Interested in the Catholic faith?

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RCIAWould like to join the Catholic Church?
Then register for this year’s R.C.I.A. program!
Starting Tuesday evening, September 12, 2017 from 7:15 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. in the Parish Centre. The R.C.I.A. program here at St. Peter’s invites all non-Catholics who are interested in learning about our Catholic faith.  The program will meet weekly on Tuesday evening at 7:15 p.m.  The participants in the R.C.I.A. program are called Catechumens, or Candidates.  A Catechumen is one who has never been baptized and is considering becoming a Catholic. A Candidate is someone who has been previously baptized in a Christian denomination other than Catholic. Please pray for the success of this year’s R.C.I.A. program.  Please call to register with Fr. Michael at 416-534-4219.

Society of Sharing: Inner-City Volunteers

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A ShareLife member agency, is currently seeking volunteers for various positions, including friendly visitors, social group facilitators and medical/shopping escorts.  You can make a difference in the life of a senior, or an adult with a physical disability, who is isolated and living in downtown Toronto. For more information, please contact their Recruitment & Training Specialist at 416-413-0380 or donnett@societyofsharing.org; or by visiting their website at www.societyofsharing.org.

A Saint is a Sinner who Keeps Trying

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saint sinner1Last week after Father Seamus preached his homily on the parable of the sower and the weeds, I said to him, “you could have summarized your homily by saying: “God is determined to do everything to get us into Heaven. The Devil is determined to do everything to get us into Hell.’” When I said that, Father Seamus said that while that was correct, life was never that simple. In fact life is always much more complicated. Life is full of times and instances when we never know what is right and what is wrong. We can find ourselves having to decide between two bad choices or two things that we would never have selected on our own.  There are times when we doubt that we have the strength to do what is right and other times when the cost of doing what is right can seem just far too high for us to pay in the normal events of our lives. Continue reading →

Please Welcome Fr. Kim D’Souza

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From July 31 to August 14, Fr. Michael will be away on vacation. During that time, Fr. Kim D’Souza, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toronto, who is presently doing doctoral studies in theology in Rome, will be looking after the parish. Please welcome him. Fr. D’Souza will be celebrating all of the parish Masses, funerals and available for emergencies. For any other enquires related to baptism and marriage, please wait to speak with Fr. Michael after August 15th.

We pray for our Deceased

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angel-cross

Catholic Cemeteries & Funeral Services – Archdiocese of Toronto wishes to invite all families within the Archdiocese of Toronto to participate in the Annual Mass for the Faithful Departed on Wednesday August 16, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

Cemetery locations and Celebrants for this year’s Annual Mass are as follows:

Cemetery Celebrant
Assumption, Mississauga Most Rev. John A. Boissonneau
Christ the King, Markham Most Rev. Vincent Nguyen
Holy Cross, Thornhill His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins
Mount Hope, Toronto Rev. Monsignor Robert Nusca
Queen of Heaven, Woodbridge Most Reverend Robert Kasun
Resurrection, Whitby Rev. Monsignor John Pilkauskas
St. Mary’s, Barrie Most Rev. Wayne Kirkpatrick

All are Welcome!

In the event of rain:
Mass will be held in the mausoleum at Assumption, Holy Cross, Resurrection and Queen of Heaven Cemeteries,  Christ the King Cemetery will celebrate Mass on site in the Reception Centre.  Mount Hope Cemetery to St. Monica’s Parish, 44 Broadway Avenue, Toronto.  St. Mary’s Cemetery to St. Mary’s Parish, 65 Amelia Street, Barrie.

Welcome to the Totus Tuus Missionaries

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Totus-TuusThis week our parish will be hosting four young adults who will be working at the parish’s Totus Tuus summer camp. Throughout the summer they are travelling to different parishes as missionaries. This week the parish welcomes them and holds them in our prayers.

Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons and Families Considering or Opting for Death by Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia

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hi-bc-110802-euthanasia-pictureDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Our faith teaches us that all human life is a sacred gift that we receive from God and that God alone is to decide the beginning and the end of our life. For that reason, both the Scriptures and the Church have always taught that it is a grave sin to take a human life; either the life of another or our own.

While life is indeed a gift from God, there are many challenges and difficulties that we all encounter in life. It was to save us from these difficulties, and the sinful choices that they can cause us to make, that Christ came into the world. Confronted by the trials of life, and the suffering these can bring, Jesus speaks these comforting words to us:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). It is not for nothing that this passage is used as one of the series of scripture passages for the celebration of the Sacrament of the Sick. Jesus has come to help us to do the Father’s will in our difficult and challenging situations in life. To show us how this is to be done, Jesus Himself took up His cross and was obedient to the will of God the Father. Jesus, the way, the truth and the life has given us the example by which we are to embrace God’s will for us, ask His grace to strengthen us, and follow His example in the words of the perfect prayer, the “Our Father.” In this prayer we ask for the strength to do God’s will for us each day of our lives. Continue reading →