St. Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Church : Invitation for Ordination Ceremony, Qurbana and Adoration for Deacon Melvin
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
It is a joyful and proud moment for our parish. Deacon Melvin Mangalath Paul, one of our parishioner, will be ordained to the Holy Priesthood. Deacon Melvin will be conferred to the priesthood by His Excellency Mar Jacob Angadiath at Mar Thoma Sleeha Cathedral on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. CST and he will be celebrating his First Holy Qurbana at St. Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Baltimore, MD on Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. EST. On behalf of Deacon Melvin and his family, you are cordially invited to join, virtually and by prayer, the Ordination Ceremonies and the First Holy Qurbana. As we are traveling tomorrow to Chicago, the intention for today’s 7:00 p.m. Holy Qurbana is for Deacon Melvin’s ordination. We will have adoration and special prayers after Holy Qurbana. I request all parishioners join to pray for Deacon Melvin during the Holy Qurbana, a safe travel for everyone who travel to Chicago and back, for the ceremony, and all the other logistics.
Due to the stay at home orders and restrictions for participating in religious ceremonies, attendance to the ceremonies is restricted to immediate family, Shaolm TV personnel, and choir members. These two events will be livestreamed by Shalom TV. You may watch it at:
When a priest celebrates his First Holy Qurbana after ordination, it is an opportunity for all the faithful who watch gain a plenary indulgence if all the usual conditions are met. Priestly ordination hands on the office entrusted by Christ to his Apostles of teaching, sanctifying and governing the faithful. The Ordination to the Priesthood comes at the end of a long journey of prayer, study and discernment. The men whom the Lord invites to serve Him in the Sacred Priesthood are ordained by the laying on of hands and a gift of the Holy Spirit to offer the Sacrifice of Christ. A Priestly Ordination is a gift to the Church of a man consecrated for service, to proclaim the Gospel and lead the people of God in prayer and worship, most especially in the Holy Qurbana.
As Pope St. John Paul II said, “The world looks to the Priests, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ, but everyone sees the Priest, and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord. Immense is the greatness of the Lord! Immense is the dignity of the Priest!”.
Deacon Melvin will be elevated to priesthood and will be celebrating this heavenly liturgy, the Holy Qurbana and thus partaking in Christ’s priesthood. Together we can pray and ask God to fill him with the gift of the Holy Spirit, that he may be worthy to stand without reproach before His altar, to proclaim the Gospel of His kingdom, to fulfill the ministry of His word of truth, to offer spiritual gifts and sacrifices, and to sanctify the faithful through the sacraments.
Let us pray.
O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear our humble prayers on behalf of Deacon Melvin. Give him a deep faith, a bright and firm hope, and a burning love which will ever increase during his priestly life. In his loneliness, comfort him; in his sorrows, strengthen him; in his frustrations, point out to him that it is through suffering that the soul is purified. Show him that he is needed by the Church, he is needed by souls, he is needed for the work of redemption. O loving Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your son who is close to become a priest. Be his comfort, be his joy, be his strength, and especially help him to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated life. Amen.
We rejoice that the Lord has called Deacon Melvin to be His priest and we thank God as we are looking forward to celebrating the Ordination and First Holy Qurbana together as the family of God. Let us all thank Deacon Melvin for accepting the call to priesthood and wish him the strength to carry out Jesus’ work for the benefit of many.
With love, thank and gratefulness, and God willing, we welcome Fr. Melvin Paul on Sunday, May 17, 2020.
