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Check Calendar for Meetings and Events
Parish News & Events
For Upcoming Events in Parish, go also to latest Bulletin on Bulletins & Homilies page.
For Ministry Meetings, go to our electronic Calendar. For Archived News, click here
Latest News
♦ Online Parish Registration problem
Any parishioner who registered online after Nov. 21st is asked to contact Helen at the parish office (416-489-1540). It was discovered recently that the online registration was not working properly, so the registration form may not have reached Helen. It has been fixed and is working now.
♦ Refurbishment of Church is continuing
Another phase started on Jan. 23rd with the removal of the last pew to provide more space to move at the back. Also the removal of the carpets started in the centre and side aisles and in front of the Eucharist and in the baptism font area.
Mouse over picture for caption. Click picture for enlarged view & click "close" to return to same page
♦ New Calendar of Events and Meetings
A new and better Calendar has been recently introduced. It’s quite obvious how to use it:
- the Event and Start/End times are shown on the day itself
- when you mouse over the Event, it will give additional info - Time and Description (location of event)
- when you click on the event (“View this event”), it will display the complete info in one place but no additional info
- Use browser’s Back Arrow to go back to Calendar.
The different types of events/meetings have been colour-coded to make it easier to identify:
- blue = Ministry Meetings
- red = Sacramental Preparation Meetings (first communion, confirmation, etc)
- brown = Parish Events
- green - Beyond-the-parish Events
♦ DONATE NOW Online– Support Your Church (Toronto East region)
The Archdiocese of Toronto is pleased to announce that you can now support your parish or favourite charity of the Archdiocese by making a gift over the Internet using your credit card.
On December 1, 2011, a new button was made accessible on the Archdiocesan website www.archtoronto.org. Clicking the button “DONATE NOW” will take you to a page where you can make a gift using your credit card. Some of the options include (OLPH parish is in "Toronto East" in the Archdiocesan regional designation):
- Your Parish (for offertory, building fund or capital campaign)
- ShareLife
- St. Michael’s Choir School
- St. Augustine’s Seminary
- Tribute (in Memoriam & Living Gifts)
- Archdiocese of Toronto
- Sunday Television Mass
- Humanitarian Relief (coming January 1, 2012)
upcoming Events
♦ Next Baptism Preparation - March 19, 2012 (Mon), 7:30 - 8:30 pm in the Library
- The actual dates of upcoming Baptism are: Sun. Feb. 28 at 9:30 am and Sun. March 25 at 11 am.
- All parents wanting to have their child baptized in the upcoming months must have an interview with Karen Corcoran, Lay Pastoral Associate before each Baptism Preparation Session. Please note that the Baptism Date must be confirmed with Karen before you make arrangements for family and friends to attend. Monthly Baptisms are on a first come first served basis.
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♦ ASH WEDNESDAY – February 22
9:30 am - School Mass
12:10 pm - Noon Mass
7:00 pm - Evening Mass
Archived Parish News (2008-2011)
2011
- FAQ’s (Frequently asked Questions) – useful for quick info about the Roman Missal - www.archtoronto.org/romanmissal/faq.htm
- Home (top menu):
- Preamble (on Homepage itself)
- Background
- Timeline of Contemporary Developments (historical development since 1962)
- GIRM & Order of Mass (GIRM = General Instruction for Roman Missal)
- Order of Mass - it’s comprehensive and long (75 pages and may take time to download PDF file)
- Excerpts from the Order of Mass (12 pages)
- The Eucharist (Mass) – A Guide – this is - a useful item
- FAQ’s (Frequently asked Questions) – useful for quick info about the Roman Missal - www.archtoronto.org/romanmissal/faq.htm
- Fr. Jim Hannah - 37 years
- Fr. Guenter Petricek - 15 years
- Fr. Dan Donovan - 49 years
- March 6 — Pictures from Pancake Breakfast on March 6
- February 12 — Update on OLPH's Craft Circle
We meet on the first Friday of each Month at OLPH. We do crocheting, knitting, sewing, jewellery making and other crafts. We have a pre-Christmas Sale and we also donate items to charity. You are welcome to join us for social chat & coffee. Donations of any wools or fabrics are welcome. We would also appreciate receiving crafts made at home at your own convenience. To contact us, leave your number at the church office, 416-489-1540.
See some pictures of the group from Nov. 26th in the Archived News section, further down on this web page. - January 30 — Two Baby Baptism at the 9:30 mass
- January 20 — Update of Ecumenical 2010 Christmas Food Drive
The Saint Vincent de Paul Society, as lead organizer and one of the recipient agencies, advises that the final total was 31,000 items (30,000 in 2009). This is an additional 13,000 subsequent to the residential drive in late November and is largely the result of the partnership with the two area Sobeys which held in-store drives on our behalf as well as bulk discount purchases from cash donations plus one-time special collections. Thank you for your caring and generosity for those needy members of our community. Update was submitted by Brian Kearney, chairperson of Canned Goods Drive Campaign - brian.kearney@sympatico.ca
- January 18 — Fr. Jim reads gospel at Sgt. Ryan Russell's funeral
As chaplain for Toronto Police Divison 53, Fr. Jim was invited to read the second reading (gospel) at Sgt. Russell's very large funeral at the Metro Convention Centre. A few pictures taken from the telecast are shown below. The complete video of the 2-hr ceremony can be viewed at www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Featured_Videos/1555003082/ID=1750519643. This is under "Police officer's Funeral" under "Featured Videos" on the Homepage of CBC News. Click on "Full Screen" icon at bottom right. The first reading was quite early in the ceremony but Fr. Jim's second reading was about 1.5 hours from the start after numerous speeches.
Read more about this event including comments by Toronto Police Service head chaplain, Rev. Walter Kelly who was conducting the funeral service in this Catholic Register's Jan. 26th article
Archived Parish News 2010
- December 5 — Pictures from Christmas Cheer Sunday
There were good turnouts after the 9:30 and 11:00 masses. The band from the 236th Scout Group from Holy Name Church entertained with Christmas carols. The draw for the winners of the Raffle Tickets took place. An amazing amount of $3,675.00 was raised for the Church Organ Fund through the sale of hundreds of raffle tickets - thanks to the hard work of secretary Helen, who also obtained the donations of the prizes. Samples shown below - many other pictures in the Photo Gallery.
- November 27 — Pictures from St. Vincent de Paul's Canned Food Drive
An army of 200+ descended on OLPH on Nov. 27th to help in this annual Christmas Food Drive - from picking up canned food in the neighbourhood, carrying them down to the Parish Hall, emptying and re-packing them in carton boxes, taking the boxes up to a waiting truck which takes them to different food banks. Some 18,000 cans were collected, excluding many more expected via Sobeys (below). Some sample pictures of the whole process were taken - please take a look at many others in the Photo Gallery of our website.
- November 26 — Craft Circle sale at SPRINT
The Craft Circle social activity at OLPH is expanding from meeting at OLPH to another location - at SPRINT (Senior People's Resources in North Toronto), located at 140 Merton St., 416-481-6411 -www.sprint-homecare.ca. Pictures were missed of their Nov. 7th sale at OLPH but some pictures from another sale at SPRINT on Nov. 26th were taken by member Margaret Boland.
- October 24 — Pictures from "Welcome New Parishioners" Sunday
Please take a look at pictures from this Sunday to introduce and welcome the new parishioners who had registered during this year. Go to Photo Gallery in Left Menu.
- May 30 — Pictures from Parish Spring BBQ
Numerous photos from this Spring BBQ, hosted by the Finance Council, are posted in the Photo Gallery (Left menu). Please take a look - you may be looking at yourself in some pictures!
- May 8 — Confirmation at OLPH
Some 25 candidates from OLPH received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Fr. Jim Hannah at the 5:00 mass on May 8th. Lay Pastoral Associate Karen Corcoran was busy again preparing them all to receive this sacrament.
- May 2 — First Communion at OLPH
A total of 57 students from OLPH School and other schools (public and non-Catholic private ones) received their First Communion at the 11:00 mass on May 2nd. Our Lay Pastoral Associate, Karen Corcoran, was busy preparing all the candidates for their big day.
- April 31 — Young Parishioner's article "A Kenyan Experience" now published
Parishioners with good memory may recall that two years ago, Jackie de Santis made an amazing trip to Kenya with the "Leaders Now" organization. Read it online in the March-April 2010 issue of the Scarboro Missions Magazine - www.scarboromissions.ca/Scarboro_missions_magazine/Issues/2010/Mar_Apr/kenyan_experience.php.
- April 17-18 — Archbishop Collins' Message on Sexual Abuse and the Church
Addressed to all archdiocesan priests and faithful, his letter was read at all parishes on April 17-18 weekend. You can hear the Archbishop in his own words on YouTube at www.archtoronto.org. Or you can read it on the Archdiocesan website - www.archtoronto.org/pdf/abuse-april10eng.pdf.
- April 3 — Baptism of Chris and Melissa on Easter Vigil
At the Easter Vigil mass at OLPH, Chris Lee and Melissa Leonituk (left picture) received three Sacraments - Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. They had been taking the RCIA course since last September, with the RCIA team led by Lay Pastoral Associate Karen Corcoran. Click on any picture to obtain an enlargement view.
- March 24 — Presentation of the Saint John's Bible at OLPH on March 24
Fr. Scott Lewis from Regis College spoke about "According to Scripture: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament". He brought three huge volumes of this Saint John's Bible to OLPH, each about 25 x 16 in. They are reproductions of the first complete edition of the Bible to be hand-scribed and hand-illuminated in over 500 years! More info at www.saintjohnsbible.org
- Feb. 1 — Haitian Earthquake Relief - donations were accepted by ShareLife (via Caritas Internationalis) for relief efforts following the Jan. 12th catastophic earthquake in Haiti. A special archdiocesan collection was also taken up at all parishes on Jan. 24-25. An ecumenical Prayer Service for the earthquake victims was held on Feb. 1st at St. Paul's Basilica with representatives from faith communities throughout the GTA including Archbishop Thomas Collins.
- Jan.24 — Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 17-24) - the main ecumenical service was held on Jan. 24th at the Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. The major Christian leaders and city-wide clergy attended with Archbishop Thomas Collins preaching at the service.
Archived Parish News - 2009
- Dec. 6 — Two new Sections "Parish Donations" and "Planned Giving" were added to our website. The first method is by Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG) or the weekly Sunday envelopes - read more. Besides these methods, there are numerous other methods to support your parish, e.g., stocks, estate, life insurance, etc. - read more.
- Oct. 18 — Special Fund-raising Campaign via PAG donations - This campaign arose out of a pledge by a generous OLPH parishioner who matched, on a one-time basis till December, the dolloar amount obtained from new Pre-Authorized Giving (PAG) donors or from increases to amounts contributed by existing PAG donors.
- July 19 — Summer Issue of The Icon Newsletter was published with interesting articles about parish activities and even about our pastor. You can still read it at the very end of the "Bulletins/Homilies" section (Left Menu)
- April 19 — Surprise Party for Fr. Jim's 35th Anniversary - The surprise was kept intact till after the 9:30 mass when he was ushered down to the parish hall. It was repeated again after the 11:00 mass but not a surprise by then. Enjoy pictures from the two parties
- March 29 - April 1 — Parish Lenten Mission - This 4-day event (7:00 - 8:15 pm each evening) helped the parish to prepare for Easter through spiritual growth and renewal. It was conducted by Fr. Steve Vasek & Sr. Jean Fitzpatrick from Buffalo, NY, supported by Mission Teams of about 25 parishioners. Audio versions of each evening are available in the Bulletins/Homilies section (Archives). See pictures from each day of the Mission
- February 16 — A Holy Hour of Prayer was held in preparation for the Parish Lenten Mission (late March). It was conducted by Fr. Steve Vasek & Sr. Jean Fitzpatrick. see some pictures from that evening
- January 25 — Stopping the e-Newsletter The Insider. Based on the results of the Jan. 11th online survey, it was decided to stop the bi-weekly publication but use it for as-needed communication, e.g. important timely matters. But much of what was in the e-Newsletter would be provided via two new sections on the website: (a) Parish News and (b) Community News (news and events beyond the parish).
- January 9 — Former OLPH pastor, Fr. Wilfred Firth, died peacefully in his 86th year. His funeral mass was held on Jan. 15th at Blessed Trinity Church which he built in the mid-1960's. Read more about Fr. Firth
Archived Parish News - 2008
- Sept. 14 — The OLPH Parish Mission Statement was issued, now shown on Homepage of this site
- Sept. 7 — OLPH parishioner and high school student Jackie de Santis had an amazing trip to Kenya in July 2008 with the "Leaders Today" program. Read about her experience with many pictures
- Sept. 7 — A new electronic Calendar of Events & Meetings added to website in a monthly or yearly format with the following colour-coded groups: (a) Events (within and beyond parish), (b) Ministry meetings (Pastoral council, RCIA, etc), (c) Sacramental preparation (Reconciliation, First Communion, etc) and (d) Baptism dates and preparation
- July 6 — A new section "Know our Faith" provides many links to various aspects of our Faith including Catholic Social Teaching. Please take a look
- February - June — Fr. Guenter Petricek gave a series of monthly talks/seminars following the Thursday 12:10 mass - including Church History, Lenten reflections, about Mary and about St. Paul (for Pauline year starting June 28, 2008)
- April 26-28 — OLPH School celebrated their 150th Anniversary - see many pictures from the numerous weekend events
- March 21 — The 15th annual Good Friday Walk had a good turnout, visiting and praying at the participating Churches-on-the-Hill. See pictures from the walk in Photo Gallery
- March 9 — A new bi-weekly e-Newsletter "The Insider" was launched by the website committee. The purpose of this newest form of parish communication is to inform parishioners by email of what's going in the parish and archdiocese and beyond.
- February 6 - March 19 — A Lenten Pilgrimage of Sacred Spaces 2008, organized by the Yorkminster Park Baptish Church and joined by the Churches-on-the-Hill. This ecumenical Pilgrimage visited six churches and one synagogue throughout the city. Read more
- November 27 — Pictures from St. Vincent de Paul's Canned Food Drive
- December 5 — Pictures from Christmas Cheer Sunday
♦ Globe & Mail article about major refurbishing of the OLPH Pipe Organ
A comprehensive 3-page writeup by Peter Power appeared in the Dec. 24th issue with numerous large photos of the pipes being overhauled and refurbished. Read full article. The online version has a 2.5 minute video of some of the renovation plus a photo essay with 18 photos.
See OLPH's own set of numerous pictures taken during this period in - The Photo Gallery
♦ Ecumenical Christmas Canned Food Drive (Nov. 26th) - now Sobeys $10 bag
The residential component saw close to 18,000 items collected, about the same as last year. In addition the Saint Vincent de Paul Society received cheques and cash totalling slightly over $4,000. A special thanks to all those who contributed and also those who volunteered.
A few pictures are posted to show the "cycle" of the entire operation - delivery of flyers the previus Saturday (Nov. 19), the picking up of canned goods, the boxing into donated beer boxes in the OLPH Parish Hall, the carrying up to the waiting vans to take to various food banks. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam for Ward 27 (Toronto Centre Rosedale) - www.toronto.ca/councillors/wong_tam1.htm dropped by to give a hand. She had apparently helped with St. Vincent de Paul in past years.
If you have not already given or may have missed the residential Drive, you can still participate by donating at the Sobeys store on St. Clair Ave. East near Avoca Ave. that has again agreed to hold a Drive via a pre-packaged bag scheme - More info in this flyer.. Simply give the appropriate amount to the cashier when checking out and the bag will be set aside for pick-up for delivery to area food banks. This Drive will continue until early January.
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♦ Monsignor BARNETT (Pastor 1953 to 1978) Recalls the 1960's Renovations
In March 1959, discussions began with Mr. Harold Rambusch of New York and Mr. Roy Orlando, a local architect. Renovations began in January 1960 and continued throughout that year. The marble steps disappeared with the extension of the sanctuary. A massive carved walnut reredos serves as a background for the main altar of Italian marble, on which is specially designed bronze tabernacle. On the reredos hangs a crucifix of olivewood, with the corpus of carved ivory. The sanctuary is carpeted and furnished in walnut with a marble communion rail. Over the centre of the sanctuary hangs the medallion of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, enamel on copper in a hand-carved wooden frame of adoring angels.
The two side altars are of marble, one decorated with a Venetian mosaic depicting Christ the King and Priest; the other with a carved lindenwood statue of St. Joseph, surrounded by carved wooden and polychromed representations of the Canadian Coat of Arms, as well as those of the ten provinces and the territories.
The Baptistry, behind heavy bronze gates, is of Verde Issorie marble with a hand-wrought bronze of John the Baptist baptizing Our Lord in the Jordan. The stations of the cross are individually carved wooden figures embellished with gold leaf. They are outstandingly beautiful.
Two lindenwood statues of St. Anne and St. Anthony are installed to decorate the front vestibule. Stained glass windows, with rock glass, feature the story of the picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The pipe organ was fully renewed in the 1950’s, and the tone brightened with new pipes in the 1970’s. In 1961 the sacristy was renovated with a massive vesting table and new stained glass windows.
Copy from 60th Anniversary pamphlet 1923-1983
.♦ More Info about using new Roman Missal - started 1st Sunday in Advent (Nov. 27)
Changes are coming to the way we celebrate Mass. Although this is mainly for English mass, it’s still useful for all of us to know about these changes. Beginning with the start of Advent (new Church year), the Mass will undergo its biggest change since Vatican II. There is a lot of useful information about this Third Edition of the Roman Missal in the Archdiocesan website - www.archtoronto.org/romanmissal/:
♦ Cleaning OLPH Icon and Refurbishing Organ & Pipes
Work on this major project started in November. The repairing of the organ and re-painting of the many pipes started in early November and will take more time. The cleaning of the Icon started on Nov. 14th and was finished during the week but Fr. Jim left it at the lower height so parishioners could see better the front and back of the Icon. Few pictures below but many more are posted in the Photo Gallery (Left Menu).
♦ Baby Baptisms at OLPH on Oct. 30th
The Sunday 9:30 mass on Oct. 30th was a busy one with the baptisms of 4 babies, including twin girls. But the 3 girls and 1 boy behaved well with no crying from any of them - kudos to Fr. Jim's good job too! The individual family pictures are very similar to the ones on Homepage but slightly different (look closely at the baby directions!)
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♦ More Info about using new Roman Missal - started 1st Sunday in Advent (Nov. 27)
Changes are coming to the way we celebrate Mass. Although this is mainly for English mass, it’s still useful for all of us to know about these changes. Beginning with the start of Advent (new Church year), the Mass will undergo its biggest change since Vatican II. There is a lot of useful information about this Third Edition of the Roman Missal in the Archdiocesan website - www.archtoronto.org/romanmissal/:
♦ OLPH Ministry Fair held on Oct. 15-16 weekend
Thanks to everyone who came to the Ministry Fair and inquired and or signed up for various ministries.
If you did not have an opportunity to come to the Fair, see the attachment in this bulletin regarding the various ministries. Fill out the sheet and indicate the ministries that you are interested in and return it to Karen, one of the priests, put it in the collection basket or drop if off at the office.
The special prize for all the participants who came to the Ministry Fair was won by Mary McGrath. A few pictures from the Fair.
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♦ Pictures of some new Registrants on June 5, 2011
The Pastoral Council had designated this Sunday to acknowledge some 80 new parishioners from last October to April inclusive. Fr. Jim blessed those who came to the 9:30 mass. Coffee and snacks were enjoyed by them and other parishioners.
♦ First Communion at OLPH - Group 1 (May 1, left pair) and Group 2 (May 8), 2011
As there was such a large number (74) receiving this sacrament, it was split into two consecutive Sundays at the 11 am mass. As in the Confirmation ceremony below, Karen Corcoran worked very hard (with numerous helpers) to organize these three events.
♦ Confirmation By Bishop McGrattan at OLPH - May 4, 2011
Pictures of Confirmation by Bishop William McGrattan, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto. (Mouse over picture for caption, click picture for enlarged view & click "close" to return)
♦ Anniversary of Ordinations to the Priesthood
During the month of May which is set for such anniversaries, please remember and pray for our clergy at OLPH for their years of service as they continue the Mission of Christ:
♦ Pictures from COTH's Good Friday Walk held on April 22
The 18th Annual Good Friday Walk, organized by the Churches-on-the-Hill (COTH), started with a decent number starting at OLPH. But it grew in the Yonge/St. Clair area as more participants joined it. The Eastern Route started at OLPH at noon, then to Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, Chist Church Deer Park Anglican Church, Calvin Prersbyterian Church/Deer Park United Church and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church (United). The Western Route started from Holy Rosary church. Some sample pictures are shown below but many other pictures are in the Photo Gallery.
♦ Pictures from COTH's Lenten Service held on March 29
The Churches on-the-Hill (COTH) held an ecumenical Lenten Service at the 143-yr old Bishop Strachan School - http://bss.on.ca. Although Fr. Jim was attending, OLPH was represented by Pastoral Associate, Karen Corcoran, who did a great job of reading the Gospel.
♦ 2010 Financial Report and 2011 Budget
The OLPH Finance Council has issued the 2010 Financial Statement and 2011 Budget plus the covering letter (inserted with the March 27th bulletin). This same information will be retained in the Parish Info/Parish Admin Section (Left menu).
♦ Pictures from Saint John's Bible presentation at OLPH on March 24th
A presentation of the Saint John's Bible was made by Fr. Gordon Rixon, sj, Dean of Regis College and a Jesuit scripture scholar. He was assisted by Jesuit seminarian, Matthew Livingston, for "turning" the pages carefully with white gloves. They brought two of the 7 volumes that were presented to Regis College a year ago - the Pentateuch (first 5 books in the Bible) and the Prophers. Fr. Rixon gave a talk entitled “Remembering Sacred Scripture: Growing in the Word”. See more pictures from that evening in the Photo Gallery
The Saint John's Bible is the first-handwritten, hand-illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey in Minnesota in over 500 years. Each volume is large, measuring 2 ft high by 3 ft wide when opened and weighing 20 lbs each. Its handwritten lettering and stunning artwork truly present the Word of God in an engaging and inspirational way. It is a truly beautiful bible that is a work of art in itself. More info about Saint John's Abbey & University can be found at www.saintjohnsbible.org
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A large turnout after both 9:30 and 11:00 masses to kick off ShareLife 2011 (see below). Sample pictures are shown below - many other pictures in the Photo Gallery. Names of young children are excluded in captions for their safety as this is on the public Internet.
