Author: Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

We are now pretty familiar with the tradition of having a number of adults receiving one or more of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation) through our RCIA  (or OCIA, the new name that the Bishops have proposed). We had a total of eleven people receiving these at the Easter Vigil this year: 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. We congratulate these neophytes. Now, that is a word we don’t hear often. A “neophyte” (its Greek root means the newly planted) is a term used for those who have been initiated as full members of a religion like Christianity or Judaism or one who has joined a religious order. In our context, a neophyte is one who has been incorporated into the fullness of the life of the Church as the Body of Christ. Now these new members enter into the final phase of the RCIA process which is known as Mystagogy, which simply means learning about the mysteries. The RCIA instruction no.244 says: “This is a time for the community and the neophytes together to grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the Eucharist, and doing the works of charity. ….” 

What is interesting is that the Church’s focus of the mystagogy is the Community into which these new members have been incorporated! It means that mystagogy is a time for us all to grow in understanding the paschal mystery. The entire purpose of the RCIA process is to lead the participants into a relationship of communion and intimacy with Jesus. As the community of St. Matthias, we are an important part of mystagogy.

Our RCIA process is coordinated by Anne-Marie Francis and Mary Frances Reavey with their teammates Gondee Tibay, Mercy Ekwere, Dee Christmas and Carmen Calvimontes.  They have been doing an amazing job every year as they guide these men and women in the ways of our faith. I wish to thank them sincerely for rising up to the challenges and carrying out this ministry of faith formation and evangelization of those who wish to be part of the community of faith in Jesus Christ. They are true models and torchbearers of faith.

Let us remember that we all are called to be models and torchbearers of Christian witness and experience to the neophytes as well as to all those we meet in our daily living. The Sunday Mass is key to a successful mystagogy because the three ways mentioned above – meditation on the Gospel and sharing in the Eucharist which leads us to the works of charity – are meant for the whole community’s full, conscious and active participation.

I have a request: you may know some adults who may not be baptized, or who are baptized but have not received Communion or Confirmation. Why not speak to them about receiving these Sacraments of Initiation? Why not invite them to join our next RCIA class? That is another sign of you becoming a witness to Jesus.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

 

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