Syro-Malabar Catholic Mission of Greater Washington : Northern Virginia Community Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago

Transcription

1 Syro-Malabar Catholic Mission of Greater Washington : Northern Virginia Community Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago Regular Weekly Mass on Sunday 3:00 PM - Sunday School starts at 2:00 PM St. Andrew Lutheran Church,14640 Soucy Place, Centreville, VA As the mission director, I participated in the Presbyterium of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago held at Techny Towers, Chicago, from Monday (Sept 20, 2010) to Thursday (Sept 23, 2010). Mar Jacob Angadiath, our Bishop, presided over the meeting. About 40 priests from all over the United States and Canada, including the two Vicar Generals, participated in the meeting. On the last day, the Pastoral Council Members from the various parishes also joined the meeting. Discussions during the Presbyterium centered on the need for stability, unity and uniformity in the various aspects of Christian life such as worship, rules and regulations, faith formation etc. throughout this vast diocese spread all over the United States and Canada. It was specially noted that to ensure safe environments for all our children and an active youth ministry are our serious responsibility marks the TENTH YEAR of the inception of our Diocese. When the Diocese was started in 2001, there were only two Parishes and a couple of Mission Stations. Now we have more than twenty Parishes and forty Missions. Our growth is the result of God s grace and the concerted hard work of all the people involved. As we continue to plan for our future growth and development, we promise to work together and pray earnestly with all our hearts for God s blessings. I am very happy to announce that REV. DR. GEORGE MADATHIPARAMPIL, the VICAR GENERAL of the Diocese, will join us for HOLY MASS on Sunday, October 24, The Diocese is fully aware of the beginning and growth of the Northern Virginia Community and the Vicar General s visit is to have a first- hand experience of our Community. After the Mass, the Vicar General will meet the Members of the Committee. Fr. Mathew Punchayil Parish Annual Picnic & Cook Out - Oct New to Parish Oct Volume 1 Issue 3 All new members are welcome! Please contact trustees or council members for detail information. To get regular updates about community, join our group. and apply for membership. To get up to date information, go to Altar service: The church is seeking volunteers for Altar Service. If you are interested in becoming an Altar Server, please contact Mr. George Parapurathu ( ). Weekly Readings: If you would like to be a Lector please contact Mr. George Manalel ( ). Music Ministry: Do you love to sing? Come, get acquainted with a great group of adults and kids. Have some fun! No prior experience required. Please contact Mr. Shaju Joseph ( ) for further information. Fellowship and Refreshments: Coffee and light refreshments will be served each week after the Holy Mass to give everyone an opportunity to meet and greet fellow parishioners. To sponsor refreshments for our community, please contact Mr. Sajith Thoppil ( ). Church Bulletin: If you like to be part of the Church Bulletin Editorial board or would like to contribute articles for our monthly bulletin, please contact the Trustees. The bulletin is published on the first Sunday of every month. Articles should be received at least fifteen days prior to the publishing date. We, as a Community, express our heartfelt gratitude to: Rev. Fr. Joseph Elampara OCD Rev. Fr. Lijoy Jacob OCarm Rev. Fr. Thomas Valayam for helping us with Holy Masses, Homilies and other Spiritual Guidance during the month of September. We cordially invite you to the first annual NVA Syro-Malabar Community Picnic on Saturday October 9th 10 AM at Algonkian Park Shelter 3 (47001 Fairway Dr, Sterling, VA, 20165). There will be lots of games and entertainments and plenty of fun! Onsite Grill begins at 10 AM. Kids games begin at AM. Enjoy traditional Kerala food from our special Thattukada (beginning at 3 pm). Bring your friends and family. Activities include soccer, volley ball, badminton, musical chairs, spoon race, 50 m race, tug of war, sack race for the kids and adults. If you have any other suggestions for fun activities or for more informations, please contact Mr.Shaju Joseph ( ) or Mr. Sujith Abraham ( )

2 St. Paul wrote: You are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). As members of the Catholic Church, we are members of the family of saints. One of the many ways of knowing our family of faith is to know the stories of our saints. St. Ambrose said: The life of the saints is the norm of life for all others. Stories of saints are often fascinating for all, especially for the children. This column is prepared for our beloved children in our community. Dear boys and girls, you may learn the ABCs of our faith by reading Our Faith: Saints, Facts, and Legends. Always ask questions about saints. Save this page and memorize the fascinating facts about saints for an annual Quiz. Remember, great prizes are saved for the Winners. OFL2: Saints Gervasis and Prothasis While we revere St. Thomas, who was called the Twin or Didymus, for bringing Christian faith to India for the first time, we also need to learn the stories of two other sets of twins to whom we are indebted as Christians. The first were Persian Missionaries, Mar Sapor and Mar Phrod. They came to the Malabar Coast, Kerala in 825, were identical twins and were ordained Bishops. Mar Sapor had his headquarters in Cranganore (Kodungalloor) and Mar Phrod in Quilon. They were buried at Quilon. They performed many miracles and wonders both during their lives and after death (Fr. Bernard Thoma, Mar Thoma Christianikal, pp ). Thus they were revered as Saints (Kantheesangal) by the local church. Their feast days were celebrated in India and churches were built in their honor. (Mathew Maduckakuzhy, Purathana Christava Kendrangaliloode, VoI. l, p 121). When the Portuguese missionaries came to Kerala, they misunderstood the faith practices among the Christians that lived there. These misunderstandings resulted in the synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor soonahados) which decreed that the churches which were dedicated to Mar Sapor and Mar Phrod should be rededicated to All Saints (Dr. Scaria Zacharia, ed, The Acts and Decrees of the synod of Diamper, p 194). It is said that the churches of Mar Sapor & Mar Phrod were later rededicated to another Twin Saints Gervasis and Prothasis of Milan Italy who were martyrs and identical twin brothers like Sapor and Phrod. Ss. Gervasis and Prothasis became well known in Kerala after the Synod of Diamper (1599). The churches of Udayamperoor (510 AD), of Kothanalloor (826 AD), and the Catholic Church of Akaparambu (1541AD) are named after these Twin Saints. NB: Please let Fr. Joseph know your suggestions regarding this page Our Faith: Saints, Facts, and Faith Fr. Joseph Elamparayil, OCD The identical twins, Gervasis and Prothasis, were born in the middle of the 3rd century at Milan in Italy. When their parents, Vitalis & Valeria, were martyred for their faith in Jesus, the twin brothers decided to follow in the footsteps of their parents. They donated all their belongings to the poor of the area. For ten years they were living in a small hut chanting prayers and meditating on the heavenly glories. Ss Gervasis & Prothasis were also brought before the Roman Governor and were accused of being Christians. The Governor asked them to denounce Christianity and to offer incense and offerings to the Roman gods. As the twins refused to comply with the order of the Governor, they were sentenced to death. Gervasis was beaten to death with a whip and Prothasts was beheaded. According to popular tradition, their martyrdom might have been during the reign of Emperor Daicus ( ) or Valerian ( ) who was a cruel persecutor of Christians. St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, while constructing his Cathedral, searched for Holy Relics of saints to be placed inside the Cathedral. He was guided by a vision that the Holy Relics of the identical twins, Gervasis and Prothasis, lay buried in the vicinity. An excavation was done in a cemetery named Porta Vercellina on June 7, 326 A.D. As the digging was very deep, the remnants of two bodies of youngsters beheaded and stained with blood were found. They were identified as the remains of Gervasis & Prothasis. The holy bodies were transferred to the Basilica of St. Ambrose on June 19, 386 A.D. The Holy Relics of these saints were brought to the Parish church of Kothanalloor (in Kottayam District, Kerala) with the authoritative document from the Vicar General of Archdiocese of Milan, Italy. Mar Joseph Pallikaparampil, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Palai enshrined them in the new annex constructed adjacent to the church on September 5, The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Ss. Gervasis and Prothasis (Kantheesangal) on June 19 of every year. The Church of Kothanalloor also celebrates it on the same day with a spectacular gettogether of twins from all over South India.

3 Mission Director Fr. Mathew Punchayil Trustees Jilson Joseph Regi Alexander Council Members Bejoy Thomas Charles Thomas George Alex George Manalel George Parapurathu Jimmy Jose Johnson Myalil Jose Thomas Joseph Jacob Joshy Joseph Rani James Sajith Thoppil Saju Thomas Shaju Joseph Sujith Abraham Teji Manalel Announcements Congratulations to all proud family members!! We have a new family member. Emma Jacob born on 9/16/2010 Proud Parents : Jaison Jacob & Marilyn Jacob A gift from Heaven! Kenny Joseph Palathingal arrived Tuesday 9/14/2010 at 1:05 P.M.20 inches, 7 lbs, 10 oz..proud parents: Jenson Jose and Linta Rose Big Sister : Serin Mary Refreshments: Special Thanks to Parishioners from Fairfax, Fair Oaks, Chantilly and Centreville for setting up the refreshments and cleaning for the month of September. All Parishioners from Ashburn and Leesburg are requested to volunteer for this month. Youth Ministry We are organizing a youth group in our parish to help the youth, connect and support each other. Beginning November, the Mass on the second Sunday of every month will be geared for the youth. Prayers in English will be included to get them more involved. We invite you to bring your children 13 and older to benefit from this opportunity for spiritual growth. Sponsors for the month of August /September Refreshments : Mr. Bejoy Thomas & Family Mr. Rony Thomas & Family Mr. Tony Palack(Babu) & Family Mr. Sujith Abraham & Family Donations: Mr. Sathian Pinchappan & Family Mr. Reji Jose & Family Thank you to all our sponsors. To celebrate our Holy mass we need vestments for the priest, paten, chalice, prayer books etc. For our fellowship and refreshments we need coffeemakers and other items. As a well wisher or an active member if you would like to sponsor any of these items or contribute to the community, please contact Mr. Jilson Joseph. Readings for October 2010 October First Reading : Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 Second Reading : 2 Timothy 1:6-8, Gospel : Luke 17:5-10 October First Reading : 2 Kings 5:14-17 Second Reading : 2 Timothy 2:8-13 Gospel : Luke 17:11-19 October First Reading : Exodus 17:8-13 Second Reading : 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 Gospel : Luke 18:1-8 October First Reading : Sirach 35:12-14, 16-1 Second Reading : 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Gospel : Luke 18:9-14 October Account Information Total Collection (month of September) $ For more information contact Mr Jojo Mathew ( ) All your financial contributions to the parish are tax deductible. Hence, in order to receive acknowledgment for your contributions by the end of the fiscal year, please make your contributions by check payable to Syro-malabar catholic mission of GW:NVC or if you are contributing in cash, please enclose it in a sealed envelope with your mailing address First Reading : Wisdom 11:22-12:2 Second Reading : 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 Gospel : Luke 19:1-10

4 Month of October - Rosary month f you are asked the question What is the importance of the month of October? you will definitely answer, Halloween! How many of you can say, October is the Rosary Month? October is the month in which Holy Mary - Queen of the Holy Rosary, is venerated. If some one asks you what object is most emblematic of the Catholics, you can say without any doubt, "The Rosary." The word rosary comes from Latin and it means a garland of roses. The popularity of the rosary owes much to St. Dominic and we have already learned about him in last month s bulletin. The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. There are twenty mysteries in the Rosary, and these are divided into five joyful mysteries, five luminous mysteries, five sorrowful mysteries and five glorious mysteries. Now you might probably thinking, What are these mysteries you are talking about? I am not talking about a movie or novel. In Catholic Theology, "mystery" refers to something that we know or understand in part, but which we cannot understand completely. Mysteries are about God; they are God s plans or designs about man s salvation. They are revealed to us in the history of salvation. Specifically, in the Rosary they refer to the events in the life of Jesus, the Son of God. All of you kids like stories. When Jesus was a child in Nazareth, he must have listened to Mary and liked the stories she told. We also can listen to her now, when we pray the Rosary. The Rosary tells us the history of Jesus as events and it help us to know and love Jesus more and more and to be better people. "mystery" refers to something that we know or understand in part, but which we cannot understand completely The Joyful Mysteries tell us to be glad for all the good things we have in our life. The Luminous Mysteries remind us to follow Jesus, the light of the world. The sorrowful mysteries inspire us to give up and face our sufferings with courage like Jesus. The Glorious mysteries assure us that God will give us new life that never ends. Praying the Rosary daily provides you with tremendous spiritual growth. A simple but best explanation of spiritual growth is becoming more like Jesus Christ. How do we become like Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Spiritual growth is measured Roslyn Tomy by the existence of spiritual fruits -- the fruits of the Holy Spirit. As you learn the Rosary, try to learn more about Jesus and to love him more and more; and the spiritual fruits will grow in us. If you are becoming more loving, more joyful, more self-controlled, and more obedient then you can rest assured that spiritual growth is genuinely occurring in your life because the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Now think about how the Rosary teaches you the fruits of the Spirit and leads you to spiritual growth. The first joyful mystery is The Annunciation and it tells us about the Humility of Mary in her surrender to God s Will. We should never feel superiority over another because we all are created in the image and likeness of God. So we have the responsibility to treat everyone with respect and dignity, kindness and love. Humility comes from all these virtues. As home work, can you find out the spiritual fruits that lie behind the rest of the mysteries? Once you start praying the Rosary meaningfully, all the virtues will come to you. When you pray the Rosary, pray each mystery with an intention: pray for your family, friends, for the sick, for world peace etc. Also kneeling down for at least one mystery is a small sacrifice from your side. Think about the many sacrifices of Jesus for us, especially when he carried his Cross and died for us. Recently I took my daughter for her check up. The doctor asked her what she wants to be. I was expecting her to say a hair stylist because she loves to play with my hair. Instead, she said, I want to be a mommy! I don t know what she will be when she gets older, but it made me think, How responsible should I be in raising her up in the Catholic faith because today s children are tomorrow s future. Children, it is very important to be firm in your faith and turn away from all the temptations of Satan. Praying the Rosary is one of the best things you can do age to nourish and protect your faith! So pray the Rosary daily and keep growing in faith. Suggested Reading for the month: 101 INSPIRATIONAL STORIES OF THE ROSARY by Sister Patricia Proctor. If you are creative, make a rosary by yourself in this month or draw a picture of a rosary and try to give different colors for each decade.

5 "Sing praises to the Lord! Play music on the harps!". (Psalms 98:5) Music Ministry There are many other verses in the Bible where importance of singing is again and again pointed out. Due to this importance, lot of beautiful hymns are included in our Malayalam Liturgy. These hymns are not only meaningful, but very easy to sing as a community. As God's chosen ones its our duty to praise and worship God with all the talents God has showered on us. St Augustine said, "He who sings prays twice." Being a new church, we are in need of people who can participate in our Choir activities. This will be a great opportunity to express our faith and brighten our Liturgy and it doesn't take much talent or time at Shaju Joseph all! More than the vocal abilities, we need the desire of heart to sing to God. Along with the adults, we are also trying to include our kids in the choir activities. So far they have learned some English hymns over the past few weeks. Slowly we also want them to sing Malayalam hymns along with us during the liturgy. We have special liturgy books for them where Malayalam prayers are printed in English, so that they can read and participate. If you or your kids would like to participate in the choir activities, please contact Mr.Shaju Joseph. Together we can make our Malayalam Liturgy more pleasing to God with our active participation. As the hymn rightly notes, "thirunamakeerthanam paduvanallenkil navenekkenthinu nadha" Materials: 10 small paper flower petals (Hail Mary..), 5 small paper circle (our father.. ), 5 small paper stems (Mystery), 5 small paper leaves (glory..) and glue Print the Mystery on the stem paper. Rosary Crossword Puzzle Tissue Paper Flower Rosary When the mystery is announced each child will hold the stem. Once the our father is said, glue the little circle to the edge of the stem. Pray Hail Mary and glue one flower petal in the circle. Repeat for 10 times. Say Glory to God and glue the leaf on the stem. You can repeat it for all other mystery. (From Across 3. Fourth Glorious Mystery 6. Second Glorious Mystery 7. No. of Decades in an old Rosary 8. Most frequent prayer 9. Second Luminous Mystery event 10. Fourth Joyful Mystery 11.Said on Wednesdays Down 1. First Joyful Mystery 2. First Glorious Mystery 4. Finding of Jesus in... (Note: contains a space) 5. Second Joyful Mystery

6 CUSTOM BUILD KITCHEN CABINETS & GRANITES Basement Finishing, Home Theater, Remodeling and Addition. Contact Mr. Tony Palack (Babu)