Tikkurila through new eyes
The Pontifical Mass connected to the Episcopal Visitation of St. Henry’s Cathedral Parish, which took place about a month ago, was celebrated in Tikkurila on the 5th Sunday of Lent. It was nice to return to Tikkurila after a short break, as I had I worked as an entrepreneur there for 9 years.
My current comfort zone is different and diverse, and it is based on volunteering. Thanks be to God, I am able to serve the parish and the diocese in many ways and from different perspectives. I have been entrusted with tasks for which I feel a calling and which I do wholeheartedly. For that I am especially grateful to Bishop Raimo, Pastor Jean Claude, and Father Martti of of St. Mary’s Parish.
I am a member of the diocesan communications team, so in addition to the parish to which I belong, St. Henry’s Cathedral, also the Lauttasaari church and the diaspora locations in Tikkurila, Kerava, and Porvoo fall under our responsibility and are central to me. My goal is to visit each of them regularly and to share information about their activities, especially online, but also through the printed Fides magazine. Best of all, I get to write a lot, which has always been my way of processing and deepening my knowledge and understanding. Active participation also provides a wide range of human contacts and empowering interaction within our Catholic community, which I love and would not give up for anything.
I had turned to Juho Kyntäjä some time prior to ask him to write an article about the Mass. However, he had a better idea: he gave an excellent speech to the Bishop and gave permission for it to be published for everyone to read. It is found below.
We are the Church
The gymnasium of the Swedish-language school in Tikkurila is obviously not a church building, but the believers present there form the true, living Church.
Everything showed that synodality, walking together, and deep trust in God were being realized here. As I entered, I noticed that everything had been beautifully prepared, the crosses were covered, and seven candles were being placed on the altar. My mind filled with reverent anticipation for the Sunday Mass. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, as it should be among Catholics. Coordinated by Juho Kyntäjä, the parishioners had also done tremendous work in organizing for coffee after Mass, which did not consist merely of store-bought pastries but excellent baked goods and even freshly made spring rolls. Normally it is not possible to have coffee after Mass here, so this truly exceeded expectations.
I saw many vaguely familiar faces. People came to talk to me spontaneously, and I felt that the faithful were proud of their community and wanted to share their joy with me as well. I felt a desire to come here again. I felt welcome.
Naturally, there were no organs or other instruments available for the Mass, but they were not missed thanks to Juho Kyntäjä acting as cantor. He also sang the responsorial psalm and the verse before the Gospel.
Readers
Three readers had been selected prior to the Mass. There was also a separate reader for the prayers of the faithful, a nice practice. It seemed that for someone the request may have come as a surprise and perhaps for the first time. However, I noticed that everyone accepted the task gratefully and humbly, and each was easy and pleasant to listen to.
From snowy chaos to Finland’s sunshine
The cheerful Bishop Raimo said he had made it comfortably to Tikkurila, although he had landed at Helsinki-Vantaa from a work trip to Iceland only the previous evening just before midnight. In usually windy and drizzly Iceland, it was indeed windy again, but instead of a drizzle, a snowy chaos surprised everyone at the end of the week. All flights were canceled on Friday, and this the Bishop had spent an extra day in Iceland.
God heard our prayers and ensured that our dear Bishop returned home safely and made it to his large family in Tikkurila, who had long waited for this Episcopal Mass.
“If you believe, you will see the glory of God”
The Gospel was read by parish priest Father Jean Claude Kabeza, and the story of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary (John 11:1–45) is surely familiar to all of us.
In his homily, Bishop Raimo returned to the Gospel account of Lazarus, who had already been dead for four days, and to the grief of his sisters as they missed their brother. Jesus also wept, because Lazarus and his sisters were dear to Him. By highlighting this, Bishop Raimo reminded us that through His tears, Jesus showed that He was also truly human. This moving detail once again opened our eyes to the fact that the texts we hear daily in church contain meaningful elements. Small details can be very significant.
Lazarus came back to life because in his community there was trust in Jesus and strong faith. His last day had not yet come.
The Bishop returned safely home from Iceland, but he emphasized that no one knows when their last day will come, or whether there will be a tomorrow. Each of us should examine ourselves daily. Is there something in me that needs improvement? Should I go to confession? Do I help others enough? Do I remember to ask for forgiveness? Do I remember to pray? Could I be a better person?
On the last day, the mind should be calm and trusting, and the heart should be pure.
Christel Monni
Dear, beloved Bishop Raimo!
I believe I speak on behalf of the entire community gathered here when I say: we are very happy that you found the time to come and celebrate this Holy Mass here with us in Vantaa.
A few weeks ago, in the Sunday Gospel, we heard a description of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The prophecy of Isaiah was mentioned: “–now he has glorified the way of the Sea, the land across the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations. (Is 8:23). In his homily, Father Pedro Pérez explained what was meant by “Galilee of the Nations”: an area whose inhabitants were not valued in Jerusalem for many reasons. At that moment, I thought that our Vantaa is also a kind of Galilee of the nations: in the opinion of many, we in Vantaa speak the wrong languages, practice the wrong religions, may look wrong, be too poor, and live on the margins. We have surely all heard these views and become accustomed to being in many ways on the periphery.
For this reason as well, we are grateful to St. Henry’s Parish and to parish priest Jean Claude Kabeza and his predecessors for serving us for decades also here on our home ground. Previously, the diaspora Mass offered in the Orthodox church in Järvenpää moved at the turn of the millennium to Tikkurila, where we gathered once a month on Sunday afternoons in the Orthodox church. In 2015, the Mass was relocated to Tapanila church in Helsinki, where we gathered on Sunday mornings, now already twice a month. The new time and place doubled or tripled the number of participants. From Tapanila church we again moved to a new location in autumn 2022: with the kind cooperation of the City of Vantaa, the Mass began here in the gymnasium of Dickursby School, twice a month. Normally, the Mass gathers 100–150 participants.
As I said, we are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Holy Mass here and we pray that our Mass may continue and develop. We do our best to ensure that the liturgy is beautiful and reverent. However, this “church” of ours is a school gym, and fundamentally that is what it remains to be. Today’s coffee gathering is also exceptional and has required effort from the whole community. Normally, we do not have the opportunity to gather together after Mass.
I moved to Vantaa, to the nearby hill of Satomäki, in 2001. The current Bishop Emeritus Teemu Sippo came then to bless my home and said that perhaps in the near future there would be a church and a parish here. It has been almost a quarter of a century since then. The number of Catholics in Vantaa and the surrounding areas has grown to a couple of thousand, and we have a fairly stable and not insignificant liturgical community.
Jesus began His public ministry in “Galilee of the Nations” and chose His apostles from there. Our request here, from the periphery of Vantaa, would be that you continue to remember us in your prayers and, if possible, also in somewhat broader practical plans. We all certainly understand that the Church has little money and many needs. We will continue to pray for you and for our own community.
Juho Kyntäjä