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

48/60
Številka - Number / Leto - Year

1.12. 2024
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
HALL RENTALS
289-339-6900
E-MAIL
hallrental@
stgregoryhamilton.ca

Danes se začenja adventni čas, čas priprave na Gospodov prihod. To
je čas priprave na božič, pa tudi čas priprave na Gospodov zadnji prihod. Berila današnje nedelje celo več govorijo o drugem Gospodovem
prihodu kot o prvem.
V prvem berilu lahko vidimo oznanilo Gospodovega prihoda o božiču. V izreku preroka Jeremija je namreč sporočeno, da bo Bog izpolnil
obljube, ki jih je dal Izraelovi in Judovi hiši, in bo storil, da bo Davidu
pognala mladika pravičnosti. Pojem »pognati« da misliti na pripravo
rojstva: rojstva Mesija, ki prihaja odrešit.
Vendar prihaja tudi, da povsod vzpostavi pravičnost, ker brez pravičnosti ni odrešenja. Torej bo ta Mesija »delal prav in pravično v deželi«. In »tiste dni bo Juda rešen in Jeruzalem bo prebival na varnem«. Jeruzalem bo spremenjen, imenovali ga bodo »Gospod, naša pravičnost«.
Pred seboj imamo čudovito prihodnost, prihodnost daru božje pravičnosti. Božje kraljestvo je blizu.
Ostali berili obravnavata Gospodov drugi prihod. Ko Pavel govori
Tesaloničanom, jih povabi, naj se pripravijo na prihod našega Gospoda
Jezusa Kristusa z vsemi njegovimi svetimi; in v evangeliju Jezus napoveduje poslednje čase in daje nasvete, kako se pripraviti nanje. Čeprav
poslednji dan ne bo prišel takoj, moramo biti vedno pripravljeni na Kristusov prihod v naše življenje vsak dan, zlasti pa v trenutku naše smrti.
V evangeliju Jezus naznanja strašna znamenja, čas stiske: »Znamenja bodo na soncu, luni in zvezdah. (..,) Ljudje bodo hirali od strahu in
pričakovanja tega, kar pride nad ves svet.« To se pravi, da bo čas strašnega razdejanja: nebeške sile bodo razdejane.
Jezus nas vabi, naj se v teh okoliščinah ne prestrašimo, ampak naj
bomo polni zaupanja in upanja. Reče: »Ko se bo to začelo dogajati, se
vzravnajte in dvignite glave, kajti vaša odkupitev se približuje.«
Gre torej za dogodke, ki bodo spremljali osvoboditev. Nismo ustvarjeni, da bi vedno živeli navezani na zemeljske dobrine: biti moramo
osvobojeni, da bi živeli v svobodi ljubezni.
VESTNIK 2024 |

Kristjani imamo vse razloge, da smo optimisti,
četudi stvari potekajo slabo. Vemo, da Kristus v vseh
okoliščinah skrivnostno, toda učinkovito posega za
naše odrešenje in našo osvoboditev. Treba pa je bedeti, da bi bili pripravljeni.
Gospod nas ljubi. Zato moramo na to ljubezen odgovoriti s hvaležnostjo in zvestobo. Nobenega razloga nam ni treba imeti za nezaupanje, vznemirjenost;
nasprotno, prepričani smo, da se lahko izmaknemo
vsemu, kar se bo moralo zgoditi, ker imamo združeni
s Kristusom moč, da premagamo vse težave.
V drugem berilu nam Pavel predstavlja zelo pozitivno prihodnost, ki temelji na božji milosti: prihodnost rasti v ljubezni, prihodnost preobilja ljubezni.
To je temeljna usmeritev našega življenja, h kateri se
moramo vedno vračati. Božja zapoved je zapoved
medsebojne ljubezni. Namesto da bi se umaknili, ko
naletimo na težave, moramo iti naprej in najti način,
da jih premagamo. Po velikodušni ljubezni, ki sloni na
božji milosti, moramo premagati tudi sovražnosti.
Ljubezen je najprej medsebojna ljubezen med božjimi otroki, ki so to postali v krstu in ki živijo iz evharistije, ki polaga vanje božje življenje. Toda, kakor
nam pravi Pavel, mora biti ljubezen obrnjena k vsem,
tudi k nekristjanom, nevernim in celo k tistim, ki nam
povzročajo zlo. Skušati moramo sodelovati pri njihovem odrešenju.
Adventni čas je čas rasti v vsestranski in misijonarski ljubezni. Zato je v tem času dobro moliti za
misijone, saj se mora v misijonskih deželah roditi Kristus, da bo napolnil srca tistih, ki ga še ne poznajo.
Toliko ljudi potrebuje Kristusa, pa ga ne poznajo.
Moliti moramo zanje in tako pokazati svojo vseobsegajočo ljubezen. Ljubezen je vesoljna, ali pa je ni. Prihaja namreč od Boga, ki ljubi vse ljudi.
Pavel pravi: Tako bo »utrdil vaša srca, da bodo
neoporečna v svetosti.« Gre za zelo vzvišen ideal. Ne
moremo se zadovoljiti s povprečnim duhovnim življenjem, ampak moramo skušati doseči popolnost v ljubezni, ki je svetost ljubezni. To pomeni, da ljubezen
navdihuje in vodi Bog sam, tako kakor je njemu všeč,
to je z nesebično, velikodušno in čisto ljubeznijo.
(prim. Oznanjevalec 2010, št. 1)

534 | VESTNIK 2024

1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Response: To you, O Lord, I lift my
soul.
First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Jeremiah prophesies that the Messianic
era is coming, and God will save the
people of Israel.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Paul encourages the Thessalonians to
live ever more deeply the Good News
they have received, remembering that
his teaching comes from Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Jesus tells the disciples that the cataclysmic end-times are a sign that the
Son of Man brings liberation; they
must be on their guard, pray, and be
confident before him.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will not pass away.”

Illustration
“Shock and Awe” in one form or another
has long been a feature of warfare. An academic definition calling the idea “rapid dominance”
from the mid 1990s proposed several elements
essential to this military tactic: a thorough
knowledge of one’s enemy and the state of
their deployment; swift, precise attack; excellent operational execution; and keeping complete control of the situation so the enemy has
little chance of successful resistance. The result
is that the other side is overwhelmed, feels
helpless and believes that resistance is useless,
and therefore the seeming inevitability of defeat leaves morale low.

was a sign that their salvation was indeed near at
hand.
That Jesus urges the disciples to virtuous living
is not so that they will be virtuous as an end in itself,
but so that they will be attentive, prepared, not
taken by surprise at the return of the Son of Man in
glory. They must stay alert, pray for strength – and
then stand with confidence.

Application
The cataclysmic Last Days that Jesus is prophesying certainly evoke this sense of shock and awe –
the signs will be of dramatic upheaval in nature,
whole nations disrupted, and the heavens shaken.
Such is the catastrophic backdrop to the arrival of
the Son of Man. That the Church gives us this teaching of Jesus at this time of year is to point us to the
second, powerful meaning of Advent: the word
“advent” means coming, arrival – as in the Our Father’s “May your Kingdom come” – in Latin,
“Adveniat regnum tuum”. The first coming referred
to is the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, when the Word
is made flesh, and we are, of course, preparing to
celebrate Christmas. The second is the powerful
coming of Jesus in the end times, when he returns
in power and glory.

Gospel Teaching
Jeremiah points forward to the time of the Messiah, framing it as the time of the fulfilment of God’s
promise to Israel that salvation will come – a beautiful prophecy that will console the people in times of
tribulation. However bad things seem, God wills the
people to be saved, and will act on their behalf. Jesus is direct: a time is coming where there will be
massive upheaval, the like of which people have not
seen before; but his message is not that the disciples should be afraid, but that they should see such
calamity as a sign of the closeness of their liberation. Jesus urges the disciples, understanding this,
to stand with confidence. They will remember this
in the terrible time ahead, when their Lord will be
tortured and put to death, and they will subsequently learn that in his resurrection, the tumult

Paul seeks to inspire the Thessalonians to follow his
example of love, loving each other and loving the
whole of humanity. This, he explains, is so that they
will be prepared for the return of the Lord. Paul has
taken the teaching of Jesus to heart and urges attentiveness so that they will be ready to meet their
Lord. The community of believers Paul is addressing
are already living an authentic Christian life and he
encourages them to continue to progress in that
life. What can we do to prepare ourselves to meet
the Lord? We are attentive to his presence, looking
for him where he is to be found. We begin with
where we are now: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be in their midst” says Jesus
– so he is here amongst us today; our attentiveness
to each other is acknowledging him, being attentive
to him. Jesus is present in the proclamation of his
word – we stand for the Gospel, acknowledging the
presence of the Risen Lord. Jesus is present under
the form of bread and wine in the Eucharist, a truth
we learn from the accounts of the Last Supper and
his teaching recorded in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel,
where Jesus refers to himself as the Bread of Life.
We are attentive to Jesus present in those who are
in desperate need, as Jesus taught that: “Insofar as
you did this [i.e. offered help] to the least of my
brothers, you did this to me”. And we are attentive
to the presence of Jesus when we address him and
listen to him in prayer. Being attentive to the Lord,
we will be prepared and able to stand with confidence before the Son of Man when he returns in
glory – and when we are called from this life to the
eternal life he has promised.
VESTNIK 2024 | 535

536 | VESTNIK 2024

VESTNIK 2024 | 537

538 | VESTNIK 2024

VESTNIK 2024 | 539

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS

A. PARISH LEVEL
) That the clergy, shepherds of God's people,
make every effort to be present and available to their people, especially before and
after the celebration of sacraments.
) That the clergy continue to develop
preaching and presiding skills to ensure the
celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments are celebrated in union with the
Church and helpful to the spiritual needs of
parishioners.
) That the clergy need to continue to invite,
welcome and prepare the laity to fulfill
their responsibilities as disciples of Jesus.
) That all parishes are encouraged to have a
Parish Pastoral Council in addition to a
Finance Council.
) That parishes establish an annual synodal ,
gathering, where all parishioners have the
opportunity to express their needs and
concerns. A summary of these sessions is to
be forwarded to the bishop or his delegate.
) That pastors make every effort to ensure
their people come to a deeper appreciation
and knowledge of the Eucharist and other
sacraments.

) That all the faithful, clergy and laity, take
seriously the responsibility to continue to
grow in the knowledge of the faith and assist each other to do so.
540 | VESTNIK 2024

) That the laity be encouraged to take on
their proper role in the growth of the parish.
Providing proper training is the responsibility of the diocese and parish together.
) That parish musicians participate in all available workshops, ensuring the music they
offer is appropriate and supports the people of God in their call to "full, conscious,
and active participation" in the liturgy.
)That each parish develop a Children's Liturgy of the Word program, based on the celebration of God's Word (and not arts and
crafts).
)That parishes discern how to create true
hospitality, ensuring all people are invited
and welcome.
)That priests and parishioners be present,
and find new ways to cooperate actively,
with their local Catholic school(s).

)That pastors develop strong, mutual and
charitable relationships with the principals
and teachers in their Catholic school(s).
)That parishes seek ways to work together
to help support each other, willing to share
resources, facilities and staff.
)That pastors complete a new section in the
annual Diocesan Spiritual and Financial Report, indicating what the parish has done to
implement these recommendations to
move our diocese "Forward Together in
Christ."

VESTNIK 2024 | 541

Lovski banket - Bled Nov. 23, 2024

542 | VESTNIK 2024

VESTNIK 2024 | 543

CWL - DECEMBER 4TH, MEETING
Our next Catholic Women’s League
meeting will be held on Wednesday,
December 4, 2024. We will celebrate
mass together at 7:00pm and our meeting will follow at 7:30pm.
The special focus of our meeting will
be to greet Advent and the new liturgical year with the lighting of our CWL
Advent Wreath. We will light the first
purple Advent candle of the season
which is called the “Prophesy Candle”
and represents HOPE. The lighted candle reflects the hope and anticipation
we feel as we await the birth of our Saviour and the time when he will come
again.
All CWL members attending the
meeting on Wednesday are encouraged
to bring something small and meaningful to the meeting because we will be
adding it to our Advent wreath. A simple example of something to contribute
to our Advent wreath can be an artificial
sprig of holly or greenery, a bow, or anything else that you feel will be appropriate. We look forward to seeing as
many CWL members at our next meeting to celebrate this special time of year
with each other in our faith, love and
community.
We invite all members of CWL to
bring their Advent wreaths and/or candles to the meeting for a special Advent
blessing.
544 | VESTNIK 2024

ADVENT LITURGICAL CALENDAR
This first day of advent will begin tomorrow,
Sunday, December 1. This day also marks the first
day of the new liturgical year for Catholics around
the world.
This year, the Catholic Women’s League of St.
Gregory the Great will be beginning a new and
exciting initiative to unite our friends and families
by following the new liturgical year together as a
church community.
Starting this Sunday, the first day of Advent
and liturgical year, we will start giving out monthly Living Faith Kids calendars to our parishioners.
Our hope is that the families and friends of our
parish will use this calendar as a daily guide and
reminder to put our thoughts on our faith, even
with our busy schedules.
Although the calendar is for children, we think
it is suitable for people of all ages, as it is fun, colourful, and easy to understand.
This calendar can also be found online at the
“Archdiocese of Seattle Faith Formation Online
Resources” website. This website is a safe and
wonderful resource in which parents can sit down
with their child and look through the various videos that are linked with the special the holidays
and feast days shown on the Living Faith Kids calendar.

Hvala
Olgi Glavač in
sinu Marjanu,
da sta zopet
lepo okrasila
cerkev za
Adventni čas.

We would also like to suggest the use of a
DIGITAL LITURGICAL CALENDAR from
www.thelittleroseshop.com.
Although there are items to buy at this
website, the digital liturgical calendar is free. It
can be quickly and easily synchronized with
your mobile phones and/or computer.
When this digital liturgical calendar is
linked up to you phone and/or computer calendar, you will get daily notifications about
the specialness of that day which includes
things like quick facts, suggestions for reflection and/celebration, feast days, holidays,
links to videos, and colouring pages that are
suitable for children and adults. We pray that
these calendars will be used as a quick reminder to yourself and your family about the
holiness of the day and set our minds toward
our faith for a moment in our busy days.

(https://seattlearch
media.weebly.com/lit
urgical-calendar.html)
DIGITAL LITURGICAL CALENDAR
(www.thelittlerose
shop.com)

ARCHDIOCES OF SEATTLE
FAITH FORMATION ONLINE
RESOURCE (LivingFaithKids
Calendar and video links)

Credit: James Hill

VESTNIK 2024 | 545

O BVESTILA - A NNOUNCEMENTS
KOLEDAR DOGODKOV
1st

- Dec.
- Slovenska šola - Miklavž - Mass
at 10:00 a.m.
- Dec. 7th - Lipa Park - Tree Decorating
- Dec. 8th - Bled - Family Christmas Party

8th

- Dec.
- Lipa Park - Santa Claus & Festive
luncheon
- Dec. 15th - Sava - Mass at 1:30 p.m.
- Dec. 15th - Slovenski Park - Members
Christmas Party
- Dec. 17th - Društvo sv. Jožefa - Božičnica
- Dec. 22nd - London - Mass at 3:00 p.m.
- Dec. 26th - Lipa Park - St. Stephen’s Day
Mass at 2:00 p.m.
- Dec. 31st - St. Gregory - New Year’s Eve
- Jan. 1st - Lipa Park - New Year’s Day Luncheon

BRALCI - READERS:
Slov. : Heidy Novak
Eng. : Mary Ann Demšar

ČIŠČENJE - CLEANING
Dec. 7th - Lukežič - Volčanšek team

GIFT BEARERS
- Slovenska šola

CHEQUES - INFORMATION
When you write cheque for your donation to our church you only have to write:
St. Gregory the Great.
Under this name we are registered at the
banks and they don like too see nothing
else.

546 | VESTNIK 2024

60TH ANNIVERSARY RAFFLE TICKETS
With some tickets left to sell - we are hoping
to be able to keep tickets available to our community only.
You can purchase tickets by calling Heidy at
905-317-6002 to make arrangements for payment and pick up. Or if you prefer the online option and paying by e-transfer, please
email stgregoryhamilton@gmail.com
The draw for the $6,000 travel voucher and
more will be held at our New Year's Celebration
on January 1st, 2025 at 12:30am. We thank you
in advance for supporting our parish as we continue to celebrate our 60th anniversary year.

NEW YEAR’S 2025
We all know that it took vision, commitment,
sacrifice and many hands to build our parish. It
has and continues to take individuals with determination, faith and hope to keep our parish
strong and thriving.
Our 60th Diamond Jubilee New Year's event
is being organized to celebrate all these people.
For this reason, this year's New Year's Tickets
will only cost $60 per person. When you come
to ring in the New Year with us, you will receive a
complimentary welcome drink, dinner, a dessert
buffet along with a late night table.
You will be entertained by "Slo Beat" and after we ring in the new year Raffle Tickets will be
drawn for the $6,000 travel voucher and more.
For $60, you really can't go wrong - so spread
the word, bring your family and friends and join
us as we countdown to 2025.

Tickets are available for sale now and tables can be reserved upon ticket purchases.
Call Heidy at 905-317-6002 or send an
email to novakhsn@gmail.com and start planning for a fun night out as we celebrate not
only 60 years of our parish, but also the bonds
of friendships we have made because of our
parish.
See you December 31st, 2024 at our New
Year's celebration.
Heidy Novak

PRVI PETEK
Ta teden je prvi petek v mesecu decembru.
Ob šestih zvečer bo priložnost za sveto spoved, molitev pred Najsvetejšim, rožni venec in
mašo ob 7:00h zvečer.

VEČNA LUČ
Večna luč bo v mesecu decembru
gorela za pokojnega Ignaca Kotnjek po
namenu žene Anne Kotnjek.

OGNJIŠČE
Naročnina za revijo Ognjišče za prihodnje
leto je $100.Sporočite, če boste še naročniki revije
Ognjišče za leto 2025, da jih obvestimo glede
števila izvodov, ki jih nam pošiljajo. Hvala.

ENGLISH SUNDAY MISSALS
In the atrium are
“Sunday Missals”
for the year 2024-2025.
Price of a copy is $5.-

DON BOSCO

ADVENT - BOŽIČ 2024
Letos, s prvim decembrom, začenjamo Adventni čas, ki traja štiri tedne. Na adventnem
venčku bomo vsak teden prižgali eno svečo
več. Advent je čas »pričakovanja« Odrešenika
in priprava na praznik Božjega rojstva Jezusa
Kristusa, ki ga praznujemo 25. decembra.
Prihodnjo nedeljo, na drugo adventno, je
tudi praznik Brezmadežnega spočetja device
Marije.
Kot del naše bližnje priprave na Božič, se
bomo vsak večer, med sveto mašo, prepevali
božično devetdnevnico. Začetek le te je v ponedeljek, 16. decembra.
Smo tudi v pripravi na Jubilejno leto 2025,
ki se bo uradno začelo 24. decembra 2024:
papež Frančišek bo na letošnji sveti večer ob
19. uri obhajal sveto mašo na Trgu sv. Petra v
Vatikanu. Slovesnemu bogoslužju bo sledil
obred odpiranja svetih vrat.
Pomenljivo je
že geslo svetega
leta, ki ga je papež izbral in sicer
Romarji upanja.
»To je v bistvu
naša identiteta –
da smo romarji
na poti našega
življenja. Tudi
samo naše duhovno življenje je eno romanje.
Ni nekaj, kar samo po sebi deluje, ampak je
potrebno tudi naše sodelovanje. In hkrati pravi to upanje. Papež uporablja zanimiv izraz: ni
to lahkomiselno upanje, ampak gre za eno
drugo vsebino. Tam je naše upanje: na koncu;
ta pogled s konca: v Kristusu.«

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 | 547

SVETE MAŠE - MASSES
1. ADVENTNA
NEDELJA

1. DECEMBER
1ST SUNDAY
OF ADVENT

††
†
†
†

Za žive in rajne župljane
Francka in Ivanka
Štefan Dundek
Martin Tompa
Joe Tompa

10:00 A.M. - - - - - - Sestra Jožica Novak
Aranka Dundek
Agnes Doma
Dragica Tompa

Nedelja Karitas

PONEDELJEK - MONDAY
2. DECEMBER
Natalija, muč.

† Eileen MacKenzie
† Antonio Valeri
Za duše v vicah

7:00 P.M. N. N.
Irma in Rocco Valeri
Irma in Rocco Valeri

TOREK - TUESDAY
3. DECEMBER

† Frančiška Napast

7:00 P.M. Družina Pinter

† Marjan Svoljšak
† Marjan Svoljšak
† Anica Saje

7:00 P.M. Žena in sinova
Amalija, David & Frank
CWL - KŽZ

Po namenu
† Anica Saje
† Margaret Jokat

7:00 P.M. Nadja Madronich
Ančka
Ančka

Frančišek Ksaver, red.

SREDA - WEDNESDAY
4. DECEMBER
Barbara, muč.

ČETRTEK - THURSDAY
5. DECEMBER
Saba, opat

PRVI PETEK - FIRST FRIDAY † Janez Kokalj, obl.
†† Jože in Marija Zelko
6. DECEMBER
Po namenu
Nikolaj (Miklavž), škof
†† Franc in Alojzija Novak
SOBOTA - SATURDAY
7. DECEMBER
Ambrož, pk-c. učitelj
Boetij, misijonar

†
††
††
††

Jakob Muhič Jr.
Stane in Miro Zupančič
Za duše v vicah
Pok. iz družine Zelko
Bogu in Materi Božji v zahvalo

2. ADVENTNA NEDELJA
Za žive in rajne župljane
†† Paula in Franc Pelcar
8. DECEMBER
†† Martin in Marija Dominko
2ND SUNDAY
Za zdravje
OF ADVENT
†† Anica in Frank Saje
Brezmadežno spočetje
Device Marije

548 | VESTNIK 2024

†† Pok. iz družine Pavel Novak

7:00 P.M. Sestra Ančka
Bernarda Milosavljevič z družino
Bernarda Milosavljevič z družino
Sin Frank z družino

5:30 P.M. Družina Muhič
Josie Hapke
Marija Košir
Matilda Bratuž
Stanka Malevič z družino
9:30 A.M. - - - - - - Stan Pelcar & Josie Dubé z druž.
Jože in Albina Antolin z družino
N. N.
Andrej Kobe z družino
11:00 A.M. Jožica Novak