Author: Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

Today’s Gospel has a very controversial question put to Jesus: “Will only a few be saved?” If this question is put to Jehovah’s Witnesses, they will answer that the saved will number exactly 144,000, quoting the Book of Revelation 7:4 where it records this number as those saved from the tribes of Israel. But Scripture scholars point out that the same Book of Revelation 7:9 speaks about “a great multitude of those saved, whom no one can count.” Hence mainline Christians believe that the number 144,000 is symbolic to indicate the great multitude who will be saved, not to offer a limit on the souls who will be in heaven.

While different religions claim different ways to attain heaven, what do people in general think of the relevance of religion and God? What is the connection between belief in God and morality? And how important are God and prayer in people’s lives? Pew Research Center posed these questions to 38,426 people in 34 countries in 2019.

The result is published in an article interestingly titled: The Global God Divide. Despite variances in religious observance, a median of 62% across the countries surveyed say that religion plays an important role in their lives, while 61% agree that God plays an important role in their lives and 53% say the same about prayer.

This ‘God divide’ is very visible in various regions of the world. Of all 13 countries surveyed in the European Union, Greece has the largest share of residents who tie belief in God to morality (53%), followed closely by Bulgaria (50%) and Slovakia (45%), while just 9% in Sweden, 14% in the Czech Republic and 15% in France say that it is necessary to believe in God to be moral. While 26% in Canada and 44% in the U.S. say belief in God is necessary to be moral, nearly everyone surveyed in Indonesia (96%) and in the Philippines (96%) draws a connection between belief in God and having good values. And almost eight-in-ten (79%) in India say the same.

We know that Jesus is very inclusive and welcoming even as He invites everyone to repent and believe (Mark 1:15). So we need to be reminded that we are not the only ones invited into the Kingdom of God. There are so many who have been invited! This was a truth hard to swallow for the Jews who thought in a very exclusive way. This is still hard for those Christians who think similarly. An old anonymous poem presents this Gospel truth in an unforgettable way:

“I dreamt death came the other night, and heaven’s gate swung open wide
With kindly grace an angel bright, Ushered me inside
And there, to my astonishment, Stood folks I’d judged and labeled
As quite unfit, of little worth and spiritually disabled.
Indignant words rose to my lips, But never were set free.
For every face showed stunned surprise – No one expected me!”

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

Dear Friends,

I’m almost over the jet lag after a 15-hour non-stop flight from New Delhi to Newark – not counting the nearly 3 hours of flight from my home town to New Delhi. I’m thankful to God for this first home visit I was able to make since the start of the pandemic. Though a short visit of about three weeks, it was a hectic time with visits, trips, celebrations, etc. The weather was good with slightly lower temperatures at about 90° due to the frequent monsoon rains (90 is pretty mild compared to the summer’s 100-110 degrees!!).

But the joy of being with my aging mother, as well as enjoying the company of all my siblings and their children, was worth going through any sacrifice. I had a memorial Mass at my home for my dad whose funeral and the first anniversary, as you know, I was unable to attend. Then there was the extended family get-together: Thirty-three of my cousins and their families came together for an evening of fellowship, prayer and food at my brother’s house – a monthly practice our family has kept up. I also had to preside at celebrations of First Holy Communion and baptism as well as a wedding in the family – not counting a couple of funerals (not of my family but of the parish acquaintances) that I had to attend.
All these may sound like I was not having a real vacation in the way we understand. But being with family and extended family whom I had not seen for a long time was vacation. It makes me conscious of the bonding not only with the extended families but also with the entire parish and village community where I grew up. This communitarian dimension of life is something many of our parishioners can relate to from their own various cultural roots.

I am lucky that I could be away without worrying about St. Matthias – thanks to Msgr. Seamus Brennan who oversaw the parish with the help of our wonderful parish staff. But he deserves extra gratitude for taking care of all the sacramental needs himself. As announced last Sunday, Msgr. Brennan is now in Ireland, with his family, for a well-deserved vacation and to celebrate his 50th anniversary of the Ordination to priesthood – in the very shrine church he was ordained 50 years ago.

Tomorrow (August 15) is the feast of the Assumption of Mary, which is usually a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is not this year since it is falling on a Monday. You can read more about the Holy Days of Obligation in this bulletin on page 6. But I would encourage and invite us to attend the 8 am Mass on the feast of the Assumption – if you can. Otherwise, at the end of the day, as some do, watch it online from our St. Matthias YouTube channel.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

World Youth Day – Lisbon, Portugal –
July 28th – August 7th, 2023

“Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

I seem to toggle between two approaches to Life – a spirit or an attitude of scarcity and abundance. Scarcity can come from a perspective that we will never have enough money, stuff, or time to do what we want and enjoy. We’re convinced that we’ll never have enough. We will never be content unless we have more of the right thing!

Or we can approach life with a spirit of abundance. We’ll never want for anything if we truly believe. “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”  Then any moment can be viewed as a blessing, and every possession and comfort becomes a gift.

I find it’s ironic that the more I realize I have, the less I seem to need. But the more I think I need, the less I seem to have.

To put this into perspective, I invite you to reflect upon these words taken from “The Paradox of Our Age” (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama)
We have bigger houses but smaller families
More conveniences, but less time
We have more degrees, but less sense
More knowledge, but less judgment
More experts, but more problems
More medicines, but less healthiness.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever
But have less communication.
We have become long on quantity,
But short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods, but slow digestion.
Tall man but short character.
Steep profits but shallow relationships
It’s a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.

So what’s in the room of your mind and heart? The Gospel teaches us that we can have the life that we want, by being present to the life you have been given through your Baptism, and continuously nourished through the Eucharist!  When you receive Jesus’ Body and Blood, I encourage you to receive it like it was your First Communion!  Receive it knowing Jesus invites us to experience the abundance of his grace. There’s no limit to what we have been given, or how many times we’re forgiven.

The Gospel calls us to have enough awareness to live simply so others who are less fortunate can simply live, to step up –  like our patron St. Matthias – to make a difference in someone’s life who is struggling to obtain enough of whatever is their deepest hunger or need.

If you’re looking for an exciting opportunity to either take many steps on an actual  pilgrimage, or to share some of your treasure for a worthwhile trip by financially supporting someone’s desire to take a pilgrimage, please consider the World Youth Day which will be next year in  Lisbon, Portugal – July 28th -August 7th, 2023.  Our Bishop will lead us on this pilgrimage to Lisbon, Portugal, and desires your presence on this journey! To learn more  about the trip, please visit the Diocesan Web page: https://diometuchen.org/wyd  Or you can contact Sue Lenczewski or myself by emailing smyle@stmatthias.net

This trip is for teens 10th grade or older and young adults. Parents are welcome to attend. The price is $4,289 pp. double occupancy, including airfare, hotel, transportation in Europe, WYD fees, most meals, taxes, and guides. The hotel is the Lisbon Marriot.  All attending are encouraged to additionally purchase international health and travel insurance.
I’m looking forward to sharing the treasures of abundant life with you and encountering the expansive and diverse Catholic community – both here in Somerset and hopefully in Portugal!

 

Deacon John

 

Dear  Friends,

An unknown writer has said: “Summer is when Hair gets lighter. Skin gets darker. Water gets warmer. Drinks get colder. Music gets louder. Nights get longer. Life gets better.” Is your summer any or all of these and more? No matter what the answer, summer is a time of relaxation to be refreshed and rejuvenated in mind, body and spirit. If human nature is a yardstick, I think, many people will focus on the body; less will focus on the mind; and even less will focus on the spirit. The real challenge is to have a balance in all three areas of our life.

Last weekend I had a weekend getaway for officiating a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic. This coming weekend, God willing, I will be in Kerala, India, with my mother and family. As you know, I could not go home for my father’s funeral nor for his first death anniversary. So, this is a bit overwhelming emotionally while the joy of seeing my mother and the rest of my siblings and the extended family is something I am looking forward to. I am happy that Msgr. Seamus Brennan will be in charge of the parish in my absence and am truly grateful to him for all his services and ministry to us all.

During my last weekend trip, I was able to read two short but excellent books as well as plan for the bulletin materials for the coming few Sundays. The first was an Apostolic Letter that Pope Francis published a few weeks ago “On the Liturgical Formation of the People of God.” In this Letter, the Pope said he wanted “to invite the whole Church to rediscover, to safeguard, and to live the truth and power of the Christian celebration. … I want the beauty of the Christian celebration and its necessary consequences for the life of the Church not to be spoiled by a superficial and foreshortened understanding of its value or, worse yet, by its being exploited in service of some ideological vision, no matter what the hue. …. Let us abandon our polemics to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Let us safeguard our communion. Let us continue to be astonished at the beauty of the Liturgy.”

The Pope asked a question a couple of times in this document: “how can we grow in our capacity to live in full the liturgical action? How do we continue to let ourselves be amazed at what happens in the celebration under our very eyes?” To me, these are very serious words that should make us rethink the impact our liturgical celebration can have for us, and in a special way, for our young people. This is a matter that we all are concerned about: how do we make sure that our younger generation will joyfully receive and proudly practice our faith? We need to continue to have more discussions on this with all segments of our parish community.

The second is “Holy Moments” – Matthew Kelly’s latest book. He looks at the human question, ‘Why do you crave more?’ And his answer is: ‘Because God made you for more.’ The author inspires us to make a difference in our life and in the life of those around us. I started reading this simple book at the airport and completed it in the flight. More about it later.

Have a good and relaxing summer. Be enriched in mind, body and soul!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal