Volume 2 . Issue 10 . October 2019

A message from the Parish PriestFr. Maxim Cardoza, OFM Cap.

Dear Parishioners, Greetings of Love, Joy and Peace.

October 1 marks the Feast Day of St Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Patroness of all Missionaries and the Missions. October 2019 has been dedicated as the Extraordinary Missionary Month. It reminds us as Baptized and as

Christians, how we can be sharers in the mission of the Church, to be courageous and zealous in bearing witness to the Gospel of saving love and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Theresa of Child Jesus expressed her fervent wish to serve God as a missionary with these words: “In spite of my littleness, I would like to enlighten souls… But…one mission alone would not be sufficient for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only, but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.”

“What matters in life,” she wrote, “is not great deeds, but great love.” Therese’s spirituality is of doing the ordinary, with extraordinary love. Living a hidden, simple life of prayer, she was gifted with great intimacy with God and prayed for all missionaries. This made her the Patroness of Missionaries.

Countless millions have been touched by her intercession and imitate her “little way.” I call it “Little Missions,” it’s the little things. Whatever it is in life – it’s the little things: At home, At work, With your spouse, and your kids, with any relationship, trying to rid yourself of a vice.

It’s the little things…it’s the little things… and you string enough of the little things together and it results in something big. Something better. But you have to be patient. And you have to have the right goal in mind. It’s why I love the Little Way of St. Therese. Simple to understand. Simple in thinking. But big in power.

Everything in my life, every life changing event, every giant leap forward after a couple steps back – has resulted from little decisions. Some minor adjustment. The little thing…

“The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will.” ‘Do little things what God wants with great love.’

When you hear the word mission or missionary – what comes to mind? But more often than not, it’s the little missions.

Jesus didn’t send His disciples out to convert all in one dive. He sent them out from town to town, from house to house, from family to family. He sent them out on a bunch of little missions.

That’s all He asks of us. Each day is a day of little missions. We get up. We go to work, whether it is in an office or the home. We do our work, and then we come home to our family, maybe we interact with others in the community in some way, and then we go to bed, and then do it all over again.

In the midst and in-between, we have little missions. Encounters and interactions with people. Using our gifts and talents and abilities. Being kind and respectful. Helping others along the way. If we chain all of these together throughout the day, a bunch of little differences can work together to make a big difference in the world around us and in others’ lives.

It is truly only by striving to do God’s will in everything, in all these Little Missions throughout the day that will truly bring you a lasting purpose and passion in helping others and bring others to Christ.

I think that is why the Apostles were able to do what they did. They made a difference in others’ lives and brought others to Christ, not because it made them feel good or because it was easy, or because it fit their plan… They did it because it was God’s will, and they trusted in Him and in His calling. And then they strung together a bunch of Little Missions that changed the world.

October 2019 has been declared as Extraordinary Missionary Month. Holy Father Pope Francis has indicated how to live the Extraordinary Missionary Month, by indicating the theme “Baptized and sent: the Church of Christ on mission in the world.” Awakening the awareness of the missio ad gentes and resuming the responsibility for the proclamation of the Gospel with new enthusiasm.

There are four dimensions, indicated to us by the Pope, to live more intensely the journey of preparation and realization of the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019:

1. The personal encounter with Jesus Christ alive in His Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and community prayer;

2. The witness: the saints, the martyrs of the mission and the confessors of the faith, expression of the Churches scattered throughout the world;

3. Missionary formation: writing, catechesis, spirituality and theology;

4. Missionary charity.

Let us remember what St. Theresa of Calcutta said, “Do little things with great love.” Hence, let us not ignore doing little things, like acknowledging a favor by saying a sincere “thank you,” or congratulating others for their success, or sharing in their sorrows and offering them help and support in their needs. This month as we celebrate Extraordinary Missionary Month and Mission Sunday. It is again a reminder for us how we can help others who are less fortunate than us. We pray for them as well as do our ‘little thing with great love’ to help them.

This month we also dedicate as the month of Rosary. We celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Rosary on October 7th. Let us pray to Our Lady of the Rosary and we ask the Virgin Mary to help us to cultivate a habit of interior prayer through the daily recitation of the rosary. As we hold rosary, let us experience holding the hands of our beloved Mother Mary. And let Mary bring us close to Jesus and to our mission.

We can do this ‘little mission,’ Day by day. Moment by moment. Mission by mission.

The Extraordinary Missionary MonthOctober 2019

The Extraordinary Missionary Month was called for by Pope Francis two years ago on World Mission Sunday.

“For the month of October 2019”, he said “I ask the whole Church to live an extraordinary time of missionary activity”.

He also explained it marks the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, a document on the Church’s mission to bring to the world the salvation of Jesus Christ, which he described as prophetic and far-sighted.

The theme chosen for the month is “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.” It will help us in our mission, he explained, which he said is not about spreading a “religious ideology” or a “lofty ethical teaching.” Instead, he continued, “through the mission of the Church, Jesus Christ himself continues to evangelize and act; her mission thus makes present in history the Kairos, the favorable time of salvation.”

This special month opens on the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the Missions together with Saint Francis Xavier, and has its culmination in the celebration of World Mission Sunday marked this year on 20 October.

Do you know?

The Mass - Most beautiful thing in the Catholic Church.

For Catholics Mass is the center of

their worship. St. Alphonsus Liguori says “The Mass is the most beautiful thing in the church”. Every day or every

Sunday catholic gather for the celebration of Mass. The Holy Sacrifice, Holy Eucharist, Celebration of the last Supper, Breaking of the bread, Memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and so are the terms we use to call this celebration. Unfortunately many Catholics do not understand the parts of the Holy Mass. They go every day or every Sunday for the Mass and they feel it is the same again and again, not understanding what we are doing nor understanding what the priest is doing. Of course the grace of Eucharist is always there but when we do not understand what is happening during the mass we are likely not to take active part in the celebration and benefit much from the Eucharist. Hence this is my humble attempt to give some reflections on the Mass and its various parts.

General Introduction: From the beginning of the Eucharist the presence of the Lord is there, one who invites us to listen to Him (Liturgy of the Word) and the one who shares his Body and Blood (Liturgy of the Eucharist). We come before him as sinners asking his mercy and forgiveness. We Glorify His name once we feel light of the burden of our sins. We attentively try to listen to His Words with the response of the Psalms. We offer ourselves and expect transformation with the bread and wine that is transformed into the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. At the center of the

Eucharist we contemplate the act of the Holy Spirit and prepare ourselves to receive the Eucharist. It is called communion and rightly it is because through his body and blood we have a communion with the Lord. At the end as we thank the Lord for all the blessings that we received and then we are commissioned to go and live this Eucharist in our day-today lives.

All these things happen during the celebration of Mass. As we go through the various parts of the mass we shall understand the deep theology of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for humanity. We shall rediscover His love for us as individuals when we partake in the Holy Mass.

Main Parts of the Mass: We have two main parts of the Mass, namely;

I. Liturgy of the Word and II. Liturgy of the Eucharist.

I. Liturgy of the Word has the following sub parts

a. Introductory Rite: Entrance Chant, Sign of the Cross, Greetings of the Priest, Penitential Act, Gloria and the Collect (opening prayer)

b. Liturgy of the Word: First Reading, Responsorial Psalm, Second reading, Acclamation, Gospel, Homily, The Creed and the prayers of the faithful.

II. Liturgy of the Eucharist has the following sub parts

a. Liturgy of Eucharist: offertory, Prayer over the gifts, Eucharistic Prayer, Preface, Sanctus (Holy Holy), Epiclesis (invocation of the Holy Spirit), Anamnesis (last supper narratives), Mystery of faith, The great Doxology).

b. Communion Rite: Lord’s Prayer, prayer of peace, sign of peace, Lamb of God, Reception of communion and prayer after communion.

c. Concluding Rite: Announcements (if any), Final Blessing, Dismissal and Final Chant.

Having known the Main parts and its subparts we shall proceed towards the further explanation in the next issue of “Voice”. Till then let us make a sincere effort to come to the Holy Mass with open mind and heart to receive the grace of our Lord.

To be continued…….

Fr. Wilson

Photo CornerFr. Ani Xavier’s 25th year priestly ordination celebration by Tamil Catholic Community held on 06-09-19

Certification for Marriage Preparaion course on 06-09-19 Legion of Mary 2000 hail Mary held on 06-09-19

Oct 1: St. Therese of the Child JesusOct 2: Holy Guardian AngelsOct 4: St. Francis of Assisi FeastOct 10: Family Fest Meeting @ 8.00 pm Oct 12: New Altar Servers Training

Church Events Oct 15-18: Sri Lankan Retreat – Fr. Samantha SenanayakeOct 18-20: World Mission Sunday Oct 21-24: Priests Annual Retreat Oct 21-24: Filipino Retreat – Fr. Jade LicuananOct 21-25: Marriage Preparation Course – MalayalamOct 27: Dedication of all the Churches of the Vicariate

Fr. Ani Xavier’s thanksgiving Holy Mass held on 2019 09 11

New Parish Priest Fr. Maxim Cardoza’s Installation held on 12-09-19

October 20191. What is the shortest verse in the Bible?

2. What kind of tree did Zacchaeus climb to see Jesus (enter Jericho)?

3. Name the disciple who was a tax collector?

4. What did John the Baptist eat while preaching in the Judean wilderness?

5. Who leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary visited?

6. What city is called the City of David?

7. How old was David when he was anointed as a King of Israel?

8. Who did God describe as “a blameless and upright man”?

9. Who built the first altar?

10. Who replaced Judas as the twelfth apostle?Pleae submit your answers with your name, age and contact details clearly mentioned at the parish office before 1 November 2019.

A Monthly Newsletter Published by St . Paul ’s Catholic Church, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi , UAEEmail : voiceofstpauls@gmail .com

A Monthly Newsletter Published by St . Paul ’s Catholic Church, Musaffah, Abu Dhabi , UAEEmail : voiceofstpauls@gmail .com

Editorial Team : Fr. Maxim Cardoza, OFM Cap.., Jerry Gomez, Jean Zibbin, Shital Mohan, Shibu Thomas, Suresh Saldanha

Quiz winners for September 20191. Melita Pereira - 9th Grade

2. Rion Dsouza - 1st Grade

Fr. Ani Xavier’s Farewell by Parish Community held on 11-09-19

Get published ...Submit your articles, poems and drawings in Parish Office to get published in the next edition of ‘The voice of St. Paul’s Catholic Church” before 30th October 2019 or Email to voiceofstpauls@gmail.com