elders, the youth and c h i l d r e n sang to-gether as one fam-ily, and p r o -c l a i m e d the birth of our S a v i o u r ,
Jesus Christ. In each house we entered, we sang at least two songs, wished them a merry Christmas and a happy new year, and ended off with a prayer by Fr. John Kuriakose. Even though the cold winter weather was trying to hold us back, our parish was able to fight through it and at the same time keep our spirits up. All through the weeks our parish remained strong and energetic to be able to keep each other united together.
With the guid-ance of the Holy Spirit, our Malankara Mission made it a spiritual
This year,
St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Mission, Toronto, with God’s grace has been able to host three weeks to come together and sing Christmas carols in many dif-ferent parts of To-ronto Through prayers and practise we were able to sing our old traditional carols as well as new ones. The many houses across: Stratford, Hamilton, Mississauga, Bramp-ton, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughn, and Scarborough were visited. All our
preparation as well as an enjoyable time for singing the Christmas carols. With the presence and the prayers of our vicar, Fr. John Kuriakose this com-munity managed to visit every parishion-ers home as well as the well wishers, and heaven was surely rejoicing with us as we prepared our-selves for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.. Altogether all who were present with us for our carols had a joyful experi-ence, especially the
children as they had witnessed Santa coming to their homes and singing with them. May this joyful experience stay in our hearts for the rest of the year.
- Kevin Thomas.
MONTHLY EVENTS January 2010 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 7
hosted their annual parish night at the Precious blood church. It was a wonderful opportunity for the Sunday school children and the youth of the church, to display the God given talents to praise and exalt the name of Lord. All the programs were amazing and showed that our church is really blessed with many young talented artists. It was the fruit of the hard work and initiative taken by our catechism teachers who dedicated their time to prepare the children for the parish night through the numerous practises. The children were also dedicated and worked efficiently along with the teachers to make this program a success. At this moment, we would like to thank all our
Sunday school teachers as well as all the parents
for their valuable support. Also, we remember the
families who opened their houses and contributed
their time for the success of the parish night. Over-
efforts might not have worked out well. There are events that may have hurt us. There may be embar-rassments and humilia-tions that we want to for-get once and for all. However, a brand new year is ahead of us, with plenty of opportunities and promises. It is time for us to forget about the old and embrace the new. We can once again dream of a brighter future and set our goals higher. However, we must us tread cautiously and put in our efforts ef-fectively to make our dreams come true. Let us remember that our good God wants us to grow, prosper and to be peaceful. Hence He wants to strengthen and bless you.
Dear Friends in Christ
Jesus, we are looking for-ward to a new year, a year of prosperity, peace, achievements and so on. I wish the same to all of you. May the good Lord bless and guide you on your way in the year 2010. The passing year may not have been rosy for us due to various reasons. First of all, it was a year of eco-nomic downfall all over the world. The life of the common man has defi-nitely suffered a setback, and our performance and achievements might not be up to the mark. In our per-sonal lives we may have also suffered from bad times. Our planning and
When God’s blessings and your efforts come together there will be miracles in
your life. I wish all of you a happy new year. Fr. Daiju Kuriakose
Liturgy of the Month
Week Gospel Readings Epistles
Jan 3 John 1: 29-34
The Lamb of God
1 Jn 3:19-24
Heb 11:23-31
Jan 10 John 1:43-49
Jesus Calls Philip and
Nathanael
1Pet 3:8-17
Phil 1:12-20
Jan 17 Luke 4: 16-22
Jesus is Rejected at
Nazareth
1Pet 1:13-25
Rom 3:1-8
Jan 24 John 3: 1-15
Jesus and Nicodemus
Acts 9:1-9
1Cor 3:18-23
of their body. By this special understanding can WE be able to be a true gift to each other, to our friends and to the community. - Sebin Alexander
eventful, memorable, and prosperous year. It signifies the end of the first decade of the 21st Century – and as we step forward into 2010, it is important that we do so with a re-flective, purposeful and spiritually steadfast mind. When we take a look back on the positives and negatives of the past year on an individual level, within the Church, and on a global level; one thing is emphasized above all else – God remains omnipresent and His works readily identifiable in the various facets of our life. As we begin a new year, it is important to look back on the year that has passed and re-flect upon what we have accomplished and what we have yet to accomplish, our triumphs and failures, and our dedication towards our spiritual and individual growth. As children of Christ, we strive to lead lives that follow in God’s command-ments and that exemplify the presence of the Living Christ in each of us. Catholics around the world have been chosen to follow Christ by the example He has given us, chosen to wor-ship by the tradition and heritage of the Catholic Church and its denominations, and commune in fellowship with the rest of humankind. While we may pray, worship, receive sacra-ments and strive to ensure our individual spiritual growth, we often forget to translate this growth to our everyday life. It is said that our greatest inadequacy comes not from that which we have done, but from what we fail to do. When looking back on the year that has gone by, let us first realize what our failures, hardships, struggles, shortcomings, and difficulties have been, and realize that these are necessary in order that we may learn from them and improve ourselves. “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but pain-ful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12: 10-11). Let us then examine the growth, spiritual gifts, achievements, and positive aspects of the past year and strive to carry these into the New Year. “He has made every-thing beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from be-ginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The world and society that we live in is always changing. In order to truly live out our spiritual calling in life, we must be the change we wish to see. It is imperative that we realize it is simply not enough to fuel the Lord’s flame, which shines in each one of us, through prayer, worship, and communion, but also that we must al-low this light to shine beyond our individual selves, through our words, thoughts, and actions in fellowship with our humankind. As dusk approaches on New Year’s Eve, let us personify the dawn of a new understanding and spiritual resolution in our lives. - Daniel Philip
