Category: Fr. Abraham’s Weekly Column

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

A warm welcome to our Bishop Checchio who is presiding at our 60th Anniversary Mass today!

Celebrating 60 years of the founding of our parish is a time for us to stop and thank God, and all those who went before us, those who made this beloved parish what it is today. I was  struck by the initial struggles our founding pastor Fr. McKenna and the original parishioners had to go through, as I was reading the history of our beginnings, like this passage:

“As with many new parishes, this parish began without money, land or a home for its pastor. The late Rev. John J. Reilly, pastor of St. Augustine’s in Franklin Park, a classmate of Father McKenna’s offered the hospitality of his rectory and the use of his offices. During November 1962, Father McKenna purchased an addressograph and other office equipment. Ben and Elly Beckage graciously offered their home and an office was established. Envelopes were printed by Lovell Claypool and the church bulletin was prepared by Elly. On Monday nights volunteer women came in to prepare the mail. Father McKenna lived at St. Augustine’s for a year until a home on Easton Avenue was purchased as a rectory for the parish.”

This is only a glimpse of what they had to cope with in the beginning years. It is important for us to know more about their struggles and challenges that they bore happily and patiently for the community of St. Matthias. It is good to hear of their efforts in getting the two pieces of land that make up our present campus. The first piece of 12 acres was donated generously by Mr. Nathan Koslow of the Amwell Estates, and the second piece of 10.8 acres was bought from Mr. & Mrs. Albert Helmstetter. We are so very grateful for these and the many other challenges and sacrifices the pioneers made to make this into a well established Catholic stronghold with a strong sense of Catholic identity through its witness to Jesus Christ, with numerous ministries and a thriving school. Kindly read more about our early history in this bulletin. So let us celebrate with a sense of joy and gratitude and look forward with hope for greater things for us. As you already are aware, our church building needs some renovation that is long overdue. Hence as announced earlier, I, together with our Pastoral and Finance Councils, would like to hear from you what you think our building/renovation priorities are. Please respond to the survey at www.stmatthias.net/ParishSurvey

Yes, taking care of our church building is very important. But what is even more important is the church community. Even though we have 3000+ families on record, we know many of them do not attend church for various reasons. Many of them are plainly hurt by the church and so left the church; many feel that they are simply ignored by the church. Can we reach out to all of these brothers and sisters? They are part of this community. You can make them know that we miss them and they matter to us.

I wish to start a renewed effort of evangelization – a mission that the Lord Jesus has given to all of us. The word ‘Evangelization’ can be scary for many of us. Don’t be. Evangelization begins with a simple invitation that you and I can give to an individual or family to come to our church. I wish to prepare us all for this mission with follow-up steps soon. In the meanwhile, let us rejoice and thank God for the blessings of 60 years to our wonderful community of St. Matthias.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, single fathers and other father figures in our life. We will have a special blessing for all these good men at every Mass.

There are also some other celebrations worthy of our attention. The Bishops of our nation are calling for a three-year grassroots revival of devotion and belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. In our Diocese, the launch of the Eucharistic Revival begins today, June 19 at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, with a noon Mass celebrated by Bishop Checchio and a Eucharistic Procession to follow. In our parish, I am not aware of any Eucharistic procession in recent memory. This Sunday’s feast of Corpus Christi is a beautiful opportunity for us to have a Eucharistic procession. Hence, weather permitting, we will have a short Eucharistic procession on Saturday within our campus – just around the church and school – at the end of the 5 pm Mass and conclude with Benediction. I invite us all to join and receive the Lord’s blessings.

This Sunday is “Juneteenth.” What is it? Even though the Emancipation Proclamation granting freedom to all enslaved persons took effect on January 1, 1863, the last quarter of a million enslaved people were finally set free by Union troops in Galveston Bay, Texas on June 19, 1865. This triumphant day is known as “Juneteenth.” Although it has long been celebrated in the African-American community, this event remains largely unknown to most Americans. The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. Just as we praise and thank God for the emancipation of the enslaved Israelites during the Exodus, we raise our hands in prayers of gratitude for the freedom of our formerly enslaved Black Brothers and Sisters! Remember what we sang on the Easter Vigil: “Sing a song of freedom! God has won the victory!” This is applicable to Juneteenth and any other instance of injustice that calls for liberation.

Next Sunday we celebrate our 60th Anniversary Mass presided by our Bishop. We have invited all the priests, deacons, religious and lay men and women who have served our parish and school. The Parish Pastoral & Finance Councils, and other parishioners have suggested that we use this Anniversary to do some renovation of our church that is long overdue. Some of the suggested ideas are: Refurbishing the pews, renewing the floor, Add more bathrooms, Narthex (a big enclosed gathering area from the breezeway up to the statue of Mary) Renew/clean the Church walls, Replace church windows with stained glass. But how do we raise funds? It was suggested that we ask each family to contribute, keeping in mind the 60th Anniversary, a minimum of $60 or multiples of 60 (120, 180, 240, etc) as each family is able to sacrifice.

What among these church renovation ideas should we prioritize? Or, are there other needs that you, our parish family, have in your mind? Our Councils agreed that we ask the whole parish for your input. Hence, we will have a short and easy google survey. I invite all of us to respond to that so that your voices will be heard, and appropriate decisions can be made.

God bless us all to have a happy and meaningful 60th Anniversary Mass and continue other celebrations throughout the remaining part of this year.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

The Most Holy Trinity

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

This is the season of graduations. Thousands and thousands of students all over the nation are having their graduation celebrations this month. But many of them will not have the unique way of celebrating graduation as our 8th graders had here at St. Matthias School: celebrating it with the Holy Mass, followed by the graduation ceremony. The involvement and participation of the graduates in reading, singing, and leading the prayer of petitions brought joy and pride to their families, the faculty and administration of the school. The Pre-K and Kindergarten graduation ceremonies also had the unique Catholic touch – though without Mass.

This way of celebrating the graduation gives a distinct identity and message to our children and parents. The catholic identity makes us realize that we continue to further the mission of Jesus Christ through Catholic education. St. Matthias School motto, “Faith, Caring and Excellence,” puts our Catholic faith first without diminishing the importance given to caring for the person and striving for excellence in all fields of school education. Many students received awards for academics and for various other achievements. St. John Paul II rightly said: “The mission of the Catholic school is the integral formation of students…”

A couple of years ago, I was happy to read a report from the Wall Street Journal newspaper that found Catholic school students have more self-discipline than their counterparts. Here at St. Matthias, Mrs. Mary Lynch, our Principal, together with Mr. Joe Gidaro, our Vice-Principal and all the teachers, nurtured our students’ Catholic identity through daily prayer, Mass attendance, reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, celebrating other Catholic devotions like Rosary, May Crowning, Stations of the Cross, etc.

Such a faith-based formation is vital to the future of us Catholics as we know that these young students will continue our Catholic faith and heritage. In my homily during the Mass, I told them “Remember, St Matthias will always be your home. You are always welcome here at St. Matthias. I hope you will continue to attend the Sunday Mass here, I hope you will continue to be altar servers. And I will be very happy if all of you can participate as readers/lectors and be ushers/ministers of hospitality, or join the choir.”

Maintaining our St. Matthias School would not have been possible without the cooperation of parents, well-wishers of our parish community and other interested persons. So many of you – even though you have no children of your own in the school – have been very supportive and appreciative of the school in many different ways, especially through becoming “Tuition Angels” who brought much needed relief to so many families in financial straits. Thank you. Let us continue our efforts to bring the mission of Jesus Christ to as many more as possible through our commitment to St. Matthias Church and School.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

 

Pentecost Sunday

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

 

Message from Msgr. Seamus Brennan

On June 4th, 1972, I was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Michael Russell at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Waterford, Ireland. I was ordained for the Diocese of Trenton and served my first assignment at Saint Barnabas Church in Bayville. My second assignment was Associate Pastor at Saint Philip and James, Philipsburg and then I began my first pastorate at Saint John’s, Lambertville. Following a brief four years there, I divided the next 36 years between Saint Matthews, Edison and Immaculate Conception, Somerville.

When I reflect back, I think of my priesthood in the two words Saint John Paul II used regarding his priesthood — gift and mystery. No one is worthy to share in the priesthood of Christ and to stand at the altar to consecrate the Eucharist or to sit in the confessional and absolve sin. But through the power of his Spirit, God has shared with me this gift. By definition, a gift is unexpected and unmerited, but God has given me this gift. Totally out of God’s generosity, he has given me a share in his priesthood.

All this is a great mystery to me because there is no reason I can see for this call. I was a farmer and lover of sports with no particular gifts in learning or leadership or service. I had been an altar server and assisted as an usher but was not otherwise involved much in church. But in the great mystery of God’s plan, He called me to serve as a priest.

I am deeply grateful for the example and encouragement I have received all along this journey, starting with my parents and siblings and continuing with my fellow priests and the parishioners I have served. In every way, I have felt supported by the prayers of the people of God, including here at St. Matthias Church. Please continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life and to pray to the sanctification of these and all God’s people. As I celebrate my 5oth Jubilee this Pentecost weekend, I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and strengthen every Christian and that I may willingly follow where he leads me. Thanks for your ongoing prayers and your love for God’s Church.

Msgr. Brennan

The Ascension of the Lord

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

Dear Friends,

We kicked off our 60th Anniversary two weeks ago. The reception after each Mass was well appreciated. The 5 pm Mass saw the cafeteria filled with parishioners having a wonderful fellowship. Thanks again to the Martin de Porres Society and other parishioners who hosted all the receptions. Thanks to the Anniversary Committee who have lined up more events in the coming months, earliest of which is the St. Matthias 60th Anniversary Cook Book. In this context, there are two initiatives that I like to invite us all to consider.

The first is SPIRITUAL DIRECTION. Many will remember Pat Leposa who did the ministry of spiritual direction (SD) here at St. Matthias for a number of years until she moved out of state two years ago. In her parting message to our community, Pat wrote: “If you are moved to draw closer to the God who loves you, and to seek out a new perspective in your life, then I urge you to consider Spiritual Direction.” She had recommended Mr. Bill Isele as a good spiritual director who could continue this ministry for our parish. With the pandemic, we could not follow up with this possibility. Recently I met with Mr. Isele and he was open to be available to those who wish to have spiritual direction with him. He was trained at the Quellen Spiritual Center in Mendham, NJ. Last week he wrote in our bulletin: “Have you heard of Spiritual Direction (SD)?” Be on the lookout for more details from him in the coming bulletins.

The second is RETROUVAILLE, a proven program for married couples who struggle in their marriage to put the pieces of their marriage back together and rebuild loving relationships. When I was the Director of the Family Life Office of our Diocese, this was a program that I supervised with a wonderful team of couples coordinated by Rich and Annette Colasuonno. The presenters are ordinary couples who share personal stories of their marital struggles and the tools they utilized to rediscover their love. (The word Retrouvaille means rediscover). This weekend program is all about improving communication, building a stronger marriage, and helping couples rediscover the love they had for each other.

We may know many couples having difficulties in their marriage. Some may have tried interventions and counselling. What I have seen with the couples who attended Retrouvaille is an amazing rediscovery of their original love and they returned home happily with a renewed hope. It made me see for myself that no marriage is beyond hope as long as there is openness.

During this 60th Anniversary of our parish, it will be wonderful if many of our parish couples who are experiencing marital problems can rediscover their original love and feel new life. The next Retrouvaille session will be on August 19-21, 2022. If interested, call Rich at 732-236-0671. Take a flyer from the church and give to someone you may know will benefit. Also check out their website: www.helpourmarriage.org

On this Ascension Sunday, let us be upbeat and hopeful about living happily by strengthening our family life. Remember the promise of Jesus: “I will be with you always, even to the end of times” (Matthew 28:20)

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

 

Dear Friends,

Biblically, Ascension took place 40 days after the Resurrection and so the actual Ascension Day falls on a Thursday – which is what we used to celebrate every year. Recently the bishops of New Jersey met and after discussing the pros and cons of this practice have discerned that the Solemnity of the Ascension be permanently transferred from Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the following Sunday. The bishops’ discernment included a great desire for more of the faithful to participate in this integral dimension of the completion of Our Lord’s paschal mystery by the Ascension observed on a Sunday – which will be next Sunday.

This year, Thursday, May 26 will be observed as Thursday of the Sixth week of Easter and the Memorial of St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) who is known as the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory. We have Oratorian priests and brothers in our diocese and so it is their feast in a special way. As a layman, Philip spent several years in Rome performing all kinds of good works – especially in ministering to the sick, in catechizing the youth, and in providing for pilgrims. Under constant advice and persuasion from his spiritual director, he decided to be a priest and was ordained in 1551. He was almost 36 years old, a “delayed vocation” in the extreme by the standards of the day, but without the least difference in priestly zeal and vigor.

St. Philip Neri is commonly known as the “patron saint of joy,” and the “humorous saint.” He wasn’t exactly a comedian, but he did enjoy poking fun at himself, using humor to maintain his humility. For example, according to author Shaun McAfee, “Neri was known to show up to important events with half his beard shaved, give incorrect walking directions to his disciples, read a book of jokes … When he did each of these things he caused a mix of emotions in others, but it always ended up producing the same end state: increased humility, and increased patience.” St. Philip Neri hung this sign on his door: “The House of Christian Mirth.” He used to say: “A heart filled with joy is more easily made perfect than one that is sad.”

Holiness is related to humor. That is why many saints laughed at themselves; they knew that this earthly life is only a stop on our journey to heaven and so to take this world seriously is utter foolishness. Bishop Sheen once said, “A divine sense of humor belongs to poets and saints because they have been richly endowed with a sense of the invisible, and can look out upon the same phenomena that other mortals take seriously and see in them something of the divine.”

This is what Pope Francis has been reminding us when he said, to be a Christian doesn’t mean being “gloomy-faced,” but being filled with a levity of heart that recognizes the beauty and joy of Christian life. Humor in the right context can be a good thing, and even a pathway to holiness. St. Philip Neri practiced it. His joyful spirit was one of the reasons why many were attracted to him. They saw the joy he had and wanted to know the source of that joy. They realized that the source was Jesus who said: “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

Dear Friends,

This is our 60th Anniversary kick off weekend! We are entering into the celebration-phase of the 60 years of our existence as the Catholic Community of St. Matthias: 1962 – 2022. We are very privileged to have Msgr. Joseph Celano, a St. Matthias alumnus, as our Presider for the 5 pm Kick-off Mass. A special thanks to the St. Martin de Porres Society which is organizing and taking care of the reception after each Mass this weekend. Our Anniversary Celebration Committee, co-chaired by Anne Marie Francis and Jeff Hentz, has already announced many activities that will take place in the coming months. Responding to the Committee’s invitation to come up with an Anniversary Logo, Carolyn Merrill designed a beautiful logo that you can see from now on. Thank you to Carolyn who, with her husband Dave and two adult children, is a long time parishioner of St. Matthias. Being an experienced Graphic Designer, she has helped with our GIFT program brochures and also created the GIFT logo some years ago.

While appreciating the importance of visible celebrations, it is equally or even more important that our anniversary should help us grow more spiritually. We have prepared a special anniversary prayer card to pray together in the church. You can take a card and use it for your family as well as for individual prayer. The Committee is also looking into arranging a Parish Mission/Retreat later this year.

Kicking off the celebration on the feast of our patron saint has special significance. The name ‘Matthias,’ similar to Matthew, means “gift of God.” The Acts of the Apostles describes the process of choosing Matthias to replace Judas: “it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22) Since there were two candidates fitting these conditions, the Apostles “cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:26)

It is believed that Matthias was also one of the 72 disciples that the Lord Jesus sent out to preach the good news (Luke 10:1). The Apostles were convinced of the credibility of choosing Matthias to join them. He remained with Jesus until His Ascension. According to various traditions, Matthias preached in Cappadocia, Jerusalem, the shores of the Caspian Sea (in modern day Turkey) and Ethiopia. He is said to have met his death by crucifixion in Colchis or by stoning in Jerusalem. There is evidence cited in some of the early Church fathers that there was a “Gospel according to Matthias” in circulation, but it has since been lost, and was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius.

As we celebrate the feast of our patron saint, we honor him as someone who knew Jesus personally, and was a witness to the resurrection – that Jesus wasn’t dead, but is very much alive. This is where we can imitate him. May all our celebrations help us to increase our intimacy of friendship with Jesus. May we give witness to his risen life by our joyful attitude and the invitation we can give others about our experience here at St. Matthias Community in worship as well as service.

Happy Feast of St. Matthias!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

Dear Friends,

Today we thank our mothers and honor them by celebrating Mother’s Day and by offering our mothers on the altar of God as we pray for them. This is a day to admit gratefully the fact that none of us is able to return, in the same measure, all the love that our mothers have given us. Their influence on us, their children, is so great that it affects us throughout our lives. Our mothers not only gave us birth but nursed us, nurtured us, trained us in our religious beliefs and practices, taught us good manners and ideal behavior, disciplined us as best as they could and made us good citizens of our country, our Church and our society.

Thomas Edison once said, “I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor. I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I should have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness were potent powers to keep me in the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.”

I think we all can relate to such sentiments. Hence, it is only right and proper for us to express our love and gratitude to our mothers by our presence, gifts and prayers on Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day intentions and offerings remind us of our prayers of thanksgiving for all the mothers in our congregation, whether they are alive or have gone for their eternal reward. The word “mom” is synonymous with sacrificial, agápe love in its purest form, as given by Jesus in his farewell speech: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Hence, let us lavish our love on our mothers and express our gratitude for them in the form of fervent prayers offered for them, before God – not just for one day, but every day! God bless you dear mothers!

The Catholic Church proclaims the great nobility of the Mother of Jesus, and presents her as the supreme model for all mothers. What a good feeling we get each time we sing that beautiful song, “Gentle woman, peaceful dove, teach us wisdom, teach us love.” Let us show our love and appreciation for both of our mothers, and let us ask our Heavenly Mother to take care of our earthly mothers. We need to be persons for others, sacrificing our time, talents and lives for them, as our mothers are.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Posted on by 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

Sunday of Divine Mercy

Posted on by Nathalie Godet

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