A Word From The Pastor
Church Etiquette: Before and After Mass: Arrive early and leave after the last song. Be hospitable to everyone, in the church building and in the parking lot. Reach out a helpful hand to our handicapped worshippers. Turn off all electronic devices. Clean up your Church. Pick up tissues, paper, or crayons and place them in proper receptacles. Help others as well. This is a place of worship and prayerfulness. Let’s make it so in all our words and deeds. During Mass: Use your “church voice” before, during and after Mass. To allow others to pray in silence, please save loud conversations for outside the worshipping space. In a spirit of hospitality, please fill the Church from front to back, from the center of the pews to the aisles. During Mass, Please keep a spirit of reverence; be as attentive as possible, even if you are in the vestibule. Be aware that fellow parishioners have come to Mass to encounter Christ- participation at Mass deepens and enriches this encounter leading up to the Eucharist. Our lack of participation demeans and diminishes our central act of worship. Active participation- being a full, conscious, and active partner at the liturgy makes a difference! Respond! Sing! Be attentive! Food and Gum: No Chewing gum, mints, food, or drink inside the main Church, even for children. Dress Respectfully: Please remember that what we wear to church really does matter, especially to others of all ages and backgrounds. Dress respectfully, as if you are going to share a meal with someone important and no one is more important than God.
Away to Italy: This past January 2nd I completed 10 years as a priest. A year ago all my friends that were ordained together decided to do something special for our 10th year ordination anniversary and we decided to get together in Rome. Priest Friends that were ordained with me and who are serving in India, Australia, Germany, Canada and America will join with the priest friends in Italy on the 15th to the 20th of this month. So I will be leaving for Rome on the 14th of this month to and will be back on the 31st of May. I also will be visiting my oldest sister, her husband and three children who are living in London for four days during this time. Please keep me in your prayers. If I get a glimpse of Pope Francis I will tell him you said hello ha ha.
Creation by the Left Hand: The teacher was discussing the story of creation to her second grade school children. She was telling them about how God the Father created the whole world. After listening, a little boy was excited and with full conviction blurted out his own version: “And God the Father made all these things with only his left hand!” This caught everybody by surprise. The teacher asked him, “And why is that?” “Well,” the boy explained, “because Jesus went up to heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father! So he had to use only his left hand.”
God’s blessings,
Fr. Suneesh Mathew
|
