Author: Nathalie Godet

Dear Friends,

We are very happy to welcome Rev. Lancelot McGrath this weekend to our parish community. I am grateful to our Bishop Checchio for appointing him as our Parochial Vicar to assist me in the pastoral ministry. Obviously, it means involvement with Mass and other sacramental ministry, as well as parishioner visitations, involvement with parish organizations, visitation of the sick and homebound, emergency coverage, and general presence, especially spending significant amount of time visiting the school and interacting with the students, staff, and parents. A parishioner of Nativity of Our Lord in Monroe, wrote to me his appreciation of him: “Congratulations! You are receiving a part of my heart in Father Lancelot McGrath.” Another couple emailed me this: “While at Nativity, we have had the opportunity to meet Fr. Lance McGrath. He is a beautiful priest and so in love with the Lord. His faith is contagious, which you want in a priest. If we had to describe him, it would be gentle and humble.” Great to hear such good comments. In the name of all of us, I heartily welcome Fr. McGrath to St. Matthias.

It has been very hectic for me, during July and August, to be doing all the Masses, sick calls, funerals etc., while attending to other regular matters of our parish and school. But we were fortunate to get periodic help for weekend Masses from other priests like Fr. Nick Gengaro, Fr. Tom Lanza, Fr. Jose Lim, Fr. Peter Ssekajugo, and Fr. Joseph Kabali. That certainly gave us all a rich variety of priests with their own unique styles of homilies.

With the summer officially coming to an end, we are happy to welcome back all our students, staff and faculty. Our school is already alive with staff meeting,  Back to School socials, Faculty PD and other activities. The inaugural School Mass will be on Friday, September 8^th. Thanks to the HSA team who have been doing lots of preparations for the new school year, in particular by making the playground very colorful and attractive.  Mrs. Mary Lynch, our Principal, has been working hard, directing these and other school activities. As I offer our support, I wish her and the entire School community God’s blessings.

Since Labor Day first became a federal holiday in 1894, the first Monday of September has been set apart to celebrate and value in American society the role of our workers and their work by providing, ironically and fittingly, a day off to rest and enjoy the fruits of one’s labor.  But it is also a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the deeper meaning of our work, which the language of faith provides. The creation story shows our God working six days and resting on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:11) The Catholic Church proclaims the dignity, meaning and redemptive value of all human work. In 1981 Pope John Paul II wrote an Encyclical letter entitled “On Human Work” (Laborem Exercens) which beautifully presented this Christian vision of the dignity and meaning of human work, based on the biblical teachings.

Happy Labor Day! Happy Long weekend!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Today I wish to share with you some miscellaneous items:

Outside the Church:

Sprucing up the front and sides of the church was done recently, and thank you to the many who appreciated the new look with assorted evergreen shrubs including goldthread cypress, green velvet boxwood, and blue junipers, besides assorted deer-resistant perennials including Russian sage, coreopsis, and ornamental grasses.

Inside the Church:

1) Floor cleaning: A thorough cleaning of the floor was done with the help of a new machine that we bought and so the floor looks as clean as it can be.

2) Two adoring angels on either side of the Tabernacle. These beautiful statues are cast in fiberglass and come from Italy. It is a very visible way to make the Tabernacle more noticeable as the presence of Jesus is what makes a Catholic church unique and different from other churches. Bible testifies to the role of angels in worshipping God: “Angels glorify God…. Bless the Lord O you his angels…” (Psalm 103:20). The seraphim continually praise God for his holiness (Isaiah 6:2–3), and so do the four living creatures (Revelation 4:8). Also in Isaiah chapter six, we see that angels worship not only with a sense of humility but also with a deep sense of reverence. They chanted before God’s throne (in Isaiah 6 and later on in Revelation 4), “Holy, holy, holy”. Having two adoring angels is a visible sign to evoke a sense of reverence for the Lord in the Tabernacle. Let us give due reverence to Jesus in our midst by respecting that area around the Tabernacle as a sanctuary, by bowing or genuflecting to the Lord whenever we pass the Tabernacle, and by avoiding socializing there.

Feeding on God’s Word: The Word Among Us is a respectable Catholic publication promoting evangelization and faith formation. Their monthly publication features uplifting and thought-provoking meditations based on the daily Mass readings. The September issue is on seeking to do the Father’s will, and the title is “I Must Be in My Father’s House.” Next week please pick up a copy for your personal use to feed on God’s Word each day of the month.

The commissioning of our new Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is today at the 10 a.m. Mass. The PPC has been meeting regularly to discuss and give recommendations to the pastor on matters concerning the well-being of the whole parish. PPC has a three-year rotation term of membership, with one-third retiring and one-third joining each year. Thus Anne Marie Francis, Rose Peng, and John Taylor are retiring while Sheila Tartaglia, Didi Molano, and Al Drabnis have joined as new members. Those who are continuing are Frank Rees, Marilyn Wegg, Stephan Busono, and William Isele. I am grateful to each of them for giving their time and talent to the good of our parish.

In today’s gospel, we see Peter confessing Jesus as the Messiah in response to that personal question Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?”  Whatever we do here at St. Matthias is meant to be an expression of our faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Today we are very happy to welcome Deacon Enock Berluche Sr. to our parish for the Mission Appeal, as part of the Missionary Cooperation Plan assigned from the Mission Office of our Diocese. He is a permanent deacon serving at the Parish of Sts. Philip and James in Phillipsburg in various roles: spiritual director for the Legion of Mary, moderator for the charismatic prayer group, coordinator of the Eucharistic adoration, and other pastoral apostolates. He is co-coordinator of African-American, Black and Caribbean Apostolate. He preaches Mission Appeal for Franciscans in Action and Source de Vie organizations for Haiti Missions. We warmly welcome him to our community.

This Tuesday is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary – a Holy Day of Obligation. Catholics are questioned probably more about our devotion to Mary than any other matter of our faith. Referring to the historical development of this dogma both in the East and the West, St. John Paul II has said: “The first trace of belief in the Virgin’s Assumption can be found in the apocryphal accounts entitled Transitus Mariae [Latin, “The Crossing Over of Mary”], whose origin dates to the second and third centuries. There was a long period of growing reflection on Mary’s destiny in the next world. This gradually led the faithful to believe in the glorious raising of the Mother of Jesus, in body and soul, and to the institution in the East of the liturgical feasts of the Dormition [“falling asleep”—i.e., death] and Assumption of Mary. Although the New Testament does not explicitly affirm Mary’s Assumption, it offers a basis for it because it strongly emphasized the Blessed Virgin’s perfect union with Jesus’ destiny. There are, thus, passages in Scripture that resonate with the Assumption, even though they do not spell it out.”

We need to be convinced of a couple of points about our relationship to Mary:

1. Devotion to Mary does not mean that we worship her as many non-Catholics mistakenly think. Anyone can be devoted to another person, a career, a job or place; but that doesn’t mean it becomes your god.
2. Devotion implies a loyalty and trust in a person. We respect Mary as our human model of faith and heroic living that can help us navigate our own life’s challenges.
3. Both in the gospel and in all the Marian apparitions throughout the ages, she always calls us to her son Jesus Christ. Her message essentially is: “Do whatever He tells you”(John 2:5)
4. Excessive devotional practices have led to some misperceptions about Mary and so the Church has given us guidelines for a balanced Marian devotion based on Scripture and Tradition.
5. Hence the question we can reflect on this feast of the Assumption is: what is its relevance for us today? One answer is that it gives us further validation to our hope in eternal life, a truth affirmed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ who is the Risen Lord. Therefore doing “whatever He tells us” will lead us there!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Did you notice the refurbished Stations of the Cross around our church? Those who noticed spoke of their joy and appreciation. It was a worthy project that our Knights of Columbus undertook.  Sam Fallivene, Frank Rees, Bill Isele, Dave Ryden, and Peter Kostik, with the engineering skills of Sean Smith, worked hard to repair the various stations and made them look beautiful and sturdy. I wish to thank the Knights in the name of our community of St. Matthias for volunteering to do this good work.

Speaking about volunteering, many of our parishioners do so much good in and around our church. The Statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was given a thorough wash and the area was beautified – thanks to the goodwill of Alma and Jaime Valdez. The music ministers planted flower plants that you see blooming in front of the church. The bell that you hear rung before Mass was donated by Anne Marie Francis. Enhancing our worship environment is something that parishioners Claudette Gaspard, Emile Capuno, and others are doing in collaboration with our Sacristan Mike Lanyi. Every Monday, we have one of the two teams of committed volunteers counting the Sunday collections: Annie Dupras, Margaret Varela, Nanzy Inzano, Marge Richards, Peg Joyce, John Galat, and Tom Fullerton, coordinated by Vinnie Natale. The regular live-streaming of the 10 AM Sunday Mass by Joe and Eileen Mancuso, bringing their own equipment, is another example for which they deserve our gratitude. Yanick Andre is to be commended for consistently sharing the sacristy duties for specific days of the week alternating with Deacon Ron. Last weekend you saw Pat Cullen and Jo-Ann Piagentini promoting our “Spread the Light Christmas Trees” with great enthusiasm.

The list is long and there are still many more names that could be mentioned if not for the space limit. But there are many other volunteers who work behind the scenes not receiving any applause. Those preparing the schedule for Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers and other liturgical ministers who help us all to have a smooth experience of the Holy Eucharist, dozens of ministries and committees that are actively giving of themselves for the good of our parish – all these faithful disciples of Jesus are what make our Catholic Community of St. Matthias very unique.

Like the numerous parishioners who volunteer, we all give our time off to our families and friends, to our work and duties, to school and scouts, to other institutions and good causes because of the “treasure” we have found in Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:44) – as Deacon Russ reminds us in his reflection elsewhere in this bulletin. May our hearts grow more into communion with Jesus our treasure, the “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:45-46).

With a grateful heart, praying for God’s blessings upon all of us,

Your brother in Christ

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Summer is a time for growing vegetables in your garden. Glad to hear that many of our parishioners are growing tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, beans, peppers, melons, squash, kale, carrots etc. July-August is the best time to grow these heat-loving crops. Jesus used many stories related to farm life to teach his listeners about the kingdom of God. Today’s Gospel is all about what a farmer does. Jesus takes the whole process of sowing seeds and uses it as a metaphor for sowing the Word of God in our hearts. If the seed has to yield a rich harvest, it has to grow in a soil that is tilled, fertilized and watered. So also, if the Word of God should produce good fruits in our lives, our hearts and minds should be open and prepared to receive God’s Word. Thank God that all of us, in our own way, are making efforts to welcome the Word in our hearts, and our own family garden is a very real symbol of that!

Recently I had taken some visitors to my previous parish of St. John Neumann, Califon, to show them the parish and especially the parish gardens. Both the “Project Earth Garden” and the “Gift of Good Land Community Garden” are lush with all kinds of vegetables and flowers. Many large trays of ripe strawberries, blueberries, asparagus and other produce were donated to food pantries and soup kitchens. The lettuces, celeries, varieties of squashes, tomatoes, potatoes, peas – and what not – are almost ready, for harvest. The greatness of this garden is not only because we get some good produce, but also because it creates community and fellowship. In addition, it is the way St. John’s community puts into practice the invitation of Pope Francis in his landmark document on creation, Laudato Si. Here are two paragraphs worth reflecting on from that great document:

“In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the word “creation” has a broader meaning than “nature”, for it has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has its own value and significance. Nature is usually seen as a system which can be studied, understood and controlled, whereas creation can only be understood as a gift from the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by the love which calls us together into universal communion.”

 “It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an “ecological conversion”, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus who literally walked on this earth was very much aware of creation? That’s why he spoke of the sun, rain, birds, animals, flowers, cultivation and harvesting. As we reflect today on the most notable parable of Jesus, “The Sower and the Seed” (Mt 13:1ff), we are invited to plant and nurture the seeds of our relationship with Jesus.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal