VESTNIK 2024 | VESTNIK 2024 | 267 VESTNIK 2024 | 269 VESTNIK 2024 | 271 11. NEDELJA MED LETOM 11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME FATHER'S DAY SLOVENSKA ŽUPNIJA SV. GREGORIJA VELIKEGA | ST. GREGORY THE GREAT SLOVENIAN CHURCH 24/60 Številka - Number / Leto - Year 16.6. 2024 Fr. Dra go 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 HALL RENTALS 905-561-5971, ext. 2 E-MAIL hallrental@ stgregoryhamilton.ca VESTNIK Zakon rasti, naravni in nadnaravni Danes nam bogoslužje ponuja pouk o zaupanju in pogumu. Vsa tri berila so naravnana v to smer. Evangelij nam govori, da je božje kraljes-tvo sila, ki napreduje kljub težavam in okolišcinam ter nosi v sebi neu-stavljiv zagon. Prvo berilo je vzeto iz preroka Ezekijela in tudi govori o izredni rasti. V drugem berilu pa Pavel izraža popolno zaupanje in si tako venomer prizadeva, da bi bil všec Gospodu. V našem življenju so okolišcine, ki lahko predstavljajo krizo našega zaupanja in nas nagibajo k crnogledosti. Treba je torej, da si znova pri-dobimo pogum, kajti Gospod je mocnejši od vseh drugih sil in mi ga v sebi cutimo kot cudovito moc. Prerok Ezekijel govori v razmerah, ki so bile za Izraelce velika preiz-kušnja: izgnanstvo. Njegove prerokbe želijo ljudstvu vliti veliko zaupa-nje. Prerok uporabi podobo cedrinega vršicka, ki ga Bog vsadi in zraste v mogocno cedro: »Pod njo bodo prebivale vsakovrstne ptice, vse krilate živali bodo prebivale v senci njenih vej.« Ezekijel tu uporabi pojem, ki ga velikokrat srecamo v Svetem pismu: Bog ponižuje ošabne in povzdiguje ponižne: »Tedaj bodo spoznala vsa drevesa polja, da sem jaz, Gospod, ponižal visoko drevo in povišal nizko, da sem posušil zeleno drevo in dal, da je suho pognalo.« Bog stvari postavlja na glavo. Kdor mu zaupa, je lahko preprican, da bo mogel zmagoslavno premagati vsa nasprotovanja, vse težave in bo­lece okolišcine. Vendar moramo biti ponižni in ucljivi za Gospoda. Kdor si domišlja, da bo dosegel vzvišene cilje samo s svojimi mocmi in z ošab-nim ponosom, jih ne bo dosegel in se bo sreceval z nepremagljivimi teža-vami. Nasprotno pa, kdor svoje zaupanje polaga v Gospoda, bo mogel vedno premagovati vse težave in zmagovati. Evangelij nam predstavlja nekaj Jezusovih prilik v katerih je postavil v medsebojni odnos nebeško kraljestvo z vsemi izkustvi v vsakdanjem življenju, še posebej s podrocja poljedelstva. Tu primerja božje kraljes-tvo s semenom, ki ga sejalec vrže v zemljo. Seme samo po sebi ni nekaj pomembnega, je zanemarljivo, je kot drobec peska. Vendar ima v sebi življenjsko moc in prav zaradi tega se ne odziva kot kamencek. Jezus opozori, da je vseeno, ali kmet, ki je seme vsejal, bdi ali spi, seme kali in raste. Kako se to dogaja, clovek niti ne ve. Seme ima v sebi življenjsko moc. Podobno ima tudi božja beseda življenjsko moc: sposobna je premagati ovire, podobno kot rastlina, ki napreduje in poglablja svoje korenine celo na neob-delanem zemljišcu. Gospod je vsejal seme Besede na naše zemljišce, to je v naše življenje. Lahko smo mirni in prepricani, da bo obrodilo sadove, ne glede na oko-lišcine, ki so lahko tudi zelo zahtevne. Božje kraljestvo primerja tudi z gorcicnim zrnom, ki je majhno, vendar, ko je vsejano, raste in postane najvecje med vsemi vrtninami; naredi tako velike veje, da se v njegovo senco lahko zatecejo tudi ptici. Cerkev se je zacela kot skromno in drobno seme, kot gorcicno zrno. Po Jezusovi smrti se je zdelo, kot da bo vse uniceno, vendar je Cerkev, kljub težavam in preganjanju, zrasla, kajti imela je moc Besede in bož-jo milost. Tudi mi, ki smo del Cerkve smo deležni živ-ljenjske dinamike, ki nam omogoca premagovati težave. »Kdo nas bo locil od Kristusove ljubezni?« sprašuje Pavel; potem navaja razlicne razloge, tudi tako vznemirljive, da si jih kar težko predstavljamo: »Mar stiska ali nadloga, preganjanje ali lakota, nago-ta ali nevarnost ali mec?« In sklene: Toda v vseh teh preizkušnjah zmagujemo po njem, ki nas je vzljubil«. Skrivnost vsega je Kristusova ljubezen. Moc božje besede je v tem, da izraža Jezusovo ljubezen, Ocetovo ljubezen, ki jo je razodel Sin. Moc milosti je moc te ljubezni. Pavel je vedno poln zaupanja, tudi, ko se srecuje s smrtjo ni crnogled. Preko smrti, bomo do-koncno prispeli h Gospodu. Zemeljsko življenje nam ne omogoca popolnega združenja z Gospodom: moramo skozi smrt, da bi ga lahko dosegli v popolnosti in dokoncno. Apostol zatr-juje: »Hodimo v veri in ne v gledanju.« »Vendar smo pogumni in zadovoljni s tem, da se bomo izselili iz telesa in se priselili h Gospodu.« Pavel brez obotavlja-nja rece, da bi raje umrl in prebival pri Gospodu; ven-dar pa se hkrati zaveda svojih apostolskih odgovor-nosti, zato sprejema, da podaljša svoje zacasno biva-nje na zemlji. - (prim. Oznanjevalec 2012, št. 3) 266 | VESTNIK 2024 268 | VESTNIK 2024 270 | VESTNIK 2024 272 | VESTNIK 2024 11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Response: Lord, it is good to give thanks to you. First Reading Ezekiel 17:22-24 In his image of a tree Ezekiel paints us a picture of the Lord who cares for his people and brings them to shelter and safety. Second Reading 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Paul writes of his longing to be with the Lord and his intention of pleasing him always. Gospel Mark 4:26-34 Jesus tells us two parables to show us that for the Kingdom of God great things come from small beginnings. Jesus said, “‘This is what the Kingdom of God is like.”’ Illustration If you ask any English man or woman “of a certain age”, or indeed perhaps people from elsewhere, what name they would associate with the word “mustard”, it’s likely that they’d reply, “Colman’s”. The English firm of Colman’s has been famous since the nineteenth century and their bright yellow adverts for “Colman’s Mustard” were everywhere and reflected the colour of their spice. In the early days the mus-tard was sold as a powder which was then mixed with water into a paste. When they were at table the diners would scoop some mustard onto their plates and dip into it as they want-ed. Since it was so strong, they didn’t need much, which gave rise to a story that Colman’s made their profit, not from what was eaten, but by what was left on the plate. Whatever that story, it’s certainly not likely that any of us to-day would associate a tree with the stuff we have at dinner or put on our hot dogs. Gospel story Jesus, like the prophets before him, used images that were familiar to the people of his time. They grew crops, looked after sheep, tended olive trees and grape vines and so on. In today’s Gospel the two parables are about seeds. From something small, something wonderful can grow. Obviously, Jesus knew about mustard. it was used throughout the Roman Empire and, in fact, the word “mustard” itself comes from Latin. Of course, in Palestine it would have been a darker spice than our yellow. It’s not too far-fetched to im-agine Jesus being served it at a meal, say at the house of Zacchaeus the tax collector, or when he was invited to dinner by the Pharisees. Whatever the reality, it was clear that he knew his listeners would understand the imagery of the mustard seed growing into a tree. There’s a point to note here; Jesus is not being literal in this parable. The mustard seed is not the smallest, nor the mustard tree or shrub the largest, although it can grow to 20 feet tall, or about 6 me-tres if you prefer metric. He’s using a poetic device to show the contrast between the tiny seed of God’s kingdom sown on earth which will grow to some-thing immense in the fulness of time. At the end of the parable Jesus echoes the image-ry we heard in the first reading, from the prophet Ezekiel, when he says that the birds of the air will live and find shelter in the shade of the tree. In one of his talks our late Pope Benedict XVI had a lovely image of people who were looking for God being like birds perching on the tree of the Church where its mem-bers had already built their nests. Application It might be presumptuous, but we could extend something to the parable of the mustard tree by way of a warning. If you’ve read or even heard about a book by C.S. Lewis called The Screwtape Letters you’ll know it was about a series of imaginary letters from Screwtape, a Senior Devil, to Wormwood, a Junior Devil, advising him on how to tempt people away from the “Enemy”, which is the name he gives to God. In one letter Screwtape tells Wormwood that by encouraging factions within the Church he can turn them into people who have the characteristics of what he describes as “the self-righteousness of a se-cret society or a clique.” If we go back in our parable to the birds in the tree, we know from nature that there can be trouble. The jolly little robin redbreast will fight any other robin that comes on his territory. The large plump wood pigeon will chase his lesser companions away from a scrap of food. And so on. The factions that St Paul found in the Christians in Corinth who shouted, “I am for Cephas”, “I am for Apollos”, nearly drove him to distraction and he exclaimed in exasperation, “Is Christ divided?” We can also be tempted into factions where our airs and pomposities make us feel superior to our brothers and sisters. If we can’t show charity to one another, what chance have we of offering welcome to the other birds who come to our tree seeking shel-ter? In today’s Mass let’s ask our loving Lord to give us his healing Holy Spirit to bind us together so that we can love one another as he loves us. 2024 SLOVENIAN CANADIAN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION 2024 Slovenian Canadian Scholarship Foundation Awards Application Now Available. The Slovenian Canadian Scholarship Foundation was created to pro-vide students of Slovenian-Canadian descent, residing within the Halton, Ham-ilton-Wentworth, and Niagara regions, the opportunity to be recognized for their academic achievements, community involvement, and appreciation of their Slovenian heritage. Select applicants will be granted a monetary award in the form of a scholarship or bursary from the foundation. The presentation of awards will be held on September 22, 2024 at St. Gregory’s Fall Banquet. Application forms are available via email request to Teresa Zupancic at teresa.zupancic@gmail.com. Completed application packages must be submitted via email to teresa.zupancic@gmail.com by 9:00 p.m. on Friday August 23, 2024 for award consideration. Please forward any questions to Teresa at 905-930-7545 or Irene Glavac Petric at glavacpetric@gmail.com. GATE OF HEAVEN - June 15, 20244 - Tudi letos je bila maša na pokopališcu Gate of Heaven za vse pokojne, ki pocivajo na tem pokopališcu. Žal tokrat ni bilo no-benega od škofov, ker je imel pomožni škof ob istem casu posvetite treh stalnih diakonov. Mašo je vodil župnik iz Burlingtonske župnije, dva pa sva somaševa-la. Zbralo se nas je kar lepo število. Maša je bila tokrat kar v mavzoleju in je bil prostor za vse, ki so prišli. Reminder that this year’s SUMMER DAY CAMP is being held AUGUST 13-16. Registration forms will be available next Sunday. If you have children who want to come, play, sing, do crafts and make new friends - call and register. Little ones are welcome with the supervision of a parent or grandparent! It well be a week filled with fun and an end of week BBQ and our an-nual Campers vs. family Soccer game! Also looking for Highschool students and older to help ou! If you need volunteer hours or if you’re just happy to help out, call and get ready for a fun filled week. Looking forward to a week of fun and laughter - August 13-16 - Heidy Novak 905-317-6002 OBVESTILA - ANNOUNCEMENTS KOLEDAR DOGODKOV - June 22nd - Lipa Park - Slovenski dan - Mass at 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Cultural program - June 28 to July 1st - Slovenski Park - Canada Day Long Weekend; Mass: June 30th, 1:00 p.m. - July 7th - Lipa Park - Summerfest Picnic - July 20th - Slovenski Park - Pecenkafest - July 21st - Bled - Prošcenje; Mass: 1:00 p.m. - Aug. 4th - Slovenski Park - 60th Anniversary of Park & 50th Anniversary o the Chapel - Avg. 11th - Sava-Breslau - Picnic, Mass 1p.m. - Avg. 13-16th - St. Gregory the Great - Day Camp - Avg. 24th - Lipa Park - Music in the Park Picnic - Slovenian Band: Raubarji & Peški Oktet - Avg 25th - Bled - End of Summer Picnic BRALCI - READERS: - Slovenian Mass: Frank Novak - English Mass: Nadia Miklavcic GIFT BEARERS - June 16: Josie Hapke & Mary Holder - June 23: Pamela Gosgnach & Štefka Eržen CLEANING OF THE CHURCH - June 22nd - Gosgnach team - July 6th - Lukežic-Volcanšek team DAROVI - DONATIONS Za gradbeni sklad sta darovala $100.- John in Leopoldine Persichini v spomin na pokojno Francko Cestnik. - Hvala za vaš dar. A warm welcome to His Grace, Archbishop IVAN JURKOVIC, Apos-tolic Nuncio to Canada. His Grace will visit the Diocese of Hamilton, June 27th to 29th. On Thursday, June 27th in the evening, His Grace will visit his fellow countryman (Slovenia), Fr. Drago Gacnik, and the parishioners of St. Gregory the Great Slovenian Parish, Hamilton, where he will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiv-ing at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to his visit! SLOVENSKI DAN FLAG RAISING CEREMONY You are all invited to attend the Sloveni-an Flag Raising Ceremony in honour of Slo-venia’s Independence Day. The Flag Raising ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 25th, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at Toronto City Hall on Queen Street West, To-ronto. After the ceremony please join us at Our Lady of Miraculous Medal for a day full of cele-bration and Slovenian events. We will be live-streaming the Slovenia vs. Lithuania Basketball Match (pre-olympic game) at 12:00pm. We will also live-stream the Slovenia vs. Eng-land EURO 2024 Soccer match at 3pm. - VSKO Heart to Heart The most Rev. Douglas Crosby, OMI, D.D 2023 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 - Sporocite, ce je kdo bolan ali v bolnišnici, da ga obišcemo. You are welcome to call for a per-sonal conversation with your priest – please call for an appointment. Tel: 905-561-5971 or Cell: 905-520-2014 DON BOSCO Svete maše - Masses V tem tednu so naslednje obletnice smrti faranov, ki so zapisani v naših knjigah: 11. NEDELJA MED LETOM 16. JUNIJ 11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME FATHTER’S DAY Beno, škof †† † †† † † † † † †† Za žive in rajne župljane Liliana & Giulio Gambacorta Monika Gašpar, 30. dan Pok. Iz družine Gonza Za srecno pot Štefan Gonza Matthew Monika Gašpar Joe Lackovic Slavko Štern Pokojni clani društva Bled 9:30 A.M. 11:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M. - - - - - - - Družina Dim Družina Gašpar Vera Gonza z družino Vera Gonza z družino Hci Sandy Dragica Đondraš Vera Lackovic z družino Žena z družino Hci Sonya Podrebarac z družino Društvo Bled Zabukovec John June 16, 1972 Obal Veronika June 16, 2014 Sarjaš Marija June 17, 1978 Napast Franciška June 17, 2014 Mustar Felix June 18, 1986 Zajšek Anton June 18, 2007 Bregar Maria June 18, 2022 Zupancic Milan June 19, 1982 Toplak Slavko Alojz June 19, 1997 Prša Ignac June 20, 2021 Šuligoj Emil June 21, 1982 Zidar Ludvik June 21, 2011 Dorencec Štefan June 23, 1990 Sajder Štefan-Steve June 23, 2012 BAPTISM - KRST V soboto, 15. junija 2024 je zakrament sv. krsta prejela Isla Nightingale Bozzo. Starša deklice sta oce Justin Nathan Aaron Bozzo in mati Lisa Marie Brajkovic. Iskrene cestitke star-šema ob krstu drugega otroka. Naj ju spremlja božji blagoslov in priprošnja nebeške matere Marije. SVETE MAŠE - MASSES PONEDELJEK - MONDAY 17. JUNIJ Albert, duhovnik † Ana Marija Vogrinc 7:00 P.M. Jožica Novak z družino TOREK - TUESDAY 18. JUNIJ Marko in Marcelijan, muc. † Kristina Vogrinec 7:00 P.M. Terezija Donko SREDA - WEDNESDAY 19. JUNIJ Nazarij, škof † † Francka Cestnik Ana Leben 7:00 P.M. Terezija in Ignac Sarjaš fan in Terezija Vincec z družino CETRTEK - THURSDAY 20. JUNIJ Silverij, papež † Francka Cestnik 7:00 P.M. Jožica Novak PETEK - FRIDAY 21. JUNIJ Alojzij, redovnik †† † †† Amalija in Franc Šuštaršic Zofija Konjevic Joe in Martin Tompa 7:00 P.M. Bernadine in Martin Mujdrica & Marija Korošec z družino Ana Plosinjak Agica Doma SOBOTA - SATURDAY 22. JUNIJ Tomaž More in Janez Fisher, mucenca Pavlin, škof †† † †† †† † † †† †† †† Pokojni iz naših društev Frank Gimpelj Pok. iz družine Bucek Frank, Veronika in Matija Curic Francka Cestnik Marija Horvat Pokojni farani Pokojni starši Erzar Pokojni starši Zagorc 11:00 A.M. 5:30 P.M. Slovenski dan - Lipa Park Mama z družino Marija Hocevar Olga Hanc z družino Marija Korošec z družino Ana Vucko (Montreal) Marija Korošec z družino Sin Franc z družino Hci Jožica Erzar z družino 12. NEDELJA MED LETOM 23. JUNIJ 12TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Jožef Cafasso, duh. Atanazij, muc. †† †† † † † † Za žive in rajne župljane Poko. Iz družine Potokar Ignac (obl.) in Olga Prša Frida Babic Angela Papic, obl. Steve Sajder, obl. Ermanno Lanari 9:30 A.M. 11:00 A.M. - - - - - - - Družina Groznik Družina Volcanšek John Jr. Babic Sestra Amalija Štadler z družino Family Sajder Wife