VESTNIK 2021 | VESTNIK 2021 | 447 VESTNIK 2021 | 449 VESTNIK 2021 | 451 2. ADVENTNA NEDELJA 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT SLOVENSKA ŽUPNIJA SV. GREGORIJA VELIKEGA | ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SLOVENIAN CHURCH 49/57 Številka - Number / Leto - Year 5. 12 . 2021 Fr. Drago Gacnik, 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 VESTNIK Klic Janeza Krstnika Evangelist Luka je tisti, ki usmerja pozornost na tisto petnajsto leto Tiberije-vega imperija; k tem datumu doda šestih manjših zgodovinskih osebnosti, tako da pred nami izriše politicni zemljevid Pale-stine. Zakaj je to pomembno? Luka na-mrec želi pokazati kdo v resnici je Jezus. Jezus ni neka bežna podoba, ni neke vrste svetleca prikazen, niti ne neko blodece duhovno bitje niti neka ideja ali zgolj mit: v nasprotju s tem je zgodovinsko dejstvo, ki ima trdne povezave z zgodovinskimi datumi ne le pri Izraelcih, temvec tudi s celotnim rimskim imperijem. Njegova prisotnost in njegova beseda sta postala kot seme, padlo in ukoreninjeno v zemljo in zgodovino - z namenom, da ju preoblikuje in reši. Ta datum torej predstavlja za vse kristjane znamenje, da postanejo kvas in sol zgodovine. Zavedajo naj se, da v svetu gradijo kraljestvo pra-vice, resnice in miru, ki ga je vpeljal njihov Gospod in Ucitelj. Ta datum postaja tudi povabilo k zvestobi tistemu položaju, v katerega nas je Bog postavil. Zelo prisrcna je podoba mistika z Vzhoda, v kateri je ta odgovo-ril svojemu ucencu. Ucenec mu je ocital: »Ce se voda vedno zadržuje na istem kraju, se kmalu usmradi!« Ucitelj odvrne: »Postani raje kot morje; tudi ko boš v zalivu, ne boš smrdel!« V vsakem kraju, velikem ali majh-nem, je treba imeti osvobojeno srce in odprtega duha; vsak trenutek bo postal dragocen in bo delcek morja vecnosti. Današnje Lukovo besedilo upodobi Krstnika tako, kot ga predstavi znani odlomek drugega Izaija. Njegovo delo je sestavni del velikega opu-sa preroka Izaija. Gre za izstopajoco podobo, ki smo jo srecali že prej-šnjo nedeljo. Je podoba poti, še kako izstopajoca v adventu: »Pripravite pot Gospodu, zravnajte njegove steze.« Izaija svoje besedilo nadaljuje z opisom pripravljanja teh premocrtnih in umirjenih poti - podobnih, kot so v starih casih vodile do svetišc - tako imenovane »procesionalne poti«, ki jih je bilo treba prehoditi s petjem in v veselju. Pojdimo z mislijo k hebrejskim izgnancem iz Babilona. Vrnitev je opevana v odlomku Baruhove knjige in v ganljivem psalmu z odpevom, ki ga ozna-nja današnja liturgija. Ko je bil Jeruzalem leta 586 pred Kristusom zravnan z zemljo - delo babilonske-ga vladarja Nebukadnezarja, so se Izraelci v solzah napotili na pušcavsko pot, zasramovani in potisnje-ni v brezkoncne vrste izgnancev, pod udarci zatiral-cev. Ta pot, ki so jo takrat prehodili s solzami v oceh, je sedaj na novo prehojena z veselim petjem in z ocmi, žarecimi od srece. Zdi se, da pušcave ni vec; še vec - pot svobode je zaznamovana s prijetno diše-co gozdnato senco, ki popotnike varuje pred soncni-mi žarki. In nad vsem se dviga podoba Gospoda, »ki je za nas naredil velike reci«. Po solzah in sužnosti je Tisti, ki nudi veselje in svobodo. D. M. Turoldo v svojem »Psalmu izgnancev« kot odmev na svetopi-semsko pesnitev zapoje: »Iz taborišca smo se vraca-li k soncu kot hudournik v vsej svoji moci. Vsi obrazi so bili v solzah in srce je divjalo v »strahu« obcutja svobode ... Nismo se zavedali, Gospod, kako težko je biti svoboden!« Podoba poti nas spominja na lepoto in tveganost svobode. Spomni nas tudi na Kristusovo adventno »pot«, ki jo je prehodil in osvetlil On, pripravili pa mi - kot nam šepeta Izaija. Duhovni pisatelj tako spregovori: »Pripraviti pot Gospodu pomeni odstra-niti ovire, ki upocasnijo ali onemogocajo njegov dostop do clovekovega srca: posameznega in v skupnosti. Bog ne more vstopiti, kjer je ošabna pre-drznost, vzvišenost, hladnost, neprizadetost. Treba je odstraniti neprimerna in neredna nagnjenja, predsodke, vse, kar je podobno telesni in duhovni lenobi, prevare, blodnje, zavajanja.« Pot svobode postaja zravnana in z veseljem pre-hojena takrat, ko je bilo na njej prelitega veliko clo-veškega potu - to je s pristnim osebnim prizadeva-njem. Hkrati pa je to tudi najvecje zadošcenje - biti clovek in verujoci. - (Prim. Oznanjevalec 2006-2007, št. 2) 446 | VESTNIK 2021 448 | VESTNIK 2021 450 | VESTNIK 2021 452 | VESTNIK 2021 Illustration Have you ever noticed that if you stop for a few moments and watch construction workers on a building site, it often appears that nothing much is happening? Yet if you regularly pass the site and check the progress, you will probably be amazed at the speed with which the building is taking shape. As human beings we have learnt how to con-struct not only buildings but transport networks that enable us to travel across or through even the most barren or mountainous terrain. Indeed some of the great viaducts and bridges add to the spectacular views we encounter. They are testimony to our determination to get to places no matter what the obstacles. Gospel Teaching In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah painting a pow-erful poetic vision: “Every valley will be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low, winding ways will be straightened and rough roads made smooth.” The writer of the book of Baruch, which we heard as our first reading, would have been familiar with Isaiah’s words and echoes them in his own. In the Gospel Luke links it with the work of John the Baptist. John was the last of the prophets, sent to prepare for the Lord’s coming. His job was to prepare as smooth a passage as possible for Jesus. We in turn are being invited to use this image as a way of thinking about how we might prepare our-selves to welcome the Lord. As the years pass we might be tempted to reflect that, while we hear the call to pre-pare well every Advent, nothing much seems to change either in our own lives or in the family of the Church or in the world at large. But if we do think like that we would be wrong. The first coming of Jesus did radically change the course of human history. John’s proclamation of a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins paved the way for Jesus to minister his Father’s compassion to us in a way far beyond our imagining. Nothing can ever be the same again, whether we have taken this fact on board yet or not. The faith of the Church is that everything is moving towards the fulfilment of God’s plan and that in due time the Lord will return again in glory. This is very much part of the Advent message: we look back and celebrate the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem and at the same time we look forward to his coming again in glory. So there is a lot to prepare for. Application St Paul gives us a clue as to how we can get this right in practice. Firstly, it is worth remembering that the work begins and ends in God, which is why Paul says: “I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes.” The work began for us when we were baptised and will continue until the journey is completed. Sometimes on a long journey we can get tired and disillusioned and wonder why we ever be-gan it in the first place. Apart from the fact that we may be-come physically tired, there can also be the tension that arises with those who share the journey with us. We may have had to do our fair bit of bridge-building on that front and know that overcoming personal relationship problems can be much more taxing than finding or preparing a straight road to our destination. It is here that we can begin to take Paul’s prayer to heart: increasing in love for each other, improving our knowledge and deepening our perception so that we can al-ways recognise what is best. The Christian faith has so much to offer others and espe-cially at this time of the year. Christmas, for all that we may feel it has been hijacked by the commercial world, still touch-es the hearts of people and the story loses none of its magic, no matter how often it is told. Tell the story again to one an-other and especially to the children. Look back and see just how far you have come: hopefully the building has been go-ing up more quickly than you realised. And now look for ways to smooth out what still needs sorting before the Lord comes again. 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT Response: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. First Reading Baruch 5:1-9 The prophet Baruch echoes the message of Isaiah that God will enable us to walk safely on level ground. Second Reading Philippians 1:4-6. 8-11 Paul wants us to prepare for the Day of Christ. His prayer for us is that we will always recognise what is best. Gospel Luke 3:1-6 John the Baptist is the one who fulfils the prophecy about preparing a way for the Lord and shows us what needs to be done. “I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is fin-ished.” LEARNING FROM JOHN THE BAPTIST By Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Sol-diers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice ex-tortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were ask-ing in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.” – Luke 3:10-16 In the Gospel of Luke people ask John the Bap-tist what they ought to do. At the time this scriptur-al event occurred (2,000 years ago) there was a lot of stress in the world. Palestine was a Roman colony and there were wars and politics and even various opinions about religion. People were looking for God’s help and a sense of direction. They ap-proached John. He was a great prophet who was preaching and baptizing out by the Jordan River. “What should we do?” they asked. All these years later (today in 2021), people are in the same situation. There are political problems, a virus pandemic, stress. There are even lots of opin-ions about religion. We are asking ourselves, “What should we do?” John the Baptist gave three recommendations to the people of his time and I think they can apply to us today in our stressful world. He said: share, be fair and be humble. Let’s break it down. Share – God’s desire for us on this earth is to share the blessings that we have received. We are called to be generous. John the Baptist preaches clearly that God’s will for us is to share. “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do like-wise.” Sharing is very needed in today’s world. There are a lot of people needing food, friendship and prayer. And we can be the ones who give it to them. So… amid the stresses of life don’t be selfish. A selfish attitude just makes things worse in the world. Share your love, share your things and share your time with others. Be Fair – John the Baptist told the tax collectors and the soldiers to be fair and to treat everyone the same. He preached that everyone has dignity and should be respected. Giving special favors to some people while disregarding others is not God-like. It hurts society and causes division. The gospel calls us to be just in all we say and do. In our world today we are called to practice fairness so that the two ex-tremes – favoritism on the one hand and neglect on the other – do not dominate our culture. Be Humble – When the people asked the proph-et what they needed to do he told them to be hum-ble. John the Baptist said, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). He said that his cousin Jesus was so great that he (John) wasn’t even worthy to touch his sandals. For us today, humility is crucial for growth as spiritual people. If we act like we just want to be left alone and don’t need friends or fami-ly we won’t learn how to love properly. If we think we can handle all the stresses in life on our own and don’t need God’s help, things will eventually be-come overwhelming. We need God. John the Baptist points us to Him. May Jesus come into our hearts this Christmas and may we take the advice of John the Baptist to share, be fair and be humble. Pred Teboj smo, Sveti Duh, ko smo zbrani v Tvojem imenu. Samo ti nas vodi, bodi doma v naših srcih; pokaži nam pot, po kateri naj gremo, in kako naj hodimo po njej. Šibki smo in grešni; ne dopusti, da bi širili nered. Ne dopusti, da bi nas nevednost vodila po napacni poti ali da bi pristranskost vplivala na naša dejanja. Daj, da v Tebi najdemo svojo edinost, da bomo lahko skupaj hodili vecnemu življenju naproti in se ne bomo oddaljili od poti resnice in od pravicnosti. Vse to prosimo Tebe, ki deluješ na vsakem kraju in v vsakem casu, v obcestvu z Ocetom in Sinom na vekov veke. Amen. Hvala družini Andrew Zorko, ki nam je letos poda-rila smreko za našo cerkev. Ne samo, da so jo podarili tudi pripeljali. Otroci sedaj »obiskujejo« Slovensko šolo - zaenkrat preko interneta. V sredo zvecer pa bodo vsi otroci Slovenske šole doma izdelali okraske za to smreko in jih pred Božicem nanjo tudi obesili. OBVESTILA - ANNOUNCEMENTS CIŠCENJE CERKVE - CLEANING OF THE CHURCH Dec. 18, 2021 Gosgnach Jan. 1, 2022 Gosgnach team Jan. 8, 2022 Groznik, Erzar, Lukežic FIRST COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION 2022 From the Diocese of Hamilton we got information for Confirmation in the year 2022. It will be on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. and bishop Douglas Crosby will be with us. As it is our tradition, we will have also First Communion on the same day. Let us know if your child wont to re-ceive any of two sacraments. ADVENT - BOŽICNA DEVETDNEVNICA 16. decembra bomo zaceli z božicno devetdnevnico - z bližnjo pripravo na praz-nik Gospodovega rojstva. Naš vzklik »Kralja, ki prihaja!« je tisti, ki nas vabi, da se notra-nje pripravimo .Božicno devetdnevnico bomo obhajali, kot navadno, med vecerno sveto mašo. Vabljeni. POKOJNI V Sloveniji je, 26. novembra 2021, umrla Anica Šalíka rojena Vucko, v svojem 100. letu starosti. Pokojna se je rodila na Srednji Bistrici, živela pa v Gaberju, župnija Lenda-va. Pogreb pokojne je bil 28. novembra v Gaberju; v naši župniji bomo darovali sveto mašo za pokoj njene duše v ponedeljek 6. decembra zvecer. Iskreno sožalje hcerki Mariji Miklavcic (Oakville), pokojni Anici pa vecni mir in po-koj. V cetrtek, 2. decembra 2021, je odšla k Bogu po vecno placilo v svojem 86. letu starosti Marija Dominko, rojena Antolin. Pogreb pokojne je bil v soboto 4. decembra v Odrancih. V naši župniji pa smo darovali sveto mašo za pokoj njene duše prav tako v soboto 4. decembra zvecer. Iskreno sožalju bratoma Štefanu in Ivanu, ses-tri Rozaliji Cule in bratu Jožetu z družinami. Pokojni Mariji pa vecni mir in pokoj. V Šmarjah pri Jelšah je 2. decembra 2021, od-šla k Bogu po vecno placilo Rozika Galic, sestra Ivana Krušica. Pokojna je avgusta dopolnila 80 let. V petek 10. decembra bomo za pokoj njene duše darovali sveto mašo. Iskreno sožalje Ivanu, pokojni Roziki pa vecni mir in pokoj. KADILO - KOLEDARJI - KUVERTE - PISMO Bliža se božic in kar nekaj stvari je povezanih z njim. Naša slovenska navada je, da pokadimo hi-šo na sveti vecer. Od prihodnje nedelje boste v veži na mizi našli kadilo in oglje. Lahko si ga vza-mete prej, ne zadnji trenutek. Prav tako so prišli slovenski Marijanski kole-darji, pa tudi angleški Misijonski koledarji. Obo-ji bodo na razpolago v veži. Koledarjev ne bomo pošiljali po pošti, vsak si naj ga vzame zase v cer-kvi, lahko pa vzamete tudi za tiste, ki ne morejo priti v cerkev. Ce bi pa kdo izrecno želel, pa mu ga bomo poslali na dom, samo naj nam na tak ali drugacen nacin sporoci svojo željo. Kmalu bodo zunaj tudi nedeljske kuverte za prihodnje leto. Sicer pa jih boste opazili, ker jih je kar precej. Opažam, da se zadnja leta kar precej zmanjšuje število tistih, ki redno uporabljajo ne-deljske kuverte. Nekateri, tisti, ki so bolj domaci z racunalniškim poslovanjem, pošljejo denar preko e-transfer, drugi darujete vec obicajno ob banketih ali za Veliko noc in Božic - vsak si izbere svoj nacin kako podpira našo župnijo. Hvala vsem, ki zvesto darujete. Velikokrat nekateri prinesejo po vec kuvert, ker jih zaradi tega ali onega razloga ni bilo v cerkvi. Še pose-bej sedaj v casu Covida-19 se je to zelo pozna-lo. Upamo, da se bodo pocasi stvari normalizi-rale. DAROVNI - DONATIONS - $200 je oseba N.N. darovala za gradbeni sklad. - $200 je darovala Štefka Eržen za cerkev za rože. Slovensko društvo sv. Jožefa je darovalo za potrebe cerkve $1000. Iskrena hvala za vse vaše darove v podporo naše župnije. Bog vam stotero povrni. SVETA MAŠA V BRESLAVU V nedeljo, 12. decembra bomo darovali sveto mašo v Breslavu, v biši dvorani društva Sava. Sveta maša se bo darovala za pokojne clane društva in še po naslednjih namenih: - Pokojni starši in bratje Slavko in Pepi Mirt - od Martina Mirt - Pokojni starši in brat Slavko Šerbec - od Zin-ke Mirt - Pokojni botri Rena in Frank Mirt - od druži-ne Mirt - Pokojni iz družine Šutej - od Anice Kobetic SVETE MAŠE - MASS TIMES: Monday to Friday: 7:00 P.M., Saturday: 5:30 P.M. (Slovenian-Sunday Mass); Sunday: 10:00 A.M. (Slovenian-English - For the time of Covid-19 it is only one Mass on Sundays) - KRSTI / BAPTISMS: For an appointment, call one month before. POROKE / MARRIAGE: For an appointment, call one year before the wedding date. SPOVED / CONFES-SIONS: First Friday of the month 6 -7:00 P.M. (or by appointment) BOLNIKI - Sporocite, ce je kdo bolan ali v bolnišnici, da ga obišcemo. You are welcome to call for a personal conversation with your priest – please call for an appointment. Tel: 905-561-5971. DON BOSCO V tem tednu so naslednje obletnice smrti faranov, ki so zapisani v naših knjigah: 2. ADVENTNA 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 5. DECEMBER SABA (SAVO), OPAT FILIP RINADLI, RED. † † † † † †† † † †† Za žive in rajne župljane Alojzija Novak, obl. Alojz Sampl Frank Kozlar, obl. Lojze Prilesnik Lojze Lesica Pok. iz družine Gimpelj Janez Hocevar Frank Maric Janez in Marija Grebenc 10:00 A.M. ------------- Frank Novak z družino Milka in Karol Ferko Cecilija Sobocan Žena Marija z družino Jože Gimpelj Jože Gimpelj Branko in Mary Branko in Mary Jože Grebenc z družino Prebil Ciril December 6, 1977 Božic Adolf December 6, 1995 Rejc Maria December 6, 2012 Bitežnik Michael December 9, 2001 Marušich Frank Radivoj December 9, 2013 Mešicek Dragica December 10, 2001 Sevšek Franc December 10, 2006 Bolko Karolina December 10, 2010 Dolar Rozalija December 10, 2020 Kremesec Anthony December 11, 1983 Gomboša Anton December 11, 2008 SVETE MAŠE - MASSES 6. 12. 2021 — 12. 12. 2021 PONEDELJEK - MONDAY 6. DECEMBER Nikolaj (Miklavž), škof †† † Pokojni iz družine Novak Anica Šalika 7:00 P.M. Jožica Novak z družino Hci Marija Miklavcic (Oakville) TOREK - TUESDAY 7. DECEMBER Ambrož, šk-uc. † † Katarina in Franc Kapušin Pia Kolegar, 7. dan (Slovenija) 7:00 P.M. Sonya in Joe z družino Majda Lukežic SREDA - WEDNESDAY 8. DECEMBER Brezmadežno spocetje Device Marije †† † †† † † † Tilka in Anton Vengar Marija Horvat Marija in Ignac Horvat Ignac Horvat Marija Horvat-Zver Marija Hocevar (Slovenija) V zahvalo Materi Božji 7:00 P.M. Jožica Novak z družino Družina Horvat Jože in Marija Magdic z družino Terezija Donko Marica Zadravec Sestra Vera Lackovic z družino N.N. CETRTEK - THURSDAY 9. DECEMBER Valerija, mucenka †† † Pok. iz družin Karlin in Ileršic Magda Udovc 7:00 P.M. Jožica Novak z družino Olga Glavac PETEK - FRIDAY 10. DECEMBER Loretska Mati Božja † † † Ignac Horvat Zoltan Gergyek Rozika Galic 7:00 P.M. Gizela in Steve Kovac Hema Kosednar z družino Brat Ivan Krušic SOBOTA - SATURDAY 11. DECEMBER Damaz I., pp. ††† † †† † † †† † †† †† † Albina Loboda (Argentina) Janko Radocaj Ana Nedelko Ignac in Marija Horvat Ivan Petek Štefan Hozjan Joe in Kristina Cerar Alojz Lesica Terezija in Štefan Marinic Bratje in sestre Marinic Marija Dominko, 7. dan pp. 5:30 P.M. Sestra Joža Šušteršic z družino Družina Fabina John in Milka Sobocan z družino Štefan in Marta Magdic z družino Štefan in Marta Magdic z družino Štefan in Marta Magdic z družino Štefan in Marta Magdic z družino Elizabeth Gimpelj z družino Hci Elizabeta z družino Družina Raduha Brat Jože Antolin z družino 3. ADVENTNA 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 12. DECEMBER DEVICA MARIJA IZ GUADALUPE †† † † † † †† † † † †† Za žive in rajne župljane Paula in Franc Pelcar Marija Hocevar (Slovenija) Jožef Geric, obl. Ann Božnar Ignac Prša Pok iz družine Ferko Marija Mrak Marija Mrak Ignac Prša Pokojni clani društva 10:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M. ------------- Stan Pelcar in Josie Dubé Matilda Prša Joe Geric z druž. Family Božnar Karol in Milka Ferko Karol in Milka Ferko Sestra Zorka Rev z družino Marija Volf Zorka Rev Maša v Breslavu