Good Shepherd Sunday

Good shepherd Sunday


Introduction: Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. My special welcome to all our parishioners, visitors and every one who are here today, dear friends every time we come to church we celebrate our Good shepherd who feeds us finest wheat, celebrates our Good Shepherd who protects us with love and every time we come to Church we celebrate the Good Shepherd who leads us to everlasting life.

The Good Shepherd feeds His flock:

One day a millionaire shared his story to a group of people in the church saying, “ There was a time in my life, I did not have anything to live on. My life was meaningless and then one day I came to this church and listen to divine words. At that time, I had only a dollar and I gave everything, the whole dollar to God and that day God blessed me highly and today because of my giving, I became a millionaire”. It is always good to give and God will give us more and more” Then from the back of the church some one said, “now I dare you to do it again”.

The Lord is my shepherd and nothing I shall want. Jesus says, “I am the Good shepherd and I lay down my life for my sheep. The Lord feeds His flock with finest wheat and He takes them to green pastures and gives them life-giving water. When people were hungry and looking for something to eat, the apostles said to Jesus, “ Lord, they listened to your words and have received healing since it is a deserted place there is nothing for them to eat and the time is getting late. Let us send them away and our compassionate Lord said, why can’t you feed them and then He multiplied the loaves and fish and fed them all. He feeds them physically and spiritually. Every time He healed the sick, the apostles and the people who were around Him came to know that sickness and physically challenges were not caused by their sin but they were for the glory of God. He gave His own body and blood so that we might have life everlasting. He is our true food and He is our true drink and there is no life apart from Him. Let us taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The Good Shepherd protects His sheep

Once a burglar (thief) broke into a home and was looking around. He heard a soft voice saying, “Jesus is watching you”. Thinking it was just his imagination, he continued his search and then he heard the same voice saying, “Jesus is watching you”. He turned his flash light on and saw a parrot in a cage and asked the parrot if he was the one talking and the parrot said, “yes”. He asked, “what is your name?’ the parrot said, “Moses” The burglar began to laugh saying, “who in the right mind would name a little parrot Moses” the parrot looked at him and said, ‘the same person who named a pit bull Jesus”.

Jesus says that hired hands or people who do their jobs for money will not protect the sheep. When danger and challenges arise, they will abandon the sheep and run away. In the time of Jesus, there were so many false prophets and preachers and they led people into astray and misguided them saying God was a punishing god and He would be policing people and would judge them in a cruel way. But Jesus the Good Shepherd came and announced about the unconditional love of God saying that God is our Father and we are His precious children. Though we go away from God, like the father of the prodigal son, He would search and long for us. Jesus is our Good shepherd who laid His life for His sheep. When we are with Him, we will be protected and be given life that will never end.

The Good Shepherd leads us to everlasting life.

One day two Canadian Jewish friends were talking to each other and one said, ‘ I sent my son to Israel thinking that he would be a better Jew but he came back a Christian and the other said, the same thing happened to my son too. So they went to their Rabbi and complained and the rabbi looked at them and said, the same thing happened to me too. My son came home a Christian. So the three prayed to God saying, “God, we sent our sons to Israel and they came back Christians and then they heard a voice saying, ‘It is funny that you should mention that.”

No one promises us everlasting life or can give us hope for tomorrow but our Lord Jesus Christ the Good shepherd not only feed us and protect us but also will lead us to everlasting life, Jesus says Father and I are one. In me you will have life that will never end. When we hold on to Jesus, we will have only life and happiness.
Conclusion:

Dear friends, as followers of Christ let us imitate Him and help others to know the Good shepherd and thus experience healing and forgiveness. Let us help others to experience spiritual wholeness and thus to prepare themselves to enter into the one fold. Amen.

Second Sunday in Easter

SECOND SUNDAY IN EASTER.

Good morning/evening every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. My special welcome to all our parishioners, visitors and every one who is here today, dear friends, every time we come to church we receive the peace of Christ, every time we come to church, we hear Christ saying to us, “Do not doubt but believe”, and every time we come to Church, we join our faith family and profess our faith saying, ‘My God and my Lord”.

Once a beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for thirty years and one day a stranger walked by. “Please spare me some change,” said the beggar. The stranger looked at him and said, “I don’t have any change” then he asked, “what is that you are sitting on?” The beggar said, “Just an old box and I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember”. “Have you ever looked inside?” And the beggar said, “What is the point. It is an old box and nothing is in it”. “Have a look”, insisted the stranger and the beggar finally with much effort opened the box and saw the box filled with God.

There is a constant search in every one of us for peace and harmony; for divine love and kindness. There are people going to place to place to find peace. And they do find peace but not a permanent one because it is not God-given divine peace. As baptized people, we should know that we are all given permanent divine peace and when we look into ourselves, we will find that peace.

In today’s gospel, When our Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples He says, ‘Peace be with you”. I give you peace. Let my peace be with you all’ because they were for the fear of authority and others went away from Christ and His peace. They lost their hope and forgot to look into themselves the living Christ. For example the two disciples on the way to Emmaus were looking sad and were distracted with so many things. When our Risen Lord joined them and explained everything quoting the Scripture from the beginning saying why the Messiah must undergo great suffering, crucified and be killed but on the third day rise again. When they recognized the Lord at the breaking of the bread, they said to each other, ‘were not our hearts burning within us when He talked about Himself. Were not divine love overflowing within us when He was breaking the bread” and thus they began to experience unending joy and happiness. They began to find divine peace within themselves.

When their eyes opened, they did not look outside but inside. Yes, dear friends, when we look into ourselves, we find divine peace that will bring unending joy and happiness. When the disciples began to experience divine peace, they were given two blessings such as love and forgiveness. The result of peace is love and forgiveness.

While every one the disciples began to experience peace, Thomas struggled without peace and love. He said that He wanted to touch Christ to receive peace. When Jesus appeared again said, ‘Thomas, do not doubt but believe” When Thomas saw Risen Christ, all he said was My Lord and My God. The ultimate profession of faith came out from Thomas.

Conclusion: we are all given peace divine peace through the sacrament of baptism and it is natural to go away from the Lord and struggle to experience divine inner peace but once we look come to know the Lord is alive and present among us, we will not look for anything but all we say is, “My Lord and My God”. God created us not to beg for peace and prosperity; not to beg for love and kindness and all we have to do is just open ourselves to the Lord and look into ourselves. Amen.

Happy Easter

CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED…ALLELUIAH.

Good Evening/morning every one. On behalf of our parish, I wish you all a very happy Easter. I’d also welcome you all to celebrate our Easter Mass.

Dear friends, we who believe in Christ, celebrate Easter every day. Yes, Every time, we celebrate life, we celebrate Easter. Every time we celebrate Christ, we celebrate Easter and every time we extend ourselves to help others, we celebrate Easter.

 

1. After His Transfiguration, while our Lord Christ was coming down from the mountain said to His disciples that He was going to reveal the Messianic secret with them. When they heard that Christ was going to reveal the Messianic secret, they all began to talk to each other saying, “ I will sit at His right. I will be the King’s minister. I will sit at His left,” They were all thinking about their position in the Kingdom. They were arguing with each other and then Christ our Lord looked at them and said, ‘your teacher, Master and Messiah will undergo great suffering and be tortured and be killed and on the third day rise again”. When Christ our Lord revealed the Messianic mission, they were all confused and Simon Peter who represented all the apostles came forward and said to Jesus, “This will never happen to you. I will stop all the things and will protect you”. Christ then looked at him and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan. You set your mind on human things but I am here to fulfill the divine plan”.

2. Then at the last supper Christ though He chose the disciples in a special way told them that they would desert them. They would deny Him, would run away from Him and even one of them would betray Him. As He said, everything happened and the Lord Jesus Christ the King of all, for humanity died on the Cross. But Christ came to destroy death. He came to restore life and joy so as He promised on the third day, Christ our Lord was risen. Yes, He was risen indeed.

3.  One day a group of theologians were asked to describe ‘Easter’. They all came up with different theological explanation and were going on and on. And there happened to come a little boy and he said that I can describe ‘Easter’. They laughed at him and then one of the theologian said, ‘OK describe it. He looked at them all and said, “Surprise”.

4. Yes, Easter can be better described with a word ‘surprise’.

5. It was a big surprise for many people who never thought that Jesus would come back to life. The Pharisees and the Scribes criticized His teachings and preaching. They put Him down for His miracles and wonders. They finally crucified Him on the Cross saying, “He is a blasphemer”. Saying He compares Himself with God and He says that He is the Son of God. And when Christ our Lord came back to life, they began to believe in His words and they became Him followers and believers.

6. Easter was a big surprise for death. Who could destroy death? Death was understood and accepted by humanity as natural phenomena. But Christ our Lord by dying on the Cross-completely destroyed death and restored life to all who believe in Him. Yes, we who believe in God will never die but instead will have life everlasting.

7. Easter was a big surprise for Sin. Because of the original sin that was committed by Adam and Eve, we all became sinners and slave to human nature and are prone to suffering and pain and our Lord Jesus Christ by His resurrection, made us into new spiritual beings.

8. Easter was a big surprise for Satan who celebrated Christ death thinking that the Messiah failed to restore human life. He failed to reconcile humanity with God but Jesus as He promised came back to life and made us all children of God. No more sin, no more death and no more Satan and evil and all we have is life and happiness, joy and eternal bliss.

 

Conclusion: Dear friends, the tomb was empty and there was nothing in it. The nothingness has deep and rich meaning. Yes, when we empty ourselves, we will understand the nothingness of the tomb and how God the Father raised His only Son to life. Christ is risen… yes He is risen indeed Alleluiah.

Holy Thursday.

HOLY THURSDAY.

Good Evening every one, today we celebrate Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. Maundy means mandate. Jesus our Lord at the last supper that was celebrated this day gave the mandate to His disciples namely asking them to love one another as He had loved them.

He asked them to love others because every one belongs to God and they were also created in the image and likeness of God our Father who by liberating His people from Egypt said that you are my people and I am your God.

1. In today’s first reading from the book of Exodus talks about Passover. It talks about how God saved His chosen people from slavery, from pain and suffering. God will never let His people suffer or go through hardships and pain. Because they belong to Him alone and nothing can stop Him from loving us unconditionally. When we suffer, there He is to protect and save us. When His chosen people suffered in Egypt in the hands of pharaoh and others, He heard their cry and sent prophets and Holy people to save them. He is our God and we are His people.
2. In the second reading St. Paul tells the people of Corinth that what he received from the Lord he was giving to them. And he continued to say that the Lord on the night before His betrayal at the last supper took bread and gave it to His disciple saying ‘This is my Body. Take this and eat it in remembrance of me’. In the same way He took the chalice and gave it to His disciples saying this is my blood and drink it, in remembrance of me’.  Dear friends every time we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we remember the great act of God that is sending His only Son Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord. Without Him, we might have perished and would be nothing but because of the Lord, we become holy and blameless. We became special and important. When we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood with deep faith and acknowledgement of His love and forgiveness, we begin to awaken the spiritual power that is in us.

In the gospel, our Lord Christ as washing the feet of the apostles gives a new mandate to His disciples namely love one another as I have loved you. How can we love one another? Every time the disciples asked a question to our Lord. He did not explain to them with words instead with examples. When they asked Him, Lord, teach us to pray. He showed them by going to lonely places and deserted areas and being with God our Father. When they about forgiveness. He showed them by forgiving the people who crucified Him on the cross saying Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. And today He asks His disciples to love one another by washing the feet of the disciples. Yes, the Lord became a servant. Let us love one another by helping and serving others. Amen.