DAY OF CONFESSIONS On Wednesday, December 18, we will all have the opportuni-ty to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Archdiocesan Day of Confessions. This week, let us make the journey into the heart of our relationship with God. Take a long, loving look at the ways God calls us to grow. Take this challenge and hold it in readiness for the rich blessing that is

manifest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Our schedule for confessions will be from 8:00am - 8:00pm.

ADDITIONAL RECONCILIATION TIMES

Fr. Robert & Fr. Bernard will be available to hear confessions: Tuesday, December 17th 5:00pm to 8:00pm; Thursday, December 19th 5:00pm to 8:00pm; Friday, December 20th 5:00pm to 8:00pm; Saturday December 21th 10:00am to 12noon & 2:00pm to 5:00pm.

OFFERTORY ENVELOPES 2020 boxes of Offertory Envelopes are available in the Narthex. Please ensure you pick up your own box and that your name & address is correct so that when the T4 slips for income tax pur-poses are prepared, they will be sent with the correct name & address. If your box is not there or you need to make any chang-es, or you wish to begin using envelopes fill out an Envelope Request Form and return it to the office. Please note that they are in numerical order. Please DO NOT use these envelopes until January 1, 2020.

MARRIAGE PREP COURSE

The Winter Session dates for the Marriage Preparation Course have now been set. The Course will be held for four consecutive Saturday’s February 22, 29, March 7 & 14 from 12:30am-5:00pm. $200.00 per couple. To sign up please contact the parish office.

CHRISTMAS POSTER CONTEST

The Knights of Columbus are hosting a Children’s Christmas Poster Contest. The theme is, “Keep Christ In Christmas”. The age groups are 5 - 14 years. The due date of submission is Dec. 21/22. Kindly pick up a form from the Knights in the narthex for all the details and rules of the contest.

SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION 2019-2020

If you missed the information sessions and are interested in receiving the Sacraments of First Reconciliation/Communion or Confirmation please call the office for more information. All forms are available at the parish office or download available at https://stmargueritedyouville.archtoronto.org/ If you have any questions or concerns regarding these Sacraments email: dyouville-parish@gmail.com or call 905-792-7497.

WELCOME THE NEW YEAR IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD

You are invited to come participate in Adoring and Worshiping our Lord in His Eucharistic Presence to herald in the New Year! Be blessed as you unite your heart to His glorious presence at the dawn-ing of a New Year. Be renewed, refreshed and strengthened by this experience as you look forward for a year filled with the peace and

joy that He alone brings. O come let us Adore Him! Tuesday, December 31st start-ing at 10:00 pm - 2:00 am. Hosted by the SMDY Alpha Ministries.

SINULOG FESTIVAL

On Sunday, January 19, following the 12:30 pm. mass, we invite you to join us in celebrating a taste of the Philippines. During these cold days of January, come warm up with us and learn and partici-pate in knowing how the country of the Philippines became Catho-lic - otherwise known as the Santo Nino/Sinulog Festival. Rooted in the 16th century encounter between Portuguese/Spanish explor-ers and their landing on the of Island of Cebu, this feast highlights all the faith, vibrancy, joy that marks the legacy and fruits of that first civilization exchange. Tickets of $10 for adults and children, only 50 tickets are left so get them while they are available. For further questions, come and see us in the Narthex.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2019 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

MON, DEC 16

9:15 am

Daniel Cabral Andrade †;

Michelina Fanelli †

7:00 pm Silvestro & Rosa DeLellis †;

Pasquale & Chiara Santarelli †

TUES, DEC 17

7:00 pm

Daniel Cabral Andrade †;

Elba & Blas Encalada †

WED, DEC 18

9:15 am

Domenic Maida †;

Daniel Cabral Andrade †;

Lawrence Fernandes †

7:00 pm

THUR, DEC 19

7:00 pm

Daniel Cabral Andrade †

FRI, DEC 20

9:15 am

Daniel Cabral Andrade †;

Angela & Rocco Ruso †

7:00 pm In Thanksgiving - Maria Dina Cro

SAT, DEC 21

9:15 am

Daniel Cabral Andrade †

5:00 pm Armando Dematos †;

Boyd Esty †;

For the intentions of Maikel &

Iskandara Michriky

SUN, DEC 22

9:00 am

Daniel Cabral Andrade †

10:30 am In Thanksgiving - St. Jude & St. Antho-

ny

12:30 pm For the People of the Parish

8:00 pm

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church's enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our faith. In the light of all this approval from Sacred Scripture, let me ask my listeners once more: “Has anybody the right to criticize us even if we seem to be beside ourselves with joy to-day over the birthday of our King?” If the princes and rulers of this world are privileged to make merry over the sons of their flesh, what a mountain of reasons we have for exulting over the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior! Christmas Day is nothing if not a day of universal joy. Children should rejoice because on this day God Himself became as one of them; vir-gins, because a Virgin brought forth and remained unstained even after giv-ing birth; wives, because one of their number became the Mother of God; sinners, because their Mediator and Savior and Healer has come to redeem them; the just, because their Reward exceeding great has been born into the world. In fine, all faithful Christians should rejoice that their Creator and Lord has taken on human flesh and begun His reign over the hearts of men, not only as God, but also as the Son of Man among the children of men. St. Peter Canisius, (1521-1597), Priest and Doctor of the Church; Feast Day, Dec 21.

