Weekend Mail

Dearly Beloved,
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
June 21, 2026, Fourth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost
Scriptural Readings:
• OT: Deuteronomy 33:23-29, Joshua 6:14-18, Hosea 5:11-6:1, Daniel the Younger 3:24-45, Isaiah 65:8-12
• NT: Acts 6:1-7, 1 Corinthians 10:14-18, Holy Gospel St Matthew 14:14-23
Holy Gospel: St Matthew 14:14-23
 ¹⁴ As he went ashore, he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
²² Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
 Reflections:
Jesus taught the disciples a prayer that turned out to be known and recited universally as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. The prayer starts with calling God as ‘our Father’, offering glory to Him, praying for His Kingdom to come, seeking His will to be done in this world in the same way as it is being done in heaven, and in the life of his children as well. The next plea is for the daily bread. God knows his children need bread and this is one of several needs. Before we were created, God made everything else that could satisfy our hunger and thirst. He made a perfect environment that fulfills all human needs and then He brought us into the world.
We may wonder: if everything was already provided, why did Jesus teach us to pray for our daily needs? Maybe because He wanted us to be aware of our needs and to know our heavenly provider of such needs. Once we know our needs and understand whom to ask these, it helps us to be grateful. God made everything for our needs and not for our greed. It is like submitting a request online at government portals. One should know up to what level things can be asked. God maybe generous in providing, but we need to be modest in asking.
What Christ taught us through this prayer was that our needs would be provided as per our Father’s will. When the disciples were hungry, Christ did not ask them to fast more for their spiritual growth. Rather he provided them with food. When he asks us to pray for his kingdom to come, it will be a system where resources are shared with equality and justice. There won’t be corruption and exploitation.
In a world of sharing, where love and mutual care are practiced, a loaf of bread can become a miracle with how it fills us up to contentment. Nobody would seize anyone’s share. Less can be felt as abundant. In a world of greed and corruption, much can be felt scarce. It is not the quantity, but a sense of mutuality and care that brings about true filling.
Every time we receive the Holy Communion, we experience this miracle of feeling of a filling and richness of content. Jesus did more miracles among the poor and needy, because they were sensitive to each other’s situation and were empathetic with each other. The multiplying of bread happens only in such a caring space. Or else within a moment, all available bread would disappear into bags, and nobody would get any filling. If the disciples were greedy, the distribution of food would not have happened. They would have just run away with their baskets.
If governments, rulers, agencies fail in meeting people’s needs, it could be because of greed and injustice. Here we have a beautiful picture of the Lord after the miracle of the bread. Christ was alone. He had nothing to carry or take away from the multiplied bread. He might have eaten for his hunger at the miracle spot with everyone. But He was now: worry-free and burden-free. He went to enjoy His time with His Father. There is nothing accumulated or stored for later. He began his day with his ministry, and it ended with Him conversing with His father, without any guilt or hard feelings. Christ was composed and calm. Because for Him, power and authority were only meant for serving his children. May we experience such calmness and composure through our confidence in Christ.
 FEASTS AND REMEMBRANCES:

• June 19, St James the Apostle, Brother of the Lord, the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
• June 11, HG Simeon Mar Athanasius Metropolitan, 137^th anniversary, entombed at Puthenpally, Kottayam

 Father’s Day – Sunday June 21
Father’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 21^st. There will be a photo booth at the basement organised by OCYM. All fathers can get a picture clicked with their children at the booth. SS students will make a presentation to honour fathers during the announcements’ session. Fathers reflect the Heavenly Father. God bless them.

OCYM Thattukada went well, sincere thanks to all
With everyone’s support, the Thattukada concluded well. Although it was raining on the morning, our members joined the service and visited the Thattukada counters. There were pre-orders which made the organising hassle free.  The food was tasty and delicious, made at the church kitchen. Sincere thanks to the parish MC, organisations, volunteers and OCYM team. Having a food sale requires a lot of hard work, planning, volunteering, spending and setting up. Our parish is blessed with members with a readiness to work hard and assist. The teamwork has been proven well. Thanks to Jim Mathews and team for cooking, all sponsors for their generosity, and all our members for their encouragement and support.

MGOCSM Canada 5K Walk: Saturday, June 13
The Fund Raiser 5K Race / Walk scheduled on June 13, Saturday, at Lake Aquitaine Park, Mississauga was a grand success. There were about 100 participants from various parishes and communities. The event managed to raise approximately 4500 CAD.

Food & Clothe Donation Drive – Saturday June 20, 02:30 pm at Moss Park, Toronto
This year our church is joining hands with the Coptic Orthodox Church to reach out to the needy. Our members supported this initiative by donating gently used clothes in good condition along with nonperishable food items.  We will be visiting our brethren in Toronto on Saturday, 20^th June (Tomorrow). All are welcome to join us when we distribute the donated items. We meet at church at 12:00 pm, pack the boxes, leave by 12:30 to reach the venue by 02:00. Because of the Soccer game, traffic blocks or delays could be expected. Please keep the visit in prayer. 
 
1^st Diocesan Family & Youth Conference of Canada: Thursday, July 02-Saturday, July 04
Preparations for the first Diocesan Family & Youth Conference of Canada, scheduled to be held at Georgian College, Barrie from July 02-04, 2026, are progressing well. The organizing team including the clergy, diocesan council members, spiritual organizations’ leaders are working hard to make the event fruitful, beneficial and memorable. 
Registration has crossed 170 before closing!
HG Zachariah Mar Nicholovos Metropolitan, Rev Fr Dr Timothy (Tenny) Thomas and Rev Fr Dr Abraham (Abey) George will be the main resource persons. Our families are encouraged to please assure full-time participation in the event. A registration campaign was held in our church. We keep the event in prayer.
For any enquiry, kindly reach out to Diocesan Council Members Manu Abraham and Vivin Thomas Vettiyil.

Pray for Peace in the Middle East and Gulf
We are glad to hear about the peace agreement. We hope for peace and continue praying for peace and concord. Our prayers may work miracles through the Holy Spirit. May the governments and leaders join hands to reconcile and to bring an end to the war. 
 UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS: Please note in your calendar

• June 16-29, Feast of the Apostles 
• July 02-04 (Thu -Sat), First Diocesan Family & Youth Conference of Canada

Attention Please:
Parking: Please be considerate while parking our vehicles, only park at designated space. Leave reserved lots for the intended and kindly park within lines and markings leaving enough space for others to open their doors without scratching or hitting nearby parked vehicles.  

AREA PRAYER MEETINGS: Upcoming Prayer meeting schedules shall be updated soon.

FOR OUR ATTENTION & TO NOTE:
Children, please occupy front benches during our Liturgical Services.
Kindly avoid crowding at the back of the church.

A few concerns:
For assuring safety and undistracted worship space, we request all our members to proceed to the front rows except those that are reserved for children when we enter the temple. It could be uneasy for our volunteers to guide them to the front during the service as it might cause distraction and noise. We avoid crowding at the entrance and stair areas due to safety concerns. 
Please be considerate to our senior members to help them find seats or while they try to access the washroom. A slip or a hit should be avoided in any circumstance. 
Please be watchful at the shoe rack area, which is also the entrance to both washrooms. 
We request our parents to attend to our children not to pull the alarm lever at the back wall. 

Hand Waving Machine & Common Absolution Prayer for all communicants
A hand-waving machine has been installed at the church entrance to record the number of communicants. Those who wish to receive the Holy Communion are requested to wave their hand once at the machine upon entering the church.
Please note that the machine will be deactivated after the recitation of the Nicene Creed. Absolution will be administered during the morning prayer.

WEEKLY IN-PERSON MEETINGS: 
June 21, Sunday – in-person meetings/Events

• Sunday School
• OCYM Monthly Meeting

LIVE streaming: All services are Live Streamed and are available.
Holy Liturgical Text for this Sunday
We will be using the Taksa of St Isaac this Sunday. 
May the Gracious Lord keep us from all evil and heal the entire world.
 
Next Week
June 28, Fifth Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost
Scriptural Readings:
• OT: Exodus 23:14-19, Zachariah 6:1-8, Hosea 14:6-9, Isaiah 40:27-31
• NT: Acts 9:1-15, 2 Corinthians 5:14-20, Holy Gospel St Mark 9:33-41

Yours in Christ
Thomas John Achen
Email ID: fr.thomaspjohn@gmail.com
Mobile: (416) 570 5610
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