Dear Friends,
The National Catholic Schools week begins today, with the theme: Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service. Our Bishop Checchio has written a beautiful letter explaining this theme very well. You can read a portion of his letter in this bulletin. The complete letter is on our parish website.
This theme should remind us of the motto of our own St. Matthias School: Faith, Caring Excellence. Is it just a coincidence? No. Catholic schools were begun with the specific purpose to form students to become good Catholics by instilling in them the values that would make them good citizens of the world, so that they would enrich the society with the leaven of the gospel and the example of faith. That is why the Catholic school, like the Catholic Church, is not a building or an institution, but it is the people. As the people of God, we, here at St. Matthias, work together to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth and raise up the next generation to do the same. Hence our teachers and students forming the foundation of the school are active people of faith who serve others and God, under the able leadership of Mary Lynch, the School Principal. We, parents, elders, benefactors, and well-wishers have a stake in this mission of Catholic education. Thank you for all the support you give to St. Matthias School to help us fulfil this mission. Our 10 am Mass this Sunday is a celebration of our Catholic School. It will be followed by an open house – open to all.
Each year the Diocese of Metuchen honors youth leaders from various parishes. The St. Timothy Award is given annually to High School Youth who live as disciples of Christ, setting a positive example for other youth, witness to their faith by exhibiting Catholic morals and integrity, demonstrate Gospel values through service to others and exhibit Christian leadership in parish, school, and/or community settings. We are very happy that two of our St. Matthias parish youth were chosen for this award: Melody Adamski and Emily Chavez. Hearty congratulations to these young ladies for meriting this great honor through their leadership, faith and service. As we are proud of their achievement, I wish to thank Sue Lenczewski, our Youth Ministry Coordinator, and Deacon John Radvanski who have been guiding our Youth/NeXt Level ministry.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins each of the Beatitudes with “Blessed are you …” These are guides for us to live joyfully. Each beatitude Jesus has uttered is so counter-cultural that we won’t believe it unless we experience it. It is then that we can and will know the “blessedness” that Jesus promises in the here and now. May we all resist Satan’s beatitudes (read on page 4 in this bulletin!) and imbibe the BE-ATTITUDES of Jesus and make each day a happy one for us and for others.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal