Fourth Sunday

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Good morning every one. After hearing today’s gospel, we may ask these questions. Is the gospel about Joseph?
The Bible says only one word about Joseph. It says Joseph was a Just man. Just man means one who is honest and god-fearing. Joseph did everything according to God’s will. He went to synagogue to pray and kept the Ten Commandments. He put God first in everything He said or did.
His faith extended in helping others and be with his own community. And that is why when He found out that Mary was pregnant, he was afraid that the community would judge her and so he wanted to dismiss her quietly if not she would be stoned to death.
Because of his faith in God and service to community, he was blessed to communicate with divine creatures such as angles. When he was confused about Mary, The Angel appeared to him and directed him.
Joseph was chosen in a special way to be the foster father of Jesus.

And we may ask is today’s gospel about Mary?
1. Though Mary was chosen by God in a special way, the angel Gabriel came and announced the good news to her. Yes, God did not take her free will. He through the Angel asked her willingness. When Mary said, “Let it be done according to your will, then only things began to change.
2. Once Mary came to know that she was chosen by God, she began to be humble and simple. She began to be more active of doing things to glorify God and His will.
3. She too extended her faith visiting Elizabeth and others and helping them.
4. The Church today honours her for as the mother of God, ever virgin, immaculate Mary.

And we may ask is today’s gospel about Jesus the only son of God?
1. The very name Jesus was given by the Angel means Saviour. He came to save humanity and take them back to God almighty.
2. While all the prophets, kings and holy men and women failed to communicate the divine wisdom and knowledge, God at last sent His only Son Jesus who said, “ call God father”
3. Everything Christ our Lord said through miracles and preaching, wonders and words takes us to God our father.
4. Christ our Good shepherd made us children of god.

Dear friends today’s gospel is all about you and me. Yes it is about us. God’s divine plan is to let us know that we are not alone. In our happiness and joy, in our suffering and pain, God is with us. When we call upon him, there we will see him face to face.

Once a man knelt before God and said, “God… I can not go like this any more and I am going to give up and the cross that I am carrying is too heavy”. God appeared to him and said, “Son, I will never let you carry any cross that is too heavy for you” then he took to a room where there were so many crosses with different sizes. The man saw crosses which never had beginning or end. Some were too heavy and huge. Then he finally saw a small cross on the wall. He looked at God and said, “God, please let me take the cross” God smiled at him and said, “Son… that was the cross you were carrying before”. God never let us carry anything too heavy. And in order to prove his unconditional love, he sent his only son Jesus to us. And today’s gospel is all about you and me. As we are going to celebrate the glorious event of Christmas, let us make it more meaningful by sharing your love and forgiveness with your family members and friends. Amen.

Second sunday in Advent

WHO IS JOHN THE BAPTIST TODAY?

Today we celebrate the second Sunday in Advent. This Sunday is called John the Baptist Sunday. John the Baptist the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ came to prepare the way of the Lord. His message was: “The Lord is coming. Let us prepare the way”.

And today who is John the Baptist? We are John the Baptist. Like John the Baptist, we are asked to call out people to welcome the Lord our God.

John the Baptist message contained three important things namely 1. Calling 2. Healing 3. And living the message.

1. Calling:

Once a man was searching something under a hydro pole that was so bright, his neighbor who noticed that, went over and asked, “what are you looking for?’ The man said, ‘I lost my key’. So the man also joined him and the both began to search for the key. After an hour searching, the neighbor looked at him and asked, “by the way where did you loose your key?” the man said, “at home”. The man got mad and asked, “then why are you looking for it here?’

Then he said, “Because it is brighter here”.

They will always say, “search God where you have lost him”.

Some might have lost God in their marriage because they might have forgotten to renew their vows namely in good times and bad and in sickness and health, I will honor you and love you.

Some might have lost God in their children because they did not have enough time to be with their children especially with their teenage children.
Others might have lost God in their business and jobs because instead of enjoying what they do, they look at their jobs and people who were working with them as their enemies.

Then they come to church to find God but they get more stressed and depressed. Yes God should be found where we have lost him. John the Baptist invited people who lost God in their every day life. Dear friends when we help people to find God where they have lost Him, then we become John the Baptist today.

2. Healing

Once three Buddhist monks were traveling to a distant village to preach the message of Buddha and in order to reach the village, they had to cross a river. While they were standing at the banks of the river, they saw a beautiful woman standing and was afraid to cross the river, so one of the monks carried her on his shoulder and thus they all crossed the river. Then when they came back to the monastery, the other two monks went to every one and said what happened. Other monks came to him and asked, “We monks are not allowed to touch a woman and how come you carried a woman on your shoulder. The criticism went on and on for many days and one day the monk called everybody and said, “I did carry the woman on my shoulder but I left her behind many days ago but why are you all still carrying her?”

John the Baptist calling for healing made many people new and holy. They had the courage to leave behind their old way of life and say to others courageously, ‘we left behind the old life and moving forward to welcome the lord’. They all experienced complete healing. Dear friends, every time we help others to heal from their pain and suffering and give them courage to face their criticism that comes from their own family, friends and others, we become John the Baptist.

3. Living the Message:

Once a pious catholic had a neighbor who never practiced his faith. Every Sunday the Catholic went to Church and the neighbor went fishing. But the odd thing was, every Sunday, the man invited the catholic, ‘hi Joe, I am going fishing, are you going to join me” the man used to say, “I am going to Church”. It went on and on and then one day, the neighbor looked at Joe and asked, “Joe, every time I go fishing, I invite you but how come you never invited me to Church’ Joe could not say anything.

Living the message means helping others to know the love and kindness of God our father. When John the Baptist baptized people, He asked them to go out and help others to return to the Lord. And people helped each other and that is why a big crowd was always following John the Baptist.

Dear friends, when we help others to experience the Lord, then we become John the Baptist. Today the world needs Jesus; yes it needs His love a lot of love. So let us be John the Baptist and prepare the way of the lord. Amen.

Christ the king

CHRIST THE KING

Good morning every one. Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the king. Jesus who is our king and master and he died on the cross to bring back humanity to divine love.

Once there was a King who was famous for his judgment. He loved his people so much and he did everything for them. Milk and honey was flowing in his land. And one day, a man was brought before him. The man was accused of stealing and killing people; he was accused of destroying people’s life and property. The king listened to them all well and then he asked the man to say something but the man did not say a word, all he did was looking at the king. The king then granted justice saying, “This man was found guilty and I ordered him to be executed”. There was a deep silence because that was the first time a man was ever executed in his kingdom. Then the unexpected and extra ordinary thing happened. The king got up from the throne and took his king’s garment and robes and said to the people, “As a just king, I granted you all justice but now as the father of this man, I will take his place”.
The king said, “I will take his place and die”. This is called the summary of Christianity. Christ who is the king of all and just judge took our place and died for us all.

1. Christ the king said, “I am your servant and I came to serve and not to be served”. Servants were never treated well in those days and even today they are not respected. The owner of the house would call everybody by name and even he would call his dog with proper name but not his servant. Servants were never given names. They were their slaves and were treated miserably. And our Lord Jesus became a servant to humanity. In order to prove His service, He humbled himself and washed the feet of His disciples. And that is why God exalted Him above all else. Today we celebrate Him as our King and Messiah. When we serve others, when we do everything for the sake of humanity, then we will be exalted and we find meaning in everything we do, if not like a man once said, “I dig the ditch to make some money. I make the money, to buy some food and I buy food to get my strength and I get my strength to dig the ditch”, life will become meaningless.
2. Christ the king said, “I am the good shepherd and I feed my sheep with finest wheat. They know me and I call them by name. I came to look for the one sheep that was lost than the ninety-nine righteous people”. Once a tiny little sheep found a hole in the fence and through which he escaped. He went far away and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was chased by a wolf. He ran and ran until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he brought back to the fold. Then his friends came and advised him to repair or nail up the hole but he refused to do so. Yes, our lord gives us freedom to do everything and when we are in danger, He comes to rescue us. The freedom we have should help us to improve ourselves and others.
3. Christ the king says to the thief who said, “Please remember me in your kingdom”, “you will be with me in paradise this very day”. Our king is full of mercy and love. Today we need mercy a lot of mercy from our King.
Conclusion:
As we celebrate the feast of “Christ the king” today, let us celebrate our life. Let us also invite others to join us to celebrate the king who loves us unconditionally. Amen.

pray without ceasing

ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN.

When we ask with persistence, it will be given to us.

One day a priest looked at people and asked, “If you don’t have any enemy, please raise your hand. Nobody did and finally an older lady raised her hand. The priest invited her to the front and said, “even Christ our Lord had enemies, how come you don’t have any enemy?’ She said, “I outlived all my enemies and my third husband died last month”.
Then the priest said to her, “since you don’t have any enemy and you are good supporter of the church, I am going to ask you to pick up three hymns for our celebration”. She was so proud and looked at all women and men and said, “Him, him and him”.

Today’s gospel invites us to pray without ceasing. Every prayer that we make to God almighty has a certain value. Every time people came to Christ seeking healing, He asked them one question namely, “do you believe?’. When they answered, “Yes, Lord. We do”. They experienced healing. Praying to God without ceasing deepens our faith in Him. And people who pray to God with faith do receive healing and miracles.
How can we pray without ceasing?

The Muslims pray five times a day. The Buddhist and Hindus pray three times a day and every religious people pray and what about us who follow the lord. We can easily make our whole day a prayer. Yes, like St. Theresa of little flower or other saints who before began their day, dedicated their whole day to Christ saying, “Lord, I dedicate the whole day to you and bless my day” and thus whatever they did on the day became a prayer.

We all heard about St. Monica mother of St. Augustine. She spent so many years in prayer for her son’s conversion and because of her persistent prayer; St. Augustine changed his old way of life and became a great follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These days we all hear about the thirty-three miners in Chile who were trapped in a mine for sixty-nine days and they did survive those days because of their faith-filled prayers and the prayers of their family members and friends. Because of their perseverance in prayer, miracles happened. When our day filled with prayers, great things will happen to us.
In today’s gospel, Christ says, even if an unjust judge offers justice because of persistence how much more our heavenly father will bless us when we pray to Him without ceasing. Let us pray without ceasing and experience healing and miracles in our lives. Amen.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

Once a priest announced in the Church saying, “I have a hundred dollar preaching that will last only five minutes and a fifty dollar preaching that will last about forty minutes and a twenty-dollar preaching that will last about an hour, now let us take up the collection and see which one I am going to preach.

Once a fifty-dollar, a twenty-dollar and a luni were taking to each other. The fifty-dollar said, “My master is a great man. He takes me to movie place and big malls and I am so happy to go with him”. The twenty-dollar said, “My boss is also a good man, “He takes me to the city and big stores and I am so happy with him”. Then the luni said, “My master is a good man too… and I don’t understand him because he takes me only to church”.

1. From today’s gospel, we come to know three important things such as the blessing of the believer, the blessing of the unknown believer and what will happen to those who don’t share their spiritual gifts, knowledge and understanding.

2. The blessing of the believers:

The rich man in today’s gospel represents all the Pharisees, scribes and the chosen people. They were all given blessings upon blessings. Since God Himself chose them, everything was given to them. They enjoyed freedom and life; they enjoyed riches and happiness. Nothing was lacking in their life. They were blessed with everything. They experienced perfection and absolute happiness. They were given more of everything.

As we are chosen by God through His Son Jesus, we are also given special blessings to enjoy everything. Complete bliss and enlightenment is possible for us all in Jesus Christ our Lord. And Jesus Himself became the way, truth and the life for us. We all became children of God in Jesus.

3. The blessing of the unknown believer:

Lazarus in today’s gospel represents the gentiles or all unknown believers. Even though He didn’t know about the creator God or the God of Israel, he came to the rich man or the man who practices his faith, but he refused to share God’s blessings, love and kindness. But the man waited at the door longing to know about God but the believer gave nothing to him so God himself came down and blessed him abundantly. The unknown believer became so rich in faith and began to enjoy every spiritual gift but on the other hand the rich man lost everything and was disconnected from the love and kindness of God our father completely.

Conclusion:

Today’s gospel invites us to share our spiritual knowledge, wisdom and understanding; our spiritual blessings and gifts with those who are struggling to know the Father. It is our duty to give. As we give and share our spiritual gifts, they multiply as thirty, sixty and hundredfold. Yes, when we give our spiritual blessings, they will come back to us more and thus we will have more of everything. Amen.

THE LOST SHEEP

Once a man noticed another man having a banana in his ear. So he said, “hi… you have a banana in your ear”. The man didn’t hear. So he raised his voice and said, “Hi… you have a banana in your ear” Then the man turned and said, “please speak louder, I have a banana in my ear”.
Once in a famous restaurant in Toronto… Joke.
In today’s gospel , we meet with Jesus who is full of compassion and kind, we meet with Jesus who is full of love and merciful. Yes, we meet with Jesus who finds himself among the sinners , rejected, outcasts and unwanted.
1.Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want…” The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole Psalm, and then everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same words saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want”. And this time, no one cheered and they were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood. Then the orator got up and said, “I have a confession to make, “you should know the difference between this old man and I, “I only know the Psalm and this man knows the Shepherd”.
When we get closer to Jesus our Shepherd, then we will come to know how much He loves us , though we are weak and sinful. He came to save and give life to those who went away from the love and kindness of God our father.
2. One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that his friends, family members and others came to him and asked to nail up the fence but he never did.
This is our Shepherd… Good shepherd who give us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from Him and fall into sin, He recognizes our weaknesses saying, “I came for the one sheep that was lost”.
For our Lord Jesus Christ, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. He never dislikes the sinner but only the sin. Let us use our wisdom and knowledge; our freedom and free will to get closer to God our Father through our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, Amen.

Narrow door

ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW DOOR

In today's gospel, People asked Jesus about salvation. Those people were
curious about what they had to do to be saved and Jesus told them to
make an effort to enter through the narrow door. Jesus said to them that there would be challenges, difficulties and pain but one should try his best to enter through the narrow door that leads to his home, eternal home.
1. Once a Sunday school teacher asked the children, "what if I sell my
house and all my property and give the money to the Church, will I go to
heaven?" "NO" the children answered."what if I clean the church every day and keep it neat and tidy, will I go to
heaven"? Again the children said, "NO""what if I go to church every day and practice my faith, will I go to
heaven?" they all said, "NO".The teacher looked at them and asked, "what should I do to go to heaven?"One boy shouted out, "You got to be dead".
Heaven is our eternal home from where we are sent here. And that is why there is a constant spiritual longing is in everyone of us. we always want to connect with the higher power and know more about God the Father. But at the same time, impermanent and created things may lure or take us away from spiritual and holy longings. Because of our imperfect nature, we are prone to fall into sin and God who knows our nature and longing shows us the way through His only son Jesus who is our way, life and truth.
What kind of effort should we make to enter into the narrow door?
1. As we come to know the truth that we belong to heaven and God is our father then we will not hesitate to enter through the narrow door of challenges. we will give more of our time, energy and resources to reconnect ourselves with God. Jesus asks us to go to him with our pain, suffering and challenges because He is ready to give make us whole again.
2. The easy way to connect with God is by connecting with others especially with our family members and friends. we don't hesitate to forgive others and strangers but we struggle to forgive and accept our own family members. once a man introduced me his dad and I said to him, "your dad used to bring you to Church and now it is your turn to bring him to church". Whatever the parents do to their children, they will get it back hundred times. if they forgive and accept their children and guide them with their examples, one day the parents will receive more of everything from their children.
3. Enter through the narrow door is not an easy one and that is why God sacrificed His Son Jesus. Jesus by his very birth among the outcasts and the sinners, by his challenging against the pharisees and the scribes and by his suffering and death on the Cross showed us the way to enter into the narrow door. once we enter into the narrow door, we too like our master and Lord will rise to new and eternal bliss. Amen.

Good Samaritan

Good Samaritan

Love and compassion are the basis of Christianity. God out of love,
created the world and Jesus out of love died for humanity and The Holy
Spirit out of love, continues to heal and give us life. we are today asked to
show love and compassion to all human beings. if we want others to be
happy, we should practice compassion and if we want to be happy, we
should practice compassion.

1.Today's gospel talks about a man who was in need of help. A priest who passed
by ignored the dying man.
Once a dad wants to know what his son will do when he get older. So he
placed a bible, a bottle of wine and a hundred dollar bill on a table, saying
to himself, "if he picks up the wine, he will be a wine maker. if he takes
the money, then he will be a business man and if he picks up the bible, a
rabbi". Then the son came in, he drank the wine and put the money in his
pocket and took the bible in one hand and walked away. The dad was so
surprised and said to every one, "My son is going to be a priest".
The priest didn't help the man who was dying because helping a man who
was bleeding was considered as unholy. The priest wanted to be ritually clean and pure. Our Lord says people are not for sabbath. we should not be
controlled by rituals and religious customs. They instead should free us
and help us to know God and others. Anything we do to the least of our
brother or sister we do unto the Lord.

2. Then comes a Levite and he also passed by and ignored the dying man.

One day a man came to a priest and asked, "Father, do you know what
causes lever problem?" The priest who didn't have time looked at the man who
was half drunk and was smoking and said, "you know what causes lever
problem? smoking causes lever problem. yes that is what causes lever
problem. Alcohol causes lever problem. Yes, that is what causes lever
problem. living a loose life causes lever problem.Yes that is what causes
lever problem. Then the priest calmed down and looked at the man and
asked, "why do you ask?" The man said, Yesterday I heard on TV that the
Pope has lever problem.

Levites were next to priests. So he considered helping the dying man was
not only unclean but also waste of time. He didn't want to spend time.
Today the biggest excuse we hear often is, "I don't have time". It is true
because time belongs to God. He sent us here according to His time and He will
call us back according to His time. we cannot control time but every minute we
spend for the well being of others, we spend with god. Those who spend time with God, will save more time.

Then a Samaritan came by the same road and saw the dying man. He had compassion for him and he right away extended his heart.

once a man looking the world and its suffering and misery, prayed to God saying, "God, people are hating each other. There is no peace or love in the world. war and killing are going on everywhere. we need more compassion and kindness. please send someone to change everything". That night, God said to him, "son... I have already sent someone to change everything". the man asked god, "where is that person?". God looked at him and said, "you are that person. you go and do something for the suffering and the dying, then the world will change".

Compassion is feeling the feeling of others. when we have compassion for our brothers and sisters in need, we become Samaritans, yes good Samaritans who see god in every person who is in need. we need to practice compassion because compassion is the basis of all morality. Compassion helps us to see those who suffer and in need as our brothers and sisters. It helps us to see them as our neighbour. Amen.

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY

How to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Today's gospel shows a way to enter into the kingdom of God. What will
profit a person if he gains the whole world and loses his soul. What do we
need to enter into the kingdom of God.
1.The kingdom of God is not about Money and wealth...
Once a pastor made an announcement saying, "I have a good news and a bad
news. The good news is that we have enough money to build a new church
and the bad news is the money is in your pocket".And the pastor then announced in the Church saying, "I have a hundred
dollar preaching that will last only five minutes, a fifty dollar preaching
that will last forty-five minutes and a ten dollar preaching that will last an
hour, now let us take up the collection and see which one I will preach".The Lord appointed seventy people to preach the good news. These people
represent the seventy nations of the world. Yes, The Lord asked them to go
everywhere to preach the good news. And they were asked to take nothing
with them, no money, no bag or purse. All they took with them was the
love and kindness of God; they took with them his blessings. What they
received freely from the Lord, they gave it to all without any reservation.
And everyone who came in contact with them began to experience the
unconditional love and kindness of God and everyone who came in
contact with them began to experience life an abundance of life.
2.The kingdom of God is not about power and authority...
Once an old man named Bill visited his best friend who was dying and said
to him, "we have been friends for long long time. we were powerful
people in town and we both loved baseball and now you are dying; when
you go to heaven, would you please find a way to communicate with me if
there is baseball in heaven". His friend agreed and then he died. Few days
later, while he was sleeping, he hears his friend's voice. The voice says,
"I've got a good news and a bad news. The good news is there is baseball
in heaven". "what is the bad news?" The bad news is you are pitching on
Friday". Then Bill ended up in a hospital dying, and the family called his priest.
while the priest was standing beside his bed, Bill was slowly fading away
but he still motioned for something to write on. The priest lovingly handed
him a pencil and a piece of paper and Bill used all his strength to write a
note. Then he died. The priest thought of not looking at it right away and
while he was doing the funeral for him, he opens the piece of paper and
announced to all" I know Bill. He was a wonderful man and He wrote something on a
piece of paper before he died. Now I will read it to all.. then with loud
voice he read, "Father... you are standing on my oxygen tube".
Today's gospel says that the disciples were sent like lambs among wolves.
They were not given power and authority. They were sent as they were as
ordinary and everyday people but at the same time, because of Christ's
presence among them, they performed miracles and wonders. They healed
the sick and cast out demons. They were sent two by two. The Bible says
where two or more gather in his name, there he is. Christ was with them
until the end of time.
If the kingdom of God is not about money and wealth; not about authority
and power, then what is the kingdom of God is about...?
3. The kingdom of God is all about peace.
In today's gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to share His peace with others. Where there is peace, there will be love and forgiveness. Where there is peace, violence and hatred will disappear. Peace brings non-violent approach toward all living things. And nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate a man. Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong. And Jesus asked his disciples to hold on to His divine peace that will liberate all from economical and political slavery and will give them freedom to live today and hope for the future.
Once a lady saw three old men knocking at her door and she opened the
door and asked who they were. They said, "we are money, power and
peace" And she invited them into her house but they refused saying only
one of us could come in. So she discussed with her husband and decided
to welcome peace into her home. She went out and said, "we decided to
welcome peace into our home". And when peace began to come in, money
and power also began to come in. she asked why. then peace said, where
there is peace, there will also be money and power as servants. when there is no peace, money or power will take over and there will be a big destruction.Let us bring peace into our homes. The Bibles says, "Blessed are the peace makes, they are called children of God". Let us continue to be children of God, Amen.

LET US FOLLOW THE LORD

LET US FOLLOW THE LORD OUR GOD

Today's gospel invites us to follow the Lord who is our faith, hope and love.An elderly lady who was so pious and god-fearing, used to stand on her porch and shout, "Praise the Lord... thank you God".Her next door neighbour who didn't believe in God used to shout back saying, "God back inside, there is no God". It went on and on.And one day, the lady stood on her porch and shouted saying, "God, I am hungry and I don't have food. Please send me some groceries". The next day when she opened the door, she saw a big bag of groceries at the door. She thanked God with a loud voice saying, "Thank you God for sending me groceries. I love you Lord". The man then shouted back saying, "there is no god. I got the groceries for you". She again shouted saying, "thank you god. you not only sent the groceries but also made the devil pay for them".Then one day the man died and went to heaven because he bought the groceries for the old lady. But he was curious to know about hell. So he got permission and went there. For his surprise, it was wonderful. he was treated well, fed well and was entertained well. So the next weekend also he went there and had a lot of fun. And when he went the third time, he was put in a corner and he experienced hell. He screamed and in his torment said to the devil,"what is going on here. I am suffering" The devil said to him, "Before you were a visitor but now you are a resident".
Last Wednesday afternoon while I was minding my own business, I experienced a big shake. The whole house was shaking. Then I learned it was a slight earthquake. we all think that we are safe and secure and there are certain things beyond our control and we need God to help us. Without God we are nothing.And in today's gospel, Jesus asks three people to follow Him but they all had different excuses.

1. To the first person, Jesus demanded faith. He said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go" when Jesus said that he should have faith in the Lord but not looking for security. He went away.

2. To the second person, Jesus demanded hope. He said to Jesus, "first let me go and bury my father" meaning let me spend time with my parents until they die, then I will come and follow you. Jesus said to him, "let them look after themselves. you come and follow me". He then went away from the Lord.

3. To the third person, Jesus demanded love. He said to Jesus, "I will say goodbye to my family" that means let me hold on to material things and people for a while and then I will come and follow you. When Jesus asked him to detach from them, he was sad and went away.
Today's gospel invites us to recommit ourselves to the love and kindness of God in Jesus Christ. when we love the Lord, we will always find a way to connect ourselves with Him.
Conclusion: Once an old man who wanted to spade his potato garden sent a letter to his only son who was in prison saying, "Dear Son, I miss you. when you were at home, you used to dig the garden. But in my old age, I couldn't do anything. when are you coming back?"Few days later, the dad got a letter from the son saying, "God, please don't dig up the garden. That is where I buried the bodies".The next day F.b.i agents and police came and dug up the whole place without finding any bodies. Then they apologized the old man and left.And the old man again got a letter from the son saying, "Dad, now you may plant the potatoes. That is all I could do under the circumstances".
Love always finds a way. Yes, when we have love, we will find a way too. Amen.

GRADUATION

GRADUATION MASS
Now I am going to tell you a story about a boy who was very ordinary and simple but He was holding on to something very important. Because of the very thing, He attracted so many people. Even masters and gurus came to listen to him. When they asked for what he was holding on to, he gave them all freely. some of them could touch it and others could only smell it and some others could only feel it and every one according to his or her way of approach. But they all experienced it.And a month ago, by name Abby Sunderland who is only sixteen year old who tried to sail solo around the world, because of high wind, could not finish it but she said she would definitely sail solo around the world soon, has it. she talked about it to all. And Jordan Romero a thirteen year old boy who claimed mount Everest last march has it. when he was asked about it, he talked saying I could touch and smell it.Do you know what it is? you have it and your parents and everyone of us has it. But we can experience it only according to our commitment.Before I would say what it is... I want to let you know the name of the boy who had it. His name was Jesus Christ who was at the age of twelve at Jerusalem temple gave that to people. And the thing is not a thing at all. it is more than a thing, and it is Faith. you were all given through the sacrament of baptism. people who are committed to the love of God can taste it, experience it and even see it.During these eight years at Mother Theresa's school, you have been given faith again and again in many ways. every time you went to school, every time you spent time with your friends and every time you came to church to celebrate Christ, you received faith and now you are going away from the school not leaving your faith behind but taking your faith with you.when you keep your faith alive, you will grow and multiply as thirty, sixty and hundredfold. keep your faith alive and you will be stronger in everything and today's gospel invites you to deepen your faith in Christ our Lord. So let us keep your faith and multiply. Amen.

Funeral homily

Funeral homily
Facing with death, life might seem meaningless. But our faith in Jesus Christ tells us that despite death, life is not meaningless. After our baptism in the name of the Trinity, we all became precious children of God. And thus we left behind our old selves of sin and became a new creation in Christ. Jesus who by dying on the Cross destroyed our death and by rising restored our life gives us life everlasting. When we live in Christ, we will live forever. Nothing can separate us from Christ. Every time we enter into Church, we by touching the holy water, bless ourselves. The holy water serves as a reminder of our baptism in which our death was destroyed and new everlasting life was given.Every time we come to Church for the celebration of the sacrament, we are again and again invited to recall our eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus says that anyone who follows and keeps His commandments will have life everlasting. He will not abandon His followers but will keep them with Him. That is why in today's gospel, He says to His disciples that He is going away to prepare a place for them so that where He is, they may also be.And one of His disciples, St. Thomas innocently asks Him, "Lord, how can we know where you are going. Please show us the way?"Jesus says to him and all His followers that He is the way, the truth and the life and anyone who follows Him, will have life everlasting.Today we are here to celebrate the life and death of our sister Anna; we are here to celebrate her everlasting life. Anna was married to Joe for thirty-seven years. they together experienced the love and kindness of God. Anna found God's love in her married life. she shared everything with her loving husband, they were for each other and thus she witnessed the wonders and amazing things of her life to all.Anna was a great inspiration for her two children Anthony and Lena. Because of her positive influence and faith in God, she inspired them to grow stronger in faith and in the love of God.Anna was a great grandmother to her grandchildren. she was so wonderful with them. she always had a huge smile on her face and that smile enkindled the love of Jesus in her friends.she had so many friends who were inspired by her loving and kind words. because of her faith, even she was told that she would live only for three monthes, she lived over a year.
Today our sister is with God seeing him face to face. she is celebrating her life everlasting. all the things in Church today remind us of her eternal life. this white pal tells us that those who believe in Christ will never die and the paschal candle says that Christ who died came back to life and anyone who believe in him will have eternal life. And all the rituals and celebration invite us to thank God for Anna and her life with us. she died for us but she is now living with God from whom she came here. Anna's death gives us a new hope to prepare ourselves to enter into heaven. so let us thank God for Anna and pray for ourselves that one day we may join our sister Anna to praise and glorify God our father. Amen.

FATHER'S DAY

FATHER'S DAY

Today we celebrate fathers who dedicate their lives for the well-being of
their family. We celebrate fathers who promote justice and peace in our
society. The father makes family stronger and united. He is an essential
figure in a christian family and he plays a vital to to bring faith in every
member of the family.Once a dad who he was getting ready to go to work, saw one of his sons
using his electric shaver and trying to shave his head, and the dad said,
"What are you doing? you will never learn unless you get a good
spanking". The son said, 'dad, go and see what charlie is doing'. Charlie,
the second son came to his dad with completely shaved head. The dad was
so upset and looked at them and asked, "why are you doing these things?"They said, 'Because we want to be like you'.The Bible says that Jesus who was found in the temple at the age of
twelve, came down with his parents and was obedient to them. He then
continued his family trade of carpentry with his dad until he began his
public ministry. Joseph who was a just man taught Him to do human
labour and thus Jesus grew in wisdom and knowledge and He found
favour with God and with others.
Children look up to the elders for their personal growth. They especially
imitate their dads in so many ways. When a father is strong, his children
will become stronger.
Once a group of children went to see an ocean for the first time and when
they came back to school the next day, they were all sharing their
experience with others and said, 'no one can swim across the ocean'. And
then one of them who never saw an ocean said, "don't say that no one can
swim across the ocean.My dad can do anything".Fathers are role models and guide. They build and shape their children's
future.So let us thank God for all the fathers today who nourished us physically
and spiritually. Let us thank God for them because they make our world
more beautiful and more meaningful.
once a father who was watching his son trying to move a heavy stone
asked, "Are you using all your strength?" The son who was exhausted
said, "yes, I am". Then the dad said, "No, you are not. You haven't asked
me to help you".
Today's gospel, the disciples are confessing that Christ is the Messiah, the living god, the Christ and let us join them to thank Jesus for showing us the Father who blessed us with our earthly fathers. Amen.

Faith alone saves us

YOU ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF FAITH

Today we celebrate faith, yes we celebrate our faith in Jesus Chirst. The
gift of faith is given to all through the very sacrament of Baptism. As we
grow in the baptismal promises, our faith also increases in God our
Father.Once a man had a vision in which he was asked to go to a spiritual master
who would give him a precious stone. The man went to the spiritual
master and found the precious stone in a bag with other things. It looked
that master didn't give much important to it. when the man asked for it, the
master right away gave it to him. After few days, the man came to the
master returning the precious stone and said, "Because of this stone, I lost
my sleep. Because of this stone, I could not concentrate on life. Then he
asked the master, "please tell me the secret of your happiness?" the master
answered in one word, "faith".
Faith in God brings happiness and joy; it brings prosperity and life. It
moves mountains and does miracles and wonders.
Once a pious lady wanted to test her faith saying to herself, "I pray five
times a day, go to Church every day, I fast and do penance. Today I am
going to test my faith" And then she looked at a tree that was standing in
front of her house and said, "I want you to move from here to my backyard. The next day, she woke up early in the morning and opened the door and there the tree was standing at the same place. Nothing happened and then she said to herself, "I knew even before I went to bed that nothing would happen". Faith means spiritual transformation. Faith means believing. Coming to Church, receiving sacraments and even praying without faith will not bring any spiritual change in a person.
In todya's gospel, we meet with a woman who, even in her weakness and difficulties, even in her challenges and pain had a strong faith in Christ and came to him looking for mercy and compassion. Christ looked at her with kindness and love and said, "woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace".The woman had a surrendering faith; a faith that surpassed every human frailties and shame. Because of her faith, she experienced a new life in Christ.
Once a Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons."
Then few weeks later, someone wrote to the editor saying "I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"When you are down to nothing… God is up to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical and our spiritual nourishment!
When we have faith, we begin to see things differently. we won't move mountains or uprood trees with our faith, all we do is live our life happily and meaningfully. So let us have faith and live our life. Amen.

holy trinity

HOLY TRINITY

Today we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday. We celebrate our faith in One God who is the Father, the Son and also the Holy Spirit. They are not three gods but Only One God. The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God but there are not three gods but One God. The mystery of the Holy Trinity invites us to deepen our faith in Him God Almighty.
One day a group of people came to St. Cryl and asked him to enlighten their minds regarding the Holy Trinity and the saint told them that it is like the bright Sun. The Father is like the blazing sun and Jesus Christ is like the light and the Holy Spirit is like the heat of the Sun. They all interdependent on each other. We can’t separate from one another.
When people asked St. Patrick to explain the Trinity, he used the shamrock and explained the trinity. And there were many saints and holy men and women experienced the mystery of the Holy Trinity on earth. We are all given the blessing to know the secret of the mystery. As we make the sign of the Cross saying in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we are already entered into the mystery. We are part of the trinity.
We are not here to know how God could be three persons and he is still one. We are here to experience his love and kindness through our daily prayer and thus we will automatically be revealed the secret of the trinity. There are so many things on earth that are mysterious to us and we don’t understand their nature and their wonderful expression and we still manage to accept and live with them.
Once a missionary was hearing confession from a particular school and all children from one class room came up with the same sin saying, ‘I threw peanuts into the river, I threw peanuts into the river’ the priest said, ‘it is not a sin but it can be a bad thing but anyhow you are feeding the fish’ then when the last boy came to confession, the priest said, “don’t tell me that you threw peanuts into the river and it is not a sin’. The body said, “sorry, Father, I am peanuts”.
We don’t understand certain things but we should accept them and enjoy them. Once we accept as they are, we will be revealed their mystery. The holy trinity is not to be questioned but adored and venerated.
The traditional story of St. Augustine says how our human mind is limited and it is beyond our comprehension to understand certain things. Let us adore the One God who is the creator, protector and the sanctifier. Amen.

CORPUS CHRISTI

CORPUS CHRISTI

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi or the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the gospels, Jesus says that unless we eat His body and drink His blood, we can’t enter into the kingdom of God. He invites us to be with Him in heaven for ever.
Once God wanted to see what was the pressing needs of His people, so He sent His angels to find out. After some days, they all came back with one demand. They all said that people are in need of food. So God sent His only Son who became food for all. Yes, Jesus nourishes us with His words and heals us with His miracles. Anyone who goes to Him will have life everlasting.
Every time, we come to celebrate the Holy Mass, we celebrate the last supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. And when we receive the body of Christ on our right palm, we touch the real Jesus; we touch Him like the woman who was bleeding for twelve years and when she touched His cloak, she said to herself, “even if I touch His cloak, I will be healed” and she did experience healing. Yes, every time we receive the Holy Communion, we experience healing. We experience peace and serenity.
When we hear the word,, “This is the body of Christ” and respond “Amen”, we come to experience extraordinary healing like the deaf and dumb man in the gospels. When he came in contact with Christ, he immediately experienced healing. By saying the word “Amen” we profess our faith and accept Christ as our lord and saviour. Jesus Christ is our healer and saviour. He gives us life and light. Anyone who follows Him will have light of life.
And when we hold the body of Christ on our palm, we have an experience of healing of the blind. Yes, when Jesus touched the blind people, they immediately began to see everything clearly and followed the Lord. And when we hold the body of Christ, we experience our blindness of selfishness, greed, anger and other negative feelings being healed.
The celebration of Corpus Christi invites us to experience healing in the real presence of Christ among us. Let us on this feast of Corpus Christi recommit ourselves to Him. Amen.

The fiftieth day

HOLY SPIRIT

One day the most famous theologian Thomas Acquinas suddenly stopped writing. And his assistant came to him and asked why. St. Thomas Acquinas said, "Some mothes ago, I experienced something of the Almighty, and so all I have ever written about God seems to me like nothing".
Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. This day invites us to experience the God in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost means fiftieth day. Fifty days after the Resurrection, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire on the Apostles and on all who believed in the risen Christ.

1. Once a little boy was praying to God beside his mother and grandmother. He said, "God.. thank you for everything and please give me a good night sleep. Then he screamed saying, "don't forget me to give a bike for my birthday".The mother said, "Don't scream. God is not deaf"Then the body said, "I know mother. But our grandma is deaf".
Today we celebrate the birth day of the Church. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and instructed them for 40 days, after which he ascended to heaven. While with them, he said: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5). That first baptism of the Spirit would be the birthday of the church.
Jesus’ words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), and the apostle Peter preached his first sermon, urging the crowds to repent, to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 38). That very day of Pentecost some 3,000 people were baptized and became the people of God (verse 41). The church had been born.

2. Once Mother Teresa was asked by a visitor, "Mother.. by the way was not hard to learn the language of these people whom you are serving?"Mother Teresa said, "No... not at all. we communicate with our heart, with our smile and with our faith"
When the Holy Spirit came upon them, the Apostles began to speak in many languages. Everyone understood them perfectly. They communicated with them the purpose of God sending His only Son. Thus they all experienced healing and wonder of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Once a teacher asked her children to name the gift they possess from the Holy Spirit.everybody discovered their gifts except one boy. The teacher asked him, "John, don't you have any gift?"He said, "I am not going to be worried about it right now because I have enought patience".

we are all blessed with many gifts from the Holy Spirit. And when we use them, they will actually multiply. Any gift from the Holy Spirit is given to us to use for the welfare of our brothers and sisters in need. So as we celebrate pentecost Sunday, let us ask the Holy Spirit to reconfirm us with his love and kindness. Amen.

Pentecost

HOLY SPIRIT


One day the most famous theologian Thomas Aquinas
suddenly stopped writing. And his assistant came to him
and asked why. St. Thomas Aquinas said, "Some months
ago, I experienced something of the Almighty, and so all I
have ever written about God seems to me like nothing".
Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. This day invites us
to experience the God in the Son and in the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost means fiftieth day. Fifty days after the
Resurrection, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit as
tongues of fire on the Apostles and on all who believed in
the risen Christ.


1. Once a little boy was praying to God beside his mother
and grandmother. He said, "God.. thank you for everything
and please give me a good night sleep. Then he screamed
saying, "don't forget me to give a bike for my birthday".The mother said, "Don't scream. God is not deaf"Then the body said, "I know mother. But our grandma is
deaf".
Today we celebrate the birth day of the Church. After his
resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and instructed
them for 40 days, after which he ascended to heaven. While
with them, he said: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for
the gift my Father promised. For John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit"
(Acts 1:4-5). That first baptism of the Spirit would be the
birthday of the church.
Jesus’ words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The
disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), and the
apostle Peter preached his first sermon, urging the crowds
to repent, to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and to
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 38). That very day
of Pentecost some 3,000 people were baptized and became
the people of God (verse 41). The church had been born.


2. Once Mother Teresa was asked by a visitor, "Mother.. by
the way was not hard to learn the language of these people
whom you are serving?"Mother Teresa said, "No... not at all. we communicate with
our heart, with our smile and with our faith"
When the Holy Spirit came upon them, the Apostles began
to speak in many languages. Everyone understood them
perfectly. They communicated with them the purpose of
God sending His only Son. Thus they all experienced
healing and wonder of our Lord Jesus Christ.


3. Once a teacher asked her children to name the gift they possess from the Holy Spirit.everybody discovered their gifts except one boy. The teacher asked him, "John, don't you have any gift?"He said, "I am not going to be worried about it right now because I have enough patience".
we are all blessed with many gifts from the Holy Spirit. And when we use them, they will actually multiply. Any gift from the Holy Spirit is given to us to use for the welfare of our brothers and sisters in need. So as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, let us ask the Holy Spirit to reconfirm us with his love and kindness. Amen.

THE ASCENSION-2

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Introduction: Christ our Lord, after His resurrection, for forty days stayed on earth, appearing to His disciples and preparing them to send them out to preach the Good News of the gospel. Then on the fortieth day, in the presence of His disciples and of all his followers, He was taken up to heaven. yes, He who descended, ascended into heaven.

Once a grandmother took her grandson to a seashore. While he was playing, a big wave came and took him in. The grandma who was crying, prayed to God and said, "God, bring my grandson back to me and I'll do anything for you". Then miraculously her grandson was brought back to the shore. she then thanked God and said,, "By the way... my grandson was wearing a hat".

1. The Ascension of the Lord tells us where the Risen Christ is now: He is now sitting at the right hand of the father, and fulfilling all our needs. The good Shepherd is looking after his sheep. The Jesus who lived, died and came back to life is still with us, every time we pray, read the bible and come to Church, we can experience his presence among us.

Once a man was seriously searching for something on hands and knees. His neighbour came along and asked, "what are you searching for?" he said, "I lost my keys"so they both began to search and three hours after, the neighbour asked, "where did you lose your key?" the man said, "at home" then why are you searching here. The man said, "Because it is brighter here". search God where you lost him.

2. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus tells us why Christ appeared to His disciples: He appeared to them to leave behind their fears and anxieties. They were afraid of authorities and were hiding behind locked doors. Every time, Christ appeared to them, he gave them peace and hope and strengthened them to face the world with his love and kindness. He promised them saying, 'don't be afraid, I will be with you until the end of time".

Once a cab driver and a priest were trying to enter into heaven. The cab driver was right away allowed into heaven but the priest was asked to wait for sometime. The priest got mad and asked why. St.peter looked at him and said, "every time the cab driver drove, people were afraid of death and prayed to God and every time you preached, they slept.Now those who sleep, please raise your hand.

3. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again on the last day. His coming will be our glory and joy. He comes to judge us and those who follow him, will have life everlasting. And we who follow him will be given new life, so let us eagerly wait for the day.

One day a man visited a famous Rabbi and when he saw his house, he was surprised, because there were no furniture, books or anything. The man asked the rabbi, "Rabbi... where are your furniture and other stuff?"The rabbi asked him, "where are yours?"The man said, "I am just a visitor".the Rabbi answered him, "so am I my friend... so am I.

4. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that those who follow him should go out and preach the good news to all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says we don't need to be worried of what to say and how to say, because everything will be given to us at that time. So let us celebrate his resurrection and ascension and celebrate our life in Him. Amen.

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

The Risen Christ, after His resurrection, spent forty days with His disciples, appearing to them and sharing with them His peace and asking them to go everywhere and baptize them all in His name, and then He ascended into heaven. The one who descended was taken into heaven.

1.The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ provides an explanation of where the Risen Christ is now: He is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father. The Bible says from heaven, He is continuing to look after His sheep. He continues to shower upon us his blessings. we are not alone but Jesus who came among us, lived, suffered and died for our sins is always with us. And He asked us to pray without ceasing and thus we come to know His presence and experience his love and kindness. Before leaving, Jesus promised that he would send the third person, the advocate to remind us everything that He taught and did. As we celebrate the Ascension of Christ our lord, let us adore him.

2. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ provides explanation of why the Risen Christ was seen by many followers of his disciples: After His crucifixion, the disciples lost hope and they began to hide behind locked door for the fear of authorities and then Christ who promised them that He would come back to life, after his resurrection appeared to them and shared with them his peace. He gave them His divine peace to destroy their fear and anxieties of human authorities. he said, "do not be afraid and I will be with you until the end of time". Jesus for forty days appeared to his disciples in many ways and encouraged them to go everywhere to proclaim the good news. As we celebrate the Ascension of Christ our lord, let us adore him.

3. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ provides assurance that the Risen Christ is still with us and He will also return to us on the last day; The risen Christ never left us and he is always with us. when we call upon Him with faith and hope, there we will experience his presence and we may come to know his presence among our brothers and sisters in need. The Christ who is sitting at the right hand of God will come again to judge us. He will come to glorify all his followers saying, "come and enter into the house of God prepared for you". As we today celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us adore him.4. Finally, His ascension gives us responsibility to continue His miracles and wonders among people; Before going up to heaven, Jesus asked his disciples to go everywhere and baptize them all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He gave them authority and power to do his will. Jesus said, "anyone who keeps his commandments will be saved and be given life everlasting. And today we are asked to continue his mission , we are asked to preach the good news of salvation among people. we are asked be his followers in words and deeds. So as we celebrate the Ascension of our lord Jesus, let us celebrate our life in Him. Amen.

MOTHER'S DAY

MOTHER'S DAY

Today as we celebrate mother's day, let us thank God for our mothers who sacrificed so much
for our welfare and growth. And let us thank God for every woman who promotes justice and
love of God by her very presence.

Once a little boy forgot his lines in the school drama in which he was participating. His mother who was sitting in the front row helped him whispering, "say, I am the light of the world"The boy was so happy because he got the line and said proudly, "my mother is the light of the
world".Mothers radiates divine peace and serenity in the world. They sacrifice their happiness and joy for their family and children. And that is why God's love is compared to that of a mother. There is a beautiful biblical story about the wisdom of Solomon in which we come to know the
true love of a mother.

Once king Solomon was asked to give a verdict on a case in which two women claimed for one child. They both said that the child belonged to them. Then Solomon said, "Bring me a sword.
Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other."
The woman who claimed that her son was stolen from her said, "Please, my lord, give her the
living child and do not kill it."
But the other woman said, "please cut the child into two!"
The king spoke up and said, "Give the first woman the living child and do not kill it; for she is
his mother." Motherhood is spiritual in nature and it can only be identified with sacrifice and
love. we say faith begins at home. yes, faith begins at home because of mothers. when a mother
has a strong faith, her children's faith will be stronger.

Once a Sunday school teacher looked at one of the boys let us say, Joe and asked, "Joe, tell me
do you really pray before meals at home?"And Joe said, "No.. sir"Then the teacher asked, "Why don't you pray?"Joe said, "Because, my mother is a good cook".Mothers know what their children need. when a mother looks after her child, she looks after the
future of a society.

Once former president George Bush said, "I don't like broccoli and I never liked it and my mother made me eat it. Now I am a president and I am not going to eat any more broccoli.Mothers are always there in our good times and bad and in our sickness and in health. One of the ten commandments is, "honour your father and mother". Jesus by honoring His
parents grew in wisdom and knowledge.

Once a mother who had three sons received presence from them for mother's day. The first son beautiful big house for her. The second one got a nice BMW car and the third one a parrot who
could recite the whole bible. Then she sent a thank you note to each of them. she said to the first
one, "Son, since I am getting old, I don't need a big house and I can't accept your gift" To the
second one, she wrote, "Son, I am not driving anymore and I can't accept your gift. Then she
wrote to the third one, "Son, you are the best. And thank you very much for your precious gift
and by the way, the bird was so delicious".Conclusion: As we are preparing ourselves to celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven, let us thank God for our mothers and ask Him to descend His blessings on them. Amen.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Today we celebrate the new commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ who says, "As I have
loved you, you should love one another". Yes, Love fulfills all other commandments of our
Creator. We will be known as Christians by our love. Only out of love, God sent His Son to us
and only out of love, Jesus died on the Crosss for us. Where there is love, there is God. And we
are here to know the presence of God by loving one another.

1. In early days, while the Roman emperors enjoyed watching the circus events in which
Christians were tortured and killed by lions, gladiators, said to each other,"see how these
Christians love each other". Even in the face of great danger, Christians still had time to support
each other. The followers of Christ did everything with Christian love.When Mother Theresa went to India to begin her mission, she didn't take with her money or any
other material thing but Christ's love. The way she talked about divine love, people who were not Christians came to her to listen. She talked about self-sacrificing love and a giving and generous love, yes Christ's love. Because she rooted her faith in the new commandment of Christ.

2. Once Nepolean was told that a new preacher came to his city and wanted to preach to his
people. Then Nepolean said to his men, "I will let his preach, If he would preach about God's
love like Jesus, if he would suffer like Jesus and die like Him on the Cross and would come back
to life on the third day". For two thousand years, many tried their best to define love and its
meaning and every one of them failed because they all only taught about love but our Lord Jesus
Christ by dying on the Cross set an example for self-sacrificing love. If we love the the Lord, let
us love like him and if we follow the Lord, let us put the love into practice.

3. Once a tourist said to his guide, "you have a right to be proud of your town. I was especially
impressed with the number of Churches in it. The people here must love the Lord"The guide said, "Yes, of course, they may love the Lord but they sure as hell hate each other. When people fight with each other in the name of God, when they kill and destroy each other in
the name of religion, then they can't be followers of Christ.

Conclusion: Christians are those who follow Christ. They know that all the prophets and the teaching of the testaments complete in love. When we love one another, we complete the commandment of Christ our love. Amen.

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. This day, we celebrate our special call to follow Him and to be with Him. The Shepherd knows His sheep and leads them to everlasting life.
1.Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want..." The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole psalm, and then everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same words and this time no one cheered and they were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood.Then the orator got up and said, "I have a confession to make". You should know the difference between this old man and I, " I only know the psalm and this man knows the shepherd".Today we are called to know the Shepherd personally by means of our every day prayer and self-giving.

2.One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that so many people told the shepherd to nail up the fence but he never did.That is our Good Shepherd who gives us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from him and fall into sin, He recognizes our failures and weaknesses saying, "I came for the one sheep that was lost". For the Good Shepherd, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. And thus He saves us from peril and danger. He gives us freedom not to go away from Him but to know our humanness fully and thus to love God with all our heart, mind and body and love others.

3. In today's gospel, Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And no one can snatch them out of His hand. And people may go away from God and His Church but because of His love and forgiveness they will certainly come back to Him. Nothing can stop them from experiencing His love.There happened a dialogue between a recent convert and his friend."so you have been converted to Catholicism?""Yes""Then you should know about Jesus and His life. Tell me about His native country"The convert said, "to be honest with you, I don't no"."What was His age when He died?""I don't know""How many sermons did He preach?"His friend then looked at him and said, "you don't know much but you claimed to be converted to Christianity".Yes, I am ashamed at how little I know about Jesus but this much I do know.Three years ago, I was a drunkard, I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and my children hated me and they didn't even want to see me. But now I have given up drinking, we are out of debt; ours is a happy family. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know.

Conclusion:The love of the Good Shepherd transforms our very nature. The lost sheep is also a good sheep, so let us go to Him with who we are and transform ourselves. Amen.

Third sunday

Third Sunday of Easter
The resurrection stories tell us that Jesus might come in an unexpected time. yes, in the gospels, Jesus says that He would return to us; the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1.When Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb, she began to cry. while she was crying, Jesus himself appeared to her and said, "woman, why are you weeping?' and whom are you looking for?'. she, thinking he was the gardener, said to him, " sir, if you have carried Jesus away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away'.Then Jesus called her by name saying, "Mary". Then only she recognized the risen Christ.Jesus appeared to her while she was in pain and lonely, while she was grieving and was struggling to cope with loss.
When we grieve of losing someone in our family or in our community, we might think that we are alone. God abandoned us. But the risen Christ never leaves any of his children. He comes to us in an unexpected time to comfort us. As children of God, we will never be alone and he is always with us.
2. The another resurrection story is about the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. while they were travelling, they looked so sad and were suffering, because the Jesus in whom they put all their trust and hope was gone. But while they were travelling, Jesus himself joined them and explained everything about himself beginning from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Then they recognized him and saying to one another, "were not our hearts burning within us while he was with us, were not our faith increasing while he explained the scriptures.
when we are saddened and struggling with our faith, we will never be left unanswered, the risen Christ will join us and thus increase our faith in him. when we question our faith, when we doubt our faith, we are not going to be left alone but Christ will inspire us through his words and make us strong.
3. Last weed end, we heard the story of the apostles hiding behind locked doors. we heard about Thomas who said, "unless I put my finger into his wounds and my hand in his side, I will not believe". And The risen Christ appeared to them in an unexpected time and showed himself to them. And then he asked them to go everywhere to preach the good news.
Once we are given the faith, we are also asked to go and tell every one know that the Christ who was crucified and died on the Cross is indeed risen. Christ is now living among us. Christ will never die and we will live for ever in him.
4. And in today's gospel, risen Christ once again appears to his disciples and encouraging them to look after his people. He asks them to love his children and protect them from danger and peril.As disciples of the risen Christ, we are given the same responsibility today. yes we are asked to love and protect people especially your own family members, your friends and your children. Because of your love and compassion and because of your kindness and forgiveness, they would come to know the risen Christ. yes, the risen Christ will indeed raise us all to himself. Amen.

WHERE DID ST. THOMAS GO?

WHERE DID THOMAS GO?

When every one was hiding behind the locked door for the fear of authority, where did St. Thomas go? When the disciples rejoiced seeing upon the risen Lord, where did St. Thomas go?

1. Where did Thomas go while all the other disciples were hiding behind the closed door?
I think Thomas might have gone to be alone and pray.Thomas believed that his call from Jesus was special and unique. He met many rabbis in those days but no one taught the people with authority and power. When Jesus went to His own home town of Nazareth and opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, He then with authority read, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me and he sent me to preach the good news to all and liberation to the poor'. And Jesus before choosing his apostles, went to a deserted place for forty days and forty nights and was with His father, then he received baptism from John the baptist. On the day of baptism, the heavens opened and there came a voice saying this is my beloved son and with whom I am well pleased. After that Jesus began to choose his apostles and when he called them, they left everything behind and followed him immediately. And St. Thomas knew that Jesus was indeed the Messiah sent by God. St. Thomas joined other apostles and confessed saying, "Jesus, to whom shall we go. you have the words of eternal life and you are the only son of God".

2. Where did St. Thomas go while all the other disciples were at home for the fear of the authority?
I think he might have gone to visit the people whom Jesus healed. While he was with Jesus for three years, he witnessed Jesus healing the sick, giving sight to the blind. Jesus was different from other rabbis. While the pharisees, the scribes and the teachers of the synagogue were teaching the punishment and fear of God to people, on the contrary, Jesus was teaching about love, kindness and compassion of God and when people came to him for healing, he did not say that their sickness and disabilities were punishment from God and instead, he touched and healed them saying, "your faith has healed you. God in peace". When pharisees criticized and questioned about his preaching and healing on sabbath, Jesus said, Sabbath is for people, and thus he reshaped the religious understanding of the people. And I think when St. Thomas once again visited the people who were healed by the loving kindness of Jesus our Lord, his faith increased and he was sure that as the Jesus promised, he would rise again.

3. And why did St. Thomas believe when the other disciples said, "we have seen the Lord and he is indeed risen?"
I think St. Thomas wanted to test the others and said, 'unless I put my finger in his wounds and my hand in his side, I will not believe' and then When the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples again, there came the ultimate expression of faith from St. Thomas. Yes, St. Thomas looked at Jesus and said, "My Lord and My God". He confessed that Jesus is not only the Lord but He is God himself. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was, he is and he will be. And Everything moves and has life through Him, with Him and in Him.

Today we are called to confess our faith saying, "My Lord and My God". If we profess our faith in Christ, then we are asked to go everywhere to preach the good news to all. And we are asked to tell the people that Christ is indeed risen and those who believe in Him will never die but have life-everlasting. Amen.