Dear Friends,
At long last, we welcome this weekend to our parish Fr. Lijo Thomas, who replaces Fr. Deny Varghese who left us in June to take up advanced theological studies in Rome. Both Fr. Sam and myself warmly welcome Fr. Lijo to the parish and we look forward to his presence and ministry. Fr. Lijo (pronounced LEE-Joe) is a young priest, just thirty-one years old. He is a native of India, coming from the same state, Kerala, as both Fr. Sam and Fr, Deny. He is well educated in philosophy and theology. He also holds a licentiate degree (S.T.L.) from the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. He was ordained as a priest on February 22, 2014 and has served in a number of positions in his own diocese in India, ranging from parochial vicar (associate pastor) to pastor. He also has served as a vice principal and as director of the Family Apostolate in his home diocese. As you can see, Fr. Lijo, even as young as he may be comes to us with a wealth of experience. Fr. Lijo will celebrate the Masses at St. Agnes this weekend and will be at St. Mary’s next weekend. I know that you will welcome him warmly.
The Annual Collection is now underway and I am gratified by the early returns. Already at this early stage, we have received over $20,000 toward our modest goal of $55,000. The proceeds from this collection are used to make improvements and needed repairs on the parish plant. Your generosity is much appreciated, and not only for this collection, but for all the many ways that you support the parish and its mission throughout the year. Know that I am grateful for whatever you can do.
A change in the way the weekday Mass is celebrated at St. Mary’s took effect on Saturday, November 2. Whereas in the past, we always began and ended the Mass with a hymn sung without musical accompaniment, we no longer sing hymns at the weekday Masses. The reason is quite simple. The practice has been that the reader for the Mass also selected the hymn and led the singing of it. This practice has kept some from reading at the morning Mass because they either could not or did not want to lead the singing. In actuality, the ministry of leading song is distinct from that of proclaiming the Word of God. They should not be linked together. A perceived inability to sing or a fear of singing publicly should not keep one from exercising the Ministry of the Word if they feel called to do so. While singing at Mass, especially on weekdays, is optional, the worthy proclamation of the Word of God is not. So, for now, we have suspended the practice of singing at the weekday morning Masses at St. Mary’s. We will consider other options as we go forward, but it should be noted that very few parishes have morning Mass each day during the week as we do, and very, very few parishes sing hymns at weekday Masses. While I understand that a few may be unhappy with this, I ask that you understand my reasoning behind the decision. I also would appreciate your cooperation with it.
Have a good week!
