Author: Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

Jesus Christ is Risen! He is truly risen! These are the traditional greetings of Eastern Rite Catholics on Easter Sunday, and I address you with these words of faith. May the blessings of the Risen Christ be with each of us as we joyfully celebrate the history-changing Resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose death on a cross for our sins preceded his resurrection and multiple appearances to the apostles after his resurrection.

Why is Resurrection so important? If Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again three days later, then it changed everything. It is the only instance of a human being raising himself from the dead in human history. Why is Resurrection so important for us Christians? St. Paul gives the best answer: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is our faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Yet, there have been skeptics who questioned the resurrection. There are many reasons to repudiate their doubts. You can read all about that elsewhere in this bulletin, under the heading: “Why we believe in the Resurrection.” But I loved what Wolfhart Pannenberg, the German philosopher, said: “The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, then you have to change the way you live.” Belief in the Resurrection forces us to change the way we live. That’s what happened to Paul who changed from being the fiercest persecutor into the staunchest promoter of Christianity.

Easter will become meaningful to us when we realize that Jesus lives among us whenever we gather in His name. Not only for the Eucharist or for Lenten small groups, but also when we come together for every association or ministry meeting and whenever we organize any parish event – both of which are in abundance here at St. Matthias. He is present in our homes when we gather as a family not only for meals or prayer, but also for any family event. When we reach out to the less fortunate with help, we lift up the hand of Jesus. When we listen to one who is troubled, we make Jesus present to that person. In these and many other ways, we give witness to the mystery of Jesus living among us. Indeed, we become the Body of Christ for the world. Let us experience more of that Easter Joy!

Easter Blessings to you and to your dear ones!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

 

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday we had a day of Self Care Fair. It was a wonderful experience with representatives from 16 different organizations explaining their mission and giving away their flyers and other stuff. There were breakout sessions with various demonstrations and presentations on various aspects of being a better you in the library and the classrooms. Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan did a breakout session on Centering Prayer. What made this Self Care Fair very unique was that it was fully youth initiated and led by a total of 23 Teens – grades 8th to 12th from 4 parishes – St. Augustine, Kendall Park, Holy Family, New Brunswick, St. Joseph, Bound Brook, and our own St. Matthias. Thanks to our Deacon John Radvanski in a very special way for his supervising this event with the help of Sue Lenczewski, our SMYLE Coordinator. There were many other adults who served as Mentors and/or Professional Mental Health Advisors to whom we offer our gratitude. We wish to gratefully acknowledge the following organizations and agencies that participated: Catholic Charities, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, NAMI NJ, Safe & Sound, Community Police Alliance of Somerset County, Franklin Township Stigma Free Council, Freedom From Fear, Operation Code Red, Mental Health First Aid -Empower Somerset, NJ Harm Reduction Coalition, Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s Community Health Services  (Nutrition), The Center For Therapy & Counseling Services, 988 Suicide Hotline,  Caring Contact, Franklin C.A.N. Franklin Cops and Autism Network, RWJ Barnabas Community Health from New Brunswick, and Zufall.

The presence of three Therapy Dogs brought extra cheer to all. There were generous donors (local vendors and individuals) who brought food and drinks to both the visitors and volunteers; they deserve our thanks in a special way. Deacon John Radvanski will be writing about this event in an upcoming issue with more information about and acknowledgment of all those involved/participated. It was truly a unique event for us, showing the holistic approach to our total well being. This event has given us an impetus to have more such events so that our mental, physical and emotional health will be brought into focus together with the spiritual health in the Church.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day today! And Happy St. Joseph’s Feast in two days! Lavish celebrations for these two feasts, especially for St. Patrick’s Day, are typical. But it is very important to reflect on the spiritual dimension of each feast.

On the feast of St. Patrick, the church focuses on the missionary nature of the life of St. Patrick who converted the Irish population to Catholicism in his 33 years of apostolate there. The Irish rightly brought his legacy to places they have settled. This is the right time to read the biography of St. Patrick and be inspired to witness to gospel values in our life.

The Feast of St. Joseph is a higher ranking Solemnity in the Liturgical calendar of the Church. Therefore the Mass celebrated on March 19 is very much like a Sunday Mass with Gloria, and all the readings. The solemnity in the church is certainly followed by the solemnity at the dinner table too! St. Joseph’s silence in the gospels is an indication of his interior disposition of openness to listening to God – something we all can benefit from.

Happy Feast of St. Patrick! Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we hold the Self Care Fair in our cafeteria. We have been promoting this event together with the “Empty Bowls Franklin” that takes place at the Double Tree hotel today. In this context, I think it is very fitting that we ask an important question: Should the church be concerned only with the spiritual health of the parishioners? Traditionally the answer we hear may be ‘YES.’ But the answer from the Bible is ‘NO!’ The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There are many other references to show how the Bible is interested not only in our soul-health but also in the health of our body and mind. Here are just a few:

Genesis.” 1:29 “And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit.

You shall have them for food.”

   3 John 1:2 “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”.

   1 Timothy 5:23: “Do not go on drinking only water, but also use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”

 Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”.

  Jeremiah 30:17 “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’”

  Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”.

This inter-connectedness of mind, body and soul that the Bible teaches is corroborated by many researches. Look at some of their conclusions:

1. Acidity is caused not only by diet errors, but more dominated because of stress.
2. Hypertension is caused not only by too much consumption of salty foods, but mainly because of too much worries about future.
3. Cholesterol is caused not only by fatty foods, but the excessive laziness or sedentary lifestyle is more responsible.
4. Asthma not only because of the disruption of oxygen supply to lungs, but often sad feelings make lungs unstable.
5. Diabetes not only because of too much consumption of glucose, but selfish & stubborn attitude disrupts the function of the pancreas.

Today’s Self Care Fair organized by our Youth Ministry/SMYLE – in collaboration with St. Augustine’s Kendall Park, Holy Family, New Brunswick, and St. Joseph, Bound Brook – is truly an effort to be holistic in our faith formation. The God of the Bible wants our growth in all life dimensions: physical or biological, mental or psychological, moral and social. The disciplines of medicine, psychology, even organizational development. Luke 2:52 captures in the life of Christ this holistic concept: “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”  It is this holistic growth that we are promoting here in our parish through various events and activities. I invite us all to participate and be more holistic in our thinking and living.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

Dear Friends,

March 8 is International Women’s Day, an annual celebration to honor the achievements and contributions of women, while challenging the discrimination and oppression they continue to face. Pope Francis said: “On International Women’s Day, I think of all women: I thank them for their commitment to building a more humane society, through their ability to grasp reality with a creative eye and a tender heart.” We salute all the women for their invaluable contributions to enrich our families and communities, and pray for them in a special way.

This Sunday during the 10 am Mass, we have a Rite called ‘Scrutiny’ for the ‘Catechumen’ doing the RCIA. Are these strange terms for us? I think we will all remember that RCIA stands for the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults,” though a couple of years ago, the US Bishops decided that RCIA should be more appropriately named OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). ‘Catechumen’ is the term used for an unbaptized person who is attending this preparation in RCIA, and ‘Candidate’ is the term used for a baptized person who did not receive Eucharist or Confirmation. This year we are privileged to have a number of people in the RCIA, preparing to receive one or more of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation) at the Easter Vigil. They are: Jason Olmedo-Hernandez, Phyllis Carbone, Gigi Fortuna-Clase, Beverly Gilliam, Norvin Gilliam, Maxwell Lumax, Claudia Roque, Chelsea Lopez, Amanda Fortuna Clase, Josh Lumax and Alexis Lumax.

So, what is this rite called ‘scrutiny’? The official Book of the RCIA explains: “It is meant to uncover, and then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good.  For the scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.” (no.141) Essentially, it is composed of prayers of intercession and the laying on of hands so that the Holy Spirit may be invoked that they are freed from the spirit of evil. Doing the first scrutiny at Mass gives the whole congregation an opportunity to pray for and support those preparing for the Easter sacraments and to make the point that conversion is not only a personal matter but a communal commitment.

More importantly, this Rite of Scrutiny is also an opportunity for the rest of us, to self-examine and see the need for healing in our weakness, detect the sinful habits in our lives and to nourish the good within us so that we can bear good fruits for Christ. Lent is the time to learn from our mistakes of overindulgence in food, drink, drugs, gambling, promiscuity, or any other addiction that may keep us from coming to the living waters of a right relationship with God.  We all have our short list, don’t we?  And we all know, honest to God, what it is we need to leave behind before we come to the Living Water and the Bread of Heaven – as the Samaritan woman shows us in the gospel of John.

Let’s continue to live a happy and holy Lent!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal