Dear Friends,
How nice that we have many important celebrations today!
FIRST, Mother’s Day! A very happy Mother’s Day to all mothers! It is said that every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the Promised Land. She prepares others to enter a world she will not see. Today we thank our mothers, pray for them and honor them by celebrating Mother’s Day and by offering our mothers on the altar of God. Please read the reflections, anecdotes and stories in this bulletin that is dedicated to all Mothers.
Let us keep in mind that Mary is the Mother par excellence. We are in May, the month of Mary. Our School children will be doing the traditional May Crowning of Mary this month – a reminder that she is a mother to all of us. Through Mary, the work of Motherhood is glorified and sanctified. On this Mother’s Day, presenting all mothers on the altar, let us sing the beautiful song we sing on the Feast of the Presentation, “Gentle woman, peaceful dove, teach us wisdom, teach us love.”
SECOND, Feast of St. Matthias, our parish patron. The very first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles describes the first thing that the apostles did after the Ascension of Jesus: finding a replacement for Judas. One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, and Peter proposed two conditions to make the choice: “…. one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, …. and a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22) There were two nominations. They cast lots and the lot fell for Matthias. As our patron, St. Matthias invites us to live as he lived with Jesus and to witness to the Resurrection. Happy Feast to all of us!
THIRD, Conclusion of our 60th Anniversary Year. We inaugurated it last year on the feast of St. Matthias. Anne Marie Francis and Jeff Hentz as co-chairs led the 60th Anniversary Committee, with the help of Dee Christmas, Pat Cullen, Joanne Diana, Gondee Tibay, Mary Frances Chavez, Emily Chavez, Sue Lenczewski, and Msgr. Seamus Brennan. We saw a number of memorable activities and events: Anniversary Mass with Bishop and past Ministers, parish picnic, Music Ministry Concert, Parish Cookbook, Honoring the pioneers, and a concrete plan to renovate our church building. All these made our Anniversary year very colorful and memorable.
All these celebrations remind us that we are a jubilant people moving forward on the path of holiness, bringing about the Kingdom of peace, justice, equality, and fellowship as Jesus envisaged. We are His ministers for this purpose. We have an amazingly large number of ministries to further the mission of Jesus. Next weekend you will find a number of these ministries at our Ministry Fair. May more of our parishioners be inspired to join these ministries and fulfill the dream God has for us as the wonderful community of St. Matthias.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal