Dear Friends,
We are entering the last week in “Ordinary Time” beginning with the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King. It is the signal that the Church’s calendar year is coming to an end and that we are about to start the new year! Thus, the First Sunday of the New Year in the Liturgical Calendar is next Sunday as we begin the season of Advent! It is good for us to know that today’s feast was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of people’s thinking and living and organizes life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations. May we all recognize this truth and continue our efforts to honor Jesus by living his values in our lives.
Our St. Matthias church door near the Tabernacle has been closed for over a year as part of the Eucharistic Revival. As we know, it was a reminder to keep the area around the Tabernacle as a sacred space. The innocent chitchats and socializing in that area have been reduced significantly. There is a greater sense of reverence shown to the Blessed Sacrament by those who pass by the Tabernacle. This Solemn Feast of Christ the King is an auspicious day to reopen that door so that we can enter/exit that way as before, while being more conscious of the need to continue the silence and reverence around the Tabernacle.
We are also entering the Thanksgiving Week! Some have asked me:
Is Thanksgiving a religious holiday or a secular celebration? Although the secularism of our present culture may have turned the focus more to indulging in food, fun, games, and family gathering, we must not forget the history and the religious significance of this quintessential American holiday.
It is definitely a religious holiday rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of our country. So we need to pause to thank God. One lively song that has remained in my memory from my missionary seminary life is titled: Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One. It has these wonderful and uplifting words in one verse:
Are you ever burdened with a load of care/Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev’ry doubt will fly/And you will be singing as the days go by.
Yes, we need to really take the time to be thankful for what we have been blessed with, especially for those simple things that we take for granted.
I invite you to begin the Thanksgiving Day by attending our special Mass to thank our loving God who is the source of all blessings. Welcome to join the 8 am Thanksgiving Day Mass this Thursday.
It is wonderful that many families have the tradition of not only saying a Thanksgiving prayer before meals, but also of going around the table and having each person say what they’re thankful for. In my observation, I’ve found that people most often neglect to mention material things. Instead, they say “family” or “friends.” This could be because Thanksgiving teaches us to appreciate the things we can’t buy — the important aspects of life. Yes, St. Paul is right: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater..” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Your brother in Christ
Fr. Abraham Orapankal