Author: Nathalie Godet

Dear Friends,

We enter the month of May, the month of Mary, with the feast of “St Joseph, the Worker.” This year it falls on a Sunday and so the “Day of the Lord” takes precedence over this feast. But it is good to recall that it was Pope Pius XII who instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955, in order to foster deep devotion to St. Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists. This feast extends the long relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers in both Catholic faith and devotion. The dignity of human work has long been celebrated as a participation in the creative work of God. By work, humankind both fulfills the command found in Genesis to care for the earth (Gen 2:15) and to be productive in their labors. Saint Joseph, the carpenter and foster father of Jesus, is but one example of the holiness of human labor.

I wish to highlight a special milestone in the life of someone who has been laboring in the vineyard of the Lord for fifty years. Msgr. Seamus Brennan is celebrating his golden jubilee as a priest. He was ordained on June 4, 1972. He has served the people of God in many different parishes of our diocese in various capacities. Pope St. John Paul II elevated him to the rank of Papal Chamberlain, with the title Monsignor, in 1991. We are very fortunate to have his priestly ministry with us here at St. Matthias. We will celebrate his golden jubilee on June 4 at the 5 pm Mass with him as the presider. But Msgr. Brennan asks that we respect his wish not to have any other celebration here. Instead, he is inviting us to join him for the Jubilee Mass he will celebrate at 3:30 pm on Sunday June 5th at his former parish of Immaculate Conception, 35 Mountain Ave, Somerville. Light refreshments will be served in the Immaculate Conception School cafeteria after the Mass. All are welcome.

May is Marian month, and our St. Matthias School students will have the ‘May Crowning’ on this Friday, as we help them have a filial devotion to Mary. Though our devotion to Mary is often misunderstood by many Protestant churches, an increasing number of Protestants are now more open-minded about the role of Mary. In an article titled: “Protestants and Marian Devotion – What about Mary?” Pastor Jason Byassee (Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Providence, NC) wrote:

“Recently there has been a flurry of publications by Protestants on Mary, works that suggest she could be an ecumenical bridge — or at least that the Protestant aversion to Marian devotion is eroding. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, a biblical scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary, has led the charge with Mary; Glimpses of the Mother of Jesus (1995) and with a collection of essays she coedited called Blessed One; Protestant Perspectives on Mary (2002). Meanwhile, Robert Jenson’s monumental two-volume Systematic Theology (1997 and 1999) and another collection of coedited essays, Mary; Mother of God (2004), has given a certain pride of place to the Mother of God. Church historians of all stripes have long granted that Marian teaching and devotion dates from the earliest days of the church. And they grant that devotion to Mary was not discarded even by the leading Reformation figures Luther, Calvin and Zwingli. The fruit of ecumenical labor on this topic can be seen in such balanced and helpful resources as Mary in the Plan of God and in the Communion of the Saints (1999), a product of years of dialogue between French Catholics and Protestants that calls for both Catholic and Protestant “conversions” on the subject.”

Isn’t it interesting? You can read this article at: www.religion-online.org/article/protestants-and-marian-devotion-what-about-mary Let us continue our devotion to Mary because her only desire for us is what she told the servants at the Marriage feast of Cana: “Do what He tells you” (John 2:5).

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

It was very gratifying to see so many of our people returning to join the Church services in person. The Easter Masses saw the biggest crowds since the pandemic began. Thanks be to God for the greater sense of a return to normalcy. We continue to pray that the new life and new hope from the Risen Christ will bring more blessings and a total freedom from the pandemic even as we are conscious of the need to take reasonable precautions.

Do you know why Sundays after Easter are named 2nd Sunday of Easter, 3rd Sunday of Easter, etc.? Easter is such a foundational feast of our faith, which the Church continues to celebrate it for about seven weeks. The power of Easter has transformed the face of the earth as believers began to increase and Christianity began to spread all over the world. It is unbelievable but true that after the preaching of Peter: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.” (Acts 2:41). Besides the preaching of the apostles, the early Christians themselves were the best missionaries to their own neighbors and friends, sharing the power of the Resurrected Jesus to bring about change in hearts. It still continues to happen in our own times.

We have a wonderful opportunity to refocus our call to be missionaries to our own people. Next month we will kick off the 60th anniversary celebrations of our parish with the 5 pm Mass on May 14, on the feast of St. Matthias, our patron. The Celebration Committee has been working hard to focus on some practical events to make this anniversary year fruitful in many ways, especially spiritually and socially. But I like to ask each one of us to consider how we can imitate the early Christians who were so enthusiastic about bringing others to Jesus.

How do we do that? We can follow the advice of Pope Francis, whose approach to mission might be characterized as a “missiology of attraction.” He wants us to draw people to Jesus by way of attraction, not by proselytizing, or imposing our faith. And he reminds us that the attractive message is contained in the merciful love of God. When the church makes the mercy of God real by becoming an inclusive church, a church where saints and sinners are welcome, then more people will be drawn to Jesus.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday – a feast instituted by St. John Paul II, in order to realize the depth of the mercy of God for each one of us personally. Sister Faustina who had revelations about this desire from Jesus wrote the words of Jesus in her diary entry # 206: “On the day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and bring fainting souls to the spring of My mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them”.

May the Risen Lord help us experience God’s mercy in ourselves and may He help us to offer the same mercy to others, thereby becoming true witnesses who will attract others to our church and our faith in Jesus Christ.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Easter Blessings to you and your dear ones!

This is our third Easter since the pandemic began. Each time of anxious waiting was replaced by another. But, thanks be to God, we are now experiencing a greater sense of normalcy all around us. More than the beautiful tulips and cherry blossoms in lovely colors beckoning us to new life, the Resurrection of Christ offers us hope and confidence to start all over again.

We are constantly reminded of the unjust Russian aggression of Ukraine that has created unimaginable horror and damage to life and property. We pray for an Easter experience for the Ukrainians and for millions of other people in different parts of the world where conflicts still exist.

I am fully aware that some of our parishioners are still hesitant to return to church in person. I respect that. I believe they are joining us in prayer online. Our homebound parishioners are so very pleased to connect with our livestreamed parish Mass. Many of them have thanked me for continuing the live-streaming as they love to see their own church sanctuary and their own priests celebrating the Mass. Parishioners who have moved away and webvisitors who chanced upon our site are all part of this wider parish community. Easter Blessings to all.

One of the greatest blessings is our ability to gather again with family and friends – be it in church or home, restaurant, gym, club or wherever we used to gather. This is integral to being human. Jesus himself did that during his life on earth. But we seem to forget that Jesus did the same even after his death and resurrection. The Risen Lord had at least three meals with his disciples: breakfast by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:1-17); an evening meal in a village near Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35); and an impromptu snack of broiled fish with his apostles (Luke 24:36-43). Even though each of these appearances was to convince the doubting disciples about the reality of the resurrection, gathering around the meal table was very significant then and now.

The Risen Christ invites us to experience His presence at our dinner table as we gather as a family in unity and love. Esteemed study after study shows the nutritional, social, emotional, and spiritual benefits of the family having dinner together. But recent research suggests that between 10 and 40 percent of children never or seldom eat together with their family! Let us take it as a challenge and change it in our families.

There is another meal table the Risen Christ invites us to experience His presence. That is the Eucharistic table as we gather for worship especially on Sundays. In this holy meal, Christ takes us all in as we are, with all our uniqueness and diversity, our weaknesses and shortcomings, and strengthens us to create that family of God here on earth. Let us participate more fully in Sunday worship as the family of St. Matthias.

Happy Easter!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

Was Jesus “soft” on sin? Today’s gospel from John 8:1-11 about the way Jesus treated the woman caught in adultery could make some wonder if that is true. Bible scholars have some interesting takes as to why this passage is omitted by many ancient manuscripts of the gospel. This powerful narrative of Jesus and the accused woman is not found in the earliest and best manuscripts of John and appears in other important manuscripts after Lk. 21:38. Still, early Church authors, such as Papias (ca. A.D. 120) and the author of the Syriac “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” (3rd cent.), knew of such an incident, and Jerome included it in his translation. For these reasons the story is judged canonical by Catholics.

It might have been omitted in some early rigorist traditions because the early Church, in its struggle to maintain strict penitential discipline, perhaps could not deal with the ease with which Jesus forgave the woman. In this episode Jesus seemed too “soft” on sin. Perhaps for this reason, the story was temporarily set aside by the early Church and was only later granted canonical approbation. This precisely is the reason why we need to emphasize this forgiving nature of God all the more. During these Lenten Sundays, we have been reflecting on this merciful love and unconditional acceptance of the sinner as the very nature of God. Pope Francis says:

“Jesus’ attitude is striking: we do not hear the words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversation. “Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.” Ah! Brothers and Sisters, God’s face is the face of a merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God’s patience, the patience He has with each one of us? That is His mercy. He always has patience, patience with us, He understands us, He waits for us, He does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to Him with a contrite heart. “Great is God’s mercy,” says the Psalm.”

We experience this in a very special way in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or ‘Confession’ – the name that we are more used to. Here’s what a blogger has written about this Sacrament so beautifully:

“Penance, aka confession, is the sacrament of the forgiveness of sin. You can’t beat it for convenience. It’s available practically whenever. Tell a priest you want to go to confession and you’ll get his attention. One bishop I know was cornered on an airplane. Another passenger figured out what was going on and asked if he could confess too. It must have been an interesting game of musical seats. An interesting question for priests might be: Where was the strangest place you ever administered the sacrament of penance? The answers I’ve gathered include “in a sports bar, at a graduation party” and “on the golf course, walking up the fairway.”

As already announced, Msgr. Brennan and I have been available for Confessions on Mondays and Fridays after the 8 am Mass, besides the expanded time on Saturdays from 3 to 4:30 pm. This will continue for the remainder of Lent. Both of us have been noticing our parishioners utilizing these opportunities for “housekeeping for the soul” and also to feel a sense of inner freedom to experience a better relationship with God, self and one another. Next week as we enter Holy Week, we will be better prepared to commemorate and live the mysteries of our salvation that Jesus Christ brought us.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal