Dear Friends,
You have seen the change of colors in the church to green, reminding us that we are now in the “Ordinary Time” of the Liturgical Calendar. It is called “ordinary” simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. It 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). “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42). Not much drama here. The usual stuff of daily life. Worshiping together, eating together and learning together. Yes, a big segment of our life consists of the ordinary.
The Church uses this time for a more vigorous understanding of our faith. Hence, today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. Our faith in the Triune God is a mystery that was revealed to us by Jesus himself. Trinity pervades our life – both internally and internally. When we were baptized, the triple pouring of the water on us is an external reminder of the internal transformation that took place in our soul. The signing of the cross is recognized as the universal symbol of Christian profession, reminding us that the Holy Trinity lives in us.
Next Sunday is the Feast of Corpus Christi. Its liturgical title, “Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ,” shows its centrality in Christian life and worship. But, in the recent decades, faith in the Real Presence of Jesus has waned in the mind of Catholics in general. Studies and researches have shown a sad reality of only about 30% of Catholics believing that the bread and wine do transform into the body and blood of Christ. That is the reason for the US Bishops Conference to call for a National Eucharistic Congress. Its Diocesan phase is coming to an end and the Parish phase begins next Sunday with the Feast of Corpus Christi.
As announced, we have formed a Parish Eucharistic Revival Committee who will initiate and implement many ideas and plans to strengthen our faith in the Eucharist and to invite people back to church. Two ideas with which we will begin the Revival are:
- To have the Eucharistic Procession around our campus following the 5 pm Mass next Saturday. Please come and be part of this important expression of our faith.
- To have a Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 6 – 8 pm. You have seen the sign up chart in the narthex. Try for a half-hour slot on one or more Monday evenings and see what a beautiful experience being in the presence of Jesus can be.
There will be other ideas that we will implement. Let us enter into this Year of Revival entrusting ourselves to Jesus Christ our Savior whose promise to be with us always is most tangibly realized in the Holy Eucharist.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal