Category: Fr. Abraham’s Weekly Column

Dear Friends,

We just went through the week of graduations. It was very heart-warming to see the graduation of the little ones in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Their innocent glow as they sang some beautiful songs and posed for the diplomas touched everyone. The graduation of our 8th graders was more of a defining moment that elicited mixed feelings of joy and sadness — joy at the fact of this class of 2021 crossing an important milestone in their lives. All the parents and family, school administration and faculty, priests and parishioners are happy to see them moving onto the next phase of the journey of their life.

At the same time, there is that tinge of sadness of missing these young vibrant students who were a part of our life here. Friday before graduation, their last day of class, was an emotional day for all. In the St. Matthias tradition, the parents and faculty made it special for them by clapping these seniors out, with the band playing. The parents wrote names and messages on the ground for the students to read.

My hope – as is that of everyone else – is that these graduates will carry the torch of St. Matthias wherever they go, in the way they live out the motto of our school: FAITH, CARING AND EXCELLENCE. My prayer is that the seeds of faith the Principal and Vice-Principal have sown in these students, with the help of the caring teachers, will keep them faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church. I wish to single out our Fr. Joe for special appreciation for his good will and initiative in imparting faith and religious practices to the whole school during the pandemic year.

As the school year is ending, Mrs. Elena Malinconico, our present principal, will be leaving us for another assignment. Everyone will agree with me that this year was the most challenging for every school principal and it is no exaggeration to say that Mrs. Malinconico did an excellent job in keeping our school open, offering both in-person and remote learning, and keeping all our students safe though this past uncertain and anxious year. Thanks to her vigilant leadership, St. Matthias did not have to close the school for any prolonged period, as many other schools had to do. As we thank her for her short but dedicated service to our school community, I wish her all success in her next assignment.

As already announced earlier, as well as in my letter in last week’s bulletin, we welcome Mrs. Mary Lynch as the new principal of St. Matthias. St.
Matthias School is an integral part of the mission of St. Matthias Parish, and all of us have a stake in its well-being and progress. Thank you to all who have been supporting our school in various ways. May our desire to pass our faith to the next generation bear good fruits.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

The dramatic events of Holy Week and Easter came to a conclusion, liturgically speaking, with another dramatic event of Pentecost last Sunday. The Acts of the Apostles narrated the Pentecost story as a stunning, incredible and ecstatic experience with the sound of a violent wind, fire appearing over their heads and 3,000 new members as the result of one sermon. But the drama subsided, for the very next verse says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42). Not much drama here. Worshiping together, eating together, learning together. Yes, a big segment of our life consists of the ordinary. It is in living the gospel values in the ordinary time that we truly become extra-ordinary!

Thus we are now in the “Ordinary Time” according to the Liturgical Calendar. The fact that Ordinary Time refers to those periods that fall outside of the major liturgical seasons could give us the impression that there is no excitement and so this is an unimportant time. The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time in fact represent the ordered life of the Church—the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in growing in fellowship with all, using our talents to serve our families, communities and sustaining ourselves with our daily chores. The weekly sustenance for this comes from our regular Sunday attendance at the Lord’s Table. The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, which was suspended during the pandemic, will be lifted from Saturday June 5, as per the Bishops of New Jersey. They also said: “This obligation does not apply to those who are ill; those who have reason to believe that they were recently exposed to the coronavirus or another serious or contagious illness; those who are confined to their home, a hospital, or nursing facility; or those with serious underlying health conditions.”

This is one of the reasons why I decided to continue live-streaming our Masses – at least one, if not all. From the St. Matthias YouTube analytics, we are very delighted to know that we have so many people attending our Masses not only from different states of the US but also from many countries. To date, 66% of our viewers are from New Jersey, 23% are from other states — NY, FL, CA, TX, PA, IL, NC, OH, MD, MA, VA, KY, MI, MN, and AZ, and 11 % are from the following countries: Philippines, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Colombia, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Poland, Sweden, South Africa, Peru, Singapore, Guam and Japan. We have indeed become a “Parish without borders”!! Praise God!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

This year, the Feast of Ascension (Thursday May 13) is postponed to Sunday May 16 which is today. After the resurrection, Jesus taught his disciples about God’s kingdom for forty days (Acts 1:3) “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). Two angels then tell the disciples that Jesus was “taken into heaven” (Acts 1:11). But the ascended Jesus is still with us through his indwelling Holy Spirit as he has promised, “I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.”  What is celebrated is Jesus’ exaltation and the end of his earthly existence as a prelude to the gift of the Spirit. Hence this feast is a celebration of Jesus’ final glorification after his suffering, death and Resurrection – a glory in which we also hope to share.

And yet, humanly speaking, the concept of bodily Ascension is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. Pope Francis doesn’t shy away from explaining mysteries of our faith. In his catechesis on Ascension, he says: “Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven thus allows us to know this reality that is so consoling on our journey: in Christ, true God and true man, our humanity has been brought to God. He has opened the way. He is like the leader of a mountain climbing party that is roped together. He has reached the summit and pulls us to himself, leading us to God. If we entrust our lives to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are certain of being in safe hands.”

It is this assurance that allowed multitudes of Christians to follow Jesus, even to the point of martyrdom. St. Matthias, our parish patron, is one such. The Apostles felt that they had to replace Judas who betrayed Jesus. They nominated two men: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. They prayed and drew lots. The choice fell upon Matthias, who was added to the Eleven. (Acts 1:15-26). What happened after that? No exact historical details are available. According to Greek tradition, Matthias preached and converted the people of Cappadocia in central Turkey, and was martyred in the region about the Caspian Sea around the year 80 AD.

Every year, we used to have our great Carnival around the feast of St. Matthias. All of us are sad to miss that week of fun, games, food and celebration  This year, we have been praying a Novena to St. Matthias for the past nine days leading up to his feast. Today as we celebrate our parish patronal feast, what is of importance is to remember that Matthias was chosen to be an apostle because he was with Jesus and was a witness to his resurrection. That means, following his example, we need to make greater efforts to know Jesus personally by our familiarity with God’s Word and by talking to Jesus daily in prayer or meditation. Thus we become witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus who is God-with-us always.

Happy Feast of St. Matthias!

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

This month of May brings before us two great saints – Joseph and Mary – who are models of holiness through their intimate association with Jesus. Even though May is known as the month of Mary, we enter May with the feast of “St Joseph, the Worker.”

It was Pope Pius XII who instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955, in order to foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists. Beginning in the Book of Genesis, 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 held up as a model of work.

In this Year of St. Joseph, we have been reflecting on a specific theme each month, and praying a Novena on the First Wednesday of the month. The theme for this month is: Joseph, a working Father. Here’s what Pope Francis says about this theme in his Apostolic letter, Patris Corde:

“Saint Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one’s own labor.

In our own day, when employment has once more become a burning social issue, and unemployment at times reaches record levels even in nations that for decades have enjoyed a certain degree of prosperity, there is a renewed need to appreciate the importance of dignified work, of which Saint Joseph is an exemplary patron.

Work is a means of participating in the work of salvation, an opportunity to hasten the coming of the Kingdom, to develop our talents and abilities, and to put them at the service of society and fraternal communion. It becomes an opportunity for the fulfilment not only of oneself, but also of that primary cell of society which is the family. A family without work is particularly vulnerable to difficulties, tensions, estrangement and even break-up. How can we speak of human dignity without working to ensure that everyone is able to earn a decent living?

The loss of employment that affects so many of our brothers and sisters, and has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, should serve as a summons to review our priorities. Let us implore Saint Joseph the Worker to help us find ways to express our firm conviction that no young person, no person at all, no family should be without work!”

We will reflect further on this theme during our First Friday Holy Hour/Benediction on May 7, soon after the 8 am Mass. Why not get a taste of the Holy Hour? It will be accessible any time on our St. Matthias YouTube channel.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal

Dear Friends,

As you know, our 2021 RCIA class is very large with 25 adults. Thank you to those of you who picked up their names and prayed for them. Most of them were present at the Easter Vigil and received one or more of the Sacraments of Initiation. Those absent will receive on another day. “Congratulations to our 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 Phyllis Stone with her teammates Anne Marie Francis, Gondee Tibay, Mary-Frances Reavey, and Carmen Calvimontes.  They have been doing an amazing job every year, but it has been very challenging this year due to the pandemic. And 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.

But 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 be not be baptized, or who are baptized but not received Communion or Confirmation. Why not speak to them about receiving these Sacraments of Initiation? Why not invite them to join our RCIA process? That is another sign of you becoming a
witness to Jesus.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Abraham Orapankal