Born during the turbulent times of the Protestant Reformation, especially given his Dutch background, the young Peter was thrust into confronting the divisions of his day. Influenced early by the young Jesuit community, Peter’s academic abilities, boundless zeal and energy, and sincere pastoral love for his fellow Northern Europe-ans fueled his life work. Determined to reconcile differences between Protestant and Catholics through sound education and preaching and compassionate service, this lesser known Saint made a huge contribution in implementing the directives of the Council of Trent. Expanding his outreach to the people of Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and his native Netherlands, St. Peter Canisius strove to win over minds and hearts through a compelling presentation of Jesus Christ and establishing schools to continue the work he introduced. While easily overlooked during these days leading up to Christmas, the cited quotes offer a taste and tribute to his legacy and seem as fitting for ourselves today as when they were first addressed.

Fr. Robert

“yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” - Mt. 11: 11

This has been one of the more perplexing verses I have encountered in my reflec-tions. We read in this weekend’s passage that Jesus thought highly of his cousin, so much so that he was “more than a Prophet”, and was even the matter of a prophecy as per the book of Malachi. Yet, the above verse seems very contradictory to Jesus’ own words up until then. The simplest way to comprehend the underlying message here is to remember that Jesus did not favour the concept of the rich vs. poor, the powerful vs. weak. For Him, there is power in the “least of these”. In fact, Jesus Himself is the embodiment of this radi-cal notion of the least becoming the greatest. God manifested Himself into the form of child, walked this earth by acting mercifully, eventually putting His human nature through extreme duress, only to rise from the dead, demonstrating the full glory of His divine na-ture. Through His Paschal mystery, Christ opens up our more intimate participation with the divine, specifically, the scene from the Pentecost narrative when a room full of believ-ing Christians are reborn in the Holy Spirit. Much like all the prophets before him, John, too did not witness the Messiah’s kingly majesty as He defeated death. To explain further, John the Baptist, like our own selves was alive and still on this earth. In this fallen world, we are always susceptible to sin unlike those in heaven, for we remain lower in status than those souls who are already in the Kingdom. By being born in the Spirit through our baptism, the extraordinary God dwells within our ordinary human selves but we are not perfectly purified until we join Him in His King-dom. When John sent his disciples to confirm if Jesus is indeed the Messiah, he does so because of his personal expectation of the Saviour in a more political sense of the word. Jesus, on the other hand, was healing people, casting demons, and teaching about for-giveness and mercy; a different version of the ‘knight in shining armour’ trope. Here, too, we find that He did not ascribe to man-made titles and positions; the poor one with a com-passionate and generous heart was far more wealthier than a stringent rich person. As we enter into the third Sunday of Advent, let us await in hopeful anticipation of the fulfilment of God’s promise and presence through the child Jesus.

Ann Sairah Mathew

THIS WEEK AT SMDY Monday, December 16th 10:00 am - Rosary Apostolate 7:00 pm - Catholic Women’s League

Tuesday, December 17th 6:30 pm - RCIA 7:30 pm - Knights of Columbus General Meeting 7:40 pm - Legion of Mary - Senior

Wednesday, December 18th Day of Confession 9:00 am - SMDY high school retreat 6:00 pm - Choir

Thursday, December 19th 7:30 pm - Prayer Group 7:40 pm - Choir

Friday, December 20th 10:00 am - Rosary Makers 5:50 pm - Legion of Mary

Saturday, December 21st 9:00 am - Choir 6:00 pm - Community of the Risen Lord

2020

MARGUERITE D'YOUVILLE CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S

SCHEDULE

CHRISTMAS EVE Tuesday, December 24

(Office open 9:00 am - 12:00 pm)

Nativity of our Lord Masses 5:00 pm Mass, 8:00 pm Mass,

12:00 midnight Mass 11:30pm Carols

CHRISTMAS DAY

Wednesday, December 25 (Office closed)

9:00 am Mass, 10:30 am Mass 12:30 pm Mass

December 26 - 30

Mass times as usual Regular office hours Dec 27-30

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Tuesday, December 31 (Office open 9:00 am - 12:00 pm)

Holy Mary Mother of God Masses

5:00 pm Mass 10:00 pm Praise & Worship

10:30 pm Mass 11:15 pm - 12:30 am Adoration of the

Blessed Sacrament Light Social to follow

NEW YEAR’S DAY SOLEMNITY OF

MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD Wednesday, January 1

(Office closed) 10:30 am Mass, 12:30 pm Mass

& 8:00 pm Mass

We return to regular Mass & Office schedule as of Thursday, January 2, 2020