiler
† Eddy Kodarin
†† Ignac in Marija Horvat
88 | VESTNIK 2023

Stations of the Cross
Marija Korošec z družino
Louise Kunkel
Louise Kunkel
Žena Ana z družino
Anton Bukvič z družino
Milena Pavlič z družino
Joe Fotivec
Žena in otroci
N.N.
-------Slavko Miklavčič z družino
Slavko Miklavčič z družino
Stan in Elizabeth Peter
Franc Pleško
Joe in Magda Razpotnik
Sestra Vera Sampl z družino
Žena Vera in hči z družino
Amalij Štadler z družino
Alojz in Agata Sarjaš z družino
Žena Stanka z družino
Mož z družino
Mihael Špiler z družino
Mihael Špiler z družino