Board of Directors President Peggy Rodrigues VP Programs Anthony Mangione VP Vocations Caroline Smith VP Communications Patrick Hearn VP Membership Anna Mangione Secretary Pat Rodrigues Treasurer Ambrose Lucas Trustees Norma de Lima David Smith Nuno de Lima Past President Peter Calzavara Chaplain Rev. Bob Glynn Vocare address

Newsletter Editor: Rita King, 416 621-3328

December, 2010

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Board of Trustees President Patrick Hearn VP Programs David Smith VP Vocations John Gennaro VP Communications John Plunkett VP Membership Joseph Gennaro Secretary Ann Mangione Treasurer Patrick Hearn Trustees Rose Gennaro Anthony Tolomei Maria Tolomei Caroline Smith Past President Anthony Mangione Chaplain Fr. Sean Lee Lung Vocare address 10 Hillavon Drive Etobicoke, ON M9B 2P5

Christmas Greetings from the President

Christmas 2010 It is indeed the time of Christmas Whose measure you don't want to miss Combined with the sanctity of the mass And the peace and joy of fellowship bliss Time to turn away turbulence Replace with love The givers are given freelance The takers forgiven from above. Pray that people of good-will in great number Will themselves be at peace And be active and not slumber So from anxiety will experience release We in Serra have much to be grateful We are a lay ministry devoted no less To an increase in vocations ever prayerful For our conviction God will bless

The highway of life is straight hard and long For every mile of highway comes two miles of ditch So we must be concerted and strong Full of Faith in our Lord never away to switch So now arrives the new year Complete with the unknown Hold fast even with the odd tear You will reap the seed has been sown Your Servant Patrick

Our New Episcopal Advisor

It was a lively scene on November 22nd at the regular Toronto West Club meeting when Serrans from across the city joined us to welcome Most Reverend Gary Gordon, Bishop of Whitehorse, Yukon, who is the new Episcopal Advisor to Serra Canada of Serra International. Bishop Gordon is no stranger to Serra as he was at one time Chaplain of the Vancouver Club. In his address Bishop Gordon spoke of his work in the North, his relationship with First Nations, his mission to promote priesthood, religious life and diaconate voca-tions and the need to encourage, pray for and support Catholic Missions in Canada. He told us of the isolation, the cold and the vast area to be served, about his con-cern for his priests, and his travels. He also spoke of the need in the North for teachers as well as clergy and the personal attributes required for a mission voca-tion. All present felt that Serra Canada has been blessed in its new Episcopal Advisor and were charmed with Bishop Gordon’s humour and his tremendous energy for the service of God and his people.

Father Sean Lee Lung, Club Chaplain, Associate Pastor, Nativity of Our Lord Parish On September 13th Father Sean spoke on intercessory prayer. Praying to the Lord of the Harvest for labour-ers is very important in the life of the Church. Father discussed spiritual bouquets which consist of private prayers and devotions for an individual or group, and also Masses for which an offering is made for a par-ticular intention. The Council of Trent declared the Mass to be the un-bloody but same sacrifice as that of Christ on the Cross. We come to Mass with the purpose of offering petitions. Prayers of petition go back to Abraham in the Old Testament, even to the point of praying for those who do us harm. Father pointed out that those who enter the seminary are plagued by the devil and prayers for them are particularly important. He encouraged us not to waste suffering but to offer it up as Jesus did on the Cross. Father John Bertao Pastor, St. Gregory Church On September 27th Father John spoke on the ministry of the priesthood. When he told his parents he was going to apply for the priesthood his father said the family would never be the same again. There had been no professionals in the family other than an aunt who had been a nun and a distant cousin who was a priest. They had never wanted the front seat in church. Father John found soon after ordination that his privacy was gone. Various assignments such as the TV Mass made him a public person which he found hard to accept. He gave examples of this aspect of his life. Father John spoke briefly of the Council of Priests and of their meeting in Niagara Falls last December.

Throughout his life Father John’s hero has been his Dad of whom he spoke with great admiration. He en-couraged Serrans to also become heroes to someone else. Father Francis Carpinelli Pastor, St. Leo’s Parish On October 25th Father Frank spoke on Sacraments, which are not well understood, especially by young people who don’t see what religion has to do with the rest of their lives. Sacraments are gifts which reveal God’s love. Father Frank described love as a “falling” experience. When you love you have two desires: for the beloved to be with you and to make sure the beloved lives. God feeds his children the bread of life. He gives his body in the sacrament by which you are with your be-loved. Father explained how gifts reveal the heart. God’s sacrament of life makes us live, which was the mission of Jesus’ life. Father John O’Brien, S.J. On November 8th Father O’Brien spoke on private prayer as an intimate conversation with God. He sug-gested we begin by thanking God for things big and small in our lives. We need to ask the Lord for illumi-nation to judge ourselves with honesty. In assessing ourselves we should concentrate on the good things, what we did right, and less on what we did wrong. God never stops loving us and will forgive our behav-ior. We conclude by thanking God with the hope that tomorrow will be different. This intimate way of praying takes only 10 or 15 min-utes each day. Father John said we must stop looking for the negative and changes will come into our lives.

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Speakers in Review

Visitor from Down Under

At the first club meeting of the fall season it was a pleas-ure to welcome Frank McCulloch from Melbourne, Aus-tralia, who is secretary of the Melbourne Club and also secretary of the Serra Council of Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific (SCANZSPAC). Frank was doing some travelling in Canada after attending the International Convention in Anchorage.

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25th Annual Bishop’s Altar Server Awards

Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Mississauga was filled to capacity on October 23rd when Most Reverend John Boissonneau officiated at the Awards Ceremony for the Western Pastoral Region. He was joined at the Altar by 16 priests from the area who concelebrated the Eucharist. At the conclusion of this beautiful liturgy 191 candidates from 49 parishes were presented with awards and the group from each parish was photographed with the Bishop. It was a memorable occasion for the Altar Servers, their families and the Toronto West Club. Sincere thanks to David Bain and his committee for their excellent organization of the event and to the parish and CWL members of Sts. Peter and Paul Church for their gracious hospitality.

Serra Fall Conference

The Fall Conference was held for the second year at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre from November 12th to 14th. This year’s theme, “In Appreciation of our Religious Order Communities”, was well explored by three excellent speakers: Friar Tom Purcell, OFM Conventual, Sister Maureen Baldwin, CND, and Father Leonard Altilia, S.J. Those present obtained a new understanding and appreciation of the vocation to specific religious communities. The Serra Foundation Memorial Mass was celebrated by His Excel-lency Gerard Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines. At the end of the lit-urgy Bishop Bergie installed Vince Primucci as our new District Governor and his pin was presented by Lorne Beauchamp, President of the Serra Canada Council. All past District Governors were rec-ognized including John Gennaro, John Plunkett and Frank Kennedy of the Toronto West Club. The Outstanding Serran of the Year Award was presented to Jim and Rita King. Later, at the conference banquet, Felisa and Fran Pulumbarit from the Markham-Scarborough Club and Carole Zedic-Osier from the Durham Club received District Governor Awards for work in building membership in their clubs. Congratulations to the Serra Club of Markham and Scarborough for hosting a conference which was spiritual, educational and joyful.

Vocation Seeds

This year something new has been tried in the distribution of the bulletin inserts, which are short vocation mes-sages attuned to each Sunday’s readings, to be used in parish bulletins. Rather than printing hard copies of these “Vocation Seeds” and mailing them to all parishes, they have been prepared by the Toronto West Club and e-mailed from the Chancery Office to parishes throughout the Archdiocese. It would be most useful if all Serrans would check with their parish priests to see if the Vocation Seeds have been received. At the same time encouragement should be given for their use each week to help foster a ‘culture of vocations’.

The Last Word

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Winter Calendar Dec. 13 Christmas Party—Gennaro residence Jan. 10 Club meeting Jan. 17 Board meeting Jan. 24 Club meeting Rev. Peter Shulmelda Feb. 14 Club meeting Rev. Mr. Curtis Boone Feb. 21 Board meeting Feb. 28 Club meeting March 1 Ordinandi dinner March 14 Club meeting

Prayers and Mass Intentions

Please pray for your fellow Serrans

Carl Spaziani

Raynor Track

Peter Calzavara

Ambrose Lucas

Bill and Claire Whelton

Rocco Di Gregorio, R.I.P. (Father of Luisa Biscardi, Central Club)

Wedding Anniversaries

Feb. 23 John and Mary Plunkett

Canadians attending the International Convention in Anchorage, Alaska,

Remember your daily decade of the Rosary for vocations

Appreciation

Sincere thanks to Father Philip Kennedy of Catholic Missions in Canada

who provided the club with a chalice which was first used at a regular meeting on Sept. 13, 20l0.

“God bless us every one!”

Birthdays

Dec. 24 Rose Gennaro Feb. 7 Helen Husar Dec. 27 Henry Hodowany Feb. 7 Maria Popik Jan. 2 Irene Bain Feb. 19 Maria Ceresna Jan. 24 John Holland Mar. 4 Bernard Smith Feb. 4 Florence Smith Mar. 9 Eileen Holland

Have you checked our Internet sites lately?

www.serracanada.com

www.archtoronto.org