Author: Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

Today we begin Advent – our yearly pilgrimage through the events of our history of salvation starting with the preparation for the birthday celebration of Jesus and ending with the reflection on his glorious “second coming” as a judge at the end of the world. Advent means coming. We are invited to meditate on Jesus’ first coming in history as a baby in Bethlehem, his daily coming into our lives in mystery through the Sacraments, through the Bible, and through the worshipping community and finally, his Second Coming at the end of the world to reward the just and to punish the wicked. We see the traditional signs of Advent in our Church: violet vestments, violet altar linens, the Advent wreath, etc. These signs remind us that we have to prepare for the rebirth of Jesus in our hearts and lives, enabling him to radiate his love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness in and around us.

With the Thanksgiving/post-Thanksgiving rush, Advent immerses us further into the busiest season of the year. “A mad rush,” “no time,” “too many things to be done,” and “I’m not ready yet,” are some of the frequent expressions of the inability to cope with this season. In this mad rush, we lose something very precious: living and enjoying the present moment. Fr Richard Rohr, a contemporary spiritual master, writes that faith and spirituality begin with “seeing.” It is not about earning or achieving but about “paying attention”: paying attention to the presence of God in every joy and sorrow, in every pain and trauma, and in every victory and setback before us. Advent calls us to “watch,” to be “alert” to the presence of God in the love of family and friends and to find the true meaning and purpose of our lives in moments of compassion, forgiveness, and generosity.

Theologian Henri Nouwen, In A Spirituality of Waiting: Being Alert to God’s Presence in Our Lives, suggests that we focus on the ‘waiting people’ in the scriptures of this season. “If you really think about Zechariah and about Mary and about Elizabeth, you realize that they were living with a promise that nurtured them, that fed them, that made them able to stay where they are so that it could grow so that it could develop.” The waiting person, says Henri, is someone who is “very present to the moment, who believes that this moment is THE moment.”

Living in the present! Focusing on the moment! That is a tall order for most of us as our culture does not value waiting or silence.  We are constantly reminded that we need to fill our days with activity and noise, with more things than we need or can handle.  We fill our days and nights with ‘doing’ rather than ‘being.’ Hence, the challenge for us all is to slow down and be present in the moment, even while we know we need to plan and do a myriad of things.

The Advent wreath we light is not only for the Church but also for families. Many families set up an Advent wreath at home. If you don’t have one, why not get one this year and start a family tradition? This bulletin has a nice short prayer service that you can pray as a family when you light the candle each week. It will help your family to live the spirit of Advent expressed in slowing down, waiting in patience, and prayer.

Happy Advent!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

 

The Four Last Things or Five

The month of November ushers in many changes in nature and in the church. The leaves have changed to bright reds, oranges, browns and yellow. Soon all those leaves will drop and as Shakespeare said the trees will become like “Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang”. All nature seems to die or at least fall asleep.

In the church November begins with the celebration of All Saints and All Souls, reminding us of our destiny and of what has traditionally been called ‘ The Four Last Things ‘, death, judgment, heaven, and hell. And for good measure the fifth is Purgatory. The scripture readings the church gives us in this season for our liturgy have a constant reminder about these important things. There is a sense of urgency about remembering them. The 32nd and 33rd Sundays of the year especially emphasize death and resurrection. The prophet Malachi gets our attention when he writes, “Lo the day is coming blazing like an oven, when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of Hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays. ”Malachi 3:19. Death is certain for every person. We are reminded to live with this awareness.

The teaching of the church about the Last Things is spelled out clearly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On the subject of judgment, we read “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven -through a purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation. ”(CCC 1022)

Regarding heaven we read, “Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they ‘see him as he is’, face to face” (CCC 1023)

Today there are some who question whether the church still teaches about Purgatory and perhaps even some who question the existence of Hell. Here is what the Catechism teaches “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation, but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031)

The fourth Last Thing is Hell and again the Catechism does not mince words: “We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves ……to die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘Hell’. (CCC 1033)

Death, judgment, heaven and hell and purgatory are all real. The church reminds us in the liturgy during November not to become complacent. As we watch the ‘death ‘of nature all around us and end the liturgical year November 20th with the celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we hear the call to be awake and vigilant at all times so that we are always ready for the coming of the Day of the Lord and the Four Last Things.

Msgr. Brennan

Dear Friends,

This Friday, November 11, is Veterans Day – an occasion to remind ourselves of the importance to honor all those who have risked life, limb, and mind for their country because freedom isn’t free. While joining the rest of the nation in commemorating this day typically with military-themed ceremonies, we bring all of these heroes and heroines in prayer to God at all the Masses next weekend.

Last Sunday evening, we had a special Mass in memory of all those who passed away this year. We had about 75 names that were read out. A small candle was lit for each of them. Family members brought pictures of their beloved departed and you can see them on the back walls of the church. We acknowledge the sadness of their no longer being physically amongst us, and yet take hope and trust as our faith teaches. At every funeral Mass I love to use the Preface I where it says: “Indeed for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended, and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.” St. Paul warns us that we must not be ignorant concerning the dead, nor sorrowful, “even as others who have no hope … For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven … and the dead who are in Christ shall rise.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

On All Souls Day, November 2, we prayed for all the departed souls. We know that the whole month of November is traditionally a time in which the Catholic community remembers those who have died. It is related to the fact that the end of November is the end of the Liturgical Year with a new year starting the First Sunday of Advent – the four-week period of preparation before Christmas.

The mention of Christmas reminds us how fast the time passes. In the liturgical calendar the first Sunday of Advent this year is on November 27 – earlier than usual! If you find that time is moving too quickly, and you’d like to slow it down a bit, I find the only way is to follow the method that Jesus is asking us in the beatitudes. He begins each beatitude with “Blessed are you…….” and not “Blessed you will be….” I believe Jesus was very intentional in directing us to be in the present moment. Probably you have heard this saying repeated to us: “Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift that’s why we call it the present!” We have only the present moment at hand and how we deal with it will determine not only our joy and sadness but also the pace of our life. Once we live in the moment, we will be able to take one thing at a time, one day at time. No wonder Jesus included “Give us this day our daily bread” in the only prayer he taught us to pray!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal