Dear Friends,

Veterans Day is coming up in a week! For over 100 years, we have remembered those who served our country in uniform on 11 November – first as Armistice Day, and then, since 1954 as Veterans Day. A few years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs broadened that tradition of observance and appreciation to include both Veterans and Military Families for the entire month of November. Besides the annual rituals of remembering them with wreaths and visits to their tombs, many organizations celebrate this upcoming weekend honoring the veterans in various ways. Many popular restaurants and other retailers across the nation are giving them free meals, discounts, and other freebies Veterans Day. Some parishes plan to pray the Patriotic Rosary on Veterans Day.

In the context of yet another tragic mass shooting a week ago – this time in Lewiston, Maine – peace and prosperity in our nation is a matter of grave concern and consideration. Every solution that has been proposed will not make our nation safe and secure unless we give priority to spirituality and family life. The profiles of most shooters reveal emotional and mental issues arising from dysfunctional families and mental health. That’s all the more reason for us to listen to what our Church has been at pains to promote. These words of Pope Francis, delivered at various events, are worth remembering and practicing:

–          “The family is the foundation of co-existence and a remedy against social fragmentation.” 

–          “Every threat to the family is a threat to society itself. The future of humanity, as Saint John Paul II often said, passes through the family. So protect your families! Protect your families! See in them your country’s greatest treasure and nourish them always by prayer and the grace of the sacraments.”

–          “We need simplicity to pray as a family; it is very beautiful and a source of great strength!  And also praying for one another! The husband for his wife, the wife for her husband, both together for their children, the children for their grandparents….praying for each other.  This is what it means to pray in the family and it is what makes the family strong: daily prayer.”

–          “Living together is an art, a patient, beautiful, fascinating journey. This journey of every day has a few rules that can be summed up in three phrases which I have already repeated many times to families, and which you have already learned to use among yourselves: May I? Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

Let us speak about these to our family and thus help every member of our family connect with God and with one another.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

This week is important for us for various reasons. Tuesday is Halloween. Wednesday is All Saints Feast. Thursday is All Souls Day. And Friday is First Friday with our Holy Hour and Sacred Heart devotion.. First in this list is Halloween which some consider as a negative holiday, because it’s been turned into a commercial driven candy fest, which obviously isn’t healthy for our children (or for us parents who raid the candy bag!). Some others oppose it for religious reasons, saying that it opens children to evil and is too frightening – although many church parking lots are used for “trunk or treat” for safety reasons! I think it is good to have some perspective that will help us look at it objectively. It was in the year 835, that Pope Gregory IV designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day (the term hallow means holy referring to saints). The night before was known as All Hallows’ Evening from which the term Halloween came. 

Many festivals worldwide celebrate a time when the dead return to mingle with the living. The Hindus call it a night of Holi. The Iroquois Native Americans celebrate a feast of the dead every 12 years, when all those who have died during the preceding 12 years are honored with prayers. A national holiday in Mexico, the Day of the Dead, begins on November 2 and lasts several days. In this gruesome festival, death becomes a kind of neighborly figure, appearing on candy, jewelry, toys, bread, cakes, and so on. This is the time when the souls of the dead are thought to return and when the living are to honor them. For example, doors are decorated with flowers to welcome the angelitos, the souls of dead children.

For us Catholics, Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day and the whole of November are opportunities with two goals: first. to really think about, cherish and remember our loved ones who are departed from the earth; and second, to reflect on our own mortality and the meaning of death as a gateway to the next world. That’s why this Thursday evening at 5pm we will have a special Mass to remember our departed ones. Bringing their photos to church will help us remember them as a community. The lit candles will remind us of their life in the light of Christ who rose from the dead. Offering prayers help us to thank God for the blessing of their lives in which we too shared.

All these will also remind us about the reality of death – a topic we rather not think about! This season of Fall offers us a pageantry for our senses with the vibrantly colored leaves but the falling leaves remind us of the completion of the cycle of life – a living metaphor for death that will happen to all of us. Bible often calls it with a very pleasant term ‘sleep’ and even Jesus used that term regarding his friend Lazarus who actually had died. See John 11:11-14. St. Paul spoke about those who are alive and those who are asleep (referring to the dead) in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. Yes we don’t need to be afraid of death because Jesus conquered death through his resurrection. It is a guarantee for us to think of death as a passage to the life of eternity, to join the “communion of saints” a doctrine that reminds us of rejoining with our dear departed ones who are with God.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Today is World Mission Sunday. It is our chance to show love and solidarity to our brothers and sisters overseas who share our faith. In offering our prayers and donations, we join with missionaries everywhere in communion and compassion to support them in spreading the Good News. Pope Francis has a beautiful message for this occasion. Let me quote just two paragraphs:

For this year’s World Mission Sunday, I have chosen a theme inspired by the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (cf. 24:13-35): “Hearts on fire, feet on the move”. Those two disciples were confused and dismayed, but their encounter with Christ in the word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out again towards Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen. In the Gospel account, we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes were opened as they recognized him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way. By meditating on these three images, which reflect the journey of all missionary disciples, we can renew our zeal for evangelization in today’s world.

The image of “feet setting out” reminds us once more of the perennial validity of the missio ad gentes, the mission entrusted to the Church by the risen Lord to evangelize all individuals and peoples, even to the ends of the earth. Today more than ever, our human family, wounded by so many situations of injustice, so many divisions and wars, is in need of the Good News of peace and salvation in Christ. I take this opportunity to reiterate that “everyone has the right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to announce it without excluding anyone, not as one who imposes a new obligation, but as one who shares a joy, signals a beautiful horizon, offers a desirable banquet” (Evangelii Gaudium, 14). Missionary conversion remains the principal goal that we must set for ourselves as individuals and as a community, because “missionary outreach is paradigmatic for all the Church’s activity” (ibid., 15). (It is very easy to google and read the full message of the Pope).

I myself had many beautiful experiences as a missionary priest in the Diocese of Kohima in the north-eastern Indian state of Nagaland, prior to my coming to the USA. Being one with the simple folks in their own struggles gave me so much contentment. Living with minimum conveniences in the mission lands (no regular power, no heating during winter, no running water, etc.), I was happy to join other missionary priests, nuns, catechists, and parish leaders to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who were eager to know the truth of the Catholic Church. I’m sure our Fr. Lancelot also will have many beautiful missionary experiences to share with us.

How wonderful that we have missionaries coming from different countries to St. Matthias to make the Mission Appeal (as part of the Missionary Cooperation Plan of our Diocese) each year. We have been very generous in our financial support of the Missions. Let us do the same on this World Mission Sunday. In a world where so much divides us, let us rejoice in our unity as missionaries through our Baptism, as it offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,111 mission dioceses.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT: We are all following the conflict between Israel and Palestine that has become a war after the massive surprise attack by Hamas resulting in the death of over 900 Israelis. While the world leaders have condemned such a terrorist attack, the retaliation is bringing more deaths. Pope Francis has begged both sides to “please stop the attacks and weapons and understand that terrorism and war do not lead to any solution, but only to the death and suffering of many innocent people. War is a defeat, every war is always a defeat.” He asked the faithful to join him in praying for peace in Israel and Palestine. We do pray for peace while the world leaders look for a political solution through dialog.

SYNOD ON SYNODALITY: It is this dialog that can make the present Synod on Synodality in Rome a success. Pope Francis opened the Synod’s three-week assembly with a call to remember that the Church exists to bring Jesus to the world and should face today’s challenges with a gaze fixed on God rather than “political calculations or ideological battles.” Francis repeated that the synod is not “a political gathering” or a “polarized parliament” but “a place of grace and communion.” And yet there is much polarization on many issues that will be discussed by the delegates in this Synod of Bishops, which for the first time includes laymen and women as full voting members. We accompany them with our prayers for the Spirit of God to guide them.

SPIRITUAL TECH CONNECT: Some of you have asked me about the progress of the live streaming/media upgrade plan in our church. At the beginning of this month, you may have read an update about it in the bulletin. It was published as part of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) decision to have more communication with our parishioners. Remember the ‘Spiritual Tech Connect’ campaign? We had launched it two years ago for the Giving Tuesday to purchase and install permanent tech equipment in our church building to spiritually connect with our community. That would give us the capability to project videos and images on large monitors that can be seen easily by everyone in church and by those watching online.

I am grateful to our Tech Committee (past and present members: Msgr Joe Curry, Peter Kostik, Barry Dusault, MaryBeth Oria, Elena Malinconico, Kathy Rezac, Andy Fuentes, Ana Kelly) who worked in the initial planning of this project. Later, two of our parishioners, Jeff Beck and Joe Mancuso, have been working with me on researching on the practical aspects of this project, meeting with different vendors to investigate, explore, compare and finalize what is best for our church.  After countless hours of research, we have identified the technology we need to upgrade our church projection system. It includes a new contrast-enhancing 150” diagonal screen and an 8500 lumen projector to ensure a bright image.  The screen will be placed on the crucifix wall behind the choir for maximum visibility, so we will be moving the crucifix higher on the wall (with proper consultation with our diocesan experts) to make space for it. As with any project, there has been delays in implementing this project too. Thanks to so many of you who graciously contributed to this Spiritual Tech Connect project, we all can be happy that we are in the last leg of seeing this project happen, and so we can look forward to enhancing our worship experience with this tech upgrade in the near future.

Your brother in Christ.

Fr. Abraham Orapankal