Dear Friends,
Three weeks have passed after Easter Sunday, and I still hear so many good comments about our celebration of the Holy Week, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. For instance, here’s what a parishioner wrote to me: “Thank you for our beautiful holy week services. It was all so well-planned, the music lifted our spirits, the homilies were more affecting than any I can remember. This is not just me speaking, but this comes from comments from others who came to St. Matthias this week and were touched.”
As I reflect on our experience of this holiest week of the year, I think of the words of Psalm 133: How good it is and how pleasant where brethren dwell as one. That is the reality I enjoy with Msgr. Seamus Brennan who is such a wonderful brother priest to me and certainly someone you all have experienced as a prayerful, available and gracious priest. I am happy that we have three great deacons – John Radvanski, Russ Demkovitz and Ron Caimi – who give us invaluable assistance in prayer and service.
The beauty of our St. Matthias community is that our divine worship involves not just the ordained clergy, but all of us. Many thanks to our excellent music director Joan Seamon who continues her many years of faithful service, directing and coordinating all our musicians and choirs, including the many cantors, instrumentalists, and drummers. You have been very expressive of your appreciation with applause for their prayerful and inspiring singing. If God has given any of you the talent to sing, please put it to service to the People of God of our parish. All you need to do is to meet Joan and tell her.
The altar servers enhance our liturgies. Besides the regular altar servers that Cathy Allegro, our Altar Servers Ministry coordinator, had lined up, we were fortunate to have the help of Kelly Dillon and Joe DeLorenzo who have been veterans in this ministry for over 16 years. The Community is very appreciative of their presence and altar serving. I request the parents to encourage your sons and daughters to do altar serving at Sunday Masses.
The many readers/lectors who read the scriptures, the Eucharistic Ministers who brought communion to us all, the Mass captains setting up for each Mass, the tech-people helping with live streaming as well as projection of prayers and music are all deserving our deepest gratitude. These are some of the ministries that many more could join. Will you consider?
There are many others whose service and time are also essential for a happy experience of the Sunday Masses. Our Ushers/Ministers of Hospitality warmly welcome everyone and they carefully handle the collections and assign families to bring up the gifts to the altar. Our Sacristan Mike Lanyi, other dedicated former sacristans, volunteers, members of the Martha Ministry, and Julio Montero our maintenance head, worked hard to take care of all the sacred objects, change of banners, beautifying the environment and the worship space, coordinating with our dedicated parish staff.
Every Sunday, Msgr. Brennan and I express our gratitude to all those who help us to have a positive experience of the Eucharist. Holy Week and Easter are very special times when more is asked of all these ministers and they delivered. Thank you! How fortunate we are to be the Catholic Community of St. Matthias! May the Easter Blessings continue to be with us all.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal