29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

10-19-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Abraham Orapankal, Pastor

Dear OLP Family,

Last Sunday I was officially installed as your Pastor by our Bishop Checchio. I was very happy to see so many of you, parishioners of OLP, and many parishioners from my two previous parishes – St. John Neumann in Califon and St. Matthias in Somerset. I am truly grateful to all the different ministers who made it a nice celebration in the church; and thanks to our wonderful staff and the Columbiettes who did the set up and serving at the reception.

Today is World Mission Sunday, organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. It is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to reflect on our own baptism, when we received the gift of faith, and committed ourselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.

This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples,” invites us to rediscover our role as bearers of hope rooted in Christ. Pope Leo XIV is the first missionary priest and bishop to be elected Pope. He has spent many years as a missionary priest in Peru, serving communities in the Andean highlands and rural villages, always with humility, joy and pastoral closeness with the poor and marginalized. This is his first World Mission Sunday as Pope.

I myself had many beautiful experiences as a missionary priest in the Diocese of Kohima in the north eastern Indian state of Nagaland, prior to my coming to the USA. Being one with the simple folks in their own struggles gave me so much contentment. Living with minimum conveniences in the mission lands (no regular power, no heating during winter, no running water, etc.), I was happy to join other missionary priests, nuns, catechists, and parish leaders to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who were eager to know the truth of the Catholic Church. I’m sure our Fr. Sebastian, who is our priest in residence, also will have many beautiful missionary experiences to share with us. How wonderful that we have missionaries coming from different countries to Our Lady of Peace to make the Mission Appeal (as part of the Missionary Cooperation Plan of our Diocese) each year. Remember we had a missionary priest from Nigeria who did the mission appeal a month ago? We, the OLP family, have been very generous in our financial support of the Missions.

We have a special collection today. What is it for? Pope Saint John Paul II explained it well: "The offerings that will be collected [on World Mission Sunday] are destined for a common fund of solidarity distributed, in the Pope's name, by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith among the missions and missionaries of the entire world."

Let us, therefore, as disciples of the Lord, promote this important mission of the Church. In a world where so much division exists, let us rejoice in our unity as missionaries through our Baptism, as it offers each one of us an opportunity to support the life giving presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,124 mission dioceses/territories.

Your brother in Christ.