Author: Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

How nice that we have many important celebrations today!

FIRST, Mother’s Day! A very happy Mother’s Day to all mothers! It is said that every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the Promised Land. She prepares others to enter a world she will not see. Today we thank our mothers, pray for them and honor them by celebrating Mother’s Day and by offering our mothers on the altar of God. Please read the reflections, anecdotes and stories in this bulletin that is dedicated to all Mothers.

Let us keep in mind that Mary is the Mother par excellence. We are in May, the month of Mary. Our School children will be doing the traditional May Crowning of Mary this month – a reminder that she is a mother to all of us. Through Mary, the work of Motherhood is glorified and sanctified. On this Mother’s Day, presenting all mothers on the altar, let us sing the beautiful song we sing on the Feast of the Presentation, “Gentle woman, peaceful dove, teach us wisdom, teach us love.”

SECOND, Feast of St. Matthias, our parish patron. The very first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles describes the first thing that the apostles did after the Ascension of Jesus: finding a replacement for Judas. One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, and Peter proposed two conditions to make the choice: “…. one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, …. and a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22) There were two nominations. They cast lots and the lot fell for Matthias. As our patron, St. Matthias invites us to live as he lived with Jesus and to witness to the Resurrection. Happy Feast to all of us!

THIRD, Conclusion of our 60th Anniversary Year. We inaugurated it last year on the feast of St. Matthias. Anne Marie Francis and Jeff Hentz as co-chairs led the 60th Anniversary Committee, with the help of Dee Christmas, Pat Cullen, Joanne Diana, Gondee Tibay, Mary Frances Chavez, Emily Chavez, Sue Lenczewski, and Msgr. Seamus Brennan. We saw a number of memorable activities and events: Anniversary Mass with Bishop and past Ministers, parish picnic, Music Ministry Concert, Parish Cookbook, Honoring the pioneers, and a concrete plan to renovate our church building. All these made our Anniversary year very colorful and memorable.

All these celebrations remind us that we are a jubilant people moving forward on the path of holiness, bringing about the Kingdom of peace, justice, equality, and fellowship as Jesus envisaged. We are His ministers for this purpose. We have an amazingly large number of ministries to further the mission of Jesus. Next weekend you will find a number of these ministries at our Ministry Fair. May more of our parishioners be inspired to join these ministries and fulfill the dream God has for us as the wonderful community of St. Matthias.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

 

Dear Friends,

You must have noticed the sound of Hand bells (Sanctus bells) during the Mass. We began to use bells this year from the Easter Vigil Mass onwards. At our last Parish Pastoral Council, there was an overwhelming appreciation for introducing the bells. Many of you told me of your joy at hearing the bells, evoking childhood memories. One parishioner asked me about the significance of bells. Another wanted to know why some parishes use bells and some don’t. I had been planning to explain these at the earliest chance which is happening in this column.

The ringing of bells during the consecration has a long history in the church, beginning about the 13th century. In those days, churches were large, the priest faced the altar. and Mass was offered in Latin, a language most ordinary folks did not know. Still they came faithfully to church to pray and so they would recite the rosary and novena prayers to different saints during the Mass. The church realized the need for directing the attention of the congregation to the altar at least during those important moments of the Mass. Thus bells were introduced to be rung primarily before the gospel proclamation, during the elevation of the Host, the elevation of the chalice and before receiving Holy Communion.

However, the Second Vatican Council decided to have the Mass offered in the vernacular, in the language of the people, so that all can understand the prayers. According to the Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Church earnestly desires that all the faithful be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations. Such participation by the Christian people as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pt 2:9; see 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism. This made the bells redundant as everyone was called to participate attentively in the Holy Eucharist. Hence many churches discontinued the use of bells. But people missed the bells, because we humans are slaves of habit.

Does that mean bells are prohibited by the church? No. Here’s what the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says: “A little before the consecration, if appropriate, a minister rings a small bell as a signal to the faithful. The minister also rings the small bell at each elevation by the priest, according to local custom” (No. 150). Besides, it is biblical. The Old Testament mentions the use of bells on four occasions: Exodus 28:33-35, 39: 25-26; Ecclesiasticus 45:9, and Zechariah 14:20; Psalm 98:4; Psalm 150: 5-6.

From my Indian background, it may interest us to know the meaning of bells in a Hindu temple. When a devotee enters the Hindu temple, he or she rings a bell. The devotee is saying to the god or goddess of that temple: “Lord, I am here, please give me your ear.”

We have to understand that as human beings, we are distracted during Mass, and so bells can help us concentrate, by bringing our attention to the most important moment of the Mass. Bells also add reverence and solemnity to the Eucharistic celebration. May the introduction of bells help us to be more attentive in the sacred Liturgy.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

 

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

 

 

Dear Friends,

Easter Blessings to you and your dear ones!

Father Basil Pennington, a Catholic monk, has written about an encounter he once had with a teacher of Zen. Pennington was at a retreat. As part of the retreat, each person met privately with this Zen teacher. Pennington says that at his meeting the Zen teacher sat there before him smiling from ear to ear and rocking gleefully back and forth. Finally, the teacher said: “I like Christianity. But I would not like Christianity without the Resurrection. I want to see your resurrection!” Pennington notes that, “With his directness, the teacher was saying what everyone else implicitly says to Christians: You are a Christian. You are risen with Christ. Show me (what this means for you in your life) and I will believe.”

We observed the penitential season of Holy Lent; we participated faithfully in all the liturgical services of Holy Week. Today as we cap it all with the celebration of Easter, we ask ourselves this question: Does Easter impact how we live? Are we truly excited about our faith in the resurrection of Jesus who has the capacity to transform our lives with his grace?

The early Christians celebrated Easter with a tremendous sense of excitement. Throughout the entire Easter Season, the Angelus prayer is replaced by the joyous Regina Coeli, which begins, “Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia.” Unfortunately, for many Christians today, it is no longer obvious why Easter should be welcomed with such joy. Despite egg hunts and spring-themed decorations, Easter is treated as a second-class holiday, lacking the cheery traditions of Christmas and Thanksgiving (as well as their commercial importance).

Yes, the words of St. Augustine uttered 1500 years ago, repeated by St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, must be made our own: “We are truly an Easter People, and Halleluiah is our song!”

Happy Easter!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal