The Syro-Malabar Church is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. The Syro-Malabar Church is an autonomous (sui iuris) particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, including the Latin Church and the 22 other Eastern Catholic Churches, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO). The Church is headed by the Major Archbishop Mar George Cardinal Alencherry. The Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops canonically convoked and presided over by the Major Archbishop constitutes the supreme authority of the Church.

I have been a professional minister for forty years. I spent ten years in education ministry as a campus minister and classroom teacher of religion, English, and history. Since 1991, I have worked in parishes as a DRE, liturgist, and pastoral associate. If Indiana Jones is correct (“It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.”), my ministry has taken me to New Mexico, New York, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan, Washington, Georgia, and Arizona.

The readings today are especially apt for me to say farewell to you and to express my profound gratitude to all of you.

In the passage from Revelations 21:5, Jesus sits on the throne in heaven and says, “Behold, I make all things new.” He is assuring the disciples that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus wants them to be confident and at peace as they take up his cross for the greater glory of God. By being faithful to his commandments, his teaching and his example, we are part of a grand plan of God to renew the face of the earth. He renews us as people. He renews society. He renews the Church. This message leads us to the words of our gospel today:

There are many changes coming to our parish, and unfortunately, I will be adding another item to that list.

I will be leaving my position of Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Clare of Assisi effective May 12, 2022.

Where is your life headed? Do you feel like you are going in the right direction? We are constantly trying to better ourselves. But what do we ultimately need in our lives for fulfillment?

The Gospels show us the one thing to do that will guide us along the best and right path: following Jesus Christ.

It was twelve years ago on the Feast of Divine Mercy that we gathered with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and a large number of priests for the Solemn Mass for the Dedication of the Church and Altar. The date was April 11, 2010.

Even though we had our first Mass inside our church on Christmas Eve in 2008, we had been using our temporary wooden altar from the time when we were having Masses in the parish hall. Finally, in 2010, we had the permanent altar that you now see in the church as well as the stone baptismal font and the tabernacle.

This has been a wonderful year as many more parishioners were able to return to the church for Mass. I was very glad to see more faces and catch up with their stories. We still have a weekly live stream Mass for those who need it, but we hope we will see you soon inside the church if you are healthy. We started construction on our Parish Activities Center to include offices, social hall, chapel, meeting rooms etc. We really appreciate our donors and hope you are one of them! I recently announced some priests and staff changes.

As a Catholic priest, more so, as a religious missionary priest, I was always formed and trained to be ready and willing to go anywhere and to any mission or place that the need calls or God’s Spirit leads to through the use of Major Superiors or the Bishop of the Diocese where we work.

After almost 8 years serving at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Parish, it is now time for change, time to move to another Mission. This time at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Chandler, Arizona.

Praying with Scripture can be done alone or with others. When done with others, it can be a means of sharing more deeply the faith that you attempt to live out day by day. We believe that one of the ways God is manifested to us is through the Scriptures. When we prayerfully read the Scriptures, we open our minds and hearts to the Spirit of God. We can be both challenged and affirmed by the Word of God.

In the Gospels, Jesus commands man to deny himself and take up his cross. What does it mean to take up our own cross in our daily lives?

When we think about what our crosses are, we may assume that it could be some sort of physical or emotional burden that has been placed upon us. While these can add stress to our lives, the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that Jesus has not given us a burden that is too heavy or impossible to bear (CCC 1615).

As we prepare to enter another Lenten season, it is good to remind ourselves that this is not only a time of penance but of conversion as well. That is why there is such a close connection between Lent and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). You know that RCIA is a process for those over the age of seven wishing to become Catholic. Some enter the RCIA process as unbaptized people, called catechumens. While others join the process having been baptized in another Christian denomination. We call them candidates.

The Church has celebrated the Eucharist since Jesus’ Resurrection, but it has not always looked the same. Originally, the small Christian communities gathered for the evening meal in one of its members’ houses. Prayers, hymns, and even readings from one of Paul’s letters were included as parts of the meal. Of course, most importantly, the host blessed and shared bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ. St. Paul discusses some of the issues that arise as a result of these early liturgical gatherings in chapter 11 of the First Letter to the Corinthians.

When two baptized people, one man and one woman, enter into marriage they bestow upon each other a Sacrament. For each of the other Sacraments the ordinary Minister is the Bishop, Priest, or Deacon. But in marriage the Bishop, Priest or Deacon is the Church’s witness of the Sacrament which the bride and groom bestow on each other.

Are we controlled by fear? Does it hold us back? Is it preventing us from living fully?

Life is a series of adventures and risks. It seems these days, that a great many people are living in fear. We are afraid of a virus which we do not understand. We are afraid because we have seen so many stories of people who got sick or died, some were even friends, family, fellow parishioners, colleagues, or neighbors. We are afraid to be around people wearing masks or vice versa, people who don’t wear face masks. We are afraid of criminals, the loss of property or violence.