Christmas

The glorious birth of Christ our Lord

Good evening every one, on behalf of this beautiful church of Saint Jean de Brebeuf/ Saint Paul the Apostle/ Our Lady of Good Counsel, we would like to extend you all a very blessed, faith-filled glorious birth of Christ our Lord.

“People who walked in the darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shined”. “An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shone upon them”. The presence of the Lord in the midst of His people cancels the sorrow of defeat and the misery of slavery. People who longed for the coming of Christ and people who did everything according to the will of God began to celebrate and we are in a special way called to celebrate life because Christ is born among us.

Today we celebrate the biggest event that has ever happened in human history, the unimaginable thing; yes God the Creator, the Source of all became human and lived among us like you and me. Today’s celebration of the glorious event of the birth of Christ the Only Son of God tells us that God never abandons His people. His love surpasses everything.

When His own chosen people whom He loved without condition went away from Him, when His own people faced with pain and difficulties; when His own people began to worship false gods and rejected His glorious mercy and compassion, God the Father did not abandon them. He knew people’s condition. He knew people were weak and fragile and He knew that they would come back to Him. And in order to bring them back to Him, He sent His kings, prophets, Holy men and women to them. Then at last, as the expression of His unconditional love, God sent His Only Son Jesus Christ Our Lord through whom everything came to exist and for whom everything was created. Yes, God sent His Son the Holy Redeemer Jesus our Lord.

Jesus who was born in Bethlehem lived with poor, outcaste and rejected people and at the age of twelve, He manifested divine love at the temple in Jerusalem telling all the teachers, wise men and Pharisees and Sadducees that God loves everyone and everyone belongs to the kingdom of God.

At the age of thirty while He was baptized, the heavens opened and there came a voice saying to all, “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him alone”. Then Christ our Lord with His disciples went everywhere preaching the Good News of Salvation to all. Jesus again and again says in the gospels that anyone who follows Him will have life everlasting and they will be with God Father forever.

Dear friends, every time we celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus our Lord, we celebrate our birth, and we celebrate our joy and happiness. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Today we celebrate our new life in Child Jesus. Dear friends, every time we come to Church, we celebrate Christ’s birth, every time we receive anyone of the churches sacraments, we celebrate His life and every time we come here, we become like Christ our Lord, yes we become the God we worship. Today, what is our gift to child Jesus? Since everything what we see and have belongs to Him and what can we possibly give Him? We can give ourselves. Yes, we are the precious gift for Him. Let us give ourselves to child Jesus and join the angels and the shepherd and sing, “Glory to God in the Highest and peace to people of good will”. Amen.

3rd sunday of Advent-C

Gaudate (Joyful) Sunday

A husband thought of buying something nice for his wife for Christmas and asked the store-keeper, “I am here to buy something nice for my wife for Christmas”. The store keeper showed him a beautiful perfume bottle this is J. Lo brand only $ 50 bucks. That is too much, please give me something cheaper and he showed a $30 dollar perfume and he wants to go a little cheaper and he showed him a $15 perfume and he still wants to go cheaper saying, “I want to see something really cheap”.  So the store clerk said, “You can see really cheap here and thus hand him a mirror”.

Today we celebrate the third Sunday in Advent and this Sunday is in a special way called as Gaudete Sunday or joyful Sunday. This Sunday prepares us to celebrate the glorious birth of Christ the Messiah.

People who came to John the Baptist to be baptized, even before receiving their baptism, asked him, “Please tell us what we should do”. The tax collectors came and asked the same question, “Please tell us what we should do?” And the soldiers came asked about they had to do.  Every day people came to him and people who were holding power and positions came to him. They all came knowing that they were away from God and others and themselves.

Though in the time of Jesus, they were many Pharisees, leaders of the temple and religious leaders who talked about God and spiritual things, people did not go to them wanting to know what they had to do to welcome the Messiah. It is because their teachings and life-style did not agree with each other. It is because they imposed rules and regulations; rituals and customs hard to follow and it is because they wanted to be called Rabbi and masters; they wanted to be recognized as spiritual leaders and guides and they wanted to have best seats at celebrations and they prayed standing outside of the temple to be known by all. Christ our Lord called them as white washed tombs and that is why people did not go to them.

But on the other hand, people from every walks of life came to John. John’s main message to welcome the Messiah is “help others especially those who are in need”

Once a rabbi visited a Catholic monastery and while he was talking to the Abbot or the head monk, he said, “O Rabbi, I do not know what to do because this monastery used to be so famous. We had so many monks and people used to come from different walks of life to listen to our spiritual thoughts and guidance but now people stopped coming and we do not have many monk left either. We are now left with few monks and I do not know what to do. The rabbi listened everything and the next day as he was leaving the monastery, he looked at those monks and said, “One of you is the Messiah”.  They were all shocked to hear the message. Then things rapidly changed in the monastery. Every monk began to look at themselves and others as though they were the Messiah. They began to treat others and themselves with love and kindness and within a month, people began to come back to monastery for spiritual directions and celebrations and many men especially young men joined their order to become monks. Everything happened because of the way they began to treat others and themselves.

If we have more material things and have more spiritual things and have more wisdom and knowledge, it is our duty to share with those who have little. It is in our sharing, we find God and it is in our sharing, we prepare the Messiah in our midst.

I have seen and witnessed many people doing amazing job for others especially helping others in need. And some of them after a while get so frustrated saying, “Everything I do for them but in return I get nothing” And on the other hand, there are people keep helping and doing things for others and still they are so happy and excited. It is because they know that they are not doing for their self-glory and it is because they know that they are doing everything for the welfare of others and especially for the glory of God.

As we love and forgive others, the world will become a good place to live.

Once a boy ran away from home. The dad did everything he could to find him but nothing happened and at the end, he put an ad in the local newspaper saying, “Dear Joe, I love you so much and whatever happened between us is forgiven and forgotten. Please do come back. I will be waiting in front of the newspaper office tomorrow noon…” The next day, when the dad went to see his son in front of the newspaper office. He saw something unexpected. Yes, he saw including his son Joe, more than fifteen Joes waiting for their dad”.

As John the Baptist was talking to people with love and compassion; with divine authority and power, people began to think that John might be the Messiah. Sometimes the imitators could easily look like the original. The student could manifest the teacher in him. Today we need Christ’s love and we need Christ’s forgiveness and His compassion. Today Christ could completely be manifested only by His followers as the apostles did or John the Baptist is doing today’s gospel.

And then John looked at them all and said, “I am not He. He is more powerful than I am and I am unworthy to untie the thong of His sandals. I just baptize you with water but Christ the one who is coming will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:

What is the best gift we could possibly give to Christ on the day of His glorious birth day? Is it enough to leave our sins behind? Is it enough to help others in name of Christ? What could be our best gift to Christ? The best gift is giving ourselves. Yes, let us give ourselves to Christ and celebrate this Christmas a meaningful one. Amen.

Second Sunday in Advent

John the Baptist Sunday

Good morning every one, welcome to celebrate today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to Church, we are asked to become John the Baptist and help others to experience the love and kindness of God our Father and every time we come to Church, we are called to be forerunners of Christ our Savior showing the way to people who are away from God and every time we come here, we are called to become children of God.

For one Christmas, man decides to get a dog for his son. As he is coming home, he sees a sign saying, “Talking dog for sale”. He rings the bell and the owner says the dog is in the 

back yard. As he sees the dog, he asks the dog, “Do you talk?” The dog says, “Yes, of course. I discovered the gift of talking when I was a child. I used to serve the Canadian military overseas helping the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was the one who helped to kill Bin laden. With my wisdom and knowledge, I helped Stephen Harper to move around the country freely. I have a wife and many puppies and now I am just taking it easy. I could be a good help to you”. The man asks the owner, “how much do you want?’ the owner says, “Just ten dollars”. The dog is so amazing and how come you are selling it so cheap. The owner says, “Because he is full of lies”.

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 saying, “The Lord is coming and let us prepare the way”.  On this day, we are in a special way, called to become John the Baptist. It is our duty like John the Baptist to call out people to prepare the way to welcome the Lord our God.

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

Ø  Calling:  There is a story about a man who went to a spiritual Master and said, “Master, I want to find happiness. In search of happiness, I studied the scriptures and visited all the holy places and did everything according to the commandment of God. But I could not find happiness, what should I do?” At this point, the master began to serve him tea. He poured the man’s cup full and then kept on pouring and pouring. Since the cup was full, tea began to spill on the floor. The man then stopped the master and said, “My cup is full. Please stop pouring”. Then the master looked at him and said, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. And how can I show the way unless you first empty your cup?’ How can we welcome Christ, how can we enter the Promised Land with Him, if we have no place in our hearts for Him? The Lord is calling us to go to Him. The calling of God is constantly invite us to prepare ourselves and help others. Let us leave behind what hinders us to go to Him and welcome the Lord our God.

Ø  Healing

Once two monks were traveling to a distant village to preach the message of Christ 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 monk went to everyone 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.

Ø  Living out

Ø  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 out 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.

Today Christ our Lord says whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.  I invite you all to reflect on Christian leadership today. This leadership is centered on relationship. It is modeled after Christ’s teachings and example and this leadership is empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and Christian leadership is directed by God’s kingdom vision.

Once a group of nuns who were sent to do higher studies from mother Teresa’s order came back as medical doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers and they all came to Mother and said, “Mother, where is my office and where is my private place to practice my position and do you know what Mother Teresa did, she sent them all to the dying and sick and asked them to hold their hands and serve them for six months saying they are your office and your masters and learn from them. Be a servant and then you become first.

1.     The priority of relationship in Christian leadership: Our God is one in essence but three in person. There is a dynamic and mutual self-giving of three persons. We cannot separate the father from the son or the son from the third person. They are all connected with each other mutually and we are created in the image of God and in order to realize that image and that likeness, we need relationship with one another. How can I become a leader? The only Christian way is serving others and being with others and realizing that others are also divine image and likeness. Yes, Christian leadership is centered on relationship.

2.     It is modeled after Christ’s teachings and example Christian leadership is so unique because it is based on the servant-leadership of Christ Himself. Christian leadership is both counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. Unlike secular leaders, we do not hold any prominent place among people instead we serve and look after the needy. Christ is the center of Christian leadership and they have to lay down their lives for their sheep. They have to have courage and strength to go before the sheep and face dangers and difficulty like Christ our Lord did. Christ-centered leadership brings Christ to others not like the secular leaders.

3.     Christian leadership is empowered with the gifts of the Holy Spirit:  All those reconciled to the Father in the incarnation of Christ our lord have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the primary function or action of the gifts of the holy spirit is transforming people into loving community through shared service to one another.  All Christians have received a Charism to serve one another. We are all members of the same body and our head is Christ our Lord and Every member of the body has to work together achieve harmony and unity.

4.      The Vision and Mission that Drives Christian Leadership

5.      Christian leadership is unique because its mission derives from the kingdom vision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6.      The church is a product of mission -- a sign of God’s saving purpose. God’s eternal purpose is to reconcile humanity to himself through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:11). The church is the first-fruits of this universal redemptive mission, existing solely because of God’s divine initiative demonstrated in his saving work through Christ. As God’s new creation, the church is a sign of God’s grace and love to a lost world, consisting of people reconciled to God and one another and liberated to love God and others.

7.      The church is a people of mission -- sharing in God’s saving purpose through witness. The church exists for a greater purpose than the good of the church. The church is not only a sign of God’s saving purpose in the world, but also shares in God’s saving purpose through her witness of God’s grace in word and deed (Matt. 28:18-20). For this reason, the church is not called to depart from the world, but rather, to be a witness in the world of God’s saving grace offered to all people (John 17:14-26).

8.      Because of this great responsibility, every member shares a leadership role, for all are called to lead others to Christ through the corporate witness of the faith community sustained by the personal faithfulness of each member. Making the Gospel attractive to outsiders is a prominent part of the church’s witness (Matthew 5:13-16; Titus 2:7-10; 1 Peter 2:11-12). This can only be done when the church recognizes her larger purpose and seeks to testify by word and deed to the reality of God’s grace, acceptance, and love.

9.      In light of the church’s participation in God’s kingdom mission, two practical principles are offered:

10.   Christian ministry is driven by the kingdom vision of Christ. Like all organizations, a vision drives the mission. In the case of the church, the vision that drives the mission is God’s ultimate intention and goal revealed in his saving purpose, namely, a completely transformed cosmos filled with people reconciled to God and one another to the glory of God. Or, put more compactly, the vision is a kingdom vision. The church recognizes that God’s purposes will be fulfilled. It is impossible to thwart God’s kingdom purpose because God’s kingdom presently exists through Christ and in the Spirit, guaranteeing a future glorious consummation. Therefore, only things done in accordance with God’s redemptive purpose have any real lasting value. For this reason, the church “seeks first his kingdom” (Matthew 6:33).

11.   The priority of the kingdom in shaping Christian vision and mission cannot be lost or else the church will be tempted to substitute a human vision for God’s kingdom vision. Christian leaders fully realize that human sin, selfishness, and lovelessness will always hinder the corporate “seeing” of the divine vision of the kingdom. As Williams and McKibben write, it is easy to “follow human tendencies to substitute another ‘vision’ for the vision we choose to ignore or can no longer discern. Then we have replaced the vision of the Kingdom with ‘our vision.’”[11] It is in light of this danger, that the following (and final) principle is offered.

12.   Christian leadership must continually articulate the vision of God to those inside and outside the community of faith. Due to human sin, God’s kingdom vision is easily forgotten by those within the community of faith, and easily disregarded by those outside. Because of this, Christian leaders must continually articulate God’s kingdom vision in order to reorient those within and to reach those without. Christian leadership that does not continually articulate the missional stance of the church runs the danger of becoming withdrawn, inbred, and powerless.[12]

13.   For those within the Christian community, the kingdom vision of Christ is needed to focus, guide, and direct efforts. Vision is vital for “[v]ision is the picture that drives all action. It conveys an image of where you want to go and how you want to get there... vision is the source for a person’s sense of purpose and goals… ‘For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for.’”[13] In short, “[v]ision focuses effort; it inspires action, and it validates decisions.”[14] Once the vision is firmly entrenched in the community, the Christian leader must seek to articulate strategies, goals, and activities to implement and achieve the vision.

14.   In order to maintain focus and direction, a Christian leader must clearly, concisely, and continually present the corporate vision to the church. A clear sense of identity and mission cannot be sustained without this constant reminder. “Planning and implementation (no matter how well done) cannot compensate for knowing who we are, why we're doing what we're doing, and for whom we are doing it.”[15] FOUR PEOPLE
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

15.  

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

six sunday of Easter and Mother's day

Mother’s day and Love One Another As I have Loved You
I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Our Special welcome to all our parishioners, cottagers, visitors and every one here today.
Dear friends, Every time we come to Church, God Almighty gives once again blesses us to love one another as Christ has loved us. Every time we come to here, Christ the only Son of God showers upon us His Holy Spirit to know the gift of love that is given to us all and every time we come to Church and receive the body of Christ our Lord we become like Him full of love and kindness.
As we celebrate Mother’s day tomorrow, let us thank God for our mothers who sacrifice so much for our well-being and growth and pray for all women who promote justice and peace in the world.
Once a Sunday school teacher looked at one of the boys and asked, “Joe, tell me, do you really pray before meal at home?’ The boy said, “No...Sir”. Why don’t you pray? He asked and Joe said, “Because my mom is a good cook”.
A mother knows what her children need. She spend all her time, energy and resources for the growth of her children. She not only loves her children and but also teaches them how to love one another. A mother shapes the future of a society.
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 radiate 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 of 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 strongly that the child belonged to them. Then Solomon said, “Bring me a sword and cut the living child into two and give half to one and half to the other”. Then one mother came forward and said, “ My Lord, please do not cut the child into two. give the child to her”. But on the other hand, the other woman said, “Cut the child into two and I will be satisfied”.
Then the king spoke up and said, “No mother wants her son dead. She is the mother because she wants her child to live so, give her the child”



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 mother who had three sons, received gifts and 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: Christ our Lord invites us to love one another as He has loved. So let us extend our love to those who are in need. Amen.

fifth Sunday- B

Fifth Sunday of Easter-B
Stay connected to Christ the servant: Some years ago, Mother Teresa was asked by a reporter one day, “What is your biggest problem?” Without a moment of hesitation, Mother Teresa answered with one word: “Professionalism.” She said: “Here are these servants of Jesus who care for the poorest of the poor. I have one who just went off and came back with her medical degree. Others have come back with registered nurse degrees. Another with a master’s in social work… and when they came back with their degrees… their first question always is, ‘Where is my office?’ Then she said, ‘But you know what I do? I send them over to the House of the Dying where they simply hold the hands of dying people for six months and after that, they’re ready to be servants again.’” [Victor D. Pentz, “Take This Job and Love It” Protestant Hour Sermon, (3/14/2005), p.3.] This was the greatness of Mother Teresa… her unflinching commitment to stay connected to Christ’s Servant Mentality.
　
We often hear about ‘family tree’. It is a method of tracing back your ancestors. In these days, people travel to distant countries to trace their family of origin and the method of family tree is also used to see why a person has certain psychological challenges or problems in personal life.
In the book of Exodus, when Moses asked the name of the Almighty, God uttered, “I am who I am”. I am the Lord, God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I was, I am and I will be.
Moses then understood that God is one and He is his God Thus he made the immediate connection with Him and obeyed the will of the Father.
And in the New Testament, one of the Apostles of Jesus called Philip asked Christ, “ Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied”. And Christ the Lord responded saying, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me seen has seen the Father. The Father is in me and I am in the Father and the Father and I are one.
In the gospel of John, Christ the Lord uses seven times the word, “I am...” The same God who said, “I am who I am” is the Lord who says, “I am the bread of life. I am the life, the way and the truth and I am the good shepherd and I am the vine”.
And in today’s gospel, Christ the Lord says, “I am the vine and you are the branches... as you are with me, you will bear much fruit”.
He invites us to have a physical connection with Him. How can we have a constant physical connection with the Lord. How is it possible to hold His hand tight and walk with Him each and every day? Jesus says, “Any one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will never die but will have eternal life”. Yes, dear friends as we come to church and receive His body and thus we connect with Him twenty-four seven. Thus we have a strong physical connection with the Lord. This very connection makes us courageous to face our present day situations.
The Lord who says, “I am the vine and you are the branches” invites us to have a strong spiritual connection with Him. How can we have a spiritual connection with Him? And How can we improve ourselves knowing that we are His image and likeness and grow spiritually each and every day? Through our every day prayers and other spiritual practices. The Holy Catholic Church does have so many prayer methods and especially the month of May which is dedicated to our Blessed Virgin Mary has to offer amazing Marian prayers that lead us to Christ.
As we grow in physical and spiritual connections with Christ, Jesus our Lord says that we will bear much fruit. Yes, because of Christ-connection, we the branches extend ourselves to the world and help others to know and experience the Love and kindness of God. So let us unite ourselves with the Vine and bear much fruit. Amen.

The holy family

Homily for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all to celebrate today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we celebrate Jesus the Lord who is the source of every human family and every time we come to Church, we celebrate Christ who blesses every family with peace and serenity; with love and forgiveness. Every time we come to church and receive any of the Church’s sacraments, our families become holy.
Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the solemn feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And today we especially pray for our families and ask God to make them holy.
Once a teacher who was teaching the importance of the family and things that money can not buy said to the children, “money can not buy laughter and it can not buy love”. Then to illustrate his point, he said, “what would you do if I offered you $1,000 not to love your mother and father?” No one said anything. there was a deep silence. Finally a boy raised his hand and said, “how much would you give me not to love my big sister?”
Once a little boy looked at his dad and said, “dad, how much do you make an hour at work?” The father was surprised and said, “ look, son, not even your mother knows?’ Don’t ask me again. But the son insisted and then the dad looked at the son and said, “forty dollars for an hour”. Then the son looked at his dad and said, “could you loan me $20.00?” The dad said, “why?’ Please give me and then the dad gave him twenty dollars and then the son thanked his father and added twenty more dollars and gave it to his dad and said, “Dad, here is forty dollars. would you please sell me an hour of your time?”
Today’s gospel is all about holy family and how we can make our families holy.
In the holy family, we meet with Mary and Joseph. They both were god-fearing spiritual people. They loved God and listed to His divine words. Because of their faith, when they were confused about things and when they were worried about their future, angels were sent to them. They were told ‘not to be afraid of anything and be strong’.
When we are spiritual and believe in God, nothing can take us away from the love and kindness of God. The angels of God will come and guide us and they will comfort us.
Both Mary and Joseph were community oriented people. They kept the loving commandment of God and loved others as they loved themselves. For example, When Elizabeth was in need, Mary went all the way from Nazareth to Judea to help her. The bible says when Jesus with His disciples came to his hometown, people began to say to each other, “ we know His father Joseph and we know His mother Mary..” Every one knew Joseph and Mary in the community because of their generosity and kindness toward others.
Those who love God will have a generous heart and they will look at others as their own extension and have more compassion for others.
They both were good and responsible parents. Though they knew Jesus was the only Son of God. They fulfilled their parental duty to look after Christ. For example, when Christ our Lord disappeared at the age of 12 at Jerusalem temple, Mary His mother looked at him and said, “Son, why did you do this to us. do you not know that you have to be with us?’ And from that time onwards, Christ listened to his parents and thus He grew in wisdom and knowledge.
At Cana, when people did not have enough wife for the celebration, Mary inspired Christ to perform His first miracle.
Every family becomes holy when it keep Christ the head of all human family. Nothing can exist outside of Him and nothing can bring meaning. Jesus is the maker of every family. So as we celebrate the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, let us pray for our families and ask Christ to bless them. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Good morning every one, I would like to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass and our special welcome to all our visitor.

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the fourth Sunday of Easter as Good Shepherd Sunday and world day of prayer for vocations. Jesus Christ the Only Son of God is the good shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. Those who listen to His voice and follow Him will have life that will never end.

Once there was a man who owned several hundred sheep. His servants used to take them out for feeding and each evening as they brought them back, they found two or three missing. He asked his servants to go and look for them, but for the fear of wild beasts and wolves, they refused to do so. The owner had love for them and wanted to save them. And he said to himself, “If I go myself, searching for these sheep, they will not recognize me as they have not seen me before. So I must become like a sheep to save them” Then he went out and found some of them gone astray and others had been wounded. They readily followed him thinking he was a sheep like one of themselves. He brought them in and sat with them and fed them, then he took off his sheep skin. He was not a sheep but man a good shepherd. God became man so that we could become divine and enter into the kingdom of God.

What are the functions of the good shepherd. The new David the eternal king came to gather the people of Israel and all to the one fold.

Yes, Jesus the good shepherd wants to gather us all under his guidance and thus lead us to paradise. And that is why the Christ who says, “I am the good shepherd who lays down His life for his sheep”, goes after the one sheep that is lost and as he finds them, there will be a big celebration.

The good shepherd came to gather the sheep and cleanse the temple of god. During His mission, Christ cleansed the temple of Jerusalem and today He wants to cleans us the temple of the Holy Spirit. we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and it is our duty to keep them pure and holy. As we spiritually uplift ourselves, then we will begin to hear the divine voice. The good shepherd says that my sheep will listen to my voice and they will follow me.

Jesus the good shepherd came to gather his sheep and cleanse them and then to protect them from their enemies. There are so many wild beasts and wolves are constantly around the believers. They are looking for an opportunity to devour us. But the amazing thing is, we are not alone, the shepherd is with us and He is ready to protect and guide us. He will lay down His own precious life for us. we do not need to be worried or afraid of anything. As we listen to Him, we will be safe and secure.

The good shepherd came to gather, cleanse, protect us from our enemies and then reign over us or lead us to eternal life. As we deepen our faith in the Lord our Shepherd, we will like David with the loud voice sing, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”. He is our good shepherd and leads us to green pastures. As we enjoy his love and kindness; His compassion and forgiveness, let us share his love and forgiveness with one another. Amen.

　

　

Easter

CHRIST IS RISEN…ALLELUIA

There was a tradition among the followers of Christ namely during Easter time, when a person meets with another, he would say, “Christ is risen…” the other would respond saying, “Christ is risen indeed”
Now I am going to say, ‘Christ is risen and would you please say, “Christ is risen indeed”.

Once a group of theologians were asked to describe Easter and everyone came up with different definition and there happened to come a ten year old boy and he said, ‘I can describe Easter”. They all looked at him and then he said, “Surprise”.

Easter can be better described with a word “surprise”.

It was a big surprise for many people who never thought that Christ 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”, he compares Himself with God saying that He is the Son of God. When Christ came back to life, they believed His words and they became His followers and disciples.

It was a big surprise for death. Who could destroy death? Death was understood and accepted by humanity as a natural phenomena. But Christ our Lord by dying on the cross destroyed death and restored life. There is no death for those who believe in Christ. Yes, we will never die but live forever and ever. And that is why we are called to celebrate life every day.
It was a big surprise for sin. Because of original sin we all became slave to human nature and conditions but our Lord Jesus Christ by His resurrection, washed away our sins and made us new in Him. We are God’s people without original sin and suffering.
It was a big surprise for Satan who celebrated death of Christ thinking that He would never come back and He was gone for ever but Jesus our Messiah and Savior as He predicted rose to life, the tomb was empty. When people went to anoint the body of Christ, all they saw was empty tomb. Conclusion:
Dear friends in Christ, the tomb was empty, there was nothing in it. The nothingness has a deep and rich meaning. Yes, when we empty ourselves, we will understand the nothingness of the tomb and how God raised Christ from death to life. Christ is risen… indeed Alleluia. Amen

holy thursday

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, today we celebrate Holy Thursday and thus enter into sacred tritium. Except for the resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day, Christ our Lord in His venerable hands took the bread and blessed it and gave it to His disciples and said, “ Take this all of you and eat it, this is my body which will be given up for you”. Then He took the chalice of wine and blessed it and gave it to His disciples and said, “take this all of you and drink from it. This is my blood poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins”. Every time, we celebrate the Holy Mass, we celebrate the this day event and experience the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Then our Good Shepherd instituted the sacrament of the priesthood to serve humanity remembering the sacred words of Christ, “I came to serve and not to be served”.
　
During supper, Christ our Lord who came from God knew that He is going to God got up from the table and took off His outer robe and tied a towel around Himself, then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of His disciples and then wiped them with the towel that He had around him, saying, “Do you know what I have done to you? you call me Lord, Master and teacher-and you are right. That is what I am. And I your master and Lord have washed your feet. you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
And Christ our Lord today gives them a commandment saying, “Love one another as I have loved you. Do as I have done to you”. So let us imitate our Master and serve one another and bring Christ’s love and forgiveness to all.