St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 14640 Soucy Place, Centerville, VA-20120
Our Vision is to create a vibrant Syro-Malabar community that nurtures spiritual growth, celebrates the sacraments, and fosters community ties and leadership
Volume 5 Issue 8 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 1
August 2014
Mission Director: Fr. Tijo Mullakkara (703 957 8242) Website : www.stjudenva.org/ Email: [email protected]
Trustees: Jophy Jose (585 750 9202) | Sujith Abraham (703 310 9985)
Mass Schedule: TUESDAYS : 7:30 PM | FRIDAYS : 7:30 PM | SATURDAYS : 8:00 AM | SUNDAYS : 3:00 PM
Sunday School : SUNDAYS : 1:50 PM
Thank you His excellency,
Most Reverend Bishop
Jacob Angadiyath for his
first pastoral visit to St.
Jude Syro Malabar Catho-
lic Church , Northern
Virginia.
Congratulations and
Prayerful wishes to Mar
Joy Alappatt New Auxil-
iary bishop of Chicago
Syro Malabar Diocese.
Message from Tijo Achan
Volume 5 Issue 8 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 2
Dear Saint Jude Family,
Praise Jesus and His most holy Mother!
Wishing you all a very happy independence day and the glorious feast of Assumption of Our
Blessed Mother. Congratulations to all the children who received the sacrament of First Holy Com-
munion and Confirmation this month.
I would like to share some thoughts about St. Thomas, the apostle often less thought about.
Why did St. Thomas travel to India to preach the Gospel?
Jesus commanded his disciples to go to Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth (Acts 1:8).
Jerusalem signifies the Jews. Jesus himself once said “I am sent to the Jews” (to the Canaanite
woman). This means that the gospel was to be preached to the Jews first, irrespective of which part of the world they were.
Due to persecution of the Jews in the early centuries many Jews migrated to Kerala. Further existing strong trade relations
between Middle East and Kerala made it easier for Jews to migrate there. St. Thomas may have possibly used these trade paths
to come to Kerala and first preach to the Jews as commanded by Jesus.
Two important traits of St. Thomas to always remember:
A. A philosopher: St. Thomas presented a strong personality a philosopher. It was St. Thomas to whom our Lord said “I am the
way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He was always quick to enquire with Jesus about things that he did not understand. It
was truly out of his love for our Lord that he always wanted to understand what Jesus said. This shows that he was a man of
presence and reason.
B. A man of courage: It was St Thomas who said “let us go and die with him”. He loved Jesus so much and was ready to die for
him. Jesus himself has said that this is the greatest form of love (John 15:13).
Why we should refrain from calling St. Thomas Doubting Thomas?
A. The practice of addressing St. Thomas as a doubting Thomas is largely western influenced which has been blindly followed by
us, Syro-Malabar Catholic. It is a grave mistake to address St. Thomas like this without understanding his deep faith for our
Lord.
B. If we dare to address and label St. Thomas as a doubter, then we should use the same title for all the other disciples, except St.
John. For all the disciples doubted and left Jesus.
C. It is true that St. Thomas expressed a strong request for his belief. However, this mere instance is not a good enough reason to
call St. Thomas a doubter. If so, then Moses needs to be called the murderer as opposed to the greatest prophet; David needs to
be addressed as the planned murderer rather than of Gentiles and so on.
Where was St. Thomas at that time of Jesus' apparition?
A. There has been several theories and arguments based on the different assumptions regarding where St. Thomas’ was at the
time of Jesus’ apparition. Like I said earlier, St. Thomas was a man of great courage and so from the time he heard about the
news of Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalen and other disciples, he might have possibly decided to go outside and look for
Jesus. Unlike the other disciples who were afraid and chose to sit in a closed room.
B. There may be endless theories regarding this. However my dear friends the real question that we should consider is why did
Jesus appear when St. Thomas was absent? God always has a plan; the time and manner of Jesus’ apparition was not a mere
accident. Jesus would have wanted to show Thomas his sacred wounds and heart. He would have only wanted St. Thomas to
touch it. Surely, St. Thomas must have done something special to be worthy of such great love from our Lord.
Analyzing the personality of Thomas and Jesus' purposeful apparition during Thomas’ absence does not provide us with a
valid reason to draw conclusions that Thomas was a doubter. Instead, it all happened for Jesus to personally show Thomas and let
him touch the sacred wounds because of Thomas’ zeal to see the resurrected Lord.
It is this very zeal that allowed Thomas to travel to the farthest place among all disciples, to go and proclaim the Gospel to the
Jews as Jesus had commanded. My dear friends let us be just to the zeal of our father of faith and refrain from calling him a doubt-
er. Let us all stop using this unjust title of a Doubter and remember him as the only apostle who was so loved by Jesus that he was
chosen by our resurrected Lord to see and touch His sacred wounds and heart.
May Christ Bless you all always.
Volume 5 Issue 8 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 3
Pope’s Tweets
Jesus, help us to love God
as Father and our
neighbor as ourselves.
Pope Francis @Pontifex July 1
To live as true children of God means to love our neighbor and to be close to those
who are lonely and in difficulty.
Pope Francis @Pontifex July 8
With God, nothing is lost; but without him, everything is lost.
Pope Francis @Pontifex July 10
Do not be afraid to cast yourselves into the arms of God; whatever he asks of you,
he will repay a hundredfold.
Pope Francis @Pontifex July 19
The Lord loves a cheerful giver. May we learn to be generous in giving, free from
the love of material possessions.
Pope Francis @Pontifex July 31
May each family rediscover family prayer, which helps to bring about mutual un-
derstanding and forgiveness.
Family Year 2014
Family Year Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven, we humbly
see Your blessings upon our family
and our St. Jude family, as we cele-
brate family year. Make our family
rooted in Your Mercy. Renew our
families with faith, hope and love.
Help us to make resolution to follow
Your only Son, our Lord with our
whole heart. Give us the grace to
understand our family members
than being understood, to forgive
them than being forgiven. All Glory
and honor is Yours through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Holy Family: Pray for us
Saint Jude: Pray for us
August
1. Bishop Angadiathu Pastoral visit to
family units.
2. Inter Regional football match on August
16th and 17th.
3. Family picnic on August 30th.
September
1. Family life retreat on September 13th.
2. Catechism day on September 26th.
October
1. St. Jude’s novena, veneration of the
Relic in family units on each Saturdays
in preparation to the Feast of St. Jude
2. Feast of Saint Jude
November
1. Family Bible Quiz
2. Renewal of family vows
Volume 5 Issue 8 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 4
Kid’s Corner
http://www.dltk-bible.com/
Please provide your completed entry to any of the bulletin team members. All
the school age kids 3rd grade and above are eligible to participate in this activi-
ty.
Last date for submission is August 27, 2014.
All participants with correct entries will receive a surprise gift.
Volume 5 Issue 8 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 5
Kid’s Corner
Please provide your completed entry to any of the bulletin team members. Kids 2nd grade
and below are eligible to participate in this activity.
Last date for submission is August 27, 2014. All participants with correct entries will re-
ceive a surprise gift.
Name of participant: ————————————
Age of participant: ______
FIND THE DIFFERENCES AND RECEIVE A SURPRISE GIFT!
Volume 5 Issue S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 6
Summer Bible Study (stjudenvaschool.org)
As we all know that during the final hours of Pope John Paul II, one of his last request was to
“Read me the Bible”. A priest read him nine chapters of the gospel of St. John and then he took his last
breath. Pope John Paul II now a Saint has shown us how great gift is to read the Bible everyday .
Summer Bible study was a 6 week program started on June 29th 2014 and ended on August
9th 2014. There were 22 kids who participated in this program. I was surprised to see how thoughtfully
the kids selected the verses from each chapter. Most of the verses selected by each kid was different. It
was amazing to see how the verse selected by one kid is different from another one. There were only
few selected verses from each chapter that was common. Most of the kids were reading the Bible for
first time and they really enjoyed it. Some wanted to keep Bible reading as their daily routine. I thank all
the parents who encouraged their kids to participate and complete this program.
Just wanted to share few comments about the Bible reading experience from the participants and par-
ents.
“My experience reading the bible was amazing. I got to learn more about Jesus and to remember lot of good verses. I also got to feel how Christian life was long ago. My favorite verse is Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Angel Pavu
“The bible study program helped me learn different verses from the chapters of Matthew and Mark. This program helped me read the Gospels of Matthew and Mark completely for the first time. I was happy to hear the same verse that I learned in VBS.”
Abigail Cheruvathoor
" We loved summer bible reading program. Thank you
Preena aunty for encouraging and motivating us to reach
our goal. Reading gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark
has helped us to learn a lot about Jesus, His teachings
and the number of miracles He has done. We were very
excited to pick and learn one key verse out of each day's
reading. We look forward to participating in more bible
reading programs in the future."
Richard Thomas & Renold Thomas
“Catherine thoroughly enjoyed the exercise and we have encouraged her to continue reading the Bible everyday.” Parents of Catherine Felix
Saint’s Corner
Volume 5 Issue 6 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 7
ST. MONICA By: Reem Thoppil
Saint Monica was born in the year 332 in Tagaste, North Africa. She was an exemplary woman who
never gave up hope, her faith in God, and outstanding Christian virtues, especially her prayerful life dedicated
to the conversion of her husband and son.
St. Monica was married to Patricius, a pagan, who had a violent temper. They had three children: sons
Augustine and Navigius and daughter Perpetua. Monica’s prayerful ways are said to have annoyed Patricius
and his mother. Through her continuous prayer and firm faith, she succeeded in converting them both to Chris-
tianity. The conversion of her husband and mother-in-law were much easier than the conversion of her eldest
son, who became known as Saint Augustine of Hippo. She prayed for 17 long years, while also begging for the
prayers of others. At one point she had given up all hope that her son would ever convert, so she refused to let
him sleep or eat in her house. She was only convinced to make amends after she had a vision.
Finally, with the help Saint Ambrose, St. Monica had the joy of witnessing her son converted to Chris-
tianity in 387. On her way back home, Saint Monica suffered for nine days. She died and was buried at Ostia,
Rome. Her feast day is August 27, and she is the patron saint of wives, mothers, and abuse victims.
Account Information - July 2014
Church Collection
Offertory 488.00
Donation 500.00
Total 1759.00
Faith Direct Collection Amount
Building Fund 2044.00
Offertory 3580.00
Priest Residence 465.00
Priest Car 245.00
Total 6,334.00
Grand Total 7,322.00
Thank you everyone for your generosity. We
would recommend every one in our parish community to join Faith Direct. We currently
have 65 parishioners contributing through Faith Direct.
How to join Faith Direct : Those who have not registered with Faith Direct so far, please visit www.faithdirect.net to sign up today. Our parish code is VA492.
Faith Direct enables us to make our church contributions to directly debit from your
checking account. A weekly offering of $25 is recommended towards Land & Building fund.
Volume 5 Issue 7 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 8
Date Time Event Venue
08/02/2014 10:15 AM-3:30 PM First Holy Communion and Confirmation
St. Veronica Catholic Church, Chantilly
08/04/2014-08/08/2014
9:00 AM-4:00 PM VBS St. Andrews Lutheran Church, Centreville
08/16/2014- 08/17/2014
TBA St. Jude Soccer Fields of St Veronica Church
08/30/2014 TBA St. Jude Parish Picnic Bull Run Park, Centreville
09/01/2014 TBA High school youth one day retreat
TBA
09/07/2014 TBA CCD begins St. Andrews Lutheran Church ,Centreville
09/13/2014 TBA One day family retreat TBA
09/27/2014 TBA Catechism annual day TBA
Forthcoming Events
Volume 5 Issue 7 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 9
2014 PARISH COUNCIL
Fr. Tijo Mullakkara Mission Director 703 957 8242
Sujith Abraham Trustee 703 310 9985
Jophy Jose Trustee 585 750 9202
Sony Kuruvilla Secretary 510 461 0790
Antony Powathil Ward Representative 703 503 1030
Bejoy Thomas Ward Representative 703 774 0145
Elsamma Manalel Woman Representation 703 631 4580
George Chettupuzha Ward Representative 703 822 1418
Gregory Kalarikunnel Nominated Representa-
tive 571 331 5910
Jimmy Jose Ward Representative 703 459 4778
Jomy Methipara Youth Representative 847 989 8233
J Joseph Ward Representative 703 623 9137
Mary James Ward Representative 571 206 2866
Nibu Wilson Ward Representative 703 226 9671
Nissy Varghese Pious Organization Rep-
resentative 571 274 7447
Preena Sony Woman Representative 703 793 2989
Rajesh Alex Nominated Representa-
tive 703 652 4295
Renny Joy Woman Representative 703 728 7102
Rony Thomas Nominated Representa-
tive 571 261 9221
Sajith Thoppil Land and Building Repre-
sentative 571 224 5067
Smitha Saju Ward Representative 703 659 0874
Tomy Paul Catechism Representa-
tive 703 470 0708
Tony Thomas Ward Representative 202 714 8683
MINISTRIES
Mass Coordinator Sergin John 703 395 2469
Lectors Rincy Jimmy 703 437 5396
Cultural Coordinator Soya Reji 319 210 1989
Youth Coordinator Jomy Methipara 847 989 8233
Hospitality Coordinator Jerril Philip 571 246 0670
Choir Coordinator Shaju Joseph 703 901 6504
Bulletin Coordinator Asha Tony 703 893 0203
Web Coordinator Rajesh Joy 703 543 5955
St Jude Library Sismi Menachery 703 971 4394
Marian girls & boys Giji Sajan 703 728 0168
Little Flowers Roselyn Tomy 703 470 0708
Angels Army Jyothi Varughese,
Jisy Joseph 510 862 8608
Charity Wing Sherly Vadakkoot 703 272 7257
Women’s Forum Nissy Varghese 571 274 7447
St. Jude FC Shajan Paul 703 459 4002
Couples Ministry TBD
Altar servers Sergin John,
Chris Jose 703 395 2469
Charismatic
prayer group J Joseph 703 623 9137
SPECIAL OFFICES
Auditor Paul Pottanat 703 790 1933
Auditor Jojo Mathew 703 659 0874
Accountant Sojan Alex 703 281 1020
Legal Advisor Johnson Myalil 703 464 0831
EDITORIAL BOARD
Asha Tony 703 893 0203
Rajesh Joy 703 543 5955
Deepa Sergin 703 395 2469
Baiju Thomas 703 474 6341
Sismi Menachery 703 971 4394
Felix Simon 703 342 9242
We extend a warm welcome to all our new members! Please contact
trustees or any council member if you have any questions. Do also reach
out to them to understand how to get involved and become active mem-
bers in the parish .
To become a member of our St. Jude Church please complete the regis-
tration form and submit it to Fr. Tijo Mullakara personally or email it to
[email protected]. The registration forms are available at our church or
can be downloaded from our church website: www.stjudenva.com
Available materials can be found under:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?
key=0AqAwcaRLy79FdERNSjFRd1NzQ2RyZUFEQnZQRVpFQmc&usp=
drive_web#gid=0
If interested to borrow any material or contribute to book bank please
send an email to [email protected].
Pilgrim Statue Visitation
We received the Pilgrim Status of Our Lady of Fatima. If interested in
spending a week with our Blessed Mother in your home, please sign up
using the link below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?
key=0Amv9GfePDWxKdFdtSTZYelRUaWtaWEo1d3V4d2xtaVE&usp=driv
New to Parish?
St Jude Library
Sunday Readings
August 3, 2014
First Reading : Isaiah 4: 2-6 Second Reading : 2 Corinthians 3: 4-12 Gospel Reading : Luke 15:11-32
August 10, 2014
First Reading : Isaiah 5: 1-7 Second Reading : 2 Corinthians 7: 1-11 Gospel Reading : John 9: 1-12, 35-38
August 17, 2014
First Reading : Isaiah 9: 13-21 Second Reading : 2 Corinthians 10: 12-18 Gospel Reading : Mark 7: 1-13
August 24, 2014
First Reading : Isaiah 28: 14-22 Second Reading : 2 Corinthians 12: 14-21 Gospel Reading : Luke 16: 19-31
Volume 5 Issue 7 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 10
Prayer Meeting Schedule
1st Saturday - Gainesville/Centreville/
Woodbridge
2nd Saturday - Herndon 1/Herndon 2
Tysons Corner/Falls Church/Alexandria
3rd Saturday - Ashburn/Leesburg
3rd Sunday - South Riding/Aldie
4th Saturday - Chantilly/Fairfax
Day Schedule Location
Tuesday 7:00 pm: Adoration
7:30 pm: Mass
8:15 pm: Novena to St. Jude
Corpus Christi
Friday 7:30 pm: Mass
8:15 pm: Adoration
8:30 pm: Confession
Corpus Christi
Saturday 7:30 am: Adoration
8:00 am: Mass
Corpus Christi
“Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you
forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you
retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23)
Friday Friday 8.15pm to
9.15pm
Corpus Christi
Saturday 7.30am to 7.55am Corpus Christi
Saturday 10.30am to 11.30am Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi Address: 43130, Amberwood Plaza, Suite 150,
South Riding 20152
There will be mass in English every month lead by
the youth and also a youth meeting. For more infor-
mation please contact Jomy Methipara (847 989
8233)
Church Setup Help Schedule
English Mass and Youth Meeting
Confession Schedule
Mass Schedule
Family Unit Name City Month
Perpetual Help/St. Se-
bastian/ St. Mary’s
Tysons Corner/Falls
Church/Alexandria January/July
St. Alphonsa/St.
Thomas/St. George
Gainesville/Centreville/
Woodbridge February/August
All Saints South Riding/Aldie March/September
St. Antony/St. Joseph Herndon 1 & 2 April/October
St. Aloysius Ashburn/Leesburg May/November
Sacred Heart/Little
Flower Fairfax/Chantilly June/December
Marriage Preparation Course Schedule
Dates Venue Contacts
08/08/14
08/09/14
08/10/14
St. Thomas Syro-
Malabar Forane
Catholic Church,
Philadelphia
Rev. Fr. Johnykutty
George,Email:
Cell: 916-803-5307
August 31, 2014
First Reading : Isaiah 29: 19-24 Second Reading : 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-12 Gospel Reading : St.Luke 17: 11-19
Volume 5 Issue 7 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 11
Favors Received
Inserted By : Blessy Rony & Family Inserted By : Blessy Rony & Family
Prayer for our church
Father, Son and Holy Spirit/ the Most Blessed Trinity/ we adore you/ praise you/ and glorify you. We thank you for molding us/ into a worshipping community. Bless us with a church/ where we can offer praise and wor-ship/ where our families and children can unite with you/ through faith, hope and chari-ty. Grant us a generous spirit, unity and pa-tience/ to endure joyfully/ the challenges to build our mission church. Bless all our bene-factors/ who help us in this effort. St. Jude, worker of miracles and our patron saint/ through your intercession/ May God’s fullest blessings be upon our mission. Mother Mary and Saint Joseph/ watch over this little mis-sion church. To you Lord/ be all glory and honor forever. Amen. 1 Our Father
Birth Announcement
We are pleased to announce the
birth of Elizabeth Sophia Jose, born
on August 4th, 2014. Congratula-
tions to the proud parents Jophy
Jose and Starina Jose and to the
grand parents of Elizabeth. May
God shower abundance of blessings
upon her and the family.
Volume 5 Issue 7 S t . J u d e S y r o - M a l a b a r C h u r c h O f N o r t h e r n V i r g i n i a Page 12
WIN $2500 FOR ST. JUDE SYRO
MALABAR CATHOLIC MISSION
This month when you shop at Safeway with your
registered Club Card you’ll earn and win for St.
Jude Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and for your-
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HOW To Register For eScrip:
Go to https://secure.escrip.com/supporter/registration/index.jsp
Enter "St. Jude Syro-Malabar Catholic Mission
Va" for Group Name
Enter Name, Address, Email.
Enter your Safeway Club Card number
Follow the instructions to complete the signup
2 Simple, Automatic Ways to Support Our Church. Start Now!
Amazon will now donate 0.5% of the price
of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to
St.Jude Syro-Malabar Church when you
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smile.amazon.com
What is AmazonSmile?
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Can I use my existing Amazon.com account
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Yes, you use the same account on Amazon.com
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