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A Letter from Rev. Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor


Sunday Bulletin - January 6, 2008


Dear Parishioner,

Today, January 6th, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the EPIPHANY OF THE LORD. The Eastern Churches do not have the tradition of celebrating the Nativity of the Lord on December 25th as the Western Churches do. I believe there is an excellent theological reason for this. The fact that God chose to become a human being to save us is, of course, a great mystery that needs to be celebrated joyously will all solemnity as we did last week. However, we need to remember the very purpose of Christ’s coming to earth, is so that humankind may recognize, acknowledge and accept Him as their Savior and allow them to be transformed by Him accordingly. In fact, Jesus Himself has stated this on many occasions all throughout the Gospels. Hence, the Manifestation of Jesus at Epiphany and the total acceptance of this tiny baby by the Magi, who truly represent humanity, certainly has deep implications for everyone. The Eastern Churches focus heavily on this aspect of Christ’s recognition and acceptance by humankind and consequently celebrate their Christmas on the Epiphany.

Hence, a question that all of us could ask ourselves as we celebrate these great mysteries of our Redemption might well be: Do we just stop at being the joyous admirers of this Christ Child, or do we truly allow Him to transform us so that our lives can really become more Christ-like? Yes, to be more Christ-like is, of course, the ongoing challenge that we all face daily as His followers. The Holy Church of God, commissioned to continue the saving mission Jesus initiated, offers us various opportunities to renew our Christian Discipleship: the Sacraments that Christ has entrusted to her, the Liturgical Seasons, the teaching authority of the Church, the various feasts of Our Lord, Mary, and the Saints, etc. In miniature scale, we have, here at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, different ways or opportunities to grow in the way of the Lord. The Parish Mission that begins on January 13th, for instance, certainly offers us a wonderful opportunity that could assist us to grow in our Catholic Faith. My prayer for you is that this pre-Lenten Mission offers every one of us a chance to open ourselves to this God who loves and cares for us beyond all our human calculations. Let us bathe in that LOVE as we all prepare ourselves prayerfully for our Parish Mission that is scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 13th at 7:00 p.m.

Fr. K.K.

